Septon Alfyn’s election as High Septon joined a religious choice to a carefully negotiated political settlement. King Jaehaerys Targaryen wanted the Faith to recognize exceptionalism as official doctrine and to stop questioning the Targaryen practice of sibling marriage. The Most Devout chose Alfyn on their fourth ballot, departing from tradition by elevating a man who was not one of their own. Septon Barth’s account presents the outcome as both a victory for the king’s religious policy and a bargain with Lord Donnel Hightower over who might succeed Alfyn.

A vacancy with political stakes

The election followed the sudden death of the High Septon in Oldtown. He collapsed while climbing the steps to his bedchamber and died before reaching the bottom; bells sounded throughout the realm. Once the funeral was complete, the Most Devout would gather at the Starry Sept to choose a successor. Jaehaerys regarded the choice as consequential: the peace of the realm, he believed, depended on the next High Septon continuing his predecessor’s policies.

The king initially favored Septon Barth, a trusted adviser who had come to the Red Keep to oversee its library. Barth himself persuaded Jaehaerys to abandon the idea. He was young, little known, and unorthodox; he was not a member of the Most Devout and had little chance of winning their votes. The king and his council were also determined to prevent Septon Mattheus from taking the office. Mattheus had left a legacy of mistrust in King’s Landing, particularly through his words at the gates of Dragonstone.

The council considered means of influencing the election that ranged from bribery to coercion and even a sudden, mysterious death. Rego Draz joked about distributing enough gold to win the crystal crown himself; Daemon Velaryon proposed using the royal fleet, while Qarl Corbray offered to lead an army. Albin Massey raised the possibility of Mattheus meeting the same fate as an earlier High Septon who had troubled Aenys and Maegor. Septon Barth, Grand Maester Benifer, and Queen Alysanne rejected these proposals with horror, and Jaehaerys dismissed them. Instead, he and Alysanne went to Oldtown.

The king’s presence in Oldtown

The royal visit was publicly framed around the late High Septon’s funeral, but the king and queen arrived after he had already been interred beneath the Starry Sept. Jaehaerys nevertheless delivered a eulogy before a large gathering of septons, maesters, and smallfolk, then announced that he and Alysanne would remain in Oldtown until the successor had been chosen. Their presence made the election impossible to separate from royal interest. The crowd cheered; the maesters responded approvingly, while the septons looked to one another and considered the significance of the dragons.

The king and queen lodged in Lord Donnel’s apartments atop the Hightower. Their discussions with their host took place behind closed doors, without a maester present. The account of what was agreed comes later: Jaehaerys told Septon Barth about the meetings years afterward, and Barth recorded a summary. The source therefore gives the election not as a fully witnessed negotiation, but as a political arrangement reported retrospectively by one of the king’s closest advisers.

The bargain and the ballots

Lord Donnel wanted a member of House Hightower to become High Septon. The family was large and influential, and its younger sons, brothers, cousins, and bastards had long entered the Faith, where some had risen to high office. In 54 AC, Donnel had a younger brother, two nephews, and six cousins serving the Seven; his brother, one nephew, and two cousins belonged to the Most Devout. Jaehaerys, by contrast, cared less about the new High Septon’s birth or family than about his position on exceptionalism. None of Donnel’s eligible kin had yet committed themselves to that cause.

After hours of discussion, the king and Lord Donnel reached an understanding, sealed with a great feast. Donnel praised the king’s wisdom and introduced him to his extended family. Meanwhile, at the Starry Sept, the Most Devout assembled to cast their votes. Agents of both the king and Lord Hightower were among them, though most of those present did not know it.

Four ballots were required. As anticipated, Mattheus led the first, but failed to secure the necessary votes. His support diminished with each successive ballot as other candidates gained ground. On the fourth, the Most Devout broke tradition and chose Septon Alfyn, who was not one of their number. Alfyn had crossed the Reach a dozen times in his litter on behalf of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, and was a forceful advocate of exceptionalism. His election placed a royal ally at the head of the Faith without selecting the candidate the king had first proposed.

Consequences and the account of the election

Alfyn was also the oldest of the Seven Speakers and had no legs. The account treats his age as making his tenure likely to be short. Jaehaerys therefore assured Lord Donnel that a Hightower would succeed Alfyn, provided Donnel’s kin firmly supported the Exceptionalists during Alfyn’s time in office. The agreement linked the king’s immediate doctrinal objective to the Hightowers’ future claim on the highest religious office.

Barth accepted the account of the bargain, but regretted the corruption that had made the Most Devout so easy to influence. In his assessment, the result was nevertheless preferable to Mattheus’s election: both Alfyn and the Hightower who later succeeded him were more worthy of the crystal crown. The event thus carried two outcomes at once. The Faith gained a High Septon committed to exceptionalism, while the election exposed how royal authority and noble influence could shape a supposedly sacred choice when the gods’ will could not be known.