Roose Bolton
Roose Bolton is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its HBO television adaptation Game of Thrones, where he is depicted by actor Michael McElhatton.
Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Roose is lord of House Bolton, the second most powerful Northern house behind the Starks. The Boltons are notorious for their cruelty and custom of flaying their enemies. He also appears in A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Dance with Dragons.
Roose joins Robb Stark's rebellion as one of his chief lieutenants. However, he secretly orchestrates the Red Wedding alongside Lord Tywin Lannister and Lord Walder Frey, receiving the title of Warden of the North and dominion over the Northern kingdom after personally murdering Robb. His rule is punctuated by unrest and several forces conspire to unseat him.
Character
Description
At the beginning of A Game of Thrones, Roose is a bannerman of Lord Eddard Stark whose seat is at the Dreadfort. He is known as the Leech Lord due to regular leechings meant to improve his health. He served House Stark in Robert's Rebellion and the Greyjoy Rebellion.Roose is often described as an unassuming-looking man, ageless, clean-shaven with pallid skin, with an apathetic demeanor. His most prominent feature are his strangely pale and cold eyes, so light as to almost blend with the sclera. He is described as mild-mannered, but also remorseless and unforgiving. While his voice is small and soft, he does not need to raise it in order to inspire silence and attention; Ser Jaime Lannister and Robb Stark both remark that even just his silence is threatening. His personal motto is "A peaceful land, a quiet people". He often dresses in a pale pink fur cloak embroidered in blood red to symbolize his family's custom of flaying.
Roose illicitly practices the ancient and banned tradition of the first night, in which a lord has the right to have sexual intercourse with female subjects on their wedding night. This practice resulted in the birth of his bastard son, Ramsay. He ordered his depraved servant Reek to help raise the child. Roose had only one trueborn son, Domeric, and Roose suspects that Ramsay poisoned Domeric to become his heir. Left without a trueborn heir, Roose brings Ramsay to the Dreadfort to serve as the castellan.
Storylines
Novels
Roose is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, such as Catelyn Stark, Arya Stark and Theon Greyjoy.''A Game of Thrones''
Roose answers Robb Stark's call to arms in his campaign against the Iron Throne and House Lannister. Robb gives Roose command of part of the Northern army when the host splits up at The Twins, and he leads the attack on Tywin Lannister's forces in the Battle of the Green Fork. The battle ends in a Lannister victory and Roose retreats with the survivors to the causeway of Moat Cailin. However, Roose's defeat allows Robb to secure a larger victory and to capture Jaime Lannister.''A Clash of Kings''
To form an alliance with House Frey, Roose is offered by Lord Walder Frey one of his female family members hand in marriage, as well as offering the prospective bride's weight in silver for her dowry. Roose chooses Walda Frey, the fattest female of House Frey. He also makes an alliance with the Brave Companions, Essosi mercenaries originally employed by Tywin, to help the Northerners capture Harrenhal from the Lannister force occupying it. After capturing Harrenhal, Roose takes Arya Stark as a servant, mistaking her for a commoner.''A Storm of Swords''
While at Harrenhal, Roose works to weaken Robb's position, sending the Northern army on suicidal missions. Vargo Hoat brings Jaime Lannister to Harrenhal, having cut off Jaime's hand in hope of blaming Roose and preventing the Boltons from allying with the Lannisters. Roose has Jaime sent back to King's Landing after Jaime assures Roose that he will not blame him. Roose then travels to The Twins for Edmure Tully's wedding to Roslin Frey. At the wedding, the Freys betray the Starks and Roose personally murders Robb with a knife through the heart. It is revealed that Roose had conspired with the Freys and Tywin Lannister to betray the Starks. As reward for his service, Tywin names Roose the new Warden of the North.''A Feast for Crows'' and ''A Dance with Dragons''
Roose returns to the North with his forces, joined by two thousand Frey men. Meeting with Ramsay and a captive Theon Greyjoy, the Boltons travel to Barrowton for Ramsay's wedding to Jeyne Poole, forced to assume the identity of Arya Stark. After hearing that Stannis Baratheon has captured Deepwood Motte, Roose decides to move the wedding to Winterfell to bait Stannis out. The Boltons and their Northern allies remain at Winterfell after the wedding in anticipation of Stannis' attack. Tensions are high during the wedding due to the anger of the Northmen at the Freys. Three of the Freys who had been travelling with Lord Wyman Manderly of White Harbor, who lost his younger son Ser Wendel Manderly at the Red Wedding, have disappeared, and are heavily implied to have been put in pies which Wyman gives to the Freys and Boltons, eating some himself. Lady Barbrey Dustin of Barrowton, the younger sister of Bethany Ryswell, tells Theon that Roose has no feelings and plays with people for amusement. She also insinuates that Roose hopes to become King in the North, not just Warden, because the Lannisters are weakened. When one of Walder Frey's grandsons, Little Walder Frey, is found murdered, their uncle Ser Hosteen Frey attacks Wyman, leading to a fight in which White Harbor and Frey men are killed. Roose is forced to send them both out of Winterfell to encounter Stannis, in order to weaken both Frey's and Manderly's armies.Family tree of House Bolton
;NotesTV adaptation
Roose Bolton is played by Michael McElhatton in the HBO television adaption of the series of books. He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014.Second season
Roose declares for King in the North Robb Stark and serves as a chief member of his war council. After the Battle of Oxcross, Robb admonishes Roose when he advocates flaying Lannister prisoners to obtain information. After Theon Greyjoy betrays the Starks and seizes Winterfell, Roose brings the news to Robb and offers to send his bastard son Ramsay Snow with a force of Dreadfort men to oust Theon and the Ironborn from Winterfell.Third season
Following the Northern army's arrival at Harrenhal, Roose presents a letter from Ramsay claiming that the Ironborn sacked Winterfell before fleeing. Robb orders Roose and the Bolton forces to hold Harrenhal while the rest of his army rides to Riverunn. One of Roose's men-at-arms, Locke, captures the escaped Jaime Lannister and his escort Brienne of Tarth, cutting off Jaime's hand in the process, before bringing the two to Harrenhal.Roose agrees to free Jaime, but keeps Brienne as a hostage; though Jaime later returns to secure her release. Roose travels to The Twins for the wedding of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey. However, it is revealed that Roose has conspired with Lord Walder Frey to betray the Starks, and at the wedding the Freys and Bolton slaughter the Stark forces, with Roose personally killing Robb. As part of the Bolton-Frey alliance, Roose agrees to marry Walder's daughter Walda - Walder offers him the bride's weight in silver as dowry, so Roose decides to marry the fattest of Walder's daughters. In the aftermath of the massacre, Roose reveals that Winterfell was actually sacked by his bastard Ramsay, who subsequently flayed the Ironborn garrison there and took Theon prisoner. As reward for his defection, Tywin Lannister names Roose the Warden of the North.