King of Mountain and Vale was the title held by the monarchs of the Vale of Arryn from House Arryn until Aegon's Conquest..
The first king to unite most of the Vale was the last Bronze King, Robar II Royce, during the Andal invasion of Westeros. With Andals having conquered three-quarters of the Vale, Robar united the houses and clans of the First Men in resistance and became High King of the Vale, the Fingers, and the Mountains of the Moon. However, Robar and the First Men were defeated by Ser Artys Arryn, a young Andal called the Falcon Knight, in the Battle of Seven Stars. The Vale was renamed the Vale of Arryn in Artys's honor.
The Arryn kings fostered trade, and Gulltown grew into one of the largest cities in Westeros. King Roland I Arryn began construction of the Eyrie.
Some Arryns warred with the riverlands; King Roland II Arryn was ultimately beheaded by King Tristifer IV Mudd.
The last King of Mountain and Vale was Ronnel Arryn, a boy-king whose mother, Sharra, submitted to Visenya Targaryen during Aegon's Conquest. The Arryns have since served the Iron Throne as Protectors of the Vale and Wardens of the East.
The exact line of succession is as yet unknown.
King of Redmarch was one of the titles held by King Yorick V Yronwood, the last independent Yronwood king, who resisted the unification of Dorne under House Martell in Nymeria's War. It is yet unknown what Redmarch is.
King of Salt and Rock is one of the self-fashioned titles of Balon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands and Lord Reaper of Pyke, who had risen in rebellion against the Iron Throne in 289 AC, declaring himself King of the Iron Islands.
Euron Greyjoy, who succeeded Balon as King of the Isles and the North during the War of the Five Kings, also declared himself King of Salt and Rock.
King of Stone and Sky was one of titles used by the rulers of House Fowler prior to Nymeria's War, when they submitted to House Nymeros Martell. The Fowlers ruled from Skyreach in the Red Mountains of northern Dorne.
King of Tarth was the title given to the ruler of Tarth.
Edwyn Tarth was the last known King of Tarth, Maesters believe the island kingdom of Tarth became part of the dominion of Storm's End when Edwyn's daughter married the Storm King, Durran the Fair.
King of Westeros is the self-styled title of Stannis Baratheon.
The phrasing indicates that Stannis considers himself the righful rule of the entire continent of Westeros, including the lands beyond the Wall.
King of the Andals was the title of the monarch of the Andal people prior to the Andal invasion. The first King of the Andals was Hugor of the Hill.
King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men is the first title born by the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, whose seat is the Red Keep in King's Landing.
Originally crowned as King of All Westeros and Shield of His People by his sister-wife Rhaenys, Aegon I Targaryen abandoned these titles when he was crowned by the High Septon at the Starry Sept of Oldtown as "King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm". This title indicated that Aegon claimed authority over the Dornish, descendants of the Rhoynar people, despite their successful resistance in Aegon's Conquest.
At the start of the Dance of the Dragons, Prince Daemon Targaryen crowned his wife, Rhaenyra Targaryen, as Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, in opposition to Rhaenyra's half-brother, Aegon II Targaryen.
King Robert I Baratheon dies and is succeeded by his son Joffrey I Baratheon,.
The Iron Throne is disputed by Joffrey and his uncles, Stannis and Renly Baratheon, during the War of the Five Kings.
Joffrey is murdered at his royal wedding
Arianne Martell plots to crown Tommen's elder sister, Princess Myrcella Baratheon, as Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men,
The Queen of Meereen, Daenerys Targaryen, claims to be Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men.
King of the Arbor was the title held by the head of House Redwyne when they ruled the island of the Arbor as independent kings. The last King of the Arbor was lost at sea, allowing his cousin, King Meryn III Gardener, to annex the island into his domain.
King of the Basilisk Isles was the self-styled title of Saathos Saan, a Lysene captain of the Saan family. Though he was sent at the command of a fleet to destroy the corsair strongholds of the Basilisk Isles, Saan instead turned pirate and took control of the isles, uniting them under his rule for thirty years.
King of the Brimstone was one hereditary titles held by the lords of House Dryland prior to Nymeria's War. Ruling the sulphurous river Brimstone from their seat at Hellgate Hall, these Dornish petty kings were among those who fought against the warrior queen Nymeria of the Rhoynar and her consort Mors Martell. In the end, Nymeria won, although her spouse had been slain, and Lucifer Dryland, the last King of the Brimstone and the last member of his line, was dethroned. Together with five other kings, he was exiled to the Wall, ending his days as a member of the Night's Watch.
King of the Dornish was one of the titles held by King Yorick V Yronwood, the last independent Yronwood king, who resisted the unification of Dorne under House Martell in Nymeria's War. invasion.
King of the Fingers was a title held several ancient lords, proclaiming domain over a petty kingdom located on the Fingers, a set of narrow, barren, rainy peninsulas in the north-eastern part the Vale.
Since their arrival, the Fingers were held by the First Men. When the Andals launched their invasion of Westeros, they first landed on the Fingers. Before this invasion, two separate lords - First Men, who worshipped the Old Gods - laid claim to the title of King of the Fingers, namely Dwyen of House Shell and Jon of House Brightstone. Eager to oust their respective rivals, both petty kings employed an Andal warlord to aid them. This proved a poor choice, as each turned their sword on the would-be monarchs. Within a year, Jon Brightstone had been tortured and beheaded. Dywen Shell, on the other hand, was roasted alive within his wooden longhall.
Jon Brightstone's daughter was taken as a bride by an Andal knight by the name of Corwyn Corbray - who also took Dywen Shell's wife as a bedwarmer. Seizing the lands, if not the title, Corwyn proclaimed himself "Lord of the Five Fingers" and establishing the reign of House Corbray. The title was at some point dropped and the Corbrays would style themselves King of the Fingers. A presumed descendant of his, Qyle Corbray was the first Andal lord of the Vale who fell against King Robar II Royce, who had proclaimed himself High King of the Vale, the Fingers, and the Mountains of the Moon and slew him after striking Lady Forlorn from his hands. King Qyle's descendants would later claim it was their kin, Ser Jaime Corbray, who in turn slew Robar II at the Battle of the Seven Stars.
King of the First Men was a title claimed by the Barrow Kings, a dynasty of First Men that ruled the Barrowlands prior to the Thousand Years War, boasted descent from the First King, and claimed supremacy over all First Men everywhere, including House Stark.
A King of the Giants is a giant supposedly buried, according to some tales, in the Great Barrow at Barrowton, while others instead claim the hill contains the remains of the First King of the First Men.
King of the Greenbelt was one of the titles held by King Yorick V Yronwood, the last independent Yronwood king, who resisted the unification of Dorne under House Martell in Nymeria's War.
King of the High Tower is an ancient title held by the head of House Hightower dating back to the time they ruled their own independent kingdom. The title was abandoned when House Hightower was brought under the rule of the King of the Reach as part of a marriage alliance.
Driftwood Crown by Jen Zee©
King of the Iron Islands is the title claimed by the rulers of the Iron Islands, when they have historically been independent. The monarch of the ironborn has also been known as the High King, the King of the Isles, the iron king, and the driftwood king.
In antiquity each of the Iron Islands was ruled by two petty kings, a rock king who ruled the land and a salt king who led the island's ships, who were chosen by the island's captains in a kingsmoot.
According to Archmaester Haereg's *History of the Ironborn*, there were at least 111 high kings.
The kingsmoot tradition ended thousands of years ago when King Urron Greyiron murdered the other candidates and made the throne hereditary. The choosing of salt and rock kings in local kingsmoots ended and they were instead reduced to lords. House Greyiron ruled the Iron Islands for a thousand years,
King Harwyn Hoare extended the ironborn rule over the riverlands by taking the Trident from the Storm King Arrec Durrandon.
Centuries later Balon Greyjoy declared himself King of the Iron Islands, in what was later called Greyjoy's Rebellion. However, Balon was defeated by King Robert Baratheon and the ironborn were again subjected to the Seven Kingdoms.
During the War of the Five Kings, Lord Balon Greyjoy recrowns himself King of the Iron Islands and also claims the North.
King Balon is reported to have fallen to his death at Pyke during a storm.
Balon's brother, Aeron Greyjoy, calls a kingsmoot to select Balon's successor.
Although most of the ironborn have withdrawn from the North, Euron continues to style himself King of the Isles and the North.
The exact number of high kings or driftwood kings chosen by the kingsmoot is unknown and their line of succession is rife with contradictions.
The Grey King, the first of the kings on the Iron Islands.
Urras Greyiron, known as Urras Ironfoot, the first high king since the Grey King.
Erich I Greyiron, who was deposed by Galon Whitestaff.
Regnar Drumm, known as Raven-feeder.
Loron Greyjoy, known as the Old Kraken.
Qhored Hoare, known as Qhored the Cruel, expanded the rule of the ironborn over the entire western coast of Westeros
Urrathon IV Goodbrother, known as Badbrother.
Torgon Greyiron, known as Torgon the Latecomer.
Urron Greyiron, known as Urron Redhand, the last High King of the Iron Islands.
Urron Redhand made the kingship hereditary and took the simpler title of King of the Iron Islands or Iron King.
Following the Targaryen Conquest, some claimants to the title of King of the Iron Islands rose:
In recent years, the Iron Islands have risen in rebellion against the Iron Throne, with a member of House Greyjoy as King:
King of the Isles and the North,.
Rejecting the authority of the Iron Throne, Lord Balon Greyjoy declares himself King of the Iron Islands.
Balon styles himself King of the Iron Islands and the North, King of Salt and Rock, Son of the Sea Wind, and Lord Reaper of Pyke.
Most of the ironborn withdraw from the North to attend a kingsmoot on Old Wyk to choose Balon's successor. His brother Euron Greyjoy is chosen after announcing he intends to conquer all of Westeros.
Euron styles himself King of the Isles and the North,.
King of the Isles and the Rivers was a title used by House Hoare when their realm included both the Iron Islands and the riverlands.
Harwyn Hoare, King of the Iron Islands, conquered the Trident from the Storm King Arrec Durrandon. Harwyn and his successors, Halleck Hoare and Harren Hoare, spent most of their reigns in the riverlands fighting against neighboring kingdoms rather than ruling from the Iron Islands. It is said of Harwyn that "His palace was a tent, his throne a saddle." Halleck ruled from a tower house at Fairmarket, while Harren the Black constructed the massive castle of Harrenhal along the Gods Eye.
The Hoare line was extinguished by Aegon the Conqueror during the War of Conquest, ending the usage of the title. The Iron Islands then passed to House Greyjoy of Pyke and the riverlands passed to House Tully of Riverrun.
