Parallels Between the Tourney at Harrenhal and the upcoming Vale Tourney

In this post I thought it would be interesting to discuss some of the parallels between the Tourney at Harrenhal that took place during the year of the False Spring (281 AC) and the upcoming tourney in the Vale for the spots on the Brotherhood of the Winged Knights.

Stark Maiden: Sansa/Lyanna

While Sansa is incognito in the Vale as "Alayne Stone", the parallels here are obvious

Sickly Overlord: Aerys/Sweetrobin

• Aerys:

Whilst his attendance made the Harrenhal tourney even grander and more prestigious than it already was, drawing lords and knights from every corner of the realm, many of those who came were shocked and appalled when they saw what had become of their monarch. His long yellow fingernails, tangled beard, and ropes of unwashed, matted hair made the extent of the king's madness plain to all. Nor was his behavior that of a sane man, for Aerys could go from mirth to melancholy in the blink of an eye, and many of the accounts written of Harrenhal speak of his hysterical laughter, long silences, bouts of weeping, and sudden rages. -TWOIAF, The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring

• Sweetrobin:

Catelyn was at a loss for words. Jon Arryn’s son, she thought incredulously. She remembered her own baby, three-year-old Rickon, half the age of this boy and five times as fierce. Small wonder the lords of the Vale were restive. For the first time she understood why the king had tried to take the child away from his mother to foster with the Lannisters … -AGOT, Catelyn VI

and:

Alayne smoothed his hair. Lady Lysa had never let the servants touch it, and after she had died Robert had suffered terrible shaking fits whenever anyone came near him with a blade, so it had been allowed to grow until it tumbled over his round shoulders and halfway down his flabby white chest.

An Undersized Participant: The Mad Mouse/Howland Reed

• Howland Reed:

"The wolf maid saw them too, and pointed them out to her brothers. 'I could find you a horse, and some armor that might fit,' the pup offered. The little crannogman thanked him, but gave no answer. His heart was torn. Crannogmen are smaller than most, but just as proud. The lad was no knight, no more than any of his people. We sit a boat more often than a horse, and our hands are made for oars, not lances. Much as he wished to have his vengeance, he feared he would only make a fool of himself and shame his people. The quiet wolf had offered the little crannogman a place in his tent that night, but before he slept he knelt on the lakeshore, looking across the water to where the Isle of Faces would be, and said a prayer to the old gods of north and Neck . . ." -ASOS, Bran II

• The Mad Mouse:

"Oh, these three are nought to fear." Ser Shadrich was a wiry, fox-faced man with a sharp nose and a shock of orange hair, mounted on a rangy chestnut courser. Though he could not have been more than five foot two, he had a cocksure manner. "The one is old, t'other fat, and the big one is a woman. Let them come." -AFFC, Brienne I

and:

"We mice are quiet creatures." Ser Shadrich was so short that he might have been taken for a squire, but his face belonged to a much older man. She saw long leagues in the wrinkles at the corner of his mouth, old battles in the scar beneath his ear, and a hardness behind the eyes that no boy would ever have. This was a man grown. Even Randa overtopped him, though.

"Will you be seeking wings?" the Royce girl said.

"A mouse with wings would be a silly sight."

"Perhaps you will try the melee instead?" Alayne suggested. The melee was an afterthought, a sop for all the brothers, uncles, fathers, and friends who had accompanied the competitors to the Gates of the Moon to see them win their silver wings, but there would be prizes for the champions, and a chance to win ransoms. -TWOW, Alayne I

If interested: Ser Shadrich of the Shady Glen aka The Mad Mouse

A Potential "Kidnapping"

We know that Rhaegar (along with 6 of his closest friends) "kidnapped" Lyanna Stark awhile after the tourney:

With the coming of the new year, the crown prince had taken to the road with half a dozen of his closest friends and confidants, on a journey that would ultimately lead him back to the riverlands. Not ten leagues from Harrenhal, Rhaegar fell upon Lyanna Stark of Winterfell, and carried her off, lighting a fire that would consume his house and kin and all those he loved—and half the realm besides.

