Brienne of Tarth

"All my life men like you've sneered at me, and all my life I've been knocking men like you into the dust."

- Brienne to Jaime Lannister

Brienne of Tarth is a recurring character in the second season. She is played by Gwendoline Christie and debuts in "What is Dead May Never Die." She is a warrior of House Tarth, vassals to House Baratheon. After winning a tournament melee, she is made a member of King Renly Baratheon's new Kingsguard, shortly before his assassination. She becomes the sworn sword of Catelyn Stark and vows to avenge Renly's death. She is charged by Catelyn Stark to return Jaime Lannister to King's Landing, in an attempt to exchange him for her two daughters she believes are held hostage there.

Background
Brienne is the sole surviving child and heir of Lord Selwyn Tarth of Evenfall Hall, on the island of Tarth, located in the Narrow Sea off the coast of the Stormlands. She is unusually tall and muscular for a woman by Westerosi standards and developed a taste for martial activity as a child. Brienne has grown up to become skilled at arms and dreams of becoming a knight.

Brienne's mother died when she was so young that she doesn't remember her. As the sole heir of House Tarth, she posed a fairly promising marriage prospect for men from other noble Houses, but due to her physicality and personality has never seriously pursued a marriage alliance with another House.

She is also called The Maid of Tarth, or, disparagingly, Brienne the Beauty, due to her appearance.

Season 2

 * Main: Brienne of Tarth Season 2

Brienne joins the forces of King Renly Baratheon in the War of the Five Kings. She proves herself by winning a tournament amongst his men and asks to be named to his Kingsguard as a reward. Renly grants her request despite her gender and consequent lack of knighthood. Lady Catelyn Stark arrives in the camp to negotiate an alliance between Renly and her son, King Robb Stark. Brienne takes offense when Lady Catelyn doesn't refer to Renly as "Your Grace", and later, escorts her and Renly through the camp as they talk. She tells Catelyn just to call her Brienne, as despite her birth, she doesn't consider herself a "Lady".

Lord Petyr Baelish also visits Renly's camp, as envoy from King Joffrey Baratheon. Renly tells Petyr that he does not trust him and cites Brienne as having true loyalty. This mistrust seems well founded as Petyr offers to open the gates of King’s Landing to Renly. While in camp he also proposes that Catelyn exchange Robb's captive Ser Jaime Lannister for her daughters. Brienne also guards Renly during an unsuccessful meeting with his brother King Stannis Baratheon. Stannis threatens Renly for refusing to swear fealty to him. Renly is assassinated by a Shadow while Brienne is guarding him. He is talking to Lady Catelyn, agreeing to recognize Robb Stark as King in the North, as long as Robb gives him fealty as an overlord and recognizes his claim to the Iron Throne. Brienne is arming him for his coming battle with Stannis when the flap of the tent flutters like wind has raised it, then Melisandre's Shadow-creature materializes to stab Renly in the back running him through. Brienne is devastated at witnessing the death, but recognizes that the Shadow had the likeness of Stannis. She cries out and catches him as he falls, getting his blood all over herself. When two other members of Renly's Kingsguard who guard the tent rush in, they blame Brienne for the death and attack her. She is forced to kill Sers Robar Royce and Emmon Cuy, and Catelyn convinces her to flee the camp, as she cannot avenge Renly if she is dead herself.

Brienne swears an oath of fealty to Catelyn, becoming her sworn sword. They travel back to Robb's camp in the Westerlands. Catelyn is devastated by news that her home Winterfell has been captured by the turncloak Theon Greyjoy and her sons made his captives. Robb, still in the midst of fighting for the Riverlands, plans to send word to a vassal in the North, the bastard of one of his commanders Roose Bolton, to free them and leaves to negotiate the surrender of the Crag.

Jaime escapes captivity, killing Torrhen Karstark in the attempt. He is soon recaptured, but Torrhen's father Lord Rickard Karstark demands his head in vengeance. Brienne guards Catelyn as she convinces Rickard to await Robb's return. As the hours until daylight stretch before them, the Karstarks are getting more violent and agitated, calling for Jaime Lannister's death. As it would be death to try to defend him, Brienne tells Catelyn that at this rate Jaime will not live enough for Robb to return. Catelyn decides to free Jaime in an attempt to exchange him for her two daughters who she believes are both being held hostage in King's Landing by the Lannister's. She orders Brienne to smuggle Jaime from the camp and deliver him to King's Landing in order to secure the safety of her daughters. Brienne travels by horse until finding a rowboat to evade pursuit. She suffers the constant antagonism of her captive as he taunts her about her appearance and her likely dismal history with the opposite sex.

