Rhaegar's and Lyanna's Secret Marriage

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itgirl87
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:27 pm

Mon Aug 28, 2017 4:12 pm

I wonder if someone could shade light why would Rhaegar and Lyanna they keep their marriage a secret. Especially since it could have stopped the war.

Dark Archer
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 4:05 am

Mon Aug 28, 2017 4:39 pm

itgirl87 wrote:
Mon Aug 28, 2017 4:12 pm
I wonder if someone could shade light why would Rhaegar and Lyanna they keep their marriage a secret. Especially since it could have stopped the war.
Regardless of abduction or freewill I don't think it would have stopped Robert Baratheon going after Rhaegar in revenge, war would have ensued but without Ned's support it may have been a different out come, and the dead would still be marching

ChristinaB618
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 1:06 pm

Mon Aug 28, 2017 7:19 pm

Lyanna was betrothed to Robert, betrothals were more than just engagements they were true promises that marriage would happen. It is breaking an oath and almost like trying to break a lawful union. Also Rhaegar was casting aside his previous wife to marry another. There was a lot of scandal. Also, since him and Lyanna ran off together they probably didn't have a way of knowing that Robert was causing a rebellion until it was a bit too late

Dornish Gourmand
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2017 2:45 am

Tue Aug 29, 2017 1:34 am

We see just how disastrous the breaking of such a betrothal can be in the earlier seasons when Rob refuses to marry the Frey girl, essentially setting in motion the Red Wedding. Gotta love how history repeats itself!

itgirl87
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:27 pm

Tue Aug 29, 2017 4:48 am

Dear all,

Thank you for your insights.

Breaking off an engagement and abduction and rape of your bride-to-be are a different thing. I understand both are unacceptable, but you can to mend the former, but not the latter.
And the Freys would have betrayed the Starks even without the broken engagement.

I assume they did have ravens in Dorne and were aware of the rebellion. Starks would not have supported Robert had they known the truth. So why to keep it a secret?

Would any normal person continue enjoying his/her marriage while your relatives get imprisoned and fried alive? It's so out of caracter for Lyanna.

So once again I don't understand the idea behind keeping the marriage a secret.
If you want to have a legitimate heir, why keep marriage a secret?
If somebody accusses you of rape and abduction and starts a war against you, why keep marriage a secret?
Your father and brother get imprisoned trying to return you home, still keep marriage a secret?

So far it seems to me a plot hole. Probably a necessary one, but a plot hole.

Dornish Gourmand
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2017 2:45 am

Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:45 am

itgirl87 wrote:
Tue Aug 29, 2017 4:48 am

And the Freys would have betrayed the Starks even without the broken engagement.
Can you provide textual evidence to support this claim?
Yes, it seems likely. But if they had been connected via marriage I don't think Walder Frey would have had the same motivation to join the Lannisters, especially if they looked to be losing the war. Walder was extremely spiteful and Rob's refusal was the last straw.

As to the nature of Lyanna and Rhaegar's relationship... there are still things that we don't know that could be revealed later. Perhaps Lyanna shared Rhaegar's belief that her son would become the PTWP and therefore was willing to keep the marriage secret out of fear that she'd never be able to give birth had Robert known. She clearly knew what he would do if he found out.

I don't think anyone would claim that rape and breaking off an engagement are the same. As this story has shown us time and time again, the way events are viewed and the way history is written varies greatly depending on the point of view: even if Lyanna had sent a raven claiming she loved Rhaegar and legally married him, my bet is that Robert and the Starks would have assumed that she was forced into doing so (much like Sansa) and continued their rebellion regardless.

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