A long winded post about Targaryen incest ā¤ļø by Me
Iāve been pondering the incest thing in Game of Thrones as people have begun to rag on Baelor/Maekar shippers (or any AKotSK era targs) + as Iāve been drawing the family tree, and I wanted to give my two sense. Fair warning I will make A LOT of inferences that have no textual backing, but I have read all the books so I hope you believe me.
So the Targaryens, it is established that incest is common in Valyria, Aerion has relatives who are siblings, we can also assume he is related in some way to Valaena Velaryon. But they inbreed within Dragonstone, and itās likely (since Aerions own father did NOT marry a relative) that the tradition might have been dying out.
But then Aegon comes along. Aegon wins the conquest because he has dragons, and he places himself above the average person by marrying his sisters. After this point nearly every incestuous character references Aegon in some way (āif he could do it why canāt we?ā Etc etc) Aegon is otherworldly, heās literally an alien, he doesnāt look like anyone else, he doesnt natively speak the common tongue, etc etc. (+Visenya and Rhaenys are both a bit witchy in nature and I do enjoy the idea Visenya might have magically impregnated herself with Maegor, but thatās not the point!!!!) Aegon likely WOULDVE married Aenys to a sister, if he had one, but for lack of one married him to a cousin. Why? Because politically the Targaryens needed a blanket, the needed to keep the image of superiority, and the only way to successfully do that, without upsetting other lords, was to start a trend of in-marrying. The Targaryens were powerful, but by this time all bonds to Westeros were new, and they needed to establish a status quo. Maegor (obviously) takes several wives, the first of whom is a political marriage due to the influence of the faith of seven on the Targaryen family. The faith of seven (again obviously) sought to eliminate the incest from the targs, but with characters like Maegor and Jaehaerys 1, that was impossible. These characters believe incest is integral to their identity as Targaryens, and believe it is their right to act on it. Hence why Jaehaerys marries Alysanne. These two begin a trend (albeit unpopular) of Targaryens intermarrying of their own choice. Only a few couples fall into this category: Aegon1 and his wives, Jaehaerys and Alysanne, Baelon and Alyssa, Daemon and Rhaenyra (arguable), Jaehaerys2 and Shaera, and my fav bastards Bloodraven and Shiera.
These characters have the unique position of CHOOSING to participate in Targaryen incest. But, most interestingly, most are viewed as very very strange. Aegon5 openly disapproves of Jaehaerys2 marrying his sister, while Jaehaerys1 and Alysanne literally have to marry in secret because what they are doing is so frowned upon (at the time). These characters are acting on what they believe is their rights as Targaryens. I didnāt mention my favorite example of the Aerion and Daenora but they are the best example of this. Daenora is painfully younger than Aerion, and it is clear why. Aerion wanted to be an example of a textbook Targaryen, but since he could not have his dragons, he had to do the one other thing he could, which is marry his cousin. Aerion is literally insane (hence why Maegor is passed up in succession) and his marriage to Daenora is a vaguely predatory one, no doubt because no other living relative would agree to marry him. But he ironically serves as a good basis for how Targaryen stereotypes are viewed both within and outside the family. It makes them more powerful, it makes them, in all ways, superior.
But then you have the main reason behind Targaryen intermarrying, which is of course, politics. I donāt want to go into too much detail, so sorry if I miss a few.
Aemon was initially set up to marry his sister, likely because Jaehaerys viewed it, not as some elaborate power play, but tradition, something that was bound to happen. Daenerys dying meant there were few options for Aemon, and Jocelyn was the closest alternative. (He was ALMOST married to Alyssa, but she preffered Baelon) Jaehaerys and Alysannes children fall in a strange middle ground where they are neither encouraged nor discouraged from intermarrying, it functions purely as a tradition, if possible to act upon, it will be acted upon, but if not alternatives will be found. By this point marriage is not politicized. Daella is the only child to marry out of the family (since Jocelyn still is closely related despite being a Baratheon) and her marriage was impromptu and ended badly, itās not entirely clear WHY Jaehaerys insisted on marrying Daella off, since he had plenty of heirs and plenty of children. Her marriage was politically unnecessary (but since it was HER choice none of the marriages wouldāve been) I chalk it up to Jaehaerys growing crueler as he got older, and truly nothing more.
