| Master of coin | |
|---|---|
| Office |
Chief financial advisor Treasurer |
| Region | Seven Kingdoms |
| Current Holder | Ser Harys Swyft |
| First Holder | Crispian Celtigar |
| Creator | Aegon I Targaryen |
| Created | Aegon's Conquest |
The master of coin is the chief financial adviser of the king and is a member of the small council in King's Landing.
Duties
Duties of the master of coin include keeping account of the receipts and expenditures from the royal treasury, receiving reports from royal officials, supervising the collection of taxes and custom duties, borrowing money, managing the royal treasury and supervising the three royal mints. The master of coin oversees a large number of offices and positions in the royal bureaucracy, including the four Keepers of the Keys, the King's Counter, the King's Scales, the officers in charge of mints, harbormasters, tax farmers, customs agents, wool factors, toll collectors, pursers and wine factors.[1]
History
Aegon and Maegor
When Aegon I Targaryen was crowned as King of All Westeros, he established the first small council, naming Crispian Celtigar as the first master of coin.[2] In that office, he advised Aegon on matters relating to taxation, debts, and incomes during the War of Conquest.[3]
King Maegor I Targaryen's wars were ruinously expensive, exhausting the royal treasury, so his master of coin, Alton Butterwell, continuously raised taxes and imposed new ones, but these measures failed to bring in sufficient revenue, so Maegor then demanded a tribute of gold from the high lords. These measures only made Maegor more loathed than he already was.[4]
Jaehaerys
Upon the ascension of the young Jaehaerys I Targaryen to the Iron Throne, Lord Edwell Celtigar was named lord treasurer and master of coin by Lord Rogar Baratheon, the new Hand.[5] The wars fought by Maegor had nearly bankrupted the crown. Lord Celtigar was unwilling to risk offending the high lords, so he instead enforced several new taxes upon the smallfolk, such as tripling the port fees of King's Landing, Lannisport, and Oldtown. Certain goods were taxed both coming in and going out of the city, and new levies were asked of innkeepers and builders. These measures made Edwell deeply despised by the populace and failed to generate sufficient revenue.[4] Upon King Jaehaerys's sixteenth name day, he kindly dismissed Lord Edwell from his office, thanking him for his services, replacing him with Rego Draz.[6]
King Jaehaerys and Lord Rego abolished the deeply unpopular trade taxes that Lord Edwell had placed on the smallfolk, much to the populace's delight. In their place, they instituted a series of luxury taxes on expensive foreign imports, as well as on castle crenellations. Lord Rego excelled as master of coin, being one of the key men responsible for rebuilding the realm's economy after the wars of King Maegor. He reached out to the Iron Bank of Braavos, and its rivals in Tyrosh and Myr, arranging three substantial loans. With these loans, the construction of the Dragonpit could finally continue.[6] However, Draz quickly grew to be as unpopular as his predecessor had been, on account of his alleged corruption, his religion, his ancestry, his wealth, and his foreign origins.[7] When the taxes on silk, spice, and crenellations proved to be insufficient to cover all of the crown's expenses, Lord Rego imposed a new levy: a gate fee, required of passing the gates of the city, with additional fees for animals, wagons, and carts.[7]
After the murder of Lord Rego, King Jaehaerys replaced him with Martyn Tyrell, whose wife, the Lady Florence Fossoway, had been handling the Reach's accounts for years and had increased Highgarden's incomes by a third. Aided and abetted by his clever wife, Martyn proved almost as able as Rego. This made the Seven Kingdoms prosperous and allowed King Jaehaerys I Targaryen to expand his project of roads, creating the roseroad, the ocean road, the river road, and the goldroad once the kingsroad was completed.[8]
The Dance and Regency
Lyman Beesbury served as master of coin and lord treasurer almost uninterrupted since the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen until King Viserys I Targaryen's death, after which he died, aged eighty, being replaced by Ser Tyland Lannister.[9][10]
In 130 AC during the Dance of the Dragons, the unpopular taxes Lord Edwell once imposed were reinstated by a descendant of his, Lord Bartimos Celtigar, the master of coin for Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.[11] During the Regency of Aegon III, Lord Torrhen Manderly, the Hand of the King, named Isembard Arryn as master of coin, and together, they reformed taxes and provided some relief for those suffering from the collapse of the Rogare Bank.[12]
Recent History
Even though Elaena Targaryen's husband, Lord Ronnel Penrose, sat on the king's small council as master of coin, it was widely known that she was the one performing the duties.[13]
Lord Qarlton Chelsted, master of coin in the late reign of King Aerys II Targaryen, was one of the so-called lickspittle lords who supported King Aerys II Targaryen. When the tourney at Harrenhal was announced, Qarlton unsuccessfully suggested that Aerys forbid the tournament, based on the notion that his son, Prince Rhaegar, was secretly funding the tourney as a way to call a Great Council to discuss Aerys's rule.[14]
After excelling in several financial jobs in both Gulltown and King's Landing, Lord Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King for Robert I Baratheon, rewarded Petyr by making him master of coin.[1] In that office, he developed a complex web of loans, transactions, and investments, as to supply the king and the Hand with enough gold. The crown's revenues have increased tenfold compared to Littlefinger's predecessor as master of coin, although the royal debts of King Robert are vast as well.[1]
Recent Events
