A World of Ice and Fire: Chapter III (The Targaryen Kings)

Ok…this is going to be a long ‘un, but a good ‘un. Let’s tuck in, shall we, and see what’s left of the Hollow Crowns Parts Two and Three?

Aegon I:

• Well, I got the vision of the united Westeros right…
• There were once two Septs in King’s Landing. Aegon definitely did like playing to the Faith.
• King’s Landinrg grew really fast, but it’s surprising that the city didn’t have walls for 26 years.
• Ser Osmund Strong was the Hand in AC 19 – so now we know the second Hand of the King, and Orys’ tenure.
• Rhaenys the politician vs. Visenya the warrior. All the more ironic that Rhaenys fell in battle.
• The First Dornish War (4-13 AC) sounds godsawful – especially when it comes down to duelling assassination contracts.
• So Visenya formed the Kingsguard! That’s impressive. And now we know the first Kingsguard:
  • Ser Corlys Velaryon, the first Lord Commander. Man, the Velayrons used to be such a big deal.
  • Ser Richard Roote (A Riverlander, from Harroway)
  • Ser Addison Hill, Bastard of Cornfield (a Westerlander, whose daddy was probably a Swyft)
  • Ser Gregor Goode and Ser Griffith Goode. There’s also a Glendon Goode who served Rhaenrya, so it clearly ran in the family.
  • Ser Humfrey the Mummer, a hedge knight! So there was precedent for Dunk after all.
  • Ser Robin Darklyn, known as Darkrobin. Apparently a lot of Darklyns joined, so no wonder there weren’t many of them left.
• The Rule of Six – something for the gender scholars to debate.
• Aegon seems very much a travelling king, in the mode of early medieval monarchs.
• AHAH! Finally some info on the fracking judicial system. The king is a court of final appeal, but: “rather than attempting to unify the realm under one set of laws, he respected the differing customs of each region and sought to judge them as their past kings might have.” Short term, good idea, long term bad idea.
• 27 years of peace, 9 years of war. Not bad.

Aenys I:

• “Beneath the surface of this largely peaceful rule was a roiling cauldron of dissent. In their hearts, many of his subjects still cherished the old days.” Well, that’s realistic.
• So Aenys was the first-born. And right off the bat we have rumors of bastardy.
• You don’t want a ditherer as king, especially when you get rebellions, especially when they happen at the same time:
  • Harren the Red – took Harrenhal and then left, right under the king’s nose. So which house was Garon the Guest from? Qoherys? Towers? Lord Alyn Stokeworth – third Hand?
  • the Vulture King – I’m going to guess and say this guy was a Blackmont, given what we hear about them later in the book. Also seems like he probably had Martell support on the long finger. Came pretty close, and choked in the end. And now we see why people don’t fuck around with the Tarlys. Savage Sam indeed.
  • Jonos Arryn – man, poor Ronnel has just awful luck. Interesting to see that House Royce were such loyalists, but maybe they just relished getting to besiege the Eyrie. And then Prince Maegor shows up and kills everyone, as you do.
  • King Lodos – hilarious! And fascinating long-term consequences.
• Gyldayn informs us that incest is not ok by the Faith. Note for anyone thinking about what Stannis might have done – the fruit is an abomination. Not just the act.
• Maegor was clearly a monster, but I kind of feel for him, with his warrior mother on one side and his meddling brother on the other side, then exiled to Pentos.
• Definitely a waffler – first he’s anti-incest, then he’s pro-incest and trying to win back the High Septon. Note Septon Murmison, one of the worst Hands ever of one of the worst Kings. Not a good combo.
• So it was Aenys who caused the rebellion. Interesting, I had thought Maegor might have been responsible. My god, Aenys was weak, if he allowed the Faith Militant to fortify within his own capitol city and then abandoned it.
• King Aenys had loose bowels in time of crisis. Ok, George, we get it. You like poop jokes.
• Visenya might have poisoned her own double-nephew. Tough woman.

