Difference between revisions of "Gaemon Palehair"

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{{Character
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{{Infobox character
| Character_name = Gaemon Palehair
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| firstname = Gaemon
| image =  
+
| lastname =
| image_caption =  
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| epithet = Palehair
| Alias =  
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| image = [[File:Essie,_Sylvenna_Sand,_and_Gaemon_Palehair_by_Riotarttherite.png|300px|]]
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| image_caption = From left to right, Gaemon Palehair, [[Essie]], and [[Sylvenna Sand]] by Riotarttherite
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| Alias = King Cunny{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}}<br>The Cunny King{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
 
| Title = King
 
| Title = King
 
| Allegiance = [[House Targaryen]]
 
| Allegiance = [[House Targaryen]]
 
| Race =
 
| Race =
| Culture =
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| Culture = [[Crownlands]]
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| Father = [[Lys]]ene oarsman<br>[[Aegon II Targaryen]] <small>(allegedly)</small>
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| Mother = [[Essie]]
 
| Spouse =
 
| Spouse =
 
| Place_of_Birth =
 
| Place_of_Birth =
| Date_of_Birth = {{Date|126}}
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| Date_of_Birth = {{Date|126}}<ref name=Cal>''See the [[Years after Aegon's Conquest/Calculations Ages (Continued)#Gaemon Palehair|Gaemon Palehair]] calculation''</ref>
| Place_of_Death =  
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| Place_of_Death = the [[Red Keep]]
| Date_of_Death =  
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| Date_of_Death = {{Date|135}} <small>(aged 9)</small>{{Ref|FAB|The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency}}
| Books = ''[[The World of Ice and Fire]]'' (mentioned)
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| Books =''[[The World of Ice & Fire]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[Fire & Blood]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[The Rise of the Dragon]]'' (mentioned)
 
| coat-of-arms =  
 
| coat-of-arms =  
 
}}
 
}}
  
'''Gaemon Palehair''' was the son of [[Essie]], a whore in the [[House of Kisses]], and a pretender king during the [[Dance of the Dragons]]. He was claimed to be a [[bastard]] of [[Aegon II Targaryen]].
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'''Gaemon Palehair''' was a pretender king during the [[Dance of the Dragons]]. His mother [[Essie]], a whore in the [[House of Kisses]], claimed he was a [[bastard]] son of [[Aegon II Targaryen]].{{ref|twoiaf|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}} After the war, Gaemon became the cupbearer, food taster, and whipping boy of his friend, King [[Aegon III Targaryen]].{{ref|FAB|Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows}}
 +
 
 +
==Appearance and Character==
 +
Gaemon had pale hair.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}} The boy was fond of [[Mushroom]], a [[fool]] at the [[Red Keep]].{{Ref|FAB|Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows}}
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
During the [[Moon of the Three Kings]], after [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]]'s escape from [[King's Landing]], Gaemon's gathered thousands of followers and issued a series of edicts.{{ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}}
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===Dance of the Dragons===
 +
Gaemon was the son of [[Essie]], a [[prostitute]] at the [[House of Kisses]] on the [[Street of Silk]]. During the [[riot of King's Landing (Dance of the Dragons)|riot of King's Landing]] in {{date|130}}, the whores at the brothel claimed that Gaemon was the [[bastard]] son of King [[Aegon II Targaryen]], who had disappeared after the [[fall of King's Landing]] to [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]], and they raised the four-year-old boy as king. The women bestowed their favors free of charge to any man who swore his sword to the supposed monarch.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}}
 +
 
 +
During the [[Moon of the Three Kings]], after Rhaenyra's escape from [[King's Landing]], Gaemon gathered thousands of followers. Whores, [[mummers]], and thieves made up his court atop [[Visenya's Hill]], and his supporters in the streets included gangs, [[sellsword]]s, and drunkards.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}} Gaemon's mother began calling herself Lady Esselyn.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
 +
 
 +
Edicts issued in Gaemon's name included that:{{ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Queer Customs of the South}}{{ref|FAB|The Dying of Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}}
 +
* Girls should henceforth be equal with boys in matters of inheritance;
 +
* The poor should be given bread and beer in times of famine;
 +
* Men who lost limbs in war must be fed and housed afterward by whichever [[lord]] they had been fighting for when the loss took place;
 +
* Husbands who beat their wives should themselves be beaten, regardless of the motive for the chastisement.
 +
 
 +
Gaemon's edicts were considered outrageous, and it is believed they were the work of Essie's [[Dornishmen|Dornish]] paramour, [[Sylvenna Sand]].{{ref|TWOIAF|Dorne: Queer Customs of the South}}{{ref|FAB|The Dying of Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}} [[Trystane Truefyre]], a rival pretender, countered Gaemon's edicts by allowing [[smallfolk]] to hunt in the [[kingswood]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown}}
 +
 
