Eustace (Dance of the Dragons)
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 Septon Eustace as depicted in Game of Thrones: Histories & Lore. | ||||
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| Culture | Rivermen | |||
| Born | Stoney Sept[1] | |||
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| Played by | Simon Chandler | |||
| TV series | House of the Dragon: Season 1 | |||
Eustace was a septon attached to the royal sept of the Red Keep during the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen. The writings of Eustace, among them The Reign of King Viserys, First of His Name, and the Dance of the Dragons That Came After, were used as a source for The Princess and the Queen as well as The Rogue Prince by Archmaester Gyldayn.[2] Eventually, he rose to the ranks of the Most Devout.[3]
In the television adaptation House of the Dragon, Eustace is portrayed by Simon Chandler.
Contents
Character
Eustace's writing is sober, ponderous, and less salacious than that of Mushroom,[3] and Maester Yandel considers Eustace to have been the more accurate of the two.[4] Eustace did not care for Mushroom's preferred monarch, Rhaenyra Targaryen,[5] favoring instead her younger half-brother Aegon II Targaryen.[6] Eustace considered most northmen to be savages.[7][8]
History
Viserys I
Eustace was born in Stoney Sept in the riverlands.[1] He served in the royal sept when King Viserys I Targaryen sat the Iron Throne, becoming a confidant and confessor to the king and his wives.[3]
Eustace and Mushroom gave conflicting accounts of events during Viserys's reign and the Dance of the Dragons, such as the relationships between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and her uncle Prince Daemon Targaryen and Rhaenyra's relationship with the Kingsguard knight, Ser Criston Cole.[3]
Dance of the Dragons
Following the death of King Viserys I Targaryen, Grand Maester Orwyle told the small council that Eustace should be summoned to perform the last rites and to pray for Viserys's soul. However, Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, said that they must first settle the matter of succession. Eustace wrote that Viserys's eldest son, Prince Aegon, was initially opposed to the greens' attempt to crown him instead of Aegon's elder half-sister, Princess Rhaenyra, and that Aegon only agreed to accept the crown after Ser Criston Cole, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, convinced him he would be killed if Rhaenyra became queen.[6] Due to him being a confidant of the royal family, Eustace was chosen to annoint and bless King Aegon II during his coronation in the Dragonpit in place of the High Septon who was too old and frail to travel from Oldtown to King's Landing.[6]
After the fall of King's Landing to the blacks, Eustace wrote that the Iron Throne cut Rhaenyra when she sat upon it, although she was still clad in armor.[9] He remained in the Red Keep during Rhaenyra's brief rule and even after she fled the capital. Unlike the knights loyal to Rhaenyra and the mistress of whisperers, Lady Mysaria, Eustace was spared when Ser Perkin the Flea took the Red Keep to install his squire, Trystane Truefyre, on the throne.[10]
Following the death of King Aegon II, Eustace was arrested during the Hour of the Wolf, after Lord Cregan Stark took control of the Red Keep to investigate the poisoning of the king. During the Judgment of the Wolf, Eustace was the first accused brought before Lord Cregan and the first released, as there was no proof he had been a conspirator.[8]
Aegon III
Eustace remained in the court afterward. He was present at the coronation of the young Aegon III Targaryen, and his records indicated it was a cold but sunny day and that Maris Baratheon was not present, unlike her sisters, for she had joined the silent sisters. He also recorded that Lord Unwin Peake was the only lord angered at not being included in the council of regents following Aegon's coronation. The septon, for his part, approved of the council.[11]
Eustace argued to the Hand, Ser Tyland Lannister, to find a husband for Lady Baela Targaryen lest she bring dishonor to House Targaryen.[11]
After the death of Ser Tyland in 133 AC, Lord Unwin became Hand in his place. He dismissed Eustace from court and replaced him with one of his relatives, Septon Bernard. Eustace stayed in the capital long enough to see the public executions ordered by Unwin on the Feast Day of Our Father Above which included Orwyle, the former Grand Maester. Eustace returned to Stoney Sept the next day where he wrote his account of the war.[1]
At some point in later years, Eustace rose to the ranks of the Most Devout.[3]
Quotes
And as her lord husband Prince Daemon escorted her from the hall, cuts were seen upon Her Grace's legs and the palm of her left hand. Drops of blood fell to the floor as she went past, and wise men looked at one another, though none dared speak the truth aloud: the Iron Throne had spurned her, and her days upon it would be few.[9]
—Eustace writing of Rhaenyra Targaryen
When Our Father's Feast was done and the mob before the gates dispersed, the King's Hand was well satisfied.[1]
—Eustace writing of Unwin Peake
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows.
- ↑ The Princess and the Queen.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Viserys I.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Blacks and the Greens.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Fire & Blood, Aftermath - The Hour of the Wolf.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - The Hooded Hand.