Ser Arthur Dayne is one of the most legendary characters in George R.R. Martin’s “A
Song of Ice and Fire” even though he supposedly died before the events of the main story.
But did Ser Arthur Dayne actually die? Or is he still alive?
Cersei Lannister and Ned Stark’s soldiers believed the rumor that young Lord Eddard
Stark defeated Ser Arthur Dayne in single combat at the Tower of Joy. And Master Yandel
promoted that idea as well in his in-world book The World of Ice & Fire. But according
to Ned Stark himself, that is not what happened. Ned Stark did not defeat Ser Arthur Dayne
in single combat. Lord Eddard told his son, Bran, that Ser Arthur
Dayne would have killed him if not for Howland Reed. Since there is no reason for Ned to
have lied to Bran in that conversation, that means that, in some way, shape, or form, Howland
Reed saved Ned Stark’s life from Ser Arthur Dayne.
We know from Ned Stark’s dream that Ned and six companions didn’t just go to the
tower of joy. They fought there. Ned Stark’s 7 vs Lord Commander Hightower’s 3.
And in HBO’s adaptation called “Game of Thrones,” Howland Reed stabbed the Sword
of the Morning in the back. But is that what happened to Ser Arthur Dayne in the books?
Or is it possible that Ned Stark spared Ser Arthur Dayne’s life and sent him to the
wall to serve as a brother of the Night’s Watch, namely, Qhorin Halfhand?
Let’s take a look. Jaime Lannister was a tall man, and considered
himself to be very strong. Yet he noted that Ser Arthur Dayne was one of the few people
stronger than him. And the first thing that Jon noticed was that Qhorin Halfhand was a
big man. And when they fought, Jon felt Qhorin’s quote “savage strength.” So Ser Arthur
Dayne and Qhorin Halfhand were both very strong. That matches.
And unlike his men, Qhorin Halfhand was clean-shaven, which is the type of guy that George R.R.
has painted Ser Arthur Dayne out to be. However, there may be an issue with the Halfhand’s
eyes. Ser Arthur Dayne’s sister, Ashara Dayne, had haunting violet eyes. Ser Arthur
Dayne’s nephew, Edric Dayne, had big blue eyes. So dark they looked almost purple. And
Gerold Dayne, or Darkstar, had dark purple eyes. We don’t know what color eyes Ser
Arthur Dayne had, but when debating whether or not Qhorin Halfhand is Ser Arthur Dayne,
we have to take into account the fact that the Halfhand’s eyes were grey unlike those
of other Dayne’s of whom we know. Now let’s look at their skills. Ser Arthur
Dayne was an elite fighter. So elite that Jaime Lannister once told Loras that Ser Arthur
Dayne could have slew all 5 of you his left hand while taking a weewee with his right.
Jaime’s comment was hyperbolic, but it’s worth noting that after Qhorin Halfhand lost
half of his right hand in a fight, the Halfhand supposedly taught himself to fight even better
with his left hand than he ever had ever fought with his right. So if Qhorin is, in fact,
Ser Arthur Dayne, then Jaime’s hyperbolic line to Loras is a nice little nod to the
lore about the Halfhand. So Ser Arthur Dayne was an elite fighter,
and an argument can be made that Qhorin Halfhand was an elite fighter as well. Here is proof.
When Qhorin fought Jon, he brushed Jon’s stroke aside with quote “contemptuous ease.”
And when Jon reflected back on their fight, Jon told Sam that the Halfhand could have
killed him as easy as Sam could swat a bug. Just likes Jaime’s statement about Ser Arthur
Dayne, Jon’s statement was hyperbolic. But the point is, Qhorin Halfhand was legit. So
in terms of both his strength and his skill, Qhorin could be Ser Arthur Dayne.
Now let’s look at Qhorin’s character. His value system. His code of ethics.
The ancestral sword of House Dayne is a pale greatsword called Dawn. The wielder of Dawn
is always given the title Sword of the Morning. But he was given the sword not just because
of his fighting skills, but because he was deemed worthy of wielding that sword.
So what about Qhorin? Did Qhorin have a virtuous code of ethics?
Yes. Case in point, the night before he died, Qhorin had Jon join him in saying the Night’s
Watch vow. And then, Qhorin intentionally let Jon kill him so that Jon could infiltrate
the ranks of the Freefolk and report back to Lord Commander Mormont.
In other words, Qhorin Halfhand sacrificed himself for his brothers. For the Watch. That
is about as honorable as it gets. So regardless of whether or not Qhorin is Ser Arthur Dayne
or not, quick shout-out to the Halfhand. Okay. Before we get to the flaws in the hypothesis,
here are a few moments and lines that take on new meaning if Qhorin is Ser Arthur Dayne.
First off, the night before he sacrificed himself, Qhorin said something poetic that
made Jon wonder if there was more to the Halfhand’s backstory than met the eye.
