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.
Orys Baratheon
King Aegon I, the ConquerorAegon'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 FireSepton Barth
King Jaehaerys I, the ConciliatorA 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 & BloodSer 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 & BloodLyonel Strong
King Viserys IA 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 caveatThe fire that took him has never been explained; the chronicle records the deaths, not the hand behind them.
SourcesFire & BloodSer 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 & BloodLord Cregan Stark
King Aegon IIIThe 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 & BloodPrince Viserys Targaryen
Kings Daeron I and Baelor IWidely 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 FireBrynden 'Bloodraven' Rivers
King Aerys IA 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 caveatThe sorcery laid at Bloodraven's door belongs as much to song as to sober record.
SourcesThe World of Ice and FireThe Mystery KnightTywin Lannister
King Aerys II, the Mad KingSo 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 SwordsThe last Hands of the Mad King
King Aerys II, the Mad KingAs 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 caveatHonest 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 FireJon Arryn
King Robert I BaratheonThe 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.
Эти расхождения называют смерти, развязки и дороги, ещё не пройденные в книгах. Откройте их, лишь если ведомы вам обе дороги — или если не боитесь знать.
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.