Rogar Baratheon

From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Revision as of 08:02, 31 December 2020 by Vaith (talk | contribs) (Successor added)
Jump to: navigation, search
House Baratheon.svg
Rogar Baratheon
House Baratheon.svg
Lord Rogar Baratheon.JPG
Rogar Baratheon, as depicted by Douglas Wheatley in Fire & Blood.

Titles
Allegiance House Baratheon[1]
Successor Boremund Baratheon
Culture Stormlander[1]
Born In 17 AC[3]
Died In 62 AC[4]Storm's End[4]
Spouses
Issue
Books

Rogar Baratheon was the Lord of Storm's End and head of House Baratheon during the reigns of kings Maegor I Targaryen and Jaehaerys I Targaryen. During the minority of Jaehaerys I, Rogar served as Hand of the King and Protector of the Realm.[2] Throughout the long reign of King Jaehaerys I, Lord Rogar proved to be both a loyal friend and brief adversary to the king.[4]

A grandson of Lord Orys Baratheon and the eldest of five brothers, Rogar would marry Queen Dowager Alyssa Velaryon and father two children, Boremund and Jocelyn. Boremund would succeed his father as Lord of Storm's End, while Jocelyn married Prince Aemon Targaryen.[6]

Appearance and Character

A muscular and bearded man, Rogar had the typical blue eyes and black hair of House Baratheon.[5] Near the end of his life, age and illness had taken a toll on the Lord of Storm's End. His once-black hair had gone grey and his face was pale and lined. He grew so gaunt that his clothes hung loosely upon him.[4] He was no swordsman, as Rogar preferred to wield a double-bladed axe on the battlefield. He often described his axe as "large and heavy enough to cleave through a dragon's skull." He owned an antlered halfhelm.[5]

Rogar was a prideful man,[7][8] admired for his courage and boldness, respected for his strength, and feared for his military prowess and skill at arms. He was regarded as open-handed as he was bold in battle, and was unaccustomed to defeat.[5] Of a martial temperament,[8] Rogar was described as a warrior to the bone. He was fond of hawking, hunting, gambling, drinking, and feasting.[5][7] However, Rogar had no love for mummers, once declaring them to be of less use than a monkey.[8]

Rogar was not a man to yield, often boasting in battle that he would not lay down his axe while there was life in his body. Though King Jaehaerys I valued Rogar as a counselor and a friend, the young king believed his intelligence, judgment, and temperament to be superior to that of the Lord of Storm's End. Despite his actions in his last year serving as Hand of the King, Rogar was not a cruel or evil man at heart, nor was he a fool.[7]

History

Early life

Rogar Baratheon was born in 17 AC, the eldest of five brothers and the grandson of Orys Baratheon, the first Lord of Storm's End of House Baratheon and the bastard half-brother of King Aegon I Targaryen. As Lord Orys had taken Storm King Argilac the Arrogant's daughter to wife, Rogar could claim that both the blood of House Targaryen and House Durrandon flowed through his veins.[5]

He had been married once, though his wife had died young, having succumbed to a fever less than a year after her wedding to the Lord of Storm's End. The marriage had left Rogar childless.[5]

Maegor the Cruel

When Prince Aegon the Uncrowned declared his uncle Maegor I Targaryen a tyrant and a usurper, Lord Rogar was among the great lords in secret communication with Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, the prince's mother. However, Rogar would not declare for Aegon until the Prince of Dragonstone proved his strength; Aegon ultimately perished at his uncle's hand at the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye.[1] After their flight from Maegor at King's Landing, Rogar was quick to provide shelter to Alyssa Velaryon and her children, Prince Jaehaerys and Princess Alysanne. If he feared Maegor's wrath, he hid it well. His own brother Ser Borys told others that Rogar dreamed of facing Maegor in single combat and cutting him down with his axe.[5]

Lord Rogar would be the first great lord to openly proclaim for Prince Jaehaerys against his uncle, Maegor the Cruel.[2] In 48 AC at Storm's End, Rogar proclaimed Jaehaerys to be the lawful King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, before a hundred of his lord's bannermen and knights. In return, Prince Jaehaerys named Rogar his Hand of the King and the Protector of the Realm.[1][9][10] While Lord Rogar was gathering his levies at Storm's End, King Maegor's response was slow and sluggish. When Lord Daemon Velaryon declared for his nephew Jaehaerys, other great houses soon followed Baratheon's and Velaryon's lead.[1][10] Ultimately, Rogar's dream of slaying Maegor the Cruel was denied to him when the king mysteriously died upon the Iron Throne.[5]

