Most of the characters in Game of Thrones are horrible people. Power turns reasonable people into monsters with a near-100% success rate. The few heroic characters tend to lose their innocence or die horrible deaths as someone with fewer moral scruples seizes control. The execution of Eddard Stark, a flawed man who stands above most of the cast when it comes to purity, sends Westeros into a massive war. Before he passed, the death of Ser Arthur Dayne stood as one of his darkest moments.
Game of Thrones has a massive ensemble cast, but the show almost never puts an ill-fitting performer in a role. Casting directors Nina Gold and Robert Sterne deserve celebration for finding excellent actors, even for very minor roles. Luke Roberts, for example, appeared briefly as Ser Arthur Dayne. Roberts is a great character actor who is well-known for his role in Black Sails. He’ll soon make a massive splash in gaming as the voice and motion capture performer behind James Sunderland in the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake.
Who was Ser Arthur Dayne?
Ser Arthur Dayne was a knight who served under King Aerys II Targaryen in King’s Landing. His family, House Dayne, is one of the oldest dynasties in the Seven Kingdoms. They claim First Men ancestry and reside in Dorne, the landing site of the first humans in Westeros. During the Dawn Age, House Dayne established Starfall, a mighty castle on an island in the river Torentine. It’s said that the first representative of House Dayne followed the path of a falling star and found a magic stone at its conclusion. They took this strange rock, likely a chunk of meteoric iron, and forged it into a pale-bladed greatsword. House Dayne dubbed its ancestral weapon “Dawn” and based their legacy around it. Only a suitably worthy knight of House Dayne can wield Dawn. The sword will sit in Starfall for as long as it takes for the next rightful wielder to emerge. The man who carries Dawn takes the title “Sword of the Morning.” Ser Arthur Dayne was his generation’s Sword of the Morning.
What did Ser Arthur Dayne accomplish?
Ser Arthur Dayne is best known as one of King Aerys II Targaryen’s Kingsguard. Nearly every character who mentions him takes time to mention that he may have been the best to ever take the gig. The Mad King had seven knights among his personal security team. Everyone from Catelyn Stark to Jamie Lannister took time out to call Arthur the best of them. Barristan Selmy, a massively respected warrior, believed that Arthur would have defeated him in a fair fight. He was considered unmatched as a swordsman and a leader. On top of his martial prowess, many praised Arthur for his virtue. The Seven Kingdoms expected knights to uphold the chivalric code, but many fell short of those lofty ideals. Ser Arthur embodied the nobility and idealism of a true knight. He was Prince Rhaegar Targaryen’s closest friend, Jamie Lannister’s personal idol, and the finest knight most knights ever saw.
Arthur’s most notable accomplishment in the text came when he and a band of knights fought the Kingswood Brotherhood. The Kingswood Brotherhood was a band of brigands that terrorized King’s Landing. Its leader came from a family that House Targaryen destroyed over a petty grudge. Aerys II sent Arthur and several knights into the Kingswood to stop them. Arthur demonstrated his intelligence and kindness by mending relationships with the local peasants. After earning the smallfolk’s trust, Arthur gained the ability to hunt the Kingswood Brotherhood without letting them slip away. Arthur defeated the Smiling Knight, a gifted swordsman, in single combat. During that conflict, he knighted Jamie Lannister.
How did Ser Arthur Dayne die?
Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell killed Ser Arthur Dayne. Arthur, a loyal servant of the Iron Throne and whoever happens to be on it, found himself on the wrong side of Robert’s Rebellion. His moral judgment disallowed him from abandoning his post. Despite the Mad King’s brutality, Arthur was a dedicated knight, and his opponents were, legally, traitors. Arthur, Oswell Whent, and Gerold Hightower met Ned Stark at the Tower of Joy. Official records state that Ned slayed Arthur in single combat, but Bran Stark’s flashback demonstrates another story. Arthur would have defeated Ned in a fair fight. However, Ned’s ally, Jojen Reed, stabs Arthur in the back of his neck. In a show of respect, Ned cleanly decapitated Arthur with Dawn, then personally delivered the sacred blade back to Starfall to await its next wielder. Stark sums up the event like this:
The finest knight I ever saw was Ser Arthur Dayne, who fought with a blade called Dawn, forged from the heart of a fallen star. They called him the Sword of the Morning, and he would have killed me but for Howland Reed.
This is a massive moment in Ned Stark’s life. He supports Robert’s Rebellion wholeheartedly, partially due to Rhaegar Targaryen’s kidnapping of his sister, Lyanna. Arthur is unquestionably in the wrong here, but he remains a sworn warrior for an unjust ruler. This reinforces several narrative themes in Game of Thrones. Arthur cannot evade responsibility for the actions of those who give him orders. He believes in the system strongly enough to lay down his life. This also demonstrates the moral decline of Ned Stark. He’s one of the most righteous characters in the franchise, but to accomplish his noble goal, he had to kill the living embodiment of the true knight’s philosophy. No one attains or serves power without getting their hands dirty. Even the Sword of the Morning and the Warden of the North will break the codes and laws they hold themselves to when playing the Game of Thrones.
