Difference between revisions of "Maegor I Targaryen"

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| name          = [[File:House Targaryen.svg|50px|left]] '''Maegor I''' [[File:House Targaryen.svg|50px|right]]
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| name          = [[File:House Targaryen.svg|50px|left]] '''Maegor I Targaryen''' [[File:House Targaryen.svg|50px|right]]
 
| image        = [[Image:MAEGOR I.jpg|350px]]
 
| image        = [[Image:MAEGOR I.jpg|350px]]
 
| image_caption = Maegor I by [http://en.amokanet.ru/gallery/martin/ Amok©]
 
| image_caption = Maegor I by [http://en.amokanet.ru/gallery/martin/ Amok©]
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| mother      = [[Visenya Targaryen]]
 
| mother      = [[Visenya Targaryen]]
 
| dateofbirth  = {{Date|12}}<ref>''See the [[Years after Aegon's Conquest/Calculations Ages (Continued2)#Maegor I Targaryen|Maegor I Targaryen]] calculation.''</ref>
 
| dateofbirth  = {{Date|12}}<ref>''See the [[Years after Aegon's Conquest/Calculations Ages (Continued2)#Maegor I Targaryen|Maegor I Targaryen]] calculation.''</ref>
| placeofbirth =
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| placeofbirth = [[Dragonstone]]{{Ref|awoiaf| Maegor I Targaryen}}
 
| dateofdeath  = {{Date|48}}{{Ref|AGOT|Appendix}}
 
| dateofdeath  = {{Date|48}}{{Ref|AGOT|Appendix}}
 
| placeofdeath = [[King's Landing]]
 
| placeofdeath = [[King's Landing]]
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{{See homonyms | Maegor Targaryen}}
 
{{See homonyms | Maegor Targaryen}}
'''Maegor I Targaryen''', also known as '''Maegor the Cruel''', was the third [[House Targaryen|Targaryen]] king to sit the [[Iron Throne]]. He was the son of King [[Aegon I Targaryen]] and his sister-wife, Queen [[Visenya Targaryen]]. He had an older half-brother, [[Aenys I Targaryen]].  
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'''Maegor I Targaryen''', also known as '''Maegor the Cruel''', was the third [[House Targaryen|Targaryen]] king to sit the [[Iron Throne]]. He was the son of King [[Aegon I Targaryen]] and elder his sister-wife, Queen [[Visenya Targaryen]]. He had an older half-brother, [[Aenys I Targaryen]].  
  
 
The [[polygamy|polygamous]] Maegor had six wives: [[Ceryse Hightower]], [[Alys Harroway]], [[Tyanna of the Tower]], [[Elinor Costayne]], [[Jeyne Westerling (wife of Maegor I)|Jeyne Westerling]], and his niece [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena Targaryen]], the last three of whom are known as the [[Black Brides]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
The [[polygamy|polygamous]] Maegor had six wives: [[Ceryse Hightower]], [[Alys Harroway]], [[Tyanna of the Tower]], [[Elinor Costayne]], [[Jeyne Westerling (wife of Maegor I)|Jeyne Westerling]], and his niece [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena Targaryen]], the last three of whom are known as the [[Black Brides]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
  
 
==Appearance and Character==
 
==Appearance and Character==
According to a semi-canon source, Maegor was larger than his father, [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon I]]. A warrior, Maegor was bull-like with heavy shoulders, a thick neck, and huge arms. He kept his hair short and his beard trimmed to his jawline. He wore Aegon the Conqueror's crown.<ref>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Targaryen_Kings/ Targaryen Kings (November 1, 2005)]</ref>
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Maegor was larger than his father, King [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon I]].<ref name=ssm>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Targaryen_Kings/ Targaryen Kings (November 01, 2005)]</ref> He was bull-like, with heavy shoulders, a thick neck, and huge arms. Though he was on the heavy side, he was not fat, but more massive and square. He kept his hair short and his beard trimmed to his jawline. He had angry-looking, suspicious eyes, and a scowling mouth.<ref name=ssm/>
  
Maegor was often seen as cruel, never treating animals well and keeping to himself.<ref>Westeros.org: [[The Sons of the Dragon]] [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/83614-bubonicon-45/&do=findComment&comment=4879997 (Bubonicon 2013)]</ref> He enjoyed war and battle, but it was violence he most craved, and death and absolute mastery over all he deemed his.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
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Maegor was a born warrior{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}} who rose to become one of the youngest knights of his time.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} He was a hard and brutal man;<ref name=ssm/> As a youth, he already showed cruel tendencies, and had no true friends, mostly keeping to himself;<ref name=sons>[[The Sons of the Dragon]]: [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/115696-spoilers-sons-of-the-dragon-reading-at-loncon-today/&do=findComment&comment=6134038 Loncon 2014 reading - Report 1]</ref><ref name=sons2>[[The Sons of the Dragon]]: [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/115696-spoilers-sons-of-the-dragon-reading-at-loncon-today/&do=findComment&comment=6130971 Loncon 2014 reading - Report  2]</ref> According to history, Maegor enjoyed war and battle, but most craved violence, death, and absolute mastery over all he deemed his.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
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Maegor wore his father's steel-and-ruby crown.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} His armor, however, was more elaborate than Aegon's. Instead of a shirt of scale, Maegor wore a breastplate, covered by a surcoat that displays the Targaryen three-headed dragon, red on black.<ref name=ssm/>
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
 
===Youth===
 
===Youth===
Maegor was considered a skilled warrior, distinguishing himself well in [[tourney]]s and melees. He was a better jouster than many grown men he met in the lists. At the age of thirteen Maegor competed in a mêlée, where he defeated hardened [[knight]]s. At the age of sixteen, in the royal tourney of {{Date|28}} at [[King's Landing]], he unhorsed three knights of the [[Kingsguard]] in successive matches in the joust, and later went on to win the mêlée. Maegor was knighted by his father when he was only sixteen years old, the youngest knight in the [[Seven Kingdoms]] at that time.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
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In {{Date|11}}, Queen [[Visenya Targaryen]] announced that she was pregnant with a son. That son, Maegor, was born the next year,<ref name=sons2/> on [[Dragonstone]].{{Ref|awoiaf| Maegor I Targaryen}} As a babe, he was a big and healthy child &ndash twice as big as his half-brother [[Aenys I Targaryen|Aenys]] had been.<ref name=sons/> Maegor and Aenys were not close as children; Maegor was raised by his mother on [[Dragonstone]], and in time became known as the "Prince on Dragonstone".<ref name=sons/> He received his first sword at the age of three, and butchered a cat with it.<ref name=sons2/> His cruelty showed again when he finished off a horse which had kicked him.<ref name=sons/> Maegor was a born warrior,{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}} who was trained at arms by the Ser [[Gallen Corbray]], the [[master-at-arms]] of Dragonstone.<ref name=sons2/> His mother, Visenya, gave him her [[Valyrian steel]] sword, [[Dark Sister]], as a [[nameday]] present when Maegor turned thirteen.<ref name=sons/><ref name=sonsextra>[[The Sons of the Dragon]]: [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/137792-small-questions-v-10105/&do=findComment&comment=7914957 Loncon 2014 reading - Additional info]</ref> That same year, Maegor defeated hardened knights in a mêlée.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
 