Maegor I:

• Well, Maegor definitely just snatched the crown outright – although apparently from Aegon the Nth and not Jaehaerys as I had thought.
• Maegor does not fuck around, goes straight in and fights the Warrior’s Sons mano-a-mano. Might have been smarter to burn them first.
• So the head wound did it! Very Henry VIII.
• By the way, if you’re looking for agency among the smallfolk, look to the Revolt of the Faithful. To quote from the original text, sadly cut:
  • “The King’s first act upon resuming the Iron Throne was to command the Poor Fellows swarming towards the city to lay down their weapons, under penalty of proscription and death. When his decree had no effect, His Grace commanded “all leal subjects” to take to the field and disperse the Faith’s ragged hordes by force. In response, the High Septon in Oldtown called upon “true and pious children of the gods” to take up arms in defense of the Faith, and put an end to the reign of “dragons and monsters and abominations”
• So there you have it folks, the peasants of Westeros going right up against the biggest bastard Targaryen there ever was. And we can see the way in which religious ideology supports radical social change, just as it did when John Ball preached that “when Adam delve and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?” No wonder the Sparrows are so well organized, they’re following in their forefathers’ footsteps.
• The Battle of Bitterbridge: this is one cut from the original text I really miss – the leader of the nine thousand Poor Fellows who died at the Stonebridge was Wat the Hewer, aka Wat Tyler. A quote from the original:
  • “Battle was joined first in the Reach at the town of Stonebridge. The nine thousand Poor Fellows under Wat the Hewer found themselves caught between six lordly hosts as they attempted to cross the Mander. With half his man north of the river and half on the south, Wat’s army was cut to pieces. His untrained and undisciplined followers, clad in boiled leather, roughspun, and scraps of rusted steel, and armed largely with woodmen’s axes, sharpened sticks, and farm implements, proved utterly unable to stand against the charge of armored knights on heavy horses. So grievous was the slaughter that the Mander ran red for twenty leagues, and thereafter the town and castle where the battle had fought became known as Bitterbridge. Wat himself was taken alive, though not before slaying half a dozen knights, amongst them Lord Meadows of Grany (?) Vale, commander of the king’s host. The giant was delivered to King’s Landing in chains.” 
• Pour one out from Wat the Hewer, as badass a member of Team Smallfolk as there ever was.
• Maegor’s issues with childbirth are really creepy – make you wonder how much eugenics was going on behind the scenes in House Targaryen, if that was the normal outcome. And it also makes you wonder whether Mirri Maz Duur’s spell was what killed Dany’s baby after all.
• Maegor built the Dragonpit on top of the Sept of Remembrance. Not a subtle statement, is it?
• The Battle Beneath the Gods Eye – ironically, had the Faith been able to rally around Prince Aegon, they probably would have won. But they never could have.
• Queen Alyssa seems like a smart one, although god, poor Prince Viserys. What a way to go.
• Septon Moon (John Ball) and Ser Joffrey Doggett the Red Dog of the Hill – more champions of Team Smallfolk. And they got the Tullys to rise with them!
• Prince Jaehaerys was smart  and got the Velayrons and the Baratheons on board before he claimed the Iron Throne.
• So…which of Maegor’s lords murdered him on/with the Iron Throne? I like the idea that the mason did it.
• The Brides:
  • Ceryse Hightower – aha, so the High Septon’s denunciation of incest wasn’t entirely innocent! And unfortunately, the first to die.
  • Alys Harroway – so the Qoherys and the Towers together didn’t make it 50 years before the Harroways took over. Yeesh. No wonder they say Harrenhal is cursed. And what a damn awful way to die, bringing down the whole family with her.
  • Tyanna of the Tower – I hesitate to say that anyone deserves what she got, but between poisoning innocent women and torturing teenagers to death, she’s not a nice person.
  • Elinor Costayne – survived. So it’s murdered, murdered, murdered, survived, survived, died. That’s not as easy to memorize.
  • Rhaena Targaryen – the woman mom wanted him to marry. Poor woman.
  • Jeyne Westerling – man, Jeyne Westerlings do not have luck as queens. Interesting she married into the Tarbecks and almost married a Lannister.

