The Game of Thrones books describe hundreds
of years of history – full of kings and wars, drama and politics, and an awful lot
of incest. Three hundred years ago, Aegon Targaryen took
over Westeros, and his dynasty ruled for almost three centuries – until Robert Baratheon
took over, and the main series begins. Targaryen rule was often tumultuous – like,
the Targaryens almost destroyed themselves in a civil war called the Dance of the Dragons. But in the hundred years before Robert’s
Rebellion, the greatest threat to House Targaryen was the Blackfyres. King Aegon Targaryen the Fourth was called
“the Unworthy”, cause he was a terrible king. He was corrupt and impulsive, full of gluttony
and lust. His wife was his sister Naerys, and they had
a son called Prince Daeron. But Aegon also took hundreds of other women
as lovers, and had dozens of bastard children. Aegon hated Naerys and Daeron, so he spread
rumours that Naerys had cheated on him with their brother Aemon, and that Aemon was Daeron’s
real father. Aegon threatened to make one of his bastards
heir to the throne instead of Daeron. Aegon’s favourite bastard was Daemon Waters. His mother was Aegon’s cousin Daena “the
Defiant”. Daena had been locked away to preserve her
innocence from lustful men, but Daena escaped and hooked up with Aegon. Daena named their son Daemon, after a Prince
Daemon Targaryen who had lived fifty years earlier. Prince Daemon was renowned as a dangerous
man, “the wonder and the terror of his age” – so the name was an ominous “warning”
of the man who Daemon Waters would become. From a young age, Daemon was a talented warrior. When he was just twelve years old, King Aegon
made Daemon a knight – and gave him the legendary Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre. Blackfyre was the sword of Aegon the Conqueror,
carried by Targaryen kings for centuries [~180 years]. It’s a powerful symbol of the Targaryen
throne, and King Aegon gave it not to his true heir Prince Daeron Targaryen, but to
his bastard son Daemon. From that day, Daemon took the name Daemon
Blackfyre. King Aegon died a horrible death, literally
rotting under the weight of his obesity. And on his deathbed, he made one last spiteful
act – he legitimised all his bastards, giving them the right to inherit like a trueborn
child. Daeron was still his eldest son and heir,
but now his bastards were also in line for the Throne – a perfect recipe for conflict. After Aegon died, Daeron became king. He worked to repair the realm that Aegon had
corrupted, and he tried to keep friendly with Aegon’s bastards. He gave Daemon some land, and married him
to a woman called Rohanne of Tyrosh. King Daeron married a Dornish princess, Myriah
Martell, and successfully unified Dorne with the rest of Westeros [under Targaryen rule],
which the Targaryens had been trying to do since the Conquest. King Daeron gave the Dornish more political
influence, and Dorne got special rights and privileges that the other kingdoms didn’t
have – which angered some lords. Houses in the reach and the stormlands [Marcher
lords] had been fighting the Dornish for thousands of years, and still saw them as enemies. Aegon the Unworthy had hated the Dornish and
tried to attack them. And before him, tens of thousands died in
a previous war for Dorne. There was a lot of bad blood here. So when King Daeron got in bed with the Dornish,
some people were angry. Some didn’t trust Daeron and Myriah’s
son, Prince Baelor Breakspear, because he had the dark hair and dark eyes of a Dornishman,
not the blonde hair and purple eyes of a Targaryen. So a combination of politics and prejudice
turned some lords against King Daeron [and his Dornish allies]. They looked instead to Daemon Blackfyre – he
looked like a Targaryen king. And Daemon was way cooler than Daeron. Daeron was weak and scholarly, he read books
and listened to women, while Daemon was a big strong warrior with the legendary “sword
of kings”, Blackfyre. Some lords thought “Daemon was the better
man”, and urged him to rebel and take the Throne. Daemon was also influenced by his siblings. The “Great Bastards” of Aegon the Unworthy
included Aegor Rivers, called “Bittersteel”, Brynden Rivers called “Bloodraven”, and
Shiera Seastar. Shiera was the most beautiful woman in the
realm, and supposedly a sorcerer who bathed in blood to keep her youth. Bittersteel and Bloodraven hated each other,
