The Fall of House Blackfyre (Spoilers Extended)
As the title states, just listing out the demise of every member of House Blackfyre.
I do admit, that I know that some are not big fans due to the retcon, but I am really into House Blackfyre/fAegon these days and thought this would be fun look at how history could repeat itself.
The Fall of Each Member of House Blackfyre
House Blackfyre was founded by Aegon IV's son Daemon when Aegon's bastards were legitimized (along with his half siblings Bloodraven, Bittersteel and Shiera Seastar)
Daemon married Rohanne of Tyrosh (and we see Tyrosh become a headquarters/safe haven for the black dragon). Daemon and his descendants (with the help of Bittersteel, rebel lords and eventually the Golden Company) repeatedly rebelled/invaded Westeros between 196 AC and 260 AC.
First Blackfyre Rebellion (196 AC)
Daemon I and his twin sons Aegon and Aemon were slain by Bloodraven and the Raven's Teeth on the Redgrass Field:
Daemon was the Warrior himself that day. No man could stand before him. He broke Lord Arryn's van to pieces and slew the Knight of Ninestars and Wild Wyl Waynwood before coming up against Ser Gwayne Corbray of the Kingsguard. For near an hour they danced together on their horses, wheeling and circling and slashing as men died all around them. It's said that whenever Blackfyre and Lady Forlorn clashed, you could hear the sound for a league around. It was half a song and half a scream, they say. But when at last the Lady faltered, Blackfyre clove through Ser Gwayne's helm and left him blind and bleeding. Daemon dismounted to see that his fallen foe was not trampled, and commanded Redtusk to carry him back to the maesters in the rear. And there was his mortal error, for the Raven's Teeth had gained the top of Weeping Ridge, and Bloodraven saw his half brother's royal standard three hundred yards away, and Daemon and his sons beneath it. He slew Aegon first, the elder of the twins, for he knew that Daemon would never leave the boy whilst warmth lingered in his body, though white shafts fell like rain. Nor did he, though seven arrows pierced him, driven as much by sorcery as by Bloodraven's bow. Young Aemon took up Blackfyre when the blade slipped from his dying father's fingers, so Bloodraven slew him, too, the younger of the twins. Thus perished the black dragon and his sons. -The Sworn Sword
Daemon II aka John the Fiddler (between 215 and 219 AC)
Daemon II (Daemon I's third son) was taken captive after the failure of the Second Blackfyre rebellion:
Were it not for the fact that Bloodraven had informants among the conspirators, Daemon the Younger could have launched a troubling rebellion from within the heart of the riverlands, but even before the tourney had concluded, the Hand turned up outside Whitewalls with a host of his own, and the Second Blackfyre Rebellion ended before it could truly be said to have begun. Gormon Peake was among the conspirators executed in the wake of the thwarted rebellion, while others such as Lord Butterwell suffered the loss of land and seats. As for Daemon, he lived on for several more years, a hostage in the Red Keep. Some wondered at his imprisonment, but the wisdom of it was plain: his next eldest brother, Haegon, could not claim the throne if Daemon were still alive. - TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I
and:
He is marking down the men to die, Dunk realized. "My lord," he said, "we saw the heads outside. Is that… will the Fiddler… Daemon… will you have his head as well?" Lord Bloodraven looked up from his parchment. "That is for King Aerys to decide… but Daemon has four younger brothers, and sisters as well. Should I be so foolish as to remove his pretty head, his mother will mourn, his friends will curse me for a kinslayer, and Bittersteel will crown his brother Haegon. Dead, young Daemon is a hero. Alive, he is an obstacle in my half brother's path. He can hardly make a third Blackfyre king whilst the second remains so inconveniently alive. Besides, such a noble captive will be an ornament to our court, and a living testament to the mercy and benevolence of His Grace King Aerys." -The Mystery Knight
But he must have died somehow before 219 AC:
The Second Blackfyre Rebellion proved a debacle, but that was not always to be the case. In 219 AC, Haegon Blackfyre and Bittersteel launched the Third Blackfyre Rebellion. - TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I
Third Blackfyre Rebellion (~219 AC)
Haegon Blackfyre (Daemon I's fourth son) was slain after surrendering:
The Second Blackfyre Rebellion proved a debacle, but that was not always to be the case. In 219 AC, Haegon Blackfyre and Bittersteel launched the Third Blackfyre Rebellion. Of the deeds done then, both good and ill—of the leadership of Maekar, the actions of Aerion Brightflame, the courage of Maekar's youngest son, and the second duel between Bloodraven and Bittersteel—we know well. The pretender Haegon I Blackfyre died in the aftermath of battle, slain treacherously after he had given up his sword, but Ser Aegor Rivers, Bittersteel, was taken alive and returned to the Red Keep in chains. Many still insist that if he had been put to the sword then and there, as Prince Aerion and Bloodraven urged, it might have meant an early end to the Blackfyre ambitions. - TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys I
Great Council of 233 (233 AC)
Aenys (Daemon I's fifth son) was killed by Bloodraven:
Even as the Great Council was debating, however, another claimant appeared in King's Landing: none other than Aenys Blackfyre, the fifth of the Black Dragon's seven sons. When the Great Council had first been announced, Aenys had written from exile in Tyrosh, putting forward his case in the hope that his words might win him the Iron Throne that his forebears had thrice failed to win with their swords. Bloodraven, the King's Hand, had responded by offering him a safe conduct, so the pretender might come to King's Landing and present his claim in person.
