Great Sept of Baelor

The Great Sept of Baelor, also called the Great Sept or just the Sept of Baelor, was a massive sept, the center of religious worship for the Faith of the Seven and the seat of the High Septon of the Faith. It was located in King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, and was the largest single building in the city, though the Red Keep complex sprawls over a larger area. Great religious ceremonies were held there. It was also the sept personally used by the royal family, thus royal weddings were held at the Great Sept in massive ceremonies.

The sept was named after King Baelor Targaryen, a king noted for his religious piety and pacifism, who ordered its construction. A statue of King Baelor was located in the square in front of the sept.

The structure was destroyed in 303 AL, due to the ignition of underground barrels of wildfire (see: Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor).

Layout
The Great Sept was decorated with paintings of the seven-pointed star and sculptures depicting the Seven different aspects of the godhead. Votive offerings and lit candles were placed at the base of statues of the Seven.

The main sanctum chamber could comfortably seat seven hundred people. There were other spaces within the complex that could seat larger numbers. The Great Sept was also built with cells for peninents.

The Great Sept was built on top of a small chapel which existed long before Baelor. The High Sparrow preferred to work there instead of in the Sept above it, calling the latter a "gilded monstrosity" and accusing Baelor of being vain.



History
The Great Sept was built above an underground sept built long before King's Landing was raised.

Season 1
When Eddard Stark agrees to falsely confess to the crimes of treason to ensure the safety of his children, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister decides to hold the confession on the steps of the Great Sept in front of a large crowd. However, rather than allow Eddard to take the black and join the Night's Watch as agreed, King Joffrey Baratheon rashly orders that Eddard be beheaded. This order is quickly carried out by the King's Justice, Ser Ilyn Payne, over the objections of Cersei and the King's other counselors.

Season 3
King Joffrey Baratheon visits the Great Sept along with Margaery Tyrell as well as Queen Cersei and Lady Olenna Tyrell as part of the preparations for the royal wedding. Joffrey gleefully narrates to Margaery the circumstances of the deaths of the members of House Targaryen buried in the Sept, while Cersei and Olenna discuss the seven hundred people the Great Sept can hold. Cersei also mentions that although most of the Targaryen kings and queens are buried in the Great Sept, Robert Baratheon's remains were returned to Storm's End as per his instructions. Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark are married at the Great Sept of Baelor.

Season 4
The marriage ceremony of King Joffrey Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell takes place at the Great Sept of Baelor. When Joffrey is poisoned at his own wedding feast, his funeral is held at the Great Sept.

Season 5
After Tywin Lannister is assassinated by his son Tyrion, his funeral is held at the Great Sept of Baelor. Lords and ladies from all over the Seven Kingdoms line the steps and wait to pay their respects.

Following the death of his brother, the marriage ceremony of King Tommen Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell takes place at the Great Sept.

King Tommen attempted to access the Sept of Baelor to discuss the release of his brother-in-law Loras Tyrell, who had recently been arrested by the Faith Militant. The Faith Militant blocked his path, at which point the Kingsguard offered to kill them. Balking at the thought of shedding blood on holy ground and too timid to confront the militants otherwise, Tommen retreated to the Red Keep.

Season 6
After Myrcella was poisoned by Ellaria Sand and is brought back to King's Landing, her funeral is held at the Great Sept. Jaime Lannister and her brother King Tommen Baratheon stand over her body, garbed in a golden gown, furthering the prophecy that Cersei's children would all have gold burial shrouds. Tommen remarks that she has grown up.

Loras Tyrell's trial takes places in the Great Sept, joining the Faith Militant in the presence of Mace and Margaery. Cersei's trial is next, but she is nowhere to be seen, nor is Tommen. Margaery correctly guesses that this is because Cersei has no intention of standing trial. She was unaware, however, that Cersei has arranged to have the Mad King's cache of wildfire beneath the Great Sept detonated. The resulting explosion destroys the building and kills everyone inside, as well as killing and injuring many people in the immediate area surrounding the Sept.

Behind the scenes
Early concept art for the Great Sept looks very different from the final version. Instead of a large but more or less traditional-looking medieval cathedral, it consists of seven huge spokes leaning in against each other, somewhat like the real-life Cathedral of Brasília in Brasil. Another, different design was also used in the "Complete Guide to Westeros" animated featurettes from the Season 1 Blu-ray set. Within the TV series itself, the odd spoke-like design can be briefly glimpsed in a few establishing wide-shots of the entire city (specifically, the opening of the first King's Landing scene in the first episode, "Winter is Coming") - but in these few cases it was always in the background, small and out of focus.

While the Great Sept of Baelor was mentioned since Season 1, its inner and outer designs did not prominently appear until Season 3, when the entire structure was given a full introduction in "And Now His Watch is Ended". Even when Ned Stark is executed on the steps of the Great Sept in Season 1, the scene is filmed in such a way that there is no establishing wide-shot of the entire building. The design was apparently still in flux until early Season 3.

In the episode "Baelor", the scene in front of the Great Sept of Baelor was shot at Fort Manoel in Gżira, Malta.

The large hole in the dome of the roof of the main sanctum is known as an Oculus, like the one in the roof of the Pantheon in Rome. Oculi by definition are open to the sky, so rain or snow will enter the building through them. Usually, buildings that utilize oculi are so tall that light rain and snow will evaporate long before they hit the floor although a drain should be used in the event of heavy rain.

The demo video by visual effects company Rodeo FX revealed that while most of the Great Sept's interior is a fully realized set, the giant statues of the Seven are digital creations added in during post-production. The pedestals for each of the statues are real, and taller than the actors, while the statues on top of them (which are usually out of frame) are CGi creations.

In the books
In A Song of Ice and Fire, the Great Sept of Baelor is located atop Visenya's Hill in King's Landing. It consists of the traditional seven-sided structure, albeit on a huge scale, with seven slender towers topped by crystals rising from it. There is a grand square in front of the Sept, from where the High Septon can address the masses.

Prior to the invasion of Aegon the Conqueror, the center of the Faith in Westeros was the Starry Sept of Oldtown. When Aegon captured Oldtown after his great victory on the Field of Fire, the High Septon advised Lord Hightower to surrender the city and swear fealty. The High Septon had received a vision from the Seven advising him to bless Aegon's cause. Aegon, his family and his followers converted to the Faith, burning the idols of the old gods of Valyria, but refused to give up the ancient Valyrian practices of polygamy and incest. When Aegon died and the throne passed to his son, born of incest, the Faith launched a bloody uprising against him which was eventually crushed.

Relations between House Targaryen and the Faith were repaired when King Baelor I Targaryen ascended the throne. Septon and king, Baelor was holy and devout, and ordered the building of a huge sept in King's Landing for the glory of the Seven. The building, completed after Baelor's death, was named in his honor.

According to the tradition of the Seven and the laws of the city, blood is not allowed to be spilled on the site of the Great Sept. Joffrey's execution of Eddard on the steps breaks this law and custom, to the distress of the High Septon. Tensions between the Crown and the Faith remain high long after the execution, mainly due to the outrage of the faithful who believed Stark's execution profaned the sept.

According to the TV series official pronunciation guide developed for the cast and crew, "Baelor" is pronounced "BAY-lor".