What *is* the test of seven?
Trials by combat to settle issues for the elite of Westeros have existed for thousands of years, but the Trial of the Seven has its roots in another ancient aspect of Westeros’ past, the migration of the Andals from Essos to Westeros thousands of years ago.
The Andals brought with them what eventually became the dominant religious order of the Seven Kingdoms, the Faith of the Seven, which believed in a singular God with seven aspects, unlike the many older gods worshiped by the First Men. Each “face” of the Seven Who Are One represents a different aspect of the faith, and thus the number seven was established in many religious practices in Westeros – including the concept of trial by battle.
The Trial of the Seven differs from typical trials of combat in that, instead of a one-on-one duel, it is a 14-man melee in which the accused and the accused (or their designated champions) fight six combatants each, believing that God would be more willing to influence the decision in the trial by seeing the Seven honored. Although neither side required seven participants to reflect the different faces of God, each side demanded that seven combatants must participate – failure to find the full complement of required participants would result in the accused being declared guilty by default, as Dunk had almost discovered.
Have there been tests on seven before?
When Arion demands that Dunk’s right to be tried by combat be a trial of the seven, Maekar Targaryen blurts out the confusion, there is a reason for this: though the concept has probably existed as long as belief, there have been trials of the seven. extremely Rare in recorded Westerosi history. In fact, before the tournament at Ashford Meadow, only one significant test out of seven had taken place. And that included House Targaryen – in fact, one of the most infamous Targaryens of all time.
approximately 170 years before the events of knight of the seven kingdoms In 42 AC, Aegon the Conqueror’s second son, Maegor (eventually known as Maegor the Cruel), became the third Targaryen to rule the Seven Kingdoms. Maegor came to the Iron Throne at a time of great discord: in addition to the sudden death of his elder half-brother, King Aenys I Targaryen, divisions between the church and the royal family had been growing since Maegor had taken a second wife in defiance of scripture years earlier, as well as the marriage between Aenys’s younger children, Prince Aegon and Princess Rhaenys, leading to an open rebellion by the Crusader Order of the Faith. Faith Militant, until Maegor returned from exile to claim the Iron Throne in defiance of the laws of inheritance.
Faced with the proclamation of Maegor’s mother, Queen Visenya, to challenge her son’s claim, the Faith Militant calls for the Trial of the Seven to challenge Maegor. The accuser, Ser Daemon Morrigan, led six other members of his chapter of the Faith Militant, the Warriors’ Sons, against Maegor. Traditionally, for royals facing trial in battle the Kingsguard served as their champions, but due to the Kingsguard being away from King’s Landing at the time, Maegor recruited a mix of soldiers and knights from the gathered crowd: Dick Bean, an at-arms man in the service of House Targaryen, was the first to volunteer and eventually Lucifer Macy, lord of House Macy, as well as the knight Ser Berner Brune, Ser Bram of Blackhull, joins in. Ser Rayford Rosby, and Ser Guth Lothstan.
During the trial all those saving Maegor are killed, and Maegor himself is seriously injured in the process, falling into a month-long coma as the last of the warrior’s sons opposing him also falls. The conclusion of the trial in Maegor’s favor cast doubt on the Faith’s argument against his right to the Iron Throne, but the animosity between House Targaryen and the Faith escalated into open conflict when Maegor emerged from his coma and promptly burned the Warriors’ Sons’ base of operations, the Sept of Remembrance, to the ground over Balerion the Black Dread.
Why did Ariane call a test of the seven instead of a regular test by combat?
As questioned by his father Maecker, there are a few possible reasons why Arians applied the vague test of seven against Dunk. In practical terms, while Arion was a capable fighter, fighting against a giant opponent like Dunk, even if he was a minor Hedge Knight, would have been a daunting prospect regardless of Dunk’s own skills.
Secondly, and perhaps more true to Arryn’s character, is that her obsession with dragons and the supposed divine heritage of the Targaryens led her to see a kind of kinship with Maegor. However, this was only less than two centuries after Aegon I conquered Westeros, since by that time, House Targaryen had already suffered a massive blow from its powerful position as House of the Dragon, and had completely lost its dominance of dragons in the wake of the Dance of Dragons, with the last dragon dying 60 years before the tournament at Ashford Meadow.
Arion, presenting himself as Brightflame and almost a living dragon, was particularly obsessed with trying to return the Targaryens to their glory years as Dragon Masters and was enraged by his family’s long decline – after all, as we saw earlier, the inciting incident that lead to the trial in the first place was born out of Arion’s alleged belief that the legend of Cerwyn of the Mirror Shield Kay Tansley’s performance on the Targaryens was marginal. Self. It only makes sense that someone so inspired by his House’s glorious past would, in this instance, be reminded of Maegor’s own defiant reaction to his refusal of dragon’s blood and think he could craft a similar legend for himself.
We’ll have to wait for the last two episodes A knight of the seven kingdoms However, it remains to be seen how it turns out for him.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
<a href