Westeros Laws, Customs and Superstitions

Laws

The following is a list of some of today’s most prevalent key laws of Westeros:

• Gold currency are called Gold Dragons; silver pieces are called Silver Stags; and a copper piece is called a penny. 
• Authority runs from the king, who is believed to be empowered by the gods, whether old or new.
• The king can pardon any criminal.
• Nobility have more rights and responsibilities than the smallfolk.
• Nobility are born to their status. (Unless granted such by the king) and higher-ranked individuals have more rights and powers than those of lower status.
• Men have more rights than women (except in Dorne, where age is the determining factor, not sex).
• The children of nobility inherit the same rights as their parents, unless they are born out of wedlock.
• Inheritance law is a key issue among the nobility. First-born sons are the legitimate heirs, followed by their brothers. Sisters—no matter their rank in birth order—only inherit if no sons exist to do so.
• Bastards (natural sons and daughters) may be acknowledged by their parents, and they may even be given rights of inheritance in unusual situations, but normally they lose out to legitimate siblings in all cases.
• The lord of a region is the chief authority and can administer the king’s justice. It is a lord’s duty to keep the peace, hear petitions, and mete out justice and punishments, all in the name of his lord and, ultimately, in the name of the king.
• Punishments for criminals can include maiming, death, and stripping of lands, wealth, and titles; an alternate punishment is to be forced to “take the black” on the Wall. By joining the Night’s Watch, all crimes and sins are forgiven, but one must give up all lands and rights (including the right to wed) and be forever sworn to the Brotherhood of the Night’s Watch. Women are not allowed to take the black.
• Lords have the right of “pit and gallows,” which means they have the king’s authority to imprison subjects or have them executed if the crime warrants it. A thief may lose a hand, a rapist may be castrated, and floggings are doled out for many minor offenses.
• Landed knights may also carry out justice, but they do not have the right of “pit and gallows.” They cannot, therefore, execute someone or imprison someone on their own initiative. Knights that turn to raid, murder and pillaging are called Robber Knights 

Customs

The following is a list of some the most prevalent key customs and traditions of Westeros:

