42. House Baratheon and the Stormlands

Technically, the most important house in the War of the Five Kings is House Baratheon. The king whose death starts the war, as well as three of the kings in the civil war, and one of their successors, are legally part of House Baratheon. That’s King Robert, his brothers Stannis and Renly, and his supposed sons Joffrey and Tommen. It’s just that, oddly enough, we almost never see where the Baratheons are from, or hear them treated as a power in the way that “the Lannisters” or “the Starks” are.

Of course, the show, the characters, and fans treat Joffrey and Tommen as Lannisters, while Stannis and Renly battle over the Baratheon troops, with the leaders being given the titles—Stannis’ navy, or Renly’s army. So viewers may see House Baratheon less as a Westerosi superpower (which it is!) and more as a name attached to some important characters. But there’s a lot of significance attached to House Baratheon, and the home in the Stormlands.

The Stormlands are one of the most important locations in Westeros, sitting in the center-east of the southern half of the continent. They’re bordered by Dorne to the south, the Reach to the southwest, the Riverlands to the northwest, and the Crownlands to the north. The central location gives the region strategic value, and the Stormland armies are traditionally one of the strongest in Westeros—perhaps the strongest apart from the men of the North.

Game of Thrones has spent almost no time in the Stormlands. The only exception to this is early in the second season, when Stannis went to attack Renly’s camp along the southern end of the Kingsroad. The scenes were shot in Northern Ireland, and successfully looked windswept and stormy, although no castles were shown. The capital of the Stormlands is the keep called Storm’s End, which also serves as the southern end of the Kingsroad that leads all the way to the Wall.

The only major geographic feature of the region mentioned in Game of Thrones is the island of Tarth, the Sapphire Isle. Jaime Lannister uses this nickname to deceive the Bolton henchman Locke into believing Brienne’s family is incredibly wealthy—but the sapphires refer only to the color of the water around the island, not the gemstones.

In addition to the Baratheons, three minor houses of the region play notable roles. House Tarth, of course, sends its daughter Brienne to become one of the show’s most important characters. House Dondarrion’s lord, Beric, is one of the best knights in the Seven Kingdoms, and the leader of the Brotherhood without Banners, which was seen most in Season 3. The greatest knight of the Seven Kingdoms, though, is Barristan the Bold of House Selmy, which hails from the region.

Other minor houses of the region include Connington, Estermont, Swann, and Penrose, though their members haven’t made notable appearances on the show. The bastard surname for the region is the obvious choice “Storm.” No characters on Game of Thrones are Storms, although in the novels, one of King Robert’s sons, Edric, is taken by Stannis. Edric Storm’s role as potential power source for Melisandre thanks to his king’s blood is given to Gendry on the show, however.

Traditionally, the Southlands were ruled by House Durrandon, as the Storm Kings. The Storm Kings were one of the most aggressive houses in Westeros prior to the arrival of the Targaryens, conquering the Riverlands to create possibly the most powerful kingdom in Westeros—until the Ironborn took the Riverlands from them a few generations before Aegon’s Conquest. The Storm Kings were still powerful but were defeated, and their last king, Argilac the Arrogant, was killed by the founder of House Baratheon.

The Baratheons are one of the youngest major houses in Westeros. Some of the Great Houses, like the Lannisters and Starks, led their lands for generations. Others, like the Tullys and Tyrells, were smaller houses that stepped up after the Targaryen conquest. But the Baratheons were new.

During the Targaryen invasion, Orys Baratheon was one of Aegon the Conqueror’s chief generals and friends—and, eventually, his Hand. It was Orys who killed King Argilac, then wed the dead king’s daughter, combining his line with the Durrandons. Orys was rumored to be a Targaryen bastard, although he had Baratheon black hair instead of Targaryen silver—but this all helped House Baratheon become considered one of the closest allies of the Targaryens.

In the Dance of the Dragons, the Baratheons chose the side of the seeming winner, Aegon II, but they were careful throughout, as Lord Borros Baratheon refused to fight dragons. He committed to the war at its very end, but his defeat led to Aegon II’s death and the end of the civil war. The Baratheons also stayed loyal to the crown during the Blackfyre Rebellions.

