Por que as casas do Norte vêem juntar a Patrulha da Noite como honrosa enquanto ninguém mais o faz?

O norte lembra

Há uma longa história na Patrulha da Noite e o Norte se lembra.

Thanks to the children, the first men of the Night's Watch banded together and were able to fight—and win—the Battle for the Dawn: the last battle that broke the endless winter and sent the Others fleeing to the icy north. Now, six thousand years later (or eight thousand as True History puts forward), the Wall made to defend the realms of men is still manned by the sworn brothers of the Night's Watch, and neither the Others nor the children have been seen in many centuries.

That [the Others] became monstrous in the tales told thereafter, according to Fomas, reflects the desire of the Night's Watch and the Starks to give themselves a more heroic identity as saviors of mankind, and not merely the beneficiaries of a struggle over dominion.
_{The World of Ice and Fire - Ancient History: The Long Night}

The history of the Night's Watch is a long one. Tales still tell of the black knights of the Wall and their noble calling. But the Age of Heroes is long done, and the Others have not shown themselves in thousands of years, if indeed they ever existed.
_{The World of Ice and Fire - The Wall and Beyond: The Night’s Watch}

Os Starks e o Norte lembram a história em que nasceu a Patrulha da Noite. Uma irmandade que jurou proteger todos, independentemente das lealdades do terror esquecido que se encontra no norte esquecido.

A lealdade da Patrulha da Noite ao reino é observada por Visenya, quando ela modela os votos da Guarda Real após os da Patrulha da Noite. No entanto, em vez do reino, a Guarda Real é jurada ao Rei.

She modeled their vows upon those of the Night's Watch, so that they would forfeit all things save their duty to the king.
_{The World of Ice and Fire - The Targaryen Kings: Aegon I}

Era o Norte que estava diretamente na fila para receber rekt pelos Outros, e as Vigílias das Noites eram os que os protegiam:

The northern boundary of the Stark domains was protected by the Wall and the men of the Night's Watch
_{The World of Ice and Fire - The North: The Kings of Winter}

Este ponto foi estendido em um tweet por Elio e Lindo @westerosorg:

It's also a recognition that the wall has helped protect the North from wildling invasions much more recently than when the Others were last seen. It's an honorable (sic) calling for a younger son, who otherwise has few prospects, to take the black because of this history _{Tweet from @westerosorg}

Na maioria das vezes não está claro porque eles o honram, mas apenas o fazem.

Wildling raids may rightly be considered more of a nuisance than a menace; many wise men suggest that they might be better dealt with by allowing the lords of the North to extend their rule beyond the Wall so that they can drive the wildlings back.
Only the fact that the Northmen themselves greatly honor the Watch has kept it functioning, and a great part of the food that keeps the black brothers of Castle Black, the Shadow Tower, and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea from starving comes not from the Gift but from the yearly gifts these Northern lords deliver to the Wall in token of their support.
_{The World of Ice and Fire - The Wall and Beyond: The Night’s Watch}

A extensão em que foi considerado honroso nos dias de idade é comentada por Jon, ao discutir o Shieldhall. Onde os velhos Escudos de cavaleiros e nobres que tinham desistido de suas casas pelo negro pendurariam seus escudos, até a morte deles,

The Shieldhall was one of the older parts of Castle Black, a long drafty feast hall of dark stone, its oaken rafters black with the smoke of centuries. Back when the Night's Watch had been much larger, its walls had been hung with rows of brightly colored wooden shields. Then as now, when a knight took the black, tradition decreed that he set aside his former arms and take up the plain black shield of the brotherhood. The shields thus discarded would hang in the Shieldhall.
Hundreds of knights meant hundreds of shields. Hawks and eagles, dragons and griffins, suns and stags, wolves and wyverns, manticores, ... , and a hundred other heraldic charges had adorned the Shieldhall walls, blazoned in more colors than any rainbow ever dreamed of.
But when a knight died, his shield was taken down, that it might go with him to his pyre or his tomb...
_{A Dance with Dragons: Jon XIII}

Os sulistas há muito esquecem as ameaças não só dos Outros, mas dos Wildlings, eles geralmente consideram histórias folclóricas e contos de velhas esposas. Os senhores de Southron só sabiam que o reino do norte era sua ameaça do norte (antes da chegada de Aegon), já que a Patrulha da noite e o norte mantinham todo o resto à distância. Essa ignorância, no entanto, nem sempre é o caso, como a descrição do Shieldhall afirma, havia dezenas de casas outrora representadas nas paredes do Salão.

Hawks and eagles, dragons and griffins, suns and stags, wolves and wyverns, manticores, bulls, trees and flowers, harps, spears, crabs and krakens, red lions and golden lions and chequy lions, owls, lambs, maids and mermen, stallions, stars, buckets and buckles, flayed men and hanged men and burning men, axes, longswords, turtles, unicorns, bears, quills, spiders and snakes and scorpions
_{A Dance With Dragons - ibid. A list of the houses can be found here}

A gama de casas de todo o reino e não são apenas as dos nortistas.