Difference between revisions of "Petyr Baelish"

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==History==
 
==History==
Petyr Baelish’s great-grandfather was a [[Braavosi]] [[sellsword]] in the service of Lord [[House Corbray|Corbray]], so when his son became a [[Knight|hedge knight]] he took the stone head of the [[Titan of Braavos]] as his sigil. Lord Baelish’s father was the smallest of small lords of a few rocky acres on the smallest of the [[Fingers]]. His father made friend a of [[Hoster Tully]] during their service in the [[War of the Ninepenny Kings]], which led to Petyr being sent to be fostered at [[Riverrun]] with Lord Tully’s childrens.<ref>[http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/US_Signing_Tour_Half_Moon_Bay_CA/ US Signing Tour ; Half Moon Bay ; CA]</ref>
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Petyr Baelish’s great-grandfather was a [[Braavosi]] [[sellsword]] in the service of Lord [[House Corbray|Corbray]], so when his son became a [[Knight|hedge knight]] he took the stone head of the [[Titan of Braavos]] as his sigil. Lord Baelish’s father was the smallest of small lords of a few rocky acres on the smallest of the [[Fingers]]. His father befriended [[Hoster Tully]] during their service in the [[War of the Ninepenny Kings]], which led to Petyr being sent to be fostered at [[Riverrun]] with Lord Tully’s children.<ref>[http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/US_Signing_Tour_Half_Moon_Bay_CA/ US Signing Tour ; Half Moon Bay ; CA]</ref>
  
 
At Riverrun Petyr was fostered as a ward and raised alongside his social betters, the Tully children - [[Catelyn Tully|Catelyn]], [[Lysa Tully|Lysa]] and [[Edmure Tully|Edmure]], who first gave him the nickname 'Littlefinger' a reference to his family holdings.{{Ref|aGoT|18}} As they grew older, Petyr fell in love with Catelyn, who in turn loved him as a brother, but no more. When the betrothal between Catelyn and [[Brandon Stark]] was announced, Petyr challenged the much older Brandon to a duel for her hand. Brandon won handily, but spared Baelish's life in compliance with Catelyn's request. Catelyn did not speak to him afterwards and burned the single letter Petyr sent after Brandon's death.{{Ref|aGoT|18}}
 
At Riverrun Petyr was fostered as a ward and raised alongside his social betters, the Tully children - [[Catelyn Tully|Catelyn]], [[Lysa Tully|Lysa]] and [[Edmure Tully|Edmure]], who first gave him the nickname 'Littlefinger' a reference to his family holdings.{{Ref|aGoT|18}} As they grew older, Petyr fell in love with Catelyn, who in turn loved him as a brother, but no more. When the betrothal between Catelyn and [[Brandon Stark]] was announced, Petyr challenged the much older Brandon to a duel for her hand. Brandon won handily, but spared Baelish's life in compliance with Catelyn's request. Catelyn did not speak to him afterwards and burned the single letter Petyr sent after Brandon's death.{{Ref|aGoT|18}}
  
Unlike her sister, [[Lysa Tully]], was in love with Petyr, overlooking his obsession with Catelyn, she slipped into his bedchamber while he was in a miserable state and drunk over Catelyn's rejection and bedded him. The delirious Petyr may have mistaken Lysa for Catelyn, and indeed called her "Catelyn" that night. He has since claimed (at court and in private) to have taken the maidenhood of both Tully sisters. Later, Lysa became pregnant with Petyr's child. When [[Hoster Tully]] discovered this, he had Lysa drink [[moon tea]] to abort the pregnancy and banished Petyr from his house, as the Baelish family was too small and too insignificant to ever wed to his house.{{Ref|aSoS|2}}
+
Lysa, on the other hand, was in love with Petyr.  Overlooking his obsession with her sister, one night she slipped into his bedchamber and bedded him, while he was drunk and in a miserable state over Catelyn's rejection. The delirious Petyr may have mistaken Lysa for Catelyn, and indeed called her "Catelyn" that night. He has since claimed (at court and in private) to have taken the maidenhood of both Tully sisters. Lysa became pregnant with Petyr's child. When [[Hoster Tully]] discovered this, he forced Lysa to drink [[moon tea]] to abort the pregnancy and banished Petyr from his house, as the Baelish family was too small and too insignificant to ever wed to his house.{{Ref|aSoS|2}}
  
