Daeron I

Greetings fellow acolytes. Welcome to another episode of The Westerosi Primer. My name is Liz. If you’re new to this podcast, welcome! I hope you enjoy this journey of all things Westeros. And in this episode, I’ll be talking about Daeron I.

I just want to start off by saying happy new year everyone! I hope 2024 ended well for you. But now that we’re in a brand new year, let’s hope that we have an excellent one. Before I start the discussion, I just want to do a couple of housekeeping things. I just wanted to let everyone know that once this season is over, I’ll be going on a hiatus before releasing season 3.

I’m sure you’re wondering what am I doing for Season three. I’ll be doing reactions to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. If you weren’t aware, there is another spin-off series that was in production in 2024 with an expected release date in 2025. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been an official date announced. Since that’s the case, I can’t say for sure when the next season will come out. Perhaps by the time I prepare the final episode of this season, we’ll know.

If you haven’t listened to it, check out Season 1 of this podcast. The later episodes of that season were my reaction to House of the Dragon Season 2. Those episodes will give you a general idea about how I plan do the reaction to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Also I made the decision that I will just do a season with my reaction to the series. I am possibly going to also do episodes discussing the novellas that this spinoff is based on. I’ll make a final decision by the time I do this season’s finale.

I just want to remind listeners that I have created a newsletter on Substack. Just to encourage listeners to sign up, I am taking advantage of a really neat feature that Substack has. It’s a reward system for people referring other people to subscribe to a newsletter. There are 3 tiers and rewards! If you refer 5 people into becoming a subscriber, you’ll earn a desktop wallpaper! It’s basically the cover art of this podcast!

If 10 people subscribe because of you, I’ll send you an invite code to the private Discord server I’m going to start. And the 3rd tier is the reward for 15 people subscribing. The reward is I’ll create a shout out segment and naming all of you who hit this tier. If you’re interested in any of these rewards, first subscribe to the newsletter and start recommending people to also subscribe. Head over to the podcast website where I have links and signup forms.

Now that the housekeeping notices are done, on with the discussion. As always there are a couple of things to note. First there will be some potential spoilers for people who have not read any of the books connected to A Song of Ice and Fire. There may also be potential spoilers for House of the Dragon and other future shows adapted by Max. So if you’re okay with this, then please continue listening.

Second, the information in this episode comes from the written works of George R. R. Martin and the contributors of A Wiki of Ice and Fire on Westeros.org. Check out the full show notes and other links located on this show’s website: thewesterosiprimer.com With that said, let’s begin!

Now I’m finally going to talk about a brand new king after spending three episodes talking about Aegon III. Now it’s time to meet his son, Daeron I. He was also known as the Young Dragon. Why? You’ll need to keep listening to find out! As I had said in the previous episode, we’re now going way past where Fire & Blood ended. So there’s going to be less detail in this episode and the rest of the season in comparison to the first half of this season. So I’ll try to provide as much info as I can.

While this is an episode about Daeron, I have to also talk about other people around him like his siblings. Because you can’t really talk about an important figure without bringing up the other people in his life. After all even though things were happening to Daeron, there are things happening at the same time period to other people.

So to rewind a bit, I’m going to talk a bit about what was going on during Aegon III’s reign, but from the perspective of Daeron, his siblings, and his cousins. This is going to be set up not just for this episode but for the next two episodes. So please bear with me here!

As I had mentioned in the previous episode, Aegon waited a few years for Daenaera to become a legal adult before consummating their marriage. Fairly quickly they had 5 children: Daeron born in AC 143, Baelor born in AC 144, Daena born in AC 145, Rhaena born in AC 147, and Elaena born in AC 150. Also as a reminder, Viserys had children before Aegon did due to his marriage to an older wife. He would have three children: Aegon in AC 135, Aemon in AC 136, and Naerys in AC 138.

What can I say about Aegon, the oldest of this generation of Targaryens? I would say George used Henry VIII as a big influence on this character. Apparently George describes him as the Henry VIII of Westeros. If you know who the real life King of England was, you know exactly what to expect of Aegon. As a kid and a youngr man, he’s pretty intelligent, enjoyed outdoor pursuits, and was pretty handsome. Everything you expect a Targaryen prince to be. Unfortunately he’s also lusty and sex obsessed. This is a big thing with this guy as you’ll see. There’s also some indications he covets the throne, which wouldn’t be too surprising. After all, he’s the oldest male in this generation of House Targaryen. However once his cousins are born, he’s further down in the line of succession.

Aemon was pretty opposite personality-wise to his brother. He demonstrates honor, piety, and dedication to duty. Total opposite of his brother like I said. It’s sad and funny to me this disconnect existed since Aegon was a toddler and Aemon was born. Aemon was very talented as a knight. In fact he would be known as Aemon the Dragonknight.

