Daemon I Blackfyre
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 Daemon, by Amok © | ||||
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| Aliases | ||||
| Titles |
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| Allegiance | House Blackfyre | |||
| Culture | Crownlands | |||
| Born |
late 170 AC[4] King's Landing[5] | |||
| Died |
late 196 AC the Redgrass Field (aged 26)[6] | |||
| Father | Aegon IV Targaryen | |||
| Mother | Daena Targaryen | |||
| Spouse | Rohanne of Tyrosh | |||
| Issue | ||||
| Coat of arms |
A black three headed-dragon on red (Gules, a dragon thrice-headed sable) | |||
| Books |
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Daemon I Blackfyre, born Daemon Waters, was the bastard son of Princess Daena Targaryen and King Aegon IV Targaryen.[7] Daemon founded House Blackfyre, named after the Targaryen Valyrian steel sword. He fought against his trueborn half-brother, King Daeron II Targaryen, for the Iron Throne in the First Blackfyre Rebellion.
Daemon was the first and greatest of the five Blackfyre Pretenders. As a bastard of House Targaryen Daemon bore the arms of House Targaryen with the colors reversed: a black three-headed dragon on a red field. Thus he became known as the Black Dragon. Supporters to his claim to the Iron Throne dubbed him the King Who Bore the Sword while those that supported his half-brother Daeron referred to him as Daemon the Pretender.
Contents
Appearance and Character
Daemon was tall and powerful, with broad shoulders, muscular arms, and a flat stomach. Targaryen on both sides, Daemon had all the hallmarks of his house. He had strong Targaryen features, with deep purple eyes and silver-gold hair which he wore long, flowing down to his shoulders in a silvery-gold mane. He always went clean-shaven, with neither beard nor mustache. Almost inhumanly beautiful, Daemon looked every inch the warrior, and many thought that he strongly resembled portraits of Aegon the Conqueror. There was indeed a certain similarity between the two,[7] although, unlike the Conqueror who wore his hair short,[8] Daemon wore his hair long.[7] He had a warm[6] and winning smile.[7]
His armor was ornate and costly, all black and red plate, and his warhelm was distinctive, with batlike steel "dragon wings" on the sides.[7]
Daemon matured into a man of considerable charisma,[6] charm, and strength. He was considered the greatest knight of his day[5] and mastered all weapons of the battlefield, but with the sword Blackfyre in hand he was said to fight like the Warrior himself. He won friends easily and women were drawn to him.[7] According to Eustace Osgrey, he was no more pious than a king need be.[3]
History
Early life
In late 170 AC[N 1] Princess Daena Targaryen gave birth to a strong and healthy son[7] who she named Daemon[4] in King's Landing.[5] His mother named him for her grandfather, Prince Daemon Targaryen, "the Prince Daemon who had been the wonder and the terror of his age". In later years, some considered this name a warning of what he became. Although Daena refused to name her son's father[4] for many years,[9] some people suspected the involvement of her cousin, Prince Aegon Targaryen, even at the time of Daemon's birth.[1]
Daemon was raised in the Red Keep, where he was given the instruction of the wisest maesters and best masters-at-arms at court. Among his instructors was Ser Quentyn Ball, the master-at-arms at the Red Keep,[4] who taught Daemon alongside the other Great Bastards and the sons of their trueborn half-brother, Daeron.[10] Daemon loved and excelled at deeds of arms and many believed he had the potential as a warrior to be another Aemon the Dragonknight.[4]
In 182 AC or 183 AC, when he was twelve years old, Daemon participated in a squire's tourney, which he won[4] by besting a score of other squires in a melee.[7] In an action that shocked his court, kin, and council,[4] King Aegon IV Targaryen personally knighted Daemon and publicly bestowed the Targaryen Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre on him,[4] finally acknowledging him as his son.[7] This made Daemon the youngest knight ever made in the era of the Targaryens, surpassing Maegor I Targaryen. Along with the sword, Aegon also granted the young Daemon lands and other honors.[4] There were some who felt that the sword symbolized the monarchy[11] as it had been the sword of King Aegon I Targaryen, the Conqueror, and had been passed on from king to king ever since. Aegon's public gift of the sword would eventually start the first talk that Daemon should be king.[12] Following the acquisition of the sword, Daemon took the name "Blackfyre" for himself.[4]