Garth the Goldenhand, greatest of the Kings of the Reach
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King of the Reach was the title of the ruler of the Kingdom of the Reach from Garth the Gardener to Mern IX. The Kings of the Reach were members of House Gardener. The land of the Reach is now part of the Seven Kingdoms ruled from the Iron Throne.
The mythical Garth Greenhand is said to have been the High King who lead the First Men across the Arm of Dorne. His firstborn son was Garth the Gardener, the legendary first King of the Reach.
King Garth the Great allied with Old Oak, Red Lake, and Goldengrove, expanding the kingdom's borders north. The kingdom of the Reach expanded southward with the addition of the Arbor during the reign of King Meryn III, and soon after Garland the Bridegroom arranged marriages with Oldtown to join their realms. King Garth the Goldenhand conquered the Misty Islands from the ironborn, fortifying them as the Shield Islands.
The kings and at least one queen ruled from the Oakenseat in Highgarden until the throne's destruction during the reign of Garth X..
The Gardeners initially fortified their kingdom during the Andal invasion, but they eventually welcomed the newcomers to their realm. House Tyrell, a house of Andal origin, became the stewards of the Kings of the Reach.
The Gardeners ruled as kings until Mern IX rode out to meet Aegon the Conqueror and his sister, Visenya and Rhaenys Targaryen, during Aegon's Conquest, and the Gardeners met their destruction upon the Field of Fire.
No precise lineage or chronology of House Gardener is known, but the individuals listed below are believed to be in rough chronological order.
King of the Rivers was the self-fashioned title of Harren the Red, an outlaw from the Riverlands boasting of being a grandson of the late Harren the Black. During the reign of Aenys I Targaryen, Aenys seized Harrenhal from Lord Gargon Qoherys, slew him, and declared himself Lord of Harrenhal and King of the Rivers.
King of the Rock was the title used by the monarchs from House Lannister who ruled the western hills and valleys of Westeros that is now the westerlands. The capital of the Kingdom of the Rock was Casterly Rock near Lannisport.
The Lannisters trace their descent back to Lann the Clever, a trickster from the Age of Heroes who allegedly tricked the Casterlys out of Casterly Rock.
While King Tybolt Lannister defended the westerlands from the early Andal invasion, Kings Tyrion II and Gerold II allowed the Andals to marry into westermen nobility. An Andal knight, Joffrey Lydden, married into the Lannisters and, as King Joffrey Lannister, was the first Andal King of the Rock.
With Andal support, the Kings of the Rock expanded their realm. King Cerion conquered the land near the Golden Tooth, while King Tommen I added Fair Isle to the kingdom. Many Kings of the Rock, including Lancel I, Gerold the Great, and Lancel IV, warred with neighboring realms, including the Kingdom of the Reach, the ironborn kings of the Iron Islands, and the river kings of the Trident.
The last King of the Rock was Loren I, who bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror after being defeated at the Field of Fire.
King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea, alternatively King of the Narrow Sea, was a title used by Daemon Targaryen during the War for the Stepstones. After Daemon and his allies and followers conquered the Stepstones in the southern narrow sea, Lord Corlys Velaryon placed the crown on his ally's head in 109 AC. Daemon abandoned Bloodstone in 115 AC, however. Five other men followed him as Kings of the Narrow Sea before the short-lived kingdom collapsed under pressure from the Kingdom of the Three Daughters.
King of the Three Sisters or Queen of the Three Sisters, if female, was the title held by the monarch of the Three Sisters, an archipelago located in the Bite. The monarch was a member of House Sunderland.
Prior to the arrival of the Andals and the Faith of the Seven, the Sistermen were an independent people with their own religion, worshipping deities known as the Lady of the Waves and the Lord of the Skies. Their monarchs also acted as pirate kings.
According to maesters, two thousand years ago the islands were conquered by the North in an invasion known as the Rape of the Three Sisters. In response, the Sistermen bent the knee to the Eyrie to expel the northmen, ending the era of kings on the Sisters and putting the archipelago under the rule of the King of Mountain and Vale. Conflict over the islands would continue for a thousand years in the War Across the Water.
During the Targaryen conquest of Westeros, the Sistermen rebelled against House Arryn, declaring Marla Sunderland as their Queen. She was deposed, however, when a Braavosi fleet hired by House Stark at the behest of Aegon the Conqueror approached the islands. Marla's brother bent the knee while she ended her days as a silent sister.
King of the Torrentine was the title used by the kings from House Dayne, who ruled the Torrentine in the western Red Mountains of Dorne.
King of the Trident and King of the Rivers and the Hills were titles used by various river kings from the riverlands prior to the Aegon's Conquest. The titles refer to the numerous rivers in the kingdom, such as the Trident with its three forks and the Blackwater Rush. The hills between the riverlands and the westerlands were also historically contested by river kings and Kings of the Rock.
Numerous houses ruled as First Men river kings, including Houses Fisher, Blackwood, Bracken, and Mudd.
After the Andals divided the riverlands amongst themselves, many petty lords named themselves river king, the most successful of them being the Justman and Teague dynasties.
During his conquest, Aegon the Conqueror created the title of Lord Paramount of the Trident for the liege lord of the riverlands within the Seven Kingdoms.
The river lords join the northern bannermen in declaring Robb Stark king at Riverrun.
When Robb, the Young Wolf, gathers his bannermen in Riverrun's Great Hall after campaigning in the westerlands, Greatjon Umber calls out, "King in the North!", to which the river lords respond with "King of the Trident!"
Robb is betrayed and murdered during the Red Wedding at the Twins by his bannermen, the Freys and Boltons, with no known heir made public.
Tytos Blackwood, the last resisting river lord, reluctantly agrees to swear fealty to the Iron Throne. The title King of the Trident is left vacant.
House Tully
House Blackwood
House Bracken
House Mallister
House Frey
House Darry
House Mooton
House Piper
House Whent
House Vance
House Ryger
King of the True Men was an ancient, vainglorious title held by House Shett of Gulltown which supposedly went back ten thousand years to the Dawn Age. After the death of King Osgood III Shett, the Shett crown was claimed by Ser Gerold Grafton, and the Graftons henceforth ruled the city.
King of the Wildlings is the title attributed by Ser Axell Florent, Hand of the Queen to Selyse Florent, to the Free Folk raider Gerrick Kingsblood, who boasts descent from Raymun Redbeard, a past King-Beyond-The-Wall.
The Kingdom of Omber is a peninsular region of northern Essos jutting into the Shivering Sea, with the Bay of Tusks along its eastern coast. Omber is northeast of the Kingdom of Sarnor and west of the Kingdoms of the Ifeqevron.
The kings and princes of this small pastoral kingdom pay the Dothraki horselords a yearly tribute of grain, gems, and girls in order to be left unmolested.
The Kingdom of Sarnor is a region of northern Essos along the shores of the Shivering Sea. The Forest of Qohor and Vaes Khadokh are to the west, while the Dothraki sea extends along the south. Omber is a peninsula to the northeast of Sarnor, while the Kingdom of the Ifequevron is farther to the east.
Most of the grassland kingdom was destroyed by the Dothraki in the Century of Blood after the Doom of Valyria, with the cities Gornath, Kasath, Sallosh, Sarnath, Sarys, and Sathar left in ruins. The only surviving Sarnori settlement is Saath.
Most histories regarding the Kingdom of Sarnor come from the *Summer and Winter Annals* and records of them from Qarth, Slaver's Bay, and the Free Cities.
The cities of Sarnor
Sarnor was an ancient kingdom centered around the great river Sarne and its tributaries and some of the lakes remnants of the Silver Sea. They boasted descent from legendary king Huzhor Amai. A confederation of city-states each with its own king, the Sarnori were nominally ruled from Sarnath by a High King.
Sarnori traded with Valyria, Yi Ti, Leng, and Asshai. They also sailed the Shivering Sea to Ib, the Thousand Islands, and Mossovy; warred against the Qaathi and the Ghiscari Empire; and led forays against bands of Dothraki, nomadic horsemen who roamed the steppes to their east.
The Dothraki attack Sathar - by Paolo Puggioni ©
Main article: Century of Blood
After the Doom of Valyria, the Sarnori kingdoms took less than a century to fall. While the Free Cities fought to become the successor to Valyria, the Tall Men ignored the Dothraki threat, even as *khalasars* began to raid across their eastern borders. Accustomed to them being little more than a nuisance, some Sarnori kings tried to use the Dothraki in their own wars, offering them gold and slaves and other gifts to fight against their rivals. Khal Mengo, who had united all khalasars under his rule, accepted the gifts but then burnt fields, farms, and towns to return the grasslands to nature.
The Tall Men did not realize the danger until Mengo's son, Khal Moro, led his khalasar to the gates of Sathar. The men of Sathar were put to the sword, while the women and children carried off as slaves; three-quarters of them dying on the march to the Ghiscari city of Hazdahn Mo. Sathar was burned to ash. Rather than uniting against the Dothraki, the Sarnori kings of Kasath and Gornath fought each other for Sathar's plunder.
Six years after the fall of Sathar, Khal Moro razed Kasath, with the aid of the King of Gornath, who had made common cause with the Dothraki and taken one of Moro's daughters to wife. A dozen years afterward Gornath fell to Khal Horro, who had had killed Moro. The King of Gornath was killed by his wife, who was then taken by Horro. The slaying of Horro by a rival led to the splinter of his great khalasar into a dozen lesser hosts.
The Sarnori cities fell to new khals who sought to outdo one another in conquest and carrying the broken gods of the defeated to Vaes Dothrak. Much of the Tall Men's history was lost with the burning of Sallosh and its great library. Kyth and Hornoth soon fell to rival khals. The fortress city of Mardosh resisted for nearly six years, but its starving defenders eventually slew their women and children and rode to certain defeat.
The fall of Mardosh led the Sarnori to unite under Mazor Alexi, last of the High Kings. His great host was trapped and destroyed by four khalasars at the Field of Crows, however. Sarnath was put to the torch by Khal Loso less than a fortnight later, and the remaining cities continued to fall. Sarys, the last Sarnori city to be conquered, had already been mostly abandoned when Khal Zeggo reached it. The support of Ibben and Lorath have allowed the Sarnori city of Saath to survive, however.
Daenerys Targaryen travels through southern Sarnor during the journey of Khal Drogo's *khalasar* from Pentos to Vaes Dothrak.
Sarnor, from the TV map based on Martin's original sketch, before the river was accidentally erased (city names added).
