House Lannister
House Lannister is a fictional family from
History
The Lannisters descend from Andal invaders who married the daughters of the King of the Rock. The King himself descended from Lann the Clever, a legendary trickster from the Age of Heroes who tricked the Casterlys into giving him Casterly Rock. The Lannisters reigned as Kings of the Rock until the Targaryen conquest. The Lannisters surrendered and were allowed to remain the paramount lords of the Westerlands. The House fell on hard times from weak leadership before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire, but by the beginning of A Game of Thrones it had been restored to its former glory by Tywin Lannister. The Lannisters are the richest family in the Seven Kingdoms, due in large part to the many gold mines under their control. House Lannister once possessed an ancestral Valyrian sword called Brightroar; however, it has been lost.
House genealogy
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Tytos |
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Joanna* |
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Dorna Swift |
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Tygett |
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Darlessa Malbrand |
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Gerion |
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Joanna* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tyrek |
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Ermesande Hayford |
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Joy Hill |
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Cleos |
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Tion |
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Cerenna | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Willem |
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Myriella |
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Martyn |
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Current members
Tywin
Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport and Warden of the West, Tywin is a calculating, ruthless, and controlling man in his mid-fifties. He was happily married to Joanna Lannister, a cousin, but she died in childbirth while delivering his son Tyrion, and he took no other wife.
During his youth, Tywin managed to single-handedly restore his family honor and fortunes from near ruin, and from then on dedicated all his efforts to maintaining Lannister prestige. He loves his children Jaime and Cersei, but despises Tyrion for being deformed and causing his beloved Joanna's death, as well as shaming the family name with his frequent whoring.
He was a powerful Hand of the King for a long time under Aerys II until Aerys'
increasing paranoia and jealousy drove the two into several bitter disagreements. After Aerys refused to marry Cersei to his
heir, Prince Rhaegar, and raised Jaime to the Kingsguard without Tywin's permission, Tywin resigned the position of Hand and
returned to his own lands, the most recent Hand to leave the office with lands, titles and person intact. During
After
Though ruthless, Tywin Lannister was also an able and shrewd ruler who brought great prosperity during his dual tenures as Hand of the King. He was especially talented at the raising of funds, leading to persistent rumors of a "Midas touch" and even the whispered jest that he must "shit gold". His daughter Cersei once reminisced that the common folk cheered twice as loud for him as they did for their actual king, Mad Aerys II (though only half as loud as they did for Rhaegar). Though his children also greatly respected him, none of them were ever able to live their lives the way he wanted them to, a fact that caused difficulties up to and including his own murder.
Cersei
Tywin's eldest child by mere moments, Cersei (a
Cersei has shared an incestuous relationship with her brother Jaime since they were youths.
That her three children were all a product of this incest, rather than her husband King Robert, was a well-guarded secret until
Throughout the series, Cersei has increasingly climbed the ladder of power. After arranging the death of her husband, Cersei put her 13-year-old son Joffrey on the throne, despite accusations of bastardy, and ruled as his Queen Regent. However, Tywin promptly put Tyrion in the position of Hand of the King, and from there Tyrion was able to curtail much of her policy, a practice which Tywin continued upon his assumption of the office. They did so because Cersei is not, in fact, a very good ruler. Her brother Jaime describes her thusly:
| “ | [Cersei] liked to think of herself as Lord Tywin with teats, but she was wrong. Their
father had been as relentless and implacable as a glacier, where Cersei was all wildfire, especially when thwarted. ... She
does not lack for wits, but she has no judgment, and no patience.
A Feast for Crows, pg. 234 (hardcover) |
” |
When Joffrey and Tywin were murdered in quick succession, the checks on her claim to power were cleared. She resumed her
position as Regent over her son, the eight-year-old King Tommen, who was entirely obedient to her will, and became queen in all
but name. As the eldest child of Tywin, she was also acknowledged as the Lady of Casterly Rock by her uncle Kevan. Thus empowered
and unrestricted, Cersei felt she had the opportunity to prove herself an even better ruler than her father. She began her new
regime by filling all of the positions on Tommen's
Cersei grew to suspect that her powerful
She tried to ensnare
Cersei has been haunted since childhood by a prophecy given to her by a maegi. This prophesy correctly predicted the death of a childhood friend, her unrequited love for Rhaegar Targaryen, and the marriage (and mutual infidelity) with the King. It also predicts that all three of her children will be crowned, but that all three will die before her. Everything that she has will be taken away by a younger and more beautiful queen, and then the valonqar (Valyrian for "little brother" or "younger brother") will strangle her to death. Cersei assumes that the younger, more beautiful queen is Margaery Tyrell and the valonqar is Tyrion Lannister.
