The Insane Reign of Baelor the Blessed

[@CrusaderChris]

Correction: I believe I credited the wrong artist for a portrait of Baelor (4:54). It should be credited to Myles Toyne (www.tumblr.com/mylestoyne). Sorry about that!

[@eastromangaming1033]

This dude almost caused the most cursed thing ever, a Stark-Greyjoy alliance

[@Dani_1012]

Without dragons that alliance would have finished the Targaryen line before Robert got to it

[@wallybonejengles5595]

Lol he almost made the First Men great again

[@thalmoragent9344]

Lmao, imagine

[@femalegays]

so cursed, ramsey had to unsausage theon to keep him away from sansa

[@TimesFM4532]

@@Dani_1012not without huge reforms to the kingdoms

[@rhiannongreen2642]

Baelor was like: I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 hundred more

[@bigbiggsreaction5349]

😂😂

[@Theevil6ify]

Just to be the man who walked that thousand miles to fall out at your Dorne

[@alexandrecayres7731]

He would walk a thousand miles if he could just.. see you... tonight! Tananananannanana

[@jenniferdavilla5149]

Dadada, dadada, dadadadadadadadadadada 😂lol🤷🏾‍♀️

[@za1du]

When I'm praying, well I know I′m gonna be I'm gonna be the man who's praying next to you

[@billiramone]

Baelor was clearly addled by visions. He tried to avert some kind of prophecy about Daemon Blackfyre and ended up causing his birth. Then he unlived himself.

[@melissaharris3389]

Yes. That seems likely. Prophetic dreams run in the Targaryan line, and after the death of the dragons, it seems to have become more acute. My theory is they were getting closer to the Prophsized event (The Long Night) as well as no longer having dragons to bond with and divert their inherent magic into. It drove many of them mad or made them physically weak.

[@Notski]

Makes one think that maybe Aegon's Dream might also be a self fulfilling prophecy and the Prince That Was Promised might end up being the harbinger of the Long Night.

[@dshepherd107]

@@Notskithat’s an interesting twist

[@QuinnTheGM]

Best thing Baelor did was keep his Uncle on as hand.

[@CrusaderChris]

Yeah true, Vizzy 2 is a real one for doing all the hard work while his nephews didn’t even try to govern (unless you call appointing an 8 year old high septon governing)

[@jeffreycahill3995]

Yeah! Baelor the Blursed.😂

[@nicmagtaan1132]

Saving aemon too

[@spellisthebullyboy6485]

Agreed. Viserys was the ONLY reason Baelor had a peaceful reign

[@Argos-xb8ek]

Also saving Aemon

[@TaeSunWoo]

Baelor was literally the meme “he’s a little confused but he’s got the spirit”

[@noahark1038]

​@@bkis1838 Jesus dont exist in asoif

[@sauromatae9728]

​@@noahark1038 he doesn't even.exist in our world

[@noahark1038]

@@sauromatae9728 Lol he doesnt, just a made up story by some farmers during the roman times 😅🤣

[@rodolfosanchez3397]

@@sauromatae9728actually he existed, we have historical evidence, what we have no evidence is that if he is the son of God or a very devoted person.

[@slovakiaballif24]

@@noahark1038 Least historically illiterate athiest

[@NecronManus]

This man was so religiously devoted even priests look at him unhinged.

[@SirBoggins]

Kinda how Conservative Catholics view Pope Francis now! 😂😂😂

[@QutalToddHoward]

"Baelor did not care about education or science" given that it's been several thousand years since steel was introduced to Westeros and however many thousands and thousands before that when the first men thought that swinging bronze at each other was the hottest since since Brandon the Builder, I can't blame Baelor for not attempting to push forward on a tech tree that clearly doesn't exist.

[@gustavoritter7321]

LOL Westeros is like a medieval style Bronze Age. All tech development happened rapidly in like a couple of centuries and then two thousands years of stagnant technology.

[@GG-xm2cm]

​@@gustavoritter7321The Valerian Empire and the Empire of Dawn did all the work

[@rc59191]

You'd think they'd have invented something as simple as steam engines by now. Even the Romans managed to figure that one out.

[@jazzycat8917]

Imagine being Uncle Viserys in this situation. You've just watched one idiot nephew get himself and 50 thousand others hacked to pieces in Dorne for no good reason, and now you've got another idiot nephew going full cult leader and bankrupting the realm for his Holy Vibes.

[@madsgrams2069]

Honestly, if he did poison Baelor...who could blame him?

