Radio Westeros E42 - The Hedge Knight

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In Episode 42 we visit The Hedge Knight - the first story of the Dunk & Egg novellas...
Here's the outline:
Historical background
The Hedge Knight: In Brief
The Remnants of a Life
The Inn
The Ashford Tourney
The First Day
The Second Day
The Third Day
A Dead Dragon
ARE THERE NO TRUE KNIGHTS AMONG YOU?
Interlude: Dragon Dreams
Theory Round Up
GUEST VOICES:
Michal (Vassals of Kingsgrave) vokpodcast.wor...
Zack (Game of Owns)
gameofowns.com/
Hayley (The Manimals)
www.manimals.band/
Aziz (History of Westeros)
www.historyofwe...
Scad (Davos Fingers)
scaddy.podbean...

[@DutchFurnace]

CONGRATULATIONS! I hope you two will be super happy together.

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks! So far, so good ;)

[@NolanDaddy]

Wow yall got married congrats !! My asoiaf journey started with my wife's mom who introduced me to season 2 of the show In 2013 .I found you guys, Tony and HOW not long after. We got married a year later ,now I'm not gonna say reading asoiaf made me marry her but I'm ten years her junior and those books made me a real house cat ,exactly what she wanted lol Good luck guys And Always remember why you got married in the first place it will get you through the tough times 🤴👸

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks so much and thanks for sharing your story! Whatever they happen to be, having shared interests is a wonderful foundation for a relationship. So are house cats ;)

[@chippersonsencyclopediaemp1318]

Wait, asoif made you marry your wifes mum?? Wth 😅

[@kevoncox]

I'm a simple man, I see Radio Westeros, I click. Congrats on the wedding!

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks!!

[@UAPReportingCenter]

You two are getting married?!?!? So happy for you guys! What a beautiful ASOIAF story!! ❤

[@adsm6464]

I love how despite me knowing nothing about Baelor Breakspear before reading The Hedge Knight, his death upset me. In just a few scenes, I realised that this man was going to be an important person to have around (as people with so much power in Westeros are rarely so honourable or humble) going forward. And then he died in usual gory GRRM fashion. 'Twas a sad moment.

[@chippersonsencyclopediaemp1318]

Is he the bloke that was bludgeoned? Dunc as thick as a castle wall "im your man" as homie dies 😂😂

[@michal22011]

relationship between D&E gives me this warm feeling in my heart that I lost when Ned died.

[@whereuwannabe7796]

Congratulations Lady Gywn and Yolkboy on your nuptials. May your marriage be the summer that never ends. You did a great job holding down the show alone. Quality work.

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you! And thanks for the feedback, it means a lot :)

[@QueenDaenerysTargaryen]

A queen must listen to all. The highborn and the low, the strong and the weak, the noble and the venal. One voice may speak you false, but in many there is always truth to be found.

[@abirdhasnoname.5376]

This was really awesome to listen to. I wanted to add that I noticed another similarity between Brienne and Dunk. If you look at the parallels between Maekar/Baelor and Renly/Stannis, this becomes a lot more clear. The people that vouch for Brienne (Renly) and Dunk (Baelor) both die in similar ways. Both in the arms of Dunk/Brienne and both unintentionally-ish? killed by their brother who is later haunted by it. In both cases the brother who killed them has lived in their shadow in some way and is resentful of that fact. Anyway, I hope that makes sense. Again, great video!

[@lili46038]

Hello lady gwyn I am reading the hedge knight for the first time this week, even if i discovered it through your podcast years ago. It is a great book, enhanced only by the love and respect you gave me for dunk in advance. Thanks so much for all your work with yolkboy

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank YOU so much for this -- it means a lot and I'm grateful I was able to share my love of Dunk and his goofy squire with you all that time ago

[@deanog2577]

Thanks for doing this. I've listened to it several times now. Your reviews of the books are by far the best I have found. You are very good at doing these.

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you so much!

[@kqwentin]

Congratulations guys! It really warmed my heart to see news of your wedding. I wish you all the happiness in the world. Cheers! On a different note, I just finished reading the knight of the seven kindgoms stories so this upload is much appreciated. Dunk the lunk is one of my favourite characters. Can't wait for part 3 to hear all of your bloodraven tinfoil. But while we're on the hedge knight I just wanna say this was a great story and I found the opening pages to be very heartwarming. The whole burial scene for ser Arland is great.

