Tyland Lannister

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House Lannister.svg Ser
Tyland Lannister
the Hooded Hand
House Lannister.svg
Tyland Lannister.jpeg
Tyland Lannister, by Enife ©

Alias The Hooded Hand
Titles
Allegiances
Culture Westermen
Born In 8997 AC[1]
Died In 133 AC, the Tower of the Hand, King's Landing[2]
Books

Played by Jefferson Hall
TV series House of the Dragon: Season 1 | 2

Tyland Lannister, later called the Hooded Hand, was a knight from House Lannister. He served on the small council at King's Landing, as master of ships for Viserys I Targaryen, as master of coin for Aegon II Targaryen, and as Hand of the King for Aegon III Targaryen. He was the younger twin brother of Jason Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock.

In the television adaptation House of the Dragon, Tyland is portrayed by Jefferson Hall.[3]

Appearance and Character

Tyland Lannister, after being tortured. By mylestoyne ©

Tyland was tall, golden-haired, and dashing, like his twin brother Lord Jason. However, after being tortured, he was left blind, maimed (his fingernails and toenails cut off, as well as his ears), and gelded. His disfigurement was known to cause new ladies at court to faint at the sight of him. In response, Tyland began to wear a silken hood over his head on formal occasions.[2]

Tyland was a cunning man, and his wits remained sharp even after his torture. A tireless royal servant and able in his high offices, Tyland demonstrated a dogged loyalty to King Aegon III Targaryen.[2] Tyland always spoke to Aegon III gently and treated him with deference, preferring to guide the young king rather than command him.[4]

History

Early life

The younger twin brother of Jason Lannister, Tyland was a second son denied the glory of a lordship, leaving him to find his own place in the world.[2] When Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen visited the westerlands in 112 AC, Tyland and Jason vied for the hand of the princess during a feast at Casterly Rock.[5] Both the twins showered her with gifts without success.[5][6]

Eventually, Tyland was appointed master of ships and lord admiral by King Viserys I Targaryen, sitting as one of the youngest members of the small council alongside Lord Larys Strong.[5][7]

The Dance of the Dragons

On the night of the death of King Viserys I, Tyland gathered with the other members of the small council in Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower's chambers. There, they discussed the succession until dawn. During the meeting, Tyland pointed out that many of the lords who had sworn to defend the succession of Princess Rhaenyra back in 105 AC were long dead. He remarked that it had been twenty-four years, and that he himself swore no such oath, as he had been a child at the time. Ultimately, the small council sided in favour of Aegon II Targaryen.[8]

At the start of the Dance of the Dragons, Ser Tyland was named master of coin by Queen Alicent, replacing Lord Lyman Beesbury, who had been murdered for his support of Princess Rhaenyra. Upon his appointment, Tyland acted at once to seize the royal treasury. The crown's gold was divided into four parts. One part was entrusted to the care of the Iron Bank of Braavos for safekeeping, another sent to Casterly Rock, and a third to Oldtown. The remaining wealth was used by the greens for bribes and gifts, and hiring sellswords.[8]

When Prince Aemond Targaryen was the Prince Regent and Protector of the Realm, Tyland favored Aemond's suggestion of bringing battle to Prince Daemon Targaryen and chastising the rebellious river lords.[9] On behalf of his twin's favored position at court, Lord Jason had sided with the greens and led the a large host from the westerlands in support of Aegon II, but died at the Battle at the Red Fork in 130 AC.[7] When Rhaenyra took King's Landing in 130 AC, Tyland was among the members of the court who emerged from Maegor's Holdfast. Tyland was taken and given to Rhaenyra's torturers, in the hopes that some of the Crown's treasury could be recovered.[10] Tyland refused to tell where the gold had been sent to, despite being blinded, gelded, and mutilated by the torturers.[7][11]

Bankrupt and unable to locate the crown's gold, Rhaenyra fled the capital. Ser Tyland was released by the gutter knights of Ser Perkin the Flea, who had seized the Red Keep to install his squire, Trystane Truefyre, as king on the Iron Throne.[11] After the city was taken back by the greens, Tyland was re-installed as master of coin. As the armies of the enemy were preparing to march on King's Landing, he suggested sailing to Lys or Tyrosh to hire sellsword companies to fight for Aegon II, but Corlys Velaryon insisted that Tyland could never return with the sellswords in time. When King Aegon II suggested sending Rhaenyra's son, Prince Aegon the Younger, to the Wall, or gelding him to ensure Rhaenyra's line would end with her only remaining son, Tyland argued for a harsher course. He suggested Aegon's execution, insisting that Aegon would always be a threat to the king, as long as he lived.[12]

Tyland, alongside Ser Marston Waters and Ser Julian Wormwood, was later dispatched across the narrow sea to find sellswords in Pentos, Tyrosh, and Myr.[12]

