Aegon V Targaryen

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Aegon V
House Targaryen crest.PNG
AEGON V.jpg
Aegon V by Amok©
Monarch
Reign 233 AC - 259 AC
Full name Aegon Targaryen the Fifth of His Name
Titles
Predecessor Maekar I Targaryen
Heirs
Successor Jaehaerys II Targaryen
Personal Information
Aliases
  • Aegon the Unlikely
  • Aegon the Fortunate
  • Egg
  • The Prince Who Was An Egg
Born 200 AC[1]
King's Landing
Died 259 AC
Summerhall
Family
Dynasty House Targaryen
Queen Betha Blackwood
Issue Duncan Targaryen
Jaehaerys II Targaryen
Shaera Targaryen
Daeron Targaryen
Rhaelle Targaryen
Father Maekar I Targaryen
Mother Dyanna Dayne
References
Books

Aegon V Targaryen was a Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and the fifteenth Targaryen to sit the Iron Throne.[2] In his youth, he went by the nickname Egg and squired for Ser Duncan the Tall.

Aegon became king after a Great Council bypassed a number of candidates earlier in the line of succession, and after his elder brother, Maester Aemon, refused the throne. As the fourth son of Maekar I, himself a fourth son, Aegon was called Aegon the Unlikely.[3]

Appearance

See also: Images of Aegon V Targaryen

According to a semi-canonical source, Aegon had long, shoulder-length hair that shone like beaten gold with strands of silver woven together. Tall, slender and handsome, he had large eyes, deep and dark and purple. He wore the crown of Aegon III.[4]

Biography

Early Life

Aegon was born the fourth son and fifth child of then-Prince Maekar Targaryen and his wife Dyanna Dayne.[5] In his youth, Aegon first served at court in King's Landing as a page.[6] He owned a dragon egg, which was colored with green and white swirls, placed in his cradle with him when he was a babe.[7] He loathed his brother, the cruel and sadistic Aerion, who threw Aegon's pet cat down a well. Aerion once visited Aegon in his bedroom during the dead of night, put a knife to Aegon's privates, and joked about removing his genitals so he would become a girl whom Aerion could marry.[8] Once Aegon's sister Rhae slipped a love potion into his drink so that he would marry her and not their sister Daella,[6] to whom he might have been betrothed.[9] Aegon did not wish to marry, instead dreaming of becoming a knight of the Kingsguard, who are sworn not to wed.[6]

Aegon was supposed to squire for his eldest brother, Daeron, in the tourney at Ashford Meadow, but Daeron had no interest in jousting and drank himself into a stupor at an inn. Ser Duncan the Tall visited the inn and Aegon was impressed by the humble hedge knight and followed him.

Egg served as a squire to Duncan during the Ashford tourney where his uncle, Prince Baelor Breakspear, died of a wound inflicted by Prince Maekar, Baelor's brother, and Aegon's father.[8] Maekar wished Aegon to be trained as a knight, but Aegon would only agree if Duncan were the knight who trained him. Maekar, the Prince of Summerhall, offered Duncan a place at the garrison of Summerhall, but Duncan declined and agreed to take Aegon on only if Aegon accompanied him as his squire. Aegon would live humbly, but Duncan thought it would make Aegon a better man than his brothers, Aerion and Daeron. Thus, he served as a squire to the hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall under his nickname "Egg".[8]

A little less than two years later Egg squired for Duncan during the small localized conflict between House Webber and House Osgrey.[6] In 212 AC, he played a part in the suppression of the Second Blackfyre Rebellion at Whitewalls.[7]

Later Life

Aegon married Betha Blackwood in 220 AC. The marriage at the time provoked no opposition as Aegon was very low in the line of succession. They married for love and eventually had five children together. Aegon named his first-born son Duncan in honor or his friend, Ser Duncan the Tall.[10][11]