because they both loved Shiera, and Shiera chose Bloodraven over Bittersteel. Bittersteel and Bloodraven also had a family
rivalry. Cause Bittersteel’s mother was Barba Bracken,
and Bloodraven’s mother was Melissa Blackwood, and the Blackwoods and Brackens have hated
each other for thousands of years. When Barba hooked up with King Aegon, the
Brackens plotted and schemed to tryn make Barba queen – which could’ve potentially
made Bittersteel heir to the throne. But that.. went.. very badly, and [partly
because of Daeron] the Brackens lost their political influence. While Melissa Blackwood and Bloodraven kept
their influence on the throne. So Bittersteel was.. bitter about the fall
of his family, and about Bloodraven getting his girl Shiera. Author George Martin said Bittersteel was
“pissed off all his life”, and he hated Bloodraven and Daeron. So Bittersteel urged Daemon to rebel against
Daeron, and claim the throne himself. There was also this knight called Quentyn
Ball, nicknamed Fireball – he was angry at King Daeron for not letting him join the
Kingsguard. So Fireball and Bittersteel and everyone else
who had beef with Daeron finally convinced Daemon to rebel. Daemon declared himself the rightful king
of Westeros, and the true heir of King Aegon – claiming that Daeron was the bastard son
of Aegon’s brother. So rebel lords gathered to Daemon’s black
dragon banner, and the red dragon battled the black. The great houses, like the Lannisters, Arryns,
Tullys, and Martells, stayed loyal to the Targaryens – they wanted to preserve their
power in the status quo. The Blackfyre supporters were mostly the less
powerful houses hoping to gain power under a different king – houses like the Yronwoods
in Dorne, and the Reynes in the westerlands have a history of rebelling against their
liege lords. So there were “many battles” all across
Westeros. Fireball kicked some Lannister arse in the
westerlands. But just before the final battle, Fireball
was killed by some random archer – some fans suspect that Bloodraven was behind this. But the First Blackfyre Rebellion ended at
the Battle of the Redgrass Field. Daemon Blackfyre fought brilliantly, and had
an epic duel with Gwayne Corbray of the Kingsguard. Corbray had a Valyrian steel sword called
Lady Forlorn, and every time it clashed with Blackfyre the sound could be heard from miles
around, [“half a song and half a scream”]. Daemon defeated Corbray, but then helped his
wounded enemy get to safety. Bloodraven took advantage of this moment to
rain arrows on his half-brother – weirwood arrows, “driven as much by sorcery” as
by his bow. Daemon Blackfyre and two of his sons were
killed. Bittersteel took up Daemon’s sword and led
a “mad charge” to rally the rebels. Bloodraven fought a duel with Bittersteel,
and Bloodraven lost an eye. Then Prince Baelor Breakspear and Prince Maekar
crushed the rebel army, like a hammer and an anvil. So Daemon Blackfyre was defeated – but some
of his sons and Bittersteel survived. They went across to Essos, and founded a mercenary
group called the Golden Company, made up of exiled lords and knights from Westeros. They took contracts to fight all over the
east, but they never forgot their goal to return to Westeros and put a Blackfyre on
the Throne. Back in Westeros, King Daeron punished the
lords who had rebelled against him. Rebels like Gormon Peake had some of their
lands and power taken away and their children taken hostage, to stop them from rebelling
again. So it seemed that Daeron had cemented his
power, and as long as nothing terrible happened, he would rule for many more years. But then something terrible happened. The heir to the throne Baelor Breakspear died
at a tournament, as told in story The Hedge Knight. Then a deadly plague hit Westeros, that killed
Baelor’s sons, and killed King Daeron. So the weak and bookish Aerys Targaryen became
king, and his reign was troubled by ironborn raiders and drought. Bloodraven practically ruled the realm for
him, and was brutal in spying and executing people for treasonous speech. Many people hated Bloodraven. And the recent plague had killed a lot of
the hostages held against rebel lords. So Gormon Peake saw these divided times as
an opportunity to win back his power and pride. He planned a second Blackfyre rebellion with