According to co-writer Elio Garcia, the map given in *The Lands of Ice and Fire* for Sarnor is in error. In George R. R. Martin's original handwritten notes, the Sarne flows out of the Silver Sea, proceeding west past Sarnath before curving north to its delta near Saath and Sarys. Thus all cities of the Sarnori were built around one river system. Unfortunately, as Garcia gleaned from the handwritten maps, it appears that when Martin wrote "Kingdom of Sarnor" over the core of their territory he partially erased the line of the river between the Silver Sea and Sarnath. Jonathan Roberts, the illustrator for The Lands of Ice and Fire, may have assumed that the Silver Sea empties into the sea through a separate river system proceeding in the shortest path, to the north. This does not match the textual descriptions of the Sarnori cities, such as that Sathar is located at a branch of the Sarne. Garcia hopes that a subsequent edition of the official world map will be updated to correct this.
Martin has said that the world map is not objective but written as it is known to the maesters of the Citadel in Westeros, and it gets increasingly less accurate the farther east it goes. working off of an incorrect map with the original river line accidentally erased.
Moreover, the earlier map of the World Map that Martin provided for the HBO television series *Game of Thrones* during Season 2 matches his textual description of Sarnor's geography: the Sarne flows west, and the remnants of the Silver Sea are three lakes (not two as in the Lands map, which drain to the north). The earlier map Martin submitted must have predated the erasure. The earlier map was subsequently revised by the time The Lands of Ice and Fire was released, notably putting the Jade Sea to the south of Qarth instead of extending north of it.
Kingdom of the Ifequevron
Essos west of the Bone Mountains and the location of the Kingdom of the Ifequevron
The Kingdom of the Ifequevron
Ifequevron, meaning "wood walkers", is the Dothraki language name for a people who once lived in the forest. Located on a small western peninsula, Vaes Leisi is a ruined settlement of carved trees and haunted grottoes.
The Dothraki are reported to have shunned the Kingdom of the Ifequevron out of reverence for the wood walkers or fear of their powers.
Corlys Velaryon, after his return from the Thousand Islands, wrote of carved trees, haunted grottoes, and strange silences at the Kingdom of the Ifequevron.
The Kingfisher is a river vessel of the Rhoyne, probably a poleboat.
While passing through the Sorrows, the *Shy Maid* crosses paths with the Kingfisher, whose crew claims to transport knives, needles, lace, linen, and spice wine. The Kingfisher informs the Shy Maid that Triarchs Malaquo Maegyr and Nyessos Vhassar want to take Volantis to war.
Kingscopper is an herb used for healing. Brown Bernarr brings kingscopper, along with other medicinal herbs, with him when he sets off on the Great Ranging.
Kingsgrave
Dorne and the location of Kingsgrave
Kingsgrave is the seat of House Manwoody in Dorne..
Kingsgrave takes its name from when the founder of House Manwoody slew a king of the Reach in the distant past.
Unadorned white shield of the Kingsguard.
The Kingsguard, also known poetically as the White Swords
Some monarchs, such as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (129–130 AC), have operated with a Queensguard instead of a Kingsguard.
The Kingsguard is composed of seven men,
The first duty of the Kingsguard is defending the king from harm. They are sworn to obey the king's commands, to keep his secrets, to counsel him when requested and to keep silent when not, and to defend his name and honor.
In order to protect the king and the royal family night and day, the seven-man Kingsguard must rely to some degree on others. Prince Joffrey Baratheon has Sandor Clegane as his sworn shield,
The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard serves on the king's small council.
The Kingsguard wear all white cloaks and intricate suits of white enameled scales, their fastenings for breastplate and other pieces made of silver.
The rite for making a new member of the White Swords can vary. It can be a solemn and formal event in which the knight kneels as he makes his vows before the king, and he then receives the white cloak of the Kingsguard from the Hand of the King or the Lord Commander himself.
The Lord Commander is always chosen by the king, with seniority and ability playing parts in the decision. Also, the Lord Commander is generally chosen from the existing pool of the Kingsguard.
The white cloaks' uninterrupted history since its creation during the reign of King Aegon I Targaryen is recorded in the White Book, formally named The Book of the Brothers. The White Book is kept in the White Sword Tower, the tower of the Red Keep in King's Landing which is home to the Kingsguard. Every knight who has ever served in the Kingsguard has a page in the book, on which his deeds are recorded. The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard is tasked with keeping the entries up to date, while septons come three times a year from the Great Sept of Baelor to add heraldic drawings and illuminations.
The Kingsguard was founded during the reign of the first Targaryen king on the Iron Throne, Aegon the Conqueror. The first Kingsguard was created at the suggestion of Queen Visenya Targaryen, after a Dornish assassination attempt on Aegon and herself in the streets of King's Landing in 10 AC. She deliberately modeled the Kingsguard vows of holding no lands or title on the ancient vows of the Night's Watch, and seven knights were chosen because the king ruled the Seven Kingdoms.
When Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen put forth his claim to the Iron Throne, two Kingsguard of the reigning King Maegor I Targaryen abandoned him.
During the Dance of the Dragons, the Kingsguard split between knights serving King Aegon II Targaryen and Queensguard serving Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.
A hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall,
During Robert's Rebellion, Jonothor Darry and Lewyn Martell were killed during the battle of the Trident, while Arthur Dayne, Oswell Whent, and Lord Commander Gerold Hightower died in combat at the tower of joy. Jaime Lannister slew his charge, King Aerys II Targaryen, during the Sack of King's Landing, earning himself the "Kingslayer" sobriquet. The new king, Robert I Baratheon, allowed Jaime to remain in the Kingsguard and elevated the other surviving member of the Mad King's white cloaks, Ser Barristan Selmy, to the position of Lord Commander.
After the death of Lord Jon Arryn, King Robert I Baratheon names Ser Jaime Lannister the new Warden of the East, even though Eddard Stark speaks of Jaime also being in line to inherit the title of Warden of the West.
Robert dies after being gored by a boar, and his successor, King Joffrey I Baratheon, dismisses the aged Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Barristan Selmy. This breaks tradition, as all previous Kingsguard served for life. Joffrey elevates his uncle, Jaime, to Lord Commander and adds to the Kingsguard Sandor Clegane, who is not a knight.
Daenerys Targaryen names Ser Jorah Mormont as the first member of her Queensguard.
During the War of the Five Kings, King Renly Baratheon is protected by his own Kingsguard, which he names the Rainbow Guard.
Joffrey has his Kingsguard beat Sansa Stark. Ser Preston Greenfield is killed during the riot of King's Landing
Ser Mandon Moore drowns during the battle of the Blackwater,
Boros is restored to the Kingsguard.
Jaime, released from imprisonment at Riverrun by Catelyn Stark,
Jaime, standing vigil for his father, Lord Tywin, wears a long hauberk, its scales mother-of-pearl chased with gold.
During the failed plot to crown Princess Myrcella Baratheon, Ser Arys Oakheart is killed by Areo Hotah at the Greenblood in Dorne.
In Meereen, Barristan becomes the Lord Commander of Daenerys's Queensguard.
Against the wishes of Lord Jon Connington, Rolly Duckfield is named the first of the Kingsguard of Aegon Targaryen.
Ser Robert Strong is named to the Kingsguard of King Tommen I Baratheon.
Main article: Lord Commander of the Kingsguard
It is unknown under which king the following knights served in the Kingsguard:
Two members of Aegon's Kingsguard died defending him.
Two members of Maegor's Kingsguard were slain by Lord Rupert Falwell, famed as the Fighting Fool, in the battle at the Great Fork of the Blackwater in 42 AC.
The reign of King Aegon II covered the war of succession known as the Dance of the Dragons. During this war, both the eldest living son of late King Viserys I, Prince Aegon, and the eldest living child of King Viserys I, the daughter he had proclaimed his heir, Princess Rhaenyra, were crowned.
Main: Queensguard
Three Kingsguard knights died trying to protect King Daeron I in Dorne, and one threw down his sword and yielded, in 161 AC., or whether he died earlier during Daeron's reign.
Left to right in order: Jaime Lannister, Preston Greenfield, Mandon Moore, Barristan Selmy, Meryn Trant, Boros Blount, and Arys Oakheart.
After Robert's Rebellion had concluded, the new king, Robert I Baratheon, had multiple positions to fill at once, as five of the members of the Kingsguard of his predecessor, King Aerys II Targaryen, had died during the war. (Gerold Hightower, Arthur Dayne, Lewyn Martell, Oswell Whent, and Jonothor Darry.) Ser Barristan Selmy and Ser Jaime Lannister, the two surviving knights of the Kingsguard of King Aerys II, were pardoned by King Robert. They swore loyalty to the new king and served as members of his Kingsguard throughout his reign. The other five vacancies were filled with not necessarily the best skilled knights, as Robert had to settle for who was available.
Kingsguard in *Game of Thrones*.
Upon the ascension of the young king, Joffrey I Baratheon, Lord Commander Barristan Selmy was dismissed, the first time ever in history. Ser Jaime Lannister was named Lord Commander in Selmy's stead, while the unanointed warrior Sandor Clegane was appointed the empty position, marking the first moment a member of the Kingsguard was not a dubbed knight.
Upon landing in Westeros with the Golden Company, Aegon named his friend Ser Rolly Duckfield the first of his new Kingsguard. Lord Jon Connington did not approve of the choice, and asked Aegon to leave the other six slots open for knights of renown and sons of great lords which would add luster to their cause.
Old Nan said they were the finest swords in all the realm. There were only seven of them, and they wore white armor and had no wives or children, but lived only to serve the king. Bran knew all their stories. Their names were like music to him.
—Bran Stark's thoughts
Eddard: The Kingsguard—
Varys: A paper shield. Try not to look so shocked, Lord Stark. Jaime Lannister is himself a Sworn Brother of the White Swords, and we all know what his oath is worth. The days when men like Ryam Redwyne and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight wore the white cloak are gone to dust and song. Of these seven, only Ser Barristan Selmy is made of the true steel, and Selmy is old. Ser Boros and Ser Meryn are the queen's creatures to the bone, and I have deep suspicions of the others. No, my lord, when the swords come out in earnest, you will be the only true friend Robert Baratheon will have.—Eddard Stark and Varys
Eddard: Ser Willem Darry is fled to Dragonstone, with your queen and Prince Viserys. I thought you might have sailed with him.
Oswell: Ser Willem is a good man and true.
Gerold: But not of the Kingsguard. The Kingsguard does not flee.—Oswell Whent and Gerold Hightower in Eddard Stark's dream
Something his father had told him once when he was little came back to him suddenly. He had asked Lord Eddard if the Kingsguard were truly the finest knights in the Seven Kingdoms. "No longer," he answered, "but once they were a marvel, a shining lesson to the world."
—Bran Stark's thoughts
It is a rare and precious gift to be a knight, and even more so a knight of the Kingsguard. It is a gift given to few, a gift you scorned and sullied.
Jaime: Once a man puts on that cloak, it changes him.
Cersei: It certainly changed you, and not for the better.