Daven
The son of Stafford, Daven is a capable soldier and a significant improvement over his father. He is leonine in appearance, with bushy blonde hair and a stocky build. He has a coarse but affable demeanor, laughing frequently and making obscene jokes.
Daven swore a holy oath not to cut his hair until he avenged his father's death on Rickard Karstark. After Robb executed Rickard for treason, Daven still refused to cut his hair. He was given orders to lay siege to Riverrun and appointed Warden of the West. Daven struggled against the questionable loyalty of the lords of the Trident under his command and proved unable to make progress.
Genna
The sister of Tywin, Genna Lannister is married to Emmon Frey, and has borne four sons. After Joanna's death, she appears to have taken a maternal interest in Tywin's children. Genna is a stout woman, although once shapely and buxom, and is shrewd, ruthless and blunt; she commands her husband utterly.
The war has not treated Genna gently; of her four sons, two have been killed: Cleos Frey, her firstborn, who was killed as he was escorting Jaime and Brienne from Riverrun and Tion Frey, her third son, who was killed by the Karstarks at Riverrun while a captive.
Upon the death of Robb Stark, House Tully was dispossessed of Riverrun, which was awarded to Genna, her Frey husband and her surviving children. They acquired the castle after the submission of Edmure Tully, who was taken prisoner at the Red Wedding.
Jaime
Younger twin to Cersei, and son of Tywin and Joanna, Jaime Lannister (a
Jaime took his post as a Kingsguard to stay with his sister, Cersei, with whom he shared a secret, incestuous relationship. He quickly grew disillusioned with his post when he learned that the paranoid Aerys was using him as a hostage against his father. During the sack of King's Landing, Jaime killed the king he was sworn to guard in order to thwart Aerys' plans to immolate the city with wildfire. After Cersei became queen, Jaime fathered all of her children. He attempted to protect their secret at Winterfell by throwing the seven-year old Bran Stark from a window. This act became a major trigger of the War of the Five Kings that followed.
Captured in battle by Robb Stark, Jaime spent much of The War of Five Kings in prison at the Tully castle of Riverrun, but was eventually freed by Catelyn Stark under oath to exchange his life for her daughters and never take arms against the Starks or Tullys again. Catelyn appointed Brienne of Tarth to escort him to King's Landing. At once annoyed and impressed by Brienne's honor and idealism, Jaime still attempted to kill her out of simple malice and arrogance. He failed in his attempt, but even Brienne would later admit that if his hands had not been bound she would not have had any hope of victory.
During Jaime and Brienne's capture by the
Jaime's oath to Catelyn was put in jeopardy when he went to Riverrun to end
Kevan
Kevan is Tywin's younger brother and most trusted captain. He is known for his reliability and loyalty. Kevan recognized the superiority of his brother at an early age and is comfortable doing his duty to realize his brother's wishes, though this means perpetually living in his shadow. It is said that Kevan never had a thought that Tywin hadn't had first. He is married to Dorna of House Swyft, with whom he has three sons, Lancel, Willem and Martyn, and a daughter, Janei.
After Tywin's death, Cersei offered him the position of Hand of the King. However he did not trust in Cersei's leadership and
said he would only take the position if she returned to Casterly Rock and gave him the regency. After her refusal he refused the
position of Hand and accused Cersei of being both a poor leader and mother. He quickly became alienated to his immediate family.
He believed Tyrion to be a murderer and came to believe the rumors of incest about Cersei and Jaime. His eldest son, Lancel,
became a religious fanatic and abandoned the estate Kevan had won for him. Kevan was also angered that Daven received the title
of Warden of the West over him, and refused to add his forces to his cousin's at Riverrun, and returned to the West to see his
younger son Martyn. After Cersei's imprisonment, the
Lancel
Lancel is the oldest son of Ser Kevan. At King's Landing he serves as a royal squire to King Robert. He is described as sandy-haired, with a wisp of a mustache and emerald green eyes, looking much like a younger Jaime.
Lancel idolized his cousin Jaime to the point that he eagerly participated in Cersei's plans to kill Robert so that he too could become a Kingslayer. He served Robert an unusually potent wine, known as "strongwine" during a hunting expedition, causing the King to be gored by a boar. After Robert's death, Lancel was knighted. Cersei later took him as a lover while Jaime went to war due to his resemblance to her brother. At the Battle of the Blackwater he guarded Joffrey until Cersei ordered Joffrey to be taken away from sight during the battle. Lancel took a serious wound in the fighting and later chastised Cersei for the damage her action caused to morale.
