There are many men who are respected in Game of Thrones and for many different reasons.
1. Some might say the most respected man is Tywin Lannister.
He certainly strikes fear in the heart of most of WEsteros. He is rich, commands huge armies and if you laugh at him he'll kill you, your best friend, your family, your dog, your cat, burn your house down, pee in your lawn, hunt your school teachers down and he'll kill them too.
People definitely don't mess with him.
But once he's gone, his whole empire crumbles and his legacy looks like it's already sputtered out.
2. Some will say Barristan the Bold.
Barristan the Bold is like the Mohammed Ali of Westeros. He's worshipped the way 8 year olds worship sports stars.
He's venerated, celebrated, unmated.
He always does what he thinks is the most honorable thing. He's one of the top swordsmen in Westeros, one of the greatest jousters (at 63! I think) and he can kick an armed man's ass with nothing but a stick.
But he got kicked out of the King's Guard because there was one person who didn't respect him. Cersei Lannister. Yeah, she's an idiot. But she's the Queen. She downvoted him.
A downvote from Cersei is like a downvote from Garrick Saito to the courtiers that surround her.
3. But the most respected is Ned Stark.
- He led a rebellion that overthrew a dynasty that had lasted nearly 300 years.
- He (allegedly) killed Ser ARthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning.
- He nailed Ashara Dayne! The Babe of Babes!(or maybe he didn't, may be just gossip.)
- He held the North together and ruled through his personality. Loved and respected.
- And the ones who didn't love him(the Boltons) kept their peace and obeyed his call to banners.
Yes, he died. But he died honorably. Or rather he was dishonorably murdered. Anybody who knows him knows that the charge of treason was trumped up.
But death is not the worst thing that can happen to you. All Men Must Die. Valar Morghulis.
It's how you die that matters. And how you live that matters more.
You have two choices:
Would you rather die
1) knowing your children, at least some of them, were going to be looked after and that your line was as secure as it could be in the hands of your vassals; or...
2) shot by your child while you were taking a crap.
Which do you choose?
His death was the catalyst of an uprising that threatens to overthrow the Bolton regime in its infancy and put his children back where they belong: in power, in Winterfell, ruling the North like they've done for 8000 years.
The North Remembers.
"The Wolves will return."--Jojen Reed
Ned Stark is the most respected man in Game of Thrones.
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