How A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Fits into the Game of Thrones Timeline

WatchMojo

From dragons to rebellions, join us as we explore where "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" sits in the sprawling Westeros timeline! We're breaking down thousands of years of history to show exactly how Dunk and Egg's adventures connect to both "House of the Dragon" and "Game of Thrones." Understanding the Blackfyre Rebellions, Targaryen succession, and the mysterious Tragedy at Summerhall has never been clearer!

Transcript

00:00You got a name, Thief?

00:02Egg.

00:03Egg.

00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at exactly where A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms fits into Westerosi history.

00:10Be warned, there will be unavoidable spoilers for all Game of Thrones-related media,

00:15but we won't spoil anything from the new series that hasn't already been discussed in existing shows.

00:20Winter's coming.

00:24Three shows currently exist set in George R.R. Martin's universe.

00:28Game of Thrones came first, adapting the novels A Song of Ice and Fire.

00:32The wall isn't going anywhere.

00:34I'm ready.

00:36This way you are old.

00:37It begins in the in-universe year of 298 A.C., which means after Aegon's conquest, then covers the following six to seven years.

00:45The other two shows are prequels, with House of the Dragon being set 200 years earlier, then roughly 90 years for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

00:53How much farther to Ashford?

00:55Day's ride.

00:55The latter is based upon three novellas written by Martin, covering the life of a young King Aegon V Targaryen,

01:03while squiring for Ser Duncan the Tall, his future Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

01:07Your belt's made of rope.

01:10So long as it holds my scabbard, it serves.

01:12To fully understand where it fits in, we have to return to the Dawn Age.

01:16Around the year 12,000 B.C., before Aegon's conquest, Westeros was inhabited by magical creatures like the Children of the Forest.

01:24They lived in the depths of the forests and hidden villages.

01:28Then, humans invaded from the eastern continent of Essos.

01:31Fighting between men and the children lasted about 2,000 years before signing a peace treaty.

01:36The Age of Heroes followed, where most Westerosi dynasties claim descent from.

01:41The infamous Long Night and the subsequent building of the Wall also came during this era,

01:45and it ended when the Andals fled Essos and sailed to Westeros.

01:49Centuries of war followed, and the Andals conquered every kingdom in Westeros, save one.

01:54The North.

01:55Around this time, Valyria was the major power in Essos,

01:59but was decimated during the mysterious Doom of Valyria in about 102 B.C.

02:03You know what they say?

02:06The Doom still rules Valyria.

02:08The Targaryens were a Valyrian noble house that ruled as dragonlords.

02:12Through magic or sheer will, they mastered the greatest creatures in history.

02:18They weren't too powerful, but they were lucky because one Targaryen,

02:21Danyse the Dreamer, saw a vision of the Doom.

02:24So, in about 114 B.C., the family and their dragons fled to Dragonstone in Westeros.

02:30In hours, the greatest city in history became history.

02:35After fighting in a century of war in Essos,

02:38the Targaryens, led by Aegon, turned their attentions west.

02:41In the year 2 B.C., his famous conquest began.

02:45Having dragons made the odds overwhelmingly in his favor,

02:48and by 1 A.C., he ruled six of the seven kingdoms in Westeros.

02:52The last to fall was Dorne, who wouldn't bend the knee until almost two centuries later.

02:58Together, the seven kingdoms made Westeros, a realm that wasn't yet a realm,

03:03ruled by great families who didn't know what greatness was.

03:07Aegon lived until 37 A.C.

03:10Then, he was succeeded by his son, Aenys I.

03:12House Targaryen, my family, my throne.

03:19Or so it should have been.

03:21During his short reign, the faith of the seven revolted against the crown.

03:25Aenys fled to Dragonstone, where he died in 42 A.C., and Maegor the Cruel took charge.

03:31He ended the uprising, then passed a law making it illegal for the faith to bear arms,

03:36a law repealed by Cersei Lannister centuries later.

03:39Order your man to step aside or there will be violence.

03:49I choose violence.

03:51After a six-year rule, his nephew Jaehaerys ascended to the throne

03:55and then ruled for a monumental 55 years.

03:59He famously outlived multiple heirs.

04:01This led to a great council in 101 A.C., which named Viserys I as his heir.

04:07Both had peaceful reigns, so this era is considered the pinnacle of Targaryen rule.

04:12That Prince Viserys Targaryen be made Prince of Dragonstone.

04:18We now make it to the events of House of the Dragon,

04:21which begins in the final years of Viserys' reign.

04:24Enforce my laws, but understand.

04:27Any further performances like last night's will be answered.

04:30After he died in 129 A.C., the realm split into two factions, the Greens and the Blacks.

04:37The Blacks supported his oldest daughter Rhaenyra from his first marriage.

04:40The Greens supported his son Aegon II, mothered by his second wife Alicent Hightower.

04:45It's my hope that, once enthroned, you would honor the burden of your new duties,

04:51be silent, and strive to learn from the more studied minds around you,

04:57in the hope that you might be half the king your father was.

05:02Tread carefully.

05:04Without spoiling details, the Civil War claims both Rhaenyra and Aegon II's lives.

05:09It ends when Rhaenyra's son Aegon III ascends to the throne.

05:12Would you like to see where the lost Targaryens are buried?

