At the beginning of August, George R.R. Martin announced three new HBO series based on Game of Thrones. Enough to delight fans of this medieval fantasy universe as violent as it is fascinating. One of these projects will focus on Aegon the Conqueror, ancestor of the Targaryen family at the origin of the unification of Westeros. The opportunity for viewers to meet of a great, unsung warrior, hundreds of years before the short and chaotic reigns of Rhaenyra and Daenerys.
Targaryen, Wife and Sister of Aegon the Conqueror?
In the universe of Game of Thrones, the Targaryen family has ruled Westeros for hundreds of years. Readers of Fire & Blood, the prequel work by George R. R. Martin, already know: it was Aegon, one of their ancestors, who unified the Seven Kingdoms.Twelve years before the Doom of Valyria, in 114 BCE, Aenar Targaryen embarked his wives, brothers, sisters, parents, children, and dragons to Dragonstone, the famous island citadel. It was not until many years later, in 27 BCE, that Aegon I was born., the film about Aerion Targaryen and his wife Lady Valaena, herself half Targaryen on the side of Targaryen. of his mother. Aegon has two sisters:the eldest, Visenya, who interests us here, and Rhaenys, the youngest.
As you know, inbreeding is inherent in the Targaryen family… The tradition is to marry brother to sister, in order to preserve the purity of bloodlines. But Aegon, from the beginning, does nothing but his head: he marries Visenya “out of duty” and Rhaenys “out of desire”, in the words of George R. R. Martin. At the end of his Conquest, through which he forced the Seven Kingdoms to bow to him (with the exception of Dorne), he became the Sole King of Westeros. But without his two sisters, and in particular Visenya, he would never have succeeded! Austere, cold, serious, Visenya is the first Targaryen to ever have ridden Vaghar, the immense and terrible dragoness who will later be that of her descendant Aemond. Described as a warrior as much as Aegon himself, she wields the Valyrian sword Dark Sister and is not afraid to get her hands dirty in combat…
Rather than leaving them aside, as all his heirs will do,Aegon involves his wives in all his decisions.< /strong> They sit on the Council, and their opinion is of capital importance to their husbands. He trusts them, and leaves them a large part of the government of the kingdomday by day. On the backs of their dragons, Vhagar for Visenya and Meraxes for Rhaenys, they take part in the Conquest of their brother, sharing his glory.Alas, one of the two queens did not survive the Conquest: Rhaenys, the sweetest and most joyful of the siblings, met a terrible end at Denfert. An iron spike thrown by a defender of the castle struck Meraxes in right eye, he collapses to the ground, and ends up leaving his skin there, his rider with him… It is then 10 years after the Conquest, and only Visenya will remain to reign alongside her brother.
Unlike her descendants, Daenerys and Rhaenyra, she is the equal of her husband, is recognized for her power, and is truly listened to by the decision-makers of Westeros. On the back of Vhagar, she inspires terror in her enemies! In the patriarchal universe of Game of Thrones, women are forced to marry (when they are only ten years old), are sold like common objects, beaten and raped. Even within the great families! Visenya escapes all stereotypes, breaking barriers and becoming a role model for future generations of Targaryen women. And not only that, as Arya Stark's admiration for her proves…
And you, did you know this little-known character from Game of Thrones?