Upon the death of their father, [[Aegon I Targaryen]], Maegor's older brother assumed the throne as [[Aenys I Targaryen|Aenys I]]. Admitting to all assembled that he was not nearly the warrior his half-brother was, Aenys presented Maegor with Aegon's [[Valyrian steel]] blade, [[Blackfyre]], proclaiming they would rule together.<ref name=sons/> It was also after his father's death, in {{Date|37}}, that Maegor became the rider of [[Balerion]], the only [[dragon]] Maegor found worthy.{{ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}}
 
 
In {{Date|23}},<ref>Westeros.org: [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/119534-twoiaf-spoilers-inconsistency-or-intentional/&do=findComment&comment=6434163 Inconsistency or intentional?] - Year of Rhaena's birth</ref> Princess [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena]], the eldest child of King Aenys, was born. Dowager Queen [[Visenya Targaryen]] suggested that Maegor be betrothed to her, but a vigorous protest from the [[High Septon (Aegon I)|High Septon]] stopped that. Instead, Maegor was wed at the age of thirteen to the High Septon's niece, Lady [[Ceryse Hightower]], in {{Date|25}}.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} Maegor claimed to have consummated the marriage a dozen times during their wedding night, but the marriage itself proved barren. When Ceryse continued to fail to birth him an heir, Maegor started talking about other brides.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
  
According to a semi-canon source, Maegor defeated the [[Giant of the Trident]] in {{Date|31}}.<ref name=sons>Westeros.org: [[The Sons of the Dragon]] [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/115696-spoilers-sons-of-the-dragon-reading-at-loncon-today/&do=findComment&comment=6134038 (Loncon 2014)]</ref>
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Maegor's brother [[Aenys I Targaryen|Aenys]] had married Lady [[Alyssa Velaryon]] in {{Date|22}},{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}} and their daughter [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena]] was born the next year.<ref group="N">''[[The World of Ice and Fire]]'' states that "[Ceryse Hightower] was advanced by her uncle, the High Septon, after he protested the betrothal of the thirteen-year-old Prince Maegor to Maegor's newborn niece, Princess Rhaena. Ceryse and Maegor were married in 25 AC." (''The World of Ice and Fire'', The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I); However, [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/119534-twoiaf-spoilers-inconsistency-or-intentional/&do=findComment&comment=6434163 it has since been stated] that Maegor was eleven at the suggestion of betrothing him to the newborn Rhaena. [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/137792-small-questions-v-10105/&do=findComment&comment=7914957 Notes taken from a reading] of ''[[The Sons of the Dragon]]'' state that Maegor had just turned twelve when the betrothal to Rhaena was suggested, placing the attempt in {{Date|24}}</ref> After Rhaena's birth, people suggested that Maegor would fall behind her in the line of succession. In {{Date|24}}, Queen Visenya suggested a betrothal between the infant Rhaena and twelve-year old Maegor to settle the succession issue,<ref name=sonsextra/> but the [[High Septon (Aegon I)|High Septon]] protested.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}} Instead, Maegor was betrothed to the High Septon's niece, Lady [[Ceryse Hightower]], whom he married in {{Date|25}} at the [[Starry Sept]] in [[Oldtown]].{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}<ref name=sonsextra/> Though Maegor boasted that he had conceived a child on his wedding night,<ref name=sons/> the marriage remained barren.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
  
Several rebellions broke out in {{date|37}}, the first year of Aenys's reign. In the [[Vale of Arryn]], [[Jonos Arryn]] rose against Lord [[Ronnel Arryn (king)|Ronnel]], imprisoning his brother and his family. Maegor personally crushed this rebellion himself, flying on Balerion to the [[Eyrie]] and hanging Jonos and his followers. Aenys named Maegor his new [[Hand of the King]] as a reward.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}}
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Maegor had more success in his military accomplishments. In {{Date|28}}, he won renown a tourney by defeating three knights of the [[Kingsguard]] in the joust, and next winning the mêlée. He was knighted by his father, King Aegon I, at the age of sixteen, making his the youngest knight in the realm at the time.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} According to a semi-canon source, Maegor shortly thereafter assisted the [[master of ships]], Lord [[Aethon Velaryon]] and the [[Hand of the King]], Ser [[Osmund Strong]], in two campaigns against the pirate [[Sargasso Saan]] in the [[Stepstones]] in {{Date|29}} and {{Date|30}},<ref name=sonsextra/> and defeated the [[Giant of the Trident]] in {{Date|31}}.<ref name=sons/>
  
===Exile===
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===Hand and exile===
In {{Date|39}} Maegor wed Lady [[Alys Harroway]], daughter of [[Lucas Harroway]], the new [[Lord of Harrenhal]]. The marriage had been a secret one, and the ceremony had been led by Dowager Queen [[Visenya Targaryen]].{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} The marriage angered the [[Faith of the Seven]], which Aenys tried to placate by sending Maegor into exile. Alys accompanied Maegor to [[Pentos]] and the renowned Septon [[Murmison]] replaced Maegor as Hand.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}}
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In {{Date|37}}, Maegor's father, King Aegon I, died, and his half-brother Aenys ascended the throne as King [[Aenys I Targaryen]]. Admitting to all assembled at Aegon I's funeral pyre that he was not nearly the warrior his half-brother was, Aenys presented Maegor with Aegon's [[Valyrian steel]] blade, [[Blackfyre]], proclaiming they would rule together.<ref name=sons/>
  
Maegor met the courtesan [[Tyanna of the Tower|Tyanna]] during his three years of exile.{{ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
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Despite the fact that there were several [[dragon]] hatchlings on [[Dragonstone]], Maegor had not yet claimed a dragon of his own, claiming that none were worthy. After Aegon I's death, Maegor claimed his father's mount, [[Balerion]], for his own. During the first year of Aenys's reign, several rebellions broke out. In the [[Vale of Arryn]], [[Jonos Arryn]] rose against his brother, Lord [[Ronnel Arryn (king)|Ronnel]], imprisoning him and his family. Maegor personally crushed this rebellion, flying on Balerion to the [[Eyrie]] and hanging Jonos and his followers. As his previous Hand, Lord [[Alyn Stokeworth]], had died, Aenys named Maegor his new [[Hand of the King]] as a reward.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}}
  
Aenys was unable to handle the pressure when the Faith rose in rebellion in {{date|41}}, and the Dowager Queen took over his care when Aenys fell ill the following year. Aenys's health improved for a time, but when the king learned that his eldest daughter and son, [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena]] and [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Aegon]], were besieged at [[Crakehall]], he collapsed and died three days later.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}} After Aenys was burned and buried, Visenya flew to Pentos on the back of her dragon, [[Vhagar]], to bring Maegor back to [[Westeros]].{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
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Although Maegor had gotten married to Ceryse Hightower in {{Date|25}}, Maegor still had no children in {{Date|39}}. Meanwhile, the marriage of Aenys and Alyssa had resulted in five more children. First three sons, [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Aegon]], [[Viserys Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Viserys]], and [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys]], followed by two daughters, [[Alysanne Targaryen|Alysanne]] and [[Vaella Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Vaella]].{{Ref|twoiaf| Appendix: Targaryen Lineage}} Aenys and Maegor had been close, until Vaella's birth in {{Date|39}}. Although Vaella dies shortly after her birth, Maegor decides that his wife must be barren following Alyssa's newest demonstration of her fertility.<ref name=sons/> Maegor secretly married Lady [[Alys Harroway]], the daughter of [[Lucas Harroway]], the new [[Lord of Harrenhal]], that year. Dowager Queen [[Visenya Targaryen]] led the Valyrian ceremony, after Maegor could not find a [[septon]] to perform the marriage. The marriage angered the [[Faith of the Seven]], and Aenys felt forced to exile his brother{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}} when Maegor refused to set Alys aside.<ref name=sons/> As such, Maegor was send to [[Pentos]], where he was to stay for five years.<ref name=sons/> Septon [[Murmison]] replaced Maegor as Hand, while Aenys's eldest son, Prince [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Aegon]], was named [[Prince of Dragonstone]].{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}}
  