one of Daemon Blackfyre’s sons, Daemon the Second. With Lord Butterwell, they held a wedding
tournament to bring together Blackfyre supporters. Daemon was convinced he would succeed and
become king because he had prophetic dreams of a dragon egg hatching. But he didn’t have enough allies – Bittersteel
and the Golden Company didn’t support him, possibly because Daemon was gay, or possibly
just because his plan sucked. Daemon’s magic dreams didn’t work out
like he hoped, and his plans were ruined by Duncan the Tall, and the son of Fireball,
and some secret toilet dwarfs – it’s a whole thing, go watch our Mystery Knight video. The point is, the Second Blackfyre Rebellion
failed before it even began, and Bloodraven imprisoned Daemon the Second. But after Daemon died, his brother Haegon
launched the Third Blackfyre Rebellion. Haegon Blackfyre, Bittersteel, and the Golden
Company attacked, and they were defeated by the Targaryens. We’re told that Prince Maekar showed “leadership”,
Prince Egg showed “courage”, and Prince Aerion took.. “actions”. Aerion was mad and cruel, so whatever “actions”
he did may not have been.. helpful. Bloodraven fought another duel with Bittersteel. This was twenty years after the first rebellion,
and these guys were still fighting over who got to root their sister. This personal beef between the white dragon
Bloodraven and the red stallion Bittersteel, the Blackwood and the Bracken, continued to
drive the conflict of the Blackfyre rebellions. Anyway the Blackfyres were defeated, and Haegon
was “slain treacherously” after he had surrendered, which sounds like something Bloodraven
might do, or maybe Aerion. We’re told almost nothing about the Third
Rebellion, so hopefully we’ll get the full story in a future Dunk & Egg novella. We do know that Bittersteel was captured,
and Bloodraven wanted him killed, to finally end his rebellions. But King Aerys chose to just send him to the
Night’s Watch on the Wall instead. This was “a foolish mercy”, because Bittersteel
just escaped, went back east, and prepared for the next Blackfyre rebellion. After King Aerys died, Maekar became king. When Maekar died, there was a big council
to choose the next king. They didn’t want Aerion’s son Maegor to
be king, because he was a baby, and his dad was crazy. They didn’t want Daeron’s daughter Vaella,
because she was “simple-minded”, and, a girl. Maester Aemon refused to be king, because
he was a maester. And they didn’t want Egg, because he grew
up travelling with a hedge knight called Dunk, and Egg all these crazy ideas about how peasants
should have ‘rights’ and stuff. So then, a fifth option arrived – Aenys
Blackfyre, a younger son of Daemon the First, said that he should be king. Bloodraven promised to let Aenys come to King’s
Landing and speak unharmed, but Bloodraven lied, and cut off Aenys’ head, ruthlessly
crushing a Blackfyre once again. And the council chose Egg to be king. As punishment for dishonourably killing Aenys,
King Egg sent Bloodraven to the Night’s Watch on the Wall. Years later, Bloodraven became the magical
three-eyed crow, and now continues to do morally questionable things for the sake of the greater
good – like turning Bran into a magic tree boy. In Book 5, Bloodraven tells Bran that he once
had a brother that he loved, a brother that he hated, and a woman he desired. The woman he desired was Shiera, the brother
he hated was Bittersteel. The brother he loved might have been Daeron. But maybe, in a way, Bloodraven loved his
brother Daemon – which would add a layer of tragedy to his killing of Daemon on the
Redgrass Field. Bloodraven does some terrible things in his
fight against the Blackfyres. He kills his brother Daemon. Runs a brutal surveillance state under King
Aerys, and captures Daemon the Second. Dishonourably kills Aenys, and possibly Haegon
as well. Bloodraven argues that the ends justify the
means. Traitors must be crushed, or else they’ll
just rebel again, so it’s worth sacrificing his honour for the sake of the realm. And it seems like Bloodraven’s right. Like, King Aerys showed mercy to Bittersteel,
and that was “foolish”, cause Bittersteel just went and rebelled again. Back when Daeron was king, he was friendly
to his rival Daemon, and even married him to the wife who bore his rebel sons. If Daeron had imprisoned or killed Daemon