[@rfnugi]

And even in his death, his own blood son became the worst king Westeros ever had. Vizzy probably wouldn't have went back to Aegon's side if he knew those outcomes beforehand, lol

[@iMajoraGaming]

​​@@rfnugi genuinely, bar-none, the worst. makes harren look completely rational, in spite of how vicious we know his rule to have been. harren committed crimes by the dozens, did some truly abhorrent things, but he didn't literally misrule because he wanted people to suffer for funzies. aegon was such a bitter, spiteful creature, that he KNOWINGLY and *intentionally* stoked the flames and deliberately provoked a dynastic doom-spiral solely because he wanted people to suffer, not even for having wronged him, but just... because. he just... wanted tens of thousands to perish. he didn't even get enjoyment out of it, he just wanted to.

[@carmacksanderson3937]

​@iMajoraGaming Yeah, purposefully circulating rumors about your own heir's legitimacy and then wilfully sowing chaos for the next century by legitimizing your bastards, again because you hate your own son so much is not just misrule, but *calculated* misrule, like a CK3 player doing an all-bad-decisions run

[@gothbossbaby]

lol yep on top of being one of the sole survivors of the dance

[@VictorBouleuc-qp3uf]

Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that, by giving so much power and wealth to the faith of the seven, Baelor is directly responsible for the corruption that soon festered within it. The religion had never been perfect of course, but figures like the high sparrow would later remark that it was under his reign that the decadence of the faith increased dramatically. He despises how luxurious the Great Sept is, preferring simpler, humbler places of worship. In his uncompromising worship of the seven, Baelor did more harm than good to the religion.

[@parkerconnolly2484]

Makes sense in real life during the Middle Ages the decadence of the Catholic Church was one of the causes of the Protestant reformation

[@thalmoragent9344]

The Great Sept as a monument to the Seven I think would be fine, but as a place to worship maybe not. Could've had many smaller Temples just to the Statues of the Seven and showed across different Kingdoms

[@michaelhenry3234]

@@thalmoragent9344 Real cathedrals in Europe are just as grand as the Great Sept. They're built to be so awe inspiring and impressive that it feels godly. Intimidating, almost. A show of the Church's divine authority.

[@hellatze]

just like real world.

[@crusader2112]

I don’t doubt it caused decadence to creep into the church, but as a Catholic I very much like the large Cathedrals and Churches of medieval Europe. When you enter one and hear the music playing it feels like you’re entering another world. And I think that’s the point, because Christ said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” God Bless 🙏🏻 Also, I am a defender of the medieval Catholic Church, they founded some of the first universities in Europe and while warriors and kings were fighting each other, Catholic Monks recorded knowledge of the ancient world in their Monasteries and preserved for future generations of Europeans. I believe the Faith of the Seven is a parody of what people think the Church was in medieval Europe, as opposed to what if actually was. Take care ✌🏻

[@DuTube333]

Interesting how one of the few Targaryen kings who was actually clearly mad was far from being one of the worst. To be fair, that's because a good chunk of kings were THAT bad. In the end, I have a quite mixed view of Baelor. For all the crazy stuff he decided, he also went insane lengths to make peace with Dorne, which ended up benefitting the realm later. His general pacifism put him some places up in my ranking. But yes, who knows with what ideas he might have came up if he lived longer. Of course we are missing some parts of the story until now, but from everything we know about Lil' Vizzy, I don't believe his first instinct when his nephew he serves as hand plans something stupid would be "kinslaying time". But let's see what we'll learn about that in the future.

[@phantasosxgames8488]

He is not the worst because his uncle was effectively the king , patching any of Baelor’s craziness to make the realm still functional

[@madsgrams2069]

It wasn't madness that made the Targaryen kings bad, not in most cases and not from the start. It was usually either being a narcissistic a-hole (sometimes with a hefty plus of sadistic cruelty) or being and inept, incapable, incompetent idiot. In Aegon IV's case, it was both. Baelor and Aerys II were the only ones who went off their rockers, but they were never good kings to begin with and it was because they both fell into the second category long before going completely cuckoo for coco-puffs.

[@ignatowski156]

I feel like there could be less sinister reasons to hatch dragons in Westeros than just to have power. Maybe Aegon III wanted to see if he could try raising a dragon to be more gentle and less destructive. I also think that Aegon V wanted to hatch dragons simply out of awe and wonder for the creatures. However, I agree with the idea that Baelor would use dragons for a religious crusade.

[@mikehat7652]

Thats a good point

[@giacomoromano8842]

The fact that Daena reminds me of Arya does not bode well in the slightest.

[@marimar91]

Why not?

[@SingingSealRiana]

Same with her similarities with lya . . .

[@thalmoragent9344]

Why?