According to a semi-canon source, Aegon participated in the suppression of the Peake Uprising in 233 AC, with Tion Lannister as his squire. Aegon's father, King Maekar I Targaryen, was killed at Starpike during the rebellion, however.[12]

With Maekar dead, it was unclear who should be king since two of Aegon's older brothers had died before his father. Daeron left a feeble-witted daughter named Vaella and Aerion a minor son, so a Great Council was called to choose the king. Aegon seemed the logical choice but many lords considered him "half a peasant" due to his youth among the smallfolk. The council approached Aegon's older brother, Maester Aemon, but he refused, stating it should be given to Aegon.[13]

Reign

Aegon V was crowned Lord of the Seven Kingdoms in 233 AC when he was thirty-three years old. During most, if not all, of Aegon's reign, his old friend Ser Duncan the Tall served as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

Aegon's first act as king was the arrest of Lord Brynden Rivers, the Hand of the King known as Bloodraven, for the murder of Aenys Blackfyre, as Brynden had offered him safe conduct to Westeros for the Great Council but had Aenys executed when he arrived in the capital.[13] Though all were glad another Blackfyre pretender was dead, Aegon had to punish Lord Bloodraven to prove the word of the Iron Throne was not worthless. Although Brynden was sentenced to death, Aegon allowed him to join the Night's Watch. Aegon's brother, Maester Aemon, decided to join the Watch as well, to prevent any plots in which he would be used against his brother. Brynden and Aemon were joined by many of Bloodraven's personal guard, the Raven's Teeth, as well as prisoners released from dungeons by the king.[11][14]

Aegon's reign began during a harsh winter which lasted from 230 AC until 236 AC. The benevolent Aegon sent massive shipments of food and grain to aid starving northmen, though there were those who felt he provided too much aid. The end of winter saw the return of the Blackfyre Pretenders, with the Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion taking place in 236 AC. Daemon III Blackfyre attempted to seize the Iron Throne with the Golden Company, but few rallied to his side. Aegon and his sons rode to meet and repel the invaders, and Duncan the Tall slew Daemon in single combat, ending the rebellion. Aegor Rivers, known as Bittersteel, managed to flee with the remnants of the Golden Company across the narrow sea.[11]

Aegon V spent much of his reign dealing with uprisings. On three occasions, the Iron Throne had to intervene in the westerlands due to the inferior and inept leadership of Lord Tytos Lannister of Casterly Rock.[15] Most of Aegon's troubles resulted from his efforts to improve the lives of the smallfolk, whom he had interacted with while squiring for Duncan. Although the smallfolk loved Aegon for his reforms and granting of rights and protections, high lords felt their powers over peasantry was diminished and curtailed by these new reforms. Lacking the dragons controlled by early Targaryen kings, Aegon reluctantly compromised with the recalcitrant lords on several issues.

Aegon faced renewed troubles in his reign caused because of his sons.[16] Ser Barristan Selmy stated Aegon V married for love and all three of his sons were said to want to do the same in defiance of their father's wishes. With Aegon growing up among the smallfolk he had developed a distaste for the Targaryen practice of incestuous marriage, Aegon was convinced that such incestuous unions did more harm than good and he wished to end this tradition once and for all. He had arranged marriages for all three of his sons when they were children, to the daughters of some of the greatest and most powerful Houses in the Seven Kingdoms.[11]

Aegon and his Queen, Betha Blackwood, had arranged the betrothals of four of their children in 237 AC. Their eldest son and heir, Prince Duncan, had been betrothed to the daughter of Lord Lyonel Baratheon of Storm's End. Prince Jaehaerys, Aegon's second son, had been betrothed to Lady Celia Tully, the daughter of the Lord of Riverrun. Aegon's youngest son, Prince Daeron, had been betrothed to Lady Olenna Redwyne of the Arbor, when both children were nine years old. In addition, Aegon's eldest daughter, Princess Shaera, had been betrothed to Luthor Tyrell, the heir to Highgarden. If these marriages had taken place, they would have strengthened King Aegon's rule and would have won him much support for his reforms. However, the king would discover that his children had inherited his willfulness and their mothers stubbornness. Just as King Aegon had followed his heart and married for love, his sons and eldest daughter would do likewise.[11][10]

