The Crownlands | Traversing the Seven Kingdoms and Beyond!

In this installment of the Westerosi Primer, host Liz delves into the history of the Crownlands, the heart of power in Westeros. The region, initially disputed land between the Riverlands and Stormlands, gained prominence following the Targaryen conquest. The strategic Blackwater Rush and Blackwater Bay are emphasized, as well as the capital, King's Landing.

The narrative traces the early history of the Crownlands, highlighting the shifting landscape of power before the Targaryens reshaped the region. The episode focuses on King's Landing, the continent's largest city, founded by King Aegon the Conqueror. The episode discusses the significance of the Blackwater Rush and the development of King's Landing around its mouth.

This location became central to Westerosi power, with its fortified walls and the City Watch, also known as the Gold Cloaks. The Gold Cloaks, who ensure security, reflects its grandeur and subsequent descent into corruption, particularly under King Robert's reign. Liz notes the historical role of Daemon Targaryen in shaping the City Watch, which unfortunately grew corrupt over time.

King's Landing's three hills, named after Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters, are home to notable landmarks like the Red Keep, the Great Sept of Baelor, and the Dragon Pit. The notorious Flea Bottom slum is also mentioned. Dragonstone, a key location in Targaryen history, receives a brief historical overview, from its establishment by Valyrians to its handover to Stannis Baratheon post-Targaryen rule.

Liz then explores lesser-known Crownland houses, including House Velaryon of Driftmark, known for its naval prowess and marital ties to the Targaryens. Houses Stokeworth and Rosby, due to their proximity to King's Landing, have had a consistent presence at court, though they experience declines by Robert's era. House Celtigar of Claw Isle, with Valyrian roots, is a minor house introduced in House of the Dragon.

Listeners are advised of potential spoilers from the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series and related media like "House of the Dragon." The podcast utilizes resources such as novels, George R.R. Martin's writings, and fan contributions to provide comprehensive insights. Liz warns that this episode won't cover all aspects of the Crownlands due to its extensive history and connection to numerous houses.

The episode concludes with a teaser for the next episode, which will venture to Essos and its diverse cultures, along with some announcements. Liz encourages feedback on thewesterosiprimer.com and invites listeners to share the podcast with friends.

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Welcome to another episode of The Westerosi Primer. My name is Liz. And in this episode, I will be talking about The Crownlands. I’ll be discussing some of the notable people, places, and historical events that happened in the seat of power in Westeros.

Before I start the discussion, there are a couple of things to note. First there will be some potential spoilers for people who have not read the novels in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” saga. There may also be potential spoilers for House of the Dragon and other future shows that may be adapted by Max in the future. So if you’re okay with this, then please continue listening.

Second, this will not be a definitive episode of everything about the Crownlands as there really is a lot of information about all the notable houses mentioned in the novels and the additional information written by George R. R. Martin and collected by various fans including the contributors of Westeros.org.

Throughout this season of the Westerosi Primer, I will be using information gathered from the novel series, Westeros.org, The World of Ice and Fire, and The Lands of Ice and Fire. Check out the full show notes and other links located on this show’s website: thewesterosiprimer.com With that said, let’s begin!

Unlike the regions I’ve talked about in the previous 8 episodes, this was never an independent kingdom. Much of the land that comprise the Crownlands were originally land that was part of the Riverlands and Stormlands. This territory was actually disputed between rulers of the two kingdoms. Of course things changed when the Targaryens started their conquest.

If you were listening to the previous episode about the Riverlands, I mentioned the Blackwater Rush. This river moves from the Riverlands and empties in a bay called the Blackwater Bay. Famously, King’s Landing was built around the mouth of the Blackwater Rush flowing to the bay.

Just south of King’s Landing is the Kingswood. As the name would indicate, this is section of the woods that is specifically for the king to hunt in. You’d require royal permission or invitation to hunt here.

In the Age of Heroes, the now extinct house Darklyn was the ruling king of the land that makes up the Crownlands. Of course the ruling houses kept shifting over time. Again this changed with the Conquest.

King’s Landing is not only the capital of Westeros, but it is also the largest city in the continent. We’re already familiar with many aspects of the city from the tv shows. So I’ll just cover the most important things. The city is surrounded by massive walls.

The main security force is of course the City watch. They’re known as the gold cloaks due to the colored cloaks they wear. The City watch was actually established during the reign of King Maegor. We also saw in House of the Dragon that Daemon Targaryen was a commander of the watch. He was the one responsible for the gold colored cloaks they wore. Unfortunately the quality and reliability of the City watch varied over the centuries. By the time we got to King Robert’s reign, the City watch was mostly corrupt. They were only reliable for whoever paid the Commander more.

