The ~14 Claims of the Great Council of 101 AC

After the death of Baelon the Brave in 101AC, instead of naming an heir, the Old King Jaehaerys I decided to hold a great council at Harrenhal to decide the succession (this should be an early scene in HotD)

And so the greatest problem of the later years of Jaehaerys's reign was the fact that there were simply too many Targaryens, and too many possible successors. Ill fate had left Jaehaerys lacking a clear heir not once but twice, following the death of Baelon the Brave in 101 AC. To resolve the matter of his heir once and for all, Jaehaerys called the first Great Council in the year 101 AC, to put the matter before the lords of the realm. And from all corners of the realm the lords came. No castle could hold so many save for Harrenhal, so it was there that they gathered. The lords, great and small, came with their trains of bannermen, knights, squires, grooms, and servants. And behind them came yet more—the camp followers and washerwomen, the hawkers and smiths and carters. Thousands of tents sprang up over the moons, until the castle town of Harrenton was accounted the fourth largest city of the Realm. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I

I thought it would be fun/interesting to take a quick look at each of these 14 claims.

No fewer than fourteen claims were duly examined and considered by the lords assembled.

The "Lesser" Claimants (9)

The Great Council deliberated for thirteen days. The tenuous claims of nine lesser competitors were considered and discarded

The Three Bastard Sons of Saera Targaryen (3)

• Young Jaehaerys lookalike
• Bastard of a triarch of Volantis
• Unmentioned Third

From Essos came three rival competitors, grandsons of King Jaehaerys through his daughter Saera, each sired by a different father. One was said to be the very image of his grandsire in his youth. Another, a bastard born to a triarch of Old Volantis, arrived with bags of gold and a dwarf elephant. The lavish gifts he distributed amongst the poorer lords undoubtedly helped his claim. The elephant proved less useful.

Descendant of Gaemon the Glorious (1)

Another contestant produced sheafs of parchment that demonstrated his descent from Gaemon the Glorious, the greatest of the Targaryen Lords of Dragonstone before the Conquest, by way of a younger daughter and the petty lord she had married, and on for seven further generations.

Bastard of Maegor the Cruel (1)

There was as well a strapping red-haired man-at-arms who claimed to be a bastard son of Maegor the Cruel. By way of proof he brought his mother, an aged innkeep’s daughter who said that she had once been raped by Maegor. (The lords were prepared to believe the fact of rape, but not that the act had gotten her with child.)

Bastard of Jaehaerys I (1)

a hedge knight who put himself forward as a natural son of King Jaehaerys himself, was seized and imprisoned when the king exposed him as a liar

Saera Targaryen (1 but unconfirmed/ambiguous)

(Princess Saera herself was still alive and well in Volantis, and only thirty-four years of age; her own claim was clearly superior to those of any of her bastard sons, but she did not choose to press it. “I have my own kingdom here,” she said, when asked if she meant to return to Westeros.)

Other Possibilities for the last 2-3 spots

• Daemon Targaryen
• Septa Rhaella Targaryen
• Rhaenyra Targaryen (4 years old)
• Aemma Arryn

Considered

Archmaester Vaegon Targaryen (1)

Vaegon had the original idea to have the great council:

And yet it was to Archmaester Vaegon that the Old King turned now, summoning his last son to King’s Landing. ... A violent struggle for succession was likely no matter who the Old King named to succeed him. No doubt that was why His Grace seized eagerly on the solution offered by Archmaester Vaegon.

King Jaehaerys announced his intent to convene a Great Council, to discuss, debate, and ultimately decide the matter of succession. All the great and lesser lords of Westeros would be invited to attend, together with maesters from the Citadel of Oldtown, and septas and septons to speak for the Faith. Let the claimants make their cases before the assembled lords, His Grace decreed. He would abide by the council’s decision, whomever they might choose.

and while he likely didn't want the throne, he was ruled out:

Archmaester Vaegon was ruled out on account of his vows

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen & Laena Velaryon (2)

Princess Rhaenys and her daughter on account of their sex

Major Claimants (2)

Viserys was the Old King’s grandson, Laenor his great-grandson. The principle of primogeniture favored Laenor, the principle of proximity Viserys. Viserys had also been the last Targaryen to ride Balerion…though after the death of the Black Dread in 94 AC he never mounted another dragon, whereas the boy Laenor had yet to take his first flight upon his young dragon, a splendid grey-and-white beast he named Seasmoke.

Viserys I Targaryen

Viserys Targaryen, eldest son of Prince Baelon and Princess Alyssa

Laenor Velaryon

Laenor Velaryon, the son of Princess Rhaenys and grandson of Prince Aemon.

Viserys' claim was stronger, but Laenor's parents (Rhaenys/Corlys) are powerful figures:

But Viserys’s claim derived from his father, Laenor’s from his mother, and most lords felt that the male line must take precedence over the female. Moreover, Viserys was a man of twenty-four, Laenor a boy of seven. For all these reasons, Laenor’s claim was generally regarded as the weaker, but the boy’s mother and father were such powerful and influential figures that it could not be dismissed entirely.

but it still was not enough:

Though Lord and Lady Velaryon were eloquent and open-handed in their efforts on behalf of their son, the decision of the Great Council was never truly in doubt. By a lopsided margin, the lords assembled chose Viserys Targaryen as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Though the maesters who tallied the votes never revealed the actual numbers, it was said afterward that the vote had been more than twenty to one.

King Jaehaerys had not attended the council, but when word of their verdict reached him, His Grace thanked the lords for their service and gratefully conferred the style Prince of Dragonstone upon his grandson Viserys. Storm’s End and Driftmark accepted the decision, if grudgingly; the vote had been so overwhelming that even Laenor’s father and mother saw that they could not hope to prevail. In the eyes of many, the Great Council of 101 AC thereby established an iron precedent on matters of succession: regardless of seniority, the Iron Throne of Westeros could not pass to a woman, nor through a woman to her male descendants.

TLDR: A quick rundown of the ~14 claimants at the Great Council of 101 AC. Looking at this decision, you can see why HoTD felt the need to have a scene or two take place in 101AC (even though the Dance doesn't actually start until 129AC.