Prince Duncan was the first to defy his father. In 239 AC, he became enamored and eventually fell in love with a mysterious woman known as Jenny of Oldstones, who he secretly wed. Though King Aegon V had grown up among the smallfolk and was a good friend to them, he could not sanction the wedding of the heir to the Iron Throne to a peasant girl. He did all he could to undo the marriage, demanding that Duncan set Jenny aside, but Prince Duncan would not relent. King Aegon, the small council, the Grand Maester and the High Septon forced Prince Duncan to choose between the girl or the Iron Throne. The prince choose his wife and abdicated as Prince of Dragonstone, making his younger brother, Prince Jaehaerys, the new heir.[11]

This did not restore peace between the Iron Throne and House Baratheon. By marrying Jenny, Prince Duncan had broken his betrothal to the daughter of Lord Lyonel Baratheon. Prior to this, Lord Lyonel had been a leal supporter of King Aegon V. But the famed warrior and Lord of Storm's End was not a man easily appeased when his pride and honor were wounded. A short, bloody rebellion followed, which was ended in a trial by combat between Ser Duncan the Tall of the Kingsguard and Lord Lyonel, Ser Duncan defeated Lord Lyonel, making him yield. King Aegon pardoned him and to make peace arranged a new betrothal, of his daughter Princess Rhaelle to Lord Lyonel's heir. King Aegon sent Rhaelle to Storm's End as Lord Lyonel's cupbearer and companion to his lady wife to make sure this wedding took place.[11]

The next year, in 240 AC, Prince Jaehaerys and Princess Shaera broke their own betrothals. While King Aegon had developed a distaste for the Targaryen practice of marriage through incest, Jaehaerys was of a more traditional mind. From a young age, he had desired his sister Shaera, whose desire for him was similar. When King Aegon and Queen Betha discovered this, they did everything to separate the two siblings, which only served to inflame their passions. But when Prince Duncan defied his father's wishes and married Jenny, Jaehaerys did not fail to note that their father eventually relented. So in 240 AC, Prince Jaehaerys and Princess Shaera eluded their guardians and secretly wed and consummated their marriage. Aegon despaired over this, but felt he had no other choice but to accept the marriage, leaving him to deal with the anger and wounded pride of both House Tully and House Tyrell.[11]

Prince Daeron followed in his siblings' footsteps a few years later. Though betrothed for nine years to Lady Olenna Redwyne, he broke too broke his betrothal, in 246 AC, when he was eighteen years old. In Daeron's case, however, it seems there was no other woman involved. Daeron remained unwed for the remainder of his life. Instead, he preferred the companionship of Ser Jeremy Norridge, a young knight whom he had befriended when they were squires together at Highgarden. Prince Daeron and Ser Jeremy both perished in battle in 251 AC, crushing a rebellion led by the Rat, the Hawk, and the Pig.[11]

In 258 AC on Essos, nine outlaws, exiles, pirates and sellswords came together in the Disputed Lands to form the Band of Nine. Amonst them was Maelys Blackfyre, the last of the Blackfyres. The Band of Nine wanted to carve out a Kingdom for each of the members, and for Maelys, they had their eyes set on the Seven Kingdoms. At first, it was thought that the Free Cities would rise against this band of outlaws, and put an end to them. Regardless, preparations were made, in case Maelys and his allies would march on Westeros.[11]

Because the Band of Nine had no great urgency, and King Aegon remained intent on his reign, and on dragons in particular. In fact, it was all the turmoil in his reign which had made Aegon obsessed with the idea of restoring dragons. He got Septons to pray over the last Dragon eggs and Maesters to consult ancient scrolls and lore, though friends and counselors sought to dissuade him, King Aegon grew convinced that only with dragons could he have the power to enact the changes he wished and force the stubborn lords to accept his decrees that granted freedoms, rights, and protections to the smallfolk.[11]

This eventually led to the tragedy of Summerhall, where Aegon perished while trying to hatch dragon eggs. His son, Prince Duncan the Small, his friend, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Duncan the Tall, and others of the royal court also perished in the fire.[11] Aegon was succeeded by his second son and heir, Jaehaerys II.

