Diksha Sundriyal
HBO’s ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ follows the story of a young hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall, aka Dunk, as he traverses the Seven Kingdoms with his young squire, Egg. The show picks up the events after Dunk’s mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree, dies, leaving Dunk to follow his own course. Arlan was headed to Ashford to attend a tourney, so now, Dunk decides to compete in his place and prove himself a worthy knight of the Seven Kingdoms. While the story takes place in the world of Westeros, it looks significantly different from the Westeros the audience has gotten used to seeing in ‘Game of Thrones‘ and ‘House of the Dragon,’ and all of it has to do with the timeline between the three shows. SPOILERS AHEAD.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is Set Several Decades After House of the Dragon
While the kingdoms in Westeros existed long before the arrival of dragons and Targaryens, the calendar followed in the story starts at 1 AC, which marks the seismic event of Aegon Targaryen’s conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. About a hundred years later, in 101 AC, the Great Council is set up by King Jaehaerys, where Viserys I is chosen as his heir to the Iron Throne, snubbing Princess Rhaenys. This is where the events of ‘House of the Dragon’ begin. Then, nine years later, Queen Aemma Arryn dies without having birthed a son, leaving Princess Rhaenyra as her and Viserys’ only child. Later, Viserys marries Alicent Hightower, Rhaenyra’s best friend and the daughter of his Hand, who finally gives birth to a son, Aegon II.
The events of the Targaryen Civil War begin in 129 AC, following the death of Viserys. With two seasons aired, ‘House of the Dragon’ will take two more seasons to finish the story in 131 AC. The events of the war between the Blacks, led by Rhaenyra, and the Greens, led by Aegon II, become instrumental in bringing about the eventual downfall of House Targaryen. The two-year period sees the death of a majority of dragons, significantly weakening the Targaryens, no matter who the winner is. With beasts like Vhagar and Vermithor dying, the dragons that remain are so weak that they are compared to lizards at one point. The last dragon dies out in the year 153 AC, marking the end of an era.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a Predecessor to Game of Thrones
The next time Westerosis see a dragon is when Daenerys Targaryen returns riding Drogon, accompanied by Viserion and Rhaegal. Ser Duncan the Tall, however, does not live long enough to see that. The events of ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ pick up in the year 209 AC. This is about 77 years after the end of the Targaryen Civil War, and more than 55 years after the last dragon died out. The events in ‘Game of Thrones,’ marking the arrival of Robert Baratheon in Winterfell to ask Ned Stark to become his Hand, take place in 297 AC. This is about 89 years after the events of the Ashford tourney, which changed Dunk’s life. The length of this timespan is short enough to allow some familiar names and faces from ‘Game of Thrones’ to appear in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’
Notably, at this time, people like Maester Aemon and Walder Frey are still young men. This is also a time of relative peace on the continent, with Daeron II Targaryen as the king when Dunk arrives in Ashford for the tourney at the beginning of the first season. Soon after, he dies, and his son, Aerys I, takes the Iron Throne. The most notable event in the past decade or so is the Blackfyre Rebellion, which occurred in 196 AC. This was another civil war among the Targaryens, but not on the scale of the Dance of the Dragons, fought between the Blacks and the Greens. This rebellion happens between the descendants of King Aegon IV Targaryen, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s grandson. Considered one of the worst kings of the Targaryen dynasty, he legitimized his several illegitimate children before passing away.
The war of succession breaks out between King Daeron Targaryen and his recently legitimised half-brother, Daemon Blackfyre. The wounds of this war might not be as significant as the losses encountered during the war between Rhaenyra and her half-brother, Aegon II. Still, they are fresh enough to be a cause of turbulence within the royal household. It is also an event to be remembered because it later becomes important in the future adventures of Dunk and Egg. The first season might reference the rebellion because of its continued relevance over the next few years. However, by the time Ned Stark leaves Winterfell for King’s Landing, both the rebellion and the Targaryens would be a distant memory. That is, until Daenerys comes back to claim the throne.
Read More: Where is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Filmed? All Shooting Locations
You must be logged in to post a comment.