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{{Character
| Character_name = [[File:House Arryn.svg|50px|left]] Jon Arryn [[File:House Arryn.svg|50px|right]]
| image = [[File:970110 1331165364981 full.jpg|300px]]   
| image_caption = Copyrighted work by Fantasy Flight Games ©.
| Alias	=
| Title	= [[Lord of the Eyrie]]<br>[[Defender of the Vale]]<br>[[Warden of the East]]<br>[[Hand of the King]]<br>[[Keeper of the Gates of the Moon]]{{ref|affc|10}}<br>[[Knight|Ser]]
| Allegiance = [[House Arryn]]
| Race =
| Culture = [[Valemen]]
| Spouse = 1st: Lady [[Jeyne Royce]]<br>2nd: Lady [[Rowena Arryn]]<br>3rd: Lady [[Lysa Arryn|Lysa Tully]]
| Place_of_Birth = the [[Eyrie]]{{ref|awoiaf| Jon Arryn}}
| Date_of_Birth	= or between {{Date|218}} and {{Date|220}} (roughly)<ref name=Calculation>''See the [[Years after Aegon's Conquest/Calculations Ages (Continued)#Jon Arryn|Jon Arryn]] calculation.''</ref>
| Place_of_Death = [[King's Landing]]
| Date_of_Death	= {{Date|298}}<ref name=Calculation/>
| Books	= ''[[The World of Ice & Fire]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Game of Thrones]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Clash of Kings]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Storm of Swords]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Feast for Crows]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[A Dance with Dragons]]'' (mentioned)<br>''[[The Winds of Winter]]'' (mentioned)
| coat-of-arms =
| Played_by = [[w:John Standing|John Standing]]
| TV_series = [[Game of Thrones - Season 1|Season 1]]
}}

'''Jon Arryn''' was a head of [[House Arryn]] whose titles included [[Lord of the Eyrie]], [[Defender of the Vale]], and [[Warden of the East]]. He served as [[Hand of the King]] to [[Robert I Baratheon]] from {{Date|283}} until his unexpected death in {{Date|298}}.{{Ref|aGoT|25}}

Jon was the husband of Lady [[Lysa Arryn]] and father of Lord [[Robert Arryn]], and he acted as a second father to Lord [[Eddard Stark]] and King Robert.{{ref|AGOT|2}}

==Appearance and Character==
{{See also|:Category:Images of Jon Arryn|l1=Images of Jon Arryn}}
Jon had broad shoulders.{{Ref|aGoT|25}} Half of his teeth had fallen out by the time he married [[Lysa Arryn|Lysa Tully]].{{Ref|aSoS|68}} As a younger man he resembled [[Harrold Hardyng]], who has blue eyes, blonde hair, and an aquiline nose.<ref>''[[The Winds of Winter]]'', [[Alayne I (The Winds of Winter)|Alayne I]]</ref> Lysa resented his poor breath.{{ref|ASOS|80}}

Jon had a reputation for being prudent,{{ref|AGOT|20}} calming and wise,{{ref|AGOT|12}} and kindly and trusting.{{ref|AGOT|30}} He was cordial but not friendly toward Lord [[Stannis Baratheon]].{{ref|AGOT|27}}

While in [[King's Landing]], Lysa commissioned a double-edged longsword for Jon which he carried while sitting the [[Iron Throne]] in place of King [[Robert I Baratheon]]. Jon's blade has wings on its crossguard, a falcon-head pommel, and is engraved in silver to resemble mountain sky.{{ref|AGOT|40}} Jon preferred functional armor, rather than jeweled and silvered plate.{{ref|AGOT|27}}

==History==
===Youth===
Jon was born as the eldest son of Lord [[Jasper Arryn]]. Not much is known about his youth or his parents. He had a younger brother, [[Ronnel Arryn (son of Jasper)|Ronnel]], and a sister, [[Alys Arryn|Alys]], who married Ser [[Elys Waynwood]]. Jon was Keeper of the [[Gates of the Moon]] while his father lived, and after his father's death he named his brother Ronnel and later his cousin [[Denys Arryn|Denys]] to that position.{{Ref|aFfC|10}} Because of the [[Vale mountain clans]], Jon always traveled in strength when crossing the [[Mountains of the Moon]].{{ref|AGOT|28}}

