Barba Bracken
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 Barba Bracken, as depicted by Magali Villeneuve in The World of Ice & Fire. | ||||
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| Title | Lady | |||
| Allegiance | House Bracken | |||
| Culture | Rivermen | |||
| Born | 155 AC[1] | |||
| Father | Lord Bracken | |||
| Lover | King Aegon IV Targaryen | |||
| Issue | Aegor Rivers | |||
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Barba Bracken was a noblewoman of House Bracken during the reigns of kings Baelor I, Viserys II, and Aegon IV Targaryen. She was the fifth of Aegon the Unworthy's mistresses.
Contents
Appearance and Character
Barba was buxom[2] and had dark hair.[3] She was vivacious, and not very modest.[3] The Blackwoods claim Barba was not as beautiful as Melissa Blackwood,[2] and Maester Yandel also describes Melissa as prettier than Barba.[3]
History
In 161 AC, King Baelor I Targaryen imprisoned his sisters — the Princesses Daena, Rhaena, and Elaena Targaryen — within the Maidenvault in the Red Keep. The three princesses were kept in comfortable confinement, and to gain favor with Baelor, lords and knights sent their maiden relatives to the Maidenvault to be their lady companions.[4] Near the end of Baelor's reign, one of these maidens was Barba Bracken, daughter to Lord Bracken of Stone Hedge. When King Baelor I died in 171 AC, King Viserys II Targaryen released the princesses from their confinement, and sixteen-year-old Barba met Prince Aegon Targaryen, who became entranced with her.[3]
When King Viserys II died in 172 AC, Prince Aegon ascended the throne as King Aegon IV Targaryen, named Barba's father his Hand of the King, and openly took Barba as his mistress. Barba gave birth to a bastard son of Aegon, Aegor Rivers, only a fortnight before Queen Naerys Targaryen nearly died in childbirth. With Naerys lingering near death, Barba's father began to speak openly of Barba marrying King Aegon IV. However, Queen Naerys recovered, and the talk about Barba marrying the king became a scandal. Princes Aemon and Daeron Targaryen, Naerys's brother and son, forced King Aegon to send both Barba and her bastard son away from court. They returned to Stone Hedge, where Barba raised her son Aegor.[3]
After Barba, King Aegon IV took Melissa Blackwood as his mistress, who was younger, prettier, and more modest. In response, Barba and her father began grooming Barba's younger sister, Bethany, to replace Melissa. This eventually worked in 177 AC, when Bethany caught Aegon's eye while he was visiting Stone Hedge to see Aegor. However, in 178 AC, Bethany was caught abed with the handsome knight of the Kingsguard, Ser Terrence Toyne, and both Bethany and Lord Bracken were executed.[3]
Barba's Teats
In 172 AC, King Aegon IV Targaryen was visiting Stone Hedge when he saw the hills called the Mother's Teats, and renamed them Barba's Teats on account of their resemblance to his buxom mistress's breasts. After Barba was sent away from court, Aegon took Melissa "Missy" Blackwood as his mistress; she was slender, and Barba was heard to say that she was flat as a boy. When Aegon heard how Barba had disparaged his mistress, he renamed the hills Missy's Teats,[2] and granted them to House Blackwood.[3] The Blackwoods still call the hills Missy's Teats, and the Brackens still call them Barba's Teats.[2]
Recent Events
A Dance with Dragons
Hoster Blackwood tells Ser Jaime Lannister why the Brackens and Blackwoods call the Teats by different names.[2]
Family
| Lord Bracken | Unknown wife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barba | Aegon IV Targaryen | Bethany | Lord Bracken | Unknown wife | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aegor Rivers | Calla Blackfyre | Eldest son | Otho | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Quotes
Missy's Teats, the Blackwoods call them, but they were Barba's first.[2]
References
- ↑ See the Barba Bracken calculation.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 48, Jaime I.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon IV.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Baelor I.