===Claiming of the Iron Throne===
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===Claiming the throne===
Ahead of his brother's eldest son and heir, Prince [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Aegon]], Maegor ascended the [[Iron Throne]] in {{Date|42}}. He was crowned at [[Dragonstone]] with the Valyrian steel crown of his father, King [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon I]], instead of Aenys's ornate one. Grand Maester [[Gawen]] protested Maegor's coronation, stating that by all the laws of inheritance, the crown should pass to Aenys's son, Aegon. Maegor beheaded Gawen with [[Blackfyre]], ending protest against Maegor's ascension.{{ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
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The [[Faith of the Seven|Faith]] rose [[Faith Militant uprising|in rebellion]] against King Aenys I in {{Date|41}}, and when Aenys fell ill the following year, Queen Visenya took over his care. Aenys's health improved for a time, but when the king learned that his eldest daughter and son, [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena]] and [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Aegon]], were besieged at [[Crakehall]], he collapsed and died three days later.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I}} After Aenys was burned and buried, Visenya flew to Pentos on the back of her dragon, [[Vhagar]], to bring Maegor back to [[Westeros]].{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
  
Maegor took [[Alyssa Velaryon]], the Dowager Queen of Aenys I and the mother of Prince Aegon, as a hostage, as she had been residing at Dragonstone. Alyssa's younger children, [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys]] and [[Alysanne Targaryen|Alysanne]], were kept on the island of [[Dragonstone (island)|Dragonstone]] with Alyssa, while her son, Prince [[Viserys Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Viserys]], was made Maegor's squire, so he could be kept close as a hostage to ensure Alyssa's good behavior.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
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Although Aenys's eldest son [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Aegon]] was the heir to the [[Iron Throne]], Maegor claimed the throne upon his return. He was crowned at [[Dragonstone]] with the Valyrian steel crown of his father, King [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon I]], instead of Aenys's ornate one. [[Grand Maester]] [[Gawen]] protested Maegor's coronation, stating that by all the [[laws of inheritance]], the crown should pass to Aenys's son, Aegon. Maegor beheaded Gawen with [[Blackfyre]],{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} making Gawen the first of three Grans Maester's who would be executed during Maegor's reign.{{Ref|asos|12}} ending protest against Maegor's ascension.{{ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
  
[[Raven]]s flew, declaring a new king had been crowned and that those who defied him would suffer a traitor's death. Chief among Maegor's foes were the [[Faith Militant]]. Maegor mounted [[Balerion]] and set for [[King's Landing]] to crush [[Faith Militant uprising|the uprising]]. Landing on [[Visenya's Hill]], he planted his standard and rallied his supporters to him. Visenya challenged those who questioned her son's right to rule to prove themselves. Maegor accepted the challenge of Ser [[Damon Morrigen]], the captain of the [[Warrior's Sons]], to a [[trial of seven]], with only Maegor surviving the battle of fourteen men. Maegor took a blow to the head, however, and collapsed just as the last Warrior's Son died. On the twenty-eighth day of Maegor's coma, Queen [[Alys Harroway]] returned from [[Pentos]], bringing with her [[Tyanna of the Tower]], who had become Maegor's lover during his exile. With Tyanna caring for him, Maegor woke from his coma on the thirtieth day.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
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Maegor took Aenys's widow, [[Alyssa Velaryon]], as a hostage, as she had been residing at Dragonstone. Alyssa's younger children, [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys]] and [[Alysanne Targaryen|Alysanne]], were kept on the island of [[Dragonstone (island)|Dragonstone]] with Alyssa, while her son, Prince [[Viserys Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Viserys]], was made Maegor's squire, so he could be kept close as a hostage to ensure Alyssa's good behavior.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
  
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The Faith had seized the [[Sept of Remembrance]] on [[Rhaenys's Hill]] in [[King's Landing]], so Maegor flew to the city and planted his banner on [[Visenya's Hill]] to rally men. Visenya challenged those who questioned her son's right to rule to prove themselves. Ser [[Damon Morrigen]], the captain of the [[Warrior's Sons]], challenged Maegor to a [[trial of seven]]. Though Maegor was the only survivor out of fourteen, he took a blow to the head and collapsed just as the last Warrior's Son died. On the twenty-eighth day of Maegor's coma, Queen [[Alys Harroway]] returned from [[Pentos]], bringing with her [[Tyanna of the Tower]], a courtesan who had become Maegor's lover during his exile. Tyanna took over his care, and Maegor woke from his coma on the thirtieth day.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
[[File:Battle Beneath the Gods Eye.jpg|350px|thumb|Maegor and [[Balerion]] make short work of [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Aegon Targaryen]] and [[Quicksilver]] during the [[Battle Beneath the Gods Eye]], as depicted by Michael Komarck in ''[[The World of Ice and Fire]]'']]
 
[[File:Battle Beneath the Gods Eye.jpg|350px|thumb|Maegor and [[Balerion]] make short work of [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Aegon Targaryen]] and [[Quicksilver]] during the [[Battle Beneath the Gods Eye]], as depicted by Michael Komarck in ''[[The World of Ice and Fire]]'']]
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Maegor mounted Balerion and burned the Sept of Remembrance, while archers killed all those who attempted to flee. Although the Faith would remain Maegor's chief enemy for the duration of his reign, he faced further oppression from Aenys's heir Aegon. That rebellion came to an end in {{Date|43}}, when Maegor [[kinslaying|slew]] Aegon and his dragon, [[Quicksilver]], in the [[Battle Beneath the Gods Eye]].{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
  
Mounting [[Balerion]], Maegor burned the [[Sept of Remembrance]] on [[Rhaenys's Hill]] with [[dragonflame]] and had archers slay those who tried to flee. The king then achieved bloody victories over the Faith Militant in the [[Battle of Stonebridge]] and at the Great Fork of the [[Blackwater Rush|Blackwater]]. [[King Maegor's laws]] forbade holy men from carrying arms, and Maegor the Cruel offered bounties of [[currency|gold dragon]] for the scalps of [[Warrior's Sons]] and silver stags for the scalps of [[Poor Fellows]].{{ref|AFFC|33}}
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===Further marriages and tyranny===
 