Twenty-three days after the mysterious death of King Maegor I, Lord Rogar arrived at King's Landing at the head of a large host, accompanying Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, to meet up with Prince Jaehaerys, Princess Rhaena, and Princess Alysanne, who had arrived a fortnight earlier.[9] Some suggested for Princess Rhaena to succeed as queen of the realm, though Rogar disagreed with the notion, firmly believing the throne should pass on to the next male heir, Jaehaerys. Lord Rogar had hundreds seized and arrested at the capital for their loyalties to Maegor.[11]

Hand of the King

During the remainder of Jaehaerys' minority, Rogar shared the rule of the realm with Dowager Queen Alyssa, continuing to serve as Hand and Protector. However, Jaehaerys was no figurehead and insisted on having a say in all decisions made in his name.[11] Though some whispered that Rogar ruled the realm entirely, Jaehaerys had a seat at nearly every small council meeting and was not shy about having his voice heard. Though in the end, Rogar and Alyssa had the final authority throughout the young king's regency.[5] With the Red Keep's dungeons filled with Maegor's men, Rogar feared that executing them would only harden the remaining loyalists against the young prince. Instead, Rogar urged for Jaehaerys to allow Maegor's men to stand trial, execute those found guilty of the worst crimes, and take hostages from the others. Wishing to prove to the realm that he was not his uncle, Jaehaerys ultimately chose to forgive all those that had followed Maegor, only taking certain lands and hostages. Though his decree had no legal force as Jaehaerys was not yet crowned, his determination gave him the support of Lords Baratheon and Velaryon.[11]

Jaehaerys would be formally crowned in the waning days of 48 AC at Oldtown, by the High Septon himself. Lord Rogar was one of the many lords in attendance.[11] When Rhaena wed Androw Farman on Fair Isle in 49 AC, Rogar was furious that she married without the crown's leave, perhaps because Rogar's youngest brother and two of his nephews were unmarried and of suitable age for the queen. Later that year, Rogar himself would wed Queen Alyssa in a marvelous wedding remembered as the Golden Wedding at King's Landing, attended by numerous lords from throughout the Seven Kingdoms and even beyond. Many used the wedding as an opportunity to treat with the Hand, who was seen as the true power in the realm. Some servants controversially whispered that Rogar had bedded seven maidens from the pleasure houses of Lys, as Queen Alyssa had given her maidenhead to King Aenys I years before.[5] Rogar did not ask Jaehaerys' leave to wed his mother, which the king took for a slight and a sign of disrespect. Jaehaerys did not approve of the marriage, later confessing that he did not need a second father.[7]

With their wedding now behind them, Rogar and Alyssa turned to searching for a bride for Jaehaerys, with Rogar putting forward the notion for the king to marry the daughter of the Archon of Tyrosh, a buxom girl with blue-green hair. Princess Alysanne was to be wed to Ser Orryn, Rogar's youngest brother. Though the council had not told Alysanne of the betrothal, she soon found out and Rogar would suspect her uncle Daemon as the informer. Under the cover of darkness, Jaehaerys and Alysanne snuck away to Dragonstone with their dragons and Kingsguard, where they married in secret. Rogar and Alyssa arrived soon after and, upon learning that the marriage had not yet been consummated, Rogar sought to annul the union. However, Jaehaerys threatened Rogar's knights with his Kingsguard and Alyssa solemnly convinced the Hand to return to King's Landing. Jaehaerys and Alysanne would spend the rest of the king's minority at Dragonstone, while Rogar kept the king's marriage a secret, threatening to cut out the tongues of any witnesses present if word got out.[5]