Even during the events of Game of Thrones, this Aemon Targaryen was still known as one of the great knights in history. Fun fact, blind Maester Aemon was actually named after Aemon the Dragonknight. In fact it’s a quote in the first novel, A Game of Thrones, between Maester Aemon and Jon Snow. “My grandfather named me for Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, who was his uncle, or his father, depending on which tale you believe.” As to what tales he’s referring to in the quote? Well that’s another thing for another episode.

Naerys was the final child Viserys had with his wife. She was described as being a delicate beauty both in appearance and health wise. In fact George R.R. Martin apparently said Daenerys the Mother of Dragons has a strong resemblance to her. Spoiler alert for future episodes, Dany is actually a descendant of Naerys Targaryen. She didn’t have very good health for much of her life.

Naerys loved music and was pretty decent with the harp. She also enjoyed typical female pursuits expected of her like sewing and embroidery. She was also pretty religious and regularly read the Seven Pointed Star. In case you didn’t know, that book is basically a version of the bible for the Faith of the Seven. In fact, she might have become a septa if her father had allowed it. Why didn’t he allow her to become a septa? It’s because of Falena Stokeworth.

You might be wondering, who is Falena Stokeworth and what does she have to do with anything? Well I’m glad you asked listeners.

Falena Stokeworth was actually someone who had been at court for some years. She was sent to court as a child to be one of Jaehaera Targaryen’s companions. If you have been listening to the episodes this season, you’ll know she was Aegon II’s daughter and Aegon III’s first wife. The child queen needed some companions closer to her age so a Crownlander child from House Stokeworth was sent as one of them. Falena was also one of the many young maidens at the Maiden’s Day ball who was potentially a new bride for Aegon III. Falena was one of the girls who got injured before the ball so she lost her already unlikely chance of being chosen queen.

Falena is now 24 years old and she sleeps with 14 year old Aegon. In fact, she’s the one he lost his virginity to. They’d have an affair for about two years when eventually a Kingsguard found them in bed together. Viserys is obviously against this and has Falena married to Ser Lucas Lothston. If you all remember I briefly mentioned him in episodes 2.09 and 2.10 of this podcast. Viserys convinced his brother to also give Lothston Harrenhal so the bride would be away from his son.

Despite his efforts, Aegon would find ways to visit Harrenhal and continue his affair with her on and off. Falena would have one daughter named Jeyne, with some people questioning if Jeyne really is her husband’s child or not. And this is a pretty big question to ask which I’ll explain a little later in the near future.

In hindsight it seems rather strange to me that Viserys chose Aegon to marry his sister considering they have such opposite personalities. In fact Aemon and Naerys were a lot closer to each other and have a lot in common. Some people speculate they may have loved each other and not just as siblings either. However from a political perspective Aegon and Naerys actually makes sense.

A lot of the incestuous Targaryen marriages consolidated political power and the ability to control dragons. Also more importantly, Viserys likely thought Aegon would calm down as a married man. Viserys grossly miscalculated this as I’ll get to in the next couple of episodes. Marrying Naerys to Daeron also wouldn’t work because she’s 5 years older than her cousin, the young Prince of Dragonstone. Daeron’s sisters were far too young to marry teenaged Aegon.

Aegon and Naerys would marry in AC 153. Aemon would join the Kingsguard after the wedding. Naerys would give birth to her first child, Daeron. Apparently she and Aegon followed their father’s idea of naming their first son after a future king. Naerys nearly died giving birth to the baby. She actually asked her brother/husband if they could stop sharing a bed since she already gave birth to his heir. Aegon said no. Which is fascinating considering he made it clear he doesn’t love Naerys and had more joy with his many mistresses. But that’s for a future episode.

As I mentioned before, Daeron I is Aegon III’s eldest child and prince of Dragonstone. He had talent as a warrior. He was also confident, charming, and apparently talented at writing. He’s also pretty ambitious, which I’ll get to in a bit.

Daeron’s brother, Baelor, was super pious and had little interest in learning combat like most nobleman would. Daena is a bold young woman, who also enjoyed the outdoors. She loved hunting and archery. Rhaena in many respects is similar to Baelor in that she’s a pretty pious girl interested in being dutiful. The youngest child is Elaena. She’s not as bold as Daena, but she’s capable and pretty sharp.

I’m sure you might be wondering why did I spend so much time talking about Aegon the horny in a Daeron I episode? Well Aegon was also involved in Daeron’s choices as I’ll get to now.

As I had mentioned last episode, Aegon III dies from illness in the year AC 157. This meant his eldest child and son became king at the age of 14 years old. Daeron is only slightly older than his own father when he became king.

Unlike his father, Daeron didn’t have a regency. That was because at this time his uncle Viserys had become Aegon’s Hand of the King. Daeron didn’t see the need to have anyone else be his Hand since his uncle had done a good job and had his trust. In return, Viserys didn’t call for a regency. He undoubtedly remembered the problems and loss of control that happened during his brother’s reign.

