| Note: The title of this article is conjecture and may be subject to change. |
Late in the reign of King Aerys II Targaryen, two factions arose at the royal court: the younger men who supported Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and those who gathered around the king, whom Maester Yandel dubs lickspittle lords in his work The World of Ice and Fire.[1]
Known lickspittle lords
- Lord Owen Merryweather, Lord of Longtable and Hand of the King from 281 AC when Lord Tywin Lannister resigned.
- Lord Qarlton Chelsted, master of coin.
- Lord Lucerys Velaryon, Lord of the Tides and master of ships.
- Lord Symond Staunton, Lord of Rook's Rest and master of laws.
- Lord Rykker, Lord of Duskendale.
- Varys, master of whisperers.
- Wisdom Rossart, grand master of the Alchemists' Guild
The only members of Aerys' Small Council who do not belong to this group are Grand Maester Pycelle, who had come to greatly admire and respect Lord Tywin,[2] and Gerold Hightower, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
History
Tensions against Prince Rhaegar
During the feast that King Aerys II Targaryen threw when Cersei Lannister first came to court, Lord Owen Merryweather talked about raising taxes on wine, prompting Lord Rykker to joke about Lord Tywin Lannister shitting gold. Tywin stared at the lord until Rykker gave up and walked away.[3]
When Lord Tywin Lannister resigned his position as Hand of the King in 281 AC, the aged Lord Owen was named the new Hand by Aerys.[4][5] With Tywin gone from court, the new focus of Aerys's mistrust and paranoia was his own son and heir, Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone. Lord Merryweather and Grand Maester Pycelle attempted to keep peace between the factions loyal to the king and those loyal to Rhaegar.[6]
When the great tourney at Harrenhal was announced, Lord Varys, the King's new master of whisperers, warned the Mad King that Rhaegar arranged the tournament as a pretext to meet with several high lords to discuss removing his father as king in an informal Great Council.[7] Based on the notion that Rhaegar was secretly funding the tourney as a way to call a Great Council, Qarlton Chelsted, master of coin and firm supporter of Aerys, unsuccessfully suggested the King to forbid the tournament.[6]
King Aerys eventually attended the tourney, and when Prince Rhaegar won the final joust, Qarlton and Lord Symond Staunton, master of laws, inflamed the king's suspicions by declaring that Rhaegar had participated in the tourney only to win the favor of the smallfolk and remind the lords present that he was a true heir to King Aegon I Targaryen.[6]
Robert's Rebellion
Rossart was the Grand Master of the Alchemists' Guild during the reign of Aerys II, who granted him the title of Lord and a seat on the Small Council. He was the pyromancer who had cooked Lord Rickard Stark in his armor, which kickstarted Robert's Rebellion, and also one of the key players in the wildfire plot.[8] During the rebellion, Lord Owen and Lord Qarlton served as Hand of the Kings, but the former was exiled for his failure in preventing the rebellion's uprising, while the latter was burned alive after he tried to stop Aerys's wildfire plot. After the Battle of the Trident, the king made Rossart his new Hand, a position that he held for only a fortnight, as he was then slain during the Sack of King's Landing.[8]
In the aftermath of the Rebellion, Pycelle and Varys are the only members of Aerys II's small council who are mentioned to have been pardoned by the new King, Robert Baratheon.[9] It is unknown what happened to Lord Rykker, Lord Symond Staunton, and Lucerys Velaryon, master of ships. Ser Jaremy Rykker, who remained loyal to King Aerys and fought on the battlements during the sack of the capital, was later forced by Lord Tywin to choose between the Wall or execution,[10] so Lord Rykker might have faced the same fate.
The City Watch of King's Landing presumably falls under the bailiwick of the master of laws,[N 1] so it is possible that Symond Staunton led the gold cloaks during the sack. As master of ships, Velaryon might have died when the royal fleet of House Targaryen, anchored at Dragonstone, was destroyed by a great storm when Princess Daenerys Targaryen was born.[12]
Notes
- ↑ Lord Renly Baratheon, the master of laws, threatens to replace Janos Slynt as commander,[11]
References
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 7, Cersei II.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 39, Cersei IX.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The World of Ice & Fire, The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 67, The Kingbreaker.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 37, Jaime V.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 55, Catelyn VII.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 21, Tyrion III.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 27, Eddard VI.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 3, Daenerys I.