Petyr maintained a relationship with Lysa Tully even after her marriage to Lord [[Jon Arryn]], whom she convinced to give Petyr control of customs at Gulltown. When he increased income tenfold, Lord Jon kept giving him more appointments until he finally became [[Master of Coin]] under King [[Robert Baratheon]].{{Ref|aSoS|68}} His influence furnished him with many allies and contacts, including the [[City Watch of King's Landing|City Watch]] at [[King's Landing]] and he invests money in the brothels of [[King's Landing]] to keep him aware of things. With these resources as a starting point, Baelish used a series of lies and double-crosses to achieve a meteoric rise to political power.{{Ref|aCoK|17}}
+
Petyr maintained a relationship with Lysa Tully even after her marriage to Lord [[Jon Arryn]], whom she convinced to give Petyr control of customs at [[Gulltown]]. He increased income there tenfold. His skill with finances resulted in a series of appointments leading to his being named [[Master of Coin]] under King [[Robert Baratheon]].{{Ref|aSoS|68}} His influence furnished him with many allies and contacts, including the [[City Watch of King's Landing|City Watch]] at [[King's Landing]]. He also owns numerous brothels in the city. With these resources as a starting point, Baelish used a series of lies and double-crosses to achieve a meteoric rise to political power.{{Ref|aCoK|17}}
  
Just before the events of the [[A Game of Thrones|first book]], Lysa's husband the [[Hand of the King]] Lord Jon, discovers that all of King [[Robert Baratheon]]'s children were actually fathered by [[Jaime Lannister]] and plans to alert the king. Petyr manipulated Lysa to poison her husband, claiming it was to prevent him from sending away her son to be fostered. After the death, he manipulated Lysa to write a letter to her sister [[Catelyn Tully|Catelyn]] stating that the Queen, [[Cersei Lannister]] had done the deed.  
+
Just before the events of the [[A Game of Thrones|first book]], Jon Arryn discovers that all of King [[Robert Baratheon]]'s children were actually fathered by [[Jaime Lannister]] and plans to alert the king. Petyr manipulated Lysa to poison her husband, claiming that it was to prevent him from sending [[Robert Arryn|her son]] away to be fostered. Lysa, who was fiercely protective of her son, did his bidding.  After Jon was killed, Petyr convinced Lysa to write a letter to her sister [[Catelyn Tully|Catelyn]] stating that Lord Arryn had been poisoned and that the Queen, [[Cersei Lannister]] was behind it.
  
 
==Recent Events==
 
==Recent Events==

Revision as of 12:40, 15 February 2012

Petyr Baelish
House Baelish.PNG
Petyr Baelish.jpg

Alias Littlefinger
Titles
  • Lord Paramount of the Riverlands
  • Lord of Harrenhal
  • Lord Protector of the Vale
  • Master of Coin (formerly)
Allegiance House Baelish
Culture Westeros
Born Between 266 AC and 268 AC
The Fingers
Spouse Lysa Arryn
Books

Played by Aidan Gillen
TV series Season 1 | Season 2

Lord Petyr Baelish, sometimes called Littlefinger, was Master of Coin (or treasurer) on the King's Small Council. Petyr wears a mockingbird as his crest instead of his family sigil. In the TV series he is played by Aidan Gillen.

Character and Appearance

Petyr was born to a small and insignificant house, spending most of his adult life trying to rise above his lowly birthright and become something greater, craving for power and status. Petyr is skilled in commerce and coin and a master of court intrigue, with his brilliance matched only by his ambition.

Petyr is a short fellow of average build, with handsome features. He has gray-green eyes, a small pointed beard on his chin and threads of grey running throughout his dark hair.[1]

History

Petyr Baelish’s great-grandfather was a Braavosi sellsword in the service of Lord Corbray, so when his son became a hedge knight he took the stone head of the Titan of Braavos as his sigil. Lord Baelish’s father was the smallest of small lords of a few rocky acres on the smallest of the Fingers. His father befriended Hoster Tully during their service in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, which led to Petyr being sent to be fostered at Riverrun with Lord Tully’s children.[2]