Jon's first wife was [[Jeyne Royce]], but she died in childbed, their daughter stillborn. His second marriage was to [[Rowena Arryn]], a cousin, who died of a winter chill during a childless marriage.{{ref|AGOT|Appendix}} Because he had no children, Jon's heir became his nephew, [[Elbert Arryn|Elbert]], the son of Ronnel.{{ref|ASOS|41}}

Jon fostered [[Eddard Stark]] and [[Robert I Baratheon|Robert Baratheon]] as his wards in the [[Vale of Arryn]]. As they grew, the two boys became close companions and regarded the childless Jon as a second father.{{ref|AGOT|2}} The only blade used by Robert was a hunting knife he received from Jon as a boy.{{ref|ASOS|32}} Jon declined to foster the grandsons of Lord [[Walder Frey]].{{ref|ASOS|14}}

===Robert's Rebellion===
:{{main|Robert's Rebellion}}
Jon's heir, [[Elbert Arryn]], was murdered by King [[Aerys II Targaryen]] in [[King's Landing]],{{ref|ACOK|55}} and the Mad King then demanded that Jon execute his wards, [[Eddard Stark|Eddard]] and [[Robert I Baratheon|Robert]]. Jon refused, however, and raised his banners in revolt,{{ref|AGOT|2}} beginning what would become known as [[Robert's Rebellion]].{{ref|TWOIAF| The Vale: House Arryn}}

While Ned Stark returned to the [[north]] to call his banners, Jon and Robert led the [[taking of Gulltown]], allowing Robert to return to the [[stormlands]].{{ref|ADWD|9}} In order to gain Lord [[Hoster Tully]] for the rebels, Eddard and Jon agreed to marry Hoster's daughters, [[Catelyn Stark|Catelyn]] and [[Lysa Arryn|Lysa]].{{ref|ASOS|2}} Ser [[Denys Arryn]], Jon's cousin and new heir, was slain by Lord [[Jon Connington]] during the [[Battle of the Bells]].{{ref|ASOS|29}} Because Lysa was proven fertile, Jon hoped to secure a new heir for the failing Arryn line, and so Jon and Eddard married the Tully sisters at [[Riverrun]].{{ref|ASOS|2}} 

Jon participated in the [[Battle of the Trident]],{{ref|TWOIAF| The Vale: House Arryn}} during which Robert killed Aerys's son, Prince [[Rhaegar Targaryen]]. During the [[Sack of King's Landing]], not only the Mad King but also Rhaegar's wife, [[Elia Martell]], and children, Princess [[Rhaenys Targaryen (daughter of Rhaegar)|Rhaenys]] and Prince [[Aegon Targaryen (son of Rhaegar)|Aegon]], were killed. Eddard was appalled by the brutality of the acts but Robert's hatred for the [[House Targaryen|Targaryens]] made him consider the murders necessary, creating a temporary rift between the two that even Lord Arryn was unable to breach.{{Ref|aGoT|12}} When Robert Baratheon ascended to the [[Iron Throne]], he appointed Jon as his [[Hand of the King|Hand]].{{Ref|aGoT|2}}

===Hand of the King===
[[File:King Robert Baratheon Hand Jon Arryn.jpg|thumb|350px|Jon as [[Hand of the King|Hand]] for King [[Robert I Baratheon]].]]

The first task Jon undertook was making peace with [[Dorne]]. The southern region was incensed by the deaths of Prince [[Lewyn Martell|Lewyn]] and Princess [[Elia Martell|Elia]] during the war, and Prince [[Oberyn Martell]] tried to raise the kingdom to support [[Viserys Targaryen]], the surviving son of King [[Aerys II Targaryen|Aerys II]]. The year after [[Robert I Baratheon]] took the throne ({{Date|284}}), Jon returned the bones of Lewyn to [[Sunspear]] and brokered a peace with [[Doran Martell]], the [[Prince of Dorne]].{{ref|aSoS|38}} However, Ser [[Gregor Clegane]] and Ser [[Amory Lorch]], who had killed Elia and her children, went unpunished by Robert, creating a persistent bone of contention between the [[Iron Throne]] and Dorne.{{ref|aSoS|53}}

To strengthen Robert's hold on the throne, Jon negotiated the king's marriage with [[Cersei Lannister]]{{ref|aGoT|30}} and advised that he retain her brother, Ser [[Jaime Lannister|Jaime]], on the [[Kingsguard]], thereby opposing Lord [[Eddard Stark]], who proposed sending Jaime to the [[Wall]] for his killing of King Aerys.{{ref|aSoS|36}} Robert also considered the assassinations of Viserys and [[Daenerys Targaryen|Daenerys]], believed to be the last two [[House Targaryen|Targaryens]] and thus possible threats, but Jon dissuaded the king from the idea.{{ref|aGoT|12}}