 +
After the [[flight to Dragonstone|death of Rhaenyra]] at [[Dragonstone]], [[Borros Baratheon]], [[Lord of Storm's End]], took the capital and the [[Red Keep]]. He and his knights rode against Visenya's Hill, where the court of the "Cunny King" was gathered, and routed the boy king's followers from three directions. A crying and chained Gaemon, who had celebrated his fifth [[nameday]] only two days earlier, was taken to the Red Keep slung over the back of a horse. Behind him were Essie, who held Sylvenna's hand, and the remnants of his court, including whores, witch women, criminals, and drunkards. Also defeated and imprisoned to await the return of King Aegon II and his judgement were Trystane and the [[Shepherd]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
 +
 
 +
Gaemon was spared by King Aegon on account of his age, and the boy was made a [[ward]] of the Crown. Essie confessed under torture that the boy's true father had been a silver-haired [[Lys]]ene oarsman and not Aegon. Essie, Sylvenna, and twenty-seven other members of Gaemon's court were hanged from the battlements of the Red Keep.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}} Aegon ordered that the decrees issued by Gaemon and Trystane be publicly burned.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}} Aegon the Elder was eventually killed by [[poison]], and the [[Iron Throne]] passed to [[Aegon III Targaryen|Aegon the Younger]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
  
His mother would later be hanged, having confessed his father was a silver-haired [[Lys|Lysene]] oarsman. Gaemon was spared and taken into the royal household, befriending [[Aegon III Targaryen]] and becoming his constant companion, his whipping boy after Lord [[Unwin Peake]] came to power, and later, for some years, food taster. He died of poison that may have been intended for the king instead.{{ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aegon III}}
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===Regency of Aegon III===
 +
Gaemon was taken into the royal household, befriending young King [[Aegon III Targaryen]]. During the [[Hour of the Wolf]], Gaemon was Aegon's only companion when he was confined to [[Maegor's Holdfast]].{{ref|FAB|Aftermath - The Hour of the Wolf}} [[Munkun]] reported that Gaemon was the sullen king's only friend,{{ref|FAB|Under the Regents - The Hooded Hand}} and the [[Grand Maester]] believed that Gaemon reminded Aegon of his missing younger brother, Prince [[Viserys II Targaryen|Viserys Targaryen]].{{ref|FAB|Under the Regents - The Voyage of Alyn Oakenfist}} When [[regency of Aegon III|his regents]] asked if he had a preferred heir, Aegon suggested his cupbearer, as Gaemon had "been a king before".{{ref|FAB|Under the Regents - The Hooded Hand}}
  
===Gaemon's edicts===
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After Lord [[Unwin Peake]] became [[Hand of the King]], the [[Red Keep]]'s new [[master-at-arms]], Ser [[Gareth Long]], recommended that Gaemon, by now also Aegon's food taster, become the king's whipping boy. Gareth punished Gaemon harshly whenever Aegon failed to met Gareth's standards. Although Aegon improved at arms, he resented Gareth's cruelty toward his friend.{{ref|FAB|Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows}}
Some of Gaemon's edicts, certainly the work of Essie's paramour [[Sylvenna Sand]], were:{{ref|twoiaf| Dorne: Queer Customs of the South}}
 
* Girls should henceforth be equal with boys in matters of inheritance
 
* The poor be given bread and beer in times of famine
 
* Men who lost limbs in war must be fed and housed afterward by whichever lord they had been fighting for when the loss took place.
 
* Husband who beat their wives should themselves be beaten, regardless of the motive for the chastisement.
 
  
==References and Notes==
+
When Aegon chose [[Daenaera Velaryon]] at the [[Maiden's Day Cattle Show]], the king allowed his cupbearer to announce the selection.{{ref|FAB|Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows}} Munkun reports that Queen Daenaera and Gaemon began to be neglected by Aegon, however, after the unexpected return of Prince Viserys.{{ref|FAB|Under the Regents - The Voyage of Alyn Oakenfist}}
{{references}}
 
