FEMSLASH FEBRUARY WLW IN FIRE & BLOOD

Essie & Sylvenna Sand

Elissa Farman & Rhaena Targaryen

Alysanne Blackwood & Sabitha Vypren

Jeyne Arryn & Jessamyn Redfort

Gaemon Palehair being Crowned by Essie and Sylvenna Sand

"-a child who became known as Gaemon Palehair. The son of a whore, this four-year-old boy was claimed to be a bastard of Aegon II (which was not improbable, given the king's bawdy ways in his youth). From his seat in the House of Kisses atop Visenya's Hill, he gathered followers by the thousands and issued a series of edicts.

Gaemon decreed that girls should henceforth be equal with boys in matter of inheritance, that the poor be given bread and beer in times of famine, and that men who had lost limbs in war must afterward be fed and housed by whichever lord they had been fighting for when the loss took place. Gaemon decreed that husbands who beat their wives should themselves be beaten, irrespective of what the wives had done to warrant such chastisement. These edicts were almost certainly the work of a Dornish whore named Sylvenna Sand, reputedly the paramour of the king's mother Essie, if Mushroom is to be believed."

(The World of Ice and Fire - Dorne: Queer Customs of the South)

Michael Manwoody, Elaena Targaryen, Shaera Targaryen, Jaehaerys ii Targaryen

Bethany Bracken, Terrence Toyne, Bonnifer Hasty, Rhaella Targaryen

Jena Dondarrion, Baelor Targaryen, Valarr Targaryen, Kiera of Tyrosh

Roose Bolton, Walda Frey, Lyonel Hightower, Samantha Tarly

Jeyne Arryn, Jessamyn Redfort, Lady Essie, Sylvenna Sand

@gameofthronesdaily​ event 02: pride ↪ essie & sylvenna sand

Gaemon decreed that girls should henceforth be equal with boys in matter of inheritance, that the poor be given bread and beer in times of famine, that men who had lost limbs in war must afterward be fed and housed by whichever lord they had been fighting for when the loss took place. Gaemon decreed that husbands who beat their wives should themselves be beaten, irrespective of what the wives had done to warrant such chastisement. These edicts were almost certainly the work of a Dornish whore named Sylvenna Sand, reputedly the paramour of the little king's mother Essie, if Mushroom is to be believed.

At the other end of the Street of the Sisters, Gaemon Palehair's queer kingdom blossomed atop Visenya's Hill. The court of this four-year-old bastard king was made up of whores, mummers, and thieves, whilst gangs of ruffians, sellswords, and drunkards defended his "rule."

[His] edicts were almost certainly the work of a Dornish whore named Sylvenna Sand, reputedly the paramour of the little king's mother Essie.

HOTD SAPPHIC SUMMER

Prompt: Canon Queer Women || Essie & Sylvenna Sand

At the other end of the Street of the Sisters, Gaemon Palehair’s queer kingdom blossomed atop Visenya’s Hill. The court of this four-year-old bastard king was made up of whores, mummers, and thieves, whilst gangs of ruffians, sellswords, and drunkards defended his “rule.” One decree after another came down from the House of Kisses where the child king had his seat, each more outrageous than the last. Gaemon decreed that girls should henceforth be equal with boys in matter of inheritance, that the poor be given bread and beer in times of famine, that men who had lost limbs in war must afterward be fed and housed by whichever lord they had been fighting for when the loss took place. Gaemon decreed that husbands who beat their wives should themselves be beaten, irrespective of what the wives had done to warrant such chastisement. These edicts were almost certainly the work of a Dornish whore named Sylvenna Sand, reputedly the paramour of the little king’s mother Essie, if Mushroom is to be believed.

~ Fire and Blood

The funniest (read: frustrating) thing about HoTD Team Black and Team Green discourse is how there are so many people who whole heartedly believe their faves are not completely reprehensible. It’s almost like... the Dance was a bloody civil war where no one comes out looking great. Yes, GRRM was very much pro-Blacks (don’t argue with me, he’s admitted it himself), but both sides are the absolute worst. 

Which is why I will continue to adore characters like Gaemon Palehair (who did nothing wrong), his gay mothers (Actual! Progressive! Reformers!), Nettles (she just wanted to live) and the small folk who did not ask for this shit.

Talking about Sylvenna Sand, imagine obsessively pontificating about how much the racists and reactionaries Targaryens oppress Dorne and the smallfolk while stanning the Greens, the side that hangs Sylvenna Sand, a revolutionary lowborn Dornish lesbian and twenty-seven other members of Gaemon Palehair’s “court” (all lowborn).

And no, Green stans can’t claim Gaemon Palehair. He literally decreed that “girls should henceforth be equal with boys in matter of inheritance.” Gaemon and Sylvenna would have supported Rhaenyra.