Robert left Jon with much of the responsibility of running the [[Seven Kingdoms]], but Jon could not stop Robert from spending huge amounts of money on tournaments and excess, putting the realm in serious debt.{{ref|aGoT|20}} While he was at court, [[Nestor Royce]] ruled as [[High Steward of the Vale]].{{ref|aGoT|34}}

[[File:House arryn by jubah.png|thumb|Jon and his son [[Robert Arryn|Robert]], art by [http://jubah.deviantart.com/ Juliana Pinho] ©.]]

Jon's marriage with Lysa was loveless, with Lysa finding Jon to be too old and hating his bad breath. After three girls and two boys miscarried, Lysa gave Jon a sickly son and heir, [[Robert Arryn]].{{ref|aSoS|68}} Lysa organized for her childhood friend, [[Petyr Baelish]], to administer the customs at [[Gulltown]] and later convinced her husband to bring him to the court in [[King's Landing]]. Petyr was made [[master of coin]] under Jon as Hand.{{ref|aSoS|80}} [[Hugh]] became Jon's squire.{{ref|aGoT|30}} Jon brought Ser [[Mandon Moore]] to King's Landing and King Robert made him a member of his [[Kingsguard]], though neither of the two loved him very much.{{ref|aSoS|12}}

===Death===
Jon was considered robust for his age, but he became ill the night after he borrowed [[Grand Maester]] [[Malleon]]'s [[The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms|book]], and quickly wasted away. Jon's maester, [[Colemon]], tried treating an assumed stomach illness by purging the body. The moribund Jon kept mentioning the name Robert, and his final words to his wife [[Lysa Arryn]] and King [[Robert I Baratheon]] were "the seed is strong".{{Ref|aGoT|25}}{{Ref|aCoK|25}} Lysa believes this to be a reference to their own son, [[Robert Arryn]], but it is more likely that Jon was referring to what he had learned about the [[House Baratheon|Baratheon]] lineage while studying Malleon's book.{{Ref|aGoT|45}}{{Ref|aCoK|25}} Afterwards, his speech became too slurred to comprehend and he died the following morning.{{Ref|aGoT|25}}

After Jon's death, King Robert suggested to Lysa that her young son Robert should become a ward of Lord [[Tywin Lannister]] and be sent to [[Casterly Rock]], as he feared that being raised by his mother would make his namesake weak. Lysa refused the suggestion brusquely and, against the wishes of the king, one night fled from [[King's Landing]] with her son and returned to the [[Vale of Arryn]].{{Ref|aGoT|4}}

==Recent Events==
===''A Game of Thrones''===
[[File:Jon Arryn TheMico.jpg|thumb|200px|Jon Arryn by TheMico ©.]]
King [[Robert I Baratheon]] decides that Lord [[Eddard Stark]] should succeed Jon as [[Hand of the King]], which angers both Queen [[Cersei Lannister]], who had hoped her brother Ser [[Jaime Lannister|Jaime]] would assume the position and fears that Eddard would move to curb [[House Lannister|Lannister]] influence, and [[Stannis Baratheon]], who thinks he is owed the position through his fifteen years of service on the [[small council]].{{Ref|aGoT|8}}{{Ref|aCoK|Prologue}} Shortly after Robert and his entourage leave for [[Winterfell]] to ask Eddard to become his Hand, Stannis goes back to [[Dragonstone]].{{Ref|aGoT|20}} 

Lysa writes a coded letter to her sister [[Catelyn Stark]], in which she claims that Jon was murdered by Queen Cersei. This convinces Catelyn and eventually Eddard, who had been inclined to refuse King Robert's offer, that he must assume the position of Hand, so that he can find out the truth about Jon's death and expose those responsible.{{Ref|aGoT|6}}{{Ref|aSoS|80}} 

