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 Doran Martell, art by Bella Bergolts © | ||||
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| Titles |
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| Allegiance | House Martell | |||
| Culture | Dornishmen | |||
| Born |
247 AC or 248 AC[1] Sunspear[2] | |||
| Mother | Princess Martell | |||
| Spouse | Lady Mellario of Norvos | |||
| Issue | ||||
| Books |
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| Played by | Alexander Siddig | |||
| TV series |
Game of Thrones: Season 5 | 6 | |||
Prince Doran Nymeros Martell, also known simply as Doran Martell, is the head of House Martell, the Prince of Dorne, and the Lord of Sunspear. Married to Lady Mellario, of the Free City of Norvos, he has three children: Arianne, Quentyn, and Trystane. He is also the elder brother of Elia and Oberyn Martell.
In the television adaptation Game of Thrones, Doran is portrayed by Alexander Siddig.
Appearance and Character
[edit]
In his early fifties, Doran has a bad case of gout which has recently left him unable to walk, instead having to rely on his wheeled chair, or a palanquin, to move around. He appears to be much older than he is in truth. His body is soft and shapeless, and the gout has swollen and reddened the joints of his knees, toes, and hands. He covers his legs and feet with a blanket, blocking the sight of his gout.[3][4]
Doran is a cautious, pensive, and subtle man.[5][6] He is prone to think long on the matters before him, weighing every word and every action.[5][7] While his bannermen might consider him weak,[7][3][4] Doran has been focused for years on getting revenge for the murder of his sister, Elia, and her two young children during the Sack of King's Landing during Robert's Rebellion in 283 AC.[6][4]
Doran was raised alone because of the early deaths of his siblings Olyvar and Mors, the multiple miscarriages his mother suffered, and the difference in age with his siblings who survived to adulthood, Elia and Oberyn.[2][3] Doran has a deep affection for his late sister, and he has a good relationship with his younger brother as well.[3][6]
Doran likes strongwine[3] but is not fond ofcyvasse.[6] The Prince of Dorne enjoys spending time at the Water Gardens, where children hosted by House Martell play in pools and fountains.[3] Due to his gout, Doran wears linen robes and only travels in a palanquin,[3][8] and he is rarely seen in public, as he does not want to appear weak in the eyes of his enemies.[3] He has multiple horse litters, including a carved litter with silk hangings and suns on the drapes[8] and a cedarwood litter with red silk draperies.[3]
Areo Hotah is the captain of Doran's household guards.[9] The prince is tended to by Maesters Caleotte and Myles.[10]
History
[edit]Early life
[edit]Doran was the firstborn child of his parents, and thus heir to his mother, the Princess of Dorne. For years, he was an only child, as his mother had several miscarriages.[2] While he would have four siblings, Mors and Olyvar, both died in the cradle. Doran spent several years of his childhood at the Water Gardens, where he played games in the pools and fountains.[3]
By the age of nine, Doran was a squire to Lord Gargalen at Salt Shore. While there, his mother gave birth to his sister, Elia. As Elia had been born one month premature, Doran was convinced that his sister too would die, as their brothers had done before, but she survived. A year later, Doran's brother Oberyn was born.[3]
As a young man, Doran took a tour through the Free Cities. He visited Volantis and next went to Norvos, where he met his future wife, Lady Mellario.[6] They fell in love and Mellario returned to Dorne with Doran, where they were betrothed and would soon after marry. Areo Hotah escorted Mellario and entered the service of House Martell.[3] In 273 AC, when his mother, her consort, and Doran's two younger siblings traveled through the south of Seven Kingdoms on a quest to find suitable matches for Elia and Oberyn, Doran stayed behind as castellan of Sunspear, with Mellario.[11] Although Mellario was highborn enough to become his wife, most marriages between nobles in Westeros are political. A love match is very uncommon.[12] In 276 AC, Doran and Mellario's first child, Arianne, was born.[13] Around 279 AC, Doran inherited the rule of Dorne.[14]
An unknown amount of time after his siblings had traveled to find suitable marriage candidates, Doran's brother Oberyn fought in a duel with Lord Edgar Yronwood. Due to Oberyn's high birth and young age, the two men had agreed to duel until first blood. Both men were injured, but when Oberyn's cuts healed, and Edgar's festered, eventually resulting in his death, it was whispered Oberyn had fought with a poisoned blade.[8] Doran acted swiftly, sending Oberyn into temporary exile.[15]