Jaehaerys I:

• a smart man, with a smart mother. And a sensible Baratheon Hand, for once!
• Funny that someone who ascended to the Throne so young was known as the Old King.
• Well, he and Alysanne seem like good people, although not without their issues. Good to see Alysanne standing up for gender equality, although I wonder what the First Quarrel was about?
• Aha! Ryam Redwyne is explained at last. 30 lances seems excessive to me.
• Septon Barth! My man! Started as the King’s librarian, created the first unified legal code (YES! Ok, one legal code across the country. So where are the judges to enforce it?) Public works and germ theory, and built the Great Roads (my apologies for saying Aegon did that, although I could have sworn I read that somewhere), no wonder they call him the best.
• Clever finessing of the Faith Militant, although it seems like, to give him credit, Maegor really did put the kibosh on them.
• And now we know what caused the Great Council of 101 to be called. And they had it at Harrenhal – not a good idea. So it came to Laenor Velayron vs. Viserys. I wonder who the other seven were?
• Corlys Velayron seems like a fascinating person. All the way to Yi Ti and Leng, and to good result.
• HAH! The Merling King theory lives on. Goddamnit.
• Aha, Balerion died in 94 AC, under Viserys.
• And here we start heading into The Rogue Prince territory.
• The children of Jaehaerys and Alysanne:
  • I feel terrible for these two, they had awful luck with their kids.
  • Prince Aemon – whoah! The Myrish invaded Tarth!
  • Prince Baelon the Brave – poisoned or unlucky? And Ryam Redwyne was clearly not set out for politics.
  • Archmaester Vaegon – so Aemon wasn’t the first Targ maester. Interesting.
  • Princess Daella – so, the Arryns have Targ blood in them too!
  • Princess Alyssa – huh. Never heard of her before.
  • Princess Viserra – well, every royal family needs a black sheep to embarrass them and keep the tabloids busy.
  • Septa Maegelle – seems like a wonderful woman.
  • Princess Saera – seems like the Targs got two black sheep. Sounds like a fun person to know
  • Princess Gael – ouch, right in the feels.

Viserys I:

• My god, Viserys really was dealt a full house and managed to throw it away.
• Daemon was not a nice man, but you got to admit he looks good in a gold cloak.
• Man, the name Baelon is just unlucky.
• BTW, the art of Daemon doffing the crown is pretty badass.
• I love Mushroom so much.
• More Rogue Prince stuff.
• The Year of the Red Spring of 120 AC and 236 AC. Very imaginative naming.
• Definitely seems like Viserys screwed up by over-emphasizing the Velaryons and not spreading the dynastic wealth around, as it were.

Aegon II:

• Most of this is covered in The Princess and the Queen.
• You know, when you think that Lucerys was an eye-gouging little freak, I kind of don’t feel bad that Aemond murdered him.
• So, the Tyrells and the Dornish stayed out of the war. Smart.
• So Mysaria arranged for Blood and Cheese. What a revolting woman.
• The death of Prince Maelor is even worse.
• Aha! So that’s how Arryk and Erryk died. Gnarly.
• So how did Addam and Adam of Hull not get bastard names?
• The Shepherd – another example of smallfolk agency against the most powerful force the world has ever known.
• Battles:
  • Burning Mill – ah, the Blackwoods and the Brackens are a-feudin’ and a-fussin’ again.
  • Butcher’s Ball – could have sworn the Princess and the Queen gave this one a different name.
  • Battle of the Kingsroad – does it seem to anyone else that GRRM has it out for the Greens? They never win a battle without some sort of treachery involved, and they seem to lose every regular battle they fight. Bunch of chumps. This one especially feels like GRRM just makes them lose out of fiat.
• The Moon of the Three Kings! More crazy smallfolk agency at work!
  • Trystane Truefyre, poor guy just wanted to be a knight.
  • Gaemon Palehair, well at least he got a job out of it. Aegon III had a weird sense of humor, tho.
• Man, what a nasty end for Aegon II.
• I don’t care about the dragons. Although I wonder what happened to Morning.