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Maegor's forces achieved a bloody victory over the Faith Militant in the [[Battle of Stonebridge]] and later at the Great Fork of the [[Blackwater Rush|Blackwater]], where thousands of Poor Fellows, knights of the Warrior's Sons, and rebel lords of the [[riverlands]] and [[westerlands]] opposed Maegor's army. Maegor personally fought in the latter battle, burning men on Balerion's back.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} Maegor raised [[King Maegor's laws|a set of laws]] which forbade holy men from carrying arms,{{Ref|affc|43}}{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I}} and offered bounties of [[currency|gold dragons]] for the scalps of [[Warrior's Sons]] and silver stags for the scalps of [[Poor Fellows]].{{ref|AFFC|33}} He also punished lords who spoke out against the suppression of the Faith.{{Ref|TSS}}
Tyanna married Maegor in {{Date|42}}, but this marriage was just as barren as Maegor's marriages to [[Ceryse Hightower]] and Alys. Tyanna served her husband as [[master of whisperers|mistress of whisperers]].{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
  
The late King Aenys's eldest son, Aegon, rebelled against Maegor over the [[Iron Throne]]. Mounted on Balerion, Maegor [[kinslaying|slew]] Aegon and his dragon, [[Quicksilver]], in the [[Battle Beneath the Gods Eye]] in {{date|43}}.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
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In {{Date|44}}, Maegor threatened to incinerate the [[Starry Sept]] at [[Oldtown]] in response to the [[High Septon (Maegor I)|High Septon]] condemnation of his [[polygamy|polygamous marriages]]. Shortly after, the High Septon died suddenly, allowing Lord [[Martyn Hightower]] to open his gates before Balerion and Vhagar could burn the city.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Reach: Oldtown}} The new High Septon was a more passive man, but proved was unable to halt the rebellion. In {{Date|46}}, Maegor brought two thousand skulls from his campaign against the Faith to [[King's Landing]], claiming they were the heads of [[Warrior's Sons]] and [[Poor Fellows]]. Many suspected they were the skulls of innocent [[smallfolk]], however.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
 
===Tyranny===
 
Maegor continued construction of the [[Red Keep]], which began under [[Aegon I Targaryen|Aegon the Conqueror]]. Leaving the administration of the kingdom to Lord [[Lucas Harroway]], his [[Hand of the King]] and goodfather, Maegor had a host of hidden tunnels and secret passageways built within the castle. In {{Date|45}}, Maegor saw the Red Keep completed, and [[Maegor's Holdfast]] was subsequently named after him.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} Maegor threw a feast for those who took part in the construction, but after three days of revelry Maegor had them all put to the sword to protect the secrets of the [[Red Keep#Secret passages|hidden passages]].{{Ref|aGoT|58}}{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
  
 +
Construction of the [[Red Keep]], which had begun in {{Date|35}}, continued under Maegor's reign. Leaving the administration of the kingdom to Lord [[Lucas Harroway]], his [[Hand of the King]] and father-in-law, Maegor focussed on the construction and ordered a host of hidden tunnels and secret passageways built within the castle.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} He also ordered four levels of dungeons constructed, and had the fourth level build specifically for torment.{{Ref|asos|77}} In {{Date|45}}, Maegor saw the Red Keep completed, and [[Maegor's Holdfast]] was subsequently named after him.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} Maegor threw a feast for those who had taken part in the construction, but after three days of revelry he had them all put to the sword to protect the secrets of the [[Red Keep#Secret passages|hidden passages]].{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}{{Ref|aGoT|58}}{{Ref|acok|44}}{{Ref|affc|3}} In place of the ruined Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys's Hill, Maegor began construction of the [[Dragonpit]] for the [[House Targaryen|Targaryen]] dragons, but as many builders and masons had fled King's Landing after the Red Keep massacre, Maegor had to use prisoners from the city's dungeons for the construction, supervised by builders from [[Myr]] and [[Tyrosh]].{{ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
[[File:Magali Villeneuve 3 Brides of Maegor.png|thumb|right|250px|Lady [[Ceryse Hightower]], [[Tyanna of the Tower]] and Lady [[Alys Harroway]]. By Magali Villeneuve]]
 
[[File:Magali Villeneuve 3 Brides of Maegor.png|thumb|right|250px|Lady [[Ceryse Hightower]], [[Tyanna of the Tower]] and Lady [[Alys Harroway]]. By Magali Villeneuve]]
 +
Maegor's marriage to Alys Harroway had remained as childless as his marriage to Ceryse Hightower had been. Maegor took his lover Tyanna to wife in {{Date|42}}, naming her to his [[small council]] as his [[master of whisperers|mistress of whisperers]].{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} In {{Date|44}},<ref group="N">Earlier prints of ''[[The World of Ice and Fire]]'' erroneously state that Alys was the first of Maegor's wives to become pregnant in {{Date|48}} (''The World of Ice and Fire'', The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I). [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/119534-twoiaf-spoilers-inconsistency-or-intentional/&page=10#comment-6413683 It has been confirmed] that the passage should have read {{Date|44}}.</ref> Alys gave birth to Maegor's first child. However, the child was a monstrosity, eyeless and twisted. In his fury, Maegor had the midwives, [[septa]]s and [[Grand Maester]] [[Desmond (Grand Maester)|Desmond]] executed. Tyanna, however, convinced Maegor that the child had come forth from a secret affair of Alys's. Maegor ordered the executions of Alys, her father Lucas, and every other Harroway he could find.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} With [[House Harroway]] extinct, Maegor held a melee in [[Lord Harroway's Town]] with [[Harrenhal]] the prize. Though gravely wounded, Ser [[Walton Towers]] was the victor and [[House Towers of Harrenhal|House Towers]] was granted the ruined castle.{{ref|twoiaf| The Riverlands: House Tully}}
  
In place of the ruined Sept of Remembrance on [[Rhaenys's Hill]], Maegor began construction of the [[Dragonpit]] for [[House Targaryen]] to stable its dragons. Since many builders and masons had fled King's Landing after the Red Keep massacre, Maegor used prisoners from the city's dungeons under the supervision of builders from [[Myr]] and [[Tyrosh]].{{ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
+
The death of Maegor's mother, Dowager Queen [[Visenya Targaryen|Visenya]], in {{Date|44}} devastated Maegor, as she had been his strongest supporter. [[Aenys I Targaryen]]'s wife, Dowager Queen [[Alyssa Velaryon]], escaped during the resulting chaos from Dragonstone with her two youngest children, [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys]] and  [[Alysanne Targaryen|Alysanne]], and the Valyrian sword [[Dark Sister]]. In response, Maegor had her eldest surviving son, Prince [[Viserys Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Viserys]], tortured to death by Queen Tyanna after nine days of questioning. His mutilated body was left in the courtyard for a fortnight in an unsuccessful attempt to force Alyssa to return.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
  
In {{Date|44}},<ref name=forum>Westeros.org: [http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/119534-twoiaf-spoilers-inconsistency-or-intentional/&page=10#comment-6413683 Inconsistency or Intentional?] - Date of Alys' death</ref> Alys birthed a monstrosity, eyeless and twisted. In his fury, Maegor had the midwives, septas and Grand Maester [[Desmond (Grand Maester)|Desmond]] executed. Tyanna, however, convinced Maegor that the child had come forth from a secret affair of Alys's. Maegor ordered the executions of Alys, her father Lucas, and every other Harroway he could find.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} With [[House Harroway]] extinct, Maegor held a melee in [[Lord Harroway's Town]] with [[Harrenhal]] the prize. Though gravely wounded, Ser [[Walton Towers]] was the victor and [[House Towers of Harrenhal|House Towers]] was granted the ruined castle.{{ref|twoiaf| The Riverlands: House Tully}}
+
Maegor's first wife, Queen [[Ceryse Hightower]], suddenly fell ill in {{Date|45}} and died. Rumor held that she had been killed at Maegor's command.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} In {{Date|47}}, Maegor wed his three [[Black Brides]], three women of proven fertility who had been widowed through Maegor's actions or wars. The youngest, Lady [[Elinor Costayne]], birthed an eyeless child with small wings.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} Lady  [[Jeyne Westerling (wife of Maegor I)|Jeyne Westerling]] lost two children, and she died soon after the second. The last was the eldest daughter of King [[Aenys I Targaryen]], Princess [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena Targaryen]]. Maegor named [[Aerea Targaryen|Aerea]], one of Rhaena's two daughters by her deceased brother, Aegon, as his heir, disinheriting her brother, Prince [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys]].{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} In {{date|48}}, Queen Tyanna claimed to have poisoned Maegor's other wives, causing the abominations. Maegor cut out her heart with [[Blackfyre]] and fed it to his dogs.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
 
