The Dance of Dragons, A True Telling

"It's the story of the fight between Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother Aegon for control over the Seven Kingdoms."

- Princess Shireen Baratheon

The Dance of the Dragons, A True Telling is a history book about the great civil war in the Seven Kingdoms known as the Dance of the Dragons, fought between two rival branches of House Targaryen. It was written by Grand Maester Munkun, who lived through the war.

Season 5
Princess Shireen Baratheon reads The Dance of the Dragons, A True Telling in her tent during her father Stannis Baratheon's campaign in the North, and talks about it with her father and Davos Seaworth.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, it is noted that Munkun's history contains some inaccuracies, such as indicating that the dragon that killed Ser Byron Swann was Vhagar when in fact it was Syrax. Vhagar was ridden by Prince Aemond Targaryen, a brother and supporter of Aegon II Targaryen, and House Swann was among the supporters of Aegon II. Meanwhile, Syrax was ridden by Aegon II's rival, Rhaenyra Targaryen herself.

Munkun's work was said to be biased in favor of Rhaenyra, in contrast to the history written by Septon Eustace, which was biased in favor of Aegon II.

The World of Ice and Fire reveals that Munkun was a member of the council of seven Regents that ruled the Seven Kingdoms after the death of Aegon II Targaryen, as his successor, his nephew Aegon III Targaryen, was still a child. Munkun was the only member of the council that held office from 131 AC to 136 AC, when the council was dissolved. Munkun would also hold the office of Hand of the King.

The name of Munkun's book in the novels is actually "The Dance of the Dragons", not "The Dance of Dragons" - leaving out "the" fromthe title - which is what Shireen calls it twice in the TV episode. For that matter, the name of the war itself is "The Dance of the Dragons", the book title is simply quoting it. The Season 5 TV episode that Shireen says this in is also called "The Dance of Dragons" - omitting "the" without explanation. Given that other materials from the TV continuity such as the Histories & Lore videos have already clearly referred to the conflict as "The Dance of the Dragons", it appears that this remains the canonical name as it was in the novels, and that the dialogue in episode 5.9 is simply in error (either because the actress misspoke or the scriptwriters left out "the" by accident). Something similar happened in Season 2: the first time that a name is stated for the conflict between the Starks and Lannisters, Tywin says it is being called the "War of Five Kings" - omitting "the" - but later episodes prominently and repeatedly called it "the War of the Five Kings". Therefore this article assumes that the full title of Munkun's book is the same as it was in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels.