Crownlands

The environs of King's Landing. Concept art by Kim Pope for Game of Thrones

The crownlands^[1]^[2] are one of the nine constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. It was never a sovereign kingdom, instead being contested by river kings, Storm Kings, and local petty kings until Aegon the Conqueror seized control of the area during his Wars of Conquest and made it his primary foothold on the continent. Since then, the crownlands have been ruled directly by the Iron Throne, first House Targaryen and, after Robert's Rebellion, House Baratheon. Bastards of noble origin raised in the crownlands are given the surname Waters.

Some notable houses of the crownlands include Bar Emmon, Celtigar, Massey, Rosby, Rykker, Stokeworth, Sunglass, and Velaryon.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Geography

The crownlands with the major strongholds

The crownlands are based around Blackwater Bay, with the capital of King's Landing built where the Blackwater Rush meets the bay. King's Landing, the largest city in Westeros, contains the Great Sept of Baelor and the Red Keep, the home of House Baratheon of King's Landing. Settlements north of King's Landing include Antlers (seat of House Buckwell), Rosby (seat of House Rosby), Stokeworth (seat of House Stokeworth), and Duskendale (seat of House Rykker), the region's secondary port. Near Duskendale are the ruins of the Hollard castle. Farther north are Rook's Rest (seat of House Staunton) and Crackclaw Point, a rugged peninsula of insular folk whose castles include the Dyre Den (seat of House Brune), Brownhollow (another seat of House Brune), and the Whispers (formerly of House Crabb). North of Crackclaw Point are the Bay of Crabs and the Vale of Arryn.^[7]

The crownlands are bordered to the northwest and west by the riverlands. A stream forms part of the boundary between the two regions, with the hills of House Wode in the riverlands and the lands of House Hogg in the crownlands.^[8] An unnamed river flows south from the Gods Eye into the Blackwater Rush in the western crownlands. Southwest of King's Landing are hills around Tumbleton in the Reach.^[7] North of Duskendale are hills, fields, and woods.^[9]

South of King's Landing is the kingswood, the royal hunting forest, and the stormlands. The Wendwater flows through the kingswood into the bay. East of the kingswood is Massey's Hook, another peninsula that with Crackclaw Point forms the inlet of Blackwater Bay. Castles on Massey's Hook include Stonedance (seat of House Massey) and Sharp Point (seat of House Bar Emmon).^[7]

Islands within Blackwater Bay include Dragonstone (another seat of House Baratheon), Driftmark (seat of House Velaryon), and Claw Isle (seat of House Celtigar). Also sworn to the Baratheons of Dragonstone is Sweetport Sound (seat of House Sunglass). Massey's Hook is separated from Driftmark by the Gullet. East of Blackwater Bay is the narrow sea.^[7]

The kingsroad connects King's Landing with Storm's End to the south and the crossroads to the north, while the capital is connected to Lannisport by the goldroad and to Highgarden by the roseroad.^[7] The Rosby road runs from King's Landing toward Duskendale,^[10] and the Duskendale road heads north to Maidenpool in the riverlands.^[9]

Snow is infrequent at King's Landing.^[11]

People and Economy

King's Landing, by Paolo Puggioni © Fantasy Flight Games

The metropolis of King's Landing is the driving force of the region, with the largest population and harbor in the realm. Trade and taxes flow into the capital from every corner of the realm acknowledging the Iron Throne, and many foreign vessels ply their wares as well. Virtually every craft and trade is practiced here, from metalsmithing and shipbuilding to alchemy. Elsewhere, fishing and farming are the norm, with a smattering of the common professions.

Along the kingsroad north of the capital, a traveler goes "past woods and orchards and neatly tended fields, through small villages, crowded market towns, and stout holdfasts."^[12]

Military strength

According to a semi-canon source from 2005, the mainland lords of the crownlands can raise ten to fifteen thousand men.^[13] At the time of Aegon's Conquest, Houses Darklyn and Mooton combined were able to raise an army of three thousand men,^[6] while Prince Aemond Targaryen managed to raise an army from the crownlands of four thousand man within a fortnight.^[14]

King's Landing's main defense are the City Watch. In 298 AC, they number two thousand.^[15]

Dragonstone, the island east of Blackwater Bay, can field its own military strength, but compared to the regions in Westeros, can field the least amount of soldiers.^[16] Its garrison is made up out of thirty knights, a hundred crossbowmen, and three hundred men-at-arms.^[14]

Royal Fleet

The crownlands is also home to the royal fleet, which is one of the main three forces at sea in Westeros.^[17] The exact number of ships of the royal fleet are unknown; the royal fleet as it had been under House Targaryen was mostly destroyed in 284 AC during a summer storm,^[18] though some ships from the fleet might have survived.^{[N 1]} The largest war galley of the rebuilt royal fleet is King Robert's Hammer, which has four hundred oars.^[19]^[20]

History

Hundred Kingdoms

Duskendale, by Michael Komarck, featured in The World of Ice & Fire

In the Age of Heroes, the petty kings of House Darklyn ruled much of the future crownlands, from Duskendale to Crackclaw Point. Although neighboring realms forced them to swear fealty and their lands changed hands many times over the years, the Darklyns remained one of the more influential houses of the region. In the days of the Hundred Kingdoms, the mouth of the Blackwater was claimed by the Darklyns, the Masseys of Stonedance, and the river kings of Houses Mudd, Fisher, Bracken, Blackwood, and Hook.^[6]

Two centuries before the Doom of Valyria, Valyrians settled Dragonstone and built a citadel as the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold, becoming another power in the region.^[21] In time, the middle of the narrow sea came to be controlled by the dragons of House Targaryen of Dragonstone, as well as the ships of House Velaryon of Driftmark and House Celtigar of Claw Isle.^[6]

