Manfryd Redwyne

Manfryd Redwyne, Lord of the Arbor, served Jaehaerys Targaryen as lord admiral and master of ships. His appointment was a notable change in the composition of the royal council: for the first time, the admiralty went to a man outside House Velaryon. He also appears as a cautious adviser on royal security and as a proponent of public celebration in the capital. The surviving account chiefly records his public service and his family’s place at court, rather than his private life or the circumstances of his own later years.

Office and Place at Court

Jaehaerys retained some councillors from his mother’s administration and replaced others, then selected Manfryd for the combined naval responsibilities of lord admiral and master of ships. The appointment brought a lord from the Arbor into an office that had until then belonged to House Velaryon. The change is specifically marked as unprecedented; the account does not describe it as a dispute with the Velaryons, but it does show the king widening access to an important council position beyond a single seafaring house.

Manfryd came to court with his young sons Robert, Rickard, and Ryam, all serving as squires. Their presence made the appointment part of a broader family connection to the royal household: Manfryd held a council office, while his sons were being formed in the service of the court. The account presents that arrangement as a detail of his arrival, without specifying a separate political bargain or the sons’ individual duties as squires.

Counsel on the Oldtown Journey

When Jaehaerys decided that he and Alysanne Targaryen should travel to Oldtown to attend the burial of the High Septon, the council worried about their safety. Septon Barth warned that some within the Faith did not love the king, and Daemon Velaryon recalled the danger Alysanne had faced at Maidenpool. Jaehaerys believed the Hightower would protect them, but the council did not share his confidence in Donnel Hightower.

Manfryd gave the objection its sharpest political form. He described Donnel as governed by his own interests, those of his house, and those of Oldtown, rather than by loyalty to the king. His warning was not simply about the danger of the road: it questioned whether the king could rely on the lord whose protection he expected to receive at his destination. Jaehaerys answered that he would persuade Donnel to see his own interests as aligned with the king’s. The party nevertheless set out by dragon, with overnight stops at Bitterbridge and Highgarden and additional protection for the royal couple. The account does not report a direct confrontation between Manfryd and Donnel; his contribution is the council’s explicit expression of mistrust before the journey.

The Dragonpit Tourney Proposal

As work on the Dragonpit neared completion, its great dome and bronze gates transformed the skyline of King’s Landing. Manfryd proposed a large tourney to mark the building’s completion and the arrival of a new Hand, imagining a public celebration that could also bring visitors and spending to the city. The proposal followed a good harvest, steady tax income, and increasing trade, which made the cost seem manageable to the council.

His case joined ceremony to practical benefit: the event could give the smallfolk something to celebrate, draw thousands of visitors, and bring money into the capital. Jaehaerys accepted that a tourney might help the people put their sorrows aside. The preparations were then thrown into disarray by Rhaena Targaryen’s sudden arrival from Dragonstone, when the dragons’ agitated response made the gathering’s immediate atmosphere one of alarm rather than pageantry. Manfryd’s proposal therefore survives as a plan approved in principle, not as an account of a tourney he successfully staged.

Family Service and Later Appointments

Manfryd’s sons reappear in the record through later appointments. After the Shivers had run its course, Jaehaerys began replacing councillors and servants lost during the epidemic. Manfryd’s eldest son, Ser Robert, was appointed to command the King's Landing City Watch. Ser Ryam Redwyne, one of the young squires who had come to court with his father, received a white cloak and joined the Kingsguard. These appointments place two of Manfryd’s sons in prominent royal service, though the account does not state that their father arranged either advancement.

Taken together, the family’s appearances trace a movement from attendance at court as squires to responsibility in the capital’s security and the king’s sworn guard. They also show that Manfryd’s connection to royal government extended beyond his own council seat. The record does not establish when or how his tenure as admiral ended, or what became of him personally. His documented legacy is consequently defined by the offices he held, the warning he offered about Oldtown, the civic purpose he saw in the Dragonpit celebration, and the later service of his sons.