He wondered what Ser Arthur Dayne would have to say of this lot. "How is it that the Kingsguard have fallen so low," most like. "It was my doing," I would have to answer. "I opened the door, and did nothing when the vermin began to crawl inside."
—Jaime Lannister's thoughts
Arianne: Do you think you are the only Kingsguard who ever loved a woman?
Arys: There have always been men who found it easier to speak vows than to keep them.
Daenerys: My brother once told me a Westerosi riddle. Who listens to everything yet hears nothing?
Barristan: A knight of the Kingsguard.
Some had been heroes, some weaklings, knaves, or cravens. Most were only men-quicker and stronger than most, more skilled with sword and shield, but still prey to pride, ambition, lust, love, anger, jealousy, greed for gold, hunger for power, and all the other failings that afflicted lesser mortals. The best of them overcame their flaws, did their duty, and died with their swords in their hands. The worst ... The worst were those who played the game of thrones.
—Barristan Selmy's thoughts
Kingship is the position and power of a king. There have been many kings in the Known World. In Westeros, kings inherit the title when they are the next male in line. Each of the Seven Kingdoms had a king once, though Dorne started using the title "Prince of Dorne" after Lord Mors Martell married Queen Nymeria, and the new rulers chose to abandon the Andal customs in favor of those of the Rhoynar.
It is stated that Ghiscar had a king once, but the custom was not renewed until Daenerys Targaryen conquered Slaver's Bay. It is not known if the cities of the east have kings or not. In the Free Cities the ruler is elected through democracy, while in Braavos there are Sealords.
Recently, a new Corsair King has risen in the Basilisk Isles, and a new Pirate King has risen on the Stepstones.
"One king," agreed Davos. "One king means peace."
Kingshouse is the seat of House Magnar on the island Skagos in the north.
The Kingslander is a war galley of the royal fleet in service at King's Landing.
The Kingslander is part of King Joffrey I Baratheon's's fleet at the Battle of the Blackwater. It attacks the *Faithful* and the *Sceptre* simultaneously. The Kingslander is engulfed and destroyed by wildfire after the explosion of the *Swordfish*.
King Joffrey Baratheon dies of poison. © Josu Hernaiz
Kingslaying is the act of killing one's own king, breaking their vows of allegiance to him. In Westeros, kingslaying is condemned as an extremely vile act, especially when committed by someone sworn to protect them, as is the case with the Kingsguard.
It should not be confused with killing a king to which one has no allegiance, which is another form of regicide.
Euron Greyjoy is suspected of organizing the death of his brother and king Balon Greyjoy, which would also qualify as kinslaying.
Brienne of Tarth is suspected by some of King Renly Baratheon's murder. She is innocent, however.
Cersei Lannister is said to have killed her husband King Robert Baratheon; which indeed she did do by proxy, convincing her cousin Lancel Lannister to replace Robert's wine with strongwine, leading him to be fatally gored by a boar.
Jaime Lannister killed his king, Aerys II, during the Sack of King's Landing, despite being a sworn brother of the Kingsguard at the time.*.
Olenna Redwyne kills her king, Joffrey Baratheon, with the help of Petyr Baelish and some unnamed co-conspirators. Olenna and Petyr both managed to escape suspicion, which instead fell to Tyrion and Sansa Stark. poison, which is disguised as amethysts adorning a hairnet worn by the unwitting Sansa.
Roose Bolton stabs his king, Robb Stark, through the heart during the Red Wedding. He plans the murder with Walder Frey, who violates guest right with the same act.
Tyrion Lannister and his wife Sansa Stark are both accused of poisoning King Joffrey Baratheon, Tyrion's nephew and Sansa's one-time fiancé. Cersei Lannister says she is certain Sansa helped Tyrion to murder her son. They are both innocent, however.
Khal Drogo kills Viserys Targaryen by upending a pot of molten gold over his head. The gold is meant to signify the crown Viserys demanded of him.
King Stannis Baratheon conceives a shadow assassin with Melisandre that goes on to slay his brother King Renly Baratheon. However, Stannis may not be consciously aware of his involvement; furthermore, Renly wasn't his King, and had also intended to kill Stannis in battle.
Visenya Targaryen is suspected of poisoning her nephew, King Aenys I Targaryen, to ensure her son Maegor would ascend to the Iron Throne.
Viserys II Targaryen is suspected of poisoning his own nephew King Baelor I Targaryen. However, the evidence on this is dubious, and it appears most likely that Viserys was innocent of this charge and Baelor died of excessive fasting.
Aegon IV Targaryen is suspected of poisoning his father Viserys II Targaryen to gain the throne. None dared to speak their suspicions of this crime for more than a decade.
Lord Stark (grandson of Brandon the Daughterless slew Bael the Bard, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, not knowing he was his father.
Known
Suspected
Eddard: “When King’s Landing fell, Ser Jaime slew your king with a golden sword, and I wondered where you were.” Gerold: “Far away, or Aerys would yet sit the Iron Throne, and our false brother would burn in seven hells.”
- Eddard Stark and Ser Gerold Hightower right before fighting to the death.
The Kingslayer. The false knight who profaned his blade with the blood of the king he had sworn to defend.
He thrust his longsword through her son's heart, and twisted.
- Roose Bolton killing his king, Robb Stark.
A crown for Cart King!
- Khal Drogo
Joffrey was cruel and stupid, but I did not kill him. Have my head of if you like, I had no hand in my nephew's death.
- Tyrion Lannister, during his trial.
The Greyjoy contenders during the kingsmoot
by Mathia Arkoniel©
The kingsmoot was a traditional ceremony held by inhabitants of the Iron Islands in which kings were chosen by longship captains. The kingsmoots which chose the High King of the Iron Islands were held on Nagga's Hill on Old Wyk.
When a kingsmoot is held, any captain may put his name forward as a candidate for the rule - as among the ironborn "every captain is a king on his own ship" - and name three champions and may try to sway his fellow ironborn with a speech on his prowess and gifts to show his generosity; only once a vast majority call out a candidate's name to proclaim him king does the kingsmoot end.
In antiquity, each of the Iron Islands was ruled by a rock king and a salt king chosen in a kingsmoot by the island's captains. The kings were usually from the same noble house and were often father and son, but sometimes they were from rival houses.
Eventually, the prophet Galon Whitestaff called all of these petty kings and captains to Nagga's Hill on Old Wyk to choose a high king to rule all of the ironborn. Urras Ironfoot was thus chosen as the first High King of the Iron Islands since the Grey King. Some of the famous driftwood kings chosen at the Old Wyk kingsmoots include Urras Ironfoot, Sylas Flatnose, Harrag Hoare, and the Old Kraken, Loron Greyjoy.
Once a candidate put himself forth, he was bound to the kingsmoot's decision. Only once in the history of the Iron Islands has a kingsmoot been declared unlawful. When King Urragon III Greyiron died, the king's family called a kingsmoot while Torgon Greyiron, the deceased king's eldest son, was off at sea raiding. The kingsmoot raised up Urrathon IV Goodbrother, whose first act was to put all the present kin of the old king to death. Torgon the Latecomer returned two years later and claimed the kingsmoot was unlawful since he, the previous king's son, was not present to put forth his candidacy as was his right. Since Urrathon was bloodthirsty and his cruelty made him many enemies, the priests and ironborn denounced him and raised Torgon to be the new king.
Torgon and his son, King Urragon IV Greyiron, both ruled without being chosen by a kingsmoot. The priests of the Drowned God insisted upon a kingsmoot when Urragon IV died, however. This last kingsmoot turned into a bloodbath. Urron Greyiron gathered his men and killed all the other attendees. Urron Redhand declared himself the King of the Iron Islands and set up the rule of House Greyiron, who wore an iron crown instead of individualized driftwood crowns.
Euron Greyjoy was elected the new Iron King - by Zippo514 ©
Aeron Greyjoy declares a kingsmoot as the proper way to raise the next King of the Iron Islands after the death of King Balon. from taking the Seastone Chair.
Several ironborn put themselves forward as a possible candidate.
Lord Gylbert Farwynd comes first as a candidate, with his three sons (Gyles, Ygon and Yohn) as his champions, promising the ironborn that if he becomes king he will lead them to a new bountiful land across the Sunset Sea, as Nymeria did with her ten thousand ships. His gifts are whale bone, sealskins and bronze.
Erik Ironmaker, called the Anvil-breaker, comes next carried on a palanquin by three of his grandsons; Dagon, Thormor and Urek. His gifts are silver, bronze and a few steel daggers and blades. Asha humiliates him by asking him to stand on his own two feet, which he is unable to do.
Lord Dunstan Drumm comes next. His champions are Andrik the Unsmiling and Drumm's sons Donnel and Denys. Dunstan's speech starts well but he talks too long and soon loses the interest of the crowd. His gifts of bronze do not win them back to him.
Victarion Greyjoy comes next with Nute the Barber, Ralf the Limper and Red Ralf Stonehouse as his champions. He is well received and his gifts of gold, silver and gems add to his supporters.
Asha Greyjoy comes next with Qarl the Maid, Tristifer Botley and Ser Harras Harlaw as her champions. She does better than anyone expected. Unlike the rest, her gifts are cobblestones, pinecones and turnips. She shows the ironborn these gifts to demonstrate that this is what they have won so far by fighting the North, losing fathers and sons for these "treasures". She offers them a chance for land, peace and victory. She wins much support, but many more support Victarion and it looks like there is about to be a riot between their followers.
Euron Greyjoy has one of his men, Cragorn, blow the dragon horn, which silences the fighting. Euron then steps forward and claims the horn they heard can bind dragons to his will, and that he knows where to locate three of the creatures. He promises to use them so the ironborn can conquer all of Westeros. His men then pour forward his gifts, a wealth of treasure. Euron is elected the new Iron King. However, the election could be declared unlawful should the survival of Theon Greyjoy became known to the ironborn, as he was absent to put forth his candidacy.
Kingspyre Tower, the tallest of Harrenhal's towers. Art by Lino Drieghe © FFG
Kingspyre Tower is the largest and tallest of the five towers of Harrenhal. The original name for the tower was lost when Harren the Black and his sons died during Aegon's Conquest. It received its new name when Aegon I Targaryen had his dragon, Balerion, burn Harren and his sons alive in the tower.
The tower is lopsided beneath the weight of slagged stone, the result of Balerion's dragonfire.
The solar is one flight below the lord's bedchamber. It is a spare, drafty room that is as large as a hall in a smaller castle.
Prince Daemon Targaryen led the assault on Harrenhal at the start of the Dance of the Dragons. The castellan of Harrenhal, the elderly Ser Simon Strong, was quick to strike his banners when the prince and Caraxes lighted atop Kingspyre Tower.
