Petyr Baelish
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 Petyr Baelish by Josu Hernaiz © | ||||
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| Allegiance | House Baelish | |||
| Culture | Valemen | |||
| Born |
268 AC[3] the Fingers, the Vale of Arryn | |||
| Father | Lord Baelish | |||
| Mother | Alayne | |||
| Spouse | Lady Lysa Arryn | |||
| Personal arms |
A field of silver mockingbirds on green (Vert, semé of mockingbirds argent) | |||
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| Played by | Aidan Gillen | |||
| TV series | Game of Thrones: Season 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |||
Petyr Baelish, also called Littlefinger, is the Lord and head of House Baelish of the Fingers.[4] He serves as master of coin on the small council of King Robert I Baratheon.[5] Petyr wears a mockingbird as his personal sigil instead of that of House Baelish, a titan's head.[4][6][7] In the television adaptation Game of Thrones, he is played by Aidan Gillen.
Contents
Appearance and Character
- See also: Images of Petyr Baelish
Petyr had been slight and short for his age as a boy, and nearing his thirties, he is still a short man of slender build. Petyr has sharp features, a small pointed beard on his chin, and dark hair with threads of grey running through it.[4][6] He has laughing gray-green eyes[4][8] like a cat,[9] but Sansa Stark notes that when Petyr laughs, his eyes do not.[6] His breath is always fresh,[7] smelling like mint,[6] which he had enjoyed chewing as a boy.[10]
Petyr has always been cunning and clever. As a child, he was bold, always getting into trouble,[10] but was also capable of looking contrite after his mischiefs.[4] While Petyr was born to the small and insignificant House Baelish, he is a subtle and ambitious man[11][9] whose intelligence helped him advance in terms of power and status.[12] He possesses considerable skill in commerce and coin, as well as manipulation, and has a gift for political improvisation. He is often underestimated by many high lords due to his low birth.[9] According to George R. R. Martin, "Everybody trusts him because he seems powerless, and he's very friendly, and he's very helpful."[13] Despite this, Tyrion Lannister considers Petyr to be a dangerous man.[8]
Petyr owns a slashed velvet doublet in cream-and-silver,[14] a plum-colored doublet with a mockingbird embroidered on the breast in black thread,[15] a blue velvet tunic with puffed sleeves,[16] and a black velvet doublet with grey sleeves.[17] He is partial to shades of rose and plum.[9][18] His cloaks, which are clasped with a silver mockingbird,[4] include grey silk trimmed with black fox,[14] stripes of black and white,[15] and a pattern of mockingbirds.[18] Petyr also owns a yellow satin cape[9] and a silver cape[19] patterned with mockingbirds.[16][20] He also owns a pair of red-dyed leather boots ornamented with black scrollwork.[9] Petyr rides a mare[21] and once owned a Valyrian steel dagger.[12]
Petyr's chambers in the Red Keep are located across the Great Yard from the Tower of the Hand.[22] He enjoys pomegranates[7] and drinks wine.[23][24]
History
Early Life
Petyr's great-grandfather was a Braavosi sellsword in the service of Lord Corbray; when his son became a hedge knight, he took the stone head of the Titan of Braavos as his sigil. Petyr's father, in turn, was the smallest of small lords of a few rocky acres on the smallest of the Fingers,[9] Petyr's mother was named Alayne.[7] Petyr's father once took him to a hermit's cave see a man said to have the gift of prophecy. Lord Baelish gave the hermit a skin of wine after he groped the boy a bit and said he would be a great man.[7]
Petyr's father befriended Hoster Tully during his service in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, and this friendship led to Petyr being sent to be fostered as a ward at Riverrun.[12][25]
Riverrun
Petyr was raised alongside Lord Hoster Tully's children, Catelyn, Lysa, and Edmure. Because of Petyr's family holdings and his short stature, Edmure gave him the nickname "Littlefinger," by which he is still called.[4] Petyr grew close to the Tully children,[9] and he played with Edmure[26] and his sisters. Catelyn recalls how she and Lysa once made mud pies, which Petyr ate, resulting in him being sick for a week.[27] When he had a problem, Petyr went to Lord Hoster's brother, Ser Brynden Tully, just as Lord Hoster's children were wont to do.[28] Petyr and Edmure once built a castle out of blocks in Hoster's solar.[26]
