“Fuck that! And fuck you! I fought for you! Hardyng, Beesbury, the fucking apple boy, we fought for you! Your prince fought for you against men sworn to protect him. He risked NOTHING! ….And the gods don’t favor a fraud.“
Baelor Targaryen, King Daeron II’s firstborn son and heir, fought against his own family during Dunk’s Trial of Seven. Unlike his teammate Lord Lyonel Baratheon, the Hand of the King did not survive the battle. He lost his life defending Ser Duncan the Tall. Yet, when a grateful, remorseful Dunk asked Lyonel to show respect to the fallen prince, the Lord of Storm’s End lashed out. Lyonel said the gods punished Baelor for being a fraud. Was he, though? Were Baelor Breakspear’s actions during Dunk’s trial not those of a true knight, but rather a dishonorable deed worthy of death? It’s the type of question often asked in Westeros, a place where men abdicate responsibility to gods who clearly don’t care.
Before the Trial of Seven began, seasoned commander Baelor Targaryen offered instructions and words of encouragement to his fellow knights fighting for Ser Duncan. The Hand told them, “I will handle the Kingsguard. Their oath forbids them to harm a prince of the blood.” That led to a question from Ser Robyn Rhysling that ultimately felt prescient. The fearless “mad” knight, a man so wholly dedicated to his vows and the Warrior he stood up to the crown, openly wondered if that was honorable. Baelor responded, “The gods will let us know.”
They seemingly did, as Lyonel believes. A Trial of Seven is a religious event as much as it is a criminal one. It’s obviously not honorable in the purest sense for a knight—who swears his vows to the Seven—to join a “fair” match knowing his very presence provides an unfair advantage. Kingsguard members must fight on behalf of the crown in a Trial by Combat of any kind, including a Trial of Seven. No one ever could have expected that would mean fighting against a member of the same royal family they are sworn to protect.
Baelor didn’t join Dunk’s side to create an unfair fight, though. He did so as any “true knight” should, because he knew Ser Duncan’s cause was just. The problem knights of the Realm often face is one Jaime Lannister will one day highlight when talking to Catelyn Stark. With “so many vows they make you swear and swear,” it’s ultimately “too much.” Because “no matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or another.
Lyonel’s accusation is also patently untrue. Baelor’s very death disproves the Baratheon lord’s claim. Baelor clearly did risk something since he gave his life to save Ser Duncan. Without Baelor volunteering, Lord Ashford would have had no choice but to proclaim Dunk guilty without a battle. The hedge knight had to have six other knights join his cause otherwise he would have automatically forfeited. With that verdict, he would have lost his hand, or his foot, or both. That is, if he didn’t lose his head. Was it fraudulent for Baelor to prevent that? Was doing nothing more or less “honorable” than fighting against opponents barred from hurting him?
No matter the answer, it seems impossible the gods would punish Baelor—a good man who saved an innocent knight’s life even though it meant opposing his own brother and nephews—for an unusual situation. Was it not more important to the Seven, especially the Warrior and the Mother, to defend Dunk than it was to put the Kingsguard in an awkward position? Would the Seven Above dispense “justice” by letting Aerion live but not his uncle?
If that sounds like seven bloody hells worth of bullshit, it’s because it is. If the gods intervened in the Trial of Seven at all, why did they let Sers Hadryng and Beesbury die on Dunk’s behalf? They didn’t do anything dishonorable. Hardyng fought with a broken leg because he knew how dishonorable Aerion was. Three men died defending Dunk, whose cause was purely just. The hedge knight had acted true, in the truest sense of his vows, when he protected Tanselle. Yet, no one died on Aerion’s side. Not even Steffon Fossoway, who traded his honor for a lordship. Surely, if the gods cared at all, Steffon, the knight who forsook his vows for personal gain, would have fallen in battle. Instead his punishment is to live with the shame of his choices. But live he will, unlike Baelor.
It’s as though a Trial by Combat has nothing to do with justice and honor. The same will be true one hundred years later when Ser Gregor Clegane will live and Oberyn Martell will not. The Red Viper will fight on behalf on Tyrion Lannister, a man completely innocent of the regicide charges against him. Clegane will fight as Cersei’s champion. He’s the same man who raped and murdered Oberyn’s sister Elia and killed her kids. And it won’t matter. None of it will matter. “The gods” will name the Mountain the victor. “The gods” will declare Tyrion guilty. And “the gods” will let Oberyn die.
If “the gods” cared the guilty would always suffer the innocent never would. But there’s no reason to think the gods even notice. Instead, in Westeros, they provide an easy excuse for mankind’s failures. The gods let people abdicate their own responsibility, so they can hide behind religion when what is just and right can be hard to know.
It’s enough to let someone believe that a good man, a man who did a good thing for a good reason, got what he deserved when he died defending the innocent.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He is always and forever mourning Baelor Breakspear. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
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