The death of Maegor's mother, Dowager Queen [[Visenya Targaryen|Visenya]], in {{Date|44}} devastated Maegor, as she had been his strongest supporter. [[Aenys I Targaryen]]'s wife, Dowager Queen [[Alyssa Velaryon]], escaped from Dragonstone with her two youngest children, [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys]] and  [[Alysanne Targaryen|Alysanne]], and the Valyrian sword [[Dark Sister]]. In response, Maegor had her eldest surviving son, Prince [[Viserys Targaryen (son of Aenys I)|Viserys]], tortured to death by Queen Tyanna after nine days of questioning. His mutilated body was left in the courtyard for a fortnight in an unsuccessful attempt to force Alyssa to return.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
 
 
In {{Date|45}}, Queen [[Ceryse Hightower]] suddenly fell ill and died. Rumor held that she had been killed at Maegor's command.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
 
 
The [[Faith Militant uprising]] continued even after the [[High Septon (Maegor I)|High Septon]] died in {{date|44}} and was replaced with a more passive man. In {{Date|46}}, Maegor brought two thousand skulls from his campaign against the Faith to [[King's Landing]], claiming they were the heads of [[Warrior's Sons]] and [[Poor Fellows]]. Many suspected they were the skulls of innocent [[smallfolk]], however.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
 
 
In {{Date|47}}, Maegor wed in one ceremony the [[Black Brides]], three women proven to be fertile and widowed through Maegor's actions or wars. The youngest, Lady [[Elinor Costayne]], birthed an eyeless child with small wings.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} Lady  [[Jeyne Westerling (wife of Maegor I)|Jeyne Westerling]] lost two children, and she died soon after the second. The last was the daughter of King [[Aenys I Targaryen]], Princess [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena Targaryen]], who was forced to marry Maegar when Tyanna found Rhaena's twin daughters by Prince Aegon, [[Aerea Targaryen|Aerea]] and [[Rhalla Targaryen|Rhalla]]. Maegor named Aerea as his heir, disinheriting her brother, Prince [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys]].{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
 
 
In {{date|48}} Tyanna of the Tower admitted to poisoning the other brides, causing stillbirths. Maegor cut out her heart with [[Blackfyre]] and fed it to his dogs.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} Maegor had three [[Grand Maester]]s executed during his reign,{{Ref|aSoS|12}} including [[Gawen]] in {{Date|42}}{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}} and [[Desmond (Grand Maester)|Desmond]] in {{Date|44}}.{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
  
 
===Downfall===
 
===Downfall===
 
[[File:Michael KomarckMaegorIdiesonthethrone.png|350px|thumb|King Maegor was found dead on the [[Iron Throne]]]]
 
[[File:Michael KomarckMaegorIdiesonthethrone.png|350px|thumb|King Maegor was found dead on the [[Iron Throne]]]]
 +
Day by day, the [[Seven Kingdoms]] turned against its king, and by {{date|48}} Maegor's tyranny could no longer be borne by the realm. In the [[riverlands]], [[House Tully]] of [[Riverrun]] supported Septon [[Moon (septon)|Moon]] and Ser [[Joffrey Doggett]], the leaders of the Poor Fellows. Maegor also found himself opposed by Lord [[Daemon Velaryon (admiral of the king's fleet)|Daemon Velaryon]], the admiral of the [[royal fleet]], and many [[great houses]] followed Velaryon's example. A new claim for the [[Iron Throne]] was put forth by Aenys I's last surviving son, Prince [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys]]. The prince was supported by Lord [[Robar Baratheon]] of [[Storm's End]], whom Jaehaerys named [[Protector of the Realm]] and [[Hand of the King]].{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Stormlands: House Baratheon}}
  
Day by day, the [[Seven Kingdoms]] turned against its king, and by {{date|48}} Maegor's tyranny could no longer be borne by the realm. In the [[riverlands]], [[House Tully]] of [[Riverrun]] supported Septon [[Moon (septon)|Moon]] and Ser [[Joffrey Doggett]], the leaders of the Poor Fellows. Maegor also found himself opposed by Lord [[Daemon Velaryon (admiral of the king's fleet)|Daemon Velaryon]] of the [[royal fleet]] and many [[great houses]]. A new claim for the [[Iron Throne]] was put forth by Aenys I's last surviving son, Prince [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys]]. The prince was supported by Lord [[Robar Baratheon]] of [[Storm's End]], whom Jaehaerys named [[Protector of the Realm]] and [[Hand of the King]].{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Stormlands: House Baratheon}}
+
Learning of her brother's claim, Queen [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena Targaryen]] fled from Maegor in the night, escaping on her dragon [[Dreamfyre]] with the Valyrian blade [[Blackfyre]]. Two of Maegor's [[Kingsguard]] also abandoned him. These series of betrayals and the loss of Visenya's guidance left Maegor a broken man. He called his banners but few answered and those who did were not enough to defeat his many foes.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
 
Learning of her brother's claim, Princess [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys I)|Rhaena Targaryen]] fled from Maegor in the night, escaping on her dragon [[Dreamfyre]] with the Valyrian blade [[Blackfyre]]. Two of Maegor's [[Kingsguard]] also abandoned him. These series of betrayals and the loss of Visenya's guidance left Maegor a broken man. He called his banners but few answered and those who did were not enough to defeat his many foes.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
  
 
During the hour of the wolf, those few who remained left the throne room leaving Maegor alone to brood. He was found dead seated on the Iron Throne the next morning, his robes covered in blood, his wrists slashed. Some say he had been killed by a knight of his own Kingsguard who could no longer abide his tyranny, some say he had been killed by a builder that escaped the Red Keep slaughter and desired revenge, and some whispered that Maegor had been killed by the throne itself.{{Ref|aSoS|36}} Perhaps the most likely explanation is that Maegor killed himself by opening his wrists on the blades of the Iron Throne.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
 
During the hour of the wolf, those few who remained left the throne room leaving Maegor alone to brood. He was found dead seated on the Iron Throne the next morning, his robes covered in blood, his wrists slashed. Some say he had been killed by a knight of his own Kingsguard who could no longer abide his tyranny, some say he had been killed by a builder that escaped the Red Keep slaughter and desired revenge, and some whispered that Maegor had been killed by the throne itself.{{Ref|aSoS|36}} Perhaps the most likely explanation is that Maegor killed himself by opening his wrists on the blades of the Iron Throne.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I}}
  