Unwisely, Aenys accepted. Yet hardly had he entered the city when the gold cloaks seized hold of him and dragged him to the Red Keep, where his head was struck off forthwith and presented to the lords of the Great Council, as a warning to any who might still have Blackfyre sympathies. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Maekar I
Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion (236 AC)
Daemon III (son of Haegon) was slain by Ser Duncan the Tall at Wendwater:
The invaders landed on Massey's Hook, south of Blackwater Bay, but few rallied to their banners. King Aegon V himself rode out to meet them, with his three sons by his side. In the Battle of Wendwater Bridge, the Blackfyres suffered a shattering defeat, and Daemon III was slain by the Kingsguard knight Ser Duncan the Tall, the hedge knight for whom "Egg" had served as a squire. Bittersteel eluded capture and escaped once again, only to emerge a few years later in the Disputed Lands, fighting with his sellswords in a meaningful skirmish between Tyrosh and Myr. Ser Aegor Rivers was sixtynine years of age when he fell, and it is said he died as he had lived, with a sword in his hand and defiance upon his lips. Yet his legacy would live on in the Golden Company and the Blackfyre line he had served and protected. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings : Aegon V
Daemon Blackfyre (between 241 and 258 AC)
Daemon Blackfyre (unknown lineage) was killed by his cousin Maelys:
MAELYS BLACKFYRE, THE MONSTROUS: Captain of the Golden Company, named for his grotesquely huge torso and arms, fearsome strength, and savage nature. A second head grew from his neck, no bigger than a fist. He won command of the Golden Company by fighting his cousin, Daemon Blackfyre, for it, killing his cousin's destrier with a single punch and then twisting Daemon's head until it was torn from his shoulders. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys II
War of the Ninepenny Kings/Fifth Blackfyre Rebellion (260 AC)
Maelys the Mounstrous was slain by Barristan the Bold
Command of the Targaryen host passed to the new young Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Gerold Hightower, the White Bull. Hightower and his men were hard-pressed for a time, but as the war hung in the balance, a young knight named Ser Barristan Selmy slew Maelys in single combat, winning undying renown and deciding the issue in a stroke, for the remainder of the Ninepenny Kings had little or no interest in Westeros and soon fell back to their own domains. Maelys the Monstrous was the fifth and last of the Blackfyre Pretenders; with his death, the curse that Aegon the Unworthy had inflicted on the Seven Kingdoms by giving his sword to his bastard son was finally ended. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys II
Blackfyre's with Unknown Fates
- Rohanne of Tyrosh: Daemon I's wife who was last known to be alive (assumedly in Tyrosh in 212 AC)
- Two sons of Daemon I: Daemon Blackfyre had 7 sons. We only know of the demise of 5 (Aemon/Aegon, Daemon II, Haegon, Aenys)
- Calla Blackfyre: Daughter of Daemon I, who later wed Bittersteel.
- Second daughter of Daemon I: Daemon had at least 2 daughters.
- Haegon I's son(s): Haegon had at least one mores son besides Daemon III
Obviously some of these characters could have died of natural causes, etc. and Im sure that Daemon and his cousin Maelys are descendants from one of these characters. There is also the possibility that exists that more Blackfyres exist due to unknown children (ex: Aenys was about 30 when he died but we don't know of any children).
Unknown Survivors:
That said it should be noted that this is mentioned twice in the series:
Illyrio brushed away the objection as if it were a fly. "Black or red, a dragon is still a dragon. When Maelys the Monstrous died upon the Stepstones, it was the end of the male line of House Blackfyre." The cheesemonger smiled through his forked beard. "And Daenerys will give the exiles what Bittersteel and the Blackfyres never could. She will take them home." -ADWD, Tyrion II
and:
In the aftermath, King Daeron showed a sternness that few expected. Many lords and knights who had supported the Black Dragon had lands and seats and privileges stripped from them and were forced to give over hostages. Daeron had trusted them, had done all he could to rule justly, and still they turned against him. Daemon Blackfyre's surviving sons fled to Tyrosh, their mother's home, and with them went Bittersteel. The realm would continue to be troubled by the claims of the Blackfyre Pretenders for four more generations, until the last of the descendants of Daemon Blackfyre through the male line was sent to the grave. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Daeron II
It should also be noted that Maelys and the Band of Nine used the Golden Company to attack Tyrosh in the War of the Nine Pennykings. With that knowledge, I think we can at least speculate that when Maelys killed his cousin/sacked Tyrosh that they were on competing sides of House Blackfyre.
Which have led to numerous theories about Varys/Sarra/Illyrio, etc. but basically leading to fAegon is a Blackfyre through the female line (which would be a descendant of Bittersteel/Calla imo).
My original reason for looking into these deaths was to see if I could find anything that I could parallel to fAegon that might applicable. Nothing really seemed to stand out and I still think his death is more likely to parallel a dragonseed (Ulf the White/Addam of Hull who died in different ways but in the Dance of the Dragons I and another is coming).
That said I love to discuss anything and everything Blackfyre. If you enjoyed this post, here are a couple more Blackfyre related posts you might enjoy:
- The Peake Uprising was possibly the Blackfyre Rebellion 3.5
- Not as likely as the Peake Uprising, but its possible that The Rebellion of the Rat, the Hawk and the Pig makes more sense if it was an attempted Blackfyre Rebellion
- List of Supporters of House Blackfyre in Each Rebellion
- The Greyjoys owe Bittersteel and by default fAegon/the Blackfyres a Blood Oath
TLDR: The known demises of each member of House Blackfyre.
Posted Nov 12, 2020, 1:58 PM UTC · edited