The Conquest

It was at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush, the later site of King's Landing, where Aegon Targaryen and his sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys, landed with their initial army. At that time the petty lords of the region had been subjugated by Harren the Black. Rosby and Stokeworth surrendered to Visenya and Rhaenys without fighting, while Aegon and his half-brother Orys Baratheon defeated the Darklyns and Mootons.^[6] Massey's Hook and the southern shore of the Blackwater Rush were controlled by the Storm Kings of House Durrandon, but the Bar Emmons and Masseys allied with Aegon the Conqueror against King Argilac the Arrogant.^[6]

Targaryen Era

Dragonstone, by Marc Simonetti © LeYa Brasil

Since the Conquest, the crownlands houses have historically been a strong source of support for House Targaryen, with Crackclaw Point being particularly fierce supporters. The Conqueror's councillors included several crownlands men, including Crispian Celtigar, Daemon Velaryon, and Tristan Massey. Nobles from the region such as Qarlton Chelsted, a Hayford lord, and several Targaryens have served as Hand of the King, and even smallfolk of the region are near enough to catch the royal eye for such service, such as Rossart and presumably Septons Barth and Murmison. Nobles and smallfolk alike also provide much of the manpower for the City Watch of King's Landing. The Kingsguard has also included many men of the crownlands, such as Duncan the Tall, Donnel of Duskendale, the Cargyll twins, Ser Rickard Thorne, at least six men of Crackclaw Point, and seven Darklyn knights.

At the start of the Dance of the Dragons, the Velaryons, supporters of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen and the blacks, used their fleet to seal the Gullet and blockade King's Landing. King Aegon II Targaryen's supporters, the greens, retaliated by sacking Duskendale and Rook's Rest. The greens later broke the blockade with the Battle in the Gullet and sacked Driftmark. Rhaenyra was eventually fed to Aegon II's dragon, Sunfyre, at Dragonstone.^[14] At the end of the war, the Lads defeated Lord Borros Baratheon in the Battle of the Kingsroad.^[22]

The Defiance of Duskendale, a rising by the Darklyns during the reign of King Aerys II Targaryen, was a sign that even the normally loyal crownlands were losing respect for the dragonlords. Later, the outlaws of the Kingswood Brotherhood robbed nobles in the forest before being suppressed by the Kingsguard.

Robert's Rebellion

King's Landing was sacked by the forces of Lord Tywin Lannister during Robert's Rebellion, also known as the War of the Usurper.^[23] After the death of Aerys, the new king, Robert I Baratheon, tasked his younger brother Stannis with building a new royal fleet and leading the assault on Dragonstone.^[24] Ser Willem Darry fled the island with Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen, however.^[18] Robert named Stannis the new Lord of Dragonstone, although Stannis felt slighted that their youngest brother, Renly, received the more prestigious Storm's End.^[24]^[25] With several Kingsguard having died during the war, Robert named Ser Boros Blount to the White Cloaks.^[26]

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

The crownlands are sworn to King Robert I Baratheon, and the lords of the region are often seen at court. There is lingering anti-Lannister sentiment from the Sack of King's Landing, with Lady Tanda Stokeworth being among those listed by Petyr Baelish as possible supporters in a hypothetical coup after Robert's death.^[15] Robert is succeeded by his supposed son, Joffrey I.^[27]

A Clash of Kings

King's Landing dromon, by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games

At the outbreak of War of the Five Kings, the lords of the narrow sea gather their fleets to support Robert's brother, Stannis Baratheon, the Lord of Dragonstone and master of ships. Stannis sails most of the royal fleet to Dragonstone in 298 AC,^[19] leaving only some fifty ships behind in King’s Landing.^[19] While Stannis later sets sail with some two hundred ships,^[20] it is unknown how many of these originally belonged to the royal fleet, and how many ships belong to the lords who had sworn Stannis fealthy. In 299 AC, a call-to-arms from Dragonstone gathers a host of three thousand men, including sellswords from Lys and Myr,^[24] which later swells to five thousand men, with less than four hundred horse.^[28]

The mainland lords support Joffrey, who is backed by the Lannisters. Ser Jacelyn Bywater augments the gold cloaks to six thousand in early 299 AC.^[29] The food supplies of Stokeworth and Rosby help prevent King's Landing from starving during the Tyrell embargo.^[30]

The split of the crownlands effectively ends after the Lannister-Tyrell victory for Joffrey in the Battle of the Blackwater.^[31]

A Storm of Swords

The gold cloaks decline to some forty-four hundred men due to deaths and desertions following the Battle of the Blackwater in the second half of 299 AC.^[32] Later that same year, numbers have increased to nearly five thousand.^[33]

Lord Roose Bolton sends a northern army led by Robett Glover and Ser Helman Tallhart to attack Duskendale,^[34] where they are crushed by Lord Randyll Tarly and Ser Gregor Clegane.^[35] Joffrey dies at his own wedding^[36] and is succeeded by his younger brother, Tommen I.^[37]

A Feast for Crows

Brienne of Tarth visits Rosby,^[10] Duskendale,^[9] and the Whispers^[38] during her search for Sansa Stark.

Queen Regent Cersei Lannister appoints Gyles Rosby and Aurane Waters, two natives of the crownlands, to her small council,^[39] although Gyles dies of natural causes^[40] and Aurane flees the city after the queen's arrest.^[41] Ser Loras Tyrell takes command of the siege of Dragonstone, Stannis's last remaining base in the crownlands, although the Knight of Flowers is reported to have been gravely wounded in his assault.^[42]