In his youth, Daemon was said to love his trueborn half-sister, Princess Daenerys, and was loved by her in return. This passion was known by the whole realm.[13] He had at least a few clashes with his elder half-brother Daeron,[14] and some said in later years that his hatred of Daeron began to grow early,[15] although others report that Daemon was dear to Daeron.[13] Despite the fabled love between Daemon and Daenerys, their father negotiated a betrothal for Daemon to Rohanne of Tyrosh, with the aim of forging a tie to Tyrosh and possibly gaining the strength of its fleet for any future attempt to conquer Dorne. According to one account, Daemon was not in favor of this match, but his father was not willing to allow the love between him and Daenerys to dictate matters of state. However, a different tale alleges that Daemon was not necessarily opposed to wedding Rohanne of Tyrosh. Instead, he was convinced that he could have more than one bride, like Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel before him. Aegon himself may have promised to indulge Daemon in this, as some Blackfyre partisans would claim in later years.[15]
In 184 AC, while Aegon IV was on his deathbed, he legitimized all of his bastards; those born to noblewomen, including Daemon, became known as the Great Bastards.[4] At some point, Daemon may have received the title of Prince.[3][N 2] In the wake of their father's death, Daeron took measures to keep the Great Bastards close, treating them honorably and continuing the incomes bestowed on them by the late king.[15] Daeron paid the dowry Aegon promised to the Archon of Tyrosh, and saw Daemon wed to Rohanne in early 184 AC,[N 3] granting him a tract of land near the Blackwater on his wedding day, with the right to raise a castle.[15] Daemon and Rohanne had a fertile marriage. Their twin sons, Aegon and Aemon, were born later that same year.[16] They were followed by five more sons,[3] and at least two daughters.[15]
Whatever promises to allow him two wives Aegon supposedly made to Daemon, Daeron was unwilling to allow matters of love to dictate matters of state.[15] He also did not wish to give his sister to the bastard brother whom too many were already eying as a legitimate claimant to the Iron Throne.[14] Instead, Daenerys was betrothed to Daeron's good brother, Prince Maron Martell of Dorne to bring Dorne into the realm.[15] This would eventually help lead Daemon to becoming the first of the Blackfyre Pretenders,[14] and was one of several reasons for his rebellion.[17] In 187 AC, Daemon participated in Princess Daenerys's wedding tourney. He was defeated in the final tilt by Prince Baelor Targaryen, Daeron II's eldest son.[15]
Meanwhile, the growing influence of the Dornish at court, the Dornish appearance of Daeron II's heir, the sudden change of Dornish enemies to Dornish allies, Daeron's rumored illegitimacy (started by King Aegon IV during his reign), and Aegon IV's previous public gift of Blackfyre, the "sword of kings",[18] to Daemon caused several nobles and knights to start mistrusting Daeron II and Baelor, while seeing promise in Daemon. Men began to approach Daemon, but it took them many years to convince Daemon to declare his claim. Maester Yandel considers it likely that it had been Aegor Rivers, Daemon's younger half-brother, who had managed to convince Daemon in the end.[15] According to King Maekar I Targaryen, it had been both Aegor Rivers and Ser Quentyn Ball, the master-at-arms at the Red Keep, who had played the largest role in convincing Daemon.[10] Aegor pressed him to proclaim his claim for the Iron Throne, and after Daemon agreed to a betrothal between his eldest daughter, Calla, and Aegor, his efforts increased. Many lords and knights joined in.[15] Besides the influences of his councillors, Daemon had come to resent having the status of bastard and what it represented.[19]