King’s Landing has three hills, which are named after Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters. Aegon’s High Hill is where the Red Keep is located on. Visenya’s Hill is where the Great Sept of Baelor is located. Game of Thrones fans will know the Great Sept of Baelor as being the place where Ned Stark lost his head. It’s the primary cathedral built for the New Gods. This was named after King Baelor the Blessed, who was a septon later king. Until this sept was built, the primary Sept of the Faith was the Starry Sept in Oldtown. I mentioned this particular building back in the Reach episode. The Dragonpit was constructed on the Hill of Rhaenys.

Another famous place in King’s Landing is the infamous Flea Bottom. It is the main slum area of the city where many of the poorest people in the capital live. Like I’ve said we’ve seen many of the notable things about King’s Landing in the TV shows.

Another notable place in the Crownlands is of course Dragonstone. We have seen Dragonstone quite a bit in the shows, particularly House of the Dragon. I’ll briefly describe the history of the Dragonstone before Robert’s Rebellion. After all we know eventually it was given to Stannis Baratheon when the Targaryens were overthrown.

Two centuries before the Doom of Valyria, the Valyrians claimed the island and built a castle on it. Then twelve years before the doom, House Targaryen moved to the island. It was claimed that Daenys Targaryen had a vision predicting the destruction of Valyria. And of course as we know a few generations later, the Conquest began.

There are a number of noble houses who are in the Crownlands. As I’ve stated in the beginning of the episode, I don’t talk about every house. This episode will be fairly short as most of the houses in the Crownlands are actually more like background characters in the novels. Due to their close distances from King’s Landing, there are random mentions of nobles in the Crownlands being at court. Nothing particularly notable happens with many of them, unlike the other nobles I’ve talked about in the previous episodes. I will also mention I won’t be discussing the Targaryens here. For one thing there’s an extensive history to this particular house that George spent a lot of time on. Also discussions of the Targaryens in more detail is extremely spoiler-laden considering we have House of the Dragon.

House Velaryon of Driftmark is a house we are very familiar with because of House of the Dragon. Like the Targaryens, this family claim their origins in Valyria. This family actually arrived on Driftmark and settled there before House Targaryen arrived at Dragonstone. As we’ve seen, this family is also proud of its naval traditions. Many times the Master of Ships position was occupied by a Velaryon.

Another notable fact is that since they are Valyrians, there have been intermarriages between House Targaryen and House Velaryon. We’ve seen this multiple times in the Targaryen family tree. Lord Aerion Targaryen married Lady Valaena Velaryon and had three children: Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys. Later Aenys Targaryen, son of Aegon and Rhaenys Targaryen, married Lady Alyssa Velaryon. As I mentioned in the Stormlands episode, later Alyssa would marry Rogar Baratheon. And then of course we had the marriages of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon and Rhaenyra Targaryen. There are a couple more such intermarriages, but that would be spoilers for House of the Dragon.

House Stokeworth of Stokeworth is directly sworn to King’s Landing. They are located just north of the capital. Naturally because of their close proximity to the capital, there are often Stokeworths present at court throughout the history of King’s Landing. There was a Stokeworth who served as one of Aegon the Conqueror’s Hands of the king.

In later generations, Falena Stokeworth was once considered a candidate for queen until misfortune happened to her. Later she became the first of Aegon the Unworthy’s mistresses. She was eventually married off to Lord Lothston. Her daughter Jeyne Lothston later became his eighth mistress. Unfortunately the Stokeworths don’t do particularly well by the time we get to Robert’s reign.

House Rosby of Rosby is directly sworn to King’s Landing. Like the Stokeworths they have been involved in various events in King’s Landing due to their proximity to the capital. One Rosby of note is Ser Rayford Rosby who was one of the champions to defend King Maegor during a Trial by combat. And just like with the Stokeworths, things don’t go well for this house during the novels as there is a succession crisis with this house.

House Celtigar of Claw Isle is also able to claim Valyrian descent. They are a minor house in the saga. I will however note we actually met a member of this family in House of the Dragon. Lord Bartimos Celtigar serves as Rhaenyra’s master of coin in the season 1 finale.

And that just about covers the basics of whose who in the Crownlands. If you’re interested in finding out more for yourself about any of these houses and other people and places I didn’t discuss in this episode, 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 and some possible material covered in the future seasons of House of the Dragon.

Thank you for listening and tune in to the next episode where we travel to across the Narrow Sea to the many cultures of Essos. Also I’ll be making a couple important announcements so stay tuned!