instead, generations of Blackfyre rebellions might never have happened. “too much mercy” from the Targaryens led
to generations of war [“pain, grief, war, and murder”]. Like how Ned Stark’s mercy just gets him
killed and leads to war. So is Bloodraven right, that mercy and honour
leads to conflict, and that only ruthless violence can keep you safe? Well the story’s not over yet. In the reign of King Egg, the Fourth Blackfyre
Rebellion began. Daemon the First’s grandson, Daemon Blackfyre
the Third, landed near King’s Landing, with Bittersteel and the Golden Company – but
few lords supported this rebellion. King Egg rode out to fight them, alongside
his sons – Jaehaerys, Daeron and Duncan the Small – who was probably named after
Duncan the Tall. At the Battle of Wendwater Bridge, Dunk killed
Daemon the Third, and the Blackfyres were defeated again, Bittersteel fled east again,
and a few years later Bittersteel died in battle fighting as a mercenary. He was sixty-nine years old, and he died as
he lived – “with a sword in his hand and defiance upon his lips”. Bittersteel failed to get a Blackfyre on the
throne. But his legacy lives on. The Golden Company, and the surviving Blackfyres
continued to rebel in his name. The Golden Company gilded Bittersteel’s
skull, covered it with gold, and they still carry it into battle on their banners, so
that one day, Bittersteel’s remains can return to Westeros to see a Blackfyre on the
Throne. [Their war cry is “Beneath the gold, the
bitter steel” ]. King Egg died in the mysterious tragedy of
Summerhall. Egg’s son Jaehaerys became king, and he
faced a new Blackfyre threat. Over in Essos, “nine outlaws, exiles, pirates,
and sellsword captains” [met “beneath the Tree of Crowns”, and] formed “an unholy
alliance”. The “Band of Nine”, or “Ninepenny Kings”,
were a motley group of badasses from around the world who worked together to conquer. They included Derrick Fossoway, the Bad Apple
– a descendent of the Fossoways from The Hedge Knight. There was Samarro Saan, an ancestor of the
pirate Salladhor Saan, from the main series. And there was “the last Blackfyre”, Maelys
the Monstrous. Maelys was “grotesquely huge”, strong,
and savage. He had supposedly eaten his twin brother in
the womb, so his brother’s tiny head grew from his neck. Maelys took over the Golden Company by killing
his Blackfyre cousin – he killed his cousin’s horse with one punch, then ripped his cousin’s
head off his shoulders. Maelys and the Ninepenny Kings and the Golden
Company took over Tyrosh and the Stepstones, and prepared to attack Westeros. So King Jaehaerys sent an army to destroy
them, led by Ormund Baratheon. Ormund was killed by Maelys, and he died in
the arms of his son Steffon – Steffon is the father of Robert, Stannis and Renly Baratheon. Lord Quellon Greyjoy, grandfather of Theon
and Asha, led a fleet of longships into battle. The Starks, Lannisters, Arryns, Tullys and
Martells also sent soldiers, so the gang wsall here, united against the Ninepenny Kings. Many young knights won fame and glory in the
fighting, including Catelyn’s uncle, Brynden Blackfish, and Tywin Lannister, along with
his brothers Kevan and Tygett. During the war, Tywin and Steffon Baratheon
made friends with the king’s son, Aerys Targaryen – but that friendship later broke
down when Aerys became the Mad King. Lord Hoster Tully made friends with a Lord
Baelish, so Baelish’s son Petyr went to live with the Tullys in Riverrun – the beginning
of Littlefinger’s rise to power. Jon Arryn made friends with Rickard Stark
and Steffon Baratheon, which eventually led to the Arryn-Stark-Baratheon alliance that
took down the Mad King in Robert’s Rebellion. So a lot of the relationships that shaped
the past generation of the game of thrones began in this war. The war ended when a young Barristan Selmy
cut a bloody path through the Golden Company and killed Maelys the Monstrous. So after five generations of rebellions, House
Blackfyre was finally dead, and they’ll never be a threat again. …Right? We’re told that Maelys was “the last Blackfyre”. But then we’re told that Maelys was just
the last Blackfyre through the male line, which implies that some Blackfyres survived
through the female line – meaning, Daemon’s daughters or granddaughters might’ve survived