Lancel lingered near death for a long time and he never fully recovered from his wound. During the trauma of his recovery,
Lancel experienced a spiritual reawakening. He began to feel guilt for his services to Cersei, especially of participating in the
murder of King Robert. For his services at the Blackwater he was named the Lord of Darry. As part of the Frey alliance he was
betrothed to a daughter of their house. Kevan took him to the Darry castle and chose his bride, Amerei Frey, whose mother was of
House Darry. Lancel married Amerei but refused to consummate the marriage, spending most of his time in the sept doing penance
for his sins. His behavior angered his father greatly. When word reached Lancel of the resurgence of the
Stafford
Good-brother
After the defeat of Jaime Lannister, Stafford was charged to form a new Lannister army to attack Riverrun. While training this army at Oxcross, he was taken completely unaware by King Robb Stark's army and killed in the ambush by Lord Rickard Karstark.
Tyrion
Tyrion, (a
Early in life, Tyrion found himself ostracized from regular family life, and sought his own entertainment. When Tyrion was 13, he and Jaime rescued a common girl, Tysha, from a compromising situation. Tysha found Tyrion pleasing, and they married in secret, but Lord Tywin found out and explained that she was a prostitute whom Jaime had hired for Tyrion's benefit. Tywin had her repeatedly raped by his men before Tyrion's eyes, and then forced the boy to do the same. This incident scarred Tyrion, but also brought him closer to Jaime, the only person who ever showed kindness to him.
Tyrion joined the royal family on their fateful trip to Winterfell, after which he visited
The Wall with Jon Snow, Eddard Stark's bastard son. On his return, he met
Tywin made Tyrion his temporary replacement as Hand of the King, but forbade him from indulging in his weakness for
prostitutes. Tyrion disobeyed him, secretly taking the young prostitute Shae into his service. As Hand, he entered a bitter power
struggle with Cersei, but managed to consistently outplot her. He arranged the
Upon the return of his father, Tyrion found himself demoted to Master of Coin and forced into a political marriage with
Sansa Stark. Though they were married for over a month, Tyrion never forced consummation on
his unwilling bride, a decision that earned him scorn and jest in court, and very little love from his wife. Sansa fled in the
aftermath of
Tyrion was freed from his prison cell by his brother Jaime and a reluctant Varys. During their escape, Jaime revealed that
their father had made him lie about Tysha being a prostitute, and that she was exactly what she seemed: a peasant girl who had
genuinely loved Tyrion. Tyrion saw this as an unforgivable betrayal and abandoned Jaime, promising retribution if they met again.
He also revealed that Cersei was "a lying whore" who was having sex with Lancel, Osmund Kettleblack "and Moon Boy for all I know"
and falsely told Jaime that he had indeed poisoned Joffrey. Before leaving the castle, Tyrion visited his father's room and found
Shae there, whom he killed. He then confronted his father, demanding he tell him what became of Tysha. Tywin revealed that he had
not killed her, but provoked Tyrion by repeatedly calling her a whore. Tyrion slew his father with a crossbow and escaped. Cersei
has put a bounty on his head, and he has since fled across the narrow sea, his own motives unknown even to himself. In an excerpt
from
Other Lannisters
- Cerenna. Older daughter of Stafford.
- Damion. Knight and cousin to the ruling Lannisters, married to Lady Shiera Crakehall. Appointed castellan of Casterly Rock by Cersei, the Lady of Casterly Rock.
- Gerion. Younger brother of Tywin, missing since leaving on an expedition to Valyria.
- Janei. Infant daughter of Kevan.
- Joy Hill. Bastard daughter of Gerion and niece of Tywin. As part of the Frey alliance, she was betrothed to a Rivers of the Twins. Jaime mistakenly offered her later to Raynald Westerling-- however the mistake has not yet come to light. It may never become a problem, because Raynald Westerling is dead.
- Lanna. Daughter of Damion, married to Antario Jast.
- Lucion. Knight and son of Damion.
- Margot. Cousin to the ruling Lannisters and sister to Damion. She is married to Titus Peake.
- Martyn. A twin son of Kevan. Served as a squire to Jaime until his capture. Exchanged for Robett Glover and sent to Golden Tooth.