When Catelyn was twelve, Petyr accompanied the Tullys on a journey to Seagard. They camped at Oldstones, where Catelyn pretended to be Jenny of Oldstones and Petyr her Prince of Dragonflies.[29] Catelyn and Lysa became separated from the rest of their party while riding back from Seagard, but Petyr rode back and found the girls in the fog.[30]
As the children grew older, Petyr fell in love with Catelyn,[6] who was several years his elder. Catelyn did not reciprocate Petyr's feelings, loving him as a brother instead.[4][30] Catelyn's younger sister, Lysa, on the other hand, fell in love with Petyr.[31] Petyr would play at kissing with both Catelyn and Lysa in the godswood of Riverrun, attempting to stick his tongue into their mouths. Catelyn stopped Petyr, but Lysa both allowed and enjoyed it.[10]
When Catelyn's betrothal to Brandon Stark, the heir to Winterfell, was announced,[12] Lords Bracken and Blackwood were at Riverrun to settle a feud with Lord Tully's help. Catelyn and Petyr danced six dances that night, but when he tried to kiss her, she pushed him away and laughed at him. Wounded by the rejection, Petyr got drunk, passed out at the table, and was brought to his bed by Brynden Tully. Lysa snuck in after him, and gave Petyr her maidenhead that night. Still drunk, Petyr believed he was having sex with Catelyn, and he called Lysa "Cat" and told her he loved her before falling asleep.[12][31]
In 282 AC, when the date of Catelyn's wedding was announced,[12] Petyr, scarcely fifteen years old, challenged the twenty-year-old Brandon Stark to a duel for her hand.[4] Petyr arrived with only a helm, breastplate and mail, leading to Brandon taking off most of his own armor. Petyr asked Catelyn for her favor to wear, but she refused, giving it to Brandon instead.[31][32] Catelyn begged Brandon not to kill Petyr, to which he agreed. While Brandon offered Petyr multiple chances to yield, Petyr refused to give up. In the end, Petyr was staggering and bleeding from a dozen wounds, when Brandon ended the battle with a backhand cut so brutal Catelyn was convinced it was mortal.[32]
Petyr was given a fortnight to recover at Riverrun, during which time Lysa helped care for him. Catelyn did not go to see him, and Petyr refused to see Edmure, who had served as Brandon's squire during the duel.[32][33] During this fortnight, Petyr slept with Lysa again.[12] He would later claim to have taken the maidenhood of both Tully sisters, due to his belief that his first encounter with Lysa had actually been with Catelyn.[34][9][30]
When the fortnight had passed and Petyr was strong enough, Lord Hoster sent Petyr away from Riverrun. Catelyn did not say goodbye to him.[32] However, Lysa had become pregnant with Petyr's child as a result of their second sexual encounter. After Petyr had been sent away, Lysa revealed her pregnancy to her father, hoping he would relent and allow Lysa and Petyr to marry. Instead, Hoster, who had believed Petyr to be too lowborn,[7] forced Lysa to drink moon tea to abort the pregnancy.[35]
Back at the Fingers, Petyr sent Catelyn a single letter after the death of her betrothed, Brandon. However, she burned the letter without reading it.[4] Catelyn and Lysa married Lords Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn, respectively, at Riverrun during Robert's Rebellion,[36] and Catelyn went north to Winterfell after the conclusion of the war.[37] Petyr used to dream about Winterfell, always imagining it as a dark and cold place.[31]
Gulltown and King's Landing
Lysa Arryn convinced Jon Arryn, her new husband and Lord of the Eyrie, to give Petyr a minor sinecure in customs at Gulltown around 289 AC.[9] Littlefinger quickly brought in three times as much as other royal collectors,[9] and, according to Lysa, he increased incomes tenfold.[7] Lord Arryn, also the Hand of the King for Robert I Baratheon, rewarded Petyr with other appointments,[7] and Lysa convinced her husband to bring Petyr to court.[31] Within three years of coming to King's Landing, Littlefinger had become master of coin and a member of the small council.[9]
Petyr increased his influence by moving his own people in place, such as the four Keepers of the Keys, the King's Counter, and the King's Scales, as well as harbor masters, toll collectors, and wine factors.[9] Meanwhile, he also developed a complex web of loans, transactions, and investments, as to supply the king and the Hand with enough gold,[9] and he bought a number of establishments (including several brothels).[38][8] 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.[9] The last Chief Gaoler, a former cloth merchant, purchased his position from Petyr.[39]
