Difference between revisions of "Daena Targaryen"

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Princess '''Daena Targaryen''', also known as '''Daena the Defiant''', was the eldest daughter of King [[Aegon III Targaryen|Aegon III]]. She was the sister-wife of King [[Baelor I Targaryen]], the lover of King [[Aegon IV Targaryen|Aegon IV]], and mother to [[Daemon I Blackfyre|Daemon Blackfyre]].<ref name=MaidensTower>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Three_Maidens_in_the_Tower Three Maidens in the Tower], June 27, 2006</ref>
+
Princess '''Daena Targaryen''', also known as '''Daena the Defiant''', was the eldest daughter of King [[Aegon III Targaryen]] and Queen [[Daenaera Velaryon]]. She was the sister-wife of King [[Baelor I Targaryen]], and was the mother of [[Daemon I Blackfyre|Daemon Blackfyre]], her bastard son by the future King [[Aegon IV Targaryen]].{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}}<ref name=MaidensTower>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Three_Maidens_in_the_Tower Three Maidens in the Tower], June 27, 2006</ref>
  
 
==Character and Appearance==
 
==Character and Appearance==
Daena was wild almost from birth.  A Targaryen to the bone, she was strong, beautiful, and wilful and like the rest of her siblings had Valyrian looks. Her long silver-gold hair was thick and curly, an untamed mane that framed her heart-shaped face and her sparling [[purple eyes|purple]] eyes. To top it off, she had a a fearless "I'll dare anything" smile. Daena was lithe and athletic. She was an expert horsewoman and also a hunter and a fine archer with her short recurved bow.<ref name=MaidensTower/>{{Ref|awoiaf}}
+
The most famous of three sisters, Daena was much loved, both for her beauty and courage.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}} Daena was wild almost from birth.  A Targaryen to the bone, she was strong, beautiful, and wilful and like the rest of her siblings had Valyrian looks. Her long silver-gold hair was thick and curly, an untamed mane that framed her heart-shaped face and her sparling [[purple eyes|purple]] eyes. To top it off, she had a a fearless "I'll dare anything" smile. Daena was lithe and athletic.<ref name=MaidensTower/>{{Ref|awoiaf}} She was an expert horsewoman and also a hunter and a fine archer with the Dornish short recurved bow her brother Daeron had brought her from [[Dorne]]. She was also practised at riding at rings, though she was never allowed to ride in a tourney, despite her best efforts.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}}
  
She worshipped her father and idolized her brother [[the Young Dragon|Daeron]]. Daena's dress was often as dramatic as she was. As a child, she always wore black in emulation of her father. After her brother Baelor failed to consummate their marriage, she changed to all white, and vowed to wear nothing else until she had been properly bedded, in hopes of shaming him - this did not work. Baelor liked her in white, feeling that it made her look more innocent.  Later, as a pampered prisoner in her brother's court, Daena made several escapes, usually by dressing as a washerwoman or serving girl (once with the connivance of her cousin, [[Aegon IV Targaryen|Aegon]]).<ref name=MaidensTower/>{{Ref|awoiaf}}
+
She worshipped her father and idolized her brother [[Daeron I Targaryen|Daeron]].<ref name=MaidensTower/>
 +
 
 +
Daena often dressed dramatically. As a child, she always wore black in emulation of her father. After her brother Baelor failed to consummate their marriage, she changed to all white, and vowed to wear nothing else until she had been properly bedded, in hopes of shaming him. Later, while locked up in the [[Maidenvault]], Daena escaped trice, dressed as a servant or as one of the small folk.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}}
  
 
She always wore the golden three-headed dragon pendant she had inherited from her father. At court she wore it on a fine golden chain; when in disguise, she hung it on a leather thong and hid it beneath her clothes. Supposedly she even wore it when bathing and when making love.<ref name=MaidensTower/>
 
She always wore the golden three-headed dragon pendant she had inherited from her father. At court she wore it on a fine golden chain; when in disguise, she hung it on a leather thong and hid it beneath her clothes. Supposedly she even wore it when bathing and when making love.<ref name=MaidensTower/>
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
Daena was the eldest daughter of Aegon III and [[Daenaera Velaryon|Daenaera]] of [[House Velaryon]], and was born in {{Date|145}}. She had two older brothers, [[Daeron I Targaryen|Daeron]] and [[Baelor I Targaryen|Baelor]], and two younger sisters, [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aegon III)|Rhaena]] and [[Elaena Targaryen|Elaena]]. In {{Date|160}}, at the age of 15, Daena was married to her brother [[Baelor I Targaryen|Baelor]].{{Ref|aFfC|30}}{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}} Daena and Baelor's marriage was an unhappy one, with her pious brother obsessed by the [[Faith of the Seven]]. Baelor refused to consummate their marriage and had it dissolved when he ascended the [[Iron Throne]], after Daena's elder brother King Daeron I died in Dorne.{{Ref|aFfC|30}}  
+
Born in {{Date|145}}, Daena was the third child and eldest daughter of King [[Aegon III Targaryen]] and Queen [[Daenaera Velaryon]]. She had two older brothers, [[Daeron I Targaryen|Daeron]] and [[Baelor I Targaryen|Baelor]], and two younger sisters, [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aegon III)|Rhaena]] and [[Elaena Targaryen|Elaena]]. In {{Date|160}}, at the age of fifteen, Daena was married to her brother [[Baelor I Targaryen|Baelor]].{{Ref|aFfC|30}}{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}} Daena and Baelor's marriage was an unhappy one, with her pious brother obsessed by the [[Faith of the Seven]]. Baelor refused to consummate their marriage,{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}} causing Daena to dress all in white (where previously she had always dressed all black, as her father had done) and vowed not to wear anything else until she had been properly bedded, in the hope of shaming her husband. Her plan did not work, as Baelor preferred her in white, feeling it made her look more innocent.<ref name=MaidensTower/>
  
After Baelor's ascension, Daena and her sisters, [[Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aegon III)|Rhaena]] and [[Elaena Targaryen|Elaena]], were confined to their own apartments in the [[Red Keep]],{{Ref|aFfC|28}} which soon became known as the Maidenvault, so the sight of them would not tempt Baelor or others in his court to mortal lusts. Daena was sixteen at this time.<ref name=MaidensTower/>
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King Daeron I died in [[Dorne]] in {{Date|161}}, and Baelor ascended the [[Iron Throne]]. Early in his reign, he convinced the [[High Septon]] to dissolve his marriage to Daena, since it had never been consummated.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}}<ref name=MaidensTower/>{{Ref|aFfC|30}} Next, the new King had Daena and her two sisters confined to their own apartments in the [[Red Keep]],{{Ref|aFfC|28}} which soon became known as the Maidenvault, so the sight of them would not tempt Baelor or others in his court to mortal lusts.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}}<ref name=MaidensTower/>
  
During her time of confinement at the Maidenvault, Daena escaped several times{{Ref|awoiaf}} and had an affair with her cousin Prince [[Aegon IV Targaryen|Aegon]], despite his marriage to his own sister-wife [[Naerys Targaryen|Naerys]].  When she became pregnant she refused to name the father of the child and became known as "Daena the Defiant". Her son was born robust and healthy, with the purple eyes and silver-gold hair of the Targaryens.  Daena named the boy [[Daemon I Blackfyre|Daemon]] and raised him alone.<ref name=MaidensTower/> The father was only revealed years later when King [[Aegon IV Targaryen]] gave Daemon the ancestral Targaryen sword [[Blackfyre]], acknowledging him as one of his [[Great Bastards|bastards]], while also legitimizing him.<ref name=GreatBastards>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/The_Great_Bastards/ The Great Bastards], December 26, 2005</ref>
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During the decade she was confined in the Maidenvault, Daena quickly became known as the Defiant, for she was the most restless of the three sisters. She escaped her confinements trice, disguised as either a servant or one of the small folk. During the end of Baelor's reign, Daena even contrived to get pregnant, and gave birth to a bastard son whom she named [[Daemon Waters|Daemon]] in late {{Date|170}}<ref>Daemon's birth caused Baelor's 40-day fast, which killed him. As Baelor died in 171 AC, Daemon's birth thus occured in late 170 AC</ref>{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}} She refused to name the father, who was suspected, and eventually revealed, to have been her cousin, Prince [[Aegon IV Targaryen|Aegon]]. Daemon's father was not revealed until {{Date|182}}.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Aegon IV}}
  
