Game of Thrones' House Stark is one of the most ancient families in Westeros. They can trace their lineage back 8000 years to the First Men of Westeros, before the Andals visited the country and before the first Long Night even happened. The Starks are famously known for traits including honor and bravery, as well as being well known for faults including naivety and presuming the best of others. That being said, it would be wrong to suggest that the Starks are completely devoided of intelligence.
This article will list the 10 most intelligent Starks and rank them in order. However, this list will not feature Jon or Catelyn. While Jon had Stark blood, he was a Snow or a Targaryen by name. As for Catelyn, she was a Tully and only married into House Stark.
Rickon Stark
Perhaps it is unfair to have poor Rickon on this list. He was only a child on the show, so he couldn't grow into an intelligent man. That being said, when Rickon was alive he was seen to be similar to his direwolf, Shaggy Dog.
Both were considered to be wild and ferocious. While Rickon could have grown to be an intelligent man, he has to take the lowest place on this list.
Brandon Stark
Brandon Stark was the brother of Ned and Benjen Stark. He was killed by the Mad King when he went with his father, Rickard Stark, to demand the return of his sister, Lyanna Stark. Brandon was placed in a Tyrosi noose with a sword just out of his reach.
Brandon strangled himself trying to reach the sword in order to save his father's life. The deaths of Brandon and Rickard are what makes Ned wary of visiting King's Landing, as Ned says 'Stark's don't do well in the south.'
Rickard Stark
Rickard Stark was the father of Ned, Benjen, and Brandon Stark, and the former Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. Rickard was killed when he went to King Aerys II to demand that Rhaegar Targaryen return his daughter, Lyanna Stark.
As with Ned, it was in King's Landing that Rickard met his fate. Rickard demanded trial by combat, but the Mad King chose fire as his champion and the Warden of the North burned to death.
Robb Stark
Most Stark's die for their honor, but Robb died for love. After agreeing to marry Lord Walder Frey's daughter in exchange for the support of House Frey and passage through the Twins, the Young Wolf fell in love with Jeyne Westerling (or Talisa Maegyr on the show).
Rather than honoring his agreement with the Freys, Robb marries for love. It is this that causes Lord Frey to plan the Red Wedding with Tywin Lannister and Roose Bolton. Robb Stark ranks this low for blindly trusting Frey to not seek revenge after breaking their agreement.
Ned Stark
Ned Stark is famous for his naivety and his honor. It is this same naivety and honor that cost him his life in the first season of Game of Thrones. The Warden of the North discovered that Cersei and Robert's children were actually fathered by Cersei and Jaime Lannister. Rather than reporting to Stannis or another Lord directly, Eddard instead chose to warn Cersei of his plan to reveal the truth and advise her to leave King's Landing with her children.
While this was undoubtedly a noble act, it was wrong to trust Cersei to not act in her interests and remove him from the equation. Although the true blame must be given to Joffrey rather than Cersei for Ned's death, it was certainly Cersei who helped trap Ned.
Benjen Stark
Nothing is really known about Benjen Stark on the TV show. We know that he is Ned Stark's younger brother and we know that he left House Stark to join the ancient order of the Night's Watch. However, it is because of his status as a member of the Night's Watch that he received a relatively decent place on this list.
As the First Ranger of the Night's Watch, Benjen would have had to have a vast knowledge of the lands beyond the wall, as well as the various survival methods necessary.
Lyanna Stark
Perhaps Lyanna Stark is the most important character in Game of Thrones. It was her romance with Rhaegar and the lies told about their love that triggered Robert's Rebellion and triggered the events in the series. By all accounts, Lyanna was an intelligent woman, not too dissimilar from Arya in temperament according to Ned Stark.
Unfortunately, we don't know too much about how clever the character actually was so she has to be placed towards the middle of this list.
Torrhen Stark
Another Stark who was only mentioned on the show. This Stark, however, is one of the most important in the history of House Stark. He ranks so high on this list because of his actions. When Aegon Targaryen conquered Westeros 300 years before the events in Game of Thrones, many lords refused to kneel before the dragon lord.
As a consequence, Aegon the Conqueror burned them in their castles with his dragon, Balerion the Black Dread. Torrhen Stark, however, knelt before Aegon and saved the lives of all his bannermen. Subsequently, there is no Stark sword in the Iron Throne.
Arya Stark
Arya Stark was always a clever character, she was nimble both mentally and physically. Contrary to Sansa, Arya aimed to become a knight rather than a lady. As a consequence, she always wanted to train with swords rather than needles. However, like Sansa, Arya had a tough life after traveling to King's Landing with her father. This experience transformed Arya from a small, angry girl into a well trained and ruthless Faceless Assassin.
Her actions while as a faceless assassin, as well as her ability to understand the dangers of Westerosi politics and cut through the charade of characters such as Littlefinger, justify her place on this list.
Sansa Stark
At the beginning of her character arc, Sansa Stark was defined by her wish to become a princess. She didn't want to stay in the North; instead, she wanted to move to the South, marry a prince, and live a fairytale life. This goal led Sansa to act very naively with the people around her, most notably with Cersei Lannister. Additionally, this goal also separated the wolf from the pack and trapped Sansa with untrustworthy faces.
However, this baptism of fire led Sansa to learn from her mistakes as well as those people who had wronged her, such as Cersei and Littlefinger, allowing Sansa to become a very astute and wise political player in Westeros. Sansa managed to become Queen in the North and create an independent realm.
Bran Stark
As it happened on the show, Bran could be a controversial winner here. Some might claim either that Bran is no longer Bran Stark, he's the Three-Eyed Raven now after all, or some may claim that he has knowledge but no intelligence.
However, Bran is a Stark by name and his vast stores of knowledge should provide more than enough information of the future. It is for these reasons that Bran Stark is ranked first on this list.