Prince of Dorne
[edit]
Doran's sister Elia Martell was betrothed to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, the heir of King Aerys II Targaryen, in early 279 AC, and wed him a year later.[16] She had two young children by Rhaegar, Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon.[9] When Rhaegar disappeared with Lyanna Stark in 282 AC, not long after Aegon's birth, it started a chain of events leading to Robert's Rebellion,[17] in which the north, and several houses from the stormlands and the Vale of Arryn (later joined by several houses from the riverlands) fought against the Iron Throne and House Targaryen.[18] Doran was furious about the way Elia had been treated by Rhaegar, and as a consequence was slow to lend any aid to the Targaryens.[19] After Rhaegar returned from the south to King's Landing, Doran agreed to send ten thousand Dornishmen to fight in the loyalist army, under the command of his uncle, Prince Lewyn Martell of the Kingsguard,[20][21] understanding that Elia, as the wife to the crown prince, would one day become queen, and that her son Aegon would one day be king.[19]
However, Rhaegar died at the Battle of the Trident,[22] as did Doran's uncle, Lewyn,[23] and King Aerys, believing that Lewyn had betrayed Rhaegar on the Trident, refused to send Elia and her children to Dragonstone alongside his own wife, Queen Rhaella Targaryen, and their son Viserys.[20] Not long after, during the Sack of King's Landing, Elia and her children were killed by Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch, men from the Lannister host.[22][24] The new king, Robert I Baratheon, was accepting of their deaths.[5] As a consequence, Doran's brother Oberyn attempted to raise Dorne for the exiled Viserys during the year after the rebellion, but the new Hand of the King, Lord Jon Arryn, traveled to Sunspear to return Prince Lewyn's bones, and spoke with Doran, ending all talks of rebellion.[5]
However, Doran desired revenge for the deaths of Elia and her children as well, and for this purpose, worked closely together with his brother Oberyn for years, planning on destroying all that Lord Tywin Lannister holds dear, before killing him as well.[4] To this end, Oberyn traveled to Braavos, where Ser Willem Darry had fled to with Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen. A secret pact was made, with Oberyn signing for Dorne, and with the Sealord of Braavos as a witness, betrothing Doran's daughter Arianne to the exiled King Viserys.[6][25]
Doran also sent his son Quentyn, born in 281 AC,[26] to serve Lord Ormond Yronwood as a page, and later squire.[27] Quentyn's fostering was done to make peace with the Yronwoods, as enmity between the two houses had arisen after the death of Lord Edgar Yronwood.[8] However, this caused another strain on Doran's marriage to Mellario. Although they had married out of love, their marriage had not been very happy. Mellario had not been able to get used to the Dornish customs, which were so different from the Norvoshi customs.[12][28] As such, Mellario did not approve of Quentyn's fostering, which is not common in Norvoshi culture, believing her son to be much too young at the time.[27] When Doran, after sending Quentyn to Yronwood, planned to send Arianne to Tyrosh to serve as the cupbearer to the Archon of Tyrosh, which would have enabled her to meet her betrothed in secret, Mellario threatened to harm herself, should Doran steal another one of her children. Not wanting to hurt his wife, Doran thus kept Arianne in Dorne.[6] Doran and his wife had a third child, Trystane, who was born in 287 AC.[29] However, Doran and Mellario's marriage continued to deteriorate, and she would never forgive Doran for sending Quentyn away. Eventually, she went back to Norvos.[27]
While he had planned to tell Arianne about her betrothal to the last Targaryen heir when she was sixteen, he decided to keep the secret from her due to her spirited and willful nature.[6] Unbeknownst to Doran, however, Arianne had read a letter Doran had been writing to Quentyn, in which he mentioned that Quentyn would inherit the rule of Dorne from Doran.[6][7] Thus, she had come to believe that Doran's coolness towards her was due to the fact that he wanted to disinherit her, and name Quentyn his heir instead. When Doran suggests numerous aged suitors to her (including Lord Walder Frey, Lord Ben Beesbury, Lord Gyles Rosby, and Lord Estermont), whilst declining more age-matched suitors (like Ser Edmure Tully and Willas Tyrell), it only strengthened her beliefs.[6][27] In truth, Doran had feared that it would be suspicious if he was not seen trying to arrange a betrothal for Arianne, and had only made the suggestions he had because he had known she would reject every single one.[6]
