History Characters / ASongOfIceAndFireTheNightsWatch

!!This is a listing Night's Watch characters that appear in the {{Fantasy}} series ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Visit [[Characters/ASongOfIceAndFire here]] for the main character index.

* Translator Buddy: For the giant Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun.

* MildlyMilitary

* OnlyOneName

** ColonelBadass: After [[spoiler:being elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.]]

* TheChainsOfCommanding: After [[spoiler:taking command of the Night's Watch.]] Among all the other things he has to cope with, he stops spending time with his friends because he remembers his father telling him [[spoiler:he can't be friends with people he's supposed to command.]]

* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: inverted. He knows who his father is but has no clue about his mother's identity, save that she is (to quote [[DeadpanSnarker Tyrion Lannister]]) "Some woman. [[CaptainObvious Most mothers are]]."

* [[spoiler:LastRequest: Jeor tells Sam to send word to Jorah that he wishes for him to come home to Westeros and join the Night's Watch.]]

* OldSoldier

The oldest institution in Westeros, the Night's Watch exists solely to guard the Wall, an enormous barrier built of ice to shield Westeros from the ancient threat of a ZombieApocalypse. [[TrueNeutral They remain neutral to the conflicts within the Seven Kingdoms]]. In ancient days it was as esteemed as the Kingsguard; nowadays it's become a penal colony where convicted thieves, rapists and killers are shipped. Many nobles end up there if they become victims of political struggles. Joining the Night's Watch is called "taking the black" and all members serve for life. Jon Snow ends up here, and quickly takes on a leading role in the group.
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-->"They say the king loved to hunt. The things we love destroy us every time, lad. Remember that."

* ColonelBadass / FourStarBadass

* LongLived
** [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal: passes away of old age in ''Feast''. He was 102.]]

[[folder: Eddison "Dolorous Edd" Tollet]]

A older steward who befriends Jon Snow and his group on the Great Ranging, he always has a sour comment ready for any situation.

* DeadpanSnarker
* TheEeyore: He is always making humorously pessimistic comments. It's unclear how much is his genuine feelings and how much is snark.
* TheJester: He is always snarking under the guise of being TheEeyore, and like a jester, he's able to get away with making those comments to a higher up (in this case the Lord Commander) in a way that others aren't.
* SadClown: Embraces this trope.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Jon and his friends.

[[folder: Qhorin Halfhand]]

A veteran ranger and second-in-command of Shadow Tower. He leads a group of one hundred Night's Watch members to the Fist of the First Men to join up with Jeor Mormont during the Great Ranging.

* NiceGuy

[[folder: Qhorin Halfhand]]

A veteran ranger and second-in-command of Shadow Tower. He leads a group of one hundred Night's Watch members to the Fist of the First Men to join up with Jeor Mormont during the Great Ranging.

* FishOutOfWater: A slippery Southron who plays tries the political game in the North.

* TokenEvilTeammate: among the Nights Watch.

->''"A bastard can have honor, too."''

[[folder: Maester Aemon]]
->''"What is honor, compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms, or the memory of a brother's laughter? Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our glory, and our great tragedy."''

The oldest man in Westeros, he is a maester and a member of the Night's Watch. [[spoiler:He was a prince of House Targaryen many years ago, and was offered the crown after he took his vows. He refused and went to the Wall rather than undermine the fellow who eventually got the crown.]]

* HealingHands: Comes with being a maester.
* LongLived
** [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal: passes away of old age in ''Feast''. He was 102.]]
* MentorArchetype
* MonochromaticEyes: Cataracts.
* NiceGuy
* [[spoiler:OfferedTheCrown: And not only famously refused it, but joined the Night's Watch so he would be ineligible to rule and thus not be a target of conspiracy.]]
* OldMaster: He was blind with age and in very poor health, but his hands were steady and his mind sharp, and when he spoke the Night's Watch listened.
* ReassignedToAntarctica / LockedAwayInAMonastery: While he choose to be a maester and to go to the Wall, it's said that he didn't became Great Maester and was left to freeze because he's a Targaryen, and therefore linked to magic (that the Citadel ''hates'').