HOWEVER! The next generation is where marriage and births become crucially important. Rhaenys getting passed up in the succession despite the stronger claim begins a trend of politically advantageous marriages. Targaryens become a bit greedy in this generation, despite their power. Viserys likely married Aemma Arryn out of tradition, she was available, and so it happened. BUT! Rhaenyras marriage to Laenor and Daemons to Laena are entirely different. They act as appeasments to Rhaenys, allowing her to live through her children, and ensuring her descendants end up on the throne. Rhaenyras marriage to Laenor also strengthens her claim, if she had married a lesser lord it wouldāve been twice as easy to pass her up in favor of Aegon, but because she married a Velaryon and then a Targaryen she had a certain power that was undeniable. She took advantage of the stereotypes that were attributed to Targaryens in order to reaffirm her claim. While I do believe she likely loved Daemon (if she was not just groomed) their marriage is a very clever one. By marrying both into the family and another dragon rider she creates an image that is superior to the half Targaryens born of Alicent, she is, in all ways, better than them, and thus more suited for the throne. But that is exactly why alicent married Aegon2 and Helaena. She wants to create the image of Aegon the conqueror, she wants to ensure Aegon2 has a claim that is even better than Rhaenyras. And this is the most effective way to do it. The dance then becomes an elaborate game of who can be more incestuous, thatās why Rhaenyra betrothed Jace and Luke to Baela and Rhaena, thatās why Jaehaerys and Jaehaera are betrothed, thatās why Aegon3 is married to Jaehaera. On top of that they must also justify this war to the small folk. Why should they allow themselves to be ruled by people who are causing such destruction? Why shouldnāt they just revolt? Because these people are ALLOWED to do this, itās practically in their blood. Thatās why they have dragons and thatās why they are incestuous. Because they are BETTER. Thatās why when people ask why Viserys2 would be so cruel as to marry Naerys and Aegon4 it feels so obvious, the dragons are dying, and the Targaryens arenāt special anymore. They have to grasp onto the one thing that makes them better. Thatās why Baelor and Daena are betrothed, and thatās why it doesnāt seem so absurd that all these incest marriages are happening. Itās my favorite detail that the year Naerys and Aegon4 marry, the last dragon dies. The dragons have always been linked to Targaryen prosperity, especially that of the women. They act as meters for success effectively, and Naerys and Aegon4 marrying mark the moment the house beings to decline. The moment when it is no longer about being Targaryen, but rather maintaining power.
Itās very interesting that Daemon Blackfyre never chooses to intermarry himself. Obviously there are rumors he loved Daenarys of Dorne, but the choice to not let him intermarry is made by Daeron2, who KNOWS if he lets Daemon do that, his claim would be lessened. This generation of Targs is defined by marrying out of the family. My favorite detail in AKotSK both the book and show is the reasoning behind the Targaryens joining the tourney at ashford at all. They are not powerful anymore. They have devolved into an alien family that prides itself on things it doesnāt have anymore. No dragons and no incest and they are just any other royal house. Without the dragons, incest becomes less and less necessary. Thatās why all of Daeron2ās kids marry out of the family. The cannot afford to marry in, politically allegiances are a necessity now, something made clear by both Daeron2 and Daenarys marrying Martells.
Itās for this reason I find the marriage between Aelor and Aelora so weird (thank god my goat Bloodraven put a stop to that amen) but then you just look around and see exactly why they got married. The targs are dropping like flies at this point, the are steadily and surely losing power, and when all else fails revert back to basics. Aelor and Aelora are strange exceptions, in all ways. But so is Aerion and his whole mess which I mentioned. This is why Aegon marries Betha Blackwood, he wants to continue the trend his grandfather started. No doubt time amougst small folk proved to him incest is NOT the most appealing thing in the world. (Side note, a lot of people like to say Aegon5 STARTED the trend of marrying out, which is plainly untrue, and I want that vicious rumor dispelled immediately, I doubt Daeron2 wouldāve encouraged incestuous marriages amoung his children had he had daughters) Aegon5 bethrothes and marries all of his children out of the family. Except for the bane of my existence, Jaehaerys2. I get it they were āin loveā but by god the really ruined everything huh? If youāre one to believe in the whole blood magic thing, I STRONGLY believe by this point the blood magic of the Targaryens was incredibly weak, if not present at all. This is why Aerys ended up so insane, at least in my mind. Jaehaerys2 is described as very ātraditionalā no doubt why he married Aerys and Rhaella, despite it being completely unnecessary (though no doubt due to the prophecy from that woodswitch, canāt have the prince that was promise without a little incest am I right!)
Rhaegal marrying out of the family is likely entirely because he had no sisters at the time, I do not doubt if he could he wouldāve married her/Daenerys. But since he couldnāt his marriage had to be for political reasons, hence Elia.
Daenerys also, technically, marries for political reasons everytime. Although her marriages donāt feel like they did for Rhaenyra or other targs, she does not need to reaffirm her claim, she literally awoke the dragons, she just needs the power to back it. She has the most interesting take on Targ marriage of any of them, being that her marriage does not define her power.
But back to my thesis I guess, no Baelor and Maekar would NOT have been married if one of them was born a woman, it makes no sense within the time and truly wouldāve done more harm. However, i believe shipping them, and any other AKotSK era Targ to another Targ is harmless, people who make such a fuss about it donāt seem to understand the REASON why Targaryens intermarry in the first place. Itās rarely for pleasure, and when it is itās viewed as traditional. The same way you put a Christmas tree up a Targaryen marries a sister. But these people donāt believe incest is cool, or something that would realistically happen. Itās just an understanding of the story, and people can do whatever they want. Thatās how it works.