Many of the laws, rights and protections King Aegon V had granted and bestowed upon the smallfolk would later be undone during the reign of King Aerys II by the Hand of the King, Lord Tywin Lannister.[17]

Quotes about Aegon

A bloody-handed tyrant intent on depriving us of our gods-given rights and liberties.[11]

- a lord regarding Aegon's reforms


Egg had an innocence to him, a sweetness we all loved. Kill the boy within you, I told him the day I took ship for the Wall. It takes a man to rule. An Aegon, not an Egg. Kill the boy and let the man be born.[18]

- Aemon Targaryen to Jon Snow


All three of the sons of the fifth Aegon had wed for love in defiance of their father's wishes. And because that unlikely monarch had followed his heart when he chose his queen, he allowed his sons to have their way, making bitter enemies when he might have made fast friends. Treason and turmoil followed, as night follows day, ending at Summerhall in sorcery, fire and grief.[10]

- thoughts of Barristan Selmy


Family

Ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daeron II
 
Myriah
Martell
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Baelor
 
Jena
Dondarrion
 
Aerys I
 
Aelinor
Penrose
 
Rhaegel
 
Alys
Arryn
 
Maekar I
 
Dyanna
Dayne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Valarr
 
Kiera of
Tyrosh
[N 1]
 
Matarys
 
Aelora
 
Aelor
 
Daenora
 
Aerion
 
Daeron
 
Kiera of
Tyrosh
[N 1]
 
Aemon
 
Daella
 
Aegon V
 
Rhae
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stillborn sons
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Maegor
 
 
 
 
 
Vaella
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unknown
descendants
 
House Targaryen.svg
 
Unknown
descendants
 
Notes:
  1. Kiera of Tyrosh was widowed when Valarr Targaryen died from the Great Spring Sickness; some time later she married his cousin Daeron.


Descendants

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aegon V
 
Betha
Blackwood
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Duncan
 
Jenny
of Oldstones
 
Jaehaerys II
 
Shaera
 
Daeron
 
Rhaelle
 
Ormund
Baratheon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aerys II
 
Rhaella
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
House Baratheon.svg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rhaegar
 
Elia
Martell
 
Shaena
 
 
Stillborn
child
 
 
Jaehaerys
 
 
Drogo
 
Daenerys
 
Hizdahr
zo Loraq
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rhaenys
 
Aegon
 
 
 
Daeron
 
Aegon
 
Viserys
 
Rhaego
 

References and Notes

  1. See the Aegon V Targaryen calculation.
  2. A Game of Thrones, Appendix.
  3. A Clash of Kings, Chapter 6, Jon I.
  4. So Spake Martin: Targaryen Kings, November 1, 2005
  5. The World of Ice & Fire, Appendix: Targaryen Lineage.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 The Sworn Sword.
  7. 7.0 7.1 The Mystery Knight.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Hedge Knight.
  9. "so I'd marry [Rhae] instead of [Daella]" can be interpreted to mean that Aegon and Daella were betrothed
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 67, The Kingbreaker.
  11. 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V.
  12. georgerrmartin.com: WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE SAMPLE
  13. 13.0 13.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Maekar I.
  14. A Feast for Crows, Chapter 15, Samwell II.
  15. The World of Ice & Fire, The Westerlands: House Lannister under the Dragons.
  16. George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire.
  17. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II.
  18. A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 7, Jon II.