We also know that the Mad Mouse is aware of Sansa's identity and the reward offered for her:

"Perhaps you will try the melee instead?" Alayne suggested. The melee was an afterthought, a sop for all the brothers, uncles, fathers, and friends who had accompanied the competitors to the Gates of the Moon to see them win their silver wings, but there would be prizes for the champions, and a chance to win ransoms.

"A good melee is all a hedge knight can hope for, unless he stumbles on a bag of dragons. And that's not likely, is it?"

"I suppose not. But now you must excuse us, ser, we need to find my lord father. " -TWOW, Alane I

If interested: Characters Who Know Alayne's Identity

Shadow Host

While we know this about the shadow host of the Tourney at Harrenhal:

But if indeed there was a shadow, who was he, and why did he choose to keep his role a secret? A dozen names have been put forward over the years, but only one seems truly compelling: Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone.

If this tale be believed, 'twas Prince Rhaegar who urged Lord Walter to hold the tourney, using his lordship's brother Ser Oswell as a gobetween. Rhaegar provided Whent with gold sufficient for splendid prizes in order to bring as many lords and knights to Harrenhal as possible. The prince, it is said, had no interest in the tourney as a tourney; his intent was to gather the great lords of the realm together in what amounted to an informal Great Council, in order to discuss ways and means of dealing with the madness of his father, King Aerys II, possibly by means of a regency or a forced abdication. -TWOIAF, The Fall of the Dragons: the Year of the False Spring

Littlefinger seems to be filling that same roll in the Vale:

“Lord Nestor has an open hand,” Alayne heard Ser Edmund Breakstone say. “An open hand and a little finger,” Lady Waynwood replied, with a nod toward Petyr Baelish. Breakstone was not slow to take her meaning. The true source of this largesse was not Lord Nestor, but the Lord Protector. -TWOW, Alayne I

We have Rhaegar (likely) plotting to overthrow Aerys and Littlefinger plotting to overthrow Sweetrobin:

Her eyes widened. "He is not Lady Waynwood's heir. He's Robert's heir. If Robert were to die . . ."

Petyr arched an eyebrow. "When Robert dies. Our poor brave Sweetrobin is such a sickly boy, it is only a matter of time. When Robert dies, Harry the Heir becomes Lord Harrold, Defender of the Vale and Lord of the Eyrie. Jon Arryn's bannermen will never love me, nor our silly, shaking Robert, but they will love their Young Falcon . . . and when they come together for his wedding, and you come out with your long auburn hair, clad in a maiden's cloak of white and grey with a direwolf emblazoned on the back . . . why, every knight in the Vale will pledge his sword to win you back your birthright. So those are your gifts from me, my sweet Sansa . . . Harry, the Eyrie, and Winterfell. That's worth another kiss now, don't you think?" -AFFC, Alayne II

If interested: The Lords Declarant

Harry the Heir

Harry seemingly could fill a few roles here. In a similar post, I argued he was like Robert:

"Robert will never keep to one bed," Lyanna had told him at Winterfell, on the night long ago when their father had promised her hand to the young Lord of Storm's End. "I hear he has gotten a child on some girl in the Vale." Ned had held the babe in his arms; he could scarcely deny her, nor would he lie to his sister, but he had assured her that what Robert did before their betrothal was of no matter, that he was a good man and true who would love her with all his heart. Lyanna had only smiled. "Love is sweet, dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man's nature." -AGOT, Eddard IX

and:

"Harry the Heir?" Alayne tried to recall what Myranda had told her about him on the mountain. "He was just knighted. And he has a bastard daughter by some common girl." -AFFC, Alayne II

but he also is like Rhaegar in some ways as well (and i guess you could argue Jaime as well since Jaime joins kingsguard at this Tourney). That said unlike Robert/Jaime/Rhaegar (unless you believe Harrenhal was thrown), Harry is not thought to be a great knight:

"Our cousin Bronze Yohn had himself a mêlée at Runestone," Myranda Royce went on, oblivious, "a small one, just for squires. It was meant for Harry the Heir to win the honors, and so he did." -AFFC, Alayne II

If interested: Post Vale: Sansa's Plotline Direction

TLDR: Just some interesting parallels I found between the Tourney at Harrenhal and the upcoming Tourney in the Vale for the Brotherhood of the Winged Knights.