Following the Blackfyre defeat in the first rebellion (which included the death of Daemon himself and his eldest two children, Aegon and Aemon), Daemon's bastard half-brother, Ser Aegor Rivers, fled to Tyrosh with Daemon's remaining children and widow. From there, Daemon's descendants continued to plot. Four more rebellions would follow, until 260 AC, when Maelys I Blackfyre, the last male of House Blackfyre, was slain on the Stepstones during the War of the Ninepenny Kings.[15][3][10][20][21][22]
First Blackfyre Rebellion
There was no final insult that resulted in the declaration of Daemon's claim.[15] There are some who say that it was the wedding of Princess Daenerys to the Dornish Prince Maron Martell that led to the First Blackfyre Rebellion. It was said that Daemon rebelled because she had been denied to him by Daeron.[23][3] However, while Daenerys' wedding took place in 187 AC, Daemon did not rebel until eight years later.[15] In 196 AC, Daemon began his rebellion, which would last nigh on a year. For his sigil, Daemon took the Targaryen sigil with the colors reversed, a black dragon on red, giving him the nickname "the Black Dragon" (with Daeron being referred as the Red Dragon).[15][3][10]
Daemon's decision to claim the throne had been made rashly, and word soon reached Daeron's court that Daemon meant to declare within a month. It has been suggested by Archmaester Merion that Brynden Rivers, another one of Aegon IV's bastard sons, was involved in the news reaching Daeron.[15] The Kingsguard was sent to arrest Daemon, but, with the aid of the master-at-arms of the Red Keep, Daemon managed to escape imprisonment.[15][10] Daemon's allies used this attempted arrest as a cause for war, claiming that Daeron had acted without reason.[15]
Besides Aegor Rivers and Quentyn Ball, Daemon's supporters, according to Ser Eustace Osgrey of Standfast, included Robb Reyne, Gareth the Grey, Ser Aubrey Ambrose, Lord Gormon Peake, Black Byren Flowers, and Redtusk. Daemon's rebellion divided the Seven Kingdoms. Half the realm declared for him, though some pledged their support to both sides. Notably, Houses Hightower, Butterwell, Oakheart and Tarbeck gave support to both Daemon and Daeron, while Manfred Lothston betrayed Daemon for Daeron. The thief Quickfinger attempted to steal dragon eggs for Daemon, but was caught.[3]
Daemon's rebellion ended on the Redgrass Field in late 196 AC.[15] According to Ser Eustace Osgrey, who fought on Daemon's side, Daemon fought "like the Warrior himself".[3] Daemon shattered the lines of Lord Donnel Arryn's vanguard, leaving the loyalists in peril until Ser Gwayne Corbray of the Kingsguard arrived with reinforcements.[24] Daemon and Ser Gwayne duelled, with both men using their Valyrian steel swords. The duel is said to have lasted nearly an hour before Daemon gained the upper hand. Corbray was wounded and Daemon dismounted to prevent Corbray from being trampled. He commanded that Corbray was to be taken off the field.[3]
In the meantime, Brynden Rivers with his archers, the Raven's Teeth, had captured and assumed a position atop the Weeping Ridge, which overlooked the battlefield and allowed them to rain arrows down among Daemon and his commanders. Daemon's heir Aegon died first, followed by Daemon himself. When Daemon’s second son, Aegon's twin brother Aemon took up Blackfyre, he was slain as well.[3][15]
Legacy
With Daemon dead, the rebels began to rout. Aegor Rivers claimed Blackfyre and rallied the rebels by leading a charge against the Raven's Teeth, but was eventually forced to flee.[3][15] He took Daemon's widow and remaining children with him to the Free Cities, eventually ending up in Tyrosh.[10][3] In exile, Daemon's descendants continued their struggle for the Iron Throne, resulting in four more rebellions (Second, Third and Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion, and the War of the Ninepenny Kings), as well as one peacefull attempt during the Great Council of 233 AC. These attempts led to the arrest of Daemon's third son (Daemon), and the deaths of his fourth and fifth sons (Haegon and Aenys), as well as the death of a grandson, also named Daemon. Daemon's last male descendant, Maelys, was slain during the War of the Ninepenny Kings by Ser Barristan Selmy, ending the Blackfyre threat[10][20][21][22][2] after sixty-four years.