However, when Eddard arrives at the [[Red Keep]], he realizes that Lysa's return to the [[Eyrie]] with most of the Arryn household and Stannis's departure to Dragonstone prevent him from questioning crucial witnesses about the circumstances and background of Jon's death. Left without other options, he begins to rely on information provided by Lord [[Petyr Baelish]] and [[Varys]]. Petyr, known as Littlefinger, feeds Eddard largely useless information, while Varys suggests Jon might have been poisoned by his squire, the now-knighted Ser [[Hugh|Hugh of the Vale]], who is killed in the [[Hand's tourney]].{{Ref|aGoT|25}}{{Ref|aGoT|27}}{{Ref|aGoT|30}} 

Eddard learns that Stannis began to suspect Queen Cersei's children had been fathered not by King Robert but by her brother Ser Jaime, the [[Kingslayer]], which would make them illegitimate and Stannis therefore Robert's rightful heir. Concerned that such a suggestion coming from him would be seen as motivated by his own ambitions, Stannis did not confide in the king but rather raised the issue with Jon Arryn, whom Robert would be more inclined to believe.{{Ref|aCoK|31}}

Jon and Stannis began to investigate the matter secretly by seeking out [[bastard]]s Robert had begotten. Together they visited the armory of [[Tobho Mott]] where [[Gendry]] was employed, one of Robert's offspring who bore a striking resemblance to his father. They also visited [[Chataya's brothel]], where Robert had fathered a girl, [[Barra]], who also clearly had the king's features.{{Ref|aGoT|27}}{{Ref|aGoT|30}} The increased contact with Stannis apparently also contributed to Jon's planning to send his son [[Robert Arryn]] to be fostered by Stannis at Dragonstone.{{Ref|aGoT|40}}

Jon was seeking further proof that Cersei's children could not be Robert's in [[Grand Maester]] [[Malleon]]'s book ''[[The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms]]'', a ponderous tome lent to him by Grand Maester [[Pycelle]]. The book would have informed him, as it later informs Lord Eddard Stark, that whenever members of houses [[House Lannister|Lannister]] and [[House Baratheon|Baratheon]] wed, their offspring always bore clear Baratheon features (unlike Cersei's children [[Joffrey Baratheon|Joffrey]], [[Myrcella Baratheon|Myrcella]], and [[Tommen Baratheon|Tommen]], who more closely resemble the Lannisters).{{Ref|aGoT|25}}{{Ref|aGoT|45}} Jon's investigation became known to a number of people at the court, including Pycelle, Varys, Cersei, and Littlefinger. Varys saw Jon's life in danger and begged him to employ a taster, but Jon dismissed the suggestion that anyone would try to poison him.{{Ref|aGoT|30}}

Meanwhile, Eddard's wife Catelyn takes [[Tyrion Lannister]] captive at the [[crossroads inn]] for his assumed role in plotting her son [[Bran Stark|Bran's]] death.{{ref|AGOT|28}} Catelyn brings Tyrion to the Eyrie, where her sister Lysa accuses him of having poisoned Lord Jon. Ser [[Vardis Egen]] wields Jon's falcon sword during Tyrion's [[trial by combat]], but he is slain by Tyrion's representative, [[Bronn]], and Tyrion is set free.{{ref|AGOT|40}}

By the time Eddard finds out what Jon had been investigating and what had provided the likely cause for his death, it is too late to inform King Robert, as the king goes hunting in the [[kingswood]] and fighting breaks out in the [[riverlands]] in response to Tyrion's abduction by Catelyn.{{Ref|aGoT|39}}{{Ref|aGoT|43}}{{Ref|aGoT|45}}

Stannis remains at Dragonstone, which keeps him from sharing his suspicions about Cersei's children with Lord Eddard and from directly challenging the legitimacy of Joffrey when he assumes the throne after King Robert dies from being gored in the kingswood.{{ref|AGOT|47}} Eddard, betrayed by Littlefinger,{{ref|AGOT|49}} is later executed by order of the new king.{{ref|AGOT|65}}

===''A Clash of Kings''===
[[Tyrion Lannister]] forces [[Grand Maester]] [[Pycelle]], a staunch supporter of Lannister interests, to confess he believed that Queen [[Cersei Lannister]] wanted Jon dead. Cersei considered Jon a threat to her plan of putting her son [[Joffrey Baratheon|Joffrey]] on the [[Iron Throne]] after her husband, King [[Robert I Baratheon]], had been disposed of.{{Ref|aFfC|3}} Pycelle believed that Jon was about to act on his knowledge by making preparations to send his wife, [[Lysa Arryn]], to the [[Eyrie]] and his son, [[Robert Arryn]], to [[Dragonstone]].{{Ref|aCoK|25}} Although Cersei had not given him explicit orders in this regard and was not even in [[King's Landing]] at the time, Pycelle assumed responsibility for the treatment and thereby assured that Jon died, despite the efforts by Maester [[Colemon]] - who Pycelle sent away - to save him.{{ref|ACOK|25}}

