Galad's surname

[Tovya]

Do we know if Galad always had the Damodred name, or did he start off as a Mantear? Because with Tigraine being the daughter-heir and presumed next Queen of Andor, I would imagine he should have had his mother's surname, just as Gawyn and Elayne were Trakands. 

He would never have been in line for the Lion Throne, but he would have been presumed First Prince of the Sword for whatever sister he wound up having, so again you'd want them having the same surname. Was he taken out of House Mantear when Modrellen died and Trakand became the ruling House? I know Taringail always wanted his son on the Sun Throne, but how would that have worked with him being First Prince of the Sword? 

 

Or do we just assume there was a deal that the first son would be a Damodred, but the rest of the children Mantears? 

[Andra]

I suspect he was a Mantear when he was born, but took (or was given) his father's name when his mother disappeared.  Or at least when his mother's family lost its claim to the Lion Throne.  When he was two years old.

He could easily have been adopted by Morgase and taken the Trakand name, but for some reason that never happened.  Perhaps his father's wanted him to keep the Damodred name to keep his chances for the Sun Throne alive (Taringail certainly wanted to have his children on both thrones).  Or perhaps Galad chose it himself (once he was old enough) to honor his father.  Or to keep a continual reminder that he was no threat to the Daughter-Heir's ambitions.

Whatever the reason, his name meant that his younger half brother (one of them) would be the First Prince of the Sword.  And he would be able to follow a different path.

 

[dwn]

At one point one of the Cairhienin lords (maybe Dobraine, but I forget exactly where it happens) complains that Elayne should have been Elayne Damodred, that Taringail should have insisted that Morgase marry into Damodred rather than him marrying into Trakand.

 

Given that it sounds like the choice of name is a somewhat political thing and not entirely enforced by tradition, it's possible that Tigraine chose to marry into Damodred.

[Andra]

On 8/29/2025 at 10:08 PM, dwn said:

At one point one of the Cairhienin lords (maybe Dobraine, but I forget exactly where it happens) complains that Elayne should have been Elayne Damodred, that Taringail should have insisted that Morgase marry into Damodred rather than him marrying into Trakand.

 

Given that it sounds like the choice of name is a somewhat political thing and not entirely enforced by tradition, it's possible that Tigraine chose to marry into Damodred.

The problem with that scenario is that both Tigraine and Morgase outranked Taringail at the time of their marriages.  

Taringail was Laman's nephew, not his son.  Though Laman had no children at the time, it was presumed that he eventually would.  And those children would be in the direct line of succession to the Sun Throne - well ahead of Taringail.  But Tigraine was the Daughter-Heir when she married Taringail, while Morgase was the actual Queen.

It would have been impossible for either Mantear or Trakand to hold the Lion Throne after taking the name of a foreign house - especially through a husband they outranked.  If Morgase had taken the name Damodred after winning the throne, she would have immediately lost it again.

Prior to the War of Succession, Taringail certainly outranked anyone from House Trakand (which is why a Cairhienin lord would have gotten the idea) and any such marriage would have gone that way.  But "Morgase Damodred" would never have won the throne.  And once she won, she was his superior in every way.

 

It was considered good politics in Andor for Morgase to marry Tigraine's widower.  It would have been political suicide to take his name.

[Asthereal]

There's also the option of a name change. This whole thing isn't really explained in the books, but Tigraine just leaving might have caused either Galad himself (or his father) to change Galad's last name to Damodred. It would be understandable. If one of my parents just left when I was very young, I too would be tempted to take up the name of the parent who stuck with me.

 

The thing is: the way the story presents Tigraine, we're meant to see things from her perspective and we're meant to root for her. But she left a family behind, who would be at least hurt, possibly furious, by her decision to leave. From their perspective Tigraine running away was very much - as one would say in bird culture - a dick move.

Edited September 1 by Asthereal

[dwn]

On 8/31/2025 at 10:28 AM, Andra said:

It was considered good politics in Andor for Morgase to marry Tigraine's widower.  It would have been political suicide to take his name.

 

I agree, but apparently it was still an option. Given that Galad uses the Damodred name, the simplest explanation is Tigraine took it.

Another is that Tigraine and Taringail gave Galad the Damodred name, and would have given a daughter the Mantear name, since only the daughter could take the Lion Throne.

[Andra]

21 hours ago, dwn said:

 

I agree, but apparently it was still an option. Given that Galad uses the Damodred name, the simplest explanation is Tigraine took it.

Another is that Tigraine and Taringail gave Galad the Damodred name, and would have given a daughter the Mantear name, since only the daughter could take the Lion Throne.

It may have been possible that Tigraine and Taringail gave Galad the Damodred name, but it's unlikely.  Considering that Gawyn - who was also Taringail's son - was a Trakand.

But it would have been politically impossible for Tigraine to have taken the Damodred name.

She was the heir to a throne that by law no man could take.  She outranked her husband, who was a minor scion of a foreign royal house.

 

Taking his name would have implied that as queen she would be subservient to him, his house, and his native country's king.

 

Which was, of course, the reason that a Cairhienin lord would have wanted it to happen.  And also the reason that NO house of Andor would have accepted it.

That Cairhienin lord might have thought it was an option, but no one in Andor would have agreed.

 

 

[bringbackthomsmoustache]

Given that Tigraine disappeared rather than being definitively dead Taringail would have needed some kind of legal divorce or declaration of being a widower in order to be free to marry Morgase (since it is clear that the wetlands have no concept of plural marriage) - surely it is simplest to assume that as a result of this they both reverted to house Damodred and Taringail subsequently married into house Trakand.  

[Loose Theremin]

Lorddrid Galadedrid Damodred has a nice ring to it I think.