In the centuries that the Targaryens ruled over Westeros, the family found themselves facing plenty of existential crises. From the Dance of Dragons to Robert’s Rebellion, House Targaryen’s dynasty could be defined by strife as much as it could by the ways it dramatically transformed life in Westeros. But this week, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms visited the aftermath of another such crisis—one that would plague the Targaryens for generations to come.
This week’s penultimate episode of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is primarily told in flashbacks as Dunk’s Trial of Seven begins and the Hedge Knight reflects on the events that brought him into a fight for his life. As small as his role in the aftermath of it all is, however, those events have lasting ramifications for the wider seven kingdoms: because the Blackfyre Rebellion, as it would come to be known, would continue to be a thorn in the side of House Targaryen for decades after.
The Rise of the Blackfyres
The man who would come to be known as Daemon Blackfyre was the product of a series of very bad decisions by one of the most infamous Targaryens to rule Westeros: Aegon IV Targaryen, known as Aegon the Unworthy. Daemon, born Daemon Waters, was a bastard of then-Prince Aegon and his cousin Princess Daena, and from the moment he was born, he caused strife for the Targaryen dynasty.
The revelation of his birth—after King Baelor I Targaryen annulled his marriage to his sister-wife Daena and attempted to keep her and his sisters locked away to avoid them tempting members of his courts—led to King Baelor fasting himself to death, creating a rapid chain of succession that saw Baelor’s successor, Viserys II Targaryen, ascend to the throne and rule for just a year before suddenly dying, leaving Prince Aegon to take his place as Aegon IV.
Aegon the Unworthy’s rule became defined by rank corruption and outlandish attempts to consolidate his power, much to the frustration of his eldest trueborn son, Prince Daeron, who often clashed with his father. This led to an increasingly public discontent between father and son, amplified by Aegon openly acknowledging his parentage to several bastard children. That includes Daemon, who was knighted and given the sword of Aegon the Conqueror, Blackfyre, at a squire’s tourney in 182 AC, leading to him taking the sword’s name as his own.
To make matters worse, on his deathbed a few years later, Aegon IV legitimized all of his bastards, throwing the line of succession into chaos. That didn’t stop Prince Daeron from assuming the throne as Daeron II Targaryen in 184 AC, but Daeron’s rule, while eventually known as a great one, was not a universally popular one. His move to undo the corruption of his father throughout the court and in King’s Landing at large created discontent among the figures Daeron II ousted, and that discontent was only strengthened by pushback to Daeron II’s negotiations to successfully bring Dorne into the rule of Westeros.
Dorne’s joining into what would now become the seven kingdoms of Westeros saw the region hold increasing influence in Daeron II’s court and saw Daeron II himself and his younger sister, Princess Daenerys, married into the Dornish ruling family, House Martell—angering courtiers old enough to remember when Dorne was a mortal enemy of the crown. That growing discontent with Daeron II’s perceived acquiescence to Dorne, as well as questions of his own legitimacy thanks to the chaos caused by Aegon IV, saw more and more people ponder a rival to Daeron II’s throne… primarily, Daemon Blackfyre himself, thanks to his legitimization on his father’s deathbed.
The First Rebellion
Daemon launched what would become known as the first of the Blackfyre Rebellions in 196 AC, after over a decade of resentment over his status as Aegon IV’s bastard and Daeron II’s rule. While little is known about much of the rebellion, which lasted for just a year, it is known that Daemon rallied much of his support in Westeros from around the realms of the border lords due to their resentment of Dorne and that he eventually marshaled enough forces to mint his own coinage.
The Blackfyre Rebellion came to a bloody end in the Battle of the Redgrass Field. Coming into the battle, Daemon was believed to be on the precipice of victory, with King’s Landing there for the taking if he succeeded. Although Daemon had the upper hand in the opening of the battle, having successfully broken the defense lines of Daeron II’s vanguard and even dueling Ser Gwayne Corbray of Daeron II’s Kingsguard off of the field, things turned against Daemon when the loyalist Brynden Rivers and his archers successfully took a nearby ridge overlooking the field and blanketed Daemon’s forces with arrows.
Daemon was the first to fall under the volleys of Rivers’ men, followed by two of his sons, Aegon and Aemon Blackfyre, shortly after. Aegor “Bittersteel” Rivers, another of Aegon IV’s bastard children and one of Daemon Blackfyre’s strongest supporters, attempted to charge Brynden’s position, but he fled the field after Daeron II’s forces were replenished with the arrival of Daeron II’s sons, princes Baelor and Maekar, who earned themselves the nickname “the Hammer and the Anvil” for their effective pincering of Daemon’s remaining forces.
The Pretenders
With over 10,000 dead at the Battle of the Redgrass Field, the Blackfyre Rebellion came to an end, but it wasn’t quashed entirely. Daeron II’s harsh punishment of Daemon’s surviving supporters caused lingering resentments throughout the land, and Aegor Rivers’ successful escape saw him take Daemon’s wife, Calla Blackfyre, as well as her surviving sons, to Tyrosh, keeping House Blackfyre alive to contest the throne in exile.
Over the next 60 years, several descendants and supporters of Daemon Blackfyre attempted to launch four further rebellions against House Targaryen. The second Blackfyre Rebellion in 212 AC—an opportunity that arose thanks to severe disruption to the Targaryen line of succession in the wake of a devastating plague known as the Great Spring Sickness—came to an end before it could begin in earnest, thanks to the efforts of the now Hand of the King to Aerys I Targaryen, Brynden Rivers.
The third Blackfyre Rebellion, seven years later, saw to the death of Daemon’s fourth son, Haegon Blackfyre, while the fourth Blackfyre Rebellion in 236 AC saw Haegon’s own son, Daemon III Blackfyre, fall to the forces of Aegon V Targaryen, with Daemon III slain by one of Aegon V’s kingsguard… Ser Duncan the Tall. Maybe you’ve heard of him!
The Legacy of the Blackfyre Rebellions
The Blackfyre Rebellions came to an end for good with one final conflict over 20 years later. Known as the War of the Ninepenny Kings, it saw the final male heir of the Blackfyre line, Maelys the Monstrous, killed by Ser Barristan Selmy in single combat after Maelys’ forces had managed to take control of Tyrosh and the Stepstones leading towards the Westerosi mainland in a final attempt to take control of the seven kingdoms.
With the Blackfyres extinguished, peace came to Westeros for a while, but the Targaryen line wouldn’t endure much further in spite of surviving the Blackfyre threat. Just another 20 years after the War of the Ninepenny Kings, Robert Baratheon led a rebellion against the mad king Aerys II Targaryen, successfully sacking King’s Landing and disposing of Targaryen rule for the first time in almost 300 years. While House Targaryen had been diminishing for generations prior after the death of its dragons, it’s not outlandish to say that, even in victory, the royal house was chipped away bit by bit by the Blackfyres’ various attempts to usurp them, setting the stage for Robert’s successful defeat.
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