Doran eventually became afflicted with gout. In 298 AC, when still capable of walking, albeit with a stick, Doran moved from Sunspear to the Water Gardens. Two years later, however, Doran's gout has become far worse, and he is no longer able to walk, but instead is usually confined to a wheelchair. Not wanting his enemies to know how feeble he has grown, he remained at the Water Gardens, where he is far away from curious eyes.[3] At the Water Gardens, the summer home of the Martells, he prefers to watch the children at their play, sitting quietly on the terrace amongst the orange trees. He only sees his trusted courtiers and advisors,[3] summoning his brother Oberyn twice every fortnight, and his daughter Arianne twice a year.[7]
Recent Events
[edit]A Game of Thrones
[edit]
After Joffrey I Baratheon has been crowned king, Doran Martell and his sons are summoned to court at King's Landing to swear fealty to the Iron Throne.[30] Varys tells Lord Eddard Stark that the Martells still harbor hatred for the Lannisters for what befell Princess Elia Martell and her children.[31]
A Clash of Kings
[edit]Renly Baratheon assumes that House Martell will support him during the War of the Five Kings,[32] but Tyrion Lannister, as acting Hand of the King, offers to betroth Princess Myrcella Baratheon to Doran's youngest son, Prince Trystane Martell, as well as offering Doran justice for his murdered sister Elia and her children, and giving him a seat on the king's small council, and some castles on the Dornish Marches, in return for his loyalty to King Joffrey and support of Dorne in the war.[33] Doran accepts Tyrion's terms,[34] and by the time Myrcella leaves King's Landing to begin her journey to Sunspear, he has called his banners.[35]
Once Myrcella arrives in Braavos, Doran sends his armies to the high passes of the Red Mountains.[36] While Doran will not send out his armies to give battle unless Dorne itself is at danger, Tyrion hopes that sending the armies of Dorne to the borders will make the Marcher lords rethink their loyalty, as well as halt Stannis Baratheon in marching north.[35]
A Storm of Swords
[edit]
Because his health does not permit him to travel, Doran sends his younger brother, Prince Oberyn Martell, to King's Landing to claim the small council seat he had been promised and to attend King Joffrey's wedding to Lady Margaery Tyrell.[8]
Joffrey chokes to death during his wedding feast, with Tyrion accused of having murdered him.[37] Since Ser Gregor Clegane, alleged murderer of Elia, is to represent the Crown in Tyrion's trial by battle, Oberyn volunteers to champion the accused so as to be able to fight the Mountain.[11] The Red Viper gets Gregor to publicly confess to having killed Prince Aegon Targaryen and then raped and killed Elia, but the Mountain then kills Oberyn to end the duel.[11]
A Feast for Crows
[edit]Obara Sand, the eldest of the Sand Snakes, Oberyn's eight bastard daughters, visits her uncle at the Water Gardens to inform him of Dorne's rage at Oberyn's death and to offer to lead a march on Oldtown. Doran refuses to go to war to avenge his brother, however, stating that Oberyn's death, by law, was no murder.[3]
Doran returns to Sunspear from the Water Gardens to show his people that he still holds power. Nymeria Sand meets Doran during the journey and suggests working with Tyene Sand to assassinate Gregor Clegane's liege lord, Lord Tywin Lannister, Tywin's children Cersei and Jaime, and Tywin's grandson, King Tommen I Baratheon, but Doran again refuses.[3]
Smallfolk throw rotting fruit at Doran's litter when he reaches the gates of Sunspear. Inside the castle, the Prince of Dorne meets his daughter, Princess Arianne Martell, who prepares a feast for his return. Tyene suggests that Princess Myrcella Baratheon be quickly wed to Doran's younger son, Prince Trystane Martell, and that Dorne then crown Myrcella in place of her younger brother, King Tommen, as Myrcella would have a stronger claim to the Iron Throne according to Dornish law. Doran refuses Tyene as well.[3]
In order to maintain peace in Dorne, Doran has Oberyn's daughters (except Sarella, who is not in Dorne) imprisoned in comfortable confinement.[3] He also meets Myrcella and her sworn shield, Ser Arys Oakheart of the Kingsguard, for the first time. Doran plans to bring Myrcella with him to the safety of the Water Gardens.[7]
