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SPOILER WARNING
This article includes content relating to the Dance of the Dragons, and therefore contains potential spoilers for House of the Dragon, as revealed in GRRM's writings. Anyone wishing to remain completely spoiler free for the new show should avoid any articles displaying this tag. |
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- "What is this brief, mortal life, if not the pursuit of legacy?"
- ―Corlys Velaryon
Lord Corlys Velaryon, known as the Sea Snake, is the head of House Velaryon and the husband of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen.
Biography
Background
Corlys is the Lord of the Tides and the head of House Velaryon. He is married to Rhaenys Targaryen, the cousin of Viserys I Targaryen.[1] He has two children with Rhaenys, named Laena and Laenor.
Corlys is head of the Royal Fleet and sits on the small council as lord admiral and Master of Ships.[2]
Appearance
| House of the Dragon: Season 1 appearances | ||||
| The Heirs of the Dragon | The Rogue Prince | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 |
| Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Episode 9 | Episode 10 |
Family tree
 Velaryon |  Targaryen  |  Velaryon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Velaryon |  Velaryon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gallery
Quotes
- "I, Corlys Velaryon, promise to be faithful to King Viserys, and to his named heir, Princess Rhaenyra."
- ―Corlys swears allegiance to Rhaenyra as heir
- "History does not remember blood. It remembers names."
- ―Corlys Velaryon
Behind the scenes
Corlys Velaryon was revealed to be a lead character in House of the Dragon on December 11, 2020. On February 11, 2021, HBO announced that Steve Toussaint had signed on for the series. The character breakdown reads as follows:
- "The lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. As "The Sea Snake," the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros, Lord Corlys built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world."
- ―HBO
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Ryan Condal addressed the decision to reimagine House Velaryon as black, revealing that it had in fact been George R.R. Martin's idea, and had been how the characters were originally envisioned in earlier drafts of A Song of Ice and Fire.[3]
In the books
Corlys was named after Ser Corlys Velaryon, the first Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Corlys once sailed his Ice Wolf beyond the Wall but was unsuccessful in finding a northerly route around Westeros. He then sailed aboard his Sea Snake on multiple voyages to Essos, accumulating wealth from visits to Qarth, Yi Ti, and Leng. Corlys was the first Westerosi to visit Nefer in N'Ghai and to navigate the Thousand Islands. During his last travel, Corlys filled the Sea Snake's hold with gold and bought twenty more ships at Qarth, loading them with spices, elephants, and silk. Corlys took his sobriquet from his famous ship, the expeditions of which are described in Maester Mathis's The Nine Voyages.
Corlys became head of House Velaryon after the death of his grandsire, Daemon. Richer than Lords Lannister or Hightower through his expeditions, Corlys used his great wealth to construct a new seat, High Tide, where he stored his eastern treasures.
See also
Corlys Velaryon on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (MAJOR spoilers for House of the Dragon)
References
| Head: | Corlys Velaryon | Heir: | Laenor Velaryon |  | |
| Seat: | High Tide, Driftmark | Lands: | The Crownlands | ||
| Titles: | Lord of the Tides | ||||
| Ancestors: | Daemon Velaryon | ||||
| Current members: | Vaemond Velaryon · Rhaenys Targaryen · Laena Velaryon | ||||
| Overlord: | House Targaryen | ||||
The small council | |||||
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| Hand of the King: |
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| Lord Commander of the Kingsguard: |
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| Grand Maester: |
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| Master of Coin: |
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| Master of Whisperers: |
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| Master of Laws: |
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| Master of Ships: |
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