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Who actually started the Dance of the Dragons?Fiction

In-universe lore. Claims are judged against the fiction's own canon, not the real world.

The Dance of the Dragons is usually summarised as Aegon II against Rhaenyra, but who moved first has no single answer in the source. Fire and Blood is written as Archmaester Gyldayn's compiled history, and Gyldayn reports the decisive private scenes three ways at once, from Grand Maester Munkun's True Telling, from Septon Eustace, and from the fool Mushroom, often without choosing between them.

8 established, 4 disputed, 1 debunked, 1 unresolved. We do not pick an answer; the evidence places each claim. How we decide

37 citations from 5 independent sources - 32 echo the same voices and count once. Graded A1-D1.

Added 4 Aug 2026 - canon current as of 4 Aug 2026

What the four states mean
  • Establishedsupported, uncontested
  • Disputedcredible sources disagree
  • Debunkedrefuted by the evidence
  • Unresolvedno settled answer

Established 8supported, uncontested

  • The greens moved swiftly to crown Aegon II while Rhaenyra had been kept uninformed. Alicent concealed Viserys's death from the public and had Ser Criston Cole summon the small council to the queen's apartments; the king's body was kept in his room for seven days until the preparations for Aegon's coronation were complete; and Rhaenyra remained on Dragonstone, unaware of what had happened.▰▰▰▱▱ likely4 points
    Supports
    • However, Alicent concealed Viserys's death from the public, and instead had Ser Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, summon the small council to the queen's apartments in Maegor's Holdfast.Viserys I Targaryen - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • Since she was pregnant at Dragonstone when her father died, the greens in King's Landing hid the news of Viserys's death, keeping the king's body in his room for seven days, until their preparations for Aegon's coronation were complete. With the exception of Lord Lyman Beesbury, the small council agreed to crown Aegon.Aegon II Targaryen - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • After the Beesbury situation, the green council made their plans, vowing their loyalty to their new king, and arresting all those in King's Landing who could be loyal to Rhaenyra. To all those who might be loyal to Aegon, ravens were sent. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra remained on Dragonstone, unaware of what had happened.Dance of the Dragons - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • Upon Viserys I's death, the Greens moved swiftly to crown Aegon II. Rhaenyra, who had been kept uninformed, was still recovering from childbirth on Dragonstone.The Dance of the Dragons: A Complete Breakdown - Seven Swords summary
  • Viserys named his daughter Rhaenyra, his only surviving child by his first marriage, as his heir; after three sons had been born in his second marriage he was asked about the succession repeatedly, chose to ignore the precedents of 101, and Rhaenyra remained his heir, and in 109 he dismissed Ser Otto Hightower as Hand of the King because Otto kept asking about the matter. The greens held that the claim belonged instead to Viserys's firstborn son Aegon, while the blacks supported Rhaenyra's claim.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
    Supports
    • After ascending the throne, King Viserys I Targaryen named his daughter Rhaenyra, his only surviving child by his first marriage, as his heir after the death of his second born son, Prince Baelon. After three sons had been born in his second marriage, Viserys was asked about the succession repeatedly, but he chose to ignore the precedents of 101, and Rhaenyra remained his heir. In 109 Viserys dismissed Ser Otto Hightower, his Hand of the King, because Otto kept asking the king about the matter.Great Council of 101 AC - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • The Greens believe that Rhaenyra does not hold a claim to the throne, rather, Viserys' firstborn son Aegon does. The Blacks, on the other hand, support Rhaenyra's claim to the throne.Who Wins The Dance Of The Dragons? It's Complicated - ScreenRant summary
  • At the Great Council of 101 AC the lords in the realm saw the most importance in having the male line take precedence over the female line, and it was rumored that Prince Viserys had won by a twenty to one vote. According to Archmaester Gyldayn, in the eyes of many that council established an iron precedent on matters of succession: that the Iron Throne could not pass to a woman, or to a male descendant of a woman.▰▰▱▱▱ likely3 points
    Supports
    • In the end, the lords in the realm saw the most importance in having the male line taking precedence over the female line. While the maesters never revealed the actual numbers, it was rumored that Prince Viserys had won by a twenty to one vote.Great Council of 101 AC - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • According to Archmaester Gyldayn, in the eyes of many, the council of 101 established an iron precedent on matters of succession: that the Iron Throne could not pass to a woman, or to a male descendant of a woman.Great Council of 101 AC - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • Several other council members countered him. Ser Tyland Lannister argued that the oaths made to Rhaenyra had not been made by them, since it had been twenty-four years. Lord Jasper Wylde mentioned that the Old King Jaehaerys I twice chose a male heir over the female heir and her descendants, and Ser Otto argued that Rhaenyra was married to Prince Daemon, who would become the true ruler, should Rhaenyra gain the crown.Dance of the Dragons - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
  • Rhaenyra was crowned queen using the crown her father and great-grandfather had worn, and as her first act declared Ser Otto Hightower and Dowager Queen Alicent traitors and rebels, while allowing that her half-siblings could be spared and forgiven if they would bend the knee. She rejected the terms brought to her and told Orwyle to tell Aegon that she would have her throne, or his head.▰▰▱▱▱ likely2 points
    Supports
