A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms might not feature any dragons (minus the puppet kind), but it still features plenty of references to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Here are all of the Easter eggs, terms, and lore from Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and the history of Westeros in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ first episode.
Hedge Knight
Most knights in Westeros are sworn to serve a single lord or castle. Hedge knights have no such affiliation or master. They wander the Realm taking on jobs on a temporary basis. Hedge knights own no land themselves and choose who they serve and for how long. They get their moniker from the hedges they sleep under, as unlike their landed knight counterparts, hedge knights often sleep outside.
Ser Arlan taught Dunk that hedge knights are “the truest” kind of knight, but the term is not one that carries great respect. Many agree with the assessment that a hedge knight is like a knight, “but sadder.” Some do eventually swear allegiance to a single lord or keep. Because of their lower statues and constant struggles to find gainful employment, hedge knights sometimes become robber knights. But despite their low status among their brethren and the denizens of the Seven Kingdoms, a hedge knight was among the first ever chosen to serve in the Kingsguard.
The Tourney at Ashford Meadow
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms takes place during a famous tourney at Ashford in 209 AC. Noble House Ashford gives its name to both the market town and the family’s small castle. The family sigil is an orange banner with a white sun-and-chevron.
Ashford sits along the Cockleswent, a vassal stream (tributary) that leads to the mighty Mander River. Ashford sits to the east of Highgarden, seat of the region’s Lord Paramount, House Tyrell.
Nearly 73 years after A Knight of the Seven Kingdom’s first season, Robert Baratheon will lose just one battle during his rebellion against House Targaryen. That loss will take place during the Battle of Ashford.
House Dondarrion (Ser Manfred)
When Dunk arrived at Ashford he saw the banner of House Dondarrion of Blackhaven. It features a forked purple lightning bolt against a black field full of stars. Blackhaven is part of the Stormlands in the Dornish Marches right near the border before the two rival regions. House Dondarrion is sworn to House Baratheon.
A famous descendent of Ser Manfred Dondarrion—whom Dunk hopes will vouch for him—will one day share a trait with his descendent. Lord Beric Dondarrion, who will return from the dead on Game of Thrones, also had red hair.
Maidenpool
Dunk said Ser Arlan was only wrong to hit him one time. That injustice took place in Maidenpool, a town in the Riverlands that resides near the border to the Crownlands. While we never saw Maidenpool on Game of Thrones, Tywin Lannister did prove his cupbearer, a secret Arya Stark, was lying about where she came from when she didn’t know the sigil of Maidenpool’s ruling family, House Mooton. Tywin did not give her a clout in the ear for getting it wrong.
Maidenpool gets its name from a very famous legend in Westeros, but that story will have to wait for a different episode.
House Fossoway (Ser Steffon and Raymun)
The uncouth Ser Steffon and his cousin-squire Raymun are members of the ancient noble House Fossoway of Cider Hall in the Reach. Cider Halls sits nearby to the west Ashford.
House Fossoway traces its founding to the First Men, as the family claims to be descendant of the Green Garthand, famed figure from the Age of Heroes. The Fossoway sigil is a red apple on a golden field, a nod to their lands which they use to make and sell hard cider.
Ser Lyonel Baratheon “The Laughing Storm”
Lyonel Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End in the Stormlands, is the ancestor of King Robert Baratheon and his brothers Stannis and Renly. His giant crown of antlers celebrates the black stag of House Baratheon’s sigil.
History of the Joust
Lyonel Baratheon believes no man could have invented an event as wonderful as jousting. His reference to the first joust taking place four thousand years earlier hints at its origins and possibly its divine creation. Jousting is popular in the southern half of the Realm where the Faith of the Seven dominates. When the Andals crossed the Narrow Sea into Westeros they brought not only religion but knighthood, which is rare in the North which still follows the old gods.
The Andals arrived anywhere from two to six thousand years prior to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Four thousand years is as good a guess as any for when the Realm saw its first jousting competition, which “the Seven Above” might have given as a way to celebrate the Warrior.
Tanselle’s Puppet Show and Serwyn of the Mirror Shield
The puppet show an enamored Dunk watched in episode one portrayed one of the smallfolk’s favorite stories. It’s a tale often told in song. The legend says Serwyn, a legendary brave and clever knight from the Age of Heroes, polished his shield so much it was essentially a mirror. That allowed him to safely approach and ultimately defeat the dragon Urrax with a spear to the eye. The dragon could only see its own reflection in the shield as Serwyn got closer, hiding the knight completely.
Serwyn of the Mirror Shield is such a famous figure, no one cares much if his story as its now told makes no sense. Some bards say he served in the Kingsguard, yet the Age of Heroes predates knighthood in Westeros by thousands of years, let alone the formation of the Kingsguard during the reign of Aegon the Conqueror ten thousand years later. The Age of Heroes also predates dragons themselves by millennia.
But, like all good stories, the facts don’t matters when the puppet show is that good.
House Beesbury
As Dunk walked through the pavilions he passed a banner for House Beesbury of the Honeyholt. It sits in western half of the Reach just north of Oldtown. The family sigil features three beehives on a black and yellow field.
Someone from House Beesbury appeared in this episode but wasn’t identified. He’s not the first member of his family to appear on HBO, though. His ancestor, Lord Lyman Beesbury, was Master of Coin for King Viserys on House of the Dragon. The despicable Criston Cole murdered the elderly member of the Small Council. Lord Beesbury had refused to back the Greens’ plan to seat Aegon on the Iron Throne over Rhaenyra. He then became the first victim in the Dance of the Dragons.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He never misses a chance to bash Criston Cole. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
The post Every GAME OF THRONES Easter Egg in A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS Episode 1 appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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