The Citadel Chronicle
The king's voice & right hand

The Hands of the King

The Hand rules when the king will not, and speaks with the king's own voice. Across three hundred years of Targaryen rule, scores of men held the office — some for a lifetime, some for a single day, some until it killed them. Here is the roster the books remember, in order.

The roster, in order

The Hand of the King speaks with the king's voice and rules when the king will not — 'the king dreams, the Hand builds,' as the old saw runs. In three centuries of Targaryen rule the Iron Throne knew scores of Hands. Only the most consequential are set down here; where the books fall silent, so does this roster.

  1. Orys Baratheon

    King Aegon I, the Conqueror

    Aegon's baseborn half-brother and the first man ever called Hand — the office begins with him, and House Baratheon with his blood.

    Served
    King Aegon I, the Conqueror
    Tenure
    The first Hand — through the Conquest and after
    Fate
    Lost a hand to the Vulture King's men in Dorne, avenged it, and lived to lay down the office at Storm's End.
    SourcesFire & BloodThe World of Ice and Fire

  2. Septon Barth

    King Jaehaerys I, the Conciliator

    A blacksmith's son plucked from the royal library, whose long peace made the realm rich.

    Served
    King Jaehaerys I, the Conciliator
    Tenure
    Some forty years — the longest, and by repute the wisest, service
    Fate
    Died in the king's favour; his many writings were later burned as blasphemy under King Baelor.
    SourcesFire & Blood

  3. Ser Otto Hightower

    King Viserys I (and briefly King Aegon II)

    Grandfather to Queen Alicent's children; his rivalry with Prince Daemon helped set the board for the Dance.

    Served
    King Viserys I (and briefly King Aegon II)
    Tenure
    Hand under Viserys — dismissed, then recalled
    Fate
    Set aside once more when the Dance of the Dragons turned against his counsel.
    SourcesFire & Blood

  4. Lyonel Strong

    King Viserys I

    A lowborn-risen lawyer, and by many accounts the ablest legal mind of his age.

    Served
    King Viserys I
    Tenure
    Hand after Otto's first fall
    Fate
    Died with his heir in a fire at Harrenhal — the cause never proven.
    Honest caveat

    The fire that took him has never been explained; the chronicle records the deaths, not the hand behind them.

    SourcesFire & Blood

  5. Ser Criston Cole

    King Aegon II

    'The Kingmaker' — the white knight whose choice at Viserys's death helped light the Dance of the Dragons.

    Served
    King Aegon II
    Tenure
    Hand and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard through the Dance
    Fate
    Cut down on the road at the Butcher's Ball, the war he helped make still raging.
    SourcesFire & Blood

  6. Lord Cregan Stark

    King Aegon III

    The Hour of the Wolf — the Lord of Winterfell held the Hand's full power one day only, long enough to see justice done to the poisoners of a king.

    Served
    King Aegon III
    Tenure
    The Hand of a single day
    Fate
    Laid down the office by nightfall and rode north again, his purpose served.
    SourcesFire & Blood

  7. Prince Viserys Targaryen

    Kings Daeron I and Baelor I

    Widely named the ablest man of his age: a Hand who steadied the realm, then became its king.

    Served
    Kings Daeron I and Baelor I
    Tenure
    Hand through two young kings' reigns
    Fate
    Outlived them both and took the Iron Throne himself as Viserys II — for barely a year.
    SourcesThe World of Ice and Fire

  8. Brynden 'Bloodraven' Rivers

    King Aerys I

    A great bastard of King Aegon IV and rumoured sorcerer — 'a thousand eyes, and one.'

    Served
    King Aerys I
    Tenure
    Hand and master of whisperers
    Fate
    Ruled in the king's name for years, then was sent to take the black upon the Wall.
    Honest caveat

    The sorcery laid at Bloodraven's door belongs as much to song as to sober record.

    SourcesThe World of Ice and FireThe Mystery Knight

  9. Tywin Lannister

    King Aerys II, the Mad King

    So long and so ably did the Lord of Casterly Rock serve that men said the Seven Kingdoms were his.

    Served
    King Aerys II, the Mad King
    Tenure
    Near twenty years — the realm's true ruler in all but name
    Fate
    Resigned in cold anger; the king he had served would call for wildfire before the war was done.
    SourcesA Game of ThronesA Storm of Swords

  10. The last Hands of the Mad King

    King Aerys II, the Mad King

    As Aerys unravelled, the Hand's office turned from the realm's highest honour into its shortest and most fatal.

    Served
    King Aerys II, the Mad King
    Tenure
    A swift and deadly succession at the dynasty's end
    Fate
    After Tywin the office passed through Owen Merryweather (exiled), Jon Connington (exiled after the Battle of the Bells), Qarlton Chelsted (burned for defying the king), and Rossart the pyromancer (slain at the sack).
    Honest caveat

    Honest record: these final Hands are named, but their brief terms are blurred by the war that ended the Targaryen line.

    SourcesA Storm of SwordsThe World of Ice and Fire

  11. Jon Arryn

    King Robert I Baratheon

    The old Lord of the Eyrie who fostered both Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark; his passing opens A Game of Thrones.

    Served
    King Robert I Baratheon
    Tenure
    Some fifteen years, from the Rebellion's end
    Fate
    Died suddenly — poison, it was later feared — and his death sets this chronicle's tale in motion.
    SourcesA Game of Thrones

Into the age of the novels

Beyond the old Hand of the Eyrie the roster runs into the events of the novels themselves. The names below are turned to the wall for those who would not be spoiled.

これらの分かれ道は、書物では未だ辿られぬ死や結末、道を名指す。両の道を知る者のみ ― あるいは知ることを恐れぬ者のみ ― 覆いを取れ。

Later Hands still — of the boy kings and the queen who followed — the chronicle keeps wholly veiled; the tale is not yet fully told, on the page or off it.

What does the Hand of the King do?

The Hand of the King is the most powerful office beneath the crown itself. He heads the small council, commands in the king's name, sits the Iron Throne in the king's absence, and carries the realm's day-to-day governance — 'the king eats, the Hand takes the shit,' as the coarser saying has it. A strong Hand under a weak or absent king effectively rules the Seven Kingdoms.

Who was the first Hand of the King?

Orys Baratheon, Aegon the Conqueror's baseborn half-brother and closest companion, was the first man ever named Hand of the King. He served through the Conquest and after, lost a hand fighting in the Dornish Marches, and founded House Baratheon. The office of Hand begins with him.

Who was the longest-serving Hand of the King?

By repute the longest and wisest service was Septon Barth's, a blacksmith's son who served King Jaehaerys I the Conciliator for roughly forty years and presided over a long golden peace. His writings were later condemned and burned under King Baelor the Blessed. Tywin Lannister's near-twenty years under Aerys II were the longest of the dynasty's final century.

Who was Hand of the King before Eddard Stark?

Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, was Robert Baratheon's Hand for some fifteen years after the Rebellion. His sudden death — poison, it was later feared — is what draws Eddard Stark south to take up the office, and sets the events of A Game of Thrones in motion.