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| “ | Hodor. | „ |
| ~ Hodor's only word whenever he speaks, and his most famous quote. |
| “ | Lyanna Stark: Benjen always lifts his chin when he's about to charge. Wylis: And lowers it when he's going to dodge, m'lady. |
„ |
| ~ Wylis to Lyanna Stark and the only time where he has spoken in a full sentence in the TV series. |
| “ | Hold the door....holdthedoor...hold-da-dor...hol-dor...hodor...hodor... | „ |
| ~ Wylis becoming Hodor after suffering from a seizure while seeing his own death in the TV series. |
Hodor (real name: Walder (Wylis in the TV series)) is a major character in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series and its television adaptation Game of Thrones. He is a servant of House Stark and is most notably known for being a companion of Bran Stark, alongside Meera Reed and Jojen Reed. He is also the great-grandson and only living relative Old Nan, a serving woman at Winterfell.
While the exact cause of his mental illness is unknown in the novels, in the TV series, Bran Stark was inadvertently responsible for Hodor's mental state when he accidentally link the latter's younger self with him through his warning ability while experiencing a vision of the past.
He was portrayed by Kristian Nairn and by Sam Coleman as a young boy.
Appearance
Hodor is seven feet tall, with brown eyes, shaggy hair, a brown beard, and thick brown hair all over his body, as thick as a pelt. He also has an equally large manhood. It is been suggested by Osha that his large size (and perhaps his body hair) is a result of giants' blood. Hodor has a huge smile, and smiles often. He is strong enough to carry an anvil easily.
Personality
Hodor is gentle and loyal to the Stark family. He is only capable of saying one word, "Hodor". The Stark children believed this to be his actual name, until enlightened by Old Nan, his great-grandmother, that his real name is Walder. Although he is slow of wits and stronger than he knows, Hodor can perform tasks gently and deftly once taught.
Hodor prefers stories about knights fighting monsters instead of love stories, and he is familiar with stories about the Nightfort. Hodor likes to hum tunelessly, as well as saying his name over and over in different ways. He hates cold water and soap, preferring instead to soak in the heated pools of the godswood of Winterfell. Hodor smells faintly like horses, and sleeps above the stable.
Biography
Hodor was born under the name Walder on or before 283 AC to an unnamed father and became Old Nan's only living relative after his grandfather and two of Old Nan's other sons were killed during Robert's Rebellion while Hodor's father died in the siege on Pyke during Greyjoy's Rebellion. As Hodor is simple-minded and mentally disabled, he tends to only say the word "Hodor" whenever he speaks. Old Nan claims that no one knowns where the word originated but people started calling him by the name when he started saying it himself. She believes the reason behind his mental illness is when a horse kicked him in the head, though this was assumed as Hodor worked in the stables.
When Bran Stark was just little, Hodor accompanied Bran's mother Lady Catelyn Stark and Septa Mordant to the market square, helping them in carrying goods but he then wandered off during an incursion but was found in an alley being bullied by several boys, who poke sticks at him, with Hodor refusing to defend himself.
A Game of Thrones
Hodor takes care of Bran Stark's pony. After the catspaw assassin attempts to kill the comatose Bran, but is killed by Bran's direwolf Summer, it was determined that he had been sleeping in the stables. Hallis Mollen says it was possible that Hodor saw the man, as he had been acting strangely, but was too simple to tell anyone.
After Bran wakes from his fall from the First Keep, the crippled boy needs a way to move about Winterfell. Initially, Hodor carries Bran in his arms, and later Maester Luwin designs a wicker basket that can be strapped to Hodor's back and in which Bran can be placed. Hodor has served as Bran's way of transportation since. However, Hodor, being a simpleton, sometimes forgets that Bran is in the basket, which causes Bran moments of pain when Hodor bangs him into the top of doorways.
When Lord Eddard Stark sees Ser Gregor Clegane at the Hand's Tourney in King's Landing, he thinks that the Mountain That Rides would tower over Hodor. He and Joseth help guide Dancer when Bran learns how to ride the horse.
When Eddard Stark says his daughters Sansa and Arya must leave King's Landing for Winterfell, Sansa is upset at the breaking of her betrothal to Prince Joffrey Baratheon. Arya tries to comfort Sansa, saying they will soon see their brothers, Bran and Robb, as well as Old Nan and Hodor and the others at Winterfell. However, Sansa rejects this, and angrily yells that Arya ought to marry Hodor, as she is also "stupid and hairy and ugly".
As northmen respond to Robb Stark's calling of the banners when Eddard is arrested, Bran has Hodor bring him to the godswood of Winterfell. The stableboy soaks himself in the hottest pool, while Bran enjoys the quiet of the wood. The nude Hodor then encounters Bran speaking with Osha, and the wildling remarks that Hodor must have giant's blood.
Hodor is momentarily too scared to enter the crypt of Winterfell, so Bran has to be carried down instead by Osha.
A Clash of Kings
Bran defends Hodor when Little Walder leads Big Walder Frey in mocking him in Winterfell's yard. When Bran has Hodor bring him to the godswood, the stableboy is frightened when a nude Osha leaps out of the cold pool by the heart tree.
During the harvest feast in the Great Hall, Hodor hops from one foot to the other while listening to a piper perform. Bran sends sweets to the stableboy and Old Nan during the meal. After the tables are cleared for dancing, Hodor dances by himself. When Bran has Hodor take him back to his bedchamber, they encounter Joseth with a woman, who screams when she sees Hodor watching them. Bran has Hodor continue on, and when they get to his room, Bran tells Hodor he can return to the feast, but not to bother Joseth and the woman.