and had kids. So maybe the Blackfyres could return. In the books, Varys and Illyrio’s secret
plan is make this kid Young Griff the King of Westeros. They say that Young Griff is Aegon Targaryen,
the son of Rhaegar and Elia, who was believed to have died, but Varys claims they secretly
saved him. Some characters don’t believe this kid is
really Aegon Targaryen. And in visions and prophecy, we’re warned
of a “false” dragon, or a “mummer’s dragon”, meaning a fake Targaryen. Varys was a mummer, or street performer, and
a master of illusion and deception. Varys says that “Power resides where men
believe it resides”, that power is a mummer’s trick. Young Griff is his “mummer’s dragon”. So what’s the trick? There’s a theory that the Young Griff is
not Aegon Targaryen – he’s actually a Blackfyre. Cause in Book 5, Young Griff invades Westeros
to take the Throne, calling himself Aegon Targaryen. And he’s supported by the Golden Company. For a hundred years, the Golden Company have
fought against the Targaryens for the Blackfyres. So Tyrion asks why would they fight for a
Targaryen? And that’s when Illyrio says that the Blackfyres
are extinct through the male line. He says the Golden Company supports them because
of contracts writ in blood, “I say no more”. Illyrio and Varys made their alliance with
the Golden Company with Company commander Blackheart Toyne. And the Toynes would have a particular grudge
against the Targaryens because the Targaryens caused the downfall of their family a hundred
years ago. It is so weird for the Golden Company to support
Young Griff – unless Young Griff is a Blackfyre. This might also explain Illyrio’s motivations. Cause Tyrion wonders why Illyrio is in this
conspiracy to make Young Griff the King of Westeros. Illyrio is a cheese merchant from Essos, why
does he care about putting this teenager on a foreign throne? Illyrio says he’s just in it for the money,
but Tyrion thinks he has some deeper reason. Illyrio says he has “debts of affection
to repay”. Illyrio is very fond of Young Griff – he
wants to spend time with him, praises him, gives him gifts. He’s almost like a father to Young Griff. Illyrio once had a wife called Serra, who
he loved deeply before she died. And Serra had silver-gold hair like a Targaryen..
or like a Blackfyre. So the theory is that Serra was a Blackfyre,
and Young Griff was her son with Illyrio. Illyrio wants Young Griff on the Iron Throne
to honour his beloved Serra Blackfyre. And it looks like Young Griff might actually
succeed where past generations of Blackfyres failed. Cause, in some ways, Young Griff is similar
to Daemon Blackfyre the Second – he’s young, handsome, and confident. He uses a fake name, and dyes his hair to
hide the Blackfyre blonde. But Daemon the Second failed because he didn’t
have an army, he didn’t have enough alliances, and he didn’t have important symbols like
the sword Blackfyre. Young Griff could soon have all three. He has the Golden Company’s army, and they’ve
already taken castles in the stormlands. He’s working on an alliance with Dorne,
and has “friends in the Reach”. As for the sword Blackfyre, its location is
a mystery. But in a draft of a chapter read by George
Martin, Illyrio says he has a gift for Young Griff, and mentions a “sword”. So some fans believe that Illyrio has the
sword Blackfyre, and will give it to Young Griff, to show his legitimacy as king – and
to subtly hint at his Blackfyre heritage. Young Griff might just win the Iron Throne. But when Daenerys finally arrives, blazing
in from the east with her dragons, she’s gonna want Young Griff off her chair. In Daenerys’ vision of the “mummer’s
dragon”, Daenerys is called the “slayer of lies”. Maybe she’ll slay the lie that Young Griff
is a Targaryen, and will destroy this false king, finally truly ending House Blackfyre. But, if that’s what happens, what’s the
meaning here? Is the whole Blackfyre plotline, and Young
Griff, just one last obstacle between Daenerys and the Throne? Is the “mummer’s dragon” only there
“to give the heroes something to fight”, as Daenerys says? Maybe this could tie back to the theme of
mercy. Like, all throughout the Blackfyre rebellions,
Bloodraven has argued that mercy is stupid and you should brutally kill your enemies. But maybe this time, brutal murder would be
a bad idea? Like, Young Griff might be seen as a popular
