Quick answer: The “Great Bastards” are the highborn bastards of King Aegon IV Targaryen — Daemon Blackfyre, Aegor “Bittersteel” Rivers, Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers, Shiera Seastar, and their siblings — whom Aegon legitimized on his deathbed in 184 AC, creating the Blackfyre dynasty and sixty years of civil war in a single sentence. One page, one tree: here’s everyone, who their mothers were, and what each of them became. See where they branch off on the interactive Targaryen family tree.
The Deathbed That Started It All
Aegon IV, “the Unworthy,” had a talent for one thing: consequences he wouldn’t live to see. After a reign of feuds, mistresses, and casual cruelty, his final act was his worst — legitimizing all of his bastards at once. In Westerosi law-terms, that turned a collection of awkward court secrets into a bench of potential claimants, ranked just behind his trueborn heir. That heir, Daeron II — the scholarly, Dornish-allied son Aegon had spent years hinting was not his — inherited a throne with a rival branch already growing from its trunk.
The Great Bastards, One by One
| Bastard | Mother | Legitimized | What they became |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daemon Blackfyre (b. 170, as Daemon Waters) | Daena the Defiant (Aegon III’s daughter) | 184 AC | Founder of House Blackfyre; killed at the Redgrass Field, 196 AC |
| Aegor “Bittersteel” Rivers (b. 172) | Barba Bracken | 184 AC | Blackfyre sword-arm in exile; founded the Golden Company; d. 241 AC |
| Mya and Gwenys Rivers | Melissa Blackwood | 184 AC | Bloodraven’s elder sisters; little is recorded of them |
| Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers (b. 175) | Melissa Blackwood | 184 AC | The crown’s spymaster-Hand; sent to the Wall 233 AC; the three-eyed crow in the books |
| Shiera Seastar | Serenei of Lys | 184 AC | Never married; the era’s most famous beauty; her death is not recorded in detail |
| Alysanne, Lily, Willow, Rosey | Megette | 184 AC | Four daughters, largely unrecorded afterward — not counted among the “Great” Bastards |
| Bellenora, Narha, Balerion | Bellegere Otherys | 184 AC | Children of the “Black Pearl” of Braavos; their parentage is disputed |
The term “Great Bastards” is used for the bastards born to noblewomen — Daemon, Aegor, Mya, Gwenys, Brynden and Shiera. The children of Megette and Bellegere were legitimized too, but they aren’t counted among them.
The Tree
Aegon IV "the Unworthy" (r. 172–184 AC)
│
├─ with Daena Targaryen ......... Daemon Blackfyre (House Blackfyre)
├─ with Barba Bracken ........... Aegor "Bittersteel" Rivers
├─ with Melissa Blackwood ....... Mya, Gwenys, Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers
├─ with Serenei of Lys .......... Shiera Seastar
├─ with Megette ................. Alysanne, Lily, Willow, Rosey
└─ with Bellegere Otherys ....... Bellenora, Narha, Balerion (parentage disputed)Why Six, and Not Thirteen?
Aegon IV had a lot of children outside his marriage, and he legitimized the lot of them in 184 AC. So why do the histories talk about six “Great Bastards”? Because the label is not about who was legitimized — it is about who their mothers were. The Great Bastards are the children Aegon fathered on noblewomen: Daemon, Aegor, Mya, Gwenys, Brynden and Shiera. Everyone else on the family tree sits in a different category.
The four daughters of Megette (Alysanne, Lily, Willow and Rosey) and the three children of Bellegere Otherys, the “Black Pearl” of Braavos (Bellenora, Narha and Balerion, whose paternity is disputed), were legitimized too, but nobody counts them among the Great Bastards. A handful of other children are only rumored: a Jeyne Lothston by Lady Falena Stokeworth, a Viserys Plumm by Princess Elaena Targaryen, and possible children by Lord Butterwell’s daughters. The sources treat these as rumor, not record, so this page does too.
Why Legitimization Was the Disaster
Legitimization is supposed to settle bastards, not crown them. Aegon IV’s version failed because he’d already spent years building Daemon Blackfyre into a rival: the sword Blackfyre (Aegon the Conqueror’s own blade, given to Daemon when Aegon knighted him at twelve), the public favoritism, the whisper campaign against Daeron’s legitimacy. When the deathbed decree landed, every ambitious or aggrieved lord in Westeros could suddenly imagine a better king — legitimate now, anointed by symbol, and waiting. Twelve years later: the Redgrass Field. The whole story is in the Blackfyre family tree.
