| Note: The title of this article is conjecture and may be subject to change. |
| Burning of the seats of the pious lords | |||||||||||||||||
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| Conflict | Faith Militant uprising | ||||||||||||||||
| Date | 43 AC | ||||||||||||||||
| Place | riverlands and westerlands | ||||||||||||||||
| Result | Destruction of the seats of several pious lords | ||||||||||||||||
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Late in the year 43 AC, in response to the defiance of several noble houses, both Queen Dowager Visenya Targaryen and King Maegor I Targaryen carried out a series of burnings of the seats of several "pious lords" that defiant to the Iron Throne.
Prelude
[edit]In the wake of the victory of House Targaryen at the Battle at the Great Fork, the Faith of the Seven remained defiant against the crown. The High Septon made denunciations both against Maegor and his wives as "the abomination and his whores" as well as the daughters of Aegon the Uncrowned, regarded as abominations and fruits of lust and incest.[1]
For their part, the Faith Militant remained active. Thousands of Poor Fellows haunted roads and remote locations in the Reach and the Vale, as well as the lands surrounding the Trident, in small bands that fell upon travelers and swarmed towns, villages and poorly defended castles, killing whatever king's loyalists they came upon. With Ser Horys Hill lost much of his support after Faith Militant's defeat at the Great Fork, new leaders arose among the Poor Fellows, such as Ragged Silas, Septon Moon and Dennis the Lame. Meanwhile, the Warrior's Sons elected Ser Joffrey Doggett as their new grand captain. Ser Joffrey and a hundred men set out from their chapterhouse in Lannisport to seek the blessing of the High Septon. By the time the Warrior's Sons arrived at Oldtown, their numbers rose to two thousand, among knights, squires and freeriders. Elsewhere, lords and followers of the Faith gathered men and plotted ways to bring down the crown.[1]
The crown was aware of these events, and ravens were sent to summon lords and landed knights suspected of disloyalty to King's Landing to bend the knee, do homage to the king and present a son or daughter as hostage. The Faith Militant, for their part, were outlawed, with membership declared punishable by death, and the High Septon was commanded to deliver himself to the Red Keep to stand trial under charges of high treason. The High Septon's response was a summon to the king, commanding him to present himself to the Starry Sept to beg the forgiveness of the gods for his sins and cruelties. And while some of the pious lords summoned to the capital obeyed the king and presented themselves to do homage and deliver hostages, the majority refused and remained at their seats.
King Maegor, however, was devoted to the completion of the Red Keep. He remained inactive for almost half a year.[1]
Burnings
[edit]With Maegor busy with the construction of the Red Keep, Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen took wing upon Vhagar and flew to the riverlands and set aflame the seats of House Blanetree, House Terrick, House Deddings, House Lychester and House Wayn, all in a single night.[1]
Afterwards, Maegor, mounted Balerion the Black Dread, and flew to the Westerlands, where he burned the seats of House Broome, House Falwell, House Lorch and, finally, House Doggett, which was reduced to ashes, and claiming the lives of the parents and younger sister of Ser Joffrey Doggett, as well as their entire household.[1]
Aftermath
[edit]After the destruction of the seats of the defiant lords, Maegor and Visenya set their sights on Oldtown and flew south.[1]