quote:
Assuming ice was just sitting on some shelf in KL and not in some targaryen vassals custody, I can think of two solid reasons why Ned wouldn't be toting it.
1) if you've been training with a 1 handed longsword and fought and won a dozen battles you dont pick up a greatsword and expect to be any good with it. It's not a video game where you just equip the new inventory and bam.
I think this makes the most sense of theories posited so far. I don't buy the whole "it's unwieldy" arguments. Remember, this isn't some normal greatsword. This is a valyrian steel sword. Much lighter and stronger than traditional steel. It might look unwieldy but it wouldn't function as such in the hands of a skilled swordsman.
Also remember that as Ned was the second son, he was not the heir of Ice (and Winterfell) until his brother was killed by the King. So it would make sense that he had not practiced as much with that type of weapon, because he wasn't expected to ever be in possession of it.