House Hightower

House Hightower is the ruling house of Oldtown, a powerful and wealthy Reach city whose walls, harbor, and religious institutions make its allegiance consequential to the realm. Its history in the chronicles is not a simple story of submission or opposition: the family repeatedly navigates the competing claims of kings, the Faith, and its own interests, turning Oldtown’s resources and connections into lasting political influence.

Oldtown, the Hightowers, and the Faith

Oldtown is described as the greatest city in Westeros, ruled by the Hightowers of the Hightower, one of the oldest, richest, and most powerful noble houses of the Reach. It is also the center of the Faith: the High Septon resides there, and the city is associated with both the Starry Sept and the fighting order known as the Warrior’s Sons. This concentration of religious authority makes the Hightowers’ choices more than local decisions. A peaceful transfer of Oldtown can lend a conqueror the appearance of acceptance; armed resistance can turn the city into a focal point of a wider conflict.

During Aegon Targaryen’s Conquest, Lord Manfred Hightower chose not to oppose the invading host. The High Septon had spent seven days and nights praying in the Starry Sept after hearing of Aegon’s landing, and reported a vision warning that resistance would bring destruction upon Oldtown, the Hightower, the Citadel, and the sept. Manfred, described as cautious and devout, accepted that counsel. One of his younger sons served with the Warrior’s Sons, while another had recently taken septon’s vows, giving the family ties to the religious institutions involved. Manfred rode out to meet Aegon and offered his sword, city, and oath. Because the Hightowers were bannermen to House Gardener, their decision also kept Oldtown’s men from fighting on the Field of Fire. A report that Manfred offered Aegon his youngest daughter in marriage is presented as uncertain; in that account, Aegon declined politely.

Three days after his arrival, Aegon was anointed by the High Septon in the Starry Sept and proclaimed king. The ceremony gave religious sanction to a rule already advanced by conquest, and drew a much larger audience than Aegon’s earlier crowning at the Aegonfort. The Hightowers’ submission thus helped make Oldtown a setting in which military victory could be recast as public and religious recognition. The title proclaimed there included the Seven Kingdoms, although Dorne had not submitted.

Crisis under Maegor

The family’s role was more precarious during Maegor’s conflict with the Faith. As Oldtown awaited the arrival of the dragons, Ser Morgan Hightower led two hundred Warrior’s Sons in a defense of the High Septon. Lord Martyn Hightower called his banners, and the Hightower’s beacon burned green. The city appeared prepared for resistance: weapons were placed on the walls, and the Starry Sept was surrounded by armed defenders.

The crisis changed when the High Septon died during the night. The cause remained disputed, and the accounts considered several possible explanations without establishing the truth. Lord Martyn’s response, however, is recorded clearly. He sent knights to disarm and arrest the Warrior’s Sons, including his own brother Morgan; the city gates were opened and Targaryen banners raised. His men also brought members of the Most Devout to the Starry Sept at spearpoint to elect a successor. The new High Septon blessed and anointed Maegor. The episode shows how quickly the house’s public position shifted as the balance of power in Oldtown changed, and how control of the city’s religious institutions became part of the struggle over kingship.

Court ties and political influence

Hightower influence also traveled through family members and court service. Otto Hightower, serving as King Viserys’s Hand, argued against allowing Prince Daemon to ascend the Iron Throne and supported Princess Rhaenyra as heir. His position put a Hightower at the center of a succession dispute shaped by both personal enmity and precedent. Later, when Queen Alicent’s faction prepared for King Viserys’s death to become public, Ser Tyland Lannister was made master of coin and the royal treasury divided among several places for safekeeping. Otto also sought support from the Iron Islands, offering Dalton Greyjoy the admiralty and a seat on the council in return for allegiance. These actions were the work of the royal faction rather than of Oldtown itself, but they illustrate the reach of a Hightower serving at the heart of the court.

Marriage and personal relationships supplied another kind of connection. During the preparations for Prince Aegon’s coronation and wedding, Lord Lyonel Hightower and his father’s widow, Lady Samantha, arrived from Oldtown with a large Hightower delegation. Their forbidden relationship was already public knowledge and had become such a scandal that the High Septon delayed traveling with them. The conflict continued in Oldtown: when the High Septon ordered Samantha to leave her stepson’s bed and take vows as a silent sister, she instead rode into the Starry Sept on horseback during a service and had her knights bar its doors. The High Septon ultimately relented. The confrontation demonstrates that even the religious authority associated with Oldtown could be challenged by a Hightower who possessed the resolve and armed support to make exclusion difficult to enforce.

Ships, wealth, and institutional legacy

The Hightowers’ position also rested on Oldtown’s ability to provide material support. When Alyn Velaryon’s fleet reached the city, Lyonel welcomed him. Alyn’s courteous treatment of Samantha helped establish a friendship between the two young men and eased old divisions between the Blacks and Greens. Lyonel promised twenty warships for Alyn’s fleet, while Lord Redwyne of the Arbor promised thirty more. The Hightower contribution transformed the fleet’s strength, showing how Oldtown’s harbor and political relationships could affect the balance of power at sea.

The family’s wealth was likewise reinforced by its ability to avoid exposure to financial collapse. After the Rogare bank failed, Lord Torrhen Manderly found no evidence that Lotho or Roggerio Rogare had known of their brother’s crimes or benefited from them. Lotho was nevertheless convicted of theft and lost his right hand; Lady Samantha took him in and brought him back to Oldtown. The Hightowers, who had entrusted none of their gold to the Lyseni bank, remained among the wealthiest houses in Westeros. Samantha wanted to put that wealth to better use, and her involvement led to the creation of the Bank of Oldtown, which further enriched House Hightower.

Across these episodes, House Hightower’s influence comes from the conjunction of several forms of power: rule over a major city, proximity to the Faith, access to ships and wealth, and the presence of family members at court. Its leaders do not hold a single position consistently. Instead, the family’s significance lies in its repeated capacity to turn those resources into leverage, whether through submission and ceremony, political service, armed intervention, personal alliances, or a new financial institution.