A Game of Thrones
Lord Petyr Baelish continues to serve as master of coin, as he has done for several years. He must pay for the extravagance of Robert I Baratheon's court, often by borrowing from Lord Tywin Lannister.[15]
A Clash of Kings
To pay for Queen Regent Cersei Lannister's plans for the defense of King's Landing, Petyr imposes a tax on all who enter the capital.[16]
Tyrion Lannister, the acting Hand of the King, investigates Petyr's past, learning how he came to be on the small council and naming him a "master juggler" when referring to his skill at finances.[1]
Baelish is sent to recruit House Tyrell to support King Joffrey I Baratheon.[17]
A Storm of Swords
When Baelish goes to the Eyrie to court Lysa Arryn, Tyrion Lannister is named as his replacement, charged with funding the upcoming royal wedding.[18] Tyrion is blamed for the so-called dwarf's pennies.[19]
At the Gate of the Gods, Ser Jaime Lannister sees two dozen wagons waiting to enter; a gold cloak tells Steelshanks Walton that each merchant must pay a toll for the right to sell inside the capital, a command given by the King's Hand and the master of coin.[20]
After Tyrion is imprisoned for the death of Joffrey, Tywin calls for Garth Tyrell to fill the post.[21]
A Feast for Crows
After the death of Tywin Lannister, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister renames the office lord treasurer, a style used in the Free Cities,[22] as well as in Sunspear.[23] When she hears Garth Tyrell will soon fill the seat, she appoints Lord Gyles Rosby to take the seat. When Lord Rosby dies, Ser Harys Swyft replaces him in the office.[21]
After the death of Lord Gyles, Cersei replaces him with Ser Harys Swyft.[24]
A Dance with Dragons
Ser Harys's main concern is the massive debt owed by the crown to the Iron Bank of Braavos.[25]
The Winds of Winter
| 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. |
Harys Swyft has traveled to Braavos to treat with the Iron Bank in person.[26]
List of Known Masters of Coin
Crispian Celtigar, served under Aegon I Targaryen.[2]
Lord Alton Butterwell, served under Maegor I Targaryen.[4]- Lord Edwell Celtigar during the regency of Jaehaerys I Targaryen.[4]
- Rego Draz of Pentos during the early reign of Jaehaerys I Targaryen.
Martyn Tyrell, in the reign of Jaehaerys I Targaryen, though unofficially the duties were performed by his wife, Florence Fossoway.[8]
Lord Lyman Beesbury, served in the late reign of Jaehaerys I Targaryen and then his grandson Viserys I Targaryen.[27]
Prince Daemon Targaryen, served under his brother Viserys I Targaryen before being removed and later made master of laws.[9]
Ser Tyland Lannister, served Aegon II Targaryen and the Greens during the Dance of the Dragons.[27]- Lord Bartimos Celtigar, served Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen and the Blacks during the Dance of the Dragons.[11]
Isembard Arryn during the regency of Aegon III.[28]- Lord Ambrose Butterwell, served under Aegon IV Targaryen.[29]
Lord Ronnel Penrose, served under Daeron II Targaryen, though unofficially the duties were performed by his wife, Princess Elaena Targaryen.[30]
Lord Qarlton Chelsted, served Aerys II Targaryen, later made Hand of the King.
Lord Petyr Baelish, appointed during the reign of Robert I Baratheon; continued to serve under his successor Joffrey I Baratheon.[15]- Tyrion Lannister, appointed when Littlefinger left to court Lady Lysa Arryn.[18]
Lord Gyles Rosby - Lord treasurer. Appointed after Tyrion's trial for Joffrey's murder.[21]
Ser Harys Swyft - Lord treasurer. Demoted from Hand of the King to replace Lord Rosby after his death.[24]
Quotes
The master of coin must be frugal.[31]
—Varys, to Eddard Stark
Within three years of his coming to court, he was master of coin and a member of the small council, and today the crown's revenues were ten times what they had been under his beleaguered predecessor… though the crown's debts had grown vast as well.[1]
—Tyrion Lannister about Petyr Baelish
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 17, Tyrion IV.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Three Heads had the Dragon - Governance under Aegon I.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Fire & Blood, A Surfeit of Rulers.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Year of the Three Brides - 49 AC.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fire & Blood, A Time of Testing - The Realm Remade.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Fire & Blood, Birth, Death, and Betrayal Under Jaehaerys I.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Fire & Blood, The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny, and Pain.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Blacks and the Greens.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency.
- ↑ So Spake Martin: Three Maidens in the Tower (June 27, 2006)
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 20, Eddard IV.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 3, Tyrion I.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 36, Tyrion VIII.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 19, Tyrion III.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 38, Tyrion V.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 62, Jaime VII.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 7, Cersei II.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 17, Cersei IV.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Appendix.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 39, Cersei IX.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Epilogue.
- ↑ The Winds of Winter, Chapter , Mercy.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 The Princess and the Queen.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - Lysene Spring and the End of Regency.
- ↑ The Mystery Knight.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 58, Eddard XV.