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- What Is the Story of the Knight of the Laughing Tree?
- Was Lyanna Stark the Knight of the Laughing Tree?
- Other Theories About the Knight of the Laughing Tree
Most of what is known about the Knight of the Laughing Tree comes from an old tale that Meera Reed shared with Bran Stark. In 281 AC, before the main events of Game of Thrones took place, a mysterious knight fought at Lord Whent’s great tournament. He was “short of stature”, “clad in ill-fitting armor made up of bits and pieces”, and held a shield emblazoned with an image of “a white weirwood with a laughing red face”.
The efforts to unmask him failed, but there are several hints in Game of Thrones that seem to reveal the identity of the Knight of the Laughing Tree.
What Is the Story of the Knight of the Laughing Tree?
The tale of the Knight of the Laughing Tree began when a crannogman — unnamed, but believed to be Howland Reed (Meera and Jojen’s father) — arrived at Harrenhal, where a tourney was about to commence. Many people were in attendance, including Aerys II Targaryen (“the king”); Rhaegar Targaryen (“the dragon prince”); the Kingsguard (“the White Swords”), who had come “to welcome a new brother to their ranks” (Jaime Lannister); Robert Baratheon (“the storm lord”); and Mace Tyrell (“the rose lord”). Although “the great lion of the rock” (Tywin Lannister) was not present (since he was angry with Aerys for not marrying Rhaegar to Cersei), “many of his bannermen and knights attended all the same”.
As the crannogman went nearer, he was suddenly attacked by three young squires. They snatched away his only weapon, a three-pronged spear, and kicked him to the ground, believing “he had no right to be there”. Finally, Lyanna Stark (the “she-wolf”) arrived, who drove them away with a blunted sword. She took her father’s bannerman to her “lair”, where she tended to his injuries, and introduced him to her brothers: Brandon, Eddard and Benjen.
She invited the crannogman to the feast, where he later identified the three squires, who each served a knight of House Frey, House Haigh and House Blount respectively. The Starks suggested that he should win back his honor by defeating the knights in the tournament, but he appeared reluctant as “he feared he would only make a fool of himself”. He sat by the lake that night and prayed to the old gods.
The three aforementioned knights won all their jousts until the second day of the event, when the Knight of the Laughing Tree appeared. He challenged and defeated all of them:
Whoever he was, the old gods gave strength to his arm. The porcupine knight fell first, then the pitchfork knight, and lastly the knight of the two towers. None were well-loved, so the common folk cheered lustily for the Knight of the Laughing Tree, as the new champion soon was called.
He declared “in a booming voice” that he would only return the trio’s horses and armor if they chastised their squires for attacking the crannogman — which they subsequently did.
Aerys grew paranoid that the masked man was an enemy, and sent Rhaegar to search for him the next day. However, the Knight of the Laughing Tree had disappeared by then: “All they ever found was his painted shield, hanging abandoned in a tree.”
Was Lyanna Stark the Knight of the Laughing Tree?
A popular fan theory states that the Knight of the Laughing Tree was actually Lyanna. Not only did she rescue the crannogman earlier, but she also expressed the most indignation towards the attackers. There are several references to her “wild” and “boyish” personality in Game of Thrones, so competing in a tourney would not have been uncharacteristic of her.
Ned compared her to Arya Stark, who was “harder to tame” as well. He once told his daughter, “Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it.” This suggests that she might have been skilled at sword-fighting. Bran also saw a vision of her and Benjen play-fighting with wooden branches. Moreover, Lyanna was noted to have been a fine horse rider (“That one was half a horse herself”). Considering the fact that “jousting was three-quarters horsemanship”, it is possible that she would have done well in a tourney.
Since the Starks were loyal to the old gods, the weirwood tree on the Knight of the Laughing Tree’s shield would also make sense. The fact that Lyanna was only a teenage girl at that time would explain why the knight was shorter than average. The knight also wore mismatched armor since she would have borrowed it from elsewhere. Plus, the helm she wore might have made her voice sound much deeper than it actually was.
What makes this theory more plausible is the involvement of Rhaegar. The first hint at a connection between him and Lyanna was when he sang a beautiful, sad song at the feast, which made her cry. Since he was sent to find the Knight of the Laughing Tree, it is possible that he discovered a disguised Lyanna instead — which could very well be the meeting when he fell in love with her. After all, this was the same tournament where he later crowned her as the Queen of Love and Beauty, rather than his own wife, Elia Martell — a historic moment that eventually led to Robert’s Rebellion.
Other Theories About the Knight of the Laughing Tree
Since the Knight of the Laughing Tree was someone who was aware of the crannogman’s run-in with the squires, it is also possible that he could have been one of the Stark boys (especially since there is no mention of anyone else noticing the incident). When Meera shared the incident with Bran, Jojen was surprised to know that Ned had not told his son about it — which implies that the knight might have been a Stark.
Brandon seems like a likely possibility, since he was described as being a “gallant fool” with jousting skills. However, he does not match the Knight of the Laughing Tree’s description as he was quite tall. Also, he was already competing in the tourney, so it does not make sense why he would fight for the crannogman in disguise.
Being shorter than his brother, Ned could be another option, especially since Howard was known to be devoted to him later on. On the other hand, Ned had “a certain distaste for the […] pageantry of tourneys”, so it seems unlikely that he would have indulged in such theatrics.
Since Benjen was the one who offered to get the crannogman a horse and armor, it is possible that he used those himself to participate in the tourney. But he was still too young to make this a valid theory.
As the story was about the crannogman, there is a theory the Knight of the Laughing Tree could be Howard himself. Not only was he described as being “small”, but he was also “bolder than most”. He had the biggest motive to punish his attackers, so he might have overcome his initial hesitation about fighting in the tourney.
As Howard prayed while facing the direction of the Isle of Faces, Bran believed that the old gods sent a green man (as the Knight of the Laughing Tree) to help him. What disputes this theory though is that it is not consistent with the particular brand of magic seen in Game of Thrones.
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