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you :) I love all the small, simple moments with Dunk. But I do look forward to TMK & Bloodraven!

[@Joggi98]

Such a great series of novellas. Could be turned into a pretty entertaining mini-series. You're doing a great job with these re-reads, they're very entertaining to listen to. Considering that I consume all media asoiaf, it baffles me that I haven't found this podcast sooner.

[@AUPackmule]

Yolk Boy you are missed! Looking forward to having you both together again. This was a very special subject. I think George enjoyed this story more than GOT.

[@Brandonhayhew]

"We Hedge Knights are wanted nowhere, but we turn out everywhere" Ser Duncan the Tall, A Mystery Knight.

[@gurtreynolds470]

Oak and iron guard me well, or else I’m damned and doomed to hell!

[@bw5653]

Yes on Spotify!!

[@RadioWesteros]

So glad that makes a difference for you! Thanks for the feedback

[@FOGSmokebeer]

That was a quick honeymoon ;) congrats and thanks for the new ep

[@RadioWesteros]

Haha, thank you so much!

[@baronessvondengler]

Congratulations again on your wedding! And so glad you're doing these analyses of the Dunk & Egg series. I recently read all 3 and have been longing for further discussion on it. Can't wait for you to get to my personal favorite, The Mystery Knight.

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks! Truly looking forward to TMK as well!

[@UAPReportingCenter]

always amazing quality w Radio Westeros!

[@cynthiaruiz5462]

Excellent!! Although I won't mention that I forgot that as much as I love The Hedge Knight....it always makes me weepy....cause you know....Dunk

[@stephaniepeer3787]

I really enjoyed this video and a trip down memory lane - it filled my heart with so much warmth and sadness all over again. What a great story! :)

[@nateschab5767]

You guys will be the ultimate power couple! Congratulations!

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks!

[@TheMRxCRUMPET]

Woohoo I love dunk and egg. This should be fun 😁

[@RadioWesteros]

Hope you enjoy!

[@thomasc.5219]

Always love when I see that notification for Radio Westeros. I always have to listen to each one like 5 times haha.

[@HereBeDragonsYT]

I loved this. The Hedge Knight might be my favorite thing George has ever written. I just love this story. And the breakdown and analysis in this episode is incredible. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the Tales of Dunk and Egg. And also, heartfelt congratulations to the two of you. I hope yolkboy's swim wasn't too taxing.

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks so much! He was in training for a number of years and made it easily ;)

[@X1Twelve]

Just started listening today and the fact its on spotify is amazing means I can get it on my phone super easily and download to listen when I'm out and about

[@Piperdogloveshats]

Congratulations! I always hoped as a fellow ASOIAF lover when they're being my prince charming so I am very happy for you too and thank you for sharing the dragonfly amongst the Reeds theory can't wait to read it. Jenny of oldstones is one of the characters I can't get enough of especially considering there so little to get in the first place.

[@kathymag31]

Great video!!! Thanks a lot!

[@PLecN]

Your news (Aziz mentioned it) put a very big smile on my face. The very best of luck to both of you.

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you!

[@TWard-je6mr]

Been waiting all day to get home from work so I can listen to this!

[@simonescala9806]

Nice, learned some new things. Thank you

[@ApplesandDragons]

