One of the largest (or at least best known) questions with theories attached to it in A Song of Ice and Fire is the question of the parentage of Jon Snow and that is what we will be discussing in this Note of Ice and Fire.
SPOILER WARNING: As a fair warning, much as I love to encourage reading of the posts, theories tend to be rife with spoilery content. Should you choose to read, know that you will be venturing into that dark territory and once you've entered, when you come out, you will not be the same....
When we begin reading A Game of Thrones (book 1), we meet Jon Snow, the Bastard son of Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark of Winterfell. We learn that he is Ned's son, but not Catelyn's, and thus, very early on, we're presented with this simple mystery. How strange is it that Ned, a character of such moral repute and high standards, such lofty character, would have a bastard son; and *after* he wed Catelyn on top of that? This becomes a question that stretches over many books and to this day remains unanswered, though many believe that the answer may actually be there (or might as well be) if you look hard enough.
A few names come up when looking into these theories: Ashara Dayne (sister to Ser Arthur Dayne, The Sword of the Morning), Wylla, The Fisherman's Daughter and Ned's sister, Lyanna Stark [these names are available at awoiaf.westeros.org].
The Ashara Dayne theory rises from the remembrance that Ned was in love with Ashara Dayne. According to the books (and A Wiki of Ice and Fire) they were all at the Tourney of Harrenhal together. During the tournament, she is reported as having slept with one of the Starks during the tournament, getting her pregnant. Later she killed herself by jumping from the Tower of Starfall, some say out of grief; others say more specifically over grief related to Ned. There are a few characters who believe this is true but when Catelyn brings up Ashara's name to Ned he refuses to even discuss it.
Wylla was a name I'd heard mentioned, both in the books and the show but honestly it was one of the names that had slipped by me. According to AWOIAF, she was the wet nurse at Starfall. We remember Robert Baratheon trying to remember the name of "...your bastard's mother." Ned says her name was Wylla, but speaks no more about it. When Cat first met the baby Jon Snow when Ned came back from the war, he had a wet nurse with them. This, it's thought, is most likely Wylla. Ned would have gone back to bring Ashara Ser Arthur's sword Dawn (which is a family sword). As we found earlier, during Robert's Rebellion, Ned, Howland Reed (Jojen and Meera's Father) and some others faced off against some of the Kingsguard who were not in King's Landing; Ser Arthur Dayne among them. Having slain Ser Arthur Dayne, he would have given the sword back to Ashara. This would have told her that her brother was dead and pushed her to a point of grief, causing her leap. The baby would have been brought back with them, along with the wet nurse, Wylla, for the baby's sake.
There is a Fisherman's daughter that is mentioned having seen Ned across The Bite into The North and there is a rumor that Ned her pregnant. Knowing Ned, this seems unlikely.
The final one is the biggest and most widely accepted theory by readers and that is the idea that Lyanna Stark is Jon Snow's mother. This would make sense for a few reasons. First, it would make the inconsistency in Ned's character (how would someone so honorable go and have a bastard son?) finally make sense. If the child is his sister's, him wishing to protect her and her blood, being so honorable he would, ironically, sacrifice his own honor to do the right thing.
Along with this comes a few other issues, including not only who Jon Snow's mother is, but who his father is. It is thought that his father is none other than Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Early during the rebellion, it is believed that the Prince and Lyanna disappeared to the Tower of Joy (named such by Rhaegar, down within the region of Dorne). Rhaegar left the Tower, a pregnant Lyanna waiting there for him, to lead his father's armies in the rebellion, eventually to be killed by Robert on the Trident. It was at this location where Ned, Howland Reed found Lyanna, as well as three of the Kingsguard (Gerold Hightower, their Lord Commander, as well as Oswell Whent and Arthur Dayne). According to AWOIAF, the reasons for their presence and the fight between the two groups is unknown but if Prince Rhaegar's son was in there, it would make sense that the Kingsguard would be there, protecting the baby. The circumstances under which a lot of this happened are still a mystery. We also know that Ned recalls her saying "Promise me, Ned..." in a "bed of blood" and passing away. The specifics of this meeting is also covered with story fog, but one can guess what that promise could have been.
There are other pieces of evidence for this as well but not wanting to simply parrot the wiki and information that's been heard from other sources, I will let the you do some research into the specifics and come to your own conclusions. It does feel as if the evidence is tilted strongly in one direction and, for the plot, it does hold a lot of weight. I believe it may be one of the large mysteries over the books that may possibly be close, if not completely, solved.
Please feel free to talk in the comments; post any thoughts and discuss what *you* think about where Jon Snow might come from and what that just might mean for the rest of the story!
Also, a big thank you to A Wiki of Ice and Fire; it's a fantastic resource and a place to go to find all kinds of great information. These are huge books and remembering all the details is next to impossible. The link for the page on Jon Snow's Parentage is: http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Jon_Snow/Theories
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