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"When they breached the walls, the first through was Thoros of Myr with his ridiculous flaming sword, followed by every minor lord of Westeros hungering for glory. "
Theon Greyjoy[src]

The Siege of Pyke[1] was the final battle of the Greyjoy Rebellion, taking place approximately nine years before the War of the Five Kings. The castle of Pyke, the ancestral stronghold of House Greyjoy, was taken by forces loyal to King Robert I Baratheon in an assault after a siege.

History[]

Background[]

During the final stages of the rebellion, The Iron Islands were outnumbered by ten to one.[2] As Pyke was facing an assault, Thoros of Myr, a red priest of the Lord of Light, with his fire-coated sword, led the way through a breach in the castle walls with Jorah Mormont not far behind him. Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell, and Jaime Lannister also fought for the iron Throne during the battle.[3]Maron Greyjoy, Balon's second son and heir after Rodrik Greyjoy's death, was killed in the fighting at Pyke, when he was crushed by a collapsing tower.[4]

With Pyke having been invaded and sieged, it ultimately resulted in a final defeat for House Greyjoy in the rebellion and Balon was forced to surrender. He was accepted back into the king's peace by Robert Baratheon but only on the condition that his last surviving son, the eight-year-old Theon Greyjoy, be made a ward of House Stark as a hostage. The victory at Pyke cemented and secured Robert's hold on the Iron Throne, after having overthrown the Targaryen Dynasty a few years before.[4] He then made Jorah a knight for his valor in the battle.[3]

Game of Thrones: Season 1[]

Jaime and Jory Cassel reminisce about the battle, recalling how Thoros led the charge through a breach in the wall, wielding his flaming sword. Jaime recalls it was a hard fight against a skilled enemy.[2]

Game of Thrones: Season 3[]

Ser Jorah Mormont and Ser Barristan Selmy discuss the siege, with Jorah remembering Thoros and his flaming sword. They also talk about the moment when Robert Baratheon knighted ser Jorah, which Jorah considers the proudest moment of his life, although he also had an incredible need to urinate while King Robert pronounced the oath.[5]

Game of Thrones: Season 5[]

While trying to auction Jorah to slavers, Malko correctly states that Jorah took part in the siege; however, he misnames Pyke as "Spike" and incorrectly claims that Jorah was the first through the breach and the one who wielded the flaming sword (instead of Thoros).[6]

Game of Thrones: Season 6[]

During a fiery argument between Balon and Yara Greyjoy about the unsuccessful invasion to the North, Yara reminds her father how his previous campaign ended: the mainland armies breached their walls and knocked down their towers, her brothers Maron and Rodrik were killed that day (actually, Rodrik was killed earlier, during an assault on Seagard).[7]

Game of Thrones: Season 7[]

When Euron Greyjoy arrives in King's Landing to propose a marriage-alliance with now-Queen Cersei, Jaime is perturbed by his presence and brings up the Siege of Pyke. They recount it at some length, and Euron remarks that he was in awe of Jaime's swordsmanship that day when he crossed into the breach in the castle, which truly lived up to all the stories about Jaime's reputation. Jaime is disgusted at this, pointing out that the men he was killing were Euron's own kinsmen (lesser cousins of the main family). Euron flippantly concedes that he didn't mind, for the castle was getting too crowded.[8]

While traveling beyond the Wall to capture a wight, Jorah and Thoros relate to the battle. Jorah praises Thoros for his outstanding bravery, and asks him jokingly how drunk he was when he charged through the breach on Pyke. Thoros answers he cannot remember that; he was told about it the next morning.[9]

Game of Thrones: Season 8[]

In the hours before the Battle of Winterfell, Tyrion recounts the battles and engagements that Jaime, Davos, and Brienne participated in, calling Jaime the "fabled hero of the Siege of Pyke."[10]

In the books[]

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the siege of Pyke was similarly the final stage of the Greyjoy Rebellion. Despite an early success (the burning the Lannister fleet at anchor), the Greyjoys were defeated at sea by Stannis's fleet and forced to withdraw to Pyke. The forces loyal to King Robert breached the walls with siege ships and charged through the breach. Once it was clear that the battle was lost, Balon Greyjoy surrendered and bent the knee in fealty to King Robert once more.

There is no mentioning in the novels that Jaime and Jory participated in the fighting against the Greyjoys, either during the siege or any other stage of the Greyjoy Rebellion. In addition, Theon was nine years old at the time of the siege.

References[]

Notes[]

  1. In "The Wolf and the Lion," which takes place in 298 AC, Robert Baratheon states that the last war in the Seven Kingdoms took place nine years prior. Dialogue in "The Kingsroad" and the "Greyjoy Rebellion" shorts establish that this war was the Greyjoy Rebellion; therefore, it occurred in 289 AC.

External links[]


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