Daeron had one great ambition: he wanted to conquer Dorne. Perhaps if we got a volume 2 of Fire & Blood, we might know more about his reasoning. I personally think he’s an ambitious kid who wants to achieve something his ancestors couldn’t. He’s also a young teenage boy from a royal family. Kids like this have a lot more confidence than they really should. He thinks he can do something adults older than him with three dragons couldn’t do. It’s this kind of confidence that reminds me of historical figures like Alexander the Great. In fact George R.R. Martin has said that’s who Daeron is based on.

Daeron was pretty serious about this whole thing. He actually spent time coming up with invasion plans. Alyn Velaryon was his advisor in coming up with plans. He devised his army to be split into three forces. Daeron would lead one force down the Boneway. Lord Lyonel Tyrell marched down the Prince’s Pass. And then Alyn Velaryon would lead the royal fleet to Planky Town. If you are confused about any of these places, you probably didn’t listen to episode 1.07 of this podcast. That’s the episode where I discussed some of the important places in Dorne. Daeron’s cousins Aegon and Aemon also join the war.

I know I’ve said this dozens of times at this point, but there is no Fire & Blood volume 2. Why am I repeating this fact? Simply because we don’t have all the details of what exactly happened during this latest conquest of Dorne. In comparison, I had done episodes 2.07 and 2.08 covering a bunch of battles in the Dance of the Dragons. We don’t know a ton of details about all the various battles involved. We’re only told in sources like The World of Ice and Fire that within a year, the Targaryen forces reach Sunspear. In AC 158, the current Prince of Dorne and many of the lords in Dorne bend the knee to Daeron.

There were still some rebels in Dorne. Daeron was nearly assassinated by a poisoned arrow. However Aemon took the arrow for him and was sent away to recover. Aegon had the job of taking 14 noble Dornish hostages back to King’s Landing. I’ll be discussing this further in a later episode. Daeron would spend about a year in Dorne to consolidate his rule of the kingdom before returning to King’s Landing. Lyonel Tyrell was left behind to keep the peace and manage things.

Not too different from what Daenerys dealt with in Meereen, there’s still a lot of rebellion by smallfolk in Dorne against their conquerors. Tyrell would be traveling around Dorne trying to catch and stop rebels. Things take a turn when he arrived at Sandstone, the home of House Qorgyle. He takes over the master chambers of Lord Qorgyle for the night. He’s told if he needed anything including a woman to his bed he just needs to pull the bell pull. Tyrell does so and the heavy canopy above the bed opens and a hundred scorpions drop on him. Open rebellion starts up again.

Meanwhile, Daeron had expressed intensions to marry one of the sisters of the Sealord of Braavos. The plan was this would be an alliance to remove pirates from the Stepstones for probably the 100th time. At this point, when is the Stepstones not being occupied by pirates? However these marriage negotiations encourages Pentos and Lys to provide support for Dornish rebellion.

By AC 160, Daeron and his loyalists returned to Dorne to take over the kingdom again. Alyn Velaryon also comes back for more naval battles. Additional nobles join in and die in some of the battles including Rickon Stark, Cregan Stark’s oldest son and heir. Meanwhile in the same year, Baelor and Daena are married to each other. Just like Aegon and Naerys’s marriage was a bad arrangement, so is this one. Their personalities clash. This is also on top of the fact Baelor would probably be a septon by this point if he was allowed to be. Baelor never consummates his marriage to his sister. In fact Daena dresses in white in some attempt to shame him, which completely fails. He was actually happy about this since she looks innocent and pure.

In AC 161, the Dornish seemed willing to submit again. But this was a trick for one more attempt to kill this Young Dragon. Unfortunately this time is successful. Daeron the Young Dragon dies along with three of his Kingsguard. Aemon was also with Daeron. He didn’t die, but would become a captive in Dorne.

Daeron’s body would be returned to King’s Landing and his brother, Baelor would become king. Viserys is still Hand of the King and has the Dornish hostages thrown in prison waiting for execution. What happens next? Well I’ll get to that in the next episode!

So ends the very short reign of Daeron I. He becomes king at the age of 14 and dies at the age of 18. It’s a really short reign, but he tried to do something his ancestors couldn’t do. Despite all this, Daeron made quite the impression on people generations later. Daeron actually gets mentioned in the novels. He’s held as an example of a bold young man who achieves great things despite his age. Exactly like Alexander the Great, who also did a lot in his young life. However his empire collapsed with his death.

It’s also really fascinating to think about this. If you’ve never read the books and your knowledge of Westeros is purely from the TV shows, it’s strange we’re now talking about Rhaenyra and Daemon’s grandchildren.

And that just about covers the life of Daeron I aka Daeron the Young Dragon. If you’re interested in finding out more for yourself, feel free to go to the full show notes where I will have links. Though be aware if you do any of this research there will be spoilers to the novels, House of the Dragon, and Max’s future adaptations.

Thank you for listening and tune in to the next episode where I’ll talk about his brother, Baelor the Blessed.