Aegon III:

• the False Dawn does not sound like a good time to be alive.
•  I love the Hour of the Wolf! Cregan Stark is such a fascinating figure, I love his Ned-plus-Brandon attitude, his weakness for the ladies (another Blackwood in the family), and how quickly he dealt with the job at hand. Interesting detail about the Northmen who went south intending to die so that their families wouldn’t starve in the winter. They really are some hard men.
• The council of Seven – did not live long at all, but at least a woman served on the Small Council! And hey, you get some powerful Westerlings and Manderlys.
• So the Great Council of 136 chose three regents, actually running the government day-to-day. Such a pity it didn’t take.
• Unwin Peake – yikes, is anyone from that family not an asshole? Murdered the queen?!
• Oakenfist got his name taking the Stepstones! And I love the pirate king Racallio Ryndoon, what a name!
• Oakenfist taking out the Red Kraken. Badass.
• No wonder Aegon III was so emo. All his wives kept getting murdered.
• The Rogare Bank was once bigger than the Iron Bank!
• God, the Lyseni Spring sounds like a bloody mess. The monarchy was worse off than I had thought.
• Viserys and Aegon III seem like a good team, and it’s bizarre to think Viserys was charming. Maybe by comparison?
• Aegon III reminds me a lot of Stannis, and he seemed to care for the smallfolk a lot for a cold fish.
• So four dragons survived and all four died. Yeah, that’s definitely poison.
• Wow, dead at 36. Poor guy.

Daeron I:

• Daeron I was an arrogant little shit, wasn’t he? “You have a dragon. He stands before you.” 
• the Dragonknight is kind of over the top. Taking a poisoned arrow for the king already?
• more Smallfolk agency – in the second phase of the Conquest, Smallfolk lead the way against the invader.
• Wow, Daeron was murdered under a banner of peace…I’m going to guess at Kingsgrave.

Baelor I:

• From his opening act of sparing the hostages after the murder of his brother, you can kind of see how Baelor would inspire both adoration and anger. Impressive move, but probably would have come better from a High Septon than the King.
• I kind of get the sense that Baelor’s religious intensity kind of freaked out the Dornish.
• Got to be impressed by the pit of vipers. On the other hand, he seems to have gone extra-crazy after.
• Well, we already knew about Rhaena and Daena, but Elaena (wow, really imaginative naming there, Aegon III) seems an amazing woman as well.
• Aha! The Targaryens working with the Iron Bank in the reign of King Daeron.
• “He emptied the treasury regularly to fund his charitable acts, including the year when he donated a loaf of bread daily to every man and woman in the city.” Yikes. Even if bread isn’t that expensive, for 500,000 people every day is going to add up in a hurry.
• Aha! The Faith didn’t totally lose influence after Jaehaerys after all, they just worked through Baelor.
• The doves again, tax exemptions for chastity belts, burning books (I wonder why he turned against Barth so personally?), fasting, and contemplating a holy war with the North, no wonder people thought he was crazy.
• So Lady Maia of House Stokeworth started the rumor about Viserys and Baelor…I wonder why?

 

Viserys II:

• Aww, he doesn’t get a picture.
• Interesting that the smallfolk wanted a queen and the lords insisted on a king.
• For a smart man, the marriage of Naerys to Aegon IV was a dumb move.
• “Reforms of the royal household and its functions; the establishment of a new royal mint; his efforts to increase trade across the narrow sea; and his revisions of the code of laws that Jaehaerys the Conciliator had established” – man, Viserys gets no respect.
• Whoah, Aegon IV might have killed his own dad.

Aegon IV:

• Aegon IV, the best argument for moderation.
• You don’t screw with people’s lands, I’m shocked he didn’t start a rebellion against himself.
• 900 women and nine he loved – the Wilt Chamberlain approach, I see.
• So Quentyn Ball and Daemon went back to childhood.
• Daeron didn’t get along with his dad, who hated his mom and their brother. Happy families.
• Aegon instigated Ser Morgil, eh? Why not just divorce her?
• So the rumors about Daeron started with Aegon IV? Why not just outright name Daemon?
• Kind of liking Daeron more than I had previously. Especially in comparison to his dad’s insanity.
• Yeesh, what an awful way to go.
• The Nine Mistresses!
  • aha, so that’s how the Lothstons got Harrenhal. Suckers!
  • Merry Meg seems cool. I wonder what happened to her kids?
  • So that’s Lady Vaith! Poor woman.
  • The Black Pearl is simply awesome! And poly to boot.
  • Barba Bracken – aha, she was in the Maidenvault! Wow, Naerys delivered her kids, that’s awkward. What happened to Daenerys Rivers? And did Barba die with her father?
  • Missy Blackwood – kind of reminds me of Eva Green from her picture. Kind and generous – so where’d Bloodraven get the spooky magic from? And what happened to Bloodraven’s brother and sister?
  • Bethany Bracken – Man, you really feel for her. Pimped out by her father and her sister, and a terrible way to go.
  • Jeyne Lothston – urg, really starting to hate Aegon IV even more.
  • Serenei of Lys – a sorceress! So that’s where Shiera got it from.

