Prince Maelor rides out at the head of the Crown's knights in white

Maelor Targaryen

Prince of Dragonstone
Hand of the King
Heir to the Iron Throne
Wielder of Dark Sister

Books, ledgers and working papers of Prince Maelor, set down for House Targaryen and subjects of the Crown.

Maelor's Works Information

5Works

7Charges

236AC

Library

Maelor's Works

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I will not ask of any knight what I am unwilling to answer for myself.
Prince Maelor, from the preface to the Seven Charges

About the author

Prince Maelor

Prince of Dragonstone and Heir to the Iron Throne, eldest son of King Jaehaerys II Targaryen and Queen Helaena Targaryen, born on Dragonstone in 213 AC and Hand of the King since 230 AC. He wrote the Seven Charges and the Book of the Tether by his own choice, so that every knight of the Crown would be made to one standard.

Learn more

To the knights of the Crown, and to the squires who mean to become them,

I am a prince of the house you will serve, and I have watched, from the galleries of the yard and the benches of the hall, how a knight is made and how they are unmade. It is seldom a great betrayal that ruins them. It is a small cruelty excused, a duty left half done, a truth swallowed in council.

Bring what you do not understand to your master, to the septon of your keep, or to me. It is no shame to ask. The shame is in a knight who pretends they have been taught what they have merely heard.

Maelor Targaryen

Prince of Dragonstone, Hand of the King · King's Landing, 236 AC

Blue Book

Structure & Command

The units and ranks of the Crown's knights, and who answers to whom.

Nine Ranks

Chain of Command

Marshal

Knights-in-Service

Knight CommanderHeld in the Interim by Prince Maelor
1
Apprentice CommanderTheir Apprentice and Successor
1
Master KnightsCommanders of the Units
3
Landed KnightsMentors to the Service
6
Knight BanneretsKnights of Standing
10
Knight BachelorsEvery New Knight
16
SquiresThrough Their Masters
18

Dragonguard

Guard CommanderOf the Dragonguard
Household KnightsOf the Dragonguard
5
Household SquiresThrough Their Masters
5

The Knight Commander holds command of the Crown's knights and answers to the Marshal. Prince Maelor holds the office in the interim, alongside his duties as Hand. The Apprentice Commander stands beneath him as his apprentice. Household Knights answer to the Guard Commander, the knight who commands the Dragonguard. They work in conjunction with the Knight Commander, and hold themselves and their Household Knights to the same laws of knighthood as the rest of the service. Squires answer to their own masters first, and through their masters to the Commander.

Of the Service

Units

Household Knights

Five Places

The Knights of the Royal Household, five in number, commanded by the Guard Commander of the Dragonguard. The door of a Royal Chamber is theirs to keep, and no Squire may stand at it. Their places are earned, not inherited.

Record Forthcoming

Order of the Fourteen Flames

Record Forthcoming

Companion Knights

Record Forthcoming

Challenger Knights

Sixty-Five Places in All

Ranks

Works

The Book of the Tether

Of how a knight is made: how a squire is taken, what master and squire owe each other, how the bond is kept, what happens when it falters, and what comes after the knighting.

Read the Book of the Tether

Seven Stages

The Course of the Bond

Part One of Seven

History of the Crown's Knights

Origins

Knights have served the Iron Throne since the Conquest, sworn to the King's person and quartered at King's Landing and Dragonstone. For most of that time their training was a matter of custom. Some masters were excellent, and many were not, and there was no law to say which was which.

The Reforms of Prince Maelor

Prince Maelor held that the training of the Crown's knights had been left too long to custom. No one asked it of him. He set down in writing what a squire must become and how a master must make them, so that the same standard would hold in every yard that serves the Crown.

Maelor's Works

The Seven Charges sets out what a knight must be. The Book of the Tether sets out how a knight is made, and is meant chiefly for masters. The Prince intended the two to be read together, the first by the squire and the second by their master, and each by the other.

Parts Three and Four of Seven

The Bond Between Master & Squire

What the Bond Is

A knight is made over years, by one person who has agreed to carry them and a youth who has agreed to be carried until they can walk. The bond between them is called the tether. Until it is ended, each answers for the other. Neither may release it alone.

The Taking

No knight may take a squire without the written authorisation of the Knight Commander. The Pairing Ceremony is held in the sept, with the Knight Commander or their apprentice present as witness. The master vows to teach, correct, shield, present and release. The squire vows to learn, serve, tell the truth and keep faith.

The Tether & the Token

Three strands, though none can be seen: the master's honour, the Dragon's authority, and the name of the squire's house. The master gives the squire a token of bronze or silver, worn at the belt and returned on the day of knighting.

A Master's Ledger

Once each moon the master records the lessons given, the faults noted and the praise earned. The squire may read it, and both sign it. The Knight Commander reviews every Ledger once a year.

What the Master Owes

To make a knight, not a servant, a copy of themselves or a champion for their own glory. They teach by doing, shield without smothering, correct in private and praise in public, and say so when their squire is ready.

What the Squire Owes

To learn in earnest and serve in good faith, within the charges and never above them. They are honest with their master above all. The tether is only as strong as the truth that runs through it.

Part Five of Seven

Where Master & Squire Serve

The Yard

Arms, taught by the master themselves each week in the Master's Hour. Blunted arms only.

The Field

War. The master decides where their squire stands, and after each action they account for the day.

The Saddle

Horsemanship, the charge, and riding at the pace of the line.

The Lists

The tilt on rebated lances. At great tourneys squires may ride a course of their own.