At Riverrun Petyr was fostered as a ward and raised alongside his social betters, the Tully children - Catelyn, Lysa and Edmure, who first gave him the nickname 'Littlefinger' a reference to his family holdings.[1] As they grew older, Petyr fell in love with Catelyn, who in turn loved him as a brother, but no more. When the betrothal between Catelyn and Brandon Stark was announced, Petyr challenged the much older Brandon to a duel for her hand. Brandon won handily, but spared Baelish's life in compliance with Catelyn's request. Catelyn did not speak to him afterwards and burned the single letter Petyr sent after Brandon's death.[1]

Lysa, on the other hand, was in love with Petyr. Overlooking his obsession with her sister, one night she slipped into his bedchamber and bedded him, while he was drunk and in a miserable state over Catelyn's rejection. The delirious Petyr may have mistaken Lysa for Catelyn, and indeed called her "Catelyn" that night. He has since claimed (at court and in private) to have taken the maidenhood of both Tully sisters. Lysa became pregnant with Petyr's child. When Hoster Tully discovered this, he forced Lysa to drink moon tea to abort the pregnancy and banished Petyr from his house, as the Baelish family was too small and too insignificant to ever wed to his house.[3]

Petyr maintained a relationship with Lysa Tully even after her marriage to Lord Jon Arryn, whom she convinced to give Petyr control of customs at Gulltown. He increased income there tenfold. His skill with finances resulted in a series of appointments leading to his being named Master of Coin under King Robert Baratheon.[4] His influence furnished him with many allies and contacts, including the City Watch at King's Landing. He also owns numerous brothels in the city. With these resources as a starting point, Baelish used a series of lies and double-crosses to achieve a meteoric rise to political power.[5]

Just before the events of the first book, Jon Arryn discovers that all of King Robert Baratheon's children were actually fathered by Jaime Lannister and plans to alert the king. Petyr manipulated Lysa to poison her husband, claiming that it was to prevent him from sending her son away to be fostered. Lysa, who was fiercely protective of her son, did his bidding. After Jon was killed, Petyr convinced Lysa to write a letter to her sister Catelyn stating that Lord Arryn had been poisoned and that the Queen, Cersei Lannister was behind it.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Varys and Littlefinger (TV series)
Sansa Stark & Petyr Baelish at the Hand's Tourney (TV)

When Catelyn Tully arrived in King's Landing, after Eddard was named Hand of the King, to tell her husband about the attempt on Bran's life, Petyr learns of her arrival, despite her attempt to enter the city unnoticed, and had her brought to one of his brothels. During their meeting, Petyr tells her that the dagger used in the assassination attempt against Bran used to belong to him, but that he had lost it in a wager to Tyrion Lannister.[1] (Though this was a lie, which would later trigger Catelyn's arrest of Tyrion, in turn triggering the War of the Five Kings). Petyr fetches Eddard to meet his wife and convinces him to do nothing as there is not enough proof and they best be rid of the dagger and also vowed to help Eddard find Jon Arryn's killer.[6]


During Eddard Stark's tenure as Hand of the King, Petyr feigned friendship to him, on behalf of his fondness for Catelyn, superficially attempting to tutor him in the intrigues of the court warning Ned not to trust anyone, including himself. He helps in his investigation into Jon Arryn's death.[7] After the mortal wounding of King Robert, Robert named Ned as Regent and Lord Protector and Baelish advised Stark that despite their knowledge that Queen Cersei's sons Joffrey and Tommen were not in truth sons to the king and that Stannis Baratheon was the legal heir, the wisest course of action was to ensure Joffrey's succession and maneuver so as to avoid all-out war and maximize their own power. Lord Eddard refused the suggestion and enlisted Petyr's help in securing the allegiance of the city watch to ensure its loyalty when he moved against Cersei.[8] Baelish agreed, but betrayes Ned buying the City Watch's allegiance on behalf of Cersei, leading to Stark's arrest and eventual execution for treason.[9]

A Clash of Kings

After the assassination of King Renly Baratheon, Petyr and Tyrion Lannister plotted an alliance with House Tyrell to win over those Storm Lords that did not declare for King Stannis. Petyr volunteered to travel to Bitterbridge and to broker the deal.[10] Petyr was successful in forging a Lannister-Tyrell alliance, through the engagement of King Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell.[11][12] He returned to King's Landing with Tyrell forces alongside those of Tywin Lannister. The allied Lannister and Tyrell forces were able to take Stannis's army in the rear in the last hours of the Battle of the Blackwater. It was Petyr's idea to dress Garlan Tyrell in King Renly's armor during the battle so as to frighten Stannis's men-at-arms.[13] Petyr was rewarded with the Lordship of Harrenhal, despite the fact that it was being held for Robb Stark by Roose Bolton, and nominal control over the war-torn Riverlands, making him a High Lord.[14]