Petyr bet on Ser Jaime Lannister during the tourney on Prince Joffrey's name day, but he lost his blade of Valyrian steel to King Robert when Jaime was unhorsed by Ser Loras Tyrell.[30][12] Littlefinger has also boasted at court of having taken Catelyn Stark's virginity.[34] Oswell Kettleblack has been in Petyr's service for a long time.[17]
Living in the capital with the elderly Lord Arryn for years with Petyr nearby has been difficult for Lysa.[7][12] She and Petyr started planning a life together,[31] and according to a semi-canon source they have begun a secret affair.[12][40] When Lysa learned that her husband planned to send their son, Robert Arryn, away to be fostered at Dragonstone by Lord Stannis Baratheon, Petyr provided her with the poison she used to kill Lord Jon. He also convinced Lysa to send a message to her sister Catelyn at Winterfell, in which she falsely accused Queen Cersei and House Lannister of the murder of her husband.[37][31]
Recent Events
A Game of Thrones
Lady Catelyn Stark travels to King's Landing to inform her husband, Lord Eddard Stark, about the attempt on the life of their son Bran. Petyr, having learned of her arrival despite her efforts to remain unnoticed, intercepts Catelyn and has her brought to the Red Keep. Catelyn is wary of Petyr and Lord Varys when she shows them the Valyrian steel dagger used in the attempt by a catspaw. Petyr says that he recognizes the dagger, claiming that it was once his but that he lost it to Tyrion Lannister in a wager during the tourney on Prince Joffrey's name day.[4] In truth, however, Littlefinger's blade had been lost to King Robert I Baratheon.[30][12] Petyr promises Catelyn he will help her husband investigate the death of Lord Jon Arryn, Lord Stark's predecessor as Hand of the King.[38]
After a meeting of the small council, Petyr brings Eddard to meet with his wife, whom Littlefinger has hidden at one of his brothels, and Petyr convinces the new Hand, against his inclination, to make no move against the Lannisters until they have proof. Catelyn feels she has reconnected with her childhood friend.[38] Eddard remains wary of Petyr after Catelyn departs the capital, but he becomes more trusting after Littlefinger advises him to investigate Lord Arryn's household. Petyr, however, warns Ned not to trust anyone, including himself.[41]
During the Hand's tourney, Petyr loses a hundred golden dragons to Lord Renly Baratheon when Sandor Clegane unhorses Ser Jaime Lannister.[22] Petyr meets Sansa Stark, the eldest daughter of Eddard and Catelyn, during the festivities, and he brushes the girl's cheek while touching her hair.[6]
Acting on Petyr's lie about the dagger, Catelyn arrests Tyrion at the inn at the crossroads[27] and takes him to the Eyrie.[28] Tyrion insists the dagger used by the assassin was not his, and he tells Catelyn that Petyr has often claimed at court to have taken her virginity.[34]
When King Robert learns that the exiled Princess Daenerys Targaryen is pregnant, Petyr agrees with Robert in advocating her assassination. Ned resigns as Hand in protest of Robert's command, but before he can arrange to travel back to Winterfell, Petyr approaches him with the promise of assistance in his investigation into Jon Arryn's death.[14] Littlefinger leads Ned to a brothel where a young whore is raising one of Robert's bastard children. When Ned is accosted by red cloaks led by Ser Jaime Lannister while returning from the city shortly thereafter,[21] Petyr flees to find gold cloaks, but Lord Stark is wounded and the Hand's guards are killed in the meantime.[42]
Petyr attends court while Eddard sits the Iron Throne in the Robert's absence, as the king has gone hunting in the kingswood.[43] Petyr's flight from Jaime's men bothers Lord Stark.[15]
Robert is mortally wounded hunting a boar, and the dying king names Eddard as Lord Regent and Protector of the Realm. Petyr advises Ned that despite their knowledge that Queen Cersei Lannister's children are illegitimate and that Robert's brother, Lord Stannis Baratheon, is the legal heir, the wisest course of action is to ensure Prince Joffrey Baratheon's succession, a maneuver calculated to avoid all-out war and maximize their own power. Eddard refuses the suggestion and instead enlists Petyr's help in securing the allegiance of the gold cloaks for when he moves against Cersei.[16] Littlefinger actually bribes the gold cloaks to support the queen in the throne room, however. As he recovers his dagger during the arrest of Eddard Stark, Petyr reminds Ned he had told him not to trust him.[20]