The Watch

Guard duty. The master stands the first watch beside their squire.

The Road

The Crown's business abroad, and the law of the road: how to be a guest.

The Court

Precedence, the banners of the great houses, and standing alone in a lord's hall.

Parts Six and Seven of Seven

When the Bond Falters, & After

The Petition of the Tether

A squire who believes their master has failed them may send a sealed note to the Knight Commander. Their master may not open or withhold it, and a petition made in good faith is never punished.

Dismissal & Transfer

After three Warnings the matter goes before the Commander. A squire unfit through dishonour and one simply unsuited are never confused. By consent, a squire may pass to another master and lose no years.

The Death of a Master

The squire recovers the body and arms if they can and reports to the Commander. The Crown is their master until another is named.

The Line of the Lance

The tether is released at the knighting, but the bond is not. The Commander keeps a Roll of every knight and the master who made them, as far back as the records go. A knight who has been taught owes a teaching.

Terms of the Order

Glossary

Tether: The sworn bond between master and squire, from the Taking until the knighting or dismissal.
Token: The bronze or silver token a master gives their squire at the swearing of the tether, worn at the belt and returned at the knighting.
A Master's Ledger: The record a master keeps of their squire each moon, signed by both and reviewed yearly by the Knight Commander.
Witness: A knight appointed by the Knight Commander to judge a squire's trials alongside their master.
Petition of the Tether: A sealed complaint a squire may send to the Knight Commander against their master, without their master's leave.
Line of the Lance: The lineage of masters, recorded in the Commander's Roll, by which each knight traces who made them.

Home

Prince Maelor Targaryen

Prince of Dragonstone, Hand of the King, Heir to the Iron Throne, and Wielder of Dark Sister.

House Targaryen

Fire & Blood

The crowned three-headed dragon, red upon black: the sigil of House Targaryen.

Prince Maelor Targaryen with knights of the Crown

The Prince

Maelor Targaryen is the eldest son of King Jaehaerys II Targaryen and Queen Helaena Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone and Heir to the Iron Throne. He was born on Dragonstone in 213 AC and named Hand of the King in 230 AC, and he wields the Valyrian steel sword Dark Sister.

He came to the training of knights without being asked. Having watched from the galleries of the yard and the benches of the hall how a knight is made and how they are unmade, he set the old charges in order and wrote down how a master should make a squire, so that a squire failed by their master would have a law to appeal to.

House: House Targaryen
Father: King Jaehaerys II Targaryen
Mother: Queen Helaena Targaryen
Born: 213 AC, Dragonstone
Titles: Prince of Dragonstone
Hand of the King
Heir to the Iron Throne
Wielder of Dark Sister
Command: Interim Knight Commander of House Targaryen
Wields: Dark Sister
Works: The Seven Charges · The Book of the Tether · Blue Book · A Master's Aide

213 AC
Born on Dragonstone
The eldest son of King Jaehaerys II Targaryen and Queen Helaena Targaryen, and in time Prince of Dragonstone and Heir to the Iron Throne.
230 AC
Named Hand of the King
Raised to the King's right hand at seventeen, and wearer of the Hand's brooch ever since.
234 AC
The Seven Charges
Issued under the authority of the Iron Throne: the law every squire of House Targaryen must hold before they are knighted.
236 AC
The Book of the Tether
Sets down how a knight is made, with the Blue Book for the service and A Master's Aide for its masters.
Today
King's Landing
Hand of the King and interim Knight Commander, keeping the Beige Book of the Crown's knights.

The Prince's blade

Dark Sister

A longsword of Valyrian steel, the rippled grain of the forging still showing along the whole length of the blade. It is one of the ancestral swords of House Targaryen, and Prince Maelor bears it at his hip in court and in the field.

Blade: Valyrian steel, long and slender, with a gold line inlaid down the fuller
Crossguard: Gold, swept into rippling flames at either end
Stone: A red jewel set where guard meets blade
Grip: Black leather, bound with dark rings
Pommel: A gold flame

The hilt of Dark Sister: flame pommel, black grip and red stone

Dark Sister's crossguard and rippled blade

Dark Sister sheathed at the Prince's belt

Maelor Targaryen

Maelor's Works

Prince Maelor

Maelor's Works

The Seven Charges

The Charges in Full

The Squire's Oath

Blue Book

The Seven Charges

The Book of the Tether

A Master's Aide

Sealed

Journal

Sign In

Places in the Service

Enter a knight in the Beige Book

Petitions of the Tether

Members

Create an Account

Pre-Approve a Google Account

A Master's Ledger

Sealed

Information

Petition of the Tether

For Squires

Submit a petition

Structure & Command

Chain of Command

Units

Household Knights

Order of the Fourteen Flames

Companion Knights

Challenger Knights

Ranks

Promotion

The Book of the Tether

The Course of the Bond

History of the Crown's Knights

Origins

The Reforms of Prince Maelor

Maelor's Works

The Bond Between Master & Squire

What the Bond Is

The Taking

The Tether & the Token

A Master's Ledger

What the Master Owes

What the Squire Owes

Where Master & Squire Serve

When the Bond Falters, & After

The Petition of the Tether

Dismissal & Transfer

The Death of a Master

The Line of the Lance

Glossary

Beige Book

Sealed

A knight of the Crown

Sealed

Prince Maelor Targaryen

The Prince

Born on Dragonstone

Named Hand of the King

The Seven Charges

The Book of the Tether

King's Landing

Dark Sister