This episode is full of great parallel catches that I missed on my second read. The first and third stories in particular are paralleling each other in well over a hundred ways. The Sworn Sword is the odd duckling inbetween and I don't know what to make of it yet. One thing I'm sure about is that the Butterwell tournament was orchestrated by Bloodraven as a false flag Blackfyre gathering to lure out the last Blackfyre supporters and Daemon II Blackyre. Daemon will tell anybody about his dream of a white castle, as we see when he tells Dunk, so Bloodraven got wind of the dream and then chose "Whitewalls" as the location to raise the false flag, knowing Daemon's trust in his dreams would bring him to it once the tourney was announced. One punchline being set up for the reader to enjoy is that Daemon's dream of a white castle was true, but it wasn't Whitewalls. It will probably be Winterfell covered in snow, because Dunk is bound for Winterfell and Daemon compares the white of the castle in his dream to snow, suggesting that snow cover can explain the castle's color just as well as stone color can. The dragonfly is Bloodraven searching for his runaway nephew Egg. The dragonfly in Dunk's nature base in Story 1 is mirrored by the Targaryen in Dunk's nature base in Story 3 through the principle 'fake identity dragon.' As Dunk's thoughts highlight, a dragonfly occupies the fake identity of dragon. It's an inversion of Brynden "Rivers" Targaryen occupying the fake identity of Maynard Plumm. Be more careful with the Summerhall letter. As with many ASOIAF passages that are riddled with ellipses, it's crafted as a survivorship bias puzzle. Martin is relying on readers to overestimate the value of the information that survived and underestimate the value of the information that died. The information that survived caused you to assume the life that was saved was not Dunk's when it very well might have been Dunk's. In other words the surviving information is almost infinitely modifiable by the unsurviving information. Therefore the safe conclusions that can be drawn from the letter are likely incredibly minor on the surface and incredibly powerful in their second and third order implications after long consideration. The challenge of a survivorship bias puzzle is about intellectual restraint. To be able to take an inch when you're given a mile. And to meditate deeply on that inch. IE. 'Dunk was at Summerhall' is likely a better lead than 'Dunk saved someone at Summerhall.' Just a friendly suggestion. Thank you for these shows. They're an island of sense and genuine love for the story in this ASOIAF era of nonsense and malice disguised as constructive criticism.

[@lsabellathehousekeeper3280]

Thank you

[@shobhitkaul8076]

Thanks guys for answering the call to gather banners. If somebody says no lady Guinavere, we will annex them after the episode is over.

[@NeoLudditevisons]

Schweet and congrats again!

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you :)

[@larsongramckow7495]

Congratulations, love the show. You two are awesome. Hoping you'll do some from fire and blood soon

[@bigpo29]

I really enjoyed this episode thanks a lot

[@garethwaplington1243]

JUST WANTED TO SAY HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH.

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you!

[@paulbarry3400]

Just on your last theory point, I thought one of the (many) interesting parts of F&B was the regular attempts to make a Targaryen/Stark match and how it never worked out. To me, this seemed like George setting up more foreshadowing of Jon, the only true embodiment of Fire and Ice.

[@nathanmorton8773]

So happy for you guys!

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks!

[@shobhitkaul8076]

As much as I love lady Guinavere, I miss the mischievous yolk in the dunk and egg. Hope you both reunite soon. Guinevere needs a knight while egg needs a yolk. 🤗

[@riapichay]

Super excited about you being on Spotify and congrats on the wedding!

[@girlnettles]

I am so HERE for this!!! I love how detailed an thorough you are! Goood job!! Can't wait for more. Also CONGRATS on your secret!!! I know it's supposed to be a secret, but it truly makes me believe in true love. And shows how magic ASOIAF really is, to bring all types of people together!

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you so much! :)

[@BeamaBeorhtost]

Congratulations on your new life together :-) Thanks also for thinking about us subscribers and preparing this podcast when you should have just concentrated on organizing your big day.

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks so much :)

[@jewsco]

lady only gave some of the info. her and yolk boy recently got married!! congrats and good luck you two !!!

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you!

[@tglrod]

That is awesome news. What a couple! Congratulations!

[@TimSnead223]

Thank you for the early Xmas gift about one of my favorite characters! Congrats on the wedding!

[@itzelgc4637]

Oh! I’m late to the party. Congratulations on the wedding. I wish you all the happiness in the world!!!!!

[@roddammit5510]

Congratulations on another great episode and a marriage for the ages! #FoundLoveInWesteros

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you!

[@koalabear5963]

Congrats on the wedding. I was excited when I read the title but this was a missed opportunity to talk about the sansa suitors theory inspired by the tourney at Ashford

[@RadioWesteros]

we don't like or favor the theory so didn't mention it.

[@koalabear5963]

@@RadioWesteros that's unfortunate. I really wanted to hear you take on it. I personally believe that it will come true. Thanks for your reply though

[@prof.cecilycogsworth3204]

A delight, as always!

[@childofpersia1213]

ARE THERE NO TRUE KNIGHTS AMOUNG YOU?! There’s a parallel to this moment on pg 75 of Fire&Blood during Maegor’s trial by seven

[@davidryan7386]

Great solo effort! And congratulations 🎉🎉❤!