And then there are the “Dawn” references. As a reminder, Ser Arthur Dayne’s sword
was called Dawn. And George R.R. Martin referenced Dawn five times in regards to Qhorin. Here
is the best one, quote: “Dawn and Qhorin Halfhand arrived together.”
Was that a subtle clue via wordplay that Qhorin is Ser Arthur Dayne? Maybe. But we need more
proof than that. Last, but not least, when Jon killed Qhorin
Halfhand, a quote “string of red tears appeared across the big man’s throat, bright as a
ruby necklace. Since rubies are often associated with Ser Arthur Dayne’s good friend Rhaegar,
some fans believe that the ruby reference may connect Qhorin to Ser Arthur Dayne. So
that’s your call, but personally, that rubies line is a bridge too far for me.
Especially because there are issues with the hypothesis. Let’s start with the smaller
ones and work our way up. Ser Arthur Dayne was a legend among knights.
And Qhorin Halfhand was a legend among the Night’s Watch. So is it possible that Ser
Arthur Dayne could have gone to the Wall without anyone saying, “Wait a second... Aren’t
you Ser Arthur Dayne?” Technically, yes. It is possible. After all,
some of the smallfolk who lived just a few days ride from King’s Landing had no idea
what King Robert looked like. Joss, for instance, thought that Ned Stark was the king. And most
of the brothers of the Night’s Watch are lowborn. So they would never have even seen
Ser Arthur Dayne. But what about the knights of the Night’s
Watch? Surely they would have recognized him, right?
Technically, it’s possible that they may not have known what Ser Arthur Dayne looked
like either. Case in point, Barristan killed people as
he fled King’s Landing, yet he was able to come back in and walk right past some gold
cloaks simply because he had dirt on his face and stubble on his cheeks.
And here is an even better example. Barristan joined Dany and Ser Jorah Mormont. He went
by the name Arstan Whitebeard. And Ser Jorah did not realize that Arstan was actually Ser
Barristan Selmy until Barristan admitted his true identity.
So long story short, the identity issue is one of the main reasons that some fans do
not buy into the Qhorin is Dayne hypothesis, but ultimately, it is not definitive proof
against the theory. So let’s keep going. Ser Arthur Dayne had been at the tower of
joy to protect Lyanna, and in effect, Jon Snow, so let’s look at Qhorin’s interactions
with Jon Snow to see if there are any indications that he is Ser Arthur Dayne.
When Qhorin first met Jon Snow, he immediately said: “You are Jon Snow. You have your father’s
look.” A very bold introduction. And the next day, when Lord Commander Mormont
told Qhorin to choose his men for the mission, Qhorin’s immediate response was: Very well.
I choose Jon Snow. So it begs the question: did Qhorin choose Jon Snow so as to keep Jon
close so that he could look over him and protect him just as Ser Arthur Dayne had vowed to
do for Lyanna and her child? Maybe. But maybe not. There is conflicting
evidence. On the one hand, Qhorin sacrificed his own
life so that Jon Snow could live on. But did Qhorin do that so that Jon would survive or
did he do that for the Watch? Keep in mind that Orell’s eagle had spotted
Qhorin’s team. So they had tried to run, but were unable to escape the eagle. So one
night, the Halfhand told Ebben to take two garrons and ride east for Mormont to give
him an update. Meanwhile, Qhorin and Jon would draw off the wildlings to give Ebben a greater
chance at surviving. Ebben urged Qhorin to send Jon instead of
himself since Jon was just a boy. And Qhorin said no. He kept Jon. In other words, Qhorin
had a chance to save Jon Snow’s life, but instead, he leveraged Jon to infiltrate the
freefolk. That is pretty good evidence against the idea of Qhorin being Ser Arthur Dayne.
And that’s not even the biggest flaw in the hypothesis.
Here it is. After the Tower of Joy fight, Ned Stark pulled
the tower down and used its bloody stones to build eight cairns upon the ridge. Ned
remembered that they had been seven against three, yet only two had lived to ride away:
Eddard Stark himself and the little cranogman, Howland Reed.
Of course, you could make the argument that Ned Stark was mourning over how just two of
his own seven had survived. Not two of the ten in total from both sides. So technically,
Ser Arthur Dayne could be alive, depending on how you interpret that line.
But at the end of the day, Ser Arthur Dayne is probably dead. Nonetheless, Dayne and the
Halfhand do have similarities. Ser Arthur Dayne was a legend of the white cloaks. Qhorin
Halfhand was a legend of the black brothers. They were both strong. They were both very
skilled fighters. And most importantly, both Ser Arthur Dayne and Qhorin Halfhand did everything
that they could in support their respective vows until the very last embers of their fires
ran out. The Sword of the Morning. The Halfhand. Legends.