John Barleycorn

"I could tell you about Ser Duncan the Tall, or maybe John Barleycorn; those were always your favorites."

John Barleycorn is a figure who supposedly lived during the Age of Heroes as one of the First Men. He is the subject of both a song and a children's story.

According to the legend, John Barleycorn was a man who found favor with the gods (it is never made specific which gods, whether it was the Seven, the Old Gods, or some other gods) After a group of men decide to rob and kill John Barleycorn, the gods not only revived him from death, but made him immortal and unable to die. The gods then told him that, in order to remain immortal, he'd have to hunt down all of those who committed evil acts. The story goes on to say that he hunted down the men who killed him and got his vengeance. The story continues to say that John is still alive and continued to hunt down those who commit evil. A common saying that Westerosi parents say to their children is, "If you ever do anything bad, John Barleycorn will hunt you down."

Season 1[]

Old Nan offers to tell a bedridden Bran Stark the tale of John Barleycorn, but Bran rebukes her in favor of hearing a scary story instead.

Season 6[]

After Jon Snow is brought back from the dead by Melisandre, Jaran Dragen compares him to John Barleycorn due to the fact that he'd been brought back from the dead.