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you! 😃

[@bobbybee2975]

Anyone got an over under on when The Winds of Winter comes out? I'm almost 40 and I'm afraid I won't make it till the end

[@egoborder3203]

lies, the countryside is afire with rumors of Yolkboy's swim under the portcullis ;)

[@deanog2577]

Love this!

[@username7735]

Are there any hints about involvement of the faceless in summerhall disaster ? just a thought that it might've been sabotage..

[@CalliopeCarina]

You and Yolk Boy are getting married!!!??? (/are married now)?!!? I am so so SOOO happy for you both! I was loving your video (as always) and whilst scrolling through comments, saw this news! I am giddy with happiness-which is weird; considering it doesn't directly affect me, but God, wish you both the best! I love you! I love your channel and I wish you everlasting happiness!!!!

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks so much, we appreciate this!! ❤️ right back at ya! LG & yb

[@kevinwilson4238]

🤦‍♂️ surely somebody accidentally thumbs down this??? I can understand someone being so-so, but thumbs down 😂🤷‍♂️ maybe they aren’t happy you took YB away or he took you away. Congratulations again to both and hopefully get to see you both this time in April 👍 great episode

[@RadioWesteros]

Thanks Kevin! We hope to see you as well :)

[@norahstar8622]

Yayyyy awesome job!!!!💓💓

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you Norah ;)

[@ebrietasbiscuit]

Can we all agree that NONE of these anointed knights would help good ol’ Dunkers. Fantasy, I get it. But I can’t seem to get around this.

[@absalomvane7776]

I'm honestly surprised that you didn't mention the possible Sansa foreshadowing in the Ashford Tourney, given how thorough you guys usually are. Lord Ashford’s daughter is 13, the same age as Sansa in A Dance with Dragons, and is the Queen of Love and Beauty. Her champions are: 1: Lyonel Baratheon 2: Leo Tyrell 3: Tybolt Lannister 4: Humfrey Hardyng 5: Prince Valarr Targaryen Which maps itself perfectly to Sansa’s suitors in the main series of books: 1: Betrothed to Joffrey Baratheon 2: Planned on marrying Willas Tyrell 3: Forced to marry Tyrion Lannister 4: Littlefinger wants her betrothed to Harry Hardyng

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you for the congrats!! :) We're definitely aware of the Ashford Theory but we consciously chose not to include it because in our opinion it's an example of a theory that fails to meet our main criteria of theorizing, which is narrative sense. Given where we think Sansa's arc is going, we don't see much opportunity for her to be connected with Aegon VI, and the theory seems to ignore the Aegon-Arianne arc that is clearly laid out (mostly in TWoW spoiler chapters, to be fair) Jon is an interesting (if uncomfortable!) idea that wasn't included in the original theory and that could be supported, if only his arc didn't seem to be pointing him in an entirely different direction. So, in our opinion it's a series of cool connections, possibly even an intentional red herring, that falls short of being a predictor of what's to come. We chose to discuss Dragonfly Among the Reeds instead because of its relative obscurity and the very tantalizing ideas it suggests. Thanks for asking though! :)

[@absalomvane7776]

@@RadioWesteros I can't believe you replied to me! You guys have so much wonderful content that I've enjoyed for years - thank you from the bottom of my heart. Even though the Jon angle may seem uncomfortable, we need to remember that in GRRM's original publishing pitch, Jon was supposed to fall in love with Arya, so GRRM has, since the beginning, had a Jon/Stark daughter marriage in mind. And given that ASoIaF is a loose retelling of the War of the Roses, Jon is a rather obvious 'expy' for Henry VII, who ended up marrying his cousin Elizabeth. Politically, Sansa is the heir to the North, niece to the Lord of the Riverlands, and cousin to the Lord of the Vale. If the Targaryen loyalists are satisfied with Jon's heritage, a marriage between Jon and Sansa unites the entire realm and sews up the civil war as tightly as a drum. BUT, I will admit I've never listened to your Young Griff episode (I've been away for a couple of years), so I'm off to do that now. I'm not terribly sure why Arianne would want to marry Young Griff anyways given the weakness of his forces when Daenerys is coming . . . I've been of a mind that he would, by necessity, try to marry Daenerys just to avoid getting roasted alive the moment she lands on the continent. I hope you're all having a wonderful New Year, with many more to come.