[@femalegays]

*elaena

[@femalegays]

​@@thalmoragent9344maybe arya could start an incestuous rebellion idk something something grrm's og outline something something the chick who jon lost his virginity to reminded him of arya

[@splicer0169]

My personal belief is that at this point in their reign Targaryens had started to realise what the realm hadn't yet. Without dragons, they're essentially just another family of lords. Before they ruled with the constant implication that dissent would be met with instantaneous destruction. By the time of Baelor and Daeron they were ruling off the momentum from that fear but that could run out at any point if any of them were violent enough. Bringing dragons back would ensure their continued rule, their failure to do so made their overthrow more likely

[@bbtfan7957]

Case in point, as long as the Targaryons had dragons the Ironborn under the Greyjoys largely behaved themselves. As soon as they were gone...

[@screamingseal4805]

@@bbtfan7957every iron born gangsta until they’re standing on a wooden ship and see a large black object in the sky

[@glamourweaver]

Interestingly, Daena was wed to Baelor when Daeron was still alive, which raises a lot of questions. Most interesting theory I’ve heard is that Daeron wanted Daena as his heir until he had a son, but he knew from the Dance the realm wouldn’t accept that, so he wed her to Baelor so that if he died in Dorne she could rule and continue the war effort while Baelor kept to himself praying - grossly underestimating his peaceful brother’s strength of will.

[@1andOnlyMenz]

1:04 DAEMON BLACKFYRE MENTIONED RAHHHH 🔥🔥🔥🔥🦅🦅🔥🔥🔥🦅🔥🔥🔥🔥🦅🔥🦅🦅🔥🔥🦅🦅🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@AwesomeReshiram]

blackfyre loyalist spotted 😠

[@Mahawww]

I like the prophecy explanation for dragons, it's plays nicely into how prophecy fucks over literally everybody who tries to figure it out. Love the videos! Keep up the good work!

[@CrusaderChris]

Thanks! Yeah, I think a significant number of Targaryens post-Aegon III and pre-Daenerys were plagued by these dreams of dragons and a desire to fulfill prophecy. Kind of sad (like with Daeron the Drunken) but also scary (like with Aegon V)

[@rakshithanand8262]

@@CrusaderChris One thing I really do hope to see in future works is Daeron the Drunken talking to Daemon II Blackfyre. Both were amongst the strongest Targaryen dreamers ever, both misinterpreted their visions and both ultimately died chasing their dreams or running from them. I wonder if they would sympathise with each other...?

[@ladygrey7425]

Yeah. In GRRM's world, prophecies are fulfilled in unlooked for ways, and not when men attempt to fulfill them or stop them.

[@rjamesyork]

Member of the 27 Club, along with Jimi, Kurt and Janis.

[@sophiawilson8696]

Amy Winehead.

[@Cbutton]

You’ve quickly become a must watch asoiaf KZbinr for me keep up the great work!

[@CrusaderChris]

Thanks, will do!

[@thalmoragent9344]

Baelor would've been great as a High Septon but... not a king. His first acts were pretty good though, I'll admit. Dorne couldn't be taken, so he made good peace terms Shoot, why did he even bother to marry Daena in the first place? Could've married them off to other lords at the very least. Or to Aemon before he became a Kingsguard. (On a side note, Daeron marrying Daena would've been cool tbh) 4:43 Lmao, the Dune joke is hilarious. Maybe Timothee playing as a Targaryen could work here 😅

[@billychops1280]

What more evidence do u need of Dornish dishonour, Baelor literally walked up to lord Wyl with the returned Dornish nobles on horseback behind him and asked for his cousins freedom, literally asking for the freedom of one kingsguard, in comparison to the freedom of 15 Nobles, more than a fair deal anyone can agree. But nope Lord wyl wasn’t having it. Then When order by his liege lord and Prince, Lord Wyl tried killing the king with Vipers and still refused to free Ameon in good faith.

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

to me the blackfyre rebellions were written to be lesser than they logically should have been given what dorne did to their king and their history daeron ii should have been on thine ice

[@billychops1280]

@@durrangodsgrief6503 what do u mean, you think the Blackfyre rebellions were understated to keep the Dornish happy?