Petyr wears black as the small council mourns Robert.[44] As the majority of Eddard's followers in King's Landing have been killed following his arrest,[45] Petyr takes Vayon Poole's daughter Jeyne, Sansa's friend, into his custody.[46] Littlefinger mocks Ser Barristan Selmy when the famed knight is publicly dismissed from the Kingsguard.[47]
Varys visits Eddard in the black cells and convinces him to confess treason and take the black.[48] Petyr attends Ned's confession at the Great Sept of Baelor, where King Joffrey unexpectedly orders Lord Stark's execution.[19]
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.[2]
Upon arriving at King's Landing to serve as Hand of the King while Lord Tywin Lannister is in the field, Tyrion Lannister realizes Petyr is more dangerous than he had previously known.[8] Varys hints to Tyrion that Littlefinger might have been the one who whispered in Stannis Baratheon's ear about his brother Robert's bastards not resembling his royal children with Cersei.[8]
Tyrion investigates Petyr's past, learning how Petyr came to be on the small council, naming Petyr a "master juggler" when referring to his skill at finances, and noting on the fact that Petyr, due to his low birth and the way he presents himself, is not seen as a threat by anyone.[9] Realizing Petyr has many of his own men placed into multiple positions, Tyrion decides not to make a move against Petyr concerning the lie he told about Tyrion's involvement in the attack on Bran Stark's life, until he can find a way to replace those men with his own.[9]
During a meeting of the small council, following the proclamation of King Stannis Baratheon that Cersei's children were born out of incest, Petyr proposes they fight Stannis's claims by spreading rumors of their own. Littlefinger suggests they spread the claim that Stannis's daughter, Shireen Baratheon, was fathered by Patchface, Stannis's fool at Dragonstone.[49]
Littlefinger boasts to Tyrion of having taken the virginities of both Catelyn and Lysa Tully. The Hand suggests sending Petyr to Lysa in the Vale to gain House Arryn for King Joffrey I Baratheon, and in return Littlefinger might be rewarded with Harrenhal and named liege lord of the Trident.[9]
After the assassination of King Renly Baratheon, Petyr and Tyrion plot to form an alliance with House Tyrell to win over any lords of the Reach or the stormlands that did not immediately declare for Stannis. Petyr volunteers to travel to Bitterbridge to meet the angry Ser Loras Tyrell, so Tyrion provides him with an escort of one hundred gold cloaks.[50] At Highgarden Petyr negotiates successfully with Lord Mace Tyrell and his mother, Olenna Tyrell,[7] forging a Lannister-Tyrell alliance through the engagement of King Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell, Mace's daughter.[51][52]
Petyr returns to King's Landing with Tyrell forces alongside those of Tywin Lannister. The allied Lannister and Tyrell armies are able to take Stannis's forces in the rear in the last hours of the Battle of the Blackwater, with Petyr providing the idea to dress Ser Garlan Tyrell in King Renly's armor during the battle so as to frighten Stannis's men-at-arms.[53] After the battle, Petyr is rewarded with the title Lord Paramount of the Trident and is named Lord of Harrenhal, despite the fact that the castle is still held by Lord Roose Bolton for Robb Stark, King in the North. The titles give Petyr nominal control over the war-torn riverlands and makes him a high lord.[18]
A Storm of Swords
Sansa Stark discretely meets with Ser Dontos Hollard, who vaguely tells the girl of a plan to return her home and gives her a silver hair net.[18] Unbeknownst to Sansa, however, the fool is secretly in Littlefinger's employ.[54] Petyr also acquires key informants in the crown's inner circle in Ser Osney, Ser Osfryd, and Ser Osmund Kettleblack,[51] who had been hired to guard Queen Regent Cersei Lannister after Tyrion Lannister sent Vylarr and his red cloaks away.[55] Tyrion believes that the Kettleblack brothers are in his pay,[51] when in truth their allegiance is to Petyr.[7]
During a session of the small council, Petyr informs Lord Tywin Lannister of the Tyrell plot to spirit Sansa Stark to Highgarden and marry her to Willas Tyrell, giving Tywin the necessary time to wed her in haste to his son Tyrion instead.[11]
