Dickon Tarly

Dickon Tarly is the younger brother of Samwell Tarly and, after Sam's forced departure to the Night's Watch, the sole heir to Horn Hill and the Valyrian steel greatsword Heartsbane. His birth reshaped the destiny of House Tarly, setting in motion the events that drove his elder brother into exile on the Wall.

Identity and Background

Dickon is the second son of Lord Randyll Tarly and Lady Tarly of Horn Hill, a bannerman house to the Tyrells of Highgarden. After three daughters in as many years, Lady Tarly finally gave her lord husband a second son. From that day, Lord Randyll ignored Samwell, devoting all his time to the younger boy, a fierce, robust child more to his liking. Samwell knew several years of sweet peace with his music and books until the dawn of his fifteenth name day.

Role in Samwell's Disinheritance

On the morning of Samwell's fifteenth name day, Lord Randyll Tarly confronted his eldest son in a wood near Horn Hill while skinning a deer. He told Sam that he had given him no cause to disown him but would not allow him to inherit the land and title that should be Dickon's. He declared that Heartsbane must go to a man strong enough to wield her, and that Sam was not worthy to touch her hilt. Lord Randyll gave Sam a choice: announce that he wished to take the black and start north before evenfall, or die in a staged hunting accident. Sam chose the Night's Watch, and Dickon became the undisputed heir.

Narrative Significance

Dickon Tarly functions as a narrative catalyst rather than an active character. He never appears directly in the story but is referenced as the reason for Samwell's presence at Castle Black. Samwell later reflects that Dickon will have Heartsbane now, the Valyrian steel blade he was too afraid to hold as a child. Dickon embodies the martial ideal that Lord Randyll valued and that Sam could never fulfill, making him a symbol of the harsh patriarchal expectations that shaped Sam's fate.