Petyr maintained contact with Sansa Stark via Ser Dontos the Red, who vaguely informed Sansa that there was a plan to return her home. Petyr acquired key informants in the crown's inner circle in Osney, Osfryd, and Osmund Kettleblack, who were hired to guard Queen Cersei after Tyrion Lannister sent her guards away; Tyrion believed they were in his pay, when in truth their allegiance was to Petyr.[4]

A Storm of Swords

During a session of the Small Council, Baelish informed Lord Tywin of the Tyrell plot to spirit Sansa Stark to Highgarden and marry her to Willas Tyrell, giving Tywin the necessary time to wed her to Tyrion instead. Baelish's newfound status as a High Lord of Harrenhal, allows Tywin to marry him to Lysa Tully, who remained in love with Petyr from their youth together and thus deliver the Vale of Arryn of Arryn without a drop of blood being spilled. Baelish agrees and sent to The Eyrie , with Tyrion to serve in his absence as master of coin.[15]

Though Petyr left King's Landing, he did not go immediately to the Vale, and remained near King's Landing until after the wedding between Joffrey and Margaery, in which Joffrey was killed. In the ensuing chaos, Sansa was spirited out of the city by Dontos and taken to the ship where Petyr awaited her. Petyr then had Dontos killed, explaining to Sansa that she would be wanted in connection with Joffrey's death, that secrecy was of the utmost importance, and that a drunk such as Dontos could not be trusted with such sensitive information. He went on to explain that he had plotted with Olenna Redwyne many of the details of King Joffrey's murder, including a hairnet laced with black amethysts that were in reality The Strangler, the poison used to kill Joffrey, which Sansa had unwittingly smuggled into the feast, as well as a set of jousting dwarfs as entertainment, which were calculated to bring Tyrion Lannister into conflict with Joffrey just prior to Joffrey's death, so that the deed will be blamed on Tyrion, telling Sansa that widowhood will become her.[4]

With Sansa at his side, Baelish had her hair dyed and gave her the assumed identity of Alayne Stone, a bastard daughter of his. He then traveled to the Vale, stopping at his meager inherited holdings on the Fingers for a few days, where he was met by Lysa, who insisted they be wed immediately. Despite Littlefinger's wish to do so at the Eyrie, he agrees. The next day after the wedding feast and the bedding they leave for the Eyrie, there Petyr spent most of his time travelling from one lord to another asserting his authority from his new position.

Petyr's affections for Sansa (seemingly having been transferred from her mother) were made more apparent, and he kissed her. Lysa witnessed the act, and in a fit of jealous rage attempted to kill Sansa, but Petyr arrived in time to intervene, at which point Lysa revealed that she had murdered Jon Arryn, her husband, and sent a letter to her sister in Winterfell, all at Petyr's behest. Petyr then shoved Lysa out the moon door, killing her, and blamed the action on Lysa’s favorite singer Marillion, who was the only other person in the room.[16]


A Feast for Crows

With Lysa dead, Petyr named himself Lord Protector of the Vale, with Robert Arryn as his ward. The most powerful lords of the Vale joined together to demand that Petyr relinquish Robert. Lyn Corbray drew his sword during the parley. This breach of hospitality gave Petyr the leverage to demand a trial period on his wardship over Robert. Petyr confided in Sansa his plans to use this time to eliminate, win over, or marginalize the lords who stood in his path, while Corbray, actually on Petyr's payroll, would join any conspiracy against the Lord Protector. He also revealed his plans to help Sansa regain the North and marry her to the Arryn heir, Harrold Hardyng.


A Dance with Dragons

With the crown having huge financial problems due to the follies of Cersei Lannister , Ser Kevan Lannister wishes Littlefinger was back in King's Landing as master of coin.

References and Notes

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Characters from A Song of Ice and Fire. The list of authors can be seen in the page history of Characters from A Song of Ice and Fire. As with A Wiki of Ice and Fire, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.