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 Quellon by gotheyjoy | ||||
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| Allegiance | House Greyjoy | |||
| Culture | ironborn | |||
| Died |
283 AC the mouth of the Mander | |||
| Father | Son of Dagon Greyjoy | |||
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Quellon Greyjoy was a Lord of the Iron Islands, Lord Reaper of Pyke, and head of House Greyjoy. He was the father of Balon, Euron, Victarion, and Aeron Greyjoy. The longship Lord Quellon is presumably named in his honor.
Appearance and Character
Quellon was a renowned warrior in his youth. Maester Yandel considered Quellon to be the wisest Greyjoy to sit the Seastone Chair since Lord Vickon Greyjoy. Quellon was a leal servant to the Iron Throne, and an able and strong lord. He was a strong proponent of reform across the Iron Islands. Few dared to speak openly against him, for Quellon was strong-willed, stubborn, and fearsome when wroth. As he aged, the careful Quellon grew increasingly cautious.[1]
A huge man, Quellon stood six and a half feet tall, and was said to be as strong as an ox and as quick as a cat.[1]
History
Quellon was the grandson of Lord Dagon Greyjoy.[2] As a youth, he fought corsairs and slavers in the Summer Sea.[1]
Years later, Quellon commanded a hundred longships during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, playing a crucial part in the fighting around the Stepstones.[1]
As a lord, Quellon preferred a peaceful coexistence with the rest of the realm. Quellon tried to reform the ancient, insular traditions of the ironborn and integrate them with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, hoping to forge stronger bonds between his own domains and the mainland. Quellon brought on reform by freeing the remaining thralls on the islands and outlawing the practice of thralldom, though he was not wholly successful. He forbade most reaving except by his own leave, and discouraged the taking of salt wives, taxing heavily for the privilege. He brought scores of maesters to the Iron Islands, employing them as healers and tutors, while their ravens tied the islands even closer to the mainland.[1]
For some time in his elder years, Quellon was troubled with stomach pains that were so excruciating that he required milk of the poppy to sleep every night. Quellon's health and strength were failing when Robert's Rebellion broke out, and the cautious lord resolved to take no part in the war. It was only after the Battle of the Trident and the death of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen that he was convinced by his eldest sons to join the war against House Targaryen, least the Greyjoys lose any hope in sharing in the spoils of victory. Quellon led fifty longships against the Reach, keeping most of the ironmen home to guard against House Lannister. Quellon died at sea[3] in a battle at the Mander's mouth against the Shield Islands, and the ironmen's contribution to the war turned out to be minimal.[1]
With Quellon's death, the title of head of House Greyjoy and Lord of the Iron Islands passed to Balon Greyjoy, his eldest surviving son. Lord Balon rejected most of his father's reforms, and his desire to return to the Old Way led to Greyjoy's Rebellion against the rule of King Robert I Baratheon.[4]
Recent Events
A Feast for Crows
After the death of Balon Greyjoy, King of the Isles and the North, his brother Euron Crow's Eye claims the Seastone Chair.[3] Their younger brothers, Victarion and Aeron Damphair, think the blood of their parents went bad in Euron.[5] Victarion desires to claim his father's crown,[5] but Euron is instead chosen in the kingsmoot.[6]
Family
Quellon had three wives and nine sons, of which only four survived to adulthood. With his first wife, Lady Stonetree, he fathered Harlon, Quenton, and Donel, none of whom survived childhood. With his second wife, Lady Sunderly, Quellon fathered Balon, Euron, Victarion, Urrigon, and Aeron, with all surviving to adulthood with the exception of Urrigon.[3]
While his first and second wives were rock wives joined to him with the old rites by a priest of the Drowned God,[7] Quellon's third marriage was to a noblewoman of the green lands, Lady Piper.[3] Wed by her lord father's septon at Pinkmaiden Castle,[7] the marriage resulted in a son, Robin, who died as a child, and a posthumous stillborn daughter.[3]
Quotes
Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, but only four had lived to manhood. That was the way of this cold world, where men fished the sea and dug in the ground and died, whilst women brought forth short-lived children from beds of blood and pain.[3]
—thoughts of Aeron Greyjoy
Lord Quellon never returned from his last voyage; the Drowned God in his goodness granted him a death at sea. It was Lord Balon who came back, with his brothers Euron and Victarion.[3]
—thoughts of Aeron Greyjoy
Aeron: Do you mean to claim our father's crown?
Victarion: If the Drowned God wills it.
Aeron: The waves will speak. Listen to the waves, brother.[5]
Behind the Scenes
According to the draft of "The Westerlands" chapter from The World of Ice & Fire, Lord Quellon and his ironborn smashed Lord Farman's fleet and plundered Fair Isle in the years when the weak-willed Lord Tytos Lannister was Warden of the West.[8] However, this piece of information is at odds with the peaceful coexistence between the Iron Islands and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms conducted by Quellon during his lordship, and it should not be considered canon.[1][9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The World of Ice & Fire, The Iron Islands: The Old Way and the New.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 26, The Wayward Bride.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 1, The Prophet.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 11, Theon I.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 18, The Iron Captain.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 19, The Drowned Man.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Iron Islands: The Old Way and the New.
- ↑ georgerrmartin.com: WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE SAMPLE
- ↑ asoiaf.westeros.org: The ASOIAF wiki thread, Comment by Ran (February 26, 2025)