Daeron II:

• Daeron seems like a genuine good-government type.
• However, the marriage to Rohanne of Tyrosh seems like a mistake (although now the Tyrosh connection makes way more sense). Interesting that Daemon wanted to take two wives a la Aegon I, or that his father might have promised him.
• AHA! So Daeron had Summerhall built in the marches. Clever.
• On the other hand, it does sound like Maron got the better of the deal. “The autonomy to maintain their own laws, the right to assess and gather the taxes due to the Iron Throne with only irregular oversight from the Red Keep.” By inference, the other lords of the Seven Kingdoms must have much stronger oversight, which suggests a larger royal bureaucracy than I had thought.
• Definitely see the influence of both race and the impact of history on the Dornish Marches as Daemon’s constituency.
• So eight years pass between the marriage and the rebellion. Interesting.
• Daemon had seven sons and seven daughters – no wonder the Blackfyres lasted so long.
• So, Bittersteel was the prime mover of the Rebellion and married one of Daemon’s daughters. So much for Shiera.
• The First Blackfyre Rebellion:
  • war in the Vale, the Westerlands, the Riverlands, and elsewhere. Well, we knew about the Westerlands and the Riverlands, but the Vale is news.
  • On the other hand, the details here of the First Rebellion are really scanty.
  • 10,000 deaths doesn’t seem like much in comparison to the War of Five Kings or the Dance. Although that might just be the one battle.

Aerys I:

• Both Aerys and Bloodraven were sorcery buddies. Interesting.
• Asexual?
• Interesting link between the Drought and the return of the King across the sea.
• The Second Blackfyre Rebellion:
  • I thought I read somewhere that they’d changed this to be a real fighting war, although I guess they just added more Rebellions.
• Aegor Rivers not the most tolerant of men, it seems
• The Third Blackfyre Rebellion:
  • where did it land?
  • where was the fighting?
  • What exactly did Aerion do?
  • The murder of Haegon I definitely points out that the Reds weren’t as nice as Egg thought they were.
• man, sparing Bittersteel – now there’s a great what if.
• So Daemon III was Haegon’s son, and had Tyroshi backing. So what happened to Daemon I’s other three sons?
• Rhaegel, Aelor, Aelora – yikes, that’s some nasty shit.

Maekar I:

• ironic that he never had a proper war to deal with.
• Daeron was Prince of Summerhall. Huh.
• Aerion was into magic. Oh, because that’s safe.
• What happened to Maegor Brightflame?
• Interesting how the Hedge Knight thing backfired against Egg.
• The Third Great Council is held. So close to making this a regular thing!
• Aenys Blackfyre, the fifth son, tries the diplomatic route. Ironic. So what happened to the fourth son, or Daemon III by this point?
• Wow, no wonder Bloodraven was exiled. What a bastard. But I’m a bit confused why he’s Hand at this point. Didn’t Maekar jail him?

Egg Aegon V:

• Well now we know how Bloodraven got sent to the Night’s Watch. I wonder what the Raven’s Teeth got up to. And he seems to have stuck around for only nineteen years.
• Starvation in the North in the Winter of 233-236. And there was another five year Winter 130-135. Which explains Cregan.
• The Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion:
  • ok, so now Daemon III. So what was up with Aenys? Or son number four?
  • a full invasion this time, landing on Massey’s Hook.
  • Battle of Wendwater Bridge – huge loss for the Blackfyres, and Ser Duncan the Tall puts paid to Daemon III.
  • Bittersteel gets away – what made that skirmish meaningful?
• Aegon the “bloody-handed tyrant intent on depriving us of our gods-given rights and liberties” to oppress other people. I wonder what Aegon’s reforms consisted of?
• So Aegon marries Betha Blackwood – another Blackwood in the Targ line, and more links between Targs and Starks.
• No wonder they said marrying for love ruined everything.
• Duncan the Small married Jenny of Oldstones rather than Lord Lyonel’s daughter. Well, at least this one wasn’t a Nazi.
• Can’t wait to see that duel between Lyonel and Dunk.
• Jaehaerys wanted to marry Shaera and eloped! Impressive. But there’s another breach with the Tullys and the Tyrells.
• AHA! So Jaehaerys was the one behind the disastrous marriage of Aerys and Rhaella.
• Ah, Daeron was the gay prince.
• That’s the second time we’ve heard of the Rat, the Hawk, and the Pig. Kingswood Brotherhood precursors?
• Odd that Aegon V didn’t do anything about the Ninepenny Kings – really reverses what I thought the lessons he learned were.
• Summerhall:
  • …so tantalizing.
  • I’m definitely thinking there’s some human sacrifice involved.
  • Pyromancers ruin everything.
  • Did Dunk save Rhaegar? Or more depressingly, Aerys?
  • So how did Aerys and Rhaella make it out of Summerhall?

