Maegor the Cruel
A dragonlord whose reign was paved with blood, fear, and the ashes of his enemies.
Maegor I Targaryen, reviled as "Maegor the Cruel", was a king of the Seven Kingdoms and one of the two sons of Aegon I, "Aegon the Conqueror". His brother Aenys I succeeded their father, and the two sons' successions to the throne and the conflicts between them are the subject of George R. R. Martin's novella The Sons of the Dragon.
Lore & Background
The Sons of the Dragon, published in the 2017 anthology The Book of Swords and later incorporated into Fire & Blood, ends with Maegor's death and the ascension of his nephew, Aenys's son Jaehaerys I "the Conciliator", whose 55-year reign brought an unprecedented age of peace to the Seven Kingdoms.
Reader's Guide
Maegor rode Balerion, the Black Dread: the dragon of Aegon the Conqueror was later bonded to King Maegor the Cruel and then to Princess Aerea. His name survives in Maegor's Holdfast, where the noble ladies and children shelter during the Battle of the Blackwater in Game of Thrones.
More in History & Prophecy
Elsewhere in House of the Dragon
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