When Summer and Shaggydog chase Meera and Jojen Reed up the heart tree in the godswood, Bran has Hodor chase off the direwolves.
During the capture of Winterfell by the ironborn, Theon Greyjoy has all of Winterfell's people gather in the Great Hall so that they can hear Bran yield to him. Bran tells them to do as they are told by Theon, but Mikken angrily objects, and is killed by the ironborn. Theon asks if anyone else has something to say, and the frightened Hodor shouts "Hodor hodor hodor hodor." Theon commands that "the halfwit" be quieted, and his ironmen beat Hodor with the butts of their spears. While the men are beating Hodor, Theon promises the people of Winterfell that he will be as good to them as Eddard Stark was. Afterwards, the bruised and bleeding Hodor carries Bran back to his bedchamber.
Hodor, Osha, Bran, Rickon, the Reed siblings, and the direwolves apparently escape from Winterfell, and are hunted in the wolfswood by a search party including Theon Greyjoy, Reek, Wex Pyke, Little Walder, Farlen, Joseth, Maester Luwin, and several ironborn. The tracks of Hodor's heavy tread are plain to see. Luwin makes Theon promise not to harm Bran, Rickon, or the Reeds, and tries to do the same with Hodor, who is only doing as he is told, and had always cared for Theon's horse and equipment. Theon thinks Hodor is nothing to him, but agrees, as long as Hodor does not fight them. When the party reaches a stream, Wex and Joseth point out that Hodor's prints are not visible in the mud, only the direwolves, and Theon understands that the escapees have doubled back. Eventually he realizes they have lost them. In the end, Reek helps Theon cover up the Stark boys' escape by killing two miller's sons of an age with the Starks, and then flaying the corpses to avoid recognition.
In actuality, Hodor, the Starks, the Reeds, and Osha are hiding in the Winterfell crypts. Hodor often sings "Hodor, Hodor, Hodor" to himself in the darkness. While they are hiding, Reek reveals himself as Ramsay Snow, betrays Theon, and orders the sack of Winterfell. When Bran and the others eventually decide to head aboveground, Hodor has to strain to open the ironwood door of the crypt, blocked by fallen stone, but succeeds. Outside, Hodor is upset to see Winterfell in ruins. After they speak to the dying Maester Luwin in the godswood, it is decided that the Stark brothers should be split up. Hodor goes with Bran, Meera, Jojen, and Summer north to the Wall, while Osha departs with Rickon and Shaggydog.
A Storm of Swords
Hodor travels with Bran, Meera, and Jojen north toward the Wall. At the Tumbledown Tower, he practices with a dull iron sword taken from the crypts.
Lothar Frey tells Robb and Catelyn Stark about the sack of Winterfell, which according to Little Walder and Big Walder Frey was ordered by Theon Greyjoy. Lothor reports that the ironmen put everyone but the women and children to the sword. Catelyn is heartsick at the assumed deaths of the people of Winterfell, including Hodor.
The companions stop at the village of Queenscrown on their way north. With a storm approaching, the roofless inn is uninhabitable, so they take refuge in the tower. Hodor nearly slips twice while they cross the causeway over the lake. As they wait out the storm, Hodor becomes frightened by the lightning and thunder, shouting "Hodor!" loudly and grabbing at his sword as if to fight the storm. While they easily take the sword from him, the terrified Hodor rejects the attempts to calm him, screaming at each lighting strike and stumbling around the room. When Jojen sees a group of armed men entering the village, the group fears Hodor's shouting will alert the strangers of their presence. Bran desperately commands Hodor to be quiet, and accidentally enters Hodor's mind as a skinchanger for a moment. Hodor immediately quiets and sits calmly, to the confusion but gratitude of the others.
At the Nightfort, Bran is alarmed when he hears sounds coming from the well in the ruined castle's kitchen. Bran slips into the mind of the sleeping Hodor, forcing the unknowing stableboy to arm himself with the sword. However, the visitor turns out to be the peaceful Samwell Tarly of the Night's Watch. Sam leads them through the Black Gate, a secret door at the bottom of the well, that takes them through to the north side of the Wall. There they meet Coldhands, an enigmatic figure of uncertain allegiance.
A Dance with Dragons
Coldhands leads Bran's party further north through the haunted forest, and Hodor's beard becomes tangled with hoarfrost. Bran sometimes slips into Hodor's mind, which upsets the scared stableboy.
The companions reach the cave of the three-eyed crow, but they are ambushed by wights just outside the cave's entrance. As Hodor grapples with a wight, Bran is thrown from his back. After being saved by Summer, Bran enters Hodor's mind and uses his longsword to fight off the wights. Bran blacks out, however, and wakes up inside the cave after being rescued by one of the children of the forest. The cave is warded against white walkers and wights, so Coldhands cannot accompany them inside. Deeper in the cave, the group meet the last remaining children, and the three-eyed crow.
The three-eyed crow, whom Bran learns was named Brynden, teaches Bran about greensight and skinchanging. Bran continues to enter Hodor's mind to explore the deeper parts of the cave, with Meera and Jojen, and by "himself". The stableboy no longer makes any attempt to resist Bran, and instead hides deep within in his mind like a whipped dog. The Reeds are unaware of Bran's actions, and Bran believes that no one must ever know.
The Winds of Winter
Hodor will return in the sixth novel, with George R.R. Martin confirming that the character will die in the book.
 Heroes
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