• In the tradition of the First Men, the man who passes the sentence should look into the subject’s eyes and hear his final words, and he should be the one to swing the sword. The people of the North still cling to this belief, but in the south, lords often keep a headsman, like the King’s Justice.
• Most executions are done by the gallows or the headsman’s axe or sword, but cruel lords may use the “crow cage,” a wrought iron cage barely big enough for a man, in which the victim is imprisoned without food or water until death. Its name comes from the throng of crows who often descend upon the poor soul, pecking at his or her flesh through the bars.
• A lord who is accused of a crime may request a trial by combat (of which there are several variations over the ages) or trial by lord, in which several other lords listen to the facts and pronounce judgment upon him.
• Another tradition of the First Men still held throughout Westeros to this day is that of the “guest right.” Any visitor who eats at his or her host’s board is protected from harm for the duration of the stay. By custom, a guest may request bread and salt, and any visitor who does not trust his or her host may request such immediately upon arrival. It is said that those who betray this pact are cursed by the gods.
• The age of majority is 15, before that, a youth may be “almost a man grown” (achieving his first wet dream) A girl’s first menstruation (getting her moonblood)—often at a younger age for noble girls—is also an important milestone.
• Marriage vows are normally not said until adulthood, though there is no law prohibiting it. Nobles often betroth children at a very early age, and sometimes it is politically crucial to marry children younger than 15, such as when an inheritance is at risk. Regardless, no one would bed a girl before her first moonblood; to do so is seen as perverse and profane.
• Those who follow the Seven are wed by a septon, while those who follow the old gods may say their vows before a weirwood.
• No one can be forced to marry if they refuse to say the vows, though familial pressures, and even threats of force, are not unheard of. Marriage contracts can be broken, especially if the marriage has not been consummated.
• Family allegiances are often made by fostering sons of another lord from the age of 8 or 9 until they reach the age of majority. These lads serve as pages and squires, and they will often become fast friends with the family they serve.
• Wards are similar to fostered boys, but in this case the youths are kept as political hostages. While they may be treated well, a shadow of the true meaning of their extended stay always remains.
• Bastards, or natural children, are often looked down upon with suspicion and distrust. Born of “lust and lies,” a common belief is that they will grow up to do no good. Each region has a distinctive surname for noble bastards: Dorne: Sand, The Reach: Flowers, The Iron Islands: Pyke, The Riverlands: Rivers, King’s Landing (and Dragonstone): Waters, The Vale of Arryn: Stone, The North: Snow, The Westerlands: Hill, The Stormlands: Storm.
• Women are not to show any leg above the ankle in public lest bring dishonor to her father or husband. 
• Holidays vary from region to region however some days are recogognzied the continent around: Coronation Day- commemorating the day Aegon the Conqueror was crowned king; Moon Day, Lovers Day, and Name Day- the common reference to ones day of birth or day they received their proper name.  
• Sweet sorghum is a drought resistant, heat-tolerant member of the grass family and is most commonly grown in warm environments. As a result, sorghum harvest festivals are typically found in rural, southern communities. While the plant can be grown with some success in temperate, northern climes its cultivation is not typically part of a community’s identity there and so the harvest is rarely seen as an event to celebrate. The harvest festival is a communal event celebrated by everyone. Typically, the men will spend the weeks before hand aiding one another in cutting the 10’ tall canes, harvesting one farmer’s fields together before moving on to the next. By the end of the month, they are exhausted and in need of a respite. The sweet sorghum harvest festival is a chance to relax and enjoy oneself. Merchants from further afield may also attend, view the crop and perhaps make purchases for export to distant markets.
• The Devil’s Horse Market- The three days prior to the first full-moon of autumn. It was on this evening, many years ago, that a brigand attempted to steal the horse from what seemed to be an enfeebled old man. Unfortunately for him, the old cripple turned out to be a‘devil’ named Furcas, who promptly severed the brigands head from his body with a stroke of his blade. Ever since, legends say on the eve of brigand’s death, the headless outlaw haunts the road near Winterfell, riding atop an albino steed, searching for a head to replace the one he lost. While many from the north have come to enjoy the festivities associated with this renowned fair, it is particularly aimed towards those associated with the horse trade. 
• Similarly a warrior commonly in service to a Lord, have badges of thin metal worked into their shields or breastplates. Like the masters, these too symbolize their level of achievement or identify them as a veteran of specific battles. 
• On Earthos there are 7 days in a week, 4 weeks to a month, and there are 13 months in a year (364 days in a calendar year). 

Superstitions

The following is a list of some of the most prevalent key superstitions of Westeros:

• In Dorne it is forbidden to ferry the dead on the Greenblood river lest invite famine on the land. 
• It is believed that a silver mirror will stop a dark folk from stepping through shadows in its presence. 
• Toasting with Water is to wish death upon someone, according to superstition. This tale is derived from a myth where the spirits of the dead would drink the water from the river of forgetfulness to forget its earthly past before it passed on into the underworld.
• A First-Man story states that goblins are actually evil fractious children, transformed by hags who lure them with sweets and anarchy.
• Sitting at the corner of the table is bad luck. The unlucky diner will allegedly never get married. Some say the bad luck only hangs around for seven years.
• To guard against the Evil Eye, descendants of the First Men had a custom of wearing an amulet called the "nazar boncuğu." The charms are typically blue and white (blue is thought to be a ward of the evil eye as well), and resemble an eye themselves. These charms are common sights in the North, the Vale, Dorne and free cities in Essos, among other kingdoms.
• An old wives tale says that a bird flying into your home is a bad sign, especially if said bird circles the room and lands on the back of someone's chair and then leaves. That supposedly means the person whose chair the bird chose would die.
• In much of Westeros, except the Crownlands, to dream of any lizard or dragon is a sign that you have a secret enemy.
• If a friend gives you a knife, you should give him a coin in return, or your friendship will soon be broken.
• In Dornish folklore the black witch moth can indicate one will soon come in contact with a witch or fall victim to a dark spell. The moth is bat-shaped, dark in color, nocturnal and can have wingspans of around six and a half inches.