Heritage controls far too much of a person’s life in Game of Thrones. In the real world, most people get very little from their family name. Tons of people inherit money or property. Some get a family business or a lifetime of nepotism. Most, however, remain comfortable deciding their path with no input from their parents. Life in Westeros depends almost entirely on heritage. Bastardy is one of the continent’s cardinal sins, but is there any way for the unfortunate scions to return to their rightful family?
Jon Snow lives a strange, sad life. He grows up believing he’s the bastard son of Ned Stark, perhaps the most decent Lord in Westeros, but his adoptive dad dies before explaining his birthright. Jon never gets over the loss of his unknown mother. He wears a chip on his shoulder for most of his days, even after moving to the Wall to escape his rotten surname. Fans know why he can’t become a Stark, but there was always some process in place to let him reclaim a family name.
Can a bastard become a legitimate heir in Game of Thrones?
The short answer is yes. The bastard child of a noble lineage can find their way back into their family’s line of succession through legitimization. Any father can choose to acknowledge a bastard child at any time. This is a formal process, but it’s apparently very easy to accomplish. Fathering a bastard child is considered a mortal sin on par with kinslaying or incest, but some nobles choose to acknowledge their crime and raise their illegitimate son as their own. If the father chooses to acknowledge their bastard, they can bring them into their home and potentially offer them a place in the line of succession. Acknowledged children usually only become heirs if the family has no legitimate descendants.
Acknowledgment is a very easy step to take, but it doesn’t generally “count” as a full legitimization. Many acknowledged bastards still go by their original surname. Bastards in Westeros take a name like “Snow” or “Sand,” based on the location of their birth. Only legitimization earns a bastard their official surname and an inarguable place in the line of succession. The books explain that only a monarch can legitimize a bastard. Only a king or queen on the Iron Throne can sign a bill of legitimacy. This process is so rare that Westeros doesn’t have a lot of rules in place to govern it. If a lord chooses to legitimize a bastard son, there’s no specific legislation explaining where that previously illegitimate son would go in the line of succession. That may be entirely up to the lord in question, but age seems to take precedence over legitimacy status once the monarch has signed the appropriate paperwork.
Notable legitimized bastards in Game of Thrones
The most notable legitimized bastard in Game of Thrones is probably Ramsay Bolton. Ramsay gains legitimization from King Tommen Baratheon after House Bolton betrays House Stark at the Red Wedding. For their efforts, Roose becomes the new Warden of the North and Ramsay becomes a true Bolton. In the show, he receives the same decree after liberating Moat Cailin from the Ironborn. In both cases, Ramsay engineers scenarios to make himself the leader of Winterfell. It works out well enough (so far) in the books, but the show depicts it ending poorly. Bolton kills his dad, stepmom, and stepbrother. He’s briefly the head of House Bolton, but he doesn’t get to enjoy the title for long before Jon Snow slaughters him in the Battle of the Bastards.
The other iconic set of legitimized bastards is widely known as the Great Bastards. King Aegon IV Targaryen made the controversial decision to legitimize his many bastard sons and daughters on his deathbed. Those born to noblewomen became known as Great Bastards. The resulting princes and princesses followed several fascinating life paths. The Great Bastards included:
- Daemon I Blackfyre: Born to Aegon IV and his cousin, Daemon inherited all the powerful traits his lecherous father lacked. He looked like Aegon the Conqueror reborn, leading Aegon IV to favor him over his trueborn son. He gave Daemon the ancestral Blackfyre sword, which led him to take it as his new surname after being legitimized. His lust for the throne led to the Blackfyre Rebellions, decades of civil war that ended without a Blackfyre victory.
- Brynden Rivers: Lord Bloodraven turned against his traitorous brother, killing Daemon at the Battle of the Redgrass Fields. For his loyalty, he became the Master of Whispers under his nephew, Aerys I. He would later become Hand of the King, but the decision to execute his nephew forced him to take the black. Brynden became Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. Years later, Bran Stark would discover that he’s been alive for over 120 years, operating as the three-eyed crow in his dreams. He taught Bran greensight and warging.
- Aegor Rivers: Known as Bittersteel, Aegor supported Daemon in the Blackfyre Rebellion. He would go on to assemble the Golden Company, the most respected and honorable band of sellswords in Westeros. It lives on long beyond his death.
- Shiera Seastar: Aegon IV’s final Great Bastard became known as the most beautiful woman in Westeros. She never married but seduced her half brothers, Brynden and Aegor, into several conflicts. She’s said to be a sorceress who helped aid Brynden in his time as Hand of the King.
Most of Westeros frowns on the idea of legitimizing bastards. Aegon IV’s decision earned him constant denigration from everyone in his family and the nickname “Aegon the Unworthy.” It also led to generations of violent warfare over the proper descendant to the throne. Legitimization is a questionable path, but it can provide a way back to a noble family. That might make things worse, since every bastard knows they could earn their rightful place.
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