- Myrielle. Younger daughter of Stafford.
- Rosamund. Cousin to the ruling Lannisters. Companion of
Princess Myrcella and travels with her to Dorne. - Tyrek. Son of Tygett and nephew of Tywin. Served as a royal squire to King Robert. Married to the infant Ermesande Hayford to gain Lordship of her lands, and for this was jokingly called the "Wet Nurse." Taken by the mob during the King's Landings riots and has not been seen since; he is presumed dead, but much speculation surrounds his fate.
- Willem. A twin son of Kevan. Served as a squire to Jaime until his capture. Murdered while a captive at Riverrun by Rickard Karstark, who desired revenge for the deaths of his sons at the Whispering Wood.
Past and historic members
Damon
Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport, and Warden of the West in the time of King Daeron II. When young, took part in a Lannisport tourney as a mystery knight called the Gray Lion. After earning a reputation for his prowess, he was unhorsed and unmasked by Arlan of Pennytree. Thereafter he remained known as the Gray Lion. At the Ashford tourney, he ignored Duncan's pleas for aid in the trial of seven.
Lann
Legendary founder of the Kings of the Rock, from the Age of Heroes, known as Lann the Clever and Lann the Trickster. His original seat was in Lannisport, however he was able to trick the House Casterly out of its holdings of Casterly Rock and make it his main seat. Legend also has it that he stole the gold from the sun and hid it in his hair. He is the most heralded figure in Westerosi history.
Tybolt
Son of Damon, Tybolt was Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport, and Warden of the West in the time of King Aerys I. In his youth, he was a renowned tournament knight. At the Ashford Tourney he defeated Androw Ashford to become one of the contest's five champions. He successfully defended his position from all challengers, including Jon Penrose, whom he battered with his shield after losing his horse and sword.
Tytos
Tywin's father, Tytos was Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport, and Warden of the West. He was a tolerant and kindly man, but a terrible lord. Under his lordship, House Lannister lost much of its prestige and power. He allowed himself to be easily bullied by lesser lords, who laughed at him behind his back. Two of his own bannermen, the lords of Tarbeck and Reynes, openly rebelled against his authority. After the death of his wife, Tytos began sleeping with whores and took one as a mistress. He gave his mistress free reign over Casterly Rock and allowed her to wear his late wife's jewelery. This enraged the young Tywin, who rebuilt the house's reputation after Tytos's death.
Sworn Houses
- House Banefort of Banefort.
- House Brax of Hornvale. House Brax is one of the more powerful houses sworn to Casterly Rock. Lord Andros Brax had once made a visit to Hoster Tully in hopes of marrying his son to one of Hoster's daughters.
- House Broom.
- House Clegane
- House Crakehall of Crakehall. Members are regarded as being uncommonly strong and robust.
- House Estren of Wyndhall.
- House Farman of Fair Isle.
- House Kenning of Kayce.
- House Lefford of the Golden Tooth.
- House Lorch
- House Lydden of the Deep Den.
- House Marbrand of Ashemark. The current Lord of Ashemark is Damon Marbrand. His son and heir, Addam, is a capable commander and was made commander of the city guard in King's Landing.
- House Payne. Ser Ilyn the headsman and Podrick, squire to
Tyrion Lannister are from this house, though Podrick is from a lesser branch. - House Reyne. Extinct house that rebelled against Tytos. Destroyed by
Tywin Lannister and an inspiration for a famous song in Westeros, "The Rains of Castamere". - House Prester of Feastfires.
- House Serrett
- House Spicer. House Spicer is seen as an upstart house. They descend from a spice merchant and a witch-woman famous in Lannisport for her potions.
- House Swyft of Cornfield.
- House Tarbeck. Extinct house that rebelled against Tytos. Destroyed by
Tywin Lannister and an inspiration for a famous song in Westeros, "The Rains of Castamere". - House Westerling of the Crag.
References
- ^ "A Dance with Dragons excerpt." A Dance with Dragons excerpt
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A Song of Ice and Fire by |
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|---|---|
| Novels | A Game of
Thrones (1996) · A Clash of
Kings (1998) · A Storm of
Swords (2000) · A Feast for
Crows (2005) · |
| Novellas | The Hedge Knight · The Sworn Sword |
| Major Houses | |
| Other characters | Minor Houses · Independent characters ·
Complete character list · |
| Organizations | |
| Places | Westeros · Cities · Strongholds · |
| Wars and tourneys | Historic
wars · |
| Games | A Game of Thrones: |
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