[@aburoach9268]

and then after witnessing that viper pit situation, Lord Wyl converted to the Seven LOL

[@mitth.rawdog.nuruodo]

baelor the blursed is 100000% correct, I love him just because he swung SO HARD away from the ol’ ultraviolence that he just created a whole new category of Targaryen shenanigans. walking to Dorne and successfully making peace?? literal mad lad. surviving viper bites after saving his brother/cousin/uncle (I can’t remember, curse this family tree)?? possibly the only thing the Seven actually bothered doing in the history of the faith. I love this series so much. 😆

[@inquisitorgarza312]

I believe that Baelor may have a point in making sure that the Targaryen dynasty and Faith of the Seven became even more closely associated with each other, and without the Dragons to make sure that their rule is secure he made it his mission to make the Faith even more dependent on the Targaryen Kings. Though that not to say that the man was insane because his piety was to the point of pure madness, but religiously he was a being of purely divine individuals who looked to be blessed by the Gods themselves.

[@elijahalbiston]

Finally another video for the Targaryen King series. Also one of the few actually insane ones.

[@LucerysOwner]

Imagine Maegor and Baelor in a room together ☠️☠️

[@forcecaptainoverlordsuprem2964]

Maegor would have just killed Baelor

[@aburoach9268]

@@forcecaptainoverlordsuprem2964 and Baelor probably wouldn't even mind it, looking stoned and showing the other cheek, making Maegor feel very uncomfortable in the process just like the story of Cain and Abel

[@billiramone]

So, a theory and an impression: Theory: Baelor had dragon dreams that foretold that his wife Daena's son would be a problem for the realm and the dynasty. He locked her away in the Maidenvault without realising she could escape and get pregnant. The dreams never showed her the boy's father. He may also have been privy to the Conqueror's dragon dream (or maybe he had the same dream). The supposed knowledge that his son would bring terrible things to the realm led him to be chaste and take refuge in his faith, ultimately being pious so as to appease his gods. This also led to him choosing not to father sons nor daughters, so as to let the throne go to his uncle's side of the family, thus averting the prophecy. Of course, prophecy's a double-edged sword... Ultimately, when Daena got pregnant, he didn't panic. But when he saw she had a son (and a Targaryen-looking son at that), he fasted so hard he unlived himself. Also, an impression: when Viserys II got to the throne, he sought to skip Aegon IV in the succession, which ultimately forced Aegon to murder him. I partially agree with your point about Aegon being able to do many things as a prince, but he also did many things during his reign that wouldn't have been possible if he hadn't been king.

[@deathbywords]

However good each may seem, every king wants dragons because they give them the power of the final word. The nuclear bomb of their time (as someone, somewhere, said). Great video! Glad I found your channel😊

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

He kinda reminds me of Tsar Fyodor I, although unfortunately he was more active and did a lot of harm. Fyodor was mostly just chilling and praying while his wife and brother-in-law ran the show and his younger half-brother died under Mysterious Circumstances(TM) (see also False Dmitri for the fAegon parallels).

[@Aelorcs]

Fucking love this series! Keep up the great work.

[@CrusaderChris]

Will do, thanks for watching

[@angryyoungman66]

​@@CrusaderChris the is not much kings its about 17-18 if you count Rheanyra

[@nightazday7988]

If the seven where actual entities in SoIaF then one thing is for certain. Baelor loved the Seven, but the seven hates Targaryens

[@yseson_]

Targaryen power was gained by dragons. No matter how kind or benevolent, who wouldn't want a nuke only your family could use?

[@glamourweaver]

I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to be the one who walked a thousand miles to forge a peace with Dorne!

[@masterplokoon8803]

For all his faults he was instrumental in bringing Dorne into the Seven Kingdoms he betrothed his nephew Daeron to the Martell princess which would lead to the unification of the Seven Kingdoms.

[@noahmihic1486]

Obviously Baelor did horrible things like the rest of his family (especially the book burnings) and was likely insane but comparing him to most Targ kings I'd rank him as a positive one, at least as positive as an absolute monarch can be. Building the great sept and makint KL the center of the Faith and putting down the groundworks for Dorne entering the fold were his greatest acomplishments. And the dude walked barefoot to Dorne and then through a desert. I respect that

[@TheUrizen]

He did some good, he did some bad. But everything he did was Based either ironically or unironically, so he earns my respect. His pious reign was a riot, and the history books of Westeros are much better for it.

[@wallybonejengles5595]

He was clearly insane, but insane doesn't mean evil, malicious, or mean. I like Baelor a lot. Its like, what if Aerys was never imprisoned and snapped at Duskendale? In Baelors case he got to be the hero and save the Dragonknight. What if it had been Baelor over that pit? He might resemble the mad king more than the shining autocrat.

[@nategraham6946]

I would call him near the top of the list. He was far from perfect, and clearly zealous and nearly mad. But he wasn’t violent nor destructive, mostly. So the lack of direct violence helps his case. Although, throwing prostitutes out of the city to die was too much.

