Westeros Notorious Rulers and Families

Aenys I Targaryen

King Aenys was also known as Prince Aenys Targaryen and the King Abomination. He was the first son of Aegon I and Rhaenys Targaryen. Born in the year 7 AC. King Aenys was known to have the dragon Quicksilver, he was Quicksilver's first dragon rider. King Aenys married Lady Alyssa Velaryon. Together they had six children, Rhaena Targaryen, Aegon Targaryen, Viserys Targaryen, Jaehaerys Targaryen, Alysanne Targaryen, and stillborn Baby Vaella Targaryen.

King Aenys passed due to a sudden collapse in the year 42 AC, he was 35 years old.

Early Life: Aenys was born on Dragonstone in 7 AC to King Aegon I Targaryen and Queen Rhaenys Targaryen. He was weak and sickly at birth and tired all the time. He refused to nurse from a wet nurse and would only nurse at his mother's breast. He was so unlike the king that it was rumored that the boy could not be the son of Aegon the Conqueror, who was a fearless warrior, that perhaps he was rather the son of one of the singers or murmurs that Rhaenys delighted in. Aenys was three years old when his mother died in Dorne. Always weak and sickly, the death of his mother shattered him. He went back to crawling around as if he was a baby. However, when Aenys was given the hatchling dragon Quicksilver, his condition quickly improved, and "as the dragon grew, so too did Aenys". The rumors that he was not Aegon's son ended at this time. Aenys was five years older than his half-brother, Maegor. He was not close with Maegor while growing up, as Aenys was kept by his father's side in King's Landing, while Visenya and Maegor lived on Dragonstone. Aenys was trained by his father's Kingsguard, and although he was an adequate fighter, he lacked his father's size and strength. From time to time Aegon would let him practice with the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre.

Aenys was married to Alyssa Velaryon in 22 AC. Their marriage was a political match. Together they had six children, three sons (Aegon, Viserys, and Jaehaerys), and three daughters (Rhaena, Alysanne, and Vaella). By all accounts, Aenys had a good and loving relationship with his wife and children.

Aenys accompanied his father at Sunspear to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the peace between the Iron Throne and Dorne. When King Aegon I turned sixty, Aenys took over the royal progresses together with his wife, Alyssa. In 37 AC, when Aegon I died of a stroke at Dragonstone, Aenys was at Highgarden. He swiftly flew Quicksilver to Dragonstone for the funeral and his coronation. He was proclaimed King by Grand Maester Gawen. After Maegor had spoken the eulogy for their father and Aegon had been cremated, Aenys gifted his brother with the sword Blackfyre, admitting that Maegor was more fit to wield the blade than he was. Aenys asked Maegor to wield the sword in service to him and told his brother that they would rule together.

After Aegon's funeral, Aenys traveled to King's Landing, where he claimed his father's throne amidst the rubble and middle of the torn-down Aegonfort and the foundations of the Red Keep. He was cheered by many. There are conflicting written accounts about his coronation by the Maesters. According to Archmaester Glydayn, Aenys has crowned with his father's Circlet of Valyrian steel and rubies on Dragonstone, and later, when he traveled with his wife and children to Old Town by the way of Riverrun, Lannisport, and Highgarden, was presented by the High Septon at the Starry Sept with a crown of yellow gold, with the faces of the Seven inlaid in jade and pearl. However, according to Maester Yandel, Aenys was crowned during the ceremony in the Red Keep with an ornate gold crown.

King Aenys I Targaryen Reign: Aenys received the blessing of the faith. Nonetheless, some people cast doubt on his ability to rule. Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen voiced a similar opinion, claiming that, by giving Blackfyre to Maegor, Aenys had admitted that he lacked the strength to rule.

Within the first year of his reign, an uprising led by four rebels rose throughout the realm. The first of these occurred in the Riverlands, where a bandit outlaw known as Red Harren claimed to be the grandson of Harren the Black. Harren and his men seized Harrenhal and killed Lord Gorgon Qoherys. On the Iron Islands, a man claiming to be the priest-king Lodos began to gather followers, while in the Dornishmen marches the Vulture King began to father an army of Dornishmen who wished to avenge the destruction visited upon Dorne during the First Dornish War. Finally, in the Vale, Lord Ronnel Arryn was taken captive by his brother Jonos Arryn. Convinced that the smallfolk loved him, Aenys did not understand why people felt the need to rebel against him. He considered sending messengers to the four rebels, to learn why they had rebelled. While Aenys was unable to decide how best to handle the rebels, the lords of the Seven Kingdoms took matters into their own hands. Lord Allard Royce gathered forces and penned Jonos up in the Eyrie, after which Prince Maegor flew up to the Eyrie on Balerion to resolve the situation. Lord Goren Grayjoy sent his fleet to Old Wyk and Great Wyk, where thousands of the followers of the priest-king Lodos were massacred. Lodos himself was slain as well, and his pickled head was sent to King Aenys in a jar. The largest of the threats, the Vulture King was mostly ignored by Princess Deria Martell, although she assured Aenys that she was doing everything she could to put the rebellion down. Eventually, the marcher lords resolved the situation, by defeating the followers of the Vulture King and capturing the Vulture King after the Vulture Hunt. Red Harren lasted the longest of the rebels, but he too was eventually defeated. Aenys sent his Hand of the King, Lord Alyn Stokeworth, to hunt Harren down with a few hundred men. Harren was eventually killed by Lord Alyn's squire, Bernarr Brune.