When Lord Tywin Lannister takes Harrenhal, he keeps his apartments in Kingspyre Tower.
Ser Amory Lorch, the castellan after Tywin leaves, resides in the tower.
The kingsroad north of Winterfell, as depicted in *Game of Thrones*.
The Kingsroad - by Julepe. © FFG
The Kingsroad in the North, under snowfall - by Julepe. © FFG
The kingsroad is the main overland route in the Seven Kingdoms and extends for almost two thousand miles. From the northernmost end at Castle Black, at the Wall, it runs south to Winterfell and then on through Moat Cailin and the only causeway through the Neck to the capital at King's Landing and continues south to Storm's End. It is not as impressive as the great Valyrian roads of the past, but overall it increases mobility and speeds of travel.
See also: Images of the Kingsroad
The kingsroad's quality varies from place to place. Its main section is between King's Landing and the Neck and sustains numerous inns and villages along its length. Just north of King's Landing, the grand road is initially little more than two narrow dirt tracks, winding back and forth on itself.. North of the Neck and south of King's Landing the road winds down. Inns exist, but they are farther apart and much less able to accommodate large parties.
The kingsroad begins in the stormlands at Storm's End on Shipbreaker Bay.
At the inn at the crossroads, the kingsroad meets the river road from the Trident and the high road from the Vale of Arryn. Nearby is Lord Harroway's Town. It continues north, running east of the Green Fork of the Trident and the Twins. The causeway of the kingsroad is the only safe way through the Neck, although the crannogmen know of other routes through the swampy terrain. The formidable ruins of Moat Cailin guard the northern edge of the Neck.
After Moat Cailin, the kingsroad travels north through the barrowlands, the southeastern wolfswood, and a tributary of the White Knife to Winterfell, the seat of House Stark in the north. Once the kingsroad moves beyond Winterfell, inns are still available and farms are guarded by holdfasts. West of the road lie the flint foothills of the northern mountains and to the east are rolling plains..
After leaving the lands of House Umber, the kingsroad enters the territory of the Night's Watch, passing through the Gift and near Queenscrown.
The kingsroad was built during the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen
The Battle of the Kingsroad between Lord Borros Baratheon and the Lads was the last battle of the Dance of the Dragons.
During Robert's Rebellion, Prince Lewyn Martell led ten thousand Dornishmen on the kingsroad to the Trident.
King Robert I Baratheon's retinue travels the kingsroad to offer the position of Hand of the King to Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell,
Tyrion Lannister accompanies Benjen Stark and Jon Snow north to Castle Black.
Traffic on the kingsroad south of the Neck intensifies in anticipation of the Hand's tourney. Blaming Tyrion for an attempt on her son Bran's life, Catelyn abducts the returning Tyrion at the crossroads inn.
With Ned Stark arrested by the Iron Throne after the death of Robert, Robb Stark gathers northmen to Winterfell. His host is joined by other bannermen as they travel south along the kingsroad.
Yoren brings a group of recruits for the Night's Watch, including Arya Stark and Gendry, from King's Landing.
In response to Robett Glover and Ser Helman Tallhart marching on Duskendale, Tywin sends Ser Gregor Clegane to cut off their retreat on the kingsroad.
Following the sack of Winterfell, soldiers from House Bolton search the kingsroad for the missing Bran and Rickon Stark.
Prince Oberyn Martell leads nine of the most powerful lords of Dorne to King's Landing along the kingsroad.
A hundred Thenns and sixteen raiders of the free folk travel up the kingsroad to attack the Night's Watch from the south.
In the aftermath of the Red Wedding, Lord Randyll Tarly controls the kingsroad in the riverlands and crownlands.
Ser Jaime Lannister leads a host from King's Landing north to Hayford and Harrenhal.
Traveling from Castle Black to Mole's Town, Jon Snow observes newly-carved heart trees overlooking the kingsroad.
Ramsay Bolton has the executed ironborn garrison nailed to posts on the kingsroad after the siege of Moat Cailin is resolved.
The kingsroad near Winterfell is blanketed by snowfall from a fierce blizzard,
My lady, let me accompany you at least. The kingsroad can be perilous for a woman alone.
– Rodrik Cassel to Catelyn Stark
The kingsroad can be perilous this far north.
– Jeor Mormont to Tyrion Lannister
These days, the sea is safer than the kingsroad.
– Eddard Stark to Sansa Stark and Arya Stark
I'd stay well clear of that kingsroad, if I were you. It's worse than bad, I hear. Wolves and lions both, and bands of broken men preying on anyone they can catch.
– peasant to Brienne of Tarth, Jaime Lannister, and Cleos Frey
When there was a Stark in Winterfell, a maiden girl could walk the kingsroad in her name-day gown and still go unmolested, and travelers could find fire, bread, and salt at many an inn and holdfast. But the nights are colder now, and doors are closed. There's squids in the wolfswood, and flayed men ride the kingsroad asking after strangers.
- a Liddle to Bran Stark, Meera Reed, and Jojen Reed
Kingswood
The crownlands and the location of the kingswood
Kingswood
The stormlands and the location of the kingswood
Stag in the kingswood - by Juan Carlos Barquet © FFG
Kingswood Fiefdom by Franz Miklis © Fantasy Flight Games
The kingswood is a large forest that lies across the Blackwater Rush from King's Landing. It is in the southern crownlands and the northern stormlands and is traversed by the kingsroad.
The kingswood contains a private hunting area for the King on the Iron Throne. However, some smallfolk live in the forest. Although it is rainy, the region is fertile enough.
In the Dawn Age the kingswood was part of a vast primeval forest which also included the current rainwood.
The forest as far as the Blackwater Rush was once within the domain of the Storm Kings of House Durrandon. In the aftermath of the War of Conquest, however, the lands of House Baratheon of Storm's End were bounded in the north by the south bank of the Wendwater and the southern kingswood..
King Aegon IV Targaryen sent siege engines in the shape of dragons to attack Dorne, but almost a quarter of the kingswood burned when the seven mechanical dragons caught fire.
The forest was the hideout of an infamous band of outlaws, the Kingswood Brotherhood.
King Robert I Baratheon was hunting in the kingswood when Queen Cersei Lannister gave birth to Prince Joffrey Baratheon.
King Robert I Baratheon is hunting in the kingswood when he is mortally wounded by a boar.
Tyrion Lannister sends expert woodsmen and the Vale mountain clansmen who had accompanied him to King's Landing to the kingswood in preparation for Stannis Baratheon's imminent arrival. There they prey on Stannis's baggage train and harry his flanks.
After the Battle of the Blackwater, the Stone Crows remain in the kingswood.
The Kingswood Brotherhood was an infamous outlaw organization during the reign of King Aerys II. Operating out of the Kingswood, the Brotherhood gained recognition by kidnapping several nobles and evading early attempts to capture them. Ultimately, they became such a nuisance that King Aerys sent a detachment of soldiers led by notable members of the Kingsguard to destroy them. Lord Sumner Crakehall and his two squires, Jaime Lannister and Merrett Frey, were also part of the retinue.
Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Gerold Hightower was injured in an earlier raid by the Brotherhood, when they attacked Princess Elia Martell's escort through the woods. The king's detachment was led by Ser Arthur Dayne instead.
The Brotherhood was sheltered by the smallfolk of the Kingswood, preventing the royal forces from finding and ending the outlaws. However, Ser Arthur Dayne gained the confidence of the smallfolk, who had believed that the only ones protecting their rights was the Brotherhood. Arthur petitioned the king for better rights for the smallfolk, and he made sure the royal forces paid for any items they took from the peasantry. Arthur's actions swung the allegiance of the smallfolk to the royal forces, who could now hunt the Brotherhood, as the outlaws could no longer walk around with impunity in the forest.
In a notable clash, the young Jaime Lannister, Ser Arthur Dayne, and Ser Barristan Selmy faced off against several notable outlaws, including the Smiling Knight and their leader, Simon Toyne. Barristan killed Simon, while Arthur killed the Smiling Knight. Jaime regards the battle, in which he crossed swords with the Smiling Knight, as one of his fondest memories.
Other members of the Brotherhood included Wenda the White Fawn, Oswyn Longneck the Thrice-Hanged, Big Belly Ben, Fletcher Dick and Ulmer. All members are presumed dead except Ulmer, who joined the Night's Watch to avoid execution.
There was a song written about the Brotherhood. Some lyrics are:
No man's gold was from them,
nor any maiden's hand.
Oh, the brothers of the Kingswood,
that fearsome outlaw band.
There is also another song about Big Belly Ben and the High Septon's goose. It is a silly song.
Aemond Targaryen killed his nephew Lucerys Velaryon during the Dance of the Dragons. Art from the *Game of Thrones* Season 5 Blu-ray, supplemental content.
Kinslaying is a great taboo in Westeros. Any individual who kills a member of their own family is dubbed a kinslayer, and believed to be cursed forever.
The stigma and notoriety of kinslaying can go both ways. For example, Victarion Greyjoy hates his brother Euron and thinks about killing him, but the stigma and curse associated with kinslaying is what restrains him from doing so.
According to George R.R. Martin:
There are degrees in kinslaying, as in anything else. Fighting a battle in which a brother dies might be frowned upon, but killing him with your own hand would be considered far worse.
Robert Baratheon: Killed his distant cousin, Rhaegar Targaryen during the Battle of the Trident.
Stannis Baratheon: conceived a shadow assassin with Melisandre that went on to slay his younger brother King Renly Baratheon. Note, Renly intended that Stannis would die in battle (by his hand or by one of his men's),
Tyrion Lannister: accused of the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey I Baratheon, of which he is actually innocent.
Ramsay Snow: his own father, Lord Roose Bolton, suspects he poisoned his half-brother Domeric, Roose's trueborn son.
Euron Greyjoy: is suspected of being involved in the death of his older brother Balon.
Robb Stark: when preparing to execute Rickard Karstark, per Eddard Stark's custom that the man who passes the sentence should also swing the sword, Karstark calls Robb a kinslayer due to the blood ties between House Stark and House Karstark.
Theon Greyjoy: named a kinslayer by some for his supposed murder of Bran and Rickon Stark; although they are not his blood kin, he was their father's ward and was raised with them.
Gregor Clegane: It is rumored that he murdered his father and his sister.
Gilwood Hunter: Was accused by his two younger brothers Eustace and Harlan of killing their father Eon Hunter.
Harlan Hunter: According to Petyr Baelish, Harlan murdered his father Eon Hunter.
Fratricide ... my lord, this is evil, unthinkable.
– Maester Cressen, considers the thought of Stannis killing his younger brother, Renly
Old gods or new, it makes no matter, no man is so accursed as the kinslayer.