[@6tiple6ix6afia]

Just because he WAS NOT all the things the bad kings were, has no relevance on how good he was. For example he aint even within a thousand miles reach to how GREAT Jizzy Jaeharys was.

[@nategraham6946]

@@6tiple6ix6afia I agree, Jahaerys was probably the best. But he still had flaws. He had his wars, kicked the snot out of Dorne with 3 dragon riders. And was the one who paved the way for the Dance, he only prolonged the inevitable.

[@lephinor2458]

He fed the poor and gave money to charities. He was also able to make peace with dorne and help save his relative.

[@AwesomeReshiram]

I guess if you were a smallfolk it wasn't too bad. some free money and bread. but if you were one of these uppity lords then yeah...

[@lightninqueen]

I think all of the kings who wanted to restore dragons had the same reason: The song of ice and fire. In HOD, KIng viserys mentioned that the song was passed on from king to king. They knew they needed dragons for the long night.

[@TaylorClark_69]

My current head cannon is that rhynera will be the last Targ to hear the original aegon prophecy and her children may have the vague idea that targ’s are meant to rule to save westeros and they need a dragon to do so. I think that that idea is pasted down through the generations so everyone tries to hatch an egg to see is the world going to end? No? Okay i can do whatever i want then as long as i have heirs. Idk just a stoned thought.

[@sebastiankramer7810]

Some maesters say that he went to Dorne singing “But I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more” 🎵

[@yrag89]

Dragons are in my opinion are Nuclear Weapons. It's main goal is for destruction. but the other effect was a lasting peace where nobody will act on each other like the Cold War. Baelor brings the dragon's for peace in the realm.

[@chriswier]

Baelor definitely stands out; he doesn't even have a powerful name. If you look 0:21 at all the rest of the Targaryen kings, none of their names have L or B. He definitely feels like the weakest king since Aenys. I think GRRM was incisive in that the full impact of the Dance of dragons didn't hit the Targaryens during the time of the war. That trauma passed on to the next generation, Aegon III, who presided over a lot of the winnowing of his family's power, from the deaths of their dragons to the way he let his sons run amok. It's interesting that both Daeron and Baelor had delusions of grandeur and were really basic, but chose divergent paths. Under different circumstances, they might have combined their loves of conquest and religion to lead like a Faith militant-infused holy crusade to conquer Dorne. But thanks to their upbringing, they clearly weren't tight like that or smart enough.

[@christophermedlin5889]

Baelor the Based

[@alfieingrouille1528]

Daeron the second got carried by baelor's political descions.

[@rakshithanand8262]

Did he though? Daeron II was greatly hindered by following through on Baelor's appeasement of Dorne. Arguably he could have scored cheap points by following in his dads footsteps in being anti-dorninsh and in doing so destroyed much of the Blackfyre support base. He could also have tried to unilaterally claim Dorne by installing one of his children as head of house Martell. If anything for me, Daeron gets more respect for carrying Baelor, finishing his dream of peace with Dorne AND stabilising the succession he put into question.

[@alfieingrouille1528]

@rakshithanand8262 yes he really really did now quit your needless yapping

[@alfieingrouille1528]

@@rakshithanand8262 yappasarus rex

[@southpark36]

The "My Dorne" TOOK ME TF OUT😂

[@maybechelsea4909]

great video i love this channel

[@GodBless423]

Hands down one of you’re best !!

[@JRF1004]

Love the idea that Aegon’s prophecy was still on the mind of all these kings after the Dance of Dragons

[@Theplanettera]

Baleor is an example of a road to hell is paved by good itentions

[@GaryMcSnail]

I wonder if Baelor and Aegon brought dragons back because they understood that was the only reason they were in power. Or that was an underlying motive? I'm not sure, but it's interesting to know that even someone like Aegon III didn't like dragons but still tried bringing them back

[@DanLanningPRTeam]

These are the Targaryen’s Team Black fans are proud of being Rhaenyra’s descendants

[@CrusaderChris]

All the same family. Being descended from Rhaenyra is no different than being descended from Viserys I. People can suck regardless of their ancestors.

[@Ace-cr9qt]

Love your videos and what your favorite house? My is stark

[@drereviews8868]

Maybe someone can answer this for me because I’ve been confused about it. Why do Aenys, Baelor, Maegor, and Maekar have “the first” in their title if no other kings were named after them? I know other members of the family might have had shared their name but I thought you only received the number if you were king.

[@turtleguyfan]

my guess would be it’s just a formality , they’re just the first Maekar/Aenys/Baelor/Maegor to sit the throne in case down the line another one with their name ends up sitting it too

[@BehuraStudio]

I think The First part is Titles and for the convenience IF any future kings share their name. Baelor Breakspear and Aerion’s kid Maegor were close to being Kings at one point as an example.