  
 +
===Death===
 +
In {{date|135}} during the [[Lysene Spring]], Gaemon and Queen [[Daenaera Velaryon]] began complaining of stomach pains. Although Grand Maester [[Munkun]] was able to save the queen's life with a purgative, he was too late to save Gaemon, who quickly died of [[poison]]. The [[Kingsguard]] brought kitchen servants to the [[Lord Confessor]], Lord [[George Graceford]], for questioning and torture, but their admissions conflicted. King [[Aegon III Targaryen]] was left inconsolable by his friend's death.{{ref|FAB|The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency}}{{ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon III}}
 +
 +
During the [[secret siege]], Aegon angrily refused Ser [[Gareth Long]], as the master-at-arms had often beaten his late friend.{{ref|FAB|The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency}} Septon [[Bernard]] announced that Lord [[Thaddeus Rowan]], once the [[Hand of the King]], had poisoned Gaemon and Daenaera with the [[tears of Lys]] in an attempt to assassinate Aegon, but the king recognized that Thaddeus had been tortured into making false confessions. After the coup against Aegon defeated, Lord [[Torrhen Manderly]], the new Hand, sat in judgement against those accused of poisoning Gaemon and conspiring against the king.{{ref|FAB|The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency}}
 +
 +
==Quotes by Gaemon==
 +
{{quote|[[Aegon III Targaryen|His Grace]] will marry Lady [[Daenaera Velaryon|Daenaera]] of [[House Velaryon]]!{{ref|FAB|Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows}}|Gaemon at the [[Maiden's Day Cattle Show]]}}
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 +
==Quotes about Gaemon==
 +
{{quote|You may beat poor Gaemon's bones, but you will get no more blood from him.{{ref|FAB|The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency}}|[[Aegon III Targaryen]] to [[Gareth Long]]}}
 +
 +
==Behind the Scenes==
 +
Gaemon may be an homage by [[George R. R. Martin]] to [[w:Lambert Simnel|Lambert Simnel]], who was claimed to be [[w:Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick|Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick]], during the [[w:Wars of the Roses|Wars of the Roses]]. After Lambert's supporters were defeated, King [[w:Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] pardoned Lambert and allowed the boy to become a royal servant.
 +
 +
==References==
 +
{{References|2}}
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{{Kings of Westeros}}
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[[Category:Bastards|Palehair, Gaemon]]
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[[Category:Characters from the Crownlands|Palehair, Gaemon]]
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[[Category:Claimants to the Iron Throne|Palehair, Gaemon]]
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[[Category:Cupbearers|Palehair, Gaemon]]
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[[Category:Deaths by poison|Palehair, Gaemon]]
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[[Category:Food tasters|Palehair, Gaemon]]
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[[Category:House Targaryen retainers|Palehair, Gaemon]]
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[[Category:House Targaryen wards|Palehair, Gaemon]]
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[[Category:Members of Aegon II Targaryen's court|Palehair, Gaemon]]
 +
[[Category:Members of Aegon III Targaryen's court|Palehair, Gaemon]]
 
[[Category:Monarchs|Palehair, Gaemon]]
 
[[Category:Monarchs|Palehair, Gaemon]]
 
[[Category:Smallfolk|Palehair, Gaemon]]
 
[[Category:Smallfolk|Palehair, Gaemon]]
[[Category:Bastards|Palehair, Gaemon]]
 
[[Category:House Targaryen retainers|Palehair, Gaemon]]
 
[[Category:Food tasters|Palehair, Gaemon]]
 
 
[[Category:Whipping boys|Palehair, Gaemon]]
 
[[Category:Whipping boys|Palehair, Gaemon]]
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 +
[[es:Gaemon]]
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[[fr:Gaemon Cheveux-pâles]]
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[[pt:Gaemon Cabelo-Claro]]

Revision as of 13:27, 12 February 2023

Gaemon Palehair
Essie, Sylvenna Sand, and Gaemon Palehair by Riotarttherite.png
From left to right, Gaemon Palehair, Essie, and Sylvenna Sand by Riotarttherite

Aliases
  • King Cunny[1]
  • The Cunny King[2]
Title King
Allegiance House Targaryen
Culture Crownlands
Born In 126 AC[3]
Died In 135 AC (aged 9)[4], the Red Keep
Fathers
Mother Essie
Books

Gaemon Palehair was a pretender king during the Dance of the Dragons. His mother Essie, a whore in the House of Kisses, claimed he was a bastard son of Aegon II Targaryen.[5] After the war, Gaemon became the cupbearer, food taster, and whipping boy of his friend, King Aegon III Targaryen.[6]

Appearance and Character

Gaemon had pale hair.[1] The boy was fond of Mushroom, a fool at the Red Keep.[6]

History

Dance of the Dragons

Gaemon was the son of Essie, a prostitute at the House of Kisses on the Street of Silk. During the riot of King's Landing in 130 AC, the whores at the brothel claimed that Gaemon was the bastard son of King Aegon II Targaryen, who had disappeared after the fall of King's Landing to Rhaenyra Targaryen, and they raised the four-year-old boy as king. The women bestowed their favors free of charge to any man who swore his sword to the supposed monarch.[7]

During the Moon of the Three Kings, after Rhaenyra's escape from King's Landing, Gaemon gathered thousands of followers. Whores, mummers, and thieves made up his court atop Visenya's Hill, and his supporters in the streets included gangs, sellswords, and drunkards.[7] Gaemon's mother began calling herself Lady Esselyn.[2]

Edicts issued in Gaemon's name included that:[8][7]

  • Girls should henceforth be equal with boys in matters of inheritance;
  • The poor should be given bread and beer in times of famine;
  • Men who lost limbs in war must be fed and housed afterward by whichever lord they had been fighting for when the loss took place;
  • Husbands who beat their wives should themselves be beaten, regardless of the motive for the chastisement.