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Benjen Stark]]
->''"On the Wall, a man gets only what he earns."''

Ned's younger brother, Benjen is First Ranger of the Night's Watch at the beginning of ''A Game of Thrones''. He comes to Winterfell to attend the dinner honoring the arrival of King Robert, and tells Ned about his worries over events north of the Wall. He also talks with Jon Snow about the boy's ambition to join the Watch, but when Jon actually arrives at Castle Black he is distant with his nephew, reminding him that men of the Night's Watch forswear family ties when they take their oaths. Shortly thereafter he heads out on a ranging in an attempt to find out what has become of Ser Waymar Royce, and disappears north of the Wall; the search for his whereabouts becomes a major plot point in Jon's part of the story.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking
* {{Badass}}: Like most of the family. His competence as a ranger is one of the primary reasons Jeor Mormont decides that his disappearance couldn't have been due to something as mundane as a Wildling attack.
* TheGhost: He becomes this after his disappearance. His disappearance is frequently mentioned and is implied to have something to do with the Others, but he has yet to reappear.
* MentorArchetype: Subverted. At first it appears he's being set up to act as one to Jon Snow, but he's not particularly helpful to the boy even before he disappears. The reason for his unhelpfulness is that he believes Jon has to earn the right to serve under him as a ranger, rather than just being given it right away due to their blood ties.
* OutOfFocus: After being sent on a mission on the first book.
* PutOnABus: He disappears early in the first book, but it's [[ChekhovMIA unlikely that we've seen the last of him]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Fans still await a response to where he is, and whether he's alive or not.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lord Commander Jeor Mormont]]
->"They say the king loved to hunt. The things we love destroy us every time, lad. Remember that."

Jeor is Lord Commander of the Night's Watch at the start of the series. He is the former head of House Mormont and Jorah's father and Maege's brother.
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[[folder:Ser Alliser Thorne]]

The master-at-arms of the Night's Watch, hated by the recruits for his harsh ways. Thorne develops a particular hatred for Jon Snow, leading to many clashes between the two.
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* AssholeVictim: He was sent to the Wall for treason -- in reality he was doing his duty defending King's Landing from a rebel army, [[WrittenByTheWinners only the rebel ended up becoming king]]. It's not surprising Thorne has a permanent chip on his shoulder.
* DrillSergeantNasty
* {{Jerkass}}
** JerkassHasAPoint: Upon arriving in King's Landing with a severed wright hand that still moves, Thorne desperately tries to convince people to listen to him but is only mocked in return and forced to wait to see Tyrion Lannister, acting Hand of the King, for so long that the hand rots, destroying all the proof he has. He condemns Tyrion and the others for their ignorance and insults to the Night's Watch, which is in desperate need of assistance.
* TheNeidermeyer
* TheNicknamer: Gives nicknames to all his recruits, designed to insult them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Donal Noye]]

The smith of the Night's Watch. Noye had served the Baratheon's during Robert's Rebellion and the Greyjoy Rebellion, during which he lost his left arm. He took the black after recovering and became a senior member of the Night's Watch.

* AnArmAndALeg: Lost his left arm after a glancing blow from an axe at the Siege of Pyke resulted in his arm becoming infected and amputated.
* TheBlacksmith: Even one-armed, he still manages to work the forge.
* DropTheHammer: Wields a warhammer when fighting. He also forged Robert Baratheon's warhammer.
* HandicappedBadass: How much of a badass? [[spoiler:His LastStand is against Mag the Mighty, leader of the giants, and though Noye dies, ''he takes the giant with him''.]]
* SergeantRock: Though not an officer, he [[YouAreInCommandNow takes it upon himself to lead]] when the Wildlings attack the wall. Most people immediately falls into line, and anyone who doesn't gets [[NoIndoorVoice yelled at]] until they do. It doesn't take them long.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Shortly after Jon Snow arrives at the Wall, Donal stops a fight between him and four other new recruits, who had been beaten badly by Jon in training. After sending the other four away, he explains to Jon that the others see him as a bully, and how they had never been trained to use a sword before while Jon had trained under a {{Badass}} knight at Winterfell. He suggests that Jon stop arrogantly celebrating his "victories" in the training fights or he will have to sleep with a dagger at all times. Jon takes his advice to heart and starts training the other recruits, befriending most of them.

