It looks like the big threat to Westeros in Game of Thrones Season 7 are the Others, or
white walkers, with their army of the dead , marching on the Wall to bring a “night
that never ends” . These guys are a… problem, cause the walkers are not only super-strong,
super-angry ice demons, but their swords can shatter steel – they seem immune to normal
weapons . There are just two known ways to kill a walker – one is with a blade of dragonglass
– go watch that video – and the other way is with a blade of Valyrian steel – we
see this in Season 5 , and it’s also hinted in the books . Valyrian steel is a special
kind of metal, used to make swords that are sharper, stronger and lighter than blades
of regular steel . The steel was made in Valyria hundreds of years ago, but when Valyria was
destroyed in a mysterious Doom, the secret of making Valyrian steel was lost . So the
Valyrian blades that remain are really valuable – there are a couple of hundred of them
in Westeros , but only about twenty are mentioned in the books.
Most are the treasured heirlooms of noble houses, handed from generation to generation
through the centuries . Lots of these swords have great backstories and histories, and
some of them may play a role in the war with the walkers to come.
So let’s have a look at the Valyrian blades of Game of Thrones.
Probably the most obvious Valyrian sword is Longclaw, the sword used by Jon Snow.
Longclaw is a bastard sword, which means it’s a bit longer than a normal longsword . This
is also pretty fitting given that Jon is a bastard – or he’s believed to be a bastard,
but that’s another story.
Longclaw is given to Jon by Jeor Mormont, whose family held the sword for hundreds of
years . Jeor originally gave Longclaw to his son Jorah, but Jorah dishonoured the family
by selling slaves and fleeing Westeros.
He leaves the sword though , so Jeor gives it to Jon.
It’d be interesting to see Jorah’s reaction if he ever sees Jon with his family’s sword.
But with its bastard blade and white wolf pommel, Longclaw is very symbolic of Jon’s
identity.
It’ll no doubt play a big role in Jon’s fight against the white walkers, and the sword
might even tie in to the prophecies about a hero called Azor Ahai who’s expected to
lead the fight against the walkers with a flaming sword called Lightbringer – that’s
what Stannis and Melisandre try to emulate.
There are theories suggesting that Jon’s sword Longclaw might somehow become the true
Lightbringer, to be the fire and the light needed to face the darkness and cold.
Another sword that appears in the show is Heartsbane, the Valyrian steel greatsword
of House Tarly . Randyll Tarly makes a big deal of how he doesn’t want his fat cowardly
son Sam inheriting the fabled blade Heartsbane, which is part of the reason why Randyll forces
Sam to join the Night’s Watch . Heartsbane does have a long history – a few hundred
years ago, an outlaw from Dorne called the Vulture King was stopped when men led by a
Savage Sam Tarly hunted him down, using Heartsbane to slay dozens of Dornishmen . There’s a
pretty good chance our Sam was named after this historical Savage Sam.
In the books, Heartsbane is held by Randyll Tarly , who’s known as one of the great
soldiers of Westeros . In the show, Sam visits home and takes Heartsbane from Randyll, bringing
it with him to the Citadel, the sorta Hogwartsy university of the maesters.
Which could play out in some interesting ways.
Maybe Sam and the maesters could study Heartsbane, try to unlock the secrets of Valyrian steel,
or maybe find more Valyrian blades.
But whatever happens at the Citadel, Randyll will want his sword back.
Another important sword is Ice, the Valyrian steel greatsword of House Stark . Ice is really
big, apparently too big to use in battle – it’s more of a ceremonial sword . Ned Stark uses
it to execute Gared at the start of Book 1 – and near the end of Book 1, Ilyn Payne
uses it to execute Ned . So the Lannisters end up with Ice, and Tywin Lannister decides
to melt Ice down and reforge it into two smaller swords.
Cause while no one knows how to make new Valyrian steel, some skilled smiths can reforge it
into new forms – in this case Tywin hires the armorer Tobho Mott – who happens to
be the teacher of Gendry.
So some people speculate that Gendry knows a thing or two about Valyrian steel .
But yeah Ice is melted down and forged into two smaller swords – Tywin gives one to
his son Jaime, and the other to his grandson Joffrey.
