I am a supporter of House Targaryen. What attracts me to this House, despite the irksome incest and cruelties that taint their history, is the mystery that surrounds these royals who are the Blood of Valyria. Among all the Targaryens that have lived so far, Rhaegar has mystified me and I believe everyone else in the fandom, the most.
The proclamation of love between Rhaegar and Lyanna at the end of season 7, put me off. What was worse, was that the show watchers who supported R+L=J celebrated this romantic angle. I bear no ill will against them for all that has been told about Rhaegar in the show would’ve portrayed the picture of a romantic, but that is not why we are so obsessed with this character. There was a lot more to him and what he did. While even my conclusions are all theories, here’s a blog on my understanding of who was Rhaegar Targaryen, the Last Dragon, and why he married Lyanna Stark (if he did) and how it will be explained in the books.
When we first hear of Rhaegar it is through King Robert Baratheon, who declares him as a rapist and we see no one refuting that claim. One lives in this shadow until Ned Stark, in the books, mentions that Rhaegar wasn’t one to frequent brothels. For someone who could be a potential rapist, him not frequenting brothels is a very odd characteristic.
“There was no answer Ned Stark could give to that but a frown. For the first time in years, he found himself remembering Rhaegar Targaryen. He wondered if Rhaegar had frequented brothels; somehow he thought not.”
As we proceed further many things about him come to the surface from credible sources like Ser Barristan Selmy, which put Rhaegar in a very different light.
The WarriorWhile re-reading A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold, I came across a very interesting conversation between Arstan Whitebeard (Barristan Selmy) and Daenerys Targaryen for this blog.
“Arstan: But I am not certain it was in Rhaegar to be happy.
Daenerys: You make him sound so sour.
Arstan: Not sour, no, but… there was a melancholy to Prince Rhaegar, a sense…
Daenerys: Say it. A sense?
Arstan: … of doom. He was born in grief, my queen, and that shadow hung over him all his days.”
In his childhood, Rhaegar is said to have been obsessed with reading. So much that it was jested that Queen Rhaella must’ve swollen books and candles while Rhaegar was in her womb, or that he was Baelor the Blessed come again. It was one such read that led him to believe that he was the Prince who was Promised, which made him realize that he had to be a warrior.
“I will require a sword and armor. It seems I must be a warrior.”
– Rhaegar to Willem Darry
It is believed that what Rhaegar read was related to the prophecy of the Prince who was Promised. This belief of Rhaegar being the Prince who was Promised is shared by Maester Aemon who used to communicate with the former through Ravens, as was told in a chapter of A Feast for Crows:
“He shared my belief when he was young, but later he became persuaded that it was his own son who fulfilled the prophecy, for a comet had been seen above King’s Landing on the night Aegon was conceived, and Rhaegar was certain the bleeding star had to be a comet.”
All these quotes point to two things about Rhaegar:
(1) He was a dutiful man, for it seemed to him that it was his duty to see the prophecy fulfilled, and
(2) He was a peace loving man, who had no interest in wars or bloodshed like Robert and Jaime are known to have, both in their own words and by the description of them given by other characters.
The Heir to the Iron Thrones
Throughout the time that Barristan Selmy is with Daenerys, he never ceases to praise Rhaegar and the prospects of a better future with him as the King.
“Daenerys: What was he truly like?
Barristan Selmy: Able. That above all. Determined, deliberate, dutiful, single-minded.”
– Ser Barristan to Dany
His love for his subjects is another defining characteristic of Rhaegar which makes Barristan Selmy compare Daenerys’s ruling abilities to him and not her father Aerys Targaryen a.k.a the Mad King. He sang for the people of King’s Landing to see how good he was, which makes me believe that it mattered to him that the people he ruled were happy.
Barristan’s belief in Rhaegar’s abilities go so far that he regrets two events, the key to Rhaegar’s downfall, in which Barristan had a part to play:
(1) Saving Aerys from Duskendale, for the Mad King began questioning his own heir’s loyalty following that, and
(2) Letting Rhaegar win at the Tourney of Harrenhal where he crowned Lyanna Stark, the Queen of Love and Beauty, over his wife Elia Martell.
The Prince who was Promised
A recurring theme in ASOIAF series is the Targaryens obsession with bringing back the dragons and fulfilling the prophecy of the Prince who was Promised. This prophecy has been a defining one in Rhaegar’s life. From believing that he was the Prince to believing that it was his son, Rhaegar had taken it upon himself to see the prophecy fulfilled.
This is what leads to the theory that Lyanna’s alleged abduction by Rhaegar was only to fulfill the prophecy for he needed a third child that Elia couldn’t give him. I’ll take the following conversation between the husband and wife to make my case:
“Rhaegar: Aegon. What better name for a king?
Elia: Will you make a song for him?
Rhaegar: He has a song. He is the prince that was promised, and, his is the song of ice and fire. There must be one more. The dragon has three heads.”
– Rhaegar and Elia Martell in Daenerys Targaryen’s vision in the House of the Undying
Why Rhaegar chose Lyanna is related to his obsession of the Prince who was Promised prophecy and this logic is better explained in the following theory:
Why Rhaegar didn’t love Lyanna
The theory that Lyanna was the Knight of the Laughing Tree in Howland Reed’s story of the Tourney of Harrenhal also makes a lot of sense. Since Elia couldn’t give Rhaegar the third head of the dragon, as she might’ve died giving birth to a third child, he had to turn to the woman whose genes could’ve helped him produce a worthy match.
