Gerion Lannister

	Gerion Lannister, by kethryn ©
Alias	Uncle Gery
Allegiance	House Lannister
Culture	Westermen
Born	255 AC; Casterly Rock
Died	In or after 291 AC
Father	Tytos Lannister
Mother	Jeyne Marbrand
Lover	Briony
Issue	Joy Hill
Books	The World of Ice & Fire (mentioned); A Game of Thrones (appendix); A Clash of Kings (appendix); A Storm of Swords (mentioned); A Feast for Crows (mentioned); A Dance with Dragons (mentioned);

Gerion Lannister was a member of House Lannister, and was the youngest brother of Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock.

Appearance and Character

Gerion was the youngest and most reckless brother of Lord Tywin Lannister. He was said to be a man quick to laugh, and had a gift for making others laugh.^[1] According to Gerion's sister Genna, his nephew Jaime smiles like Gerion did.^[7]

Tyrion and Jaime often refer to Gerion as their favorite uncle.^[2]^[8]

History

Targaryen Era

Gerion was born at Casterly Rock^[4] in 255 AC, the fifth child and fourth son of Tytos Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, and his wife, Lady Jeyne Marbrand. He was healthy, but his mother died within a month of his birth.^[3] Though Tytos was greatly saddened by the death of his wife, he soon became enamored of Gerion's wet nurse and made her his first mistress.^[3]

Like his brothers, Kevan and Tygett, Gerion was overshadowed by their older brother, Tywin. While Kevan built up a life at Tywin's side, and Tygett tried to be independent, Gerion mocked this "game" and made jokes.^[7] Gerion's relationship with his eldest brother was notoriously stormy.^[9]

At sixteen, in 271 AC, Gerion visited the Free Cities on his coming of age tour.^[10] In 276 AC, Gerion participated in the tournament in honor of Viserys's birth at Lannisport, but he was unhorsed by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen.^[11]^[9]

Once when Tyrion was young, he begged his uncle for a dragon for his name day present, which Gerion found hilarious.^[12] Gerion once gifted Tyrion on his name day with the books Wonders and Wonders Made by Man by Lomas Longstrider, and often had Tyrion recite the sixteen wonders of the world.^[10] Gerion also taught Tyrion some tumbling tricks when he was six or seven,^[13] and would praise his skills.^[14]

Baratheon Era

Robert's Rebellion (282–283 AC) put an end to the rule of House Targaryen over Westeros when Robert Baratheon, the young Lord of Storm's End, took the Iron Throne. In order to solidify his rule, Robert married Gerion's niece, Cersei Lannister. Gerion offered a gilded dagger with an ivory grip and a sapphire pommel as a wedding gift to the new king.^[1]

In 288 AC, Gerion had a bastard daughter named Joy Hill,^[15]^[8]^[16] whose mother was a common woman named Briony.^[6]

Circa 291 AC,^[5] Gerion went on a quest to find House Lannister's ancestral Valyrian steel greatsword, Brightroar, and any other treasures that might have survived the Doom of Valyria.^[1]^[17] Gerion has never returned, not for nearly a decade since his ship, the Laughing Lion, left Lannisport. Lord Tywin sent men to look for his lost brother, who traced him as far as Volantis, where half of Gerion's crew had deserted him because of his intent to sail into the Smoking Sea. He had been forced to buy slaves to replace them.^[17]

Quotes

My lord father would have made a splendid innkeep, but old Toad would have been a better lord.^[18]
—Gerion

That shadow Tywin cast was long and black, and each of them had to struggle to find a little sun. Tygett tried to be his own man, but he could never match your father, and that just made him angrier as the years went by. Gerion made japes. Better to mock the game than to play and lose. But Kevan saw how things stood early on, so he made himself a place by your father's side.^[7]
—Genna Lannister to Jaime Lannister