Gaemon's edicts were considered outrageous, and it is believed they were the work of Essie's Dornish paramour, Sylvenna Sand.[8][7] Trystane Truefyre, a rival pretender, countered Gaemon's edicts by allowing smallfolk to hunt in the kingswood.[7]

After the death of Rhaenyra at Dragonstone, Borros Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End, took the capital and the Red Keep. He and his knights rode against Visenya's Hill, where the court of the "Cunny King" was gathered, and routed the boy king's followers from three directions. A crying and chained Gaemon, who had celebrated his fifth nameday only two days earlier, was taken to the Red Keep slung over the back of a horse. Behind him were Essie, who held Sylvenna's hand, and the remnants of his court, including whores, witch women, criminals, and drunkards. Also defeated and imprisoned to await the return of King Aegon II and his judgement were Trystane and the Shepherd.[2]

Gaemon was spared by King Aegon on account of his age, and the boy was made a ward of the Crown. Essie confessed under torture that the boy's true father had been a silver-haired Lysene oarsman and not Aegon. Essie, Sylvenna, and twenty-seven other members of Gaemon's court were hanged from the battlements of the Red Keep.[2] Aegon ordered that the decrees issued by Gaemon and Trystane be publicly burned.[2] Aegon the Elder was eventually killed by poison, and the Iron Throne passed to Aegon the Younger.[2]

Regency of Aegon III

Gaemon was taken into the royal household, befriending young King Aegon III Targaryen. During the Hour of the Wolf, Gaemon was Aegon's only companion when he was confined to Maegor's Holdfast.[9] Munkun reported that Gaemon was the sullen king's only friend,[10] and the Grand Maester believed that Gaemon reminded Aegon of his missing younger brother, Prince Viserys Targaryen.[11] When his regents asked if he had a preferred heir, Aegon suggested his cupbearer, as Gaemon had "been a king before".[10]

After Lord Unwin Peake became Hand of the King, the Red Keep's new master-at-arms, Ser Gareth Long, recommended that Gaemon, by now also Aegon's food taster, become the king's whipping boy. Gareth punished Gaemon harshly whenever Aegon failed to met Gareth's standards. Although Aegon improved at arms, he resented Gareth's cruelty toward his friend.[6]

When Aegon chose Daenaera Velaryon at the Maiden's Day Cattle Show, the king allowed his cupbearer to announce the selection.[6] Munkun reports that Queen Daenaera and Gaemon began to be neglected by Aegon, however, after the unexpected return of Prince Viserys.[11]

Death

In 135 AC during the Lysene Spring, Gaemon and Queen Daenaera Velaryon began complaining of stomach pains. Although Grand Maester Munkun was able to save the queen's life with a purgative, he was too late to save Gaemon, who quickly died of poison. The Kingsguard brought kitchen servants to the Lord Confessor, Lord George Graceford, for questioning and torture, but their admissions conflicted. King Aegon III Targaryen was left inconsolable by his friend's death.[4][12]

During the secret siege, Aegon angrily refused Ser Gareth Long, as the master-at-arms had often beaten his late friend.[4] Septon Bernard announced that Lord Thaddeus Rowan, once the Hand of the King, had poisoned Gaemon and Daenaera with the tears of Lys in an attempt to assassinate Aegon, but the king recognized that Thaddeus had been tortured into making false confessions. After the coup against Aegon defeated, Lord Torrhen Manderly, the new Hand, sat in judgement against those accused of poisoning Gaemon and conspiring against the king.[4]

Quotes by Gaemon

—Gaemon at the Maiden's Day Cattle Show

Quotes about Gaemon

You may beat poor Gaemon's bones, but you will get no more blood from him.[4]

Behind the Scenes

Gaemon may be an homage by George R. R. Martin to Lambert Simnel, who was claimed to be Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, during the Wars of the Roses. After Lambert's supporters were defeated, King Henry VII pardoned Lambert and allowed the boy to become a royal servant.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II.
  3. See the Gaemon Palehair calculation
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Fire & Blood, The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency.
  5. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Fire & Blood, The Dying of Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown.
  8. 8.0 8.1 The World of Ice & Fire, Dorne: Queer Customs of the South.
  9. Fire & Blood, Aftermath - The Hour of the Wolf.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - The Hooded Hand.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - The Voyage of Alyn Oakenfist.
  12. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon III.