[@dotbluer9041]

should i read the graphic novels or the the recently published 3 in 1 book?

[@LoneWolf-ro9sj]

The Prince that was promised ,born beneath a bleeding star( Arthur Dayne bleeding) while Lyanna giving birth to Jon,amidst smoke and salt( Torentine river is sulfurous and a bit like yellow salt)

[@Sporking]

You and Yoke are amazing

[@maxleisenheim4492]

Thank you for the great content! But I wondered why you didnt mention the theory about the champions of the ashford tourney mirroring Sansa Starks love interests.Any specific reasons?

[@ApplesandDragons]

Dorne as a whole has running through its culture a nascent awareness that House Martell knows a secret way to kill dragons. Tanselle is dornish. One surprise D&E has in store for readers is that Tanselle's puppet show was indeed intended to inspire rebellion against House Targaryen. That will recontextualize Aerion's reaction to the show, allowing us to see that Aerion, while still a jerk, was not entirely wrong. Similar to how ASOIAF injected uncomfortable validity into the viewpoints of its other villains like Jaime and Tyrion. This recontextualization will also render Dunk the true knight as a fool as well as a true knight, because his infatuation with a woman blinded him to the possibility that her intentions were not entirely innocent. Therein lies the explanation for why that line about knights and fools has to qualify itself concerning women. ASOIAF is pointing to man's desire for woman as a premiere flaw in the institution and tradition of knighthood. It's a critique of White Knights - men who rescue women not only from danger but from having to take accountability for their misdeeds (for the chance of sexual reward). It's a conflict of interest. I deeply suspect that whatever tragedy befell House Targaryen at Summerhall, the tragedy was set into motion when Dunk in his infatuation bailed Tanselle Too Tall out of her crime. In that way, D&E's "Revelations" (Summerhall) will be causally linked to its "Genesis". There is also an implicit commentary about symbolism in there, because Dunk was either blind to or dismissive of the symbolic meaning in the puppet show of having a dragon slain by a knight. The message it conveys is 'Fell the tyrant by revitalizing your knightly tradition.' As somebody somewhere in this series says, it takes a knight to kill a dragon. Thus, knighthood's fixation on protecting women to a fault receives an upgrade from weakness to feature. What better to motivate men to be knightly and stand down the tyrant than the promise of a woman? This recognition that sex is ultimately what motivates human beings is the key insight that allows mankind to devise social arrangements that can stand the test of time. This insight is the titular song of ice and fire.

[@Truedatas]

I’m disappointed this wasn’t just 2 hours of praising Baelor. Best person in canon

[@wroot1]

CONGRATS ON YOUR WEDDING! super-secret, had no idea. think LML let the cat out of the bag on that one

[@RadioWesteros]

Thank you!

[@Theology.101]

So you recently added to Spotify, but are you on Amazon? My Phone is simply not helpful in that regard, and it would be nice if I could set it up to play throughout my entire house

[@RadioWesteros]

If you're trying to use a Fire Stick or Echo, Spotify should do the trick, or even KZbin on the Fire Stick... Just tell Alexa what app to use and she should be able to do the rest ;) (disclaimer- we use Google Home and Apple, but assume they all work the same way)

[@amartinez016]

And then, six years later... 1:36:52 and 1:37:07 😅

[@RadioWesteros]

Amazing! 😊

[@LastAgniKai]

Good job! However I don't see Sandor Clegane as a true knight. He's not the worst but he's nowhere near Brienne or Barristan or Arthur Dayne.

[@chippersonsencyclopediaemp1318]

Just got the Knight Of the 7 Kingdoms. So..... Spoilers AAAALLLLLL books!

[@dotbluer9041]

if you’re gwynevere i’m gwyndolin

[@MountainMama1000]

Ser Jorah is a true knight.

[@christopherbarber5283]

i thumbsed down because I wanted to marry BOTH of you and now i can't! oh, i can't stay mad at radio westeros, thumbs up!

[@harryross9377]

The five dislikes are Joffery Fan boys

[@tulkas42o22]

Tansy too tall but not too tall for me