    • Rhaenyra was crowned queen, using the crown her father and great-grandfather had worn, thanks to Ser Steffon Darklyn, who had brought it from King's Landing. Prince Daemon placed the crown on Rhaenyra's head himself, and was named Protector of the Realm, and Jacaerys was officially named Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. As her first act as queen, Rhaenyra declared Ser Otto Hightower and Dowager Queen Alicent traitors and rebels, but allowed for her half-siblings to be spared and forgiven if they would bend the knee, since the kinslayer is accursed.Dance of the Dragons - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • However, Queen Rhaenyra asked Orwyle if he remembered that King Viserys had confirmed her as his heir and successor, and rejected the terms. She also declared that Orwyle was no true Grand Master, and took his chain of office and gave it to her own maester, Gerardys. Sending Orwyle and his retinue back to King's Landing, she told him to tell Aegon that she would have her throne, or his head.Dance of the Dragons - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
  • The attack marked as the opening of hostilities in the conflict drew no blood: Prince Daemon led the blacks' attack on Harrenhal, which was conquered without bloodshed when the castellan Ser Simon Strong yielded as Caraxes landed on Kingspyre Tower.▰▰▱▱▱ likely1 source
    Supports
    • Prince Daemon led the blacks' attack on Harrenhal, which was conquered without bloodshed. The castellan, Ser Simon Strong, yielded when Caraxes landed on Kingspyre Tower. Marking the opening of hostilities in the conflict.Dance of the Dragons - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
  • Lucerys had been made to swear on The Seven-Pointed Star that he would not take part in any fighting, and he told Aemond 'I will not fight you. I came here as an envoy, not a knight,' to which Aemond answered 'I will have your eye or your life, Strong.' Lord Borros intervened, not wanting the blood of envoys to be shed under his roof, but then told Aemond that he had no say about what he did while not underneath Borros's roof, and allowed him to depart.▰▰▱▱▱ likely3 points
    Supports
    • At Rhaenyra's first black council on Dragonstone, Lucerys and his brother Jacaerys volunteered to serve as her envoys to the lords of Westeros to raise support for her claim, and to show their legitimacy as Targaryens by riding on dragons. Rhaenyra allowed this, but she first made her young sons swear on The Seven-Pointed Star that they would not take part in any fighting.Lucerys Velaryon - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • Aemond: Hold, Strong. First pay the debt you owe me. You have a knife, just as you did then. Put out your eye, and I will let you leave. One will serve. I would not blind you. Lucerys: I will not fight you. I came here as an envoy, not a knight. Aemond: You came here as a craven and a traitor. I will have your eye or your life, Strong.Lucerys Velaryon - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • At this, Lord Borros intervened, not wanting the blood of envoys to be shed under his roof, and his guards escorted Lucerys back to the castle yard, where Arrax waited amidst a terrible storm. When Borros's daughter Maris taunted Aemond, asking him if Lucerys had removed his balls as well as his eye, Aemond became enraged. When he asked Borros's leave to go, Borros told Aemond that he had no say about what he did while not underneath Borros's roof, and allowed him to depart.Lucerys Velaryon - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
  • With Lucerys's death the Dance of the Dragons was no longer a matter of diplomacy: 'the war of ravens and envoys and marriage pacts came to an end, and the war of fire and blood began in earnest.'▰▰▱▱▱ likely2 points
    Supports
  • Ser Criston Cole, the new Hand of the King, planned a trap for the blacks at Rook's Rest. Rhaenyra forbade her sons Jacaerys and Joffrey to go, so nine days after Staunton's message Rhaenys arrived alone on Meleys; Aegon and Aemond then appeared atop Sunfyre and Vhagar, and when Meleys closed her jaws around Sunfyre's neck Vhagar fell upon them from above, crashing all three: Meleys was ripped to pieces, the blackened body of Rhaenys was found beside her dragon, and Aegon suffered severe burns and broken bones that left him incapacitated for a year.▰▰▱▱▱ likely4 points
    Supports
    • Ser Criston Cole, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and the new Hand of the King to Aegon II Targaryen, devised a more aggressive strategy for the greens than his predecessor as Hand, Ser Otto Hightower. Criston planned a trap for the blacks at Rook's Rest, while also forcing the submission of the nearby crownlands houses that were allied with Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.Battle at Rook's Rest - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • Queen Rhaenyra's sons, Jacaerys and Joffrey Velaryon, were eager to join the fight atop their dragons, Vermax and Tyraxes, but she forbade them to go. Instead, nine days after Staunton's message, Rhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was, and her dragon, Meleys, the Red Queen, arrived alone above Rook's Rest to aid Lord Staunton.Battle at Rook's Rest - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • Criston Cole then sprung his trap. King Aegon II Targaryen and his brother, Prince Aemond, appeared in the sky atop their own dragons, Sunfyre and Vhagar, and attacked Rhaenys and Meleys. The three dragons fought a thousand feet above the field. When Meleys closed her jaws around Sunfyre's neck, Vhagar fell upon them from above, causing the three dragons to crash into to the ground. Although Aemond and Vhagar rose unscathed, Meleys was broken and ripped to pieces from the fall, and Sunfyre had one wing half torn from his body. Aegon suffered severe burns and broken bones. The blackened body of Rhaenys was found beside the carcass of her dragon.Battle at Rook's Rest - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • King Aegon II Targaryen was incapacitated by his burns for a year; Prince Aemond Targaryen became regent while his brother recovered.Battle at Rook's Rest - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis

Disputed 4credible sources disagree

  • How Aegon comes to be burned at Rook's Rest is told two ways. In one account Vhagar fell upon Meleys and Sunfyre from above, all three dragons crashed, and Aegon suffered severe burns and broken bones. In House of the Dragon, Aemond flies in on Vhagar and commands her to burn both dragons, harming mainly Aegon and Sunfyre and sending them plummeting to the ground. The showrunner grants that it can be ambiguous but says that in the dramatization it is pretty clear Aegon is collateral damage in the action, and that it does not look like Aemond does it with much care for his brother.▰▰▰▱▱ likely4 points
    Supports
  • Who moved first is told two ways. One account has Aemond mount Vhagar and go after Luke while Arrax was struggling to stay aloft in the storm. House of the Dragon instead has Arrax attack Vhagar against the wishes of Luke, and Vhagar retaliate by devouring both Arrax and Luke against a horrified Aemond's commands.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
    Supports
  • The first casualty of the Dance of the Dragons is reported three incompatible ways. At the small council summoned on Viserys I's death, Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, told those gathered that Prince Aegon the Elder would be crowned while Lord Lyman Beesbury, the master of coin, insisted Rhaenyra should be crowned queen. Orwyle, who was present in the chamber, says Otto ordered Beesbury confined to the black cells where he died of a chill; Eustace says Criston cut his throat with a dagger; the fool Mushroom alleges Criston flung him to his death from a window, and neither Eustace nor Mushroom was present at the meeting.▰▰▱▱▱ likely2 points
    Supports
    • Upon the death of King Viserys I Targaryen, Queen Alicent and Lord Commander Criston Cole sent out the Kingsguard to summon the small council members. During the gathering, the conversation quickly stirred towards Rhaenyra's coronation, but Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, told those who had gathered that Prince Aegon the Elder would be crowned, whilst Lord Lyman Beesbury, the master of coin, insisted Rhaenyra should be crowned as queen.Dance of the Dragons - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • According to Orwyle who was present in the chamber, Otto then ordered the arrest and confinement of Lyman Beesbury in the black cells where he died of a chill. In contrast, Eustace claims Criston cut the throat of Lyman with a dagger. The fool Mushroom alleges that Criston instead flung Lyman to his death from a window; neither Eustace nor Mushroom were present at the meeting, however. This made Lord Beesbury the first casualty of the Dance of the Dragons.Dance of the Dragons - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
  • Whether Aegon wanted the crown is left in dispute between the three accounts. Grand Maester Munkun's True Telling says he was found 'at his revels'; Mushroom's scandalous account places those revels at a Flea Bottom rat pit; and Septon Eustace has him abed with a well-kept paramour and refusing at first, insisting Rhaenyra was heir, until Ser Criston Cole convinced him that he and his brothers would be executed should Rhaenyra take the throne.▰▰▱▱▱ likely2 points
    Supports
    • When Alicent finally summoned Aegon to the Green council, the Kingsguard did not find him in the rooms he shared with his wife Helaena. Grand Maester Munkun's True Telling says Aegon was found "at his revels". According to Mushroom's scandalous account, these revels were at a Flea Bottom rat pit, where feral children fought each other for the amusement of watchers, while Aegon, drunk and naked, was pleasured by a young girl. The account of Septon Eustace, a Green supporter who was biased to portay Aegon in a positive light, claimed Aegon was found abed with a well-kept paramour, the daughter of a wealthy trader. According to Eustace, Aegon at first refused to be a part of his mother's plans to crown him, insisting Rhaenyra was heir. However, Ser Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, convinced him that should Rhaenyra take the throne, Aegon and his brothers would be executed. Eustace insists that only this persuaded him to take the crown.Aegon II Targaryen - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • According to Septon Eustace, Ser Criston convinced a reluctant Prince Aegon to accept the crown because his mother, brothers, sister and children would otherwise be killed by Rhaenyra.Dance of the Dragons - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis

Debunked 1refuted by the evidence

  • The belief that Viserys named Aegon with his dying words comes from House of the Dragon. On the show he mistakes Alicent for Rhaenyra and mutters parts of Aegon the Conqueror's dream, and Alicent then tells Otto that the king's dying wish was that their son Aegon succeed him rather than his daughter and chosen heir Rhaenyra, which the show marks as her misinterpretation. The account of his death has him plead weariness, close his eyes for a nap and never wake, and records that he had decreed his heir to be Rhaenyra.Refuted byAfterwards, Viserys sent them away, pleading weariness and a tightness in his chest. He then closed his eyes for a nap, and never woke.refuted2 against4 points
    The claim rested on
    Refuted by
    • Afterwards, Viserys sent them away, pleading weariness and a tightness in his chest. He then closed his eyes for a nap, and never woke.Viserys I Targaryen - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • Viserys had decreed his heir to be Rhaenyra Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone, the daughter from his first wife, Aemma Arryn. The greens at the Red Keep supported Aegon the Elder, the eldest son of his second wife Alicent, however, and Criston took into custody any blacks remaining at court.Viserys I Targaryen - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis

Unresolved 1no settled answer

  • Gyldayn's account is conditional about whether there was a fight at all: if there was a fight, it could not have lasted long. Arrax fell broken into the water, his head and neck washed up beneath the cliffs three days later, and Lucerys's body was never found. Some claim Vhagar snatched Lucerys off Arrax's back and swallowed him whole, and some that he survived the fall and spent the rest of his days as a simpleminded fisherman, but more legitimate historians such as Munkun disregard such tales.▰▰▱▱▱ likely2 points
    Supports
    • The two dragons met above Shipbreaker Bay. According to Archmaester Gyldayn, if there was a fight, it could not have lasted long. Arrax fell, broken, to be swallowed by the storm-lashed waters of the bay. His head and neck washed up beneath the cliffs below Storm's End three days later. Prince Lucerys's body was never found.Lucerys Velaryon - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis
    • Gyldayn also notes that some claim that Vhagar snatched Lucerys off Arrax's back and swallowed him whole. Some have even claimed that Luke survived his fall and swam to safety, but lost all memory of who he was, spending the rest of his days as a simpleminded fisherman. But more legitimate historians such as Munkun disregard such tales, and state that Lucerys died with his dragon.Lucerys Velaryon - A Wiki of Ice and Fire analysis

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