Lord Rogar was humiliated for being forced to back down at Dragonstone and intended to take the fortress by storm, until Alyssa reminded him that her children had dragons. Rogar would also forbid his wife from visiting the king and queen at Dragonstone. With the king away from court, Rogar and Alyssa ruled the realm from the capital. Rogar and Alyssa plotted to undo the king's marriage, one notable failed endeavor being Lady Coryanne Wylde's attempt to bed the king. Some versions of A Caution for Young Girls state that in 50 AC Rogar meet with Lady Coryanne in the inn on the south bank of the Blackwater Rush, beside the ferry landing, as she was traveling to King's Landing to begin serving in the household of Queen Alysanne on Dragonstone.[N 1] He had her disrobe to inspect and feel her body, afterwards revealing the true reason for the summons to beguile the king with her womanly wiles and break the relationship between brother and sister. In some copies of the version, A Wanton's Tale, Rogar bedded her that night. According to Archmaester Crey, the meeting at the inn never happened, and the story had been an attempt to blacken Lord Rogar's name, attributing the origins of the lie to Ser Borys. And according to Maester Ryben, the story was nothing more than a bawdy tale amongst the smallfolk.[7]

Under the ineffectual master of coin Lord Edwell Celtigar, the crown also faced debt, while a Vulture King raided the Dornish Marches. When Alyssa finally gave in and urged Rogar to allow the marriage, he yelled at her before the council and urged them to put aside the king for Rhaena's daughter Princess Aerea. Rogar's efforts failed and Alyssa demanded his resignation as Hand, quickly supported by Lord Daemon and Lord Qarl Corbray. Furious, Rogar departed King's Landing with half as many men as when he arrived.[7]

Queenmaker

King Jaehaerys I feeding Vermithor before Rogar, as depicted by Douglas Wheatley in Fire and Blood.

Having been dismissed as the King's Hand, Rogar and his brothers returned to Storm's End, though not before a failed effort by Rogar to have his brother Ser Ronnal retrieve Princess Aerea from her quarters. However, Lord Corbray had already spirited the young princess away on the Queen Regent's orders, having suspected Rogar would attempt to take the girl with him. The bitter quarrel with his wife destroyed any affection Lord Rogar had for her. In his place, Alyssa named her brother Lord Daemon as Hand of the King, but Rogar was someone who knew not how to yield.[7]

Rogar then sent his youngest brother, Ser Orryn, to the motherhouse attached to the Starry Sept in Oldtown to take into his custody Princess Rhaella, a novice of the Faith. However, the Faith refused and Ser Orryn and a dozen Baratheon men-at-arms were captured by thirty armed septons led by the High Septon's steward, Casper Straw. Ser Orryn was questioned and confessed the plot: he was to bring Rhaella to Storm's End, where Rogar planned to have her confess that she was really her older twin sister, Princess Aerea, and then he meant to name her queen. For this, Lord Donnel Hightower imprisoned his brother, much to Rogar's rage. However, the Lord of Storm's End did not call his banners and march on Oldtown but instead fell into despair. Having his maester draft a will and confession, Rogar absolved his four brothers of any wrongdoings, begged for mercy for Ser Orryn, and named the eldest of his brothers, Ser Borys, as his heir. With Rogar at Storm's End and Alyssa emotionally hurt, Lord Daemon and the council ruled the realm till King Jaehaerys came of age in 50 AC and his minority came to an end.[7]

After Jaehaerys had returned to King's Landing he summoned Lord Rogar back to the capital. While Ser Borys urged him to join the Night's Watch, Ser Garon and Ser Ronnal urged defiance. Rogar knew Storm's End would not stand before dragons and instead rode to King's Landing with six of his oldest and loyalist knights, intending to explain himself to King Jaehaerys and take the black. Arriving in the throne room with only Jaehaerys and two white cloaks Ser Lorence Roxton and Ser Joffrey Doggett in attendance, Rogar knelt before the Iron Throne and begged the king to spare House Baratheon. Though Rogar feared harsh reprimandations, Jaehaerys instead pardoned him on the condition he never speaks another word against the king and his queen, to become their champion, and to be an honorable husband to his mother Alyssa. To this, Lord Baratheon quickly agreed. When Rogar asked if the king required hostages of him, Jaehaerys brought Rogar before his dragon Vermithor, where he reminded the lord of the power of dragons. After reconciling with Alyssa, Rogar and his wife returned to the stormlands four days later, escorted by a hundred men-at-arms led by Ser Pate the Woodcock of the Kingsguard to see them safely through the kingswood.[8]

Later life

When King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne held a ceremony celebrating their marriage, Lord Rogar and Dowager Queen Alyssa were among the gathered nobility that stood witness. When the king and queen finally decided to consummate their marriage, the drunk Rogar led the men who disrobed Alysanne and carried her to the bridal bed.[8]