When they come upon a tree with the hanging corpses of three tavern girls who have been killed by Stark forces for having relations with Lannister men, Jaime confronts her with the atrocity committed by "her side". Brienne reminds him that she is sworn to Lady Catelyn, not the Starks. Despite their need to continue, Brienne determines to give the women a decent burial and is going to cut them down, when three of the Northern soldiers who killed the women return. Jaime tries to get her to remove his chains so he can defend them, Brienne ignores him. She tells the men that she is escorting a prisoner back to Riverrun for justice. Jaime improvises that he is in chains for stealing a pig. Realizing that Brienne is a woman the Stark soldiers laugh uncontrollably. Brienne suffers it in silence, and at this even Jaime seems sympathetic towards her over this rude treatment. She deflects the men's amusement by asking about the dead women, asking if they were given a quick death, and is told two of them were. When one of the men recognizes Jaime from the Battle of the Whispering Wood, Brienne must fight and kill them, impressing Ser Jaime. She then returns to the task of cutting down and burying the tavern girls.

Quotes
"I'm no Lady"

- Brienne

Behind the scenes
For her role as Brienne, Christie extensively trained to get into the right physical condition, as well as cutting off her long hair and reading all of the available novels to study her character's development in detail. She has said that Brienne is very different from own personality and style. As a trained dancer and photography model, she favors heels and lots of make-up. In her interview with SFX magazine she talks about the way fans made her aware of the part. She found her name posted on a website as the one who should play Brienne, and then when she asked her agent about this part, he had already been emailed by another fan informing him of it.

Many actresses auditioned, and Gwendolyn Christie came dressed and in character. According to author George R.R. Martin, "This was another one of those cases where there was hardly any debate. The day the first batch of auditions went up for the role, we looked at a dozen actresses who were reading for Brienne, and one actress who WAS Brienne."

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Brienne is considered ugly and ungainly, but is immensely skilled at combat. She is taller and stronger than many men, and her father and his head of household guards have trained her for many years in the arts of combat. Some people consider her a freak, whilst other men hope to marry her to inherit her father's wealthy lands. For her part, Brienne yearns for respect, acceptance and a chance to prove her valor in a worthy cause.

According to author George R.R. Martin, Brienne in the books is supposed to be unusually tall and muscular for a woman, but not freakishly so. She is above six feet tall but not near seven feet (i.e. actress Gwendoline Christie matches this at 6 feet 3 inches). She is taller than Jaime Lannister or Renly Baratheon, and significantly more heavyset. Still, she is not quite as tall as either Greatjon Umber or Sandor Clegane.

Brienne is the oldest daughter of Lord Selwyn of Tarth. She had two younger sisters but they both died in the cradle. She had an older brother named Galladon, but he drowned when she was eight years old, leaving her as Selwyn's only surviving child and heir. She has been engaged to marry three times (contracts made by her father, none of which ended well).

The books don't make specific mention of her mother: in the TV series she says that she never knew her, implying that she died when Brienne was very young. Brienne has a good relationship with her father and describes him as a good man. She notes that (since her mother died) he is in a relationship with a new female romantic interest every year or so.

She first met Renly when he came to Tarth to see her father who was his bannerman. He treated her with courtesy and respect. He danced with her, and she has been in love with him ever since. Lady Catelyn realizes this the first time she sees Brienne looking at Renly (down at him, as she stands a half-hand taller than him). Brienne always tries to be at Renly's side. She offers to guard him the night before the battle, but Renly says no as he and Loras are going to "pray together privately". He accepts her offer to come before dawn to arm him for the battle, others who hear this snicker, and Lady Catelyn thinks it sad that she is thought of as a joke, because she acts the part of a squire and dresses him just to have the opportunity to touch him.

Brienne always presents herself or is announced as "Brienne of Tarth", and never "Brienne Tarth", which would also be correct. The reason for this naming preference is not known.