Maekar I Targaryen

WHO WAS MAEKAR I?

Maekar I Targaryen was the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and the fourteenth Targaryen king to sit the Iron Throne. He was the fourth son of King Daeron the Good and was given lordship of Summerhall. His personal sigil features a four-part, three-headed red dragon on the black field of House Targaryen. A capable battle commander, Maekar served during the Blackfyre Rebellion. After a series of unexpected deaths in the royal family, he inherited the Iron Throne in 221 AC and ruled until 233 AC, when he died in battle against a rebel lord.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Reign: 221 AD to 233 AD Full name: Maekar Targaryen, the First of His Name Titles: King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men Lord of the Seven Kingdoms Territory Protector Prince of Solarestival Prince of Dragonstone Knight Born: Between 174 AD and 179 AD, in King's Landing Death: 233 AD, in Piquastre

FAMILY

Casa Real: Casa Targaryen Predecessor: Aerys I Targaryen Sucessor: Aegon V Targaryen Rainha: Dyanna Dayne Filhos: Daeron Targaryen Aerion Targaryen Aemon Targaryen Aegon Targaryen Rhae Targaryen Daella Targaryen Pai: Daeron II Targaryen Mãe: Mariah Martell

APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER

Maekar was powerfully built and wore a beard. He had violet eyes, and his hair was so pale blond that it was almost white. Maekar had straight hair and a square beard, both of which were the color of silver with a touch of gold. He was strongly built and powerful-looking. Smallpox scars marred his cheeks. Maekar had a powerful gaze and a gruff voice. Maekar could be prickly and impatient. He was a stern man, quick to judge and condemn. Unlike his brother Baelor, he was uncharismatic and did not make friends and allies easily. After Baelor's accidental death at his hands, Maekar became even more stern and ruthless. Maekar had his own personal sigil, the three-headed Targaryen dragon, quartered. His armor was decorated with curved black dragon's teeth along the shoulders and back, and the crest of his helm also had dragon's teeth. He wielded a massive spiked mace. As king, Maekar wore a crown of black iron spikes on a red-gold band. His gruff and overly outspoken personality made Maekar difficult to make friends and allies, but somehow Ser Duncan felt a kind of liking for him. Maekar was considered an excellent military leader, being instrumental in the rebellions caused by House Blackfyre (specifically the First and Third Blackfyre Rebellions), and was also considered a fine warrior in his own right, formidable with his flail, but he was often overshadowed by his brother Baelor Targaryen in both his fighting skills and his leadership. He also often overshadowed his brothers in several other respects.

APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER

Raymun Fossoway says that Maekar is not as bold as Prince Baelor, nor as clever as his brother Prince Aerys, nor as kind as Prince Rhaegel, and his sons are also overshadowed by their elder brother's sons. Maekar had his own personal sigil: four three-headed red dragons, two and two, on a black field. He also wore armor that gave him a fearsome and intimidating appearance, with curved black dragon teeth that ran from his shoulders, to the top of his helm, and down his back, and he carried a huge flail with spikes of even more deadly aspect. When he became king he had his own crown forged: a warlike crown, spiked with black iron on a band of red gold.

YOUTH

Prince Maekar was the fourth son of King Daeron II Targaryen and Queen Myriah Martell. He had three older brothers: Baelor, Aerys, and Rhaegel. Although King Dareon the Good was not a warrior, two of his four sons (Prince Baelor and Prince Maekar) seemed like everything one could wish for as knights, lords, or heirs.Ser Quentyn Ball, known as "Fireball", was the Master-at-Arms of King's Landing and trained in arms both Prince Maekar and all his older brothers and the "Great Bastards", except for Aegor Rivers, as he was created in Barreira de Pedra. Prince Baelor became a tournament champion at the age of seventeen, and Prince Maekar appeared to have similar abilities. As the fourth son, there was little chance of him becoming King. He married early to Lady Dyanna of House Dayne and fathered four sons and two daughters: Daeron, Aerion, Aemon, Daella, Aegon, and Rhae. Lordship of the Targaryen summer palace, Summerhall, was granted to him.

FIRST BLACKFYRE REBELLION

Prince Maekar's father, King Daeron the Good, was intent on unifying Westeros and arranged the marriage between Prince Maron Martell and Princess Daenerys Targaryen, Daemon Blackfyre's childhood sweetheart. The grudge held by Daemon was fueled for eight or nine years by Bittersteel and Fireball until finally the First Blackfyre Rebellion took place in 196 AD. The Blackfyre Rebellion came to an end in 196 AD after the decisive Battle of Redgrass Field. Prince Maekar served as one of the commanders of the Loyalist forces. Lord Donnel Arryn, another loyalist commander, had his army crushed by Daemon Blackfyre. Shortly afterwards, Ser Gwayne Corbray of the Kingsguard appears with reinforcements to combat Daemon, while Prince Maekar attempts to reorganize what is left of Lord Arryn's vanguard to rally them together. to his own army. Daemon Blackfyre defeats Ser Gwayne, but rather than advance against Prince Maekar (who was still struggling to reorganize the remainder of Lord Arryn's defeated vanguard), he decided to slow the attack, dismounting his horse to save the Ser Gwayne's life. This decision proved to be his greatest mistake, as it gave time for Bloodraven and his Raven's Teeth to reach Weeping Peak and rain down arrows on Daemon and his twin sons, Aegon and Aemon. Immediately after Daemon's death, Many rebels tried to flee the battle, but Bittersteel takes the sword Blackfyre and takes the lead, rallying the rebels and going on one last mad attack against the loyalist army. Amid the battle of the armies, Bittersteel and Bloodraven face each other in individual combat, where Bloodraven loses an eye and is defeated.

