Editing Barth (section)

==History==
===Early life===
[[File:Barth and Mattheus by Jaydeewis.png|thumb|right|300px|Septons Barth and [[Mattheus]] at [[Bitterbridge]], by Jaydeewis]]
Barth was a blacksmith's son.{{Ref|ASOS|54}}{{Ref|ADWD|14}} He was given to the [[Faith of the Seven]] when he was young,{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I}} and eventually took a septon's vows. Barth served at first at [[Highgarden]].{{Ref|FAB|A Time of Testing - The Realm Remade}} Thanks to his brilliance,{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I}} in {{Date|50}} Barth was sent to [[King's Landing]] to see to the library of the [[Red Keep]]. According to legend, Barth traveled on his own on a [[donkey]].{{Ref|FAB|A Time of Testing - The Realm Remade}} 

In {{Date|51}}, Barth officiated the second marriage of King [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen]] and Queen [[Alysanne Targaryen]], and along with Septon [[Oswyck]] he aided the king in writing the [[Doctrine of Exceptionalism]].{{Ref|FAB|A Time of Testing - The Realm Remade}} After Oswyck died in early {{Date|54}}, Barth took over his duties. By {{Date|54}}, Barth had become one of Jaehaerys's most trusted advisors. When the [[High Lickspittle|High Septon]] died that year, Jaehaerys entertained the idea of trying to persuade the [[Most Devout]] to name Barth to the office; Barth personally persuaded him not to do so. Barth was horrified by the suggestions of influencing the [[choosing]] with gold, force of arms, and secret assassinations, and wrote down an account on how King Jaehaerys managed to influence the choosing by traveling to Oldtown, expressing regret about the corruption among the [[Most Devout]].{{Ref|FAB|Birth, Death, and Betrayal Under King Jaehaerys I}}

When Lord [[Daemon Velaryon (son of Aethan)|Daemon Velaryon]] resigned as [[Hand of the King]], King Jaehaerys at first looked at Barth, among others, to fill the office. However, due to his low birth, and due to the fact that it was suspected that Barth was more loyal to the Faith than to the [[Iron Throne]], he was not chosen.

In {{Date|55}}, Barth, King Jaehaerys, Queen Alysanne, Grand Maester [[Benifer]], and Lord [[Albin Massey]] began creating the first unified [[Books of Law|code of law]] for the entire [[Seven Kingdoms]]. It would take them decades, and Barth alone contributed three times more than any other on his [[Great Code]].{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

When the severely-ill Princess [[Aerea Targaryen]] returned to King's Landing in {{Date|56}} on [[Balerion]] after having been missing for more than a year, Barth helped Benifer care for her. He announced to Jaehaerys and Alysanne, who waited outside the Grand Maester's chambers, when Aerea had died. Barth wrote two accounts on Aerea's death, which speak about the horrors that came forth from the girl, and in which he speculates about what had happened to her. They were kept in Barth's private papers, and were only discovered a hundred years later. The incident with Aerea left a strong impression on Barth, and afterwards he began research that eventually led to his book ''[[Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History]]''.{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

===Hand of the King===
After Lord [[Myles Smallwood]] resigned as [[Hand of the King]] in {{Date|57}}, King [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen]] appointed Barth to the office.{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}} He would hold the office for forty-one years,{{Ref|FAB|Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession}} during which time he proved himself worthy of the position.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I}}

Barth's first task as the King's Hand was a diplomatic journey to [[Braavos]], to treat with the [[Sealord]] over the three [[dragon eggs]] stolen by [[Elissa Farman]]. It was suspected that Elissa had sold them to the Sealord to pay for the construction of her ship, ''[[Sun Chaser]]'', but when Barth confronted the Sealord, the man denied having the eggs. Barth returned to King's Landing without the eggs, causing some lords to claim that he had failed at his first task. However, Barth instead struck a deal with the Sealord, removing the Crown's loans to the [[Iron Bank of Braavos]], and thereby reducing the Iron Throne's debt by half.{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

Thanks to the reduction in debt, King Jaehaerys began making improvements to the living conditions of [[King's Landing]]. Barth argued in favor of constructing wells, both within the city and without, pipes and tunnels to bring the water within the city's walls, and four cisterns to store the water in. This way, the drinking water available for the [[smallfolk]] of the city would be improved. Barth's proposals were supported by Queen [[Alysanne Targaryen]], and eventually King Jaehaerys and his [[master of coin]], [[Rego Draz]], approved the plan, after Alysanne presented them each with a tankard of foul water from the [[Blackwater Rush]] and dared them to drink it.{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

In {{Date|58}}, Barth supported Queen Alysanne when she assembled the small council to request them to outlaw the right to the [[first night]]. Following a short speech by Barth, in which he explained how the first night collided with the views of the [[Faith of the Seven|Faith]], insisting that the [[High Septon]] would no doubt support the plan, Jaehaerys agreed to outlaw the ancient [[custom]].{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

In {{Date|60}}, Barth suggested Lord [[Martyn Tyrell]] for the office of master of coin, a position which had been empty since the murder of Rego the year before. Although Barth could not praise Martyn's wits, he mentioned that Martyn's wife, Lady [[Florence Fossoway]], had been keeping the accounts at [[Highgarden]] for years and had increased the incomes by a third. Insisting that Barth had never let him wrong, Jaehaerys appointed Martyn as his new master of coin.{{Ref|FAB|Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies}}

In {{Date|84}}, Barth stood as one of the witnesses when King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne confronted their daughter [[Saera Targaryen|Saera]] with recent events involving her favorites. When Alysanne, following the death of Princess [[Viserra Targaryen]] in {{Date|87}}, pleaded with Jaehaerys to allow the exiled Saera to return home, she brought Barth with her for support. They could not convince Jaehaerys, however, to bring Saera home.{{Ref|FAB|The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny, and Pain}}

In {{Date|98}},<ref group="N" name=death/> Barth died peacefully in his sleep. He was succeeded as Hand by Ser [[Ryam Redwyne]].{{Ref|FAB|Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession}}{{Ref|FAB|The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny, and Pain}}
<!--Barth was sent to [[Oldtown]] to forge a lasting agreement between the [[Iron Throne]] and the [[Faith of the Seven]]. This agreement took away the right of the Faith to conduct criminal trials while at the same time Jaehaerys pledged upon the Iron Throne that the crown would always defend the Faith. The great schism between crown and faith were healed by this accord.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I}}
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