After Baelor's death, there were some amongst the smallfolk and even some lords who felt that the Iron Throne should by rights now pass to Daena, as she was Aegon III's eldest daughter. However, a decade of isolation in the Maidenvault had left Daena and her sisters without powerful allies, and memories of [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]] and the [[Dance of the Dragons]] had left many leery of the idea of a woman on the Iron Throne. Also, Daena the Defiant was seen by many as being wild, unmanageable, and wanton (as a year earlier she had given birth to her bastard son Daemon). The precedents of the [[Great Council of 101]] and the Dance of the Dragons were therefore cited, the claims of Baelor's sisters were set aside, and the crown passed to their uncle [[Viserys II Targaryen|Viserys II]].{{Ref|twoiaf}}
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The birth of Daena's son led to a fast by King Baelor I. He fasted for forty days, taking only water and a little bit of bread. On the forty-first day of his fast, he was found collapsed before the altar of the Mother.{{Ref|TWOIAF| The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I}} After Baelor's death in {{Date|171}}, there were some amongst the smallfolk and the lords who felt that the Iron Throne should now pass to Daena, as she was Aegon III's eldest surviving child. However, Daena had been isolated for a decade in the Maidenvault, which had left her and her sisters without powerful allies. In addition, the memories of the [[Dance of the Dragons]] and the last time a [[Rhaenyra Targaryen|woman]] sat the Iron Throne left many leery of the idea of a woman on the throne. As well, Daena was seen by many as being wild, unmanageable, and wanton (due to her giving birth to a bastard son the year before, while still refusing to name the father). The precedents of the [[Great Council#Great Council of 101 AC|Great Council of 101 AC]] and the Dance of the Dragons were cited, and the claims of Daena and her sisters were set aside. So, the crown passed to their uncle, [[Viserys II Targaryen]].{{Ref|twoiaf| The Targaryen Kings: Viserys II}}
  
 
==Family==
 
==Family==

Revision as of 21:08, 26 September 2015

House Targaryen crest.PNG
Daena Targaryen
House Targaryen crest.PNG
Daena.jpg
Daena by Amok©

Alias Daena the Defiant
Allegiance House Targaryen
Culture Valyrian
Born 145 AC[1]
King's Landing[2]
Spouse King Baelor I Targaryen

Princess Daena Targaryen, also known as Daena the Defiant, was the eldest daughter of King Aegon III Targaryen and Queen Daenaera Velaryon. She was the sister-wife of King Baelor I Targaryen, and was the mother of Daemon Blackfyre, her bastard son by the future King Aegon IV Targaryen.[3][4]

Character and Appearance

The most famous of three sisters, Daena was much loved, both for her beauty and courage.[3] Daena was wild almost from birth. A Targaryen to the bone, she was strong, beautiful, and wilful and like the rest of her siblings had Valyrian looks. Her long silver-gold hair was thick and curly, an untamed mane that framed her heart-shaped face and her sparling purple eyes. To top it off, she had a a fearless "I'll dare anything" smile. Daena was lithe and athletic.[4][2] She was an expert horsewoman and also a hunter and a fine archer with the Dornish short recurved bow her brother Daeron had brought her from Dorne. She was also practised at riding at rings, though she was never allowed to ride in a tourney, despite her best efforts.[3]

She worshipped her father and idolized her brother Daeron.[4]

Daena often dressed dramatically. As a child, she always wore black in emulation of her father. After her brother Baelor failed to consummate their marriage, she changed to all white, and vowed to wear nothing else until she had been properly bedded, in hopes of shaming him. Later, while locked up in the Maidenvault, Daena escaped trice, dressed as a servant or as one of the small folk.[3]

She always wore the golden three-headed dragon pendant she had inherited from her father. At court she wore it on a fine golden chain; when in disguise, she hung it on a leather thong and hid it beneath her clothes. Supposedly she even wore it when bathing and when making love.[4]

