Westeros Notorious Rulers and Families

Jon Arryn

Lord Jon was also known as Ser Jon, Keeper of the Gates of the Moon, Lord of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, Warden of the East, and Hand of the King. He is the son of Jasper Arryn, born 218-220 AC. Lord Jon's first wife was Jeyne Royce, his second wife was Rowena Arryn and his third was Lysa Tully together they had one child Robert Arryn. Lord Jon was murdered by the Lannisters in 298 AC.

Youth: Jon was born as the eldest son of Lord Jasper Arryn. He had a younger brother, Ronnel, and a sister, Alys, who married Ser Elys Waynwood. Jon was Keeper of the Gates of the Moon while Jasper lived, and after his father's death, Jon named his brother Ronnel and later his cousin Denys to that position. Because of the Vale mountain clans, Jon always traveled in strength when crossing the Mountains of the Moon.

Jon's first wife was Jeyne Royce. He had been betrothed to her from an early age and married her after his father's death. She died in childbirth, and their daughter was stillborn. His second marriage was to Rowena Arryn, a cousin, who died of a winter chill during a childless marriage. Because he had no children, Jon's heir became his nephew, Elbert, the son of Ronnel.

Jon fought for King Jaehaerys II Targaryen in the War of the Ninepenny Kings in 260 AC. During the war, he made alliances with Lord Rickard Stark of Winterfell and Lord Steffon Baratheon of Storm's End, which resulted several years later in Jon taking their sons, Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon, as his wards at the Eyrie. As they grew, the two boys became close companions and regarded the childless Jon as a second father. The only blade used by Robert was a hunting knife he received from Jon as a boy. Jon declined to foster the grandsons of Lord Walder Frey.

Robert's Rebellion: Jon's heir, Elbert Arryn, was murdered by King Aerys II Targaryen in King's Landing, and the Mad King then demanded that Jon execute his wards, Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon. Jon refused, however, and raised his banners in revolt, beginning what would become known as Robert's Rebellion. While Ned Stark returned to the north to call his banners, Jon and Robert led the taking of Gulltown, allowing Robert to return to the stormlands. Lyn Corbray fought against Jon at Gulltown, but submitted after the battle and joined Jon's host.

Ser Denys Arryn, Jon's cousin and new heir, was slain by Lord Jon Connington during the Battle of the Bells. To gain Lord Hoster Tully for the rebels, Eddard and Jon agreed to marry Hoster's daughters, Catelyn and Lysa. Because Lysa was proven fertile, Jon hoped to secure a new heir for the failing Arryn line, and so Jon and Eddard married the Tully sisters in a dual ceremony at Riverrun.

Jon participated in the Battle of the Trident, during which Robert killed Aerys's son, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. During the Sack of King's Landing, not only the Mad King but also Rhaegar's wife, Elia Martell, and children, Princess Rhaenys and Prince Aegon, were killed. Eddard was appalled by the brutality of the acts but Robert's hatred for the Targaryens made him consider the murders necessary, creating a temporary rift between the two that even Lord Arryn was unable to breach. When Robert Baratheon ascended to the Iron Throne, he appointed Jon as his Hand.

Hand of the King: The first task Jon undertook was making peace with Dorne. The southern region was incensed by the deaths of Prince Lewyn and Princess Elia during the war, and Prince Oberyn Martell tried to raise the kingdom to support Viserys Targaryen, the surviving son of King Aerys II. The year after Robert I Baratheon took the throne (284 AC), Jon returned the bones of Lewyn to Sunspear and brokered a peace with Doran Martell, the Prince of Dorne. However, Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch, who had killed Elia and her children, went unpunished by Robert, creating a persistent bone of contention between the Iron Throne and Dorne.

To strengthen Robert's hold on the throne, Jon negotiated the king's marriage with Cersei Lannister and advised that he retain her brother, Ser Jaime, on the Kingsguard, thereby opposing Lord Eddard Stark, who proposed sending Jaime to the Wall for his killing of King Aerys. Robert also considered the assassinations of Viserys and Daenerys, believed to be the last two Targaryens and thus possible threats, but Jon dissuaded the king from the idea.

Robert left Jon with much of the responsibility of running the Seven Kingdoms, but Jon could not stop Robert from spending huge amounts of coin on tournaments and excess, putting the realm in serious debt. While he was at court, Lord Nestor Royce ruled as High Steward of the Vale. Jon appointed Janos Slynt as Commander of the City Watch after the death of Manly Stokeworth.

Jon's marriage with Lysa was loveless, with Lysa finding Jon to be too old and hating his bad breath. After three girls and two boys miscarried, Lysa gave Jon a sickly son and heir, Robert Arryn. Lysa organized for her childhood friend, Petyr Baelish, to administer the customs at Gulltown and later convinced her husband to bring him to the court in King's Landing. Petyr was made master of the coin under Jon as Hand. Hugh became Jon's squire. Jon brought Ser Mandon Moore to King's Landing and King Robert made him a member of his Kingsguard, though neither of the two loved him very much.

Death: Jon was considered robust for his age, but he became ill the night after he borrowed Grand Maester Malleon's book, and quickly wasted away. Jon's maester, Colemon, tried treating an assumed stomach illness by purging the body. The moribund Jon kept mentioning the name Robert, and his final words to his wife Lysa Arryn and King Robert I Baratheon were "The seed is strong ''. Lysa believes this to be a reference to their son, Robert Arryn, but it is more likely that Jon was referring to what he had learned about the Baratheon lineage while studying Malleon's book. Afterward, his speech became too slurred to comprehend and he died the following morning.

After Jon's death, King Robert suggested to Lysa that her young son Robert should become a ward of Lord Tywin Lannister and be sent to Casterly Rock, as he feared that being raised by his mother would make his namesake weak. Lysa refused the suggestion brusquely and, against the wishes of the king, one night fled from King's Landing with her son and returned to the Vale of Arryn. She was accompanied by Maester Colemon, Jon's steward, the captain of the guard, and knights and retainers.