Oathkeeper
Loyalty
“ The tall girl knelt awkwardly, unsheathed Renly’s longsword, and laid it at her feet. “Then I am yours, my lady. Your liege man, or… whatever you would have me be. I will shield your back and keep your counsel and give my life for yours, if need be. I swear it by the old gods and the new.””
-Catelyn VI, A Clash of Kings
(By twiZZt on deviantart)
I always feel that loyalty is not a trait which is rewarded much in Westeros, it always seems that the more loyal characters end up the dead ones. Nonetheless, loyalty is a trait which I highly value, so I appreciate the fact that Brienne is one of most loyal characters in the series. Renly is the first character who Brienne swears loyalty to, and she serves him well for the short time she is able to. Obviously her feelings towards Renly are more complex than just a knight sworn to a king, but that does not devalue her service to him. Catelyn becomes the second character we see Brienne swear her service to, and again she serves to the best of her ability for the short time she is able to. I always love the trust Catelyn has in Brienne. Even though she has known Brienne for such a short time, she sends her off with Jaime Lannister in what could be her only chance of getting her daughters back. True, it is also the trust of a desperate and grieving mother, but it is still a huge act of faith in not only Brienne’s ability to succeed but also that she won’t be bought off by someone along the way. Then there is Jaime, and the loyalty she shows through AFFC to him.
As I mentioned, loyalty and trust never appear to be worth more than words in Westeros, where characters are consistently betrayed for gold or power. I think Brienne is able to be so loyal not only because of the pride she takes from it and the belief she has that as a knight’s loyalty should not be a question, but because she is a good judge of character. The people she swears loyalty to are not people she would want to betray, or who might put her into the position where she felt she had to. Instead, Brienne always seems to wait to put faith in someone until she is certain they are a person she can promise it to.