 
===Legacy===
 
===Legacy===
Maegor died with no issue, and the war with the Faith Militant only ended under the reign of his successor and nephew, King [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen]].{{Ref|aFfC|33}}{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I}} [[Silver Denys]] claimed to be a son of Maegor.{{ref|TPATQ}} At the start of the [[Dance of the Dragons]], Ser [[Otto Hightower]] warned that Prince [[Daemon Targaryen]] would be a second Maegor the Cruel, and as the civil war continued his wife, Queen [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]], was called "King Maegor with teats".{{ref|TPATQ}}
+
Maegor died without issue, and was succeeded by his nephew, King [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen]], the youngest son of the late King Aenys I. The Faith Militant uprising only ended during Jaehaerys' reign.{{Ref|aFfC|33}}{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I}} Jaehaerys agreed to pardon all those of the Faith who would set their swords aside,{{Ref|affc|33}} though he also deprived the Faith of the right to hold trials.{{ref|affc|43}} Decades later, [[Silver Denys]] claimed to be a [[bastard]] son of Maegor, but was mutilated by the dragon [[Sheepstealer]] and slain with his sons by the [[Cannibal]] when trying to claim a dragon.{{ref|TPATQ}} Ser [[Otto Hightower]] believed that Prince [[Daemon Targaryen]] would be a second Maegor the Cruel if he would ever ascend to the throne,{{Ref|trp}} and at the start of the [[Dance of the Dragons|civil war]] his daughter [[Alicent Hightower|Alicent]] claimed that Daemon would be "as cruel and unforgiving as Maegor ever was" as king consort.{{Ref|tpatq}} Daemon's wife, Queen [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]], came to be considered a grasping, cruel, vindictive woman, and was dubbed "King Maegor with teats", a curse that would become a common curse amongst kingslanders fro a hundred years thereafter.{{ref|TPATQ}}
  
 
==Small Council under Maegor I==
 
==Small Council under Maegor I==
Line 131: Line 118:
 
{{Targaryen tree Aegon}}
 
{{Targaryen tree Aegon}}
  
==References and Notes==
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 +
 
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==Notes==
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{{Notes}}
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==References==
 
{{references|2}}
 
{{references|2}}
  

Revision as of 21:43, 22 April 2017

House Targaryen.svg
Maegor I Targaryen
House Targaryen.svg
MAEGOR I.jpg
Maegor I by Amok©
Monarch
Reign 42 AC - 48 AC
Full name Maegor Targaryen the First of His Name
Titles
Predecessor Aenys I Targaryen
Heirs
Successor Jaehaerys I Targaryen
Personal Information
Alias Maegor the Cruel
Born In 12 AC[1], at Dragonstone[2]
Died In 48 AC[3], at King's Landing
Family
Dynasty House Targaryen
Queens
Issue Silver Denys (allegedly)
Father Aegon I Targaryen
Mother Visenya Targaryen
References
Books

Maegor I Targaryen, also known as Maegor the Cruel, was the third Targaryen king to sit the Iron Throne. He was the son of King Aegon I Targaryen and elder his sister-wife, Queen Visenya Targaryen. He had an older half-brother, Aenys I Targaryen.

The polygamous Maegor had six wives: Ceryse Hightower, Alys Harroway, Tyanna of the Tower, Elinor Costayne, Jeyne Westerling, and his niece Rhaena Targaryen, the last three of whom are known as the Black Brides.[4]

Appearance and Character

Maegor was larger than his father, King Aegon I.[5] He was bull-like, with heavy shoulders, a thick neck, and huge arms. Though he was on the heavy side, he was not fat, but more massive and square. He kept his hair short and his beard trimmed to his jawline. He had angry-looking, suspicious eyes, and a scowling mouth.[5]

Maegor was a born warrior[6] who rose to become one of the youngest knights of his time.[4] He was a hard and brutal man;[5] As a youth, he already showed cruel tendencies, and had no true friends, mostly keeping to himself;[7][8] According to history, Maegor enjoyed war and battle, but most craved violence, death, and absolute mastery over all he deemed his.[4]

Maegor wore his father's steel-and-ruby crown.[4] His armor, however, was more elaborate than Aegon's. Instead of a shirt of scale, Maegor wore a breastplate, covered by a surcoat that displays the Targaryen three-headed dragon, red on black.[5]

History

Youth

In 11 AC, Queen Visenya Targaryen announced that she was pregnant with a son. That son, Maegor, was born the next year,[8] on Dragonstone.[2] As a babe, he was a big and healthy child &ndash twice as big as his half-brother Aenys had been.[7] Maegor and Aenys were not close as children; Maegor was raised by his mother on Dragonstone, and in time became known as the "Prince on Dragonstone".[7] He received his first sword at the age of three, and butchered a cat with it.[8] His cruelty showed again when he finished off a horse which had kicked him.[7] Maegor was a born warrior,[6] who was trained at arms by the Ser Gallen Corbray, the master-at-arms of Dragonstone.[8] His mother, Visenya, gave him her Valyrian steel sword, Dark Sister, as a nameday present when Maegor turned thirteen.[7][9] That same year, Maegor defeated hardened knights in a mêlée.[4]

Maegor's brother Aenys had married Lady Alyssa Velaryon in 22 AC,[6] and their daughter Rhaena was born the next year.[N 1] After Rhaena's birth, people suggested that Maegor would fall behind her in the line of succession. In 24 AC, Queen Visenya suggested a betrothal between the infant Rhaena and twelve-year old Maegor to settle the succession issue,[9] but the High Septon protested.[6] Instead, Maegor was betrothed to the High Septon's niece, Lady Ceryse Hightower, whom he married in 25 AC at the Starry Sept in Oldtown.[4][9] Though Maegor boasted that he had conceived a child on his wedding night,[7] the marriage remained barren.[4]

Maegor had more success in his military accomplishments. In 28 AC, he won renown a tourney by defeating three knights of the Kingsguard in the joust, and next winning the mêlée. He was knighted by his father, King Aegon I, at the age of sixteen, making his the youngest knight in the realm at the time.[4] According to a semi-canon source, Maegor shortly thereafter assisted the master of ships, Lord Aethon Velaryon and the Hand of the King, Ser Osmund Strong, in two campaigns against the pirate Sargasso Saan in the Stepstones in 29 AC and 30 AC,[9] and defeated the Giant of the Trident in 31 AC.[7]

Hand and exile

In 37 AC, Maegor's father, King Aegon I, died, and his half-brother Aenys ascended the throne as King Aenys I Targaryen. Admitting to all assembled at Aegon I's funeral pyre that he was not nearly the warrior his half-brother was, Aenys presented Maegor with Aegon's Valyrian steel blade, Blackfyre, proclaiming they would rule together.[7]

Despite the fact that there were several dragon hatchlings on Dragonstone, Maegor had not yet claimed a dragon of his own, claiming that none were worthy. After Aegon I's death, Maegor claimed his father's mount, Balerion, for his own. During the first year of Aenys's reign, several rebellions broke out. In the Vale of Arryn, Jonos Arryn rose against his brother, Lord Ronnel, imprisoning him and his family. Maegor personally crushed this rebellion, flying on Balerion to the Eyrie and hanging Jonos and his followers. As his previous Hand, Lord Alyn Stokeworth, had died, Aenys named Maegor his new Hand of the King as a reward.[6]

