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6 Revelations From George R.R. Martin’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Being a fan of George R.R. Martin’s work is like entering a marathon you never trained for: eventually, you will cross that finish line—even if it takes hours, days, or years—but you’re going to require a bunch of breaks along the way. Game of Thrones has certainly helped us all while away the hours until the release of The Winds of Winter, the next installment of his A Song of Ice and Fire epic, as have a smattering of preview chapters from that long-anticipated tome, the graphic novel adaptation, and last year’s mammoth The World of Ice and Fire.
This fall, we’re getting another one. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a compilation of three short Ice and Fire prequel novels previously published in three separate anthologies—Legends, Legends II, and Warriors. For the first time, they’re presented in a single volume, and, even better, beautifully illustrated with exclusive art from Gary Gianni.
Ships in 1-2 days.
Together, these stories chronicle the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (“Dunk”), a hedge knight, and his squire Egg, about 100 years before the start of A Game of Thrones. Show-watchers might remember “Egg” as the name Maester Aemon utters on his deathbed—it’s short for Aegon, fifth of his name, a future Targaryen king, and Aemon’s younger brother. Through these novellas, we see this unlikely liege come of age, in secret, at the side of Dunk, an equally unlikely knight.
Dunk and Egg are tremendously bad at keeping a low profile (or keeping themselves out of peril). But it’s educative for the latter, and for us. Here are a few things we learn about the wider world of Westeros in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
The Targaryens Had No Need for Enemies.
By the time we’re ushered into Westeros in A Game of Thrones, the dragons are dead (or so everyone thinks) as are the last of the Targaryens (or so everyone but Varys thinks). When Daenerys pops up with her silvery hair and purple eyes, she’s quite the novelty. Part of what’s fascinating about the Tales of Dunk and Egg is the journey back to a time when you couldn’t swing one of King Tommen’s cats without hitting the blood of old Valyria. Targaryen features were as dominant in genetic traits as Lannister looks, only with even more incest.
In fact, there were a few too many Targaryens running around. When it comes to thrones, you run into one of two problems: either you have too few heirs, or too many. King Daerion II, in power at the start of these stories, had four sons, three of whom had even more sons. Roughly half of this unbranching family tree is insane, possibly due to a long family history of incest.
While the realm is largely free from threats to the throne from outside clans, the in-fighting among the dragon people is never-ending, spiked with plots from royal bastards and lesser sons alike.
Everything Is Awful in Westeros All the Time.
You thought we were seeing the Seven Kingdoms at a nadir, didn’t you? No, this place has been a hellhole pretty much all throughout history. If you polled the smallfolk of each generation, you would get the same tale of constant misery; only the names of distant lords would change. Why? Because, with the exception of a few benevolent monarchs and liege lords, the place is run by lunatics, narcissists, and sadists. Take Aegon the Unworthy, Egg’s great-grandfather, who threw everything into turmoil by legitimizing all of his eleventy-billion bastards, ensuring a giant battle for succession. It makes you wonder what would have happened if Robert Baratheon had done the same… If Martin needs a blurb for the The Winds of Winter, I’d suggest this perennially accurate line from Dunk: “These were perilous times in Westeros, and…well, it was best to take no chances.”
There Really Might Be a Dragon Egg in Winterfell.
One of the most intriguing tidbits from The World of Ice and Fire told the legend of a clutch of dragon eggs placed in the crypts of Winterfell as House Stark and House Targaryen negotiated the Pact of Ice and Fire, which ensured a marriage to unite the families. Anyone who’s ever pondered R + L = J knows the importance of such a find.
It may be a legend, but it could be true. Egg tells Dunk that he and his brothers all have dragon’s eggs, long thought to be lost by the time of his birth. He adds that there are even more on Dragonstone. We know three eggs made their way to Dany, but who knows how many more could be out there.
Walder Frey Was Also Insufferable as a Child.
Not that you ever doubted it, but we get proof at his sister’s wedding, when Lord Frey’s “snot-nosed son” drives Dunk to such distraction with his shrieking and “irritating laugh” that the knight wishes he could toss him down a well. It’s actually comforting that Walder was always a pain in the Twins. If he’d had a tragic turning point, it might have forced us to sympathize with him. Better to know he was always a terror at weddings. (…Too soon?)
“The Bear and the Maiden Fair” Is the Song of Every Summer.
And every winter. And all the in-between times. The bawdy tune gets trotted out more than once in these 300-odd pages. Taylor Swift wishes she had this much longevity.
There’s More to Come.
The most important thing of note comes via Martin’s postscript, in which he reveals we haven’t seen the last of Dunk and Egg. He’s got 100 years of history to cover before he catches up to himself. Something to look forward to even after Winter has come?