Hand of the King

While Tyland was away in Myr, Aegon II was murdered, and was succeeded by the young Aegon III, Rhaenyra's son. Tyland's late brother's widow, Lady Johanna Lannister, arranged to return Casterly Rock's portion of the crown's gold in exchange for a royal pardon for Tyland.[13] Tyland returned to King's Landing from Myr shortly afterwards, and was made Hand of the King for Aegon III at the start of his regency. Tyland began wearing a silken hood over his head on formal occasions, as ladies new to court were known to faint when seeing his severely disfigured face. His hood, however, gave cause to whispers among the smallfolk, who considered him a malign masked sorcerer, and began calling him "the hooded hand".[2]

Despite having previously served King Aegon II and having argued for the death of Aegon III before his coronation, Tyland served the new king loyally. He insisted that he could no longer recall who had sided with the blacks and who had sided with the greens. Tyland set out to restore trade to the Seven Kingdoms, which had collapsed during the war. He abolished the taxes that had been enacted by Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen and her master of coin, Lord Bartimos Celtigar. He gave out loans for rebuilding the holdings which had been destroyed during the war. He ordered the construction of three huge fortified granaries throughout the kingdom, and had them filled with grain. He further ordered the repair and restoration of the Dragonpit, strengthened the city gates, and announced the funding for the construction of fifty new war galleys,[2] although only ten were eventually commissioned.[4]

When war erupted once more in the Stepstones, Tyland refused the offers made by envoys from Pentos, Braavos, and Lorath to form an alliance against Racallio Ryndoon, insisting to the regents of Aegon III that it was wiser to keep out of the wars of the Free Cities.[2] When the former Grand Maester Orwyle was discovered and arrested in early 132 AC, the small council declared him an oathbreaker and sentenced him to death. However, Tyland insisted that, as the office of King's Justice had not yet been filled, the execution should be put on hold since he himself was not able to perform the execution. Tyland had Orwyle confined to a large, airy, comfortable tower cell and provided him with ink and parchment so he could continue to write his confessions. Tyland was in no hurry to fill the vacancy of the King's Justice, and Orwyle remained comfortably imprisoned for two years. Mushroom and Septon Eustace both believed that the old friendship between Tyland and Orwyle, and the recollection of all they had endured, influenced Tyland's decisions regarding Orwyle.[2]

In 132 AC, following the sudden death of Lord Corlys Velaryon, the council of regents began to discuss the matter of Aegon's heir. His half-sisters, Baela and Rhaena Targaryen, were considered to be the only two claimants the realm would likely accept as the childless king's heirs. Despite the fact that Baela was the elder twin, the council considered Rhaena more suitable, as she was the less willful and more tractable of the two. Furthermore, Rhaena had her dragon, Morning, unlike Baela, whose Moondancer had died during the fall of Dragonstone. When Myles Mooton noted that Rhaena only had a hatchling, Lord Roland Westerling further pointed out that Baela had taken down King Aegon II, and that there were many who would be angered should she be crowned. Grand Maester Munkun attempted to end the debate, insisting that both Baela and Rhaena were female and thus disqualified altogether, as that the Dance of the Dragons had shown that they had to favor the male claimant per the ruling of the Great Council of 101 AC. However, Tyland pointed out that all the male claimants had been killed. The council eventually agreed that Baela should be wed to Thaddeus Rowan, Lord of Goldengrove. However, when Baela was informed of the match, she strongly disagreed, as Rowan was forty years her senior and very overweight. Possibly with intent to be provocative, she claimed to Ser Tyland that she had bedded two of Rowan's sons. The Hand subsequently had Baela confined to her rooms until the next meeting of the regents. Baela escaped her confinement and fled to Driftmark, to marry her cousin Lord Alyn Velaryon. When some of the regents urged Tyland to appeal to the High Septon to annul the marriage, Tyland instead spread the word that the marriage had been arranged by the royal court, to prevent people from learning about Baela's defiance of the council. When discussions began on a husband for Baela's sister, Rhaena, Tyland insisted on including Rhaena in the discussions.[2]

Late in 132 AC, a number of broken men and predatory outlaws began to gather at Harrenhal under the rule of a sorcerous "witch queen". When tales reached King's Landing, Ser Tyland tasked Ser Regis Groves of the Kingsguard to reclaim the castle. Ser Regis took fifty men, and was met at Castle Darry by Ser Damon Darry, leading another fifty men. However, when Ser Regis arrived at Harrenhal, he found the gates closed and hundreds of armed men on the battlements. The alleged witch queen was revealed to be Alys Rivers, who claimed to be the widow of Prince Aemond Targaryen. She presented a young boy as their trueborn son, who she said was the rightful king instead of Aegon III Targaryen. Regis abruptly died after insulting Alys; some claim she used magic to burst his skull, while others state he was killed by crossbowmen or slingers. Alys's rabble then rode from Harrenhal and overwhelmed Regis and Damon's men. Damon led thirty-two survivors back to Castle Darry, where a survivor of the fight was sent by Alys, insisting he had seen a dragon at Harrenhal. When his story was laughed at, the messenger choked to death in moments, with some saying they had seen the imprints of a woman's fingers on his throat.[2]

Tyland Lannister dies from Winter Fever, attended by King Aegon III Targaryen and Septon Eustace. By Douglas Wheatley, from Fire & Blood.