Although Maegor had gotten married to Ceryse Hightower in 25 AC, Maegor still had no children in 39 AC. Meanwhile, the marriage of Aenys and Alyssa had resulted in five more children. First three sons, Aegon, Viserys, and Jaehaerys, followed by two daughters, Alysanne and Vaella.[10] Aenys and Maegor had been close, until Vaella's birth in 39 AC. Although Vaella dies shortly after her birth, Maegor decides that his wife must be barren following Alyssa's newest demonstration of her fertility.[7] Maegor secretly married Lady Alys Harroway, the daughter of Lucas Harroway, the new Lord of Harrenhal, that year. Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen led the Valyrian ceremony, after Maegor could not find a septon to perform the marriage. The marriage angered the Faith of the Seven, and Aenys felt forced to exile his brother[6] when Maegor refused to set Alys aside.[7] As such, Maegor was send to Pentos, where he was to stay for five years.[7] Septon Murmison replaced Maegor as Hand, while Aenys's eldest son, Prince Aegon, was named Prince of Dragonstone.[6]

Claiming the throne

The Faith rose in rebellion against King Aenys I in 41 AC, and when Aenys fell ill the following year, Queen Visenya took over his care. Aenys's health improved for a time, but when the king learned that his eldest daughter and son, Rhaena and Aegon, were besieged at Crakehall, he collapsed and died three days later.[6] After Aenys was burned and buried, Visenya flew to Pentos on the back of her dragon, Vhagar, to bring Maegor back to Westeros.[4]

Although Aenys's eldest son Aegon was the heir to the Iron Throne, Maegor claimed the throne upon his return. He was crowned at Dragonstone with the Valyrian steel crown of his father, King Aegon I, instead of Aenys's ornate one. Grand Maester Gawen protested Maegor's coronation, stating that by all the laws of inheritance, the crown should pass to Aenys's son, Aegon. Maegor beheaded Gawen with Blackfyre,[4] making Gawen the first of three Grans Maester's who would be executed during Maegor's reign.[11] ending protest against Maegor's ascension.[4]

Maegor took Aenys's widow, Alyssa Velaryon, as a hostage, as she had been residing at Dragonstone. Alyssa's younger children, Jaehaerys and Alysanne, were kept on the island of Dragonstone with Alyssa, while her son, Prince Viserys, was made Maegor's squire, so he could be kept close as a hostage to ensure Alyssa's good behavior.[4]

The Faith had seized the Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys's Hill in King's Landing, so Maegor flew to the city and planted his banner on Visenya's Hill to rally men. Visenya challenged those who questioned her son's right to rule to prove themselves. Ser Damon Morrigen, the captain of the Warrior's Sons, challenged Maegor to a trial of seven. Though Maegor was the only survivor out of fourteen, he took a blow to the head and collapsed just as the last Warrior's Son died. On the twenty-eighth day of Maegor's coma, Queen Alys Harroway returned from Pentos, bringing with her Tyanna of the Tower, a courtesan who had become Maegor's lover during his exile. Tyanna took over his care, and Maegor woke from his coma on the thirtieth day.[4]

Maegor and Balerion make short work of Aegon Targaryen and Quicksilver during the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye, as depicted by Michael Komarck in The World of Ice and Fire

Maegor mounted Balerion and burned the Sept of Remembrance, while archers killed all those who attempted to flee. Although the Faith would remain Maegor's chief enemy for the duration of his reign, he faced further oppression from Aenys's heir Aegon. That rebellion came to an end in 43 AC, when Maegor slew Aegon and his dragon, Quicksilver, in the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye.[4]

Further marriages and tyranny

Maegor's forces achieved a bloody victory over the Faith Militant in the Battle of Stonebridge and later at the Great Fork of the Blackwater, where thousands of Poor Fellows, knights of the Warrior's Sons, and rebel lords of the riverlands and westerlands opposed Maegor's army. Maegor personally fought in the latter battle, burning men on Balerion's back.[4] Maegor raised a set of laws which forbade holy men from carrying arms,[12][13] and offered bounties of gold dragons for the scalps of Warrior's Sons and silver stags for the scalps of Poor Fellows.[14] He also punished lords who spoke out against the suppression of the Faith.[15]

In 44 AC, Maegor threatened to incinerate the Starry Sept at Oldtown in response to the High Septon condemnation of his polygamous marriages. Shortly after, the High Septon died suddenly, allowing Lord Martyn Hightower to open his gates before Balerion and Vhagar could burn the city.[16] The new High Septon was a more passive man, but proved was unable to halt the rebellion. In 46 AC, Maegor brought two thousand skulls from his campaign against the Faith to King's Landing, claiming they were the heads of Warrior's Sons and Poor Fellows. Many suspected they were the skulls of innocent smallfolk, however.[4]

Construction of the Red Keep, which had begun in 35 AC, continued under Maegor's reign. Leaving the administration of the kingdom to Lord Lucas Harroway, his Hand of the King and father-in-law, Maegor focussed on the construction and ordered a host of hidden tunnels and secret passageways built within the castle.[4] He also ordered four levels of dungeons constructed, and had the fourth level build specifically for torment.[17] In 45 AC, Maegor saw the Red Keep completed, and Maegor's Holdfast was subsequently named after him.[4] Maegor threw a feast for those who had taken part in the construction, but after three days of revelry he had them all put to the sword to protect the secrets of the hidden passages.[4][18][19][20] In place of the ruined Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys's Hill, Maegor began construction of the Dragonpit for the Targaryen dragons, but as many builders and masons had fled King's Landing after the Red Keep massacre, Maegor had to use prisoners from the city's dungeons for the construction, supervised by builders from Myr and Tyrosh.[4]

Lady Ceryse Hightower, Tyanna of the Tower and Lady Alys Harroway. By Magali Villeneuve

Maegor's marriage to Alys Harroway had remained as childless as his marriage to Ceryse Hightower had been. Maegor took his lover Tyanna to wife in 42 AC, naming her to his small council as his mistress of whisperers.[4] In 44 AC,[N 2] Alys gave birth to Maegor's first child. However, the child was a monstrosity, eyeless and twisted. In his fury, Maegor had the midwives, septas and Grand Maester Desmond executed. Tyanna, however, convinced Maegor that the child had come forth from a secret affair of Alys's. Maegor ordered the executions of Alys, her father Lucas, and every other Harroway he could find.[4] With House Harroway extinct, Maegor held a melee in Lord Harroway's Town with Harrenhal the prize. Though gravely wounded, Ser Walton Towers was the victor and House Towers was granted the ruined castle.[21]

The death of Maegor's mother, Dowager Queen Visenya, in 44 AC devastated Maegor, as she had been his strongest supporter. Aenys I Targaryen's wife, Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, escaped during the resulting chaos from Dragonstone with her two youngest children, Jaehaerys and Alysanne, and the Valyrian sword Dark Sister. In response, Maegor had her eldest surviving son, Prince Viserys, tortured to death by Queen Tyanna after nine days of questioning. His mutilated body was left in the courtyard for a fortnight in an unsuccessful attempt to force Alyssa to return.[4]