Petyr's newfound status as a high lord gives him the necessary standing to be considered by Tywin for a marriage to the widowed Lysa Arryn with the intent of delivering the Vale of Arryn, which has remained neutral, to the crown without violence. Petyr agrees with the plan and is sent to the Eyrie to woo Lysa, believing that to be an easy task given their history. Tyrion is appointed as master of coin upon Petyr's departure. He warns Tywin, Cersei, and Ser Kevan Lannister that Petyr's scheming and wealth makes him dangerous even to their family, despite the Lannisters' gold.[11]
Though Petyr has left King's Landing, he does not go immediately to the Vale, and instead secretly remains near the city.[12] Joffrey I Baratheon marries Margaery Tyrell, the boy king chokes to death at their wedding feast.[56] In the ensuing chaos, Sansa Stark is spirited out of the city by a drunken Dontos Hollard, and Oswell Kettleblack rows them to a ship on Blackwater Bay where Petyr awaits. When Ser Lothor Brune's crossbowmen kill Dontos, Petyr explains to Sansa that she will be wanted in connection with Joffrey's death and that Dontos's death is the only sure way to know he will remain silent. Petyr also brags of his involvement in arranging a set of jousting dwarfs as entertainment, which he explains were calculated to bring Tyrion Lannister into conflict with Joffrey just prior to the king's death. Confident that Tyrion will be executed, he notes to Sansa that widowhood will become her.[54]
Petyr and Sansa travel on the Merling King to the Vale. Instead of continuing on to White Harbor so that Sansa can be returned to the north, they disembark near Petyr's "Drearfort", his ancestral home on the Fingers. Petyr gives Sansa the assumed identity of "Alayne Stone", his bastard daughter named after his own mother, and he decides that "Alayne's" mother was a gentlewoman of Braavos who died in childbirth.[7] Petyr explains his role in Joffrey's murder, having plotted it with Olenna Tyrell. He reveals the involvement of the hair net laced with black amethysts that Dontos had insisted Sansa wear to the feast. The amethysts were in reality the strangler, the poison used to kill Joffrey; Sansa had unwittingly smuggled them into the feast.[7]
Lysa arrives at Petyr's tower and insists upon marrying him immediately instead of having a grander wedding at the Eyrie. He reluctantly agrees, and Lysa's ladies convince Sansa to help undress Petyr during the bedding custom. As they have sex, Lysa yells out that she wants Petyr to give her a child.[7] Littlefinger tasks Ser Lothar Brune with protecting Sansa.[7] Petyr informs Lysa that "Alayne" is actually her niece Sansa, so Lysa has the girl's hair darkened to help hide her identity. Lysa decides to name Petyr as Lord Protector of the Vale and to betroth Sansa to her own son, Lord Robert Arryn.[7]
They travel to the Eyrie after the wedding, but Petyr spends much of his time at the Gates of the Moon trying to asserting his authority. Lysa convinces him to shave off his beard. Many lords of the Vale resent Petyr for his marriage and title.[31]
While helping Sansa build a snow castle of her family's ancestral home, Winterfell, Petyr kisses the girl in the godswood of the Eyrie. When Sansa objects, Petyr notes that Sansa is growing into a beautiful young woman and that she looks much like her mother Catelyn did at that age. Young Lord Robert arrives and destroys the snow castle.[31]
Lysa witnessed the kiss, and in a fit of jealous rage attempts to kill Sansa in the High Hall later that day, nearly shoving her out the Moon Door. Petyr arrives in time to intervene, at which point Lysa breaks down crying. She accuses Petyr of not loving her despite all she had done for him. She reveals in Sansa's hearing that it had been Petyr who had convinced her to poison her previous husband, Lord Jon Arryn, to prevent him from sending Robert away to be fostered. Lysa also admits that it had been Petyr who had convinced her to write a letter to her sister Catelyn, stating that Jon had been poisoned and that the Lannisters were responsible. Petyr temporarily soothes Lysa, assuring her that he has only ever loved one woman. He then adds "only Cat" and shoves Lysa out the Moon Door to her death. The killing is blamed on the singer Marillion.[31]
A Feast for Crows