[[folder: Yoren]]

A recruiter of the Night's Watch, he travels the Seven Kingdoms to bring new recruits (mostly criminals) back to the Wall.

* BadassBeard
* [[spoiler:DyingMomentOfAwesome: Takes down four Lannister soldiers before being cut down]].
* GoodIsNotNice
* OldSoldier
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: The Night's Watch are supposed to be neutral in regards to the affairs of the realm, but Yoren ignores this to get Arya out of King's Landing and avoid seeing [[spoiler:her father get beheaded]].

[[folder: Grenn]]

A fellow recruit alongside Jon Snow, who he becomes friends with. Assigned to the Rangers after completing training.

* TheBigGuy
* FireForgedFriends: He and Jon start of hating each other, due to Jon's arrogance and superior skill due to being the only recruit with actual sword training. Once Jon realizes this, he begins teaching Grenn how to fight and they quickly bond.
* {{Ranger}}
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Pyp.

[[folder: Pypar]]

Another recruit trained alongside Jon, Pyp was a mummer before coming to the wall. Assigned to the Rangers after completing training.

* NiceGuy

* ChasteHero: Supposedly, although most of them still get around whenever they have the opportunity. This is tolerated by the superiors because trying to enforce the oath of chastity would do more harm than good, (and it has been pointed out that the oath prohibits [[ExactWords fathering children, not sex per se]]).

* AStormIsComing: The reason why this group was founded.

* AntiHero: Many stories of the Night's Watch, as well as their actions in-story, show that while sworn to defend the realm of men, they're not necessarily good people. For one, the fact that most of their members are criminals and rapists who preferred to serve than being jailed or killed. Second, the fact that while they're sworn to protect humanity from the Others, they consider Wildlings beneath that protection(Granted, Wildlings tried attacking Westeros, but that's mainly because their ancestors were on the wrong side of the Wall when it was built, and it's hinted that they don't allow ANYONE crossing into Westeros, even if they're not enemies, basically condeming an entire people to eternal winter and possible death). Third, their commitment to their oaths reaches KnightTemplar level sometimes; The tales of the [[UnholyMatrimony Night's King]], [[IAmHumanitarian Rat Cook]], [[BuriedAlive 79 Sentinels]] and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Brave Danny Flint]] also show that the Night's Watch can be as savage as they believe the Wildlings to be. [[spoiler: Their KnightTemplar and LawfulStupid ways reach its apex when they backstab Jon Snow for thinking outside the box.]]

* AntiHero: Many stories of the Night's Watch, as well as their actions in-story, show that while sworn to defend the realm of men, they're not necessarily good people. For one, the fact that most of their members are criminals and rapists who preferred to serve than being jailed or killed. Second, the fact that while they're sworn to protect humanity from the Others, they consider Wildlings beneath that protection(Granted, Wildlings tried attacking Westeros, but that's mainly because their ancestors were on the wrong side of the Wall when it was built, and it's hinted that they don't allow ANYONE crossing into Westeros, even if they're not enemies, basically condeming an entire people to eternal winter and possible death). Third, their commitment to their oaths reaches KnightTemplar level sometimes; The tales of the Night's King, Rat Cook, 79 Sentinels and Brave Danny Flint also show that the Night's Watch can be as savage as they believe the Wildlings to be.

* AntiHero: Many stories of the Night's Watch, as well as their actions in-story, show that while sworn to defend the realm of men, they're not necessarily good people. For one, the fact that most of their members are criminals and rapists who preferred to serve than being jailed or killed. Second, the fact that while they're sworn to protect humanity from the Others, they consider Wildlings beneath that protection(Granted, Wildlings tried attacking Westeros, but that's mainly because their ancestors were on the wrong side of the Wall when it was built). Third, they commitment to their oaths reaches KnightTemplar level sometimes. The tales of the Night's King, Rat Cook, 79 Sentinels and Brave Danny Flint also show that the Night's Watch can be as savage as they believe the Wildlings to be.