Maegor's first wife, Queen Ceryse Hightower, suddenly fell ill in 45 AC and died. Rumor held that she had been killed at Maegor's command.[4] In 47 AC, Maegor wed his three Black Brides, three women of proven fertility who had been widowed through Maegor's actions or wars. The youngest, Lady Elinor Costayne, birthed an eyeless child with small wings.[4] Lady Jeyne Westerling lost two children, and she died soon after the second. The last was the eldest daughter of King Aenys I Targaryen, Princess Rhaena Targaryen. Maegor named Aerea, one of Rhaena's two daughters by her deceased brother, Aegon, as his heir, disinheriting her brother, Prince Jaehaerys.[4] In 48 AC, Queen Tyanna claimed to have poisoned Maegor's other wives, causing the abominations. Maegor cut out her heart with Blackfyre and fed it to his dogs.[4]

Downfall

King Maegor was found dead on the Iron Throne

Day by day, the Seven Kingdoms turned against its king, and by 48 AC Maegor's tyranny could no longer be borne by the realm. In the riverlands, House Tully of Riverrun supported Septon Moon and Ser Joffrey Doggett, the leaders of the Poor Fellows. Maegor also found himself opposed by Lord Daemon Velaryon, the admiral of the royal fleet, and many great houses followed Velaryon's example. A new claim for the Iron Throne was put forth by Aenys I's last surviving son, Prince Jaehaerys. The prince was supported by Lord Robar Baratheon of Storm's End, whom Jaehaerys named Protector of the Realm and Hand of the King.[4][22]

Learning of her brother's claim, Queen Rhaena Targaryen fled from Maegor in the night, escaping on her dragon Dreamfyre with the Valyrian blade Blackfyre. Two of Maegor's Kingsguard also abandoned him. These series of betrayals and the loss of Visenya's guidance left Maegor a broken man. He called his banners but few answered and those who did were not enough to defeat his many foes.[4]

During the hour of the wolf, those few who remained left the throne room leaving Maegor alone to brood. He was found dead seated on the Iron Throne the next morning, his robes covered in blood, his wrists slashed. Some say he had been killed by a knight of his own Kingsguard who could no longer abide his tyranny, some say he had been killed by a builder that escaped the Red Keep slaughter and desired revenge, and some whispered that Maegor had been killed by the throne itself.[23] Perhaps the most likely explanation is that Maegor killed himself by opening his wrists on the blades of the Iron Throne.[4]

Legacy

Maegor died without issue, and was succeeded by his nephew, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the youngest son of the late King Aenys I. The Faith Militant uprising only ended during Jaehaerys' reign.[14][13] Jaehaerys agreed to pardon all those of the Faith who would set their swords aside,[14] though he also deprived the Faith of the right to hold trials.[12] Decades later, Silver Denys claimed to be a bastard son of Maegor, but was mutilated by the dragon Sheepstealer and slain with his sons by the Cannibal when trying to claim a dragon.[24] Ser Otto Hightower believed that Prince Daemon Targaryen would be a second Maegor the Cruel if he would ever ascend to the throne,[25] and at the start of the civil war his daughter Alicent claimed that Daemon would be "as cruel and unforgiving as Maegor ever was" as king consort.[24] Daemon's wife, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, came to be considered a grasping, cruel, vindictive woman, and was dubbed "King Maegor with teats", a curse that would become a common curse amongst kingslanders fro a hundred years thereafter.[24]

Small Council under Maegor I

During the reign of King Maegor his small council had the following known members:

Quotes

Maegor, the First of His Name, came to the throne after the sudden death of his brother, King Aenys, in the year 42 AC. He is better remembered as Maegor the Cruel, and it was a well-earned sobriquet, for no crueller king ever sat the Iron Throne. His reign began with blood and ended in blood as well.[4]

- Yandel in The World of Ice and Fire


What demon possessed him none could say. Even today, some give thanks that his tyranny was a short one, for who knows how many noble houses might have vanished forever simply to sate his desire.[4]

- Yandel in The World of Ice and Fire


Aegon the Conqueror had commanded it built. His son Maegor the Cruel had seen it completed. Afterward he had taken the heads of every stonemason, woodworker, and builder who had labored on it. Only the blood of the dragon would ever know the secrets of the fortress the Dragonlords had built, he vowed.[26]

- thoughts of Catelyn Stark


King Maegor wanted no rats in his own walls, if you take my meaning. He did require a means of secret egress, should he ever be trapped by his enemies, but that door does not connect with any other passages.[11]

- Varys to Tyrion Lannister


What did she care what Maegor the Cruel had decreed three hundred years ago? Instead of taking the swords out of the hands of the faithful, he should have used them for his own ends.[27]

- thoughts of Cersei Lannister

Family

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Valaena
Velaryon
 
Aerion
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unknown
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Visenya
 
Aegon I
 
Rhaenys
 
 
Orys
Baratheon
 
Argella
Durrandon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ceryse
Hightower
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aenys I
 
Alyssa
Velaryon
 
 
House Baratheon.svg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Elinor
Costayne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alys
Harroway
 
 
Maegor I
 
Rhaena
 
Aegon
 
Viserys
 
Jaehaerys I
 
Alysanne
 
Vaella
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jeyne
Westerling
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tyanna of
the Tower
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rhaella
 
Aerea
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
House Targaryen.svg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Notes

  1. The World of Ice and Fire states that "[Ceryse Hightower] was advanced by her uncle, the High Septon, after he protested the betrothal of the thirteen-year-old Prince Maegor to Maegor's newborn niece, Princess Rhaena. Ceryse and Maegor were married in 25 AC." (The World of Ice and Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I); However, it has since been stated that Maegor was eleven at the suggestion of betrothing him to the newborn Rhaena. Notes taken from a reading of The Sons of the Dragon state that Maegor had just turned twelve when the betrothal to Rhaena was suggested, placing the attempt in 24 AC
  2. Earlier prints of The World of Ice and Fire erroneously state that Alys was the first of Maegor's wives to become pregnant in 48 AC (The World of Ice and Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I). It has been confirmed that the passage should have read 44 AC.

References

  1. See the Maegor I Targaryen calculation.
  2. 2.0 2.1 George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Maegor I Targaryen.
  3. A Game of Thrones, Appendix.
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 So Spake Martin: Targaryen Kings (November 01, 2005)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aenys I.
  7. 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 The Sons of the Dragon: Loncon 2014 reading - Report 1
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Sons of the Dragon: Loncon 2014 reading - Report 2
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 The Sons of the Dragon: Loncon 2014 reading - Additional info
  10. The World of Ice & Fire, Appendix: Targaryen Lineage.
  11. 11.0 11.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 12, Tyrion II.
  12. 12.0 12.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 43, Cersei X.
  13. 13.0 13.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 33, Jaime V.
  15. The Sworn Sword.
  16. The World of Ice & Fire, The Reach: Oldtown.
  17. A Storm of Swords, Chapter 77, Tyrion XI.
  18. A Game of Thrones, Chapter 58, Eddard XV.
  19. A Clash of Kings, Chapter 44, Tyrion X.
  20. A Feast for Crows, Chapter 3, Cersei I.
  21. The World of Ice & Fire, The Riverlands: House Tully.
  22. The World of Ice & Fire, The Stormlands: House Baratheon.
  23. A Storm of Swords, Chapter 36, Davos IV.
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 The Princess and the Queen.
  25. The Rogue Prince.
  26. A Game of Thrones, Chapter 18, Catelyn IV.
  27. A Feast for Crows, Chapter 28, Cersei VI.