Following Lysa's death, Petyr remains Lord Protector of the Vale, with Lord Robert Arryn as his ward. When Lord Nestor Royce, High Steward of the Vale and Keeper of the Gates of the Moon, arrives at the Eyrie, Sansa, disguised as "Alayne", verifies Petyr's claim that Marillion murdered Lady Lysa Arryn. Petyr gains Nestor as an ally by granting him the Gates of the Moon, stating it had been the desire of the late Lysa.[17]
Six of the most powerful lords of the Vale gather at Runestone, planning on removing Petyr as Lord Protector. In King's Landing, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister decides that these Lords Declarant can participate in deciding who rules over the Vale of Arryn during Robert's minority, but Petyr is not to be harmed.[57] Littlefinger asks Cersei to send him tapestries owned by her late husband, King Robert I Baratheon.[57][23]
The levies of the Lords Declarant surround the Gates of the Moon,[23] and the rebel lords ascend the Giant's Lance for a parley. Petyr refuses their demand to leave the Vale and assume rule over Harrenhal in the war-torn riverlands, and Nestor Royce defends Petyr during the meeting. Ser Lyn Corbray behaves belligerently, going so far as to draw his Valyrian steel sword Lady Forlorn, breaching guest right. Now holding leverage over the Lords Declarant, Petyr successfully demands he be given a year to set the Vale to rights. After the Lords Declarant depart, Petyr notes to Sansa how fortuitous Lyn's action was, and Sansa correctly guesses that Lyn must be on his payroll. Petyr plans to use his time as Lord Robert's regent to eliminate, win over, or marginalize the lords who are currently against him. He will allow Lyn to use his supposed disgust for him to facilitate his joining, and covertly informing on, any conspiracy against the Lord Protector.[23]
Petyr arranges a marriage between Lyn's elder brother, Lord Lyonel Corbray, and a merchant's daughter, and he then attends their wedding in Gulltown. With winter approaching, the Arryn court departs the Eyrie for the Gates of the Moon. Petyr returns from Gulltown with three hedge knights he has hired, Ser Byron the Beautiful, Ser Morgarth the Merry, and Ser Shadrich of the Shady Glen.[24] Unbeknownst to the Arryn court, Shadrich has been searching for Sansa because of the gold offered as a reward for finding her by Varys.[58]
When they are alone, Petyr tells Sansa that Cersei's leadership in King's Landing is bringing the Seven Kingdoms to ruin faster than he had anticipated. He informs Sansa that he means to marry her to Ser Harrold Hardyng, the heir of the young and sickly Lord Robert. Once the deaths of Robert and Tyrion Lannister are confirmed, Sansa's true identity can be revealed at her wedding with Lord Harrold and the knights of the Vale will help her regain Winterfell in the north. Littlefinger then asks Sansa for another kiss.[24]
During the siege of Riverrun, Ser Jaime Lannister reminds Emmon Frey that although he was named Lord of Riverrun, Littlefinger is his liege as the Lord Paramount of the Trident.[59] After resolving the siege, Jaime considers Petyr as a possible Hand of the King for Tommen I Baratheon.[26]
A Dance with Dragons
Following the Red Wedding, the Lannisters produce a girl whom they claim to be the missing Arya Stark. They send the girl to marry Roose Bolton's son, Ramsay, helping to cement the alliance between House Bolton and the crown.[60][61] Theon Greyjoy later learns that the girl sent by the Lannisters to marry Ramsay Bolton is not Arya, but a disguised Jeyne Poole,[62] who had been whipped and trained while being kept in one of Petyr's brothels.[63][64]
While mulling over Sansa Stark, Cersei Lannister recalls that before the Lannisters married her to Tyrion Lannister, Petyr had offered to marry Sansa himself, but his offer was rejected on account of his low birth.[65]
With the crown having huge financial problems due to the follies of Cersei, Ser Kevan Lannister wishes that Petyr was back in King's Landing as master of coin.[66]
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. |
After Sansa makes the suggestions, Petyr arranges for a tourney to be held at the Gates of the Moon to choose the Brotherhood of Winged Knights. Littlefinger gives King Robert I Baratheon's tapestries to Lord Nestor Royce, and he advises Lords Benedar Belmore and Gerold Grafton to hoard their harvests until the price of grain goes up.[67]
Quotes by Petyr
Catelyn: I will not forget the help you gave me, Petyr. When your men came for me, I did not know whether they were taking me to a friend or an enemy. I have found you more than a friend. I have found a brother I'd thought lost.