Jaime had not wanted to believe it. Kinslaying was worse than kingslaying, in the eyes of gods and men. He knew the boy was mine. I loved Tyrion. I was good to him. Well, but for that one time ... but the imp did not know the truth of that.
– Jaime Lannister's thoughts
The gods hate kinslayers, even when they kill unknowing.
– Ygritte
Kinslaying is dry work. It gives a man a thirst.
– Tyrion Lannister, to Illyrio Mopatis, on his drinking too much wine.
Kinslayer or no, I am a lion still.
– Tyrion Lannister, to Illyrio Mopatis
Tell me, my lord ... if the kinslayer is accursed, what is a father to do when one son slays another?
– Roose Bolton, to Theon Greyjoy
The gods hate kinslayers.
– Victarion Greyjoy, brooding on his brother.
Kinvara is a red priestess, one of the high-ranking leaders in the religion of R'hllor, the Lord of Light. Her character was created specifically for the television adaptation *Game of Thrones*, in which she is played by Ania Bukstein. She replaces Benerro, as the High Priest of Volantis, who supports Daenerys Targaryen, as well as the red priest, Moqorro, who is sent to Meereen to meet Daenerys.
Kinvara meets with Tyrion Lannister and Varys in the Great Pyramid of Meereen as Tyrion plans to get her help into convincing the people to follow Daenerys as their guardian and protector rather than a conqueror or a invader. Tyrion greets her in High Valyrian but she stays silent until she states, in the Common Tongue, he does not need to persuade her into helping. Kinvara is sure that Daenerys is the one who was promised, using her freeing of the slaves and her dragons as examples of her claim; Kinvara is thus happy to assist Daenerys's associates however she can. Before she and Tyrion can complete their agreement Varys interrupts, pointing out that Melisandre has proclaimed Stannis Baratheon to be the One and that he was defeated by Tyrion in the Battle of the Blackwater and later in Winterfell, the second time for good. He complains about how religion is overly self-assured of its own tenets and that everything is the "will of the Lord", and asks her why he should believe in her words when another one of the red priestesses was wrong. Kinvara states that everything is the will of the Lord, but that men can commit errors. She asks him if he remembers what the voice in the flames said when the "second rate sorcerer" threw his man parts into the flames, or if he knows who was speaking on the other side, rendering Varys speechless. She asks if he needs her to speak the very same words, or to identify the speaker; Varys cannot bring himself to answer. As Kinvara turns to leave, she assures Tyrion that she will call on her best priests and preachers to speak about the Queen through all of Essos.
Ser Kirby Pimm was a knight, during the reign of King Aerys I Targaryen.
He was large and blond.
Ser Kirby was present when Ser Morgan Dunstable knighted Ser Glendon Flowers at the Pussywillows.
In 211 AC, Kirby attended the Whitewalls Tourney. He intervened when Ser Glendon Flowers was denied entry into the tourney and explained how Ser Glendon came about his knighthood to the stewards.
Maester Kirth was a maester of the Citadel. He wrote the book *Songs the Drowned Men Sing*. He suggested that the Seastone Chair, which the original First Men settlers of the uninhabited Iron Islands discovered on Old Wyk, was left by visitors from across the Sunset Sea.
Kirth Vance is a member of House Vance of Atranta. He has four brothers; Ser Ronald, Ser Ellery, Ser Hugo and Maester Jon.
Kirth is a reference by George R. R. Martin to Kirth Gersen, the protagonist of the *Demon Princes* series by Jack Vance.
The kiss of life refers to:
See kissed by fire for the wildling meaning.
"'Kissed By Fire" is the fifth episode of the third season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series *Game of Thrones*, and the 25th episode of the series. Written by story editor Bryan Cogman and directed by Alex Graves, it aired on April 28, 2013.
The Hound is tried. Jaime recalls his past to Brienne. Robb is betrayed. Jon and Ygritte spend some time alone. Stannis visits his family. Davos has a visitor. Littlefinger uncovers a plot. The Lannisters arrange marriages.
The title of the episodes alludes to the term wildlings uses to red-haired people like Ygritte, who are considered to be blessed with good luck.
Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye) leads the Brotherhood Without Banners in a prayer to the Lord of Light before Lord Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) and the Hound (Rory McCann) begin their trial by combat. Dondarrion uses his blood to magically set his sword afire, which visibly frightens the pyrophobic Hound. This gives Beric the early advantage and he even manages to set the Hound's shield on fire, but when the Hound presses back Beric's flaming sword breaks and the Hound cuts through his armor and deep into his shoulder, killing him.
Thoros rushes to Dondarrion and begins to pray, while the Hound tries desperately to extinguish his burning shield. Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) tries to kill the Hound, but Gendry (Joe Dempsie) stops her. The Hound taunts that the red god prefers him to her butcher's boy, and Arya curses him. They are interrupted by Dondarrion, whom Thoros' prayer has resurrected. Having won the trial, the Hound is freed. The Brotherhood return his weapons but keep all of his gold and leave him only a promissory note. The Hound declares them thieves, but Anguy (Phillip McGinley) insists he should be thankful to be alive. Arya insists the Hound is guilty, but Beric shouts her down and bids the Hound go in peace, promising the Lord of Light is not done with him. The Hound is hooded and escorted out by the outlaws to be released.
Afterward, Arya finds Gendry repairing Beric's armor and he explains his intent to smith for the Brotherhood. Arya argues that her brother King Robb needs men too, but Gendry says he is done serving other men. Arya points out that he will be serving Lord Beric, but Gendry says at least the Brotherhood chose Beric and they are more like a family, something he has never had. Arya offers that she could be his family, but Gendry solemnly points out that their class difference means they can never be family: he would always be a commoner and she would be "my lady."
Later that night, Arya recites her kill list beside the fire. The Brotherhood plan to ransom her at Riverrun; Beric would like to waive the ransom out of respect for her father, but they need the gold to support themselves. Beric know Arya is angry with him, but insists releasing the Hound was the right thing to do. When Arya ask how he survived death, Thoros explains that the Lord of Light brings him back. Beric opens his tunic to reveal several grievous scars and they explain he has been resurrected six times now. He has been killed by lance, sword, arrow, axe, and for his fifth death the Lannisters hanged him and stuck a dagger in his eye. Beric sadly admits that each time he loses pieces of who he was. Arya asks if Thoros could bring back a man without a head. Thoros and Beric understand she means her father, but Thoros says he does not think it works that way. Beric tries to console her that he would not wish his resurrection on her father, but Arya says she would because at least Beric is alive.
Locke (Noah Taylor) proudly presents his captives Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) to his commander, Lord Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton). Bolton remains calm, but is visibly furious that Locke has maimed such a valuable hostage. He disgustedly orders Locke to dispose of Jaime's rotting hand, apologizes to Brienne for her treatment, and orders suitable accommodations prepared for them. When Jaime presses for news from the capital, Bolton toys with him by leading him to believe the worst before revealing the truth. Jaime collapses in relief and Bolton calls for him to be attended by Qyburn (Anton Lesser).
Examining Jaime's stump, Qyburn discovers it has become badly infected. He assures Jaime he will not die, but the safest option would be to remove the arm at the shoulder. Jaime insists he will kill Qyburn if he tries. He notices that Qyburn wears a maester's robes but lacks a maester's chain of office. Qyburn explains that he was striped of his chain because his experiments were "too bold." He offers to make the cut at Jaime's elbow, but Jaime finds the strength to grab him by the throat and threatens to kill him again. Qyburn agrees to do his best to save the whole arm. He offers Jaime milk of the poppy for the pain, but Jaime refuses, fearing Qyburn means to drug him to sleep and take his whole arm. Qyburn cautions that the pain will be fierce, but Jaime insists he will scream loudly, which he does.
Afterward, Jaime joins Brienne in Harrenhal's bathhouse and climbs into the same massive tub. Startled, Brienne insists there are other tubs, but Jaime wants her close by to save him from drowning if he faints. When Brienne asks why she should care, Jaime brings up her oath to return him safely and implies his lost hand is a mark of failure. However, when Jaime claims that she failed Renly as well, Brienne defiantly stands to confront him in the nude. Jaime immediately apologizes, admitting she did her best. When he asks for a truce, Brienne acidly declares a truce is built on trust, but Jaime insists that he trusts her.
As Brienne settles back into the tub, Jaime notes that he has seen the look on her face countless times in the past seventeen years: contempt for the Kingslayer. He asks if she knows about wildfire, and explains that Mad King Aerys was obsessed with it and loved to watch men he thought were against him burn. Eventually, half the realm was against him, so Aerys had his pyromancers place caches of wildfire all over King's Landing, even under the Red Keep itself. After Robert's victory at the Trident, Jaime's father arrived with the his army, promising to defend the city. Jaime says he and Varys warned Aerys not to trust Lord Tywin and urged a peaceful surrender, but Aerys listened to Grand Maester Pycelle instead. When the sack began, Jaime says he begged the king to surrender, but instead Aerys ordered Jaime to kill his own father and ordered his pyromancer to ignite the wildfire and burn them all.
Jaime asks if Brienne would have kept her oath if her precious Renly commanded her to kill her own father and stand by while thousands of innocents burned alive. When she does not answer, Jaime continues that first he killed the pyromancer, then stabbed Aerys in the back as he turned to run. Jaime says believes Aerys did not expected to die in the fire, but rather thought he would be reborn as a dragon, so Jaime cut his throat to make sure that did not happen.
Stunned, Brienne asks why Jaime never told anyone this before to defend his honor. Jaime rages that the honorable Lord Eddard Stark judged him guilty on sight and would never have listened to his side. In a sudden frenzy, Jaime springs to his feet and demands to know by what right the wolf judges the lion. The strain is quickly too much, however, and Jaime collapses. Brienne manages to catch him before he hits the water and calls for help for the Kingslayer. Delirious, Jaime whispers to her, "Jaime. My name is Jaime."
Lord Rickard Karstark (John Stahl) fights his way into the cell of the captive squires Willem and Martyn Lannister with some of his men, killing the guardsmen posted there. Confused, Willem asks if it is a rescue before he is killed. Martyn begs that he is just an innocent squire, but Lord Rickard stabs him to death regardless.
The boys' bodies are presented to King Robb Stark (Richard Madden) in the great hall. When the culprits are brought in, Robb notes with disgust that it took five men to murder two unarmed squires. Lord Rickard insists it was vengeance for his sons, but Robb rages that these were boys. Karstark blames Robb's mother Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) for driving him to this by freeing Jaime Lannister, and argues that the only treason is freeing enemies, not killing them. In the process he calls Robb a boy and declares that Robb, whom he mocks as "the King Who Lost the North," only means to give him a scolding. With calm fury, Robb orders Karstark taken away and his men hanged. When one begs mercy because he only watched for the guards, Robb orders him hanged last so he can watch the others die.