Joffrey names his sword Widow’s Wail, because he’s a nasty little shit, while Jaime does
something more meaningful.
He names his sword Oathkeeper, and gives it to Brienne.
Cause remember, Jaime swears an oath to Catelyn Stark that in return for being set free, Jaime
would return to her Sansa and Arya.
So Jaime gives Brienne Oathkeeper to uphold this oath on his behalf, to defend “Ned
Stark’s daughter with Ned Stark’s own steel” . The sword is also symbolic of the
respect Jaime has for Brienne – he used to hold her in contempt, but now he gives
her a “sword fit for a hero”.
Joffrey, meanwhile, uses his Valyrian sword to slay a book and then a pie, and then he
dies . The sword then presumably then goes to Joff’s brother Tommen, though in the
show Tommen’s dead too – so it’s not clear who’ll use the sword next.
Widow’s Wail is now the only known Valyrian sword in the city of King’s Landing – surely
it’ll come in handy sometime.
So those are major Valyrian swords that appear in the story – there are also some interesting
historical ones.
Perhaps the most famous Valyrian blade is Blackfyre . Blackfyre was the sword of King
Aegon Targaryen, the Conqueror who first took over Westeros.
Aegon was a great warrior , and used Blackfyre in the battles that founded the Targaryen
dynasty.
Each king after Aegon bore his sword , so Blackfyre became an important symbol of Targaryen
political legitimacy – if you had the sword, you were seen as the rightful king.
That’s why it was so shocking when King Aegon the Fourth, one of the worst Targaryen
kings, gave Blackfyre to one of his bastard sons, Daemon . Daemon took Blackfyre as his
house name, and later claimed to be the rightful king, beginning a war for succession called
the First Blackfyre Rebellion . The great battle of this rebellion was at the Redgrass
Field, where Daemon used Blackfyre in a duel against Gwayne Corbray, who had his own famous
Valyrian blade , called Lady Forlorn.
It’s said they fought for near an hour, and each time Blackfyre and Lady Forlorn clashed,
you could hear the sound from leagues away – “half a song and half a scream” . Eventually
Daemon won the duel, but then he was killed by arrows from his half-brother Bloodraven,
who by the way, is the same guy who later becomes a tree god and teaches Bran how to
magic – more on him later.
So Daemon died on the Redgrass Field, but his Blackfyre ancestors continued to rebel
against the Targaryens for years , and all of this began partly because Aegon the Fourth
gave the Conqueror’s sword to his bastard son.
The sword represents being the rightful king , but for the hundred years or so, no one
seems to know where the sword is.
Which could have implications for the schemes of Varys and Illyrio.
In the books, Varys and Illyrio have this crazy complex conspiracy to put a kid called
Young Griff – who they say is Aegon the Sixth – on the Iron Throne – go watch
that video.
But basically there’s evidence that this Aegon kid might actually be a Blackfyre, a
descendent of Daemon.
So it’s very interesting that in a reading by George Martin of a draft version of a chapter
from Dance, Illyrio mentions a gift for Young Griff, and a “sword”, and “things Griff
must know”.
Fans speculate that Illyrio may have Blackfyre, the fabled blade of Aegon, and will give it
to Griff to grant him political legitimacy as a king.
This is very speculative, but could make a lot of sense – it’d solve the mystery
of what happened to Blackfyre, and would tie present plots to the past in a really cool
way.
So yeah, Blackfyre is important, and Lady Forlorn is also a thing.
After the duel at the Redgrass Field, the sword returned to House Corbray, and a hundred
years later, Lyn Corbray used it in Robert’s Rebellion, killing Prince Lewyn Martell of
the Kingsguard.
Lyn is now involved in the plots in the Vale, working with Littlefinger, but it’s not
clear if he can be trusted . Lyn’s a dangerous man , violent, and possibly a paedophile , depending
on how you interpret this line about “boys” . But yeah that’s what’s happening with
Lady Forlorn now.
Historically, there was also a sword called Lady Forlorn used in the wars of the Andals
in the Vale, but apparently that may’ve been a different Lady Forlorn?