FIRST BLACKFYRE REBELLION

However, Prince Maekar eventually managed to reorganize his army as well and entered the battle, standing firm and bravely withstanding the rebel attack, like a "formidable anvil" that completely held back the advance of his uncle, Bittersteel. At the same time, Prince Baelor Breakspear and his army of Dornish and Storm's End attacked the rebel rearguard, crushing them against the "Anvil" led by his brother, Prince Maekar, and ending the First Blackfyre Rebellion once and for all. Afterward, a famous song about the Battle of the Redgrass Field was made, called "The Hammer and the Anvil", with Prince Baelor as the "Hammer" and Prince Maekar as the "Anvil". Despite being recognized as a great fighting general for his exploits at the Battle of the Redgrass Field, Daemon Blackfyre's mistake in not attacking Prince Maekar's army when he had the chance did not go unnoticed. On the other hand, his brother, Prince Baelor Breakspear, was widely recognized and hailed for his exploits. Perhaps this is why Prince Maekar felt slighted. Sometime between 207 AC and 208 AC, the throne had many potential Targaryen heirs, as King Daeron the Good had four adult sons, three of whom had children of their own. So King Daeron II felt this could be dangerous and sent Prince Maekar's third son to the Citadel to become a maester, over his father's objections. Prince Maekar's wife, Lady Dyanna Dayne, died sometime before 209 AC.

REIGN

After the death of King Aerys I Targaryen in 221 AC, King Maekar inherited the Iron Throne. The death of his brother, Prince Baelor, at his hands still haunted him, and his desire to break with that past was so great that he had a new war crown made, with spikes of black iron on a band of red gold. King Maekar's reign took place between two Blackfyre Rebellions and was considered peaceful. Despite their disagreements, Lord Bloodraven remained as Hand of the King during the new reign. King Maekar summoned all of his sons to his court, including his third son, who was already a maester, to serve on his Small Council, but Maester Aemon refused, feeling that it would usurp the rightful place of Grand Maester and chose instead to serve his older brother, Prince Daeron, who was the new Prince of Dragonstone. However, Prince Daeron preferred to become the Prince of Summerhall, as Dragonstone was too dark. Eventually, Prince Daeron died of syphilis, which he caught from a prostitute. In 232 AC, Prince Aerion also died before his father, when he drank a vial of Wildfire, believing that he would become a dragon. It is said that he was drunk when he drank Wildfire and died at the age of 18. screams. While serving as a member of House Targaryen, Prince Aegon had meddled in the affairs of many of the Great Houses of Westeros several times, in an attempt to reduce the rights and privileges of those houses over the common folk, but in doing so he had gained many enemies and opponents in the Seven Kingdoms, likely causing problems for King Maekar's rule. During King Maekar's seven years of rule, there was a hot summer that lasted for a long time, and some within the Citadel believed it to be the "Great Summer".

REIGN

However, a short autumn and a long, cold winter soon followed. During King Maekar's reign, Danelle "the Mad" Lothston, Lady of Harrenhal, is said to have turned to the dark arts of magic, causing the downfall of House Lothston. King Maekar gave the lordship of Harrenhal to House Whent as a reward for their service in overthrowing the Lothstons. King Maekar ruled until 233 AC when he fell in battle while facing a rebel lord in the Dornish Marches during the Peake Uprising. According to a semi-canonical source, he was crushed by a stone thrown from the battlements of Starbridge during the storming of the castle. After his death, a succession crisis arose, and Lord Bloodraven, the Hand of the King, called a Great Council, which chose his son, Prince Aegon, to be the new king.

RECENT EVENTS

A GAME OF THRONES- In a conversation with Lord Eddard Stark, Grand Maester Pycelle informs him that during King Maekar's rule there was a long, hot summer that deceived many in the Citadel about the "Great Summer", but soon a cold, long winter arrived. A CLASH OF KINGS-During preparations for the Great Watch Beyond the Wall, Lord Commander Mormont speaks with Jon Snow about Maester Aemon's past, mentioning some facts about King Maekar's rule. A FEAST FOR CROWS-Maester Aemon tells Samwell Tarly that Prince Maekar was not in agreement with King Daeron the Good's decision to take him to the Citadel to study and make him a maester. Maester Aemon hopes that his father has found in death the peace he never knew in life, especially after the death of his brother, Prince Baelor.