legitimate Targaryen king [“amidst a cheering crowd”]. So if Daenerys the scary dragon lady incinerates
him in front of everyone, that could backfire on her, even if Daenerys is right. Maybe this time, mercy to the Blackfyres would
be wise. And maybe being right, and having the true
Targaryen bloodline, isn’t what’s important. Maybe it doesn’t matter whether Young Griff
is a Targaryen or a Blackfyre. “Power resides where men believe it resides”. And “Treason … is only a word”. This whole hundred-year conflict traces back
to whether Daeron or Daemon was the true heir of King Aegon. And for all we know, Daemon might have been
right. Maybe Naerys really did cheat on Aegon with
their brother, and Daemon was the rightful king all along. But why should a question of who porked who
a hundred years ago cause generations of war? Jorah once told Daenerys that the common people
don’t care whether they’re ruled by “a true king or a usurper” – they just want
to be “left in peace”. But the idea of monarchy where the Throne
is inherited by the king’s trueborn heir has caused wars for centuries, and another
Targaryen-Blackfyre conflict would just continue this cycle of violence. So maybe the Throne should be destroyed in
the end, along with the Targaryens and Blackfyres, trueborn and falseborn. So that a different a kind of king can rule. Bran Stark won’t have kids, trueborn or
bastard. There won’t be wars to inherit his throne,
so long as keeps ruling for centuries, with immortality from the weirwoods, like his master
Bloodraven. The magic of the weirwoods and the three-eyed
crow is super creepy and controlling. If Bran becomes king in the books, he might
just be a puppet of Bloodraven and the old gods. So after a hundred years, and six Blackfyre
rebellions, King Bran would be Bloodraven’s victory in his ancient rivalry with Bittersteel
and the Blackfyres [and Brackens]. He might even get Shiera back in the end – there’s
a theory that she’s still alive as the masked sorceress Quaithe. But that’s all just speculation. We don’t know how the books will end. We don’t know if Bran will be king in the
books, and we don’t know for sure if Young Griff if is a Blackfyre. But the history of the Blackfyre rebellions
explores the story’s big themes of power, mercy, and monarchy, and they could be an
important part of the endgame of A Song of Ice and Fire. If you watched this video, and you haven’t
read A Song of Ice and Fire,.. you should do that. As well as the main five books, there’s
the Dunk & Egg novellas, and the history books. And you can get any one these on audiobook
for free right now at audible.com/asx. Sign up for a free Premium Plus trial membership,
and you get an audiobook to keep, even if you cancel the trial. You could get a Game of Thrones book, or Dune,
or The Expanse, or His Dark Materials. Membership also includes unlimited access
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500-500. Thanks for watching. Please like comment and subscribe, and check
out our other videos about Bloodraven, Quaithe, and Dunk & Egg. Thanks to the Patrons, including thatshinybastard,
Sonafro, Nikita Martin, Alia F, Reto Schuettel, Peter, Gregarwolf, Matthew Tyler, Fatcunt
Y, The Flies Have It, Dana Sorensen, and itsame mario. Cheers.
Love Alt Shift X
The Greatest Targaryen Enemies are Themselves.
These videos are too good, hope they keep doing them. The ones on dunk & egg are mint
I really liked how he talked about the meaning of the Blackfyres in the context of the books and showed it’s not just another obstacle for the hero (Daenerys) to overcome. It seems like the consequences of Daenerys potentially removing fAegon from the throne are going to line up with some of the plots we saw in season 8.
House Targaryen's greatest enemy: House Targaryen.
I like how this video shows that Danaerys burning Kings Landing and Bran becoming king can actually work narratively with the correct set up
Really liked this video from him. While some of his theory videos feel like a compilation of theory resources online, this is a really nice historical analysis with some overarching conclusions.
He makes great videos. Good for casual and less casual fans alike. they are especially good to watch before looking through this sub for discussion by giving you an overview of fan consensus and popular opinions.
His videos are great.