The Faith Militant and the Doctrine of Marriage

This thread traces how religious rules, royal family customs, and political expediency repeatedly collide across the Targaryen dynasty.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Custom Challenged

Royal Marriage Meets Doctrine A Faith-Endorsed Match Maegor marries Ceryse Hightower in a ceremony performed by the High Septon, despite the dynasty’s established sibling-marriage custom. A Later Violation Maegor’s second marriage to Alys Harroway defies both his brother and the Faith. The contrast shows how political consent can make the same custom seem tolerable or intolerable.

Aenys’s Children Become Targets

Marriage Becomes Rebellion The Faith Condemns the Heirs The Faith denounces Aenys’s children as abominations. The marriage question becomes a public challenge to the royal family’s legitimacy. A Political Crisis Religious doctrine mobilizes armed opposition, showing how family practice can become a struggle over who has the right to rule.

Exceptionalism Offers a Settlement

A Doctrine for the Dynasty Targaryens as Different The Seven Speakers argue that Targaryens are distinct from ordinary people because of their Valyrian ancestry and dragons. A Bargain with the Faith The doctrine gives the crown religious cover for its marriage customs. Its acceptance depends on preaching, political negotiation, and a cooperative High Septon.

Royal Marriage Shapes Succession

Family Policy and Statecraft Dynastic Matches Targaryens marry within the family or join with powerful houses, using marriage to strengthen claims and alliances. The Cost of Precedent A marriage can unify factions, but it can also create heirs whose claims compete. The dynasty’s family structure becomes a political system in its own right.

A Marriage Ends the Dance

Reconciliation Through Marriage Two Lines Are Joined Aegon III and Jaehaera are married to unite the rival branches after the war. Symbolism Has Limits Their childhood trauma and later Jaehaera’s death show that a dynastic marriage can settle a political claim without healing the people bound by it.

25 AC, at Maegor and Ceryse’s wedding

41–42 AC, after Aegon and Rhaena wed

51–54 AC, under Jaehaerys

101–114 AC, as the dynasty expands

131 AC, at Aegon III’s wedding