Do the Lannisters have Targaryen blood? Also Outlander

1. Aerys II – Obviously he was obsessed with fire and thought that fire would make him reborn as a dragon.
2. Aerion Targaryen (also known as Aerion Brightflame) – He thought he was a dragon in human form. He died drinking a cup of wildfire thinking that it will transform him into a dragon. He was delusional and cruel.
3. Maegor I (known as Maegor the Cruel) – He is the son of Aegon I Targaryen and his sister-wife, Visenya. During his reign, he crushed the rebellion led by the Faith Militant using brutal methods. He had several wives and beheaded some of them since they were not capable of producing an heir, male or female. Based on the Targaryen family tree, he did not have any offspring. Basically, the problem was him – he was just sterile. 
4. Rhaegel Targaryen– He was the third son of Daeron II, and was considered mad as he was seen dancing naked. I am not sure if he was cruel as the other ones though.

It can be argued that Cersei shares certain things with the Targaryens. However, that will not be the case for Jaime. Here is a description of him by his aunt, Genna Lannister, in which she is comparing him to Tywin’s brothers:

You smile like Gerion and fight like Tyg and there’s some of Kevan in you, else you would not wear that cloak… but Tyrion is Tywin’s son, not you. I said so once to your father’s face, and he would not speak to me for half a year.

(“Feast” 717)

At the same time, her quote even confirms that Tyrion is also a Lannister. It has been speculated also that Tyrion is a bastard son of Aerys since he has a fascination for dragons, and he has acquired a lot of information about them. This is something that Tyrion tells Jon:

Even a stunted, twisted, ugly little boy can look down over the world when he’s seated on a dragon’s back. I used to start fires in the bowels of Casterly Rock and stare at the flames for hours, pretending they were dragonfire. Sometimes I’d imagine my father burning. At other times, my sister. Don’t look at me that way, bastard, I know your secret. You’ve dreamt the same kind of dreams. (“Game” 124)

It seems that Tyrion has had dragon dreams – a characteristic of members of House Targaryen and House Blackfyre. Furthermore, Tyrion’s conversation with Jon might be a hint to the biggest secret of A Song of Ice and Fire. Some of the Targaryens who had these dreams are Daenerys Targaryen (our Khaleesi), Daeron the Drunken from the Dunk and Egg series, and Daemon II Blackfyre (Ser John the Fiddler) also from the Dunk and Egg series. However, it is likely that Aerion Brightflame and Egg also had dragon dreams as mentioned by Maester Aemon in A Feast for Crows. However, dragon dreams are prophetic – something that I cannot see in Tyrion’s dreams. It is also likely that Rhaegar Targaryen and his father, the Mad King, had dragon dreams. Below is a link discussing whether Aerys had dragon dreams – he believed that fire would transform him into a dragon. He probably meant to burn King’s Landing down to make his dream come true. However, it seems that a dragon, a Targaryen in this case, was born around the same time of the sack of King’s Landing. In other words, it means that Aerys foresaw that birth of the secret Targaryen heir. This thread has spoilers though.

Finally, I would like to mention Daenys Targaryen also known as Daenys the Dreamer. She basically dreamed about the Doom of Valyrian, something that forced her father to move to Dragonstone. Of course, the Valyrians perished in the doom. However, houses of Valyrian blood that survived the doom are Targaryen, Velaryon and Celtigar, all noble houses of Westeros.

Going back to the Lannisters, another hint that Tyrion might be Aerys’ bastard is when Tywin tells him that he is not his son. Did he suspect that Tyrion was Aerys’ son? However, this is something that Tywin does also to Jaime. In a Storm of Swords, when Tywin offers Jaime to leave the Kingsguard and be his heir, Jaime refuses. Tywin tells him he is not his son. Genna’s comment detailed above also confirms that Tyrion is actually Tywin’s. Since Tyrion is a kinslayer it is very likely that Tywin is also one. This is a topic that I will discuss later on.

Recently somebody came up with a theory specifying that all the Lannisters are Tywin’s children. If they have Targaryen characteristics, it might that Elaena Targaryen could have been one of their ancestors. I think this is very likely to have happened and here is a link discussing the theory.

Lannisters and Plumms

By the end of this week, I will write also about Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire.

Excerpts from

Martin, George R.R. A Game of Thrones . New York, NY: Bantam Books Mass Market Edition. 2011. Print.

Martin, George R.R. A Feast for Crows New York: Bantam Books Mass Market Edition. 2011. Print