The strangest part of the story is what the legitimized bastards did with their freedom. Daemon raised a rebellion. Bittersteel built an army that never broke a contract. Bloodraven became the throne’s most feared defender — a legitimized bastard spending his life stopping what legitimization unleashed. And Shiera Seastar shared Bloodraven’s bed, refused his proposals, and simply declined to be used by anyone at all.
Great Bastards Timeline, 170–260 AC
The family tree is easier to follow in date order. Here is the whole saga, from the first bastard’s birth to the last of the Blackfyre story.
| Year (AC) | Event |
|---|---|
| 170 | Daemon is born to Princess Daena, Aegon IV’s own sister — Aegon’s first great scandal-child. |
| 172 | Aegor Rivers is born; Aegon IV takes the throne the same year. |
| c. 172–175 | Mya, Gwenys and Brynden Rivers are born to Lady Melissa Blackwood (Brynden in 175). |
| 182 | Aegon acknowledges Daemon and knights him at twelve, giving him the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre. |
| 184 | Aegon IV legitimizes his bastards on his deathbed and dies; Daeron II takes the throne and the dowry for Daemon’s marriage to Rohanne of Tyrosh is paid. |
| 196 | The First Blackfyre Rebellion ends at the Redgrass Field: Daemon is killed, and Aegor flees into exile with Daemon’s surviving sons. |
| c. 196–197 | Aegor founds the Golden Company in Essos. |
| 219 | The Third Blackfyre Rebellion: Bittersteel crowns Daemon’s son Haegon. |
| 233 | The Great Council: Bloodraven is arrested and given the choice of the Wall. |
| 236 | The Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion, led by Daemon III. |
| 241 | Bittersteel dies. |
| c. 252 | Bloodraven vanishes beyond the Wall. |
What Happened to the Ones Who Weren’t Rebels?
Three of the six Great Bastards are remembered mainly for what they did, not who they were. Daemon is the rebel king-that-never-was, Bittersteel is the exile who would not stop, and Bloodraven is the loyalist spymaster. Mya and Gwenys, Bloodraven’s older sisters, barely register: the sources give no marriages and no children, and record nothing about how they died. Shiera sits somewhere between the two groups — a woman at the center of her brother-and-lover’s rivalry, whose own fate the histories never record. Those gaps are part of the story: the chroniclers followed the men with swords and left the women out.
One more thread is worth tracing. Daemon’s marriage to Rohanne of Tyrosh was Aegon’s own arrangement, and when Daeron II took the throne he made sure the dowry was paid. Whatever Daeron II’s feelings about his half-brothers, the crown honored the arrangement — and still got a rebellion twelve years later.
FAQ
Who were the Great Bastards?
The highborn bastards of Aegon IV Targaryen — most famously Daemon Blackfyre, Bittersteel, Bloodraven, and Shiera Seastar — legitimized en masse on his deathbed in 184 AC.
Why did Aegon IV legitimize his bastards?
Spite, by most readings: a final humiliation of his trueborn heir Daeron II, whose legitimacy Aegon had spent years undermining. The histories offer no kinder theory.
Was Bloodraven legitimized?
Yes — in the same 184 AC deathbed decree as the others. It never tempted him toward the throne; he spent his life defending the trueborn line that sent him to the Wall.
Which Great Bastard founded the Golden Company?
Aegor “Bittersteel” Rivers, in exile in Essos after the First Blackfyre Rebellion.
Are the Great Bastards on the Targaryen family tree?
They’re the most consequential branch not on the official line — see them placed on the interactive Targaryen family tree, alongside the Blackfyre line they spawned.
Why are there only six Great Bastards when Aegon IV had more children?
The label covers only the children Aegon IV fathered on noblewomen: Daemon, Aegor, Mya, Gwenys, Brynden and Shiera. Megette’s daughters and the Otherys children were legitimized as well but are not counted as “Great.”
Did Aegon IV give Daemon Blackfyre a sword?
Yes. When Aegon knighted Daemon at twelve, he gave him the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre — not his trueborn heir Daeron — which is where the house name comes from.
Who was Daemon Blackfyre’s mother?
Princess Daena Targaryen, Aegon IV’s own sister, often called Daena the Defiant.
What happened to Mya and Gwenys Rivers?
Very little is recorded. They were Bloodraven’s older sisters, both daughters of Lady Melissa Blackwood, and the histories give no marriages, children or deaths for either.
Related Pages
- The Blackfyre family tree
- Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers
- Aegor “Bittersteel” Rivers and the Golden Company
- Shiera Seastar
- Daeron II Targaryen