Gregor dies in agony in the Red Keep after having been poisoned by Oberyn in their duel. Queen Regent Cersei tasks Ser Balon Swann with delivering the Mountain's skull to Sunspear to placate Prince Doran.[38]
Princess Arianne believes that her father intends to replace her as heir to Dorne with her younger brother, Prince Quentyn Martell.[7] With a small group of conspirators, she plans to crown Myrcella, claim Dorne for herself, and confine Doran to the Water Gardens. The plot is foiled by Doran's guardsmen at the Greenblood,[27] however, with Ser Arys slain by Areo Hotah and Myrcella wounded by Ser Gerold Dayne.[6]
Doran has Arianne arrested and confined for several weeks of solitude in Sunspear. Eventually, he frees her, and they discuss why Arianne betrayed him. Doran reveals to her that he had been working to restore House Targaryen, and had been plotting to rob Tywin Lannister of all he held dear before killing him ever since he learned about Elia's death. With Viserys Targaryen dead, Doran now wants to ally House Martell with Queen Daenerys Targaryen, and he has sent Quentyn to Essos to escort Daenerys to Westeros.[6]
A Dance with Dragons
[edit]Doran has his bannermen delay Ser Balon Swann of the Kingsguard, sent by Dowager Queen Cersei Lannister, due to Myrcella's injuries after Arianne's failed plot.[6][4] Balon eventually arrives at Sunspear, where a feast is held in his honor. Doran's daughter Princess Arianne, now fully aware of his plans, sits beside him. Doran has also released Oberyn's three eldest daughters, Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene, from captivity, and in front of the three eldest Sand Snakes, Ellaria Sand, Areo Hotah and half the nobility of Dorne, Doran is presented with the Mountain's skull.[4]
Balon states that Cersei wishes him to bring Princess Myrcella back to King's Landing to visit her brother, King Tommen I Baratheon. Doran is invited to fill the vacant Dornish seat on the small council, while Prince Trystane is invited to see the city and befriend the young king. When Doran suggests that traveling by ship may be easier, this unnerves Balon, who states that a voyage by sea would be too dangerous. Doran agrees he is probably right.[4]
In a private chamber, Doran reveals to Tyene, Obara, Nymeria, Areo Hotah, and Arianne that Cersei's invitation is an ambush. According to a friend at the court of King’s Landing, the party would be ambushed by brigands shouting "halfman" in the kingswood, and Trystane would be killed in the attack. Afterwards, Balon would falsely claim that he saw Tyrion Lannister. The revelation of this plan shocks the elder three daughters of Oberyn.[4]
Doran says he had been dubious of the plot himself until Balon confirmed his suspicions, by trying to persuade him to avoid a voyage by ship (which would have disrupted all of Cersei's arrangements). Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene are enraged, but Doran will not allow them to harm Balon or his companions as they are under the protection of guest right.[4]
To stop this scheme from coming to fruition, Doran has Balon brought to Myrcella, allowing him to find out about her injuries by Ser Gerold Dayne.[4] Myrcella lies (under Arianne's direction), claiming that Darkstar also killed Ser Arys Oakheart, begging Balon to bring Dayne to justice. Doran has Obara escort Balon to High Hermitage, and he is currently hunting for Darkstar.[6][4][39] Doran sends Nymeria Sand to King's Landing to claim the vacant seat on the small council, and Tyene to the Great Sept of Baelor to befriend the new High Septon.[4]
While Doran waits for word from his son, Prince Quentyn, he hears news that a fleet of ships are sailing from Lys to Westeros.[4]
Jon Connington and the Golden Company plot to crown a youth said to be Doran's nephew, Aegon Targaryen.[40] After the taking of Griffin's Roost, Jon tells Haldon Halfmaester to write to Sunspear. Jon plans to take Storm's End to prove their strength to Doran.[41]
The Winds of Winter
[edit]
| Warning This information has thus far been released in a sample chapter for The Winds of Winter, and might therefore not be in finalized form. Keep in mind that the content as described below is still subject to change. |
Doran has received a letter from Jon Connington stating that his sister Elia's son, Aegon, survived the Sack of King's Landing and has returned to Westeros after all these years to reclaim the Iron Throne. Doran sends Arianne to the stormlands to meet Aegon and Jon.[42]
Quotes by Doran
[edit]
—Doran to Arys Oakheart
Doran: I like it no more than you do, but there is a blood debt, and Quentyn is the only coin Lord Ormond will accept.
Mellario: Coin? He is your son. What sort of father uses his own flesh and blood to pay his debts?
Doran: The princely sort.[27]
—Doran and Mellario
I have worked at the downfall of Tywin Lannister since the day they told me of Elia and her children.[6]
—Doran to Arianne Martell
Doran: He has gone to bring us back our heart's desire.
Arianne: What is our heart's desire?
Doran: Vengeance. Justice. Fire and blood.[6]
—Doran to Arianne Martell
I am not blind, nor deaf. I know you all believe me weak, frightened, feeble. Your father knew me better. Oberyn was ever the viper. Deadly, dangerous, unpredictable. No man dared tread on him. I was the grass. Pleasant, complaisant, sweet-smelling, swaying with every breeze. Who fears to walk upon the grass? But it is the grass that hides the viper from his enemies and shelters him until he strikes.[4]
—Doran to the Sand Snakes
Doran: Until the Mountain crushed my brother's skull, no Dornishmen had died in this War of the Five Kings. Tell me, Captain, is that my shame or my glory?
Areo: That is not for me to say, my prince.[4]—Doran and Areo Hotah
Quotes about Doran
[edit]Doran is a cautious man, a reasoned man, subtle, deliberate, even indolent to a degree. He is a man who weighs the consequences of every word and every action.[5]
Though he was but two-and-fifty, Doran Martell seemed much older. His body was soft and shapeless beneath his linen robes, and his legs were hard to look upon. The gout had swollen and reddened his joints grotesquely; his left knee was an apple, his right a melon, and his toes had turned to dark red grapes, so ripe it seemed as though a touch would burst them. Even the weight of a coverlet could make him shudder, though he bore the pain without complaint. Silence is a prince's friend, the captain had heard him tell his daughter once. Words are like arrows, Arianne. Once loosed, you cannot call them back.[3]
—thoughts of Areo Hotah
My father is very good at doing nothing. He calls it thinking.[7]
Your father keeps his secrets well, Prince Quentyn. Too well, I fear.[44]
Jon: Above all else, we must have Doran Martell.
Harry: Small chance of that. The Dornishman is scared of his own shadow. Not what you call daring.
Jon: Prince Doran is a cautious man, that's true. He will never join us unless he is convinced that we will win. So to persuade him we must show our strength.[41]
Your father married for love, it's said. How much joy has he had of that?[45]
Family tree
[edit]
References
[edit]- ↑ See the Doran Martell calculation.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Doran Martell.
- ↑ 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 3.17 3.18 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 2, The Captain Of Guards.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 38, The Watcher.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 53, Tyrion VI.
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 40, Princess In The Tower.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 13, The Soiled Knight.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 38, Tyrion V.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 A Game of Thrones, Appendix.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Appendix.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 70, Tyrion X.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 So Spake Martin: Asshai.com Interview in Barcelona (July 28, 2012)
- ↑ See the Arianne Martell calculation
- ↑ See the calculation on the timing of Doran Martell's inheritance of Dorne
- ↑ The Winds of Winter, Arianne I
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 2, Catelyn I.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Doran Martell.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 37, Jaime V.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Fall of the Dragons: Robert's Rebellion.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 3, Daenerys I.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 23, Alayne I.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 30, Eddard VII.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 43, Daenerys VII.
- ↑ See the Quentyn Martell calculation
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 21, The Queenmaker.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Free Cities: Norvos.
- ↑ See the Trystane Martell calculation
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 57, Sansa V.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 58, Eddard XV.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 22, Catelyn II.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 20, Tyrion V.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 25, Tyrion VI.
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 41, Tyrion IX.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 42, Davos II.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 60, Tyrion VIII.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 17, Cersei IV.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Epilogue.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 24, The Lost Lord.
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 61, The Griffin Reborn.
- ↑ The Winds of Winter, Arianne I
- ↑ So Spake Martin: "Asshai.com Forum Chat" (July 27, 2008)
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 59, The Discarded Knight.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 68, The Dragontamer.
- House Martell
- Characters from Dorne
- Characters suffering from gout
- Cripples
- House Gargalen wards
- Lords of Sunspear
- Members of the small council
- Nobles
- Princes of Dorne
- Royalists of Robert's Rebellion
- Supporters of Joffrey Baratheon in the War of the Five Kings
- Supporters of Tommen Baratheon in the War of the Five Kings