Petyr: I am desperately sentimental, sweet lady. Best not tell anyone. I have spent years convincing the court that I am wicked and cruel, and I should hate to see all that hard work go for naught.[38]—Catelyn Stark and Petyr
Eddard: I ... am grateful for your help. Perhaps I was wrong to distrust you.
Petyr: You are slow to learn, Lord Eddard. Distrusting me was the wisest thing you've done since you climbed down off your horse.[41]—Eddard Stark and Petyr
Your mother was my queen of beauty once. You have her hair.[6]
—Petyr to Sansa Stark
Petyr: Do you perchance recall what I said to you that day your father sat the Iron Throne?
Sansa: You told me that life was not a song. That I would learn that one day, to my sorrow. Is it all lies, forever and ever, everyone and everything?
Petyr: Almost everyone. Save you and I, of course.[54]
—Petyr and Sansa Stark
Petyr: Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next. Sometimes the best way to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose, or even seem to work against you. Remember that, Sansa, when you come to play the game.
Sansa: What... what game?
Petyr: The only game. The game of thrones.[54]
—Petyr and Sansa Stark
Everyone wants something, Alayne. And when you know what a man wants you know who he is, and how to move him.[7]
—Petyr to Sansa Stark
You could turn King's Landing upside down and not find a single man with a mockingbird sewn over his heart, but that does not mean I am friendless.[7]
—Petyr to Sansa Stark
Clean hands, Sansa. Whatever you do, make certain your hands are clean.[7]
—Petyr to Sansa Stark
Petyr: My sweet silly jealous wife. I've only loved one woman, I promise you.
Lysa: Only one? Oh, Petyr, do you swear it? Only one?
Petyr: Only Cat.[31]
—Lysa Arryn and Petyr
Men of honor will do things for their children that they would never consider doing for themselves.[17]
—Petyr to Sansa Stark
In the game of thrones, even the humblest pieces can have wills of their own. Sometimes they refuse to make the moves you've planned for them. Mark that well, Alayne. It's a lesson that Cersei Lannister still has yet to learn.[23]
—Petyr to Sansa Stark
Quotes about Petyr
Rodrik: Littlefinger sits on the small council now.
Catelyn: I knew he would rise high. He was always clever, even as a boy, but it is one thing to be clever and another to be wise.[4]
He had grey-green eyes that did not smile when his mouth did.[6]
—Sansa Stark's thoughts
Catelyn: Why would Petyr lie to me?
Tyrion: Why does a bear shit in the woods? Because it is his nature. Lying comes as easily as breathing to a man like Littlefinger. You ought to know that, you of all people.
Catelyn: That is a lie![34]
Catelyn: And what does that mean, Lannister?
Tyrion: Why, every man at court has heard him tell how he took your maidenhead, my lady.