05:15Are you sure Lady Margaery doesn't find all this a bit macabre?

05:18Oh no, it's quite all right, Your Grace.

05:20I'd love to see their tombs, really.

05:22It's like taking a walk through history.

05:24He also married Jaehaera, daughter of Aegon II, uniting the two factions.

05:29The war tragically led to the extinction of the dragons,

05:33with dragons last being seen during Aegon III's reign.

05:36Until Daenerys, of course.

05:37Aegon III's rule lasted from 131 until 157 AC.

05:48He was so traumatized by the dance, he cared little for restoring the dragons.

05:52So he's often blamed for their extinction.

05:54Finally, the last remaining dragon broke her chain,

05:57spread her wings, and flew straight up at the Great Dome, trying to flee.

06:01He was succeeded by his son Daeron I, who successfully conquered Dorne,

06:05but lost it almost as quickly as he took it.

06:08Eventually, we did join the Seven Kingdoms, but when we wanted, and on our terms.

06:15The Dornishmen slayed Daeron, and his brother Baelor the Blessed

06:18then ruled from 161 until 171 AC.

06:22Afterwards, Viserys II ascended to the throne for a year,

06:25and he was succeeded by the infamous Aegon IV, one of Westeros' worst kings.

06:30He was so terrible, they dubbed him the Unworthy.

06:33His worst decision was debatably on his deathbed,

06:36when he legitimized all of his children born out of wedlock.

06:39Now that the war is won, we should all find time for wisdom.

06:44Aegon died in 184 AC, and was succeeded by the far more likable Daeron II.

06:49He's celebrated for diplomatically conquering Dorne via marriage.

06:53At the beginning of a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,

06:56Daeron II has been king for an incredible 25 years.

06:59His reign was plagued not just by plague, but also by the Blackfyre pretenders.

07:03One of my foolish ancestors didn't see what separated his bastards from our family proper.

07:10Daemon was a legitimized son of Aegon,

07:12who was given the iconic Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre,

07:15which was traditionally only handed to kings.

07:18So he called himself Blackfyre.

07:20Then, in 196 AC, pressed his claim for the throne in the first Blackfyre rebellion.

07:26He failed, but his brother Aegon Bittersteel fled east,

07:29where he founded the Golden Company, setting the stage for future Blackfyre uprisings.

07:33Years later, after the war had faded into songs,

07:38I opened them again,

07:40and saw what I had done,

07:42and what I had become in the war, and since.

07:45Thirteen years after the rebellion,

07:48Sir Duncan the Tall takes a young boy named Egg as a squire,

07:51who grows up to become Aegon V.

07:53That laugh.

07:55Egg.

07:57Egg laughs like that.

07:59You may also know him as Aegon the Unlikely,

08:02as no one expected him to become king.

08:05Each novella covers about a year of their adventures together,

08:08but Martin said he'd like to write more,

08:09so it's unclear how much of their life he has planned.

08:12Two more Blackfyre rebellions happened during Egg's life,

08:16than two more after his death.

08:17One day I looked around and realized all my friends and kin were gone.

08:21That was fighting besides strangers under a banner I'd never seen.

08:24As explained in Game of Thrones,

08:26Dunk and Egg perished in the tragedy at Summerhall in 259 AC.

08:30The event is shrouded in mystery,

08:32but it's believed Aegon was trying to revive the dragons.

08:35Now we hear rumors that the young Daenerys Targaryen

08:39has hatched three dragons far to the east.

08:41After the tragedy,

08:43Aegon's son Jaehaerys II ruled for only three years.

08:46Targaryen dominance ended with his successor Aerys II,

08:49also known as the Mad King.

08:51The Seven Kingdoms are well rid of him and his kind.

08:55During his reign, he became increasingly unstable,

08:58eventually leading to Robert's rebellion

09:00and his death at the hands of Jaime Lannister.

09:03At the sack of King's Landing,

09:04murdered his king Aerys II,

09:07pardoned by Robert Baratheon.

09:09A little over a decade later,

09:12Game of Thrones begins.

09:13The Targaryen dynasty did not end there, however.

09:16Aerys' children Daenerys and Viserys fled to Essos.

09:19His son Rhaegar was killed,

09:21but it's later revealed that he had a secret son with Lyanna Stark,

09:24better known as Jon Snow.

09:25In the books, there's also a character who claims to be his son, Aegon,

09:37sired by Elia Martell.

09:38Unfortunately, he was cut from the show completely for simplicity.

09:42Before we continue,

09:44be sure to subscribe to our channel

09:45and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.

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09:52If you're on your phone,

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09:58The tales of Dunk and Egg are fun stories set within the universe,

10:02but they tie into A Song of Ice and Fire wonderfully well.

10:04They explore the identity of the Three-Eyed Crow,

10:07who in the show's canon is confirmed to be Bloodraven.

10:10They were all so happy.

10:13So were you, Wes.

10:15If it goes beyond the first three novellas,

10:17it could eventually dig deep into the tragedy of Summerhall,

10:21tying into the return of the dragons in Game of Thrones.

10:27Run! Run! Run!

10:30What period of Westerosi history do you find the most interesting?

10:37And has it already been explored in a book or show?

10:39Let us know in the comments.

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