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

@@BehuraStudioIt's kinda hilarious that lil Maegor was a candidate but everyone went "his name is Maegor and his father was crazy, let's just skip him".

[@benyseus6325]

Has Westeros ever had a decent ruler?

[@HH-qr5sv]

Maybe Jaehaerys I Targaryen

[@thewayfarer8849]

A crusade against the North is stupid, but still not as stupid as the show iteration of the Faith Militant

[@Moompl]

I’ve seen a lot people who believe Baelor was like some of those people who use religion to excuse their bad behavior, who act all righteous and stuff, but I never got that from him. Yes the Maiden Vault was absolutely terrible, but I say that instead of it being the product of a guy who struggles to keep his pious image, it’s instead just because Baelor truly believed in his convictions, and was just kind of insane. From what I know, people who use religion to hide behind dint tend to go to the lengths that Baelor did (i.e walking to Dorne, helping the poor, fasting till you die, etc.) Those actions don’t scream master manipulator, but rather just insane.

[@Ayem427]

Literally Jesus Targaryen in the worst possible way

[@nhatchau8343]

oh my god of seven and other gods, Baelor was incredibly mad and financially destructive without any violence needed, he starved himself, he walked 1000 miles, he jumped into a pit of vipers, he took a 8 years old to be the guy equivalent to a pope of our world and started a social support system with bread in medieval time .Then when he's done fxcking around, he gave the kindom to his uncle and died. Just WOW.

[@TreborPaulson]

Everyone one of these reigns is lucky to not be the last. Targ’s barely held on once the dragons were gone.

[@Morfe02]

Baelor trying hatching dragons could be a dream of a dragon born from an egg A dragon call Blackfyre 😮

[@JosefinaQB]

i love Targaryen jesus

[@nelsonmcduff5218]

Has GRRM ever explained why the dragons that survived the Dance of the Dragons didn't reproduce?

[@addictedtochocolate920]

The most important thing i got out of this video is that George should totally visit Zacatecas, that way i don't have to cross the border to meet him.

[@joaoferreira3007]

Baelor is the only dragonspawn worthy of the respect ! For the Smallfolk! For the Faith !!! Now truly, the guy was a crazy, but were the only king besides Aegon V that cared enough about the smallfolk to be noted in the history books, thats already many leagues better than most of kings of westeros.( lets remember that the nobility and clergy were less than 10% of the population in a feudal society)

[@filipinoone6848]

Baelor the Based and Seven-pilled ❤

[@jaylonhale5704]

Feel like baelor ate sum bad bread and got a dose of ergot and ain’t been right since

[@yashpatki9266]

Man just wanted to be a Septon, they should have sent him to old town for his education In this case Daeron II would have never been born

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

I don't think Viserys had Baelor assassinated. This is the one time I believe the Inlore history books.

[@YouCantEscapeTheBlob]

I don't think you trust In My Self-righteous suicide...

[@HellqueenRoz]

The speculation about Baelor's motivations for hatching dragons, and those of Aegon V, is very interesting. Personally, I think it can certainly be argued that Aegon V was an *uncommonly* good and well-meaning king who sincerely wanted to improve the lives of his humblest subjects. However, we should remember that this is still the Seven Kingdoms which is heavily inspired by and derived from the politics, history, and culture of mediaeval England. Even a truly good king who was uncommonly progressive and forward-thinking by the standards of his society is still ultimately the product of a deeply repressive and brutal political system. Moreover, within the constraints of his situation, it's difficult to imagine how Aegon V could have enacted his reforms unless he had an overwhelming advantage on his side to force recalcitrant lords into obedience. Reformers whose ideas are genuinely radical (or, in other words: significantly challenge the interests of those in power) often struggle to enact their ideas within the constraints of their existing system. Pushback from entrenched power sources (i.e. the nobility, who in Westeros are often powerful enough to raise armies of their own) as well as the limitations of one's own power (i.e. there are simply things that are beyond the capability of a mediaeval government to achieve, these are not powerful centralised states) make it hard if not outright impossible to implement such sweeping changes. In a situation such as that, it is not unimaginable to see why a man like Aegon V might turn to something desperate to secure his position and force through his reforms. Dragons are creatures of terrible destructive power and neither armies nor castles can withstand them. But they're also, for a Targaryen, an indisputable symbol of their own power and destiny. When the Targaryens reigned, there was a tendency to see them as something more than mortal. As being almost akin to demigods because of their connection to dragons. After the Dance, the Targaryens lost a great deal of power not only from the loss of their dragons, but also from the attendant prestige and influence that having the dragons gave to them. For Aegon V, having dragons at his command would have empowered his reign to new heights and very possibly allowed him to intimidate the lords of the Seven Kingdoms into accepting his reforms. For as good of a person as he was, ultimately, it's hard to avoid falling back on the same old traditions of power and politics that had been employed by the Targaryen kings who came before him.