Back in King's Landing, Tyland was troubled by the death of a Kingsguard knight. Lord Unwin Peake disbelieved Damon's claims of dragons and magic, however, and the other regents agreed with Unwin's conclusion that outlaws were to blame. As the year ended, Aegon's regents concluded they would need to gather a larger force to recapture Harrenhal. But before Ser Tyland could organize an assault, the Winter Fever arrived in King's Landing. On the third day of 133 AC, Grand Maester Munkun examined dockside whores and sailors struck with fever, and sent an urgent message to the Hand regarding the epidemic. Tyland acted immediately to curb the spread of the disease, ordering the gold cloaks to close the city gates and keep anyone from entering or leaving the city. He also had the gates of the Red Keep closed, to keep the disease from the king and court, though this was unfortunately not effective.[2]

Tyland continued working throughout King's Landing's fight with the Winter Fever, suffering no more than exhaustion. However, when the worst had past and there were almost no new cases, Tyland himself fell ill. He died after only two days, in the presence of Septon Eustace and King Aegon III, who held his hand as Tyland took his last breath.[2]

Legacy

Tyland is not remembered fondly, partly due to his physical appearance after being tortured, and partly due to his actions during the Dance of the Dragons. Some blacks hated him for having urged King Aegon II Targaryen to put Aegon the Younger to death, and some greens hated him for serving Aegon III faithfully in the aftermath of the war. Leaving behind no wife of children, there were few to mourn him when he passed. His veiled face had led to tales that his visage was monstrous and evil, and some called him craven for keeping the Seven Kingdoms out of the Daughters' War, and for not effectively curbing the raids of Lord Dalton Greyjoy in the west.[2] Tyland had come to be perceived as a weak and ineffectual Hand, yet somehow sinister, scheming, and monstrous.[4]

Archmaester Gyldayn noted that Tyland was a tireless and effective man, nothing that his cunning in relocating the crown's gold had sown the seeds of Rhaenyra's downfall and her eventual death, yet he continued to serve as a faithful and able servant to her son as Hand of the King.[2] In that office, Tyland was replaced by Lord Unwin Peake of Starpike, though Aegon III resented Lord Peake's brusque and forceful personality, and preferred the kindness and deference that Tyland had shown to the young king.[4]

Quotes by Tyland

I myself swore no such oath. I was a child at the time.[8]

—Tyland, to the small council of Viserys I Targaryen

The boy will remain a threat so long as he draws breath. Remove his head, and these traitors will be left with neither queen nor king nor prince. The sooner he is dead, the sooner this rebellion will end.[12]

—Tyland, to the small council of Aegon II Targaryen

It would be a grave mistake for Westeros to become embroiled in the endless quarrels of the Free Cities.[2]

—Tyland, to the council of regents

Munkun: We must abide by primogeniture, as the Great Council ruled in 101. The male claim comes before the female.
Tyland: And who is this male claimant, my lord? We seem to have killed them all.[2]

—Grand Maester Munkun and Tyland, to the council of regents

Quotes about Tyland

A monster who hides his twisted face from gods and men.[2]

—an unnamed smallfolk preacher

Family

Tyland was the younger twin brother of Jason Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock.[5] He may have been the son of Lord Tymond Lannister. Tyland never married nor had any children.[2]

 
 
 
 
 
 
Lord
Lannister
 
Unknown
wife
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tymond
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Favorite
mistress
 
Jason
 
Johanna
Westerling
 
Tyland
 
Erwin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bastard
daughters
 
Tyshara
 
Cerelle
 
Three
daughters
 
Loreon
 


References

  1. See the Tyland Lannister calculation
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - The Hooded Hand.
  3. HBO.com: House of the Dragon Cast & Characters
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession.
  6. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Viserys I.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 The World of Ice & Fire, The Westerlands: House Lannister Under the Dragons.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Blacks and the Greens.
  9. Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold.
  10. Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Fire & Blood, The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II.
  13. Fire & Blood, Aftermath - The Hour of the Wolf.
Unknown
Last known title holder:
Corlys Velaryon
Master of ships
Lord admiral

?–129 AC
Served under: Viserys I Targaryen
Succeeded by
Preceded by Master of coin
129131 AC
Served under: Aegon II Targaryen
Unknown
Next known title holder:
Isembard Arryn
Preceded by Hand of the King
131133 AC
Served under: Aegon III Targaryen
Succeeded by