Marilda of Hull

Marilda of Hull, called Mouse, was a shipwright’s daughter, a resourceful sea captain, and the mother of Addam Velaryon and Alyn Velaryon. Her importance to the history of the Dance of the Dragons rests on the convergence of those lives: the sons she raised among ships became dragonriders, while her claim about their father made their lineage a matter of public and political consequence. The accounts preserve both her practical independence and the uncertainty surrounding the boys’ parentage, without resolving every question about her own life.

Identity and Background

Marilda was the daughter of a shipwright and grew up around her father’s shipyards in Hull. She was still sixteen when Addam was born in 114 AC and barely eighteen when Alyn followed in 115 AC. Both boys were described as small and quick like their mother, as well as silver-haired and purple-eyed. Their appearance made their Targaryen blood seem evident, but it did not by itself settle which man had fathered them.

The name Mouse reflected Marilda’s presence around the yards: she was remembered as small, quick, and always underfoot. The account gives this nickname a practical setting rather than treating it as a title. It connects her early life to the work and maritime environment in which her sons would also grow up, and which she would eventually make the basis of her own livelihood.

Work at Sea

Marilda’s circumstances changed when her father died and she inherited his shipyards. Rather than keep them, she sold the yards and used the proceeds to take to sea as master of a trading cog called Mouse. The choice marks a significant change in her position: she moved from being the shipwright’s daughter known around the workplace to owning and commanding a vessel herself.

She proved both a capable trader and a daring captain. By 130 AC, Marilda owned seven ships, and Addam and Alyn were serving aboard one or another of them. Their maritime upbringing began early: they grew up in their grandfather’s shipyard and went to sea as ship’s boys before the age of eight. Marilda’s fleet therefore supported more than her own career. It provided the setting in which her sons acquired experience at sea, before either became known through a dragon.

The Question of Their Father

For years, Marilda did not name the boys’ father. When Prince Jacaerys Velaryon called for new dragonriders, she broke that silence and said that Addam and Alyn were the natural sons of the late Laenor Velaryon. The claim had evidence in its favor: the brothers resembled Laenor, who had sometimes visited the shipyard in Hull. But it also met skepticism. His lack of interest in women was well remembered, and the resemblance did not end the dispute.

The accounts disagree over what should be believed. Grand Maester Munkun and Septon Eustace accept Laenor’s paternity. Mushroom instead identifies Corlys Velaryon, Laenor’s father, as the likely sire. He points to Corlys’s regular presence at the shipyards and argues that Laenor visited less often. Mushroom further reports that Corlys ended his relationship with Marilda after Alyn’s birth and kept the boys away from court until Princess Rhaenys had died. These claims are presented as Mushroom’s account, not as uncontested fact; the chronicle judges his version more likely than the maester’s and septon’s, while leaving the question formally disputed.

Recognition and Consequences

Whatever the truth of the parentage, Corlys himself brought the brothers to Prince Jacaerys for the Sowing. The Sea Snake had outlived his children and suffered betrayal by nephews and cousins; the narrative presents his acceptance of the boys as grandsons in that context. When Addam mounted Seasmoke, Laenor’s former dragon, the feat appeared to support Marilda’s claim. It did not erase the competing account, but it strengthened the public case for Addam’s connection to Laenor.

Corlys later petitioned Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen to remove the stigma of bastardy from both brothers. Prince Jacaerys supported the request, and the queen agreed. Addam became Addam Velaryon and heir to Driftmark. The account thus distinguishes biological uncertainty from political recognition: Marilda’s declaration initiated the claim, Corlys’s support brought the brothers before the court, and Addam’s acceptance by Seasmoke and the queen’s decision altered his standing. Alyn’s part in the petition is recorded, but the passage does not specify an equivalent change to his inheritance.

Marilda’s own later history is not supplied. Her surviving significance lies in the concrete actions attributed to her: inheriting and selling the shipyards, building a seven-ship trading fleet, raising two sons within maritime work, and naming Laenor as their father when the search for dragonriders gave that claim immediate consequence. Through her, a household history rooted in Hull entered the struggles over dragons, legitimacy, and the inheritance of Driftmark.