Jaehaerys II:

• The Bad Apple! HAH! I love it.
• So Maelys killed Daemon. But what happened to the rest of the Blackfyres?
• Ormund Baratheon – smart man, but unlucky. And at least Maelys wasn’t a total scrub.
• So Gerold Hightower and Barristan Selmy make their reps on the Stepstones.
• So the War of the Ninepenny Kings lasted a year and a half.

Aerys II:

• This section was hard to read. Aerys makes my skin crawl.
• Aerys saying he wants to be the greatest at his coronation – not a good sign.
• So a whole generation of men got replaced – I wonder what they would have done?
• Tywin and Steffon and Aerys as best buds. So sad. On the other hand, the Southron Ambitions conspiracy is a bit sidetracked here – we’ve got close friendships between these three, but we haven’t heard anything yet about Jon Arryn or Hoster Tully or Rickard Stark.
• Wow, he really was over ambitious – conquering the Stepstones? Building a new Wall? (Hello, Antoninius Pius!) Building a marble city? Trying to take Braavos by sea? Building a canal across Dorne? Actually, that last one isn’t bad.
• Wow, Pycelle really loved Tywin.
• So Tywin paid off the King’s debt to Braavos. That makes sense.
• Tywin’s a free trade man, into public works, and passed the Westerosi Pure Food Act.
• Ok, on to the main question: no, Jaime and Cersei are not Aerys‘. See here for why. For crying out loud, “It has been too long since I gazed upon that fair face” does not suggest that they’d seen each other recently.
• God, poor Rhaella. And I thought Lysa had it bad.
• So Aerys and Tywin ruled from Casterly Rock in 267, and then the court returned in 268.
• Interesting disputes between Aerys and Tywin – Aerys wanted to back the Volantines, and backed the Brackens. And then there’s the port fee bullshit.
• Wow…if Tygett had been master-of-arms, Dany and Viserys might not have escaped.
• On to the second question: no, Tyrion is not Aerys’. See here for why. You’d have to ignore everything we know about Joanna Lannister to think that she’d sleep with a man who publicly humiliated her – and even for Aerys, saying “are your tits sagging?” doesn’t seem as much a come-on as a put-down. Likewise, it’s kind of inconsistent for people to say that Aerys gave presents to Jaime and Cersei ergo they’re his, and then Aerys called Tyrion a monster and ergo he’s his.
• And now Aerys starts murdering people.
• Rhaella wasn’t even able to be alone with her own son.
• Jaime could have squired with Rhaegar. Interesting…
• The Defiance of Duskendale:
  • I wonder how many cities in Westeros have charters? So clearly that comes with autonomy over taxes, good to know.
  • Tywin’s definitely anti-charter. Interesting.
  • You know, I kind of think Tywin wanted to make the Darklyns kill Aerys.
  • And the quote about “a better king right here” sort of seals the deal.
  • My god, Ser Barristan is an unbelievable badass.
  • Good god, Lady Serala died badly.
• Wow, Tywin was suspected of killing Steffon?!
• You know, Varys gets accused of making things worse, but it seems like Aerys was already paranoid and spy-crazy to begin with.
• Hmmm…what happened to the Dragonstone eggs?
• Oh, and Aerys is a racist to boot.
• I’m glad he’s dead.

PHEW! Done. On to the Rebellion!