Brienne of Tarth

Brienne of Tarth is introduced as an extraordinary contradiction within the chivalric world: a woman who defeats armed men in open combat and seeks not admiration, marriage, or wealth, but the right to serve as a sworn protector. Her victory at Bitterbridge makes that contradiction impossible to dismiss. After Renly Baratheon’s death, her loyalty places her in mortal danger, but her conduct in the aftermath confirms the strength and seriousness of the vows she has chosen.

Identity and Reputation

Brienne is the daughter of Lord Selwyn the Evenstar of Tarth. The men around Catelyn Stark struggle even to describe her within their customary categories. Ser Colen tells Catelyn that Brienne is “no man,” identifying her first through the gendered assumptions she violates rather than through her skill or rank. She is also called Brienne the Beauty, but the name is a cruelly unstable compliment: men use it cautiously, aware that saying it to her face may require them to defend the words with their bodies.

At the melee, Brienne appears in blue armor, mounted beneath the quartered sun-and-moon heraldry of House Tarth. The image sets her apart before her identity is explained. Her armor and horse announce a knightly presence, while the crowd’s astonishment reveals how little the surrounding culture is prepared to accept that presence in a woman. She is referred to as “the Blue” by observers who recognize her through her armor before they know the person inside it.

Victory at Bitterbridge

Brienne wins the great melee at Bitterbridge, emerging as the last mounted combatant among one hundred sixteen knights. Her achievement is not treated as a clean triumph by everyone watching. A drunken archer complains that one of her victories was not a proper unhorsing, accusing her of pulling a younger fighter down by a vile trick. The objection exposes the double standard surrounding her: her opponents’ defeat is reinterpreted as illegitimate because accepting it would mean accepting Brienne’s superiority in the lists.

The crowd’s reaction shifts between excitement, mockery, and hostility. Catelyn hears men curse when Red Ronnet falls, while others anticipate a contest involving Loras Tyrell and the blue-armored knight. Brienne’s success therefore functions as more than tournament spectacle. Each defeated opponent narrows the space available for those who insist that knighthood belongs exclusively to men, even as the spectators attempt to preserve that belief through ridicule and complaint.

Service to Renly Baratheon

As champion, Brienne is offered any boon Renly Baratheon can grant. Her request reveals the precise nature of her ambition. She does not ask for land, gold, marriage, or a public ornament of status. She asks for the honor of a place among Renly’s Rainbow Guard, pledging to be one of his seven sworn protectors, to follow wherever he goes, ride at his side, and keep him safe from harm.

Renly accepts immediately and orders her to rise and remove her helm. His decision converts her martial achievement into institutional recognition. Brienne has not merely proven that she can fight; she has secured a formal place within the king’s protective order. The reward also creates a bond that makes her later grief and danger inseparable from her chosen service. Her identity as a warrior is not an isolated challenge to convention but a vow-bound relationship to a particular lord.

Renly Baratheon’s Death and Brienne’s Defense

When Renly is killed, Brienne is present amid the sudden violence. Ser Emmon Cuy attacks while Renly’s body lies on the ground. Brienne moves quickly despite having no sword immediately at hand, seizing Renly’s weapon from its scabbard and using it to catch Emmon’s descending axe. She cuts through the wooden haft, sends the axehead spinning, and fights on when another man-at-arms thrusts a flaming torch toward her back.

The attack does not succeed in setting her rainbow cloak alight because the cloth is soaked with blood. Brienne turns on the assailant, cutting away the torch and his hand, then parries against the second swordsman while Emmon Cuy rejoins the struggle. Forced to retreat, she nevertheless keeps both attackers at bay. Her combat here is defensive rather than triumphant: she is protecting her life while surrounded by men who regard her as responsible for the king’s death.

Catelyn intervenes when Ser Robar begins to reach for his sword. She insists that Brienne did not kill Renly and declares that Stannis Baratheon was responsible. Catelyn cannot explain the method except by describing a shadow with a sword and dark magic, but she recognizes Brienne’s innocence and appeals to Robar through her own honor. Brienne’s situation thus turns on a reversal of the tournament scene. The woman publicly celebrated as a champion is now treated as a suspect, and the same courage that won her a place in the Rainbow Guard becomes necessary to survive the consequences of Renly’s murder.