In 51 AC, Alyssa became pregnant with Rogar's child, bringing much joy to the Lord of Storm's End who had long ago abandoned any hopes of having children with his wife. Though there were concerns with Alyssa's age, she gave birth to a healthy and robust boy Rogar named Boremund. In 54 AC, Alyssa became pregnant again with a second child of Rogar's. While Rogar was elated at the prospect of another son and foresaw no difficulties, many warned Alyssa that the birth would be difficult with her age and health. The warnings proved true; as Alyssa gave birth to the child, she found herself on the brink of death. While Jaehaerys and Alysanne were hosted by Lord Dondarrion at Blackhaven on a royal progress, Rogar sent them news of their mother's declining health. When the king arrived at Storm's End, he found Rogar drunk and afraid to look upon his dying wife. Maester Kyrie told the king and Rogar that he could save the child, though Alyssa would surely die. Lord Rogar reluctantly begged the maester to save his child. While Alyssa died, she gave birth to a daughter Rogar named Jocelyn. Days later, Rhaena arrived at Storm's End, where she accused Rogar of killing her mother and threatened to burn his castle should he take another wife or mistreat his children. While Rogar dismissed Rhaena's threats in front of his brothers, he never wed again.[12]

In 58 AC, King Jaehaerys hosted a tourney at King's Landing to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his coronation. Lord Rogar and his children joined the feast that followed.[13] When the Shivers struck the Seven Kingdoms, Rogar was untouched, his children briefly fell ill before recovering, but his brother Ser Ronnal and his sons perished.[4]

Lord Rogar's War

Lord Rogar returned to King's Landing in 61 AC with his daughter Jocelyn and his nieces from his deceased brother Ser Ronnal. Taking a knee before Jaehaerys, he begged the king to take his daughter and nieces as wards to be raised at court, to which the king and queen agreed. Rogar then warned his liege of his brother Ser Borys, who had joined the Vulture King raiding the Dornish Marches. Believing himself to be dying, the Lord of Storm's End then announced his intent to march into the Red Mountains of Dorne to deal with the Vulture King and his brother.[4]

To Rogar's surprise, Jaehaerys not only gave his leave, but decided to join him in marching into the red mountains. The fight that followed is often known to the histories as the Third Dornish War, though the smallfolk of the time more aptly named it "Lord Rogar's War". The Lord of Storm's End marched five hundred men into the mountains while Jaehaerys mounted Vermithor. As Rogar's host ascended the mountains, they were soon forced to abandon their horses and proceed on foot, his column harassed by Dornish raiders. Rogar proceeded from the east, while Lord Simon Dondarrion led a small host of knights from the marches from the west. Meanwhile, Jaehaerys watched from the sky, directing the stormlander hosts to outlaw encampments. Ser Borys was the first to be cornered by the hunters. Rogar's men made short work of Borys' outlaws, and the two brothers came face-to-face. However, to prevent Rogar from being named a kinslayer, Jaehaerys slew Borys himself. The next month, the king's host captured the Vulture King. Rogar had the outlaw's chains struck off and challenged him to single combat, easily killing the Vulture King with his double-bladed axe.[4]

Lord Rogar's War lasted less than half a year. With the Vulture King slain, raiding on the Dornish Marches fell off sharply. To Rogar's dismay, he did not fall in battle. Half a year later in 62 AC, Rogar Baratheon died at Storm's End in the presence of his maester, septon, his brother Ser Garon, and his son and heir, Boremund. With his death, Boremund succeeded his father as Lord of Storm's End.[4]

Quotes by Rogar

Maegor has only one dragon. Our prince has two.[1]

—Rogar to the stormlords, while declaring for Jaehaerys

I have seen your daughters. They have no chins, no teats, and no sense.[5]

—Rogar to Edwell Celtigar

You are weak, as weak as your first husband was, as weak as your son. Sentiment may be forgiven in a mother, but not in a regent, and never in a king. We were fools to crown Jaehaerys. He thinks only of himself, and he will be a worse king than his father was. Thank the gods that it is not too late. We must act now and put him aside.[7]

—Rogar to Alyssa Velaryon, before the small council

All I did and all I tried to do was for the good of the realm and the Iron Throne.[7]

