The Citadel Chronicle
A hedge knight & his squire

The Tales of Dunk & Egg

Ninety years before the War of the Five Kings, a great hulking hedge knight and his small bald squire wander the roads of Westeros. George R. R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg — gathered as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and now bound for the screen — are the warmest corner of the whole saga. Here is what they are, who the two really are, and where they belong in the chronicle.

The three tales

  1. The Hedge Knight

    1998

    A young hedge knight buries his master, takes up his arms, and rides to a great tourney in the Reach — where a rash act at the lists puts his life, and the honour of a prince, upon a Trial of Seven.

    Setting
    The tourney at Ashford Meadow, c. 209 AC
    First printed
    First printed in the anthology Legends
    SourcesThe Hedge Knight (1998)

  2. The Sworn Sword

    2003

    Now sworn to a poor and stubborn old knight, Dunk is drawn into a quarrel over a dammed stream with a formidable neighbour — the Red Widow — that reaches back to the shadow of the Blackfyre Rebellion.

    Setting
    The drought-stricken Reach, c. 211 AC
    First printed
    First printed in the anthology Legends II
    SourcesThe Sworn Sword (2003)

  3. The Mystery Knight

    2010

    Riding north, Dunk and Egg stumble into a wedding tourney whose prize is a dragon's egg — and a gathering of discontented lords whose true purpose brushes against a second Blackfyre plot.

    Setting
    A wedding tourney at Whitewalls, c. 212 AC
    First printed
    First printed in the anthology Warriors
    SourcesThe Mystery Knight (2010)

The collected volume: The three tales were gathered in 2015 as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, illustrated by Gary Gianni — the volume that lends the coming television series its name.

Who they really are

Is Egg a spoiler?

That Egg is Prince Aegon Targaryen — later King Aegon V, 'the Unlikely' — is no hidden twist held back for careful readers: the boy's royal blood is uncovered in the very first tale, The Hedge Knight. It is published canon, freely told, and safe to know.

The show: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

StatusIn production for HBO — expected 2026

HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adapts the Dunk and Egg tales, beginning with The Hedge Knight. Details below reflect what has been publicly announced and, like all things not yet aired, may change.

  • The first season adapts the opening novella, The Hedge Knight, and the tourney at Ashford Meadow.
  • Peter Claffey takes the role of Ser Duncan the Tall, with Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg.
  • George R. R. Martin is among the executive producers, with Ira Parker as showrunner.
  • It is the third live-action series set in this world, after Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

Where they fit in the timeline

The tales fall roughly between 209 and 212 AC, in the long shadow of the Blackfyre Rebellions — after the first rising was crushed at the Redgrass Field (196 AC) and around the stirrings of the second. In this chronicle that places them within the eleventh age.

  • The Age of the Blackfyre Rebellions (196–262 AC)
→ See this age on the timeline→ Reading order

The tales yet to come

George R. R. Martin has long said he means to write many more Dunk and Egg tales — by his own reckoning perhaps a dozen in all — carrying the pair across the length of Westeros and, in the end, toward Summerhall.

  • A journey that would take Dunk and Egg north — as far as Winterfell and the Wall — has been spoken of in interviews.
  • The saga is meant to close on the tragedy at Summerhall, where an aged Ser Duncan is remembered to have fallen alongside his king.
  • Some ideas first raised for these tales were later folded into the histories of Fire & Blood instead.

These further tales are unwritten and unpublished; their number, titles, and contents are the author's stated intent, not settled canon, and may yet change.

What is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms / Dunk and Egg?

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the collected title for George R. R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg — a series of novellas following the hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg as they roam Westeros roughly ninety years before A Game of Thrones. Three tales have been published so far — The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight — and gathered in one illustrated volume in 2015. HBO's upcoming series takes its name from that collection.

Who is Egg in Dunk and Egg?

Egg is Prince Aegon Targaryen, a younger son of Prince Maekar, who travels the realm disguised as a common squire with his head shaved to hide his Targaryen colouring. He grows up to become King Aegon V, remembered as Aegon the Unlikely because so many lives stood between him and the throne. This is revealed in the very first tale and is fully published canon — not a spoiler.

How many Dunk and Egg books are there?

Three novellas have been published — The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2003), and The Mystery Knight (2010) — collected together as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. George R. R. Martin has said he intends to write many more, perhaps a dozen in all, ending with the tragedy at Summerhall, but those further tales remain unwritten.

When does the Dunk and Egg show come out?

HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, adapting The Hedge Knight, has been announced for release in 2026. As with any series not yet aired, the exact date and details may change; this page reflects what has been publicly stated.