[@cheyopimienta]

Are you saying that Zacatecas is Dorne?

[@YarPirates-vy7iv]

Cue synths! Let's go!

[@FrankeNamensKarim]

13:37 "there's something weird going on with these Targaryens" Whaaaaat? There's something weird about members of a hardcore-incest-dynasty?😱😂

[@Fire_Summoner]

Baelor's burning of Septin Barth's Dragon book maybe was a good thing in universe. No chance of someone understanding dragon creation and letting them run wild. Bad for us good for the realm.

[@MrFredstt]

In-universe was it really a good thing though? George has it up that dragons are absolutely a requirement for stopping the Long Knight. In-universe had Dany not gotten lucky with her dragons the world would've been doomed

[@fallenknight3016]

​@@MrFredstt yeah baelor was but a fanatic

[@filipferencak2717]

​@@MrFredsttFrom the perspective of an average person living at the time, yes. From our all knowing perspective no, def not.

[@fkaluis]

the wojaks in between keep killing me lmaooo, another great vid chris

[@CrusaderChris]

Thanks Luis!

[@glamourweaver]

I like the theory that the marriage because Baelor and Daena was because if he didn’t have a son (which he didn’t), Daeron actually favored Daena as his heir, but he, and especially Viscerys, knew too well from the Dance that that would never be accepted by the Realm. The marriage to Baelor was meant to put the sibling who would actually follow in Darron’s footsteps executing the war with Dorne in a position of power to do so - but everyone mistook Baelor’s peaceful piety for weakness of will, and we all know what happened next instead (in terms of Dornish policy for the betterment of the Realm, but not so great in many other ways). Given how Fire & Blood part one treats its princesses though (which can certainly be read as more Gyldane’s in-universe misogyny than a mistake on Martin’s part) I don’t know if we’ll get that much depth on the marriage in Fire & Blood part 2 if it ever comes out. But it’s telling that Daeron didn’t marry Daena himself as Targaryen tradition would indicate he should have. Him remaining unmarried or betrothed by 18 is actually quite odd.

[@fallenknight3016]

Baelor the fanatic

[@donalny]

I wouldn't blame Balor for the Blackfyre Rebellions. Aegon IV was probably already lusting for Daena and he still had a multitude of bastards. Even if Daena hadn't given him Daemon, he would have given Blackfyre to some other bastard, like Aegor. Aegoin IV just despised Naerys (and by extension Daeron II) for some reason and wanted to insult her in every way.

[@MrFredstt]

Fans like to say Baelor was a great King just bc he wasn't cruel in the way Maegor or The Mad King were but the man was totally batshit insane and imo was not a great ruler bc of his religious insanity

[@CrusaderChris]

Very true, I prefer my monarchical dictators to not also be zealots

[@alexx5992]

Nah Baelor is a top 5 king achievements wise, he subordinated the faith to the king in kings landing, legitimized the Targaryen dynasty, started the intergration of the Dornish and secured the succesion to Viserys by isolating his sisters from court. His only real mistake was sparing Aegon IV, but still that was Viserys II responsability responsability.

[@baoanhnguyen9186]

Pretty sure Viserys I didn’t die from being poisoned, but from the 10+ years of constant sky-high blood pressure from ruling for his incompetently stupid nephews and holding the realm together

[@Kerisajustbored]

They wrong about aegon IV twins one of them survived daenerys and she was married to the prince of drone.

[@Lionstar16]

Aegon and Naerys had two sets of twins during their marriage - the first set are the ones who died at birth but the second set was Daenerys and her stillborn brother

[@VorpalSw0rd]

Is no one gonna mention the thumbnail says blursed

[@TAHIRMAQSOOD15]

Well, I just throw Tywin Lannister's words at you. (paraphrasing) "What make a good king?" "A king who starves himself to death, or a king who lets his brother murder him or a king who thinks winning and ruling is the same thing, what do they all lack?"

[@ramiromen6595]

Sorry man but i find this guy so unironically blessed (or just so absurdly lucky) that i can't help but love him. Like he faces zero consequences for what he does, his actions are either neutral or fully beneficial to the realm, while those of his hand which are constantly portrayed as rational and competent are actually always wrong. His shenanigans are so funny to read about that i honestly believe it's some kind of meta joke or reference to some DyD joke character on George's part.