—Rogar's will and confession

My maester says that I am dying. I believe him. Even before the Shivers there was pain. It has gotten worse since. He gives me milk of the poppy, and that helps, but I use only a little. I would not sleep away what life remains to me. Nor would I die abed, bleeding out of my arse. I mean to find my brother Borys and deal with him, and with this Vulture King as well. A fool's errand, Garon calls it. He is not wrong. But when I die, I want to die with my axe in my hand, screaming a curse.[4]

Family

Rogar was a grandson of Lord Orys Baratheon and Lady Argella Durrandon, allowing Rogar to claim descent from House Durrandon and House Targaryen, for Orys was presumed to be the bastard half-brother of King Aegon the Conqueror. Lord Rogar was married twice. His first wife died from a fever, giving Rogar no children. He later took a second wife, Dowager Queen Alyssa Velaryon, who bore him two children, Boremund and Jocelyn.[5] Boremund would succeed Rogar as Lord of Storm's End, while Jocelyn would marry Prince Aemon Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Throne.[4][6]

Rogar was the eldest of five brothers, his younger brothers being Ser Borys, Ser Garon, Ser Ronnal, and Ser Orryn. Rogar had nephews and nieces from his eldest three brothers. Orryn wed a daughter of the Archon of Tyrosh and had a daughter by her, while in exile.[8]

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aerion Targaryen
[Note 1]
 
Unknown woman
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Orys
 
Argella
Durrandon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unknown
wife
 
Unknown
Baratheon
[Note 2]
 
Davos
 
Raymont
[Note 3]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unknown first wife
 
Rogar
 
Alyssa Velaryon
 
 
 
Borys
 
Unknown
wife
 
Garon
 
Unknown
wife
 
Ronnal
 
Unknown
wife
 
Orryn
 
Archon's daughter
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unknown
wife
 
Boremund
 
Jocelyn
 
Aemon
Targaryen
 
Issue
 
 
 
 
 
Issue
 
 
 
Sons
 
Two daughters
 
 
 
Daughter
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Borros
 
Elenda Caron
 
Rhaenys Targaryen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cassandra
 
Walter
Brownhill
 
Maris
 
Ellyn
 
Floris
 
Thaddeus
Rowan
 
Royce
 
 
 
Notes:
  1. Parentage unproven, but widely accepted as fact by some maesters, as well as members of House Targaryen and House Baratheon itself.
  2. Uncertain, may be Davos Baratheon.
  3. The canon status of the character is unclear. See: Westeros.org: Family trees and successions – Comment by Ran (December 20, 2018).

Behind the Scenes

In published works, Rogar has been called both "Rogar Baratheon" and "Robar Baratheon". In The World of Ice & Fire, the name "Robar" is consistently used, while the character is called "Rogar" on some occasions in The Sons of the Dragon and (in the printed version and some e-book versions) "Robar" on others.

According to Elio Garcia, one of the co-authors of The World of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin used both names interchangeably in the original manuscript. Even though "Rogar" was used more frequently in the manuscript, for The World of Ice & Fire, the choice was made to use "Robar" as it was the name Martin wrote down towards the end of the manuscript.[14] As revealed by Garcia in July 2018, Martin started out in the manuscript with "Rogar", at one point switched to "Robar", and later on decided he preferred "Rogar" after all.[15]

Notes

  1. In the versions of the book entitled Sins of the Flesh and The High and the Low, it is not Lord Rogar who awaited Lady Coryanne at the inn, but the eldest of his four brothers Ser Borys Baratheon.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 The World of Ice & Fire, The Stormlands: House Baratheon.
  3. See the Rogar Baratheon calculation.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Fire & Blood, The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny, and Pain.
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 Fire & Blood, The Year of the Three Brides - 49 AC.
  6. 6.0 6.1 The World of Ice & Fire, Appendix: Targaryen Lineage.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 Fire & Blood, A Surfeit of Rulers.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Fire & Blood, A Time of Testing - The Realm Remade.
  9. 9.0 9.1 The Sons of the Dragon.
  10. 10.0 10.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Fire & Blood, Prince into King - The Ascension of Jaehaerys I.
  12. Fire & Blood, Birth, Death, and Betrayal Under King Jaehaerys I.
  13. Fire & Blood, Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies.
  14. Vassals of Kingsgrave podcast (November 18, 2017)
  15. asoiaf.westeros.org: FIRE AND BLOOD Volume 1: Robar vs Rogar (July 24, 2018)