I believe that the Martells were in on this the whole time because Elia clearly knew of Rhaegar’s obsession with fulfilling the prophecy and since she supported it, the Martells didn’t object. As we see in the books Doran is plotting against the Lannisters by supporting the remaining Targaryens, Viserys and Daenerys.
This theory has been doing the round for quite some time and I believe in it wholeheartedly which brings me to
Why the Show is Absolutely WrongThe show has ruined many plots and characters before, so, it wasn’t a surprise that they ruined both Rhaegar’s looks and personality. Now Rhaegar Targaryen was a man loved by every woman in Westeros. He was the perfect man, with sadness in his eyes and a depth in his voice. With the characteristics of the perfect knight and the title of Crown Prince.
Cersei was in love with him the first time she saw him. Ashara Dayne, by far the most beautiful woman in all of Westeros was Elia Martell’s handmaiden. Constantly around Rhaegar, her beauty didn’t entice the Prince of Dragonstone. There is no evidence of any prior love affair between Rhaegar and Lyanna or of Rhaegar being unhappy in his marriage to Elia.
So, why would he cheat? My understanding is that people cheat to look for happiness that they have lost in their existing love. If Rhaegar, 24 and a father of two, well on his way to becoming a King with a devoted wife whom he was “fond” of, cared not one bit about the fate that would follow marrying Lyanna, then all the praise we have heard for him was for naught. This is a possibility but since I haven’t heard anyone except Robert Baratheon, speak ill of Rhaegar I choose to believe that it wasn’t love that got him to marrying Lyanna. This brings me to my theory:
Rhaegar was PossessedTo understand this we need to understand a little about The Three-eyed Raven. While we again haven’t been told much about him in the show, according to the books, the Three-eyed Raven was Lord Brynden Rivers, a.k.a. The Bloodraven, one of my favourite characters from the past.
Brynden Rivers was the bastard son of Aegon IV Targaryen, a.k.a. Aegon the Unworthy and his mistress Melissa Blackwood. He served as the Master of Whisperers, Hand of the King and then Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. There was great terror of him when he was alive for many ill fated events were said to be his work. We later find out that Lord Brynden was a Greenseer, who have the ability of greensight as well as warging.
“How many eyes does Lord Bloodraven have? the riddle ran. A thousand eyes, and one. Some claimed the King’s Hand was a student of the dark arts who could change his face, put on the likeness of a one-eyed dog, even turn into a mist. Packs of gaunt gray wolves hunted down his foes, men said, and carrion crows spied for him and whispered secrets in his ear. Most of the tales were only tales, Dunk did not doubt, but no one could doubt that Bloodraven had informers everywhere.”
– thoughts of Duncan the Tall
Varamyr Sixskins, a warg among the wildlings had the ability of warging into humans as well as animals. We even see Bran warging into Hodor, which leads us to the understanding that warging into humans is possible.
There is another very plausible theory that during his time as a hostage at Duskendale, Bloodraven tried to bring to Aerys’s attention the importance of the threat looming in the North. Jealousy of Tywin was the only taint in Aerys’s character prior to this abduction. After returning to King’s Landing he grew mad and was said to hear voices. All of this can be attributed to the fear that made him go mad, or can be a work of the Bloodraven.
It can be understood that it was the want to fulfill a prophecy that made Rhaegar marry Lyanna, for I don’t believe she would’ve gotten into bed with him without a wedlock. Even if all this was done with Elia’s consent it does go against Rhaegar’s “honourable” character. A mating between the blood of the First men and Valyria was however, important to fight the Night’s King and his Army.
This leads me to believe that the Bloodraven warged into Rhaegar, and made him seduce Lyanna Stark, marry her, and get her pregnant with the Prince who was Promised/Azor Ahai. Only Rhaegar was fit for this job for Lyanna had feelings for him, just as every other woman in Westeros did, and no other Targaryen (Aerys was mad, and Viserys was a child) was fit for the job.
It was once the Bloodraven left Rhaegar’s body did he realise what he had done and found out about the war that ensued. He then left the Tower of Joy and went to King’s Landing, to his wife and children and then joined the war.
Another reason that makes me believe in this theory is that Rhaegar should’ve made arrangements for Lyanna and their unborn child to leave Westeros had he been in his senses. He knew that should he lose, which was a big possibility given how Robert had won every battle, except one, Robert wouldn’t spare his child. A dead child was no good for the fulfillment of his prophecy. Yet, only three knights of the Kingsguard remained to protect Lyanna Stark.
If not his love for Elia, then at least the love for his children should’ve stopped Rhaegar from doing what he did. He already believed that his son Aegon was the Prince who was Promised, thus there really was no dire need of a third child. Only Bloodraven could’ve known that Aegon wasn’t the Prince from the prophecy. Being half-Valyrian (father) and half-Northern (mother) himself, he was the living testament of there being great power in the combination of the two.
I have already refuted the possibility of love being the reason behind what Rhaegar did for after the Tourney of Harrenhal, he went back to Dragonstone and fathered another child with Elia. Bloodraven has been known to be behind many key turns in the Targaryen history, thus it wouldn’t be a surprise if all this was his doing too. For in my opinion, Rhaegar cheating on his wife knowingly is just as possible as Ned cheating on Catelyn.
Like every other theory, this can be refuted or might not be true either. The main purpose of this blog was to understand that all that we know of Rhaegar so far points only to the fact that love wasn’t the reason behind marrying Lyanna. Although I believe he did marry Lyanna, but that is something to be delved into in a blog on Understanding Lyanna.
So, let me know your thoughts. Do you still believe that Love was the death of Rhaegar’s duty? Or do you believe that it was Bloodraven who did it all? But whatever it may be, everything led to
Fire and Blood
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