Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White, the “Two Betrayers,” were dragonseeds who claimed the great dragons Vermithor and Silverwing, fought for Rhaenyra at the Gullet, and then turned on her at Tumbleton and burned the town for the Greens. Their story is the Dance’s sharpest lesson: teach men that dragons make kings, and do not be surprised when they act like kings.
The Sowing of the Seeds
In 129 AC, Rhaenyra’s side had a dragon shortage and six riderless dragons on Dragonstone. The answer was the Sowing: an open call to bastards and smallfolk with any chance of Targaryen blood to try to claim one. Prince Jacaerys is the one usually credited with the idea. Four of the claimants succeeded. Addam of Hull took Seasmoke, Nettles took Sheepstealer, and two very different men took the two great dragons of the old king and queen.
Hugh Hammer was a blacksmith’s bastard from Dragonstone, huge and strong enough to twist steel bars, who carried a warhammer and could not read or write. He took Vermithor, the dragon of the late King Jaehaerys I. Ulf the White, a pale-haired drunk and a man-at-arms, took Silverwing, who had belonged to Queen Alysanne. Both fought at the Battle of the Gullet in 130 AC, alongside Jacaerys, Nettles and Addam. Jacaerys died there. They did not.
Gratitude Is Not a Strategy
After King’s Landing fell, Rhaenyra knighted Hugh and Ulf and gave them lands on Driftmark. That was not enough for either man. Daemon proposed marrying Hugh to the daughter of the late Lord Rosby, and Ulf to a daughter of Lord Stokeworth. Rhaenyra said no. He then proposed giving Hugh Casterly Rock and Ulf Storm’s End, and Corlys Velaryon objected, so Rhaenyra refused again. Meanwhile the court spread tales about both men. Mushroom says Hugh beat a knight to death over a girl in the Street of Silk, and that Ulf rode through Flea Bottom wearing nothing but golden spurs.
Then Rhaenyra sent them to defend Tumbleton. There, in the middle of the First Battle of Tumbleton, they turned. Vermithor and Silverwing burned the town and its defenders, the Greens won, and the sack that followed was the worst atrocity of the war.
How They Ended
| Betrayer | Dragon | How it ended |
|---|---|---|
| Hugh Hammer | Vermithor | Called himself Lord Hammer and spoke of being king; killed at the Second Tumbleton by Ser Jon Roxton with the Valyrian steel sword Orphan-Maker while preparing for battle. His own men killed Roxton in turn. |
| Ulf the White | Silverwing | Slept through every attempt to wake him on the night of the Second Tumbleton; died the next day after drinking poisoned wine brought by Ser Hobert Hightower. |
Hugh’s end was the louder one. After the First Tumbleton the Greens named Ulf Lord of Bitterbridge, which he thought beneath him, and Hugh grew bolder every day. Prince Daeron threw wine in his face when Hugh claimed the throne, and the Caltrops, a group of highborn lords, drew up warrants for both men’s deaths, which Daeron signed. Addam’s night attack on the same day cut the plot short, and Hugh died in the chaos. The symmetry is the point: the seed who stayed loyal, Addam, died a hero, and the seeds who turned died as tools, spent by the men they served.
What They Changed
The Two Betrayers poisoned the well for every seed who came after them. Rhaenyra’s suspicion fell next on Nettles, whom she accused of sorcery, and on Addam of Hull, whom she ordered arrested. It cost her the Hand who had spoken for him, Lord Corlys, and the best of her remaining riders. Every later debate about who should be allowed near a dragon runs through these two men.
On Screen (HOTD Season 3)
Hugh Hammer is played by Kieran Bew and Ulf by Tom Bennett. The show gives Hugh a wife, Kat, who does not exist in the book, and in Season 2 he loses his daughter to hunger. It also makes Hugh a bastard son of Saera Targaryen and Ulf a bastard of Baelon the Brave, claims the book never makes.
The show then breaks the pair apart. In Season 3 Rhaenyra confines Ulf to the Red Keep, where he grows resentful, and he is found drunk and missing at Tumbleton before turning his dragon on both armies in the finale. Hugh does not betray her. He disobeys orders and flies to Tumbleton to find Kat, and arrives to find her dead. In the show, Ulf alone is the Betrayer, and Hugh’s loyalty is the question the final season has to answer. For the full list of changes, see our Season 3 book-versus-show breakdown.
FAQ
Who are the Two Betrayers in House of the Dragon?
Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White, dragonseed riders of Vermithor and Silverwing. In the books both defect to the Greens at the First Battle of Tumbleton. In Season 3 of the show only Ulf does.
How did Hugh Hammer die?
At the Second Tumbleton, killed by Ser Jon Roxton with the sword Orphan-Maker while Hugh was preparing for battle. Hugh’s men killed Roxton immediately afterward.
How did Ulf the White die?
Ulf slept through the Second Tumbleton and died the next day after drinking Arbor gold wine brought to him by Ser Hobert Hightower, which had been poisoned.
Were the dragonseeds really Targaryen bastards?
Claimed, not proven. The books never say who Hugh’s or Ulf’s parents were. The show gives both a Targaryen father or mother, which is its own invention.
Why did Hugh and Ulf betray Rhaenyra?
The histories do not say. Rhaenyra refused them the great grants Daemon proposed, and both men were ambitious and grew bolder as the war went on, but the sources leave the exact reason unclear.
Related Pages
- Battle of Tumbleton explained
- Addam of Hull and Seasmoke
- Who is Nettles?
- Rhaenyra Targaryen
- HOTD Season 3 ending explained
- House of the Dragon family tree guide