House Baratheon played a crucial role in the succession crises that damaged the Targaryens a few generations before Game of Thrones. A daughter of the house was arranged to marry Prince Duncan, the heir to the throne. Instead Duncan married a common woman, Jenny of Oldstones, and removed himself from the succession. Lord Lyonel Baratheon was so angered by this that he declared independence before being killed. In order to make peace, King Aegon V arranged for his daughter Rhaelle to wed the new Baratheon lord, Ormund.

This decision was the last time a Targaryen wed outside the family and had children, which had a huge effect on the Seven Kingdoms—it gave the heirs of House Baratheon a claim on the throne, which Rhaelle and Ormund’s grandson, King Robert, would eventually use.

Their son, and the father of Robert, Stannis, and Renly, was Lord Steffon, who became a member of the Mad King’s Small Council. He and his wife were sent to Essos to find a wife for Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, but a storm destroyed their ship on their return to King’s Landing, leaving the three young Baratheon sons orphaned. The new lord, Robert, was fostered with Lord Jon Arryn in the Vale alongside Ned Stark, who would become his best friend. Robert was also engaged to Ned’s sister, Lyanna Stark.

When Lyanna was kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar, the Mad King executed her father and brother, leaving Ned the Stark lord. King Aerys demanded that Jon Arryn execute her brother Ned and fiancé Robert, but instead the three men raised their banners. A marriage alliance added House Tully to the group, and this group won Robert’s Rebellion, with House Lannister joining at the end. Robert led the armies gloriously, but Stannis won an impressive victory as well, holding Storm’s End safe from besieging Tyrell armies.

With Lyanna dead, Robert ended up marrying Lord Tywin Lannister’s daughter, Cersei, an abusive and spite-filled marriage that nonetheless “held the kingdom together,” at least for fifteen years. Robert showed very little interest in ruling, so his middle brother Stannis and Jon Arryn largely led the Seven Kingdoms in his name. Eventually his youngest brother, Renly, would also join the Small Council. Stannis was also given the old Targaryen citadel of Dragonstone, while Renly was made lord of Storm’s End—which Stannis considered a slight.

Robert’s marriage with Cersei would eventually produce three Baratheon children: Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella. However, the three were actually all born of the incestuous relationship between Cersei and her brother Jaime, making Stannis’ daughter Shireen the only continuation of the true Baratheon line. Jon Arryn and Stannis Baratheon’s discovery of this truth leads to Jon’s death, and the start of the story of Game of Thrones.

House Baratheon has been arguably the biggest loser in the game of thrones, with disaster after disaster occurring in almost every season of the series. In the first, Ned’s investigation into Jon Arryn’s death leads to Cersei manipulating Robert to his death. Renly prepares to declare for the throne, leapfrogging his less likeable older brother, but Ned stays loyal to the law and Stannis—which leads to his execution.

In the second season, three of the claimants in the War of the Five Kings are Baratheons: Joffrey, although he is publicly accused of being product of incest, Stannis, and Renly. Thanks to his ownership of the Stormlands and a marriage with House Tyrell, Renly has the most powerful army in the realm. But he is assassinated by Stannis’ sorceress, Melisandre, and Stannis takes most of the power of the Stormlands into his new army, though it is still defeated at the Battle of the Blackwater.

Joffrey is murdered during his marriage to Renly’s former wife Margaery, who then marries King Tommen. Stannis takes his army north, saving the Night’s Watch from a Wildling army and attacking the Lannister stooges of House Bolton to win back Ned’s old lands. Trapped in the snow, he allows Melisandre to burn his daughter Shireen, which breaks the weather, but costs him so much of his army that he is easily defeated and killed—the end of the true Baratheon line. Myrcella and Tommen both follow him, the former murdered by vengeful Dornish, the later committing suicide after Cersei kills the entire court, including his wife.

What happens to the Stormlands during all this is unclear during the show. In the novels, many Stormland lords swear allegiance to Joffrey after the Battle of Blackwater, and Tyrell armies work to reclaim the land for the crown. The only holdout is Storm’s End, still under siege even as Stannis’ armies are far to the north.

Stannis is also still alive in the novels, so the Stormlands technically still have their liege lord. However, with his death, the Baratheons are legally extinct, and it’s unclear who would actually become the new Lord Paramount. King Robert left behind many bastards in the novels, and at least Gendry on the show, so House Baratheon does still exist at some level—even if Gendry hasn’t been seen in three seasons and is presumably still rowing the boat Ser Davos gave him. Either way, House Baratheon’s glory years appear to be over for good.