People keep naming swords after famous older swords, which confuses things, but anyway
– Another important Targaryen sword is called
Dark Sister.
While Aegon the Conqueror had Blackfyre, his sister Queen Visenya had Dark Sister, a “slender
blade” designed for a female warrior . Visenya used the sword during Aegon’s Conquest,
when she wasn’t roasting people with her dragon.
And many years later, Dark Sister went to Daemon Targaryen, the “rogue prince”,
who used the sword during the Dance of the Dragons – the big Targaryen civil war.
During a mid-air dragon battle with his nephew Aemond One-Eye, Daemon leapt from his dragon
onto Aemond’s dragon, and drove Dark Sister through Aemond’s one good eye , before both
men and their dragons fell from the sky and died.
This is why we need a Game of Thrones prequel movie, guys.
After Daemon, Dark Sister went to Aemon Targaryen, the famous Dragonknight said to be one of
the greatest and noblest knights that ever lived – he’s the namesake of Maester Aemon
Targaryen.
And after the Dragonknight, Dark Sister went to a man called Brynden Rivers, or Bloodraven
. Bloodraven really needs his own video, but basically he was a king’s bastard, a spymaster,
sorcerer , Hand of the King, he killed Daemon Blackfyre at the Redgrass Field, had a relationship
with Shiera Seastar – who might possibly be Quaithe?
– then Bloodraven joined the Night’s Watch, became Lord Commander, went north and finally
became a tree wizard man, the guy who’s known in the show as the three-eyed raven.
But the question here is – what happened to the sword Dark Sister?
Did Bloodraven bring it with him to the Night’s Watch – like Jeor did?
And if he did, is the sword in the cave where Bloodraven trains Bran?
If so, it’s possible that Bran’s friend Meera might take up the sword – it’s designed
for a woman’s hand, after all.
In fact, some people think that in the show, she already has it – she does grab a sword
from the cave in in Season 6.
Another possibility is for Dark Sister to go to Arya.
Needle is cool and all, but surely a ninja assassin like Arya should have a storied Valyrian
sword like Dark Sister – Arya herself kind of is a ‘dark sister’.
This is all wild speculation, but given the history and importance of Dark Sister, it
seems likely that the sword will reappear in the story.
Another lost Valyrian sword is Brightroar.
House Lannister bought Brightroar for a huge amount of gold before the Doom of Valyria
. But a hundred years later, after Valyria was destroyed, King Tommen Lannister went
on an expedition to plunder its ruins.
He took Brightroar with him – and “never returned” . House Lannister lost one of
its most valuable treasures, which always frustrated Tywin when he led House Lannister.
So at one point, Tywin’s younger brother Gerion went on a quest to find Brightroar,
but he never returned either – go watch the Gerion video.
But in the end, Tywin got his Valyrian sword in the form of Ice, which he made into Oathkeeper
and Widow’s Wail.
By the way, in the books those swords are coloured red, Tywin has the metal dyed to
a sorta rippling Lannister crimson, cause Tywin’s all about that house pride family
legacy stuff.
Anyway the next couple swords are owned by ironborn – there’s Red Rain and Nightfall.
Red Rain is a Valyrian sword held by Dunstan Drumm , the Lord of Old Wyk.
He whips it out at the Kingsmoot and recounts how his ancestor, Hilmar Drumm the Cunning,
famously took Red Rain from some knight, armed only with his wits and a cudgel.
And there’s a theory that that the knight who Drumm took Red Rain from might have been
from House Reyne , a family in the westerlands who Tywin Lannister wiped out.
The Reynes have a red lion for their sigil, and their name is Reyne, so Red Rain is a
fitting name in more ways than one.
And the westerlands have historically been raided by ironborn , so it makes a lot of
sense for the Drumms to have taken Red Rain from the Reynes.
In Book 4, Drumm is on raids with Red Rain in the reach.
Nightfall is Valyrian sword held by the knight Ser Harras Harlaw.