Robb's uncle Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies) insists that Tywin Lannister's retribution for his nephews will be fierce; he suggests they quietly bury the boys and keep quiet until after the war. Robb insists he cannot fight for justice if he will not deal justice to his own men. Catelyn and his wife Talisa warn Robb that the Karstark forces will abandon him if he executes their lord. All three urge Robb to keep Lord Rickard as a hostage, but Robb ignores their pleas.
At his execution, Lord Rickard recalls the long service to House Stark and reminds Robb that the Starks and Karstarks are kin.--personally executes Lord Rickard.
As predicted, the Karstark forces abandon Robb, depriving him of almost half his forces. As he broods over his campaign maps, Robb explains to Talisa that Tywin Lannister knows he only needs to wait for them to unravel. Talisa suggests they force a battle, but Robb declares that an attack on King's Landing would be suicide. Talisa then suggest they retreat north, drive out the Greyjoys, and return in the spring. Robb replies that winter could last five years and once his men are home they will not want to leave again. He laments that when he gathered his army they were united by a purpose, but now they are like bickering children. Talisa encourages him to find a new purpose, but when Robb asks what that could be she admits she does not know the geography. As Robb gently guides her through the locations, his eye catches something: with the main Lannister army stationed at King's Landing in the east, the Westerlands and Lord Tywin's home at Casterly Rock are open to attack and cannot run away. A victory there will demoralize the Lannisters and reinvigorate the Starks. When Talisa asks if Robb can do it, he admits that he needs to replace the Karstarks by winning back the allegiance of House Frey, who withdrew their support when he broke his vow and married Talisa.
En route to the Wall, Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and Orell (Mackenzie Crook) question Jon Snow (Kit Harington) about the defenses, though they refuse to say where they mean to climb. Jon admits that out of nineteen castles, only Castle Black, Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and the Shadow Tower are manned. When Tormund asks about the garrison at Castle Black, Jon lies that there are a thousand men, which Orell does not believe. Jon aggressively defends his lie, backed by Ygritte (Rose Leslie), but Tormund promises to kill him if he lies.
As they walk away, Ygritte steals Jon's sword Longclaw and insists he steal it back, leading him into a nearby cave with a hot spring. There she starts undressing and insists Jon break his oath of celibacy with her. Jon is quite hesitant because of his vows and his virginity, but once they start kissing he begins kissing his way down her body. Ygritte asks why he is still dressed, but her accusation, "You know nothing, Jon Snow," ends mid-word when he starts performing oral sex on her.
Laying together afterward, Ygritte asks if oral sex is what lords do to their ladies in the south, but Jon admits he's never been with anyone else. The thought that Jon was a "maid" amuses Ygritte, but she admits she was not. Her first was a boy with red hair--"kissed by fire"--like her, but he was weak, not like Jon. She begin listing other boys, which makes Jon uncomfortable, so he urges they should get back. Ygritte refuses and they move to one of the hot pools, where Ygritte expresses a wish that they could stay in the cave forever and forget all the horrible things happening in the word outside.
King Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) visits his wife Selyse (Tara Fitzgerald) in her chambers. Selyse is a fanatical believer in the Lord of Light, and Stannis finds her praying. They have a very reserved and formal relationship, but Selyse reveres him as the Lord of Light's chosen one. She assures Stannis he will be victorious one day, but he does not believe her anymore. Bound by his sense of duty, Stannis confesses and begins to apologize for his adultery with Melisandre, but Selyse says she knows and claims nothing done to serve the Lord of Light can be a sin. She insists she wept for joy when Melisandre told her, and adds that Melisandre gave Stannis a son (of sorts) while she gave him nothing but stillborns (whom she keeps preserved in jars). Stannis insists that is not true and insists on seeing his daughter, Princess Shireen (Kerry Ingram. Selyse considers this only a distraction, but relents because Stannis is her king.
He finds Shireen, whose face has been disfigured by greyscale, drawing and singing a song about life under the sea. She is excited to see him and asks if he won his battle. When Stannis admits he did not, Shireen asks if her friend Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) came back with him, then shows Stannis the toy ship Davos gave her. Awkwardly, Stannis explains that Davos has been imprisoned for treason and advises Shireen to forget him.
That night, Shireen sneaks down to visit Davos in the dungeons. He insists she should not be there, but Shireen assures him the guard on duty drank too much wine and is sleeping. She asks if Davos is truly a traitor and he admits he is for disobeying Stannis. Shireen does not care and offers Davos a book about Aegon the Conqueror to pass the time. Davos tries to refuse and admits he cannot read. Undaunted, Shireen offers to teach him. When Davos insist they cannot, Shireen asks what the guards could do besides lock them in cells. They share a laugh and Shireen begins reading to him.
Rather than depart for Westeros, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her army of Unsullied march north to free the slaves of nearby Yunkai. As they travel, Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) and Ser Barristan Selmy (Ian McElhinney) discuss the Siege of Pyke during the Greyjoy Rebellion. Jorah explains that he was the second man through the breach behind Thoros of Myr, who fought with a flaming sword. Jorah recalls the moment King Robert knighted him after the battle as the proudest of his life, though at the time he was preoccupied by how badly he needed to piss after sixteen hours in his armor.
Barristan recalls Robert as a good man, a great warrior, and a terrible king. He laments that he wasted his life fighting for terrible kings, but a man of honor keeps his vows, even to a drunk or a lunatic. Barristan declares that he wants to serve with pride for someone he believes in just once before he dies. Then he asks if Jorah believes in Daenerys and Jorah replies, "With all my heart."
When Barristan explains that Robert wanted Daenerys dead, Jorah asks if any of the small council spoke against it, probing to know whether Barristan knows he was originally spying on Daenerys. Barristan replies that he was never welcome on the small council, despite the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard's traditional seat, because he served the Mad King and killed a dozen of Robert's friends on the Trident.
Relieved, Jorah turns the conversation to their return to Westeros. Barristan says Daenerys will have good, experienced men to advise her, but he respectfully criticizes Jorah's reputation. Jorah admits he deserves his bad reputation for selling slaves, but he takes offense when Barristan implies he should not be present when they invade Westeros. He points out that he was defending Daenerys while Barristan was still bowing to Robert and insists he takes orders from Daenerys, not Barristan.
Meanwhile, Daenerys and her handmaiden Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) meet with the officers of the Unsullied. She asks whom they have chosen as their commander and the eunuchs part ranks to reveal their choice. At Daenerys' request, their new leader (Jacob Anderson) removes his helmet and introduces himself as Grey Worm. Missandei explains that the Unsullied are forced to take demeaning names to remind them they are worthless vermin. Disgusted, Daenerys proclaims that the Unsullied may choose new names or reclaim their old ones. The Unsullied commander insists he will remain Grey Worm; the name he had when he was made a slave was accursed, but Grey Worm was his name the day Daenerys set him free. Daenerys is visibly touched by his devotion.
Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) meets with Littlefinger (w:Aidan Gillen) to ask his help. She fears the Tyrells do not have the crown's best interests at heart, but her father Lord Tywin needs facts. She asks that Baelish use his good working relationship with the Tyrells to investigate before he leaves for the Vale. He agrees, and Cersei implies that she expects better results than when he failed to find Arya Stark.
Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner and Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) watch Ser Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones) sparring. Sansa compliments Loras' skill and asks when they might marry. Margaery replies that she will plant the seed once she and Joffrey are married. Sansa worries Joffrey has too many reasons to keep her close, but Margaery remains sure she can convince him.
After the match, a young squire named Olyvar brings water to Loras and begins flirting with him. Soon after the two are having sex back in Loras' chambers. As they finish, Loras wonders aloud how Olyvar knew about his sexuality when his betrothed seems unaware of it. Olyvar declares slyly that they rarely do. Immediately after, Olyvar reports back to his employer, Littlefinger, so he may pass the information on to Cersei.
Soon after, Littlefinger meets with Sansa, who is watching the ships. He notes that she is wearing her hair in a similar style to Margaery and asks he again if she wants to accompany him to the Vale of Arryn. Sansa admits she wants to go home more than anything, but tries her hand at lying by suggesting they wait until after the royal wedding because she is concerned about the danger it would put him in. Undeceived, Littlefinger thanks her for her concern and asks her to call him Petyr, since they are friends.
Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) summons Lady Olenna Tyrell (Dianna Rigg) to discuss the mounting cost of the upcoming royal wedding. Tyrion suggests the extravagance is unseemly and undesired in wartime, but Olenna quickly lists off detailed figures of the soldiers and supplies House Tyrell has provided, demonstrating that she is quite familiar with wartime expenses. She adds that the royal wedding will help keep the common people distracted and prevent them from turning on the nobility again. Olenna has clearly won the debate, so Tyrion is shocked when she willingly offers to pay for half the cost of the wedding and departs.
Tyrion reports his success to Lord Tywin (Charles Dance), but finds his father uninterested. Tywin explains that Cersei, who acts quite smug about her success, has uncovered the Tyrell's plot to marry Sansa to Loras and steal the key to the North. When Tyrion questions her value, Tywin explains that without the Karstarks Robb's days are numbered and Sansa is his heir. Tyrion argues that the Tyrells are too valuable to refuse, but Tywin points out that if they act first and find Sansa a different husband, the Tyrells cannot openly object without revealing their plot.
Tyrion quickly realizes they are talking about him and protests that forcing Sansa to marry him after just escaping Joffrey is cruel. Tywin declares that Sansa's happiness is neither his concern nor Tyrion's. Tyrion protests that she is a child, but Cersei assures him Sansa is a maid who can bear children. Tyrion threatens to refuse, but Tywin points out that he demanded a reward for his service and the heir to the North is a better reward than he could hope for. He adds that it is past time Tyrion was wed, which leads Tyrion to declare he was wed.
Cersei gloats that Tyrion should be thankful, but her satisfaction vanishes when Tywin declares that she is expected to marry Loras. She refuses, but Tywin insist such a marriage will secure Lannister control over the Reach as Tyrion's will secure the North. She protests that she is the Queen Regent not a broodmare, but Tywin roars that she is his daughter and will as she is told and put an end to the rumors of incest once and for all. Cersei tries pleading instead of defiance, but Tywin is unmoved. Standing, he rages that both of them have disgrace the family name for far too long. As their father departs, Tyrion and Cersei can only brood in silent defeat.
Main cast members Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon), Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran Stark), Conleth Hill (Varys), Sibel Kekilli (Shae), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), and Carice van Houten (Melisandre) do not appear in this episode and are not credited.