When all these insurrections finally ended, Aenys rewarded all lords and knights who had led their forces against the rebels with gold, titles, and lands. Barnard Brune was personally knighted by Aenys as a reward for his service. Aenys granted Gorne Grayjoy "any boon he might desire" as a show of gratitude, a decision Aenys would later regret as Goren required that he be allowed to expel the Faith of the Seven from the Iron Islands, much to the faith's fury.

As Lord Alyn Stokeworth had been killed by Red Harren, Aenys named his brother Maegor as his new Hand of the King. Despite their difference, the brothers ruled together amicably for two years. In 39 AC, shortly after the birth of Aenys's sixth child Vaella (who died in the cradle), a new crisis arose. Prince Maegor announced that his wife was barren and that he had thus taken a second wife. Aenys and Maegor quarrel bitterly about the polygamous marriage. The High Septon denounced the marriage, and many of the pious lords in the realm similarly condemned it. Feeling he had no other option, a furious Aenys gave his brother a choice: either set Alys Harroway aside or go into exile for five years. Maegor chose the latter option and left for Pentos in 40 AC with Alys and Balerion. Aenys requested that his brother return  Blackfyre before he left, but Maegor refused to do so. In an attempt to placate the Faith, Aenys named Septon Murmison as his new Hand of the King. However, the High Septon continued to voice his discontent, while the lords of Westeros began to call Aenys weak and consider him incapable of ruling. Aenys was oblivious to these criticisms.

In 41 AC, Aenys announced that his eldest daughter, Princess Rhaena, would wed his eldest son and heir, Prince Aegon. The negative reactions to his announcement took Aenys by surprise. The Faith condemned the planned incestuous marriage as an obscenity, Aenys though normally indecisive, decided to stand by his decision this time and went ahead with the wedding. On the day of the wedding, Warrior's Son scowled and made note of the guests as they entered the Sept of Remembrance. At the feast that followed the ceremony, Aenys named Aegon Prince of Dragonstone, a title which had previously belonged to his brother Maegor. Dowager Queen Visenya left the feast in protest.

Aenys decided to send Aegon and Rhaena on royal progress throughout the realm to win the love of the people, remembering the cheers of the smallfolk when he made his progress. He refused Rhaena when she requested to bring her dragon Dreamfyre with them, not wanting his son Aegon to seem unmanly by riding on a palfrey while his wife rode on a dragon back. However, Rhaena and Aegon were jerred wherever they went. For having performed the wedding ceremony, Septon Murmison was expelled from the Faith. When Aenys asked the High Speton to restore Mumison, explaining the long history of Valyrian marriage customs practiced by House Targaryen, he received a denunciation as a response, addressed to " King Abomination". The pious lords of the realm, and even the smallfolk who had once loved Aenys, turned against him. When the High Septon declared Aenys to be a pretender and a tyrant who had no right to rule the Seven Kingdoms, the Faithful responded. Within a fortnight, Speton Murmison was hacked in pieces, signaling the start of the Faith Militant uprising.

The Warrior's Sons fortified the Sept of Remembrance on Rhaenys Hill. Aenys decided to leave for Dragonstone with his family. Three days before they were to set sail, Ser Raymont Baratheon of the Kingsguard saved Aenys' life when two poor fellows scaled the walls of the king's manse upon Visneya's Hill and slipped into the royal apartments to murder the king. At Dragonstone, Dowager Queen Visenya counseled him to bring "fire and blood" to the Starry Sept and Sept of Remembrance. Aenys refused to do so, but at the same time was incapable of deciding how to act instead. Eventually, the king fell ill. By late 41 AC, most of the realm had turned against him. Thousands of poor fellows prowled the roads, threatening and slaying any of the king's supporters, while dozens of lords took up against the Iron Throne.

According to Grand Maester Gawen, Aenys looked like a man of sixty even though he was only thirty-five years old. The maester despaired of improving his condition. When the Dowager Queen Visenya took over his care, Aenys briefly improved, but he suffered a collapse upon learning that his eldest son and daughter were besieged at Crakehall during their yearly progress.

Death: Aenys died in 42 AC, after only ruling for five years, at the age of thirty-five. He was cremated at Dragonstone, with his widow, Alyssa Velaryon, signing a dirge for him. Years later, some people suggested that Dowager Queen Visenya Targaryen had been responsible for Aenys' sudden death. They cited Visenya's preference for her son, Maegor, her ambition to seat him on the throne, and the fact that she took care of the sick Aenys when he disgusted her as her reasons.

Due to Visenya's actions after Aenys' death, the Iron Throne passed to Aenys' half-brother Maegor instead of Aenys' eldest son Aegon.