Harras supports Asha or Yara Greyjoy at the kingsmoot , though Euron later kinda steals
him from her by making Harras a lord . The sword Nightfall was historically wielded by
the infamous ironborn raider Dalton Greyjoy , called the Red Kraken for all the blood
he shed . It’s said Dalton loved three things, the sea, women, and his Valyrian sword Nightfall
. It’s not clear how Red Rain and Nightfall will tie into the broader story of Thrones,
but some speculate that King Euron might take these swords from their owners – in the
books Euron has a set of armour made of Valyrian steel, he might wanna complement that with
a Valyrian sword or two.
Also Nightfall is a pretty appropriate name for someone who is low-key trying to cause
a Lovecraftian blood magic apocalypse type situation, which, he is – we’ll have to
explain that in another video.
Euron is scary.
But another Valyrian blade that’s had a big impact on the story is not another sword,
but a knife.
In Book and Season 1, an assassin tries to kill Bran Stark with a knife of Valyrian steel.
Catelyn takes the blade to King’s Landing, and Littlefinger tells her the knife is Tyrion’s
– so Catelyn, thinking the dwarf tried to kill her son, arrests Tyrion, which kicks
off the War of the Five Kings.
Thing is, the real culprit behind the catspaw is Joffrey – Littlefinger lied about the
knife in a deliberate attempt to cause war.
After betraying Ned Stark and profiting off the downfall of his family, Littlefinger carries
the Valyrian knife in later books – shamelessly wearing a symbol of his lies and betrayal.
Now, in the books, Sansa in the Vale with Littlefinger and the knife – some people
speculate that Sansa will use the knife to kill him, destroying Littlefinger with the
same blade he used to destroy her family.
There’d be a great poetry to that – though things’ll prolly go differently in the show.
There are a few more Valyrian swords that were used in the Dance of the Dragons, the
Targaryen civil war from a hundred years ago.
Lamentation is a sword carried by a guy called Willum Royce.
He got caught up in the Storming of the Dragonpit, when a rioting mob of common folk killed some
chained-up dragons.
In all the violence and the chaos, Willum Royce and his sword were lost . There was
also Bold Jon Roxton and Ormund Hightower, who bore the swords Orphan-Maker and Vigilance
. Roxton was killed , and we haven’t heard from his family since, but the Hightowers
are still around, so they might have Vigilance at Oldtown – where Euron may be closing
in.
There are a few more Valyrian blades that are only briefly mentioned in the text.
Some soldier from Lys had a Valyrian sword called Truth , the Celtigars of Claw Isle
are said to have a Valyrian steel axe , and a guy called Caggo has a Valyrian steel arakh
– one of those curvy Dothraki scythey things – which is apparently rare in Valyrian steel
. Caggo is a captain of the Windblown mercenaries, so he’ll be involved in the story ahead.
And finally, there are a bunch of Valyrian daggers among the treasure Euron presents
at the Kingsmoot.
It’s a little weird the way these are off-handedly mentioned , as though a buncha Valyrian blades
is no big deal – maybe Valyrian daggers are more common than the swords are, though
you’d think, that if so, someone like Tywin could buy a bunch of Valyrian daggers and
reforge them into the sword Tywin so desperately wanted for so long.
The true value and rarity of Valyrian steel is not very clear.
But regardless, this is every Valyrian blade mentioned in Game of Thrones.
Longclaw and Heartsbane, Ice, Oathkeeper and Widow’s Wail, Blackfyre, Dark Sister, Lady
Forlorn, Brightroar, Red Rain and Nightfall, the swords of the Dance, Littlefinger’s
dagger and this other miscellaneous stuff too.
There are more swords out there somewhere of course – bout a hundred and eighty more
– and Westeros might need them all to win the war against the walkers.
Thanks for watching.
If you wanna learn more about the histories and backstories of Thrones, you might like
to read The World of Ice and Fire, George Martin’s worldbook, which is all about this
sorta stuff.
There’s a link to buy it below, which supports this channel at no extra cost to you.
Some of this art is from The World of Ice and Fire, other pieces are by Amok, and kethryn,
check the description for details.
Thanks to the translators for translating captions, and thanks to the Patrons for making
Alt Shift X possible, including James Beagles, Yelda Aktuna, Avery Calvert, Rufus T Firefly,
Suikoshiningforce2, and Hodor Targaryen.
Cheers.