===''A Storm of Swords''===
[[Sansa Stark]] learns that unbeknownst to Jon, [[Lysa Arryn]] and [[Petyr Baelish]] had maintained a relationship since their youth. She had convinced Jon to bring Petyr to court in [[King's Landing]] so that they could be close together.{{Ref|aSoS|80}} Littlefinger had persuaded Lysa to poison Jon's wine with [[tears of Lys]], suggesting to her that this would both remove the obstacle to their marriage and prevent Jon from sending [[Robert Arryn]] to [[Stannis Baratheon]] at [[Dragonstone]]. Lysa did as she was bidden.{{Ref|aSoS|80}} Petyr also encouraged the widowed Lysa to write the letter to her sister [[Catelyn Stark]] claiming the [[House Lannister|Lannisters]] were behind Jon's death, which contributed to the outbreak of the [[War of the Five Kings]]. Littlefinger's motivations are not clear, but he evidently saw the chance of exploiting the death of Jon to increase the animosity between the Lannisters and the [[House Stark|Starks]] for his own ends.{{Ref|aSoS|80}} It is also possible that he saw Queen [[Cersei Lannister|Cersei]] and her tendency to act hastily and irrationally as crucial to his own strategy in the "game of thrones" and wanted to prevent her untimely removal from the game.{{Ref|aFfC|23}}

==Family Tree==
{{Arryn tree}}

==Quotes==
{{Quote|I need good men about me. Men like Jon Arryn.{{ref|AGOT|4}}}} – [[Robert I Baratheon]] to [[Eddard Stark]]


{{Quote|Jon Arryn was a wise man and a good [[Hand of the King|Hand]].{{ref|AGOT|12}}}} – [[Eddard Stark]] to [[Robert I Baratheon]]


{{Quote|I loved that old man, I swear it, but now I think he was a bigger fool than [[Moon Boy]].{{ref|AGOT|30}}}} – [[Robert I Baratheon]] to [[Eddard Stark]]


{{Quote|The seed is strong, Jon Arryn had cried on his deathbed, and so it was.{{ref|AGOT|45}}}} – thoughts of [[Eddard Stark]]


{{Quote|[[Lysa Arryn|Lysa's]] match with Lord Arryn had been hastily arranged, and Jon was an old man even then, older than [[Hoster Tully|their father]]. An old man without an heir. His first two wives had left him childless, [[Elbert Arryn|his brother's son]] had been murdered with [[Brandon Stark]] in [[King's Landing]], [[Denys Arryn|his gallant cousin]] had died in the [[Battle of the Bells]]. He needed a young wife if [[House Arryn]] was to continue ... a young wife known to be fertile.{{ref|ASOS|2}}}} – thoughts of [[Catelyn Stark]]


{{Quote|The death of the noble [[Hand of the King|Hand]], Jon Arryn, has unleashed a [[War of the Five Kings|madness on the land]], a madness of pride and violence.{{ref|TWOIAF| Afterward}}}} – writings of [[Yandel]]

==References==
{{References|3}}

{{Hands of the King}}
{{Small council}}

[[Category:House Arryn]]
[[Category:Characters from the Vale|Arryn, Jon]]
[[Category:Characters killed by Petyr Baelish|Arryn, Jon]]
[[Category:Hands of the King|Arryn, Jon]]
[[Category:Keepers of the Gates of the Moon|Arryn, Jon]]
[[Category:Lords of the Eyrie|Arryn, Jon]]
[[Category:Members of Robert Baratheon's court|Arryn, Jon]]
[[Category:Nobles|Arryn, Jon]]
[[Category:Rebels of Robert's Rebellion|Arryn, Jon]]
[[Category:Veterans of Robert's Rebellion|Arryn, Jon]]
[[Category:Wardens|Arryn, Jon]]

[[es:Jon Arryn]]
[[fa:جان ارن]]
[[fr:Jon Arryn]]
[[pt:Jon Arryn]]
[[ru:Джон Аррен]]
[[zh:&#29756;&#24681;&#183;&#33406;&#26519;]]