House Connington of Griffin's Roost is a house of landed knights from Griffin's Roost in the stormlands, sworn to Storm's End. It was formerly alordly house whose lands once extended many leagues west, north, and south of Griffin's Roost, including reaching near to the rainwood.
Their blazon shows two griffins combatant countercharged per pale on red and white. Their motto is unknown, though their traditional battle cry is A griffin! A griffin!
History[]
An old house, the Conningtons were a significantly wealthy house during the rule of House Targaryen. Ser Alyn Connington was an exalted Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.[4]
Lord Armond Connington always desired land, and he once sought assistance from Prince Rhaegar Targaryen regarding a dispute with Lord Morrigen. The White Book entry on Barristan Selmy records how he defeated Armond's son, Lord Jon Connington, in a tourney at Storm's End. Ashara Dayne danced with Jon at the tourney at Harrenhal.
Jon was later named Hand of the King by the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen. The previous Hand, Owen Merryweather, had been exiled for his failure to face Robert's Rebellion, and Lord Connington was a noted warrior of proven loyalty, being one of Prince Rhaegar's best friends. During the Battle of the Bells at Stoney Sept, Jon wounded Lord Hoster Tully and killed Ser Denys Arryn, the Darling of the Vale, with an axe. After being defeated by the rebels at Stoney Sept, Jon was stripped of his lands and sent into exile in the Free Cities, where he is said to have drank himself to death.
Aerys allowed the Connington lands to remain with Jon's cousin, Ronald Connington, the castellan of Griffin's Roost, but Ronald joined the rebellion after the Battle of the Trident. When Robert Baratheon was crowned king after the death of Aerys, he allowed Ronald to keep Griffin's Roost, but the Conningtons lost their lordship and nine-tenths of their land was distributed among neighbors who were more fervent in their support of Robert.[1]House Connington's status thus fell from from being a full noble house to landed knights.
Through the initiative of Ronald, his son Ronnet was betrothed when he was sixteen to twelve-year-old Brienne of Tarth. Ronnet rejected her when he met her, however, as he did not find Brienne attractive.