History

Born in 145 AC, Daena was the third child and eldest daughter of King Aegon III Targaryen and Queen Daenaera Velaryon. She had two older brothers, Daeron and Baelor, and two younger sisters, Rhaena and Elaena. In 160 AC, at the age of fifteen, Daena was married to her brother Baelor.[5][3] Daena and Baelor's marriage was an unhappy one, with her pious brother obsessed by the Faith of the Seven. Baelor refused to consummate their marriage,[3] causing Daena to dress all in white (where previously she had always dressed all black, as her father had done) and vowed not to wear anything else until she had been properly bedded, in the hope of shaming her husband. Her plan did not work, as Baelor preferred her in white, feeling it made her look more innocent.[4]

King Daeron I died in Dorne in 161 AC, and Baelor ascended the Iron Throne. Early in his reign, he convinced the High Septon to dissolve his marriage to Daena, since it had never been consummated.[3][4][5] Next, the new King had Daena and her two sisters confined to their own apartments in the Red Keep,[6] which soon became known as the Maidenvault, so the sight of them would not tempt Baelor or others in his court to mortal lusts.[3][4]

During the decade she was confined in the Maidenvault, Daena quickly became known as the Defiant, for she was the most restless of the three sisters. She escaped her confinements trice, disguised as either a servant or one of the small folk. During the end of Baelor's reign, Daena even contrived to get pregnant, and gave birth to a bastard son whom she named Daemon in late 170 AC[7][3] She refused to name the father, who was suspected, and eventually revealed, to have been her cousin, Prince Aegon. Daemon's father was not revealed until 182 AC.[8]

The birth of Daena's son led to a fast by King Baelor I. He fasted for forty days, taking only water and a little bit of bread. On the forty-first day of his fast, he was found collapsed before the altar of the Mother.[3] After Baelor's death in 171 AC, there were some amongst the smallfolk and the lords who felt that the Iron Throne should now pass to Daena, as she was Aegon III's eldest surviving child. However, Daena had been isolated for a decade in the Maidenvault, which had left her and her sisters without powerful allies. In addition, the memories of the Dance of the Dragons and the last time a woman sat the Iron Throne left many leery of the idea of a woman on the throne. As well, Daena was seen by many as being wild, unmanageable, and wanton (due to her giving birth to a bastard son the year before, while still refusing to name the father). The precedents of the Great Council of 101 AC and the Dance of the Dragons were cited, and the claims of Daena and her sisters were set aside. So, the crown passed to their uncle, Viserys II Targaryen.[9]

Family

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aemma
Arryn
 
 
 
Viserys I
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alicent
Hightower
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daemon
 
Rhaenyra
 
 
 
 
 
Aegon II
 
Helaena
 
Aemond
 
Daeron
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Viserys II
 
Larra
Rogare
 
Daenaera
Velaryon
 
Aegon III
 
Jaehaera
 
Jaehaerys
 
Maelor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aemon
 
Naerys
 
Aegon IV
 
 
 
 
Daena
 
Baelor I
 
Daeron I
 
Rhaena
 
Elaena
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daeron II
 
Myriah
Martell
 
Maron
Martell
 
Daenerys
 
Daemon
Blackfyre
 
Rohanne
of Tyrosh
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
House Targaryen.svg
 
 
 
 
 
House Martell.svg
 
 
 
 
 
House Blackfyre 2.svg
 
 
 


Daena's Blackfyre descendants

 
 
 
Daena
Targaryen
 
 
 
 
Aegon IV
Targaryen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Barba
Bracken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daemon I
 
Rohanne
of Tyrosh
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aegon
 
 
Daemon II
 
 
Aenys
 
Two sons
 
 
Calla
 
Aegor
Rivers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aemon
 
Haegon
 
Unknown
wife
 
Daughter(s)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daemon III
 
Son(s)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daemon
 
Maelys
 

Quotes by Daena

I was born to ride a dragon.[4]

Quotes about Daena

Daena was Targaryen to the bone; strong, beautiful, willful.[4]

- George R. R. Martin

References and Notes

  1. See the Daena Targaryen calculation
  2. 2.0 2.1 George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 So Spake Martin: Three Maidens in the Tower, June 27, 2006
  5. 5.0 5.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 30, Jaime IV.
  6. A Feast for Crows, Chapter 28, Cersei VI.
  7. Daemon's birth caused Baelor's 40-day fast, which killed him. As Baelor died in 171 AC, Daemon's birth thus occured in late 170 AC
  8. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon IV.
  9. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Viserys II.