Samwell Tarly is an archetypal character.
 A self-professed coward with a love for books and songs, Samwell was forced by his father to abandon his birthright and join the Night's Watch so that his younger brother could become heir to Horn Hill
  After being frustrated at Samwell for years, Randyll's attentions turned to grooming his more promising younger son Dickon, who showed all of the physical vigor that Samwell lacked, and decided to have Dickon inherit the Tarly title