This episode marks the introduction of Queen Selyse Baratheon, played by Tara Fitzgerald. The character previously appeared in a single scene of the episode "The North Remembers" played by an extra named Sarah MacKeever. The episode also marks the debut of Kerry Ingram as Princess Shireen Baratheon and Jacob Anderson as the Unsullied commander Grey Worm.
The episode is roughly based on chapters 19, 20, 26, 31, 34, and 37 of *A Storm of Swords*.
The following scenes do no appear in the books:
Ygritte. Red hair is rare among the free folk. © Matt Olson
Kissed by fire is a term used by the free folk to describe people with red hair. They consider red hair to be lucky and very attractive. It is rare among the free folk and those who have it are said to be kissed by fire. The spearwife Ygritte is considered common looking by Jon Snow at first but when he joins the free folk he soon learns that amongst the wildlings she is considered a great beauty due to her red hair.
You’re kissed by fire, remember? Lucky.
Kite is an ironborn longship and part of the Iron Fleet. Its captain is Manfryd Merlyn.
Kite is part of the Iron Fleet contingent dispatched to Slaver's Bay.
Torrhen Stark yields to Aegon the Conqueror by kneeling before him.
Men loyal to Queen Daenerys Targaryen kneel in front of her. © FFG
Kneelers are what the free folk call those who live in the Seven Kingdoms south of the Wall. They consider it a derogatory term, as kneeling is a position of submission.
Beyond the Wall the free folk kneel for no man, while kneelers are subject to lords and kings. The free folk view the kneelers as lacking freedom,
I know your kneeler's knees must be itching, for want of some king to bend to.
You call us thieves, but at least a thief has t' be brave and clever and quick. A kneeler only has t' kneel.
When your enemies defy you, you must serve them steel and fire. When they go to their knees, however, you must help them back to their feet. Elsewise no man will ever bend the knee to you.
— Tywin Lannister to Joffrey I Baratheon
The free folk despise kneelers. Let them keep their pride, and they will love you better.
– Jon Snow to Stannis Baratheon
No man has ever died from bending his knee. He who kneels may rise again, blade in hand. He who will not kneel stays dead, stiff legs and all.
- Balon Greyjoy to Asha Greyjoy
Kneelers. Their lordly lord spoke, they must obey.
- Willow Witch-eye to Myrtle
Ser Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, by Michael Komarck ©
A knight is a member of a warrior tradition that is heavily interwoven in the feudal culture of the Seven Kingdoms and the Faith of the Seven. Knights occupy a social standing between that of lords and smallfolk. Contrary to the nobility, this rank is not hereditary. Knights are referred to with the title "Ser".
Knighthood likely has its roots in Andal culture
A knight of House Florent by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games
Any man can be knighted, no matter their birth. Social pressure keeps knighthood from being exploited by unscrupulous knights who might give the accolade for money.
Although lords hold certain legal rights (e.g., the right of pit and gallows) which knights do not have, and outrank knights at tourney’s and feasts, certain landed knights can be lord in all but name. It is mostly the title which sets the two apart, as the title of lord is generally considered to be more prestigious than the title “ser”. However, the title of a knight has its own prestige, as it cannot be inherited. And although knights are often ranked below lords, certain landed knights might actually be more powerful than lesser lords. It is certainly possible that a landed knight has more lands and wealth than a small lord. Especially landed knights who come from ancient houses, and who have extensive lands and a large, strong castle may actually be more powerful than many smaller lordlings. Such a peculiar status if often reflected by taking a style that incorporates the name of their castle, such as the Knight of Ninestars.
Lordly houses can be reduced to landed knights as punishment from the crown. The Conningtons, originally a lordly house, were reduced to landed knights by King Robert I Baratheon as a punishment for Lord Jon Connington's participation in Robert's Rebellion on the side of House Targaryen. Instead of being the Lord of Griffin's Roost, the head of House Connington is now known as the Knight of Griffin's Roost.
The Warrior's Sons were a military order of knights who gave up worldly possessions and swore their service to the High Septon.
Armor worn by Westerosi knights and warriors does not correspond one to one with any single period in European history, according to George R. R. Martin. Instead, it corresponds a mix of armor styles from several different time periods. Armor tends to "later" styles in southern Westeros. For example, plate is more common in the Reach, while mail is more the rule in the north. The armor used by free folk living beyond the Wall is rather primitive.
Knights can wear several different kinds of helmets. The "halfhelms" correspond to classic Norman helms from the Hastings era, conical helmets with open faces and a nasal bar. Other types of helmets are greathelms, both visored and closed,
Earning knighthood is also called ‘earning spurs’.
Knights display a coat-of-arms on their shield and surcoat to identify themselves. Those who are nobly born often wear the arms of their house. Some might chose to use variations of their house's sigil, however. Examples are Garlan and Loras Tyrell, who use two and three golden roses instead of one to indicate their positions are second and third son. A knight can also chose a completely new coat-of-arms. Many knights wear large crests on their helms that embellish the theme of their arms, such as a black trout for Ser Brynden Tully
At the time of the tourney at Ashford Meadow in 209 AC, a plain yet complete set of good steel armor with greaves, gorget, and greathelm could cost eight hundred stags, which equals almost four golden dragons.
Although not a requirement for becoming a knight, boys, often nobly born, can serve as pages and later squires. Boys can become pages at several different ages. It appears to be normal to become a page from the ages of six or seven onwards. Robert Arryn was six years old when his father, Lord Jon Arryn, planned on having him fostered at Dragonstone and serving as a page,
After several years of serving as a page, a boy can become a squire. Boys are not required to serve as a page before becoming a squire, so the age of squiring can range widely. While Samwell Tarly was supposed to become a page and cupbearer at the age of ten, were made squires at the age of ten.
Some squires choose to never become a knight, and live the rest of their lives as squires. This may be because the individual does not have the inclination to live a knight's martial lifestyle, or does not have the funds to properly equip himself.;
We tend to think of squires as teenaged boys, knights in training, but that is only part of the truth. Historically, there were many men who spent their entire lives as squires, and never became knights. It was quite common to have thirty- and forty-year-old squires, even some in their fifties. Such men perhaps did not have the wealth to become knights (knights had to pay for their own equipment), or perhaps did not have the inclination. They were the medieval counterparts of the career army sergeant who has no desire to be promoted to lieutenant, let alone general.
Pages and squires train at arms.
Most knights have already come of age when they receive their knighthoods. When Prince Maegor Targaryen was knighted at the age of sixteen in 28 AC, he was the youngest knight in the Seven Kingdoms at the time. were also sixteen years old when dubbed.
Exceptional fighters can be knighted at a younger age, however. Loras Tyrell,
Rhaegar Targaryen was newly knighted at seventeen,
Most men are knighted after demonstrating their prowess in tourneys, such as Daemon Blackfyre,
The motivation for receiving knighthood can be political. For example, Laenor Velaryon was knighted because he was to marry Rhaenyra Targaryen, the Princess of Dragonstone, and it was thought that it would only be appropriate that the prince consort of the Seven Kingdoms would be a knight.
Knighthood can also be acquired in less honorable ways. Tales are told of knights who gained their knighthoods with favors, coin, and threats. One such an example is Glendon Ball, who is claimed to have sold his maiden sister's virginity in exchange for receiving his knighthood.
A man being knighted by Jason Engle © Fantasy Flight Games
Any knight can make a knight. However, kings can make knights as well, even if they were never knighted themselves. On the other hand, lords cannot dub someone a knight if they have not previously been knighted themselves.
Knighthood is partially a religious matter, as it is usually open only to followers of the Faith of the Seven.
When knighting someone in a formal manner, the dubber speaks the knight-to-be's name and House, if he has one. The dubber touches the subject on the right shoulder with his sword, and while placing the sword on the other shoulder following every sentence says:
In the name of the Warrior I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother I charge you to defend the young and innocent. In the name of the Maid I charge you to protect all women....
In a less formal knighting ceremony, the dubber lays his sword upon the knight-to-be’s right shoulder, and says:
[Name of knight-to-be], do you swear before the eyes of gods and men to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to protect all women and children, to obey your captains, your liege lord, and your king, to fight bravely when needed and do such other tasks as are laid upon you, however hard or humble or dangerous they may be?
After the subject who is being knighted confirms that he will do as asked, the sword is moved to the left shoulder, and the dubber will say that the newly-made knight can rise.
Knights are supposed to be honorable and follow the chivalric codes.
Knights preferably have multiple horses, including one to travel on and another to ride in tourneys and in battle.
The host of a tourney decides whether only knights, or also sellswords, squires, and freeriders are allowed to compete. The Reach, the heart of the chivalric tradition in the Seven Kingdoms, is the most likely place to encounter a tourney only for knights.
Knights of House Qorgyle leading the charge by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games
Several different types of knights can be identified:
As knighthood is associated with the Faith of the Seven, there are fewer knights in the north than in southern Westeros, as only a few northern houses worship the Seven. Northern cavalry are just as fierce, loyal, and honorable as knights are.
Because most ironborn follow the Drowned God instead of the Seven,
I am a knight. I shall die a knight.
– Barristan Selmy to Joffrey I Baratheon's court
What do you think a knight is for, girl? You think it’s all taking favors from ladies and looking fine in gold plate? Knights are for killing.
– Sandor Clegane to Sansa Stark
Knights may keep their truces with other knights, but they are not so careful of their honor when dealing with those they deem outlaw.
– Black Lorren to Theon Greyjoy
I have seen a hundred tournaments and more wars than I would wish, and however strong or fast or skilled a knight may be, there are others who can match him.
– Arstan Whitebeard to Jorah Mormont
Any knight can make a knight, and every man you see before you has felt a sword upon his shoulder.
– Beric Dondarrion to Sandor Clegane
Sandor: Might be you are knights after all. You lie like knights, maybe you murder like knights.
Beric: Say what you mean, Clegane.
Sandor: A knight's a sword with a horse. The rest, the vows and the sacred oils and the lady’s favors, they’re silk ribbons tied round the sword. Maybe the sword’s prettier with ribbons hanging off it, but it will kill you just as dead.
– Sandor Clegane and Beric Dondarrion
Some knights are dark and full of terrors. War makes monsters of us all.
– Thoros of Myr to Brienne of Tarth
In my Seven Kingdoms, knights go on quests to prove themselves worthy of the maiden that they love. They seek for magic swords, for chests of gold, for crowns stolen from a dragon's hoard.
– Daenerys Targaryen to Hizdahr zo Loraq
Knights defend the weak and protect the innocent, they say. And I am the fairest maid in all Volantis.
– The widow of the waterfront to Jorah Mormont
Night work is not knight's work.
– Barbrey Dustin to Aenys Frey
Without honor, a knight is no more than a common killer. It is better to die with honor than to live without it.
– Barristan Selmy to his squires