Sixteen years after Daemon's death, some still made pilgrimages to the Redgrass Field to plant flowers on the spot where he died.[10]
Quotes about Daemon
The first and greatest of the Blackfyre Pretenders was the natural son of Daena Targaryen, sister, betrothed, and (briefly) wife to King Baelor the Blessed.[7]
The rightful king, Daemon Blackfyre. The King Who Bore the Sword.[3]
With ax or lance or flail, he was as good as any knight I ever saw, but with the sword he was the Warrior himself. When Prince Daemon had Blackfyre in hand, there was not a man equal him ... not Ulrick Dayne with Dawn, no, nor even the Dragonknight with Dark Sister.[3]
—Eustace Osgrey, to Duncan the Tall
Traitors have always paid with their lives.[25]
Daemon Blackfyre loved the first Daenerys, and rose in rebellion when denied her.[23]
—Barristan Selmy's thoughts
Daemon Blackfyre was a rebel and usurper.[26]
Family
| Daena Targaryen | Aegon IV Targaryen | Barba Bracken | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daemon I | Rohanne of Tyrosh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aegon | Daemon II | Aenys | Two sons | Calla | Aegor Rivers [Note 1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aemon | Haegon | Unknown wife | Daughter(s) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daemon III | Son(s) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daemon | Maelys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes: |
Behind the Scenes
According to Elio García, back when George R. R. Martin wrote A Game of Thrones, Daemon Blackfyre did not exist at all. The character came into existence approximately in the spring of 1999, when Martin fleshed out the mistresses of King Aegon IV and created a new genealogy of House Targaryen.[27]
Notes
- ↑ After Daemon's birth, King Baelor I Targaryen began a forty-day fast. At the forty-first day he collapsed. As Daemon's year of birth is 170 AC and the year of Baelor's death is 171 AC, Daemon's birth took place late in the year 170 AC, while Baelor died early the following year.
- ↑ The only time Daemon is referred to as "Prince" is by Eustace Osgrey. It may be a sign of Eustace's reverence and belief in Daemon as the true king rather than a title he was formally granted. Notably, none of the other Great Bastards have ever been referred to as prince or princess, though this could be attributed to Daemon's unique status as the eldest and the only one who was royal on both sides.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire states that Daemon was fourteen when he married Rohanne of Tyrosh. However, given that Daemon was born in 170 AC, shortly before the 171 AC death of Baelor I Targaryen, and his and Rohanne's two eldest sons were twelve in 196 AC, it would not be possible for him to also be fourteen at the time of his wedding. He was more likely thirteen.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 5, Tyrion II.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 The Sworn Sword.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon IV.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Daemon Blackfyre.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 So Spake Martin: Concerning the Great Bastards (April 6, 2004).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 So Spake Martin: The Great Bastards (December 26, 2005).
- ↑ So Spake Martin: Targaryen Kings (November 1, 2005).
- ↑ George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Daena Targaryen.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 The Mystery Knight.
- ↑ So Spake Martin: SF, Targaryens, Valyria, Sansa, Martells, and More (June 26, 2001).
- ↑ So Spake Martin: Targaryen History (April 21, 2008).
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 38, The Watcher.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 So Spake Martin: Asshai.com Interview in Barcelona (July 29, 2012).
- ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 15.16 15.17 15.18 15.19 15.20 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Daeron II.
- ↑ See the calculations for Aegon and Aemon Blackfyre
- ↑ So Spake Martin: Circulo Fantasy Chat (July 21, 2008).
- ↑ Fire & Blood, A Time of Testing - The Realm Remade.
- ↑ So Spake Martin: Private Meeting (Santa Fe, NM) (May 4, 2004).
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon V.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys II.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 67, The Kingbreaker.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Vale: House Arryn.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 36, Davos IV.
- ↑ The Winds of Winter, Theon I
- ↑ asoiaf.westeros.org: The ASOIAF wiki thread Comment by Ran (August 31, 2026)
- House Blackfyre
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