[@darellmawitjere]

He just like his Grandfather Daemon. A Gray character

[@Velereonics]

Ive never understood the rationale behind forced conversion. If you are the believer, you are perfectly aware that it probably wont surpass forced compliance for at least a few generations. Their faith isn't genuine. So is it ever actually about beliefs and faiths or is that sinply a tool used by psychopaths when they want stuff?

[@thx1138thecrane]

Maybe he wasn't praying that the dragons would return, but that they would remain lost to time and legend. Preferring to rule by love, respect and faith over fear, fire, and blood.

[@laurelsilberman5705]

Big fumble not producing an heir, big L on that

[@limbobilbo8743]

I remember seeing someone say "westeros was lucky that baelor devoted his completely insane mind to religion rather than something potentially more dangerous"

[@astralclub5964]

Weak kings lead to disorder and war!

[@marksjoga]

"A burse in this guy's eyes"... no? I tried.

[@Thrawn23.]

Been waiting for this. Baelor was really crazy. I do think the targaryens thirst for power was the main reason for some of them going mad.

[@samedmundson6470]

Have you looked at the thumbnail for this? Baelor the Blursed?

[@CrusaderChris]

Yes. Blessed + Cursed = Blursed.

[@aprilmae274]

Baelor walking through Dorne was lowkey pretty cool. In fact, Baelor was pretty decent until he gets bit by those snakes and goes into a coma. He totally got Blood Ravened BEFORE there was a Blood Raven! There is some common themes though-Baelot locks his sisters away. He outlaws prostitution AND makes them ALL leave KL. He rewards chastity. ALL of what Baelor was doing reads like he was trying to prevent the possibility of ANY bastard Targaryen taking the throne. Aegon the Unworthy-when he legitmizes his bastards-he is trying to do the SAME thing as Baelor when he did that. Baelor went even more mad when he realized he had failed-war was coming for the Targaryens. How was Baelor Blood Ravened? Baelor replaces Ravens with Doves and other weird crap with Ravens. He clearly had a raven theme in his post snake-bite-coma-madness. Ravens and Bastards. To me it reads like he was trying to prevent Blood Raven/Daemon Blackfyre from being born. A lot of Targaryens have a thing for preventing bastards.

[@angelantayhua3096]

So basically Baelor was Westeros’ Woodrow Wilson

[@mystery5719]

There is always the letter AE in almost every Targaryen names like Baelor,Baelon,Baela, Daemon,Gaemon, Daeron,Daenora, Aemond,Aemon, Aegon,Aerion, Aenar,Aelor, Daenerys,Daenys, Aenys,Aerys,Aerea, Rhaenyra,Rhaena Rhaenys,Rhaegar, Rhaella,Daena,Daella, Elaena,Halaena, Jaehaerys,Jaehaera, Maegor,Maelor,MaekarMaegon,Shaera and few others too.. I think GRRM had a weird fetish of adding AE in every names of his fictional characters 😂😂

[@BehuraStudio]

Baelor stans rise up!

[@CrusaderChris]

I am seated 🪑

[@BehuraStudio]

@@CrusaderChris Heresy!!!!

[@Thrawn23.]

Id rather stay down

[@KGdorah1964]

It would have been a pretty powerful motivator for all the people who worship the Seven to side with Baelor if his praying made the eggs hatch. No better sign to them that the gods are on your side when praying brought back living siege weapons.

[@promistansloona4812]

He kept failing upwards 😭

[@superkamipopo9828]

Nah it was bloodraven doing tree targ time travel stuff.

[@superkamipopo9828]

Or bran doing tree stark time travel shit. Or both. Idk.

[@6tiple6ix6afia]

Idk about there not being enough info on the first few, specifically half the goddamn book is about Jizzy J, the objectively best Targ king ever.

[@jamestipton3342]

Baelor and Aegon IV were both seriously inbalanced in terms of mental stability. They couldn't see the full picture of their actions.

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

personally I think after what happened to daeron in dorne the reigns of Baelor, Viserys, aegon and especially daeron should have been significantly more turbulent than shown I mean look at how the son of Henry v was treated when he made peace with France now imagine if the French assassinated Henry under a peace banner their would be blood to pay and the idea of peace would have had to be strong armed in and I think george wrote the blackfyre rebellions to be lesser than they should have been like imagine if Henry vii married a French princess and invited French men into places of power after Henry v was assassinated in this hypothetical he would not have lasted an hour