Noble Houses - House Stark

Eddard Stark: "Look at me, you're a Stark of Winterfell, you know our words."

Arya Stark: "'Winter is coming'."

Eddard Stark: "You were born in the long summer, you've never known anything else. But now winter is truly coming. In the winter, we must protect ourselves, look after one another."

— Lord Eddard Stark and his daughter Arya.

House Stark of Winterfell is an exiled Great House of Westeros, ruling over the vast region known as the North from their seat in Winterfell. It is by far one of the oldest lines of Westerosi nobility, claiming a line of descent stretching back over eight thousand years. The head of the house is the Lord of Winterfell. Before theTargaryen conquest, the leaders of House Stark ruled over the region as the Kings in the North.

House Stark's sigil is a grey direwolf on a white field, sometimes white and pale green. They are one of the few noble Houses whose family words are not a boast or threat. Instead, the House Stark family motto is a warning, one that, no matter the circumstances, will always be relevant: "Winter is Coming".

 Before the Targaryen conquest, the leaders of House Stark ruled over the region as the Kings in the North. King Torrhen Starkwas on the throne at the time of the Targaryen conquest and marched his army south to face them. He surrendered when he saw their vast host and dragons, believing that fighting was futile. He was made Lord Paramount of the North and served them asWarden of the North.

Season 1

Lord Eddard Stark was executed for treason. His son and heirRobb Stark was declared the King in the North by his bannermen (the first in 300 years) and fought to secede from the Seven Kingdoms in what would become the War of the Five Kings.

Season 2

Robb Stark continues his campaign against the Lannisters, winning a trio of victories in the Riverlands and a further three victories in the Westerlands at Oxcross, The Yellow Fork and The Crag.

Season 3

Despite Robb's victories against the Lannisters, the victory in King's Landing against Stannis Baratheon has made House Baratheon of King's Landing the most powerful faction of the War of the Five Kings. As Robb continues to march further in the Westerlands, many of his bannermen, such as Rickard Karstark who lost two of his sons, begin to lose faith in King Robb and are aware that he broke his vow to marry one of the daughters of Lord Walder Frey when he married Talisa Maegyr. Robb and his host arrive at Harrenhal to discover that Ser Gregor Cleganehas put the 200 northern prisoners to the sword and left Harrenhal without a fight. News arrives to King Robb at Harrenhal that his grandfather Hoster Tully has died, and Robb leaves Roose Bolton and his men in charge of Harrenhal and goes to Riverrun to attend the funeral.

At Riverrun Robb chides his uncle Lord Edmure Tully for attacking Ser Gregor Clegane at the Stone Mill, forcing Gregor's host to retreat to Casterly Rock and losing more than 200 men in the battle. Later Lord Rickard Karstark murders the two Lannister captives, Willem and Martyn Lannister, which causes Robb to execute Lord Rickard, making the Karstarks abandon King Robb. With his host diminished due to the Karstarks' abandonment, Robb opts to have the support of House Frey but finds it difficult because of his broken vow. However, the Freys agree to support Robb if his uncle Edmure marries Roslin Frey. Robb and Edmure agree to the terms of the Freys and prepare to head to the Twins for the wedding. 

Robb and all of his bannermen arrive at the Twins where Lord Walder Frey begins preparations for the wedding. All the northern lords of Robb's host attend the wedding while the northern army camps outside during the feast. After Edmure and Roslin are taken away for the bedding, the Freys and Boltons betray King Robb and massacre them in an event known as the Red Wedding, secretly orchestrated by Tywin Lannister. King Robb, Queen Talisa, Catelyn, as well as his direwolf Greywind and the northern lords and most of the northern army are murdered. In the aftermath of the Red Wedding the Freys sew Greywind's head to King Robb's body as a final insult to the King in the North. House Stark is stripped of its lordship in the North and is given to House Bolton, making Roose Bolton Warden of the North for his contribution to Robb's death.

Season 4

Bolton has his whole army trapped south of the Neck, since the ironborn captured Moat Cailin, and cannot properly rule the North. His son Ramsay takes back the Moat and the Boltons ride to Winterfell in order to rule the North from there, as it is the ancient stronghold of House Stark and the capital of the North.

Tywin Lannister's eventual plan was to return the North to the Starks under Lannister control through his possible grandson by Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark, but the two of them ran away as a result of KingJoffrey's assassination and Tywin himself was killed before his plan could come into fruition.

Season 5

Petyr Baelish secretly returns Sansa to Winterfell in the hopes of wedding her to Ramsay Bolton. The Boltons are eager to cement their control over the North, particularly since they are now living in a Westeros without the certainty of Tywin Lannister. Littlefinger tells Sansa that she is perfectly situated: Stannis Baratheon is likely to liberate Winterfell soon, and will likely declare her Wardeness of the North. Even if he doesn't, Sansa will be perfectly placed to retake Winterfell from within House Bolton. Although Sansa doesn't quite realize it, there are many in the North who are already taking heart from the fact that there is again a Stark in Winterfell.

Although Sansa's attempt to contact her supporters (and unknown to her, Brienne of Tarth) ends in failure and the brutal death of Winterfell servant, Sansa herself begins to have hope for her House when a distressedReek admits that he killed two farm boys and not Bran and Rickon.

Military strength

Due to the North's vast size, gathering the full military strength of the Starks and their vassals is a difficult process, requiring months of travel time and the ability to supply and feed the host even before it sets out.

For this reason, the 18,000 men Robb Stark takes south to confront the army of the Westerlands is not the full strength of the North, only what could be assembled at relatively short notice.

By the time of the Battle of the Yellow Fork, however, the Stark force is allied with House Tully and their vassals, including House Frey, so it is estimated that their force is even or greater than the Lannister force, which would place it at around 30,000-35,000 soldiers at least in the Westerlands/Riverlands, with at least 1,000 further soldiers left to guard The North.

The average Stark soldier wears a brown or dark blue coat with green or grey sleeves protected by chainmail underneath, grey or brown leather boots, a grey steel or iron helmet and a grey shield emblazoned with the Stark Direwolf, presumably steel or iron. Warriors in the Northern heavy cavalry or heavy infantry wear a chainmail and leather suit of armor with some steel or iron work, as compared with the expensive plate armor of the well equipped Lannister troops.

During the Red Wedding, almost the entire army sworn to House Stark present at the Twins is annihilated, with anyone who managed to escape the massacre being hunted by House Frey. While Houses Bolton and Karstark remain mostly unscathed and possess the largest armies in the North, the only possibility of military support to the scattered heirs of House Stark comes from the remaining garrison and levies of other northern houses, provided they do not bend the knee to the new Warden of the North, Roose Bolton.