Littlefinger... the gods only know what game Littlefinger is playing.[68]
—Varys to Illyrio Mopatis
Something about the way the small man looked at her made Sansa feel as though she had no clothes on.[46]
—Sansa Stark's thoughts
Littlefinger is the second most devious man in the Seven Kingdoms.[48]
—Varys to Eddard Stark
Littlefinger was no threat to anyone. A clever, smiling, genial man, everyone's friend, always able to find whatever gold the king or his Hand required, and yet of such undistinguished birth, one step up from a hedge knight, he was not a man to fear. He had no banners to call, no army of retainers, no great stronghold, no holdings to speak of, no prospects of a great marriage.[9]
—Tyrion Lannister's thoughts
I shall make him Lord Protector of the Vale. He many not look as tall or as strong as some, but he is worth more than all of them. Trust in him and do as he says.[7]
He was Petyr, her protector, warm and funny and gentle ... but he was also Littlefinger, the lord she'd known at King's Landing, smiling slyly and stroking his beard as he whispered in Queen Cersei's ear. And Littlefinger was no friend of hers.[17]
—Sansa Stark's thoughts
Littlefinger was as amiable as he was clever, but too lowborn to threaten any of the great lords, with no swords of his own. The perfect Hand.[26]
—Jaime Lannister's thoughts
Family
| Sellsword Baelish | Unknown wife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baelish | Unknown wife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lord Baelish | Alayne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Petyr | Lysa Tully | Jon Arryn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 stillborn children | Robert Arryn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Behind the Scenes
The character Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, one of George R. R. Martin's favorite books,[69] is an inspiration for Petyr.[70] Another partial inspiration is Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall.[71]
References
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 8, Bran II.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 3, Tyrion I.
- ↑ See the Petyr Baelish calculation.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 18, Catelyn IV.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Appendix.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 29, Sansa II.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 68, Sansa VI.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 15, Tyrion III.
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 17, Tyrion IV.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 71, Catelyn XI.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 19, Tyrion III.
- ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Petyr Baelish.
- ↑ blastr.com: Which Thrones character changed most from book to TV? GRRM explains (December 02, 2013)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 33, Eddard VIII.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 45, Eddard XII.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 47, Eddard XIII.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 10, Sansa I.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 65, Sansa VIII.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 65, Arya V.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 49, Eddard XIV.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 35, Eddard IX.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 30, Eddard VII.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 23, Alayne I.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 41, Alayne II.
- ↑ So Spake Martin: US Signing Tour (Half Moon Bay, CA) (November 18, 2005)
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 44, Jaime VII.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 28, Catelyn V.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 34, Catelyn VI.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 45, Catelyn V.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 55, Catelyn VII.
- ↑ 31.00 31.01 31.02 31.03 31.04 31.05 31.06 31.07 31.08 31.09 31.10 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 80, Sansa VII.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 40, Catelyn VII.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 45, Catelyn VI.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 31, Tyrion IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 2, Catelyn I.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 2, Catelyn I.
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 6, Catelyn II.
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 38.3 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 20, Eddard IV.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 27, Jaime III.
- ↑ George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Lysa Arryn.
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 25, Eddard V.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 39, Eddard X.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 43, Eddard XI.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 51, Catelyn VII.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 50, Arya IV.
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 51, Sansa IV.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 57, Sansa V.
- ↑ 48.0 48.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 58, Eddard XV.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 15, Sansa I.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 36, Tyrion VIII.
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 41, Tyrion IX.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 54, Tyrion XII.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 67, Jaime VIII.
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 54.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 61, Sansa V.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 25, Tyrion VI.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 60, Tyrion VIII.
- ↑ 57.0 57.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 17, Cersei IV.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 4, Brienne I.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 33, Jaime V.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 53, Tyrion VI.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 72, Jaime IX.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 20, Reek II.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 37, The Prince of Winterfell.
- ↑ George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, Jeyne Poole.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 65, Cersei II.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Epilogue.
- ↑ The Winds of Winter, Alayne I
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 32, Arya III.
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly: George R.R. Martin suggests 9 books to read this summer, June 28, 2018
- ↑ Not A Blog: The Great Gatsby, May 21, 2013
- ↑ A Game of Thrones: d20-based Open Gaming RPG, Deluxe Limited Edition.
External Links
- Petyr Baelish on Wikipedia
- Petyr Baelish on the Wiki of Westeros
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- House Baelish
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