There absolutely is a racial element to the conquest of Dorne that I think should be addressed more in fandom tbh. It’s made pretty clear by GRRM, with some of our first introductions to any Dornish characters via Elia Martell and Rhaenys III Targaryen, whom was rejected by Aerys II Targaryen for ‘smelling Dornish.’ This is a racialized insult, so I absolutely believe there is a racial element to the Dornish conquest. Dorne is also in part inspired by elements of Palestinian culture, as well as Spanish and Welsh cultures. So it’s not incorrect to say that the Dornish are people of color. Palestine in particular is a nation which has been fighting their own war against colonization by Israeli settlers for the 70 years. I don’t think it was an accident that GRRM used this nation in particular for inspiration. So it isn’t incorrect to say that Dorne was oppressed by the Targaryens, especially considering Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys burned all the major Dornish cities to the ground multiple times over to such an extent that it’s shown that Dorne is still financially impacted by the destruction of their lands in present ASOIAF timeline.

I’ve noticed a certain subset of Targaryen fans that like to ignore all of this in order to elevate House Targaryen to ‘perfect royals’ status. That is NOT what I believe at all. I love Daenerys, but I think House Targaryen as a whole was your average monarchy—which is to say founded on imperialist violence and upheld through oppression.

All of that being said, you’re right that IF Lady Alyssa and Sylvenna Sand weren’t advocating for an end to the monarchy, they would’ve supported Rhaenyra at least in principle according to her being firstborn. That being said I’m pretty sure Sylvenna Sand was in the process of writing the Westerosi version of the Communist Manifesto when she was executed /j

Pre-canon Dorne Week: Day 3 - Dornish characters

Possible hot take (?): after reading about Gaemon Palehair and his two mommies on ASOIAF Wiki, I now believe Lady Esselyn and Sylvenna Sand are more worthy to rule than anyone else on House of the Dragon.

Sadly Westeros wasn't ready for their progressive edicts.

• Girls should henceforth be equal with boys in matters of inheritance.

• The poor should be given bread and beer in times of famine.

• Men who lost limbs in war must be fed and housed afterward by whichever lord they had been fighting for when the loss took place.

• Husbands who beat their wives should themselves be beaten, regardless of the motive for the chastisement.

Being raised with these ideas, Gaemon could easily have grown to be a great king.

How do Martell’s fans square being pro-Hightower & pro-Aegon II when the Reach & Dorne regularly go to war with one another and have embittered and toxic relations, there’s a statue of Daeron the Young Dragon pointing his sword at Dorne in Oldtown, and Aegon II killed Gaemon Palehair’s Dornish mother ???

Anon refers to this ("Samwell V" - A Feast for Crows):

The path divided where the statue of King Daeron the First sat astride his tall stone horse, his sword lifted toward Dorne.

And yes, both the Stormlanders and the Reachmen have an extensive history battling against the Dornishmen both before and after the Targs. It is one of the reasons why the Stormland courtiers of Daeron II's court hated the Dornish presence after he married Myriah Martell and brought many of her countrymen with them and gave them offices.

According to Mushroom, Essie (Gaemon's mother) wasn't likely Dornish. You're thinking of her lover Sylvenna Sand. But both were executed horrendously ("Rhaenyra Overthrown" - Fire and Blood):

The Targ closest to Aegon II by traits and behaviors (gluttony and sexual perversions and sleeping with sex workers [philandering/rape], having multiple bastards, hating their wives, and being overall ultra-misogynists), Aegon IV, had many contraptions built expressly for his own planned war against the Dornish (the one that couldn't even get into the Boneway before self-destructing in wildfyre spillage).

While the Dornish are somewhat more progressive towards noble women and general sexuality than the rest of Westeros, they are still very hierarchical. Oberyn Martell essentially made his own daughter abandon her own mother (how he got Obara) and abandoned the woman who birthed his child himself after he told Obara to choose who to stay with when he easily could have installed Obara's mother in her own dwellings at the very least. He characterized Obara's mother's crying as a female "weapon", and a lesser one at that (misogyny). Obara's mother was also a sex worker. She drank herself to death from misery. So Aegon II's killing Gaemon's mother's lover is not out of the ordinary for this society and to these people (aristocrats), her death means nothing.

i would genuinely love to see your essay about why sylvenna is better than rhaenys

I doubt I even need an essay because it can be so easily summarized and I think has by other individuals, however I’ll definitely make a list summarizing 🫶

The rule of six is a law enacted by Queen Rhaenys Targaryen, which states that a husband has the right to give an unfaithful wife six blows, but no more.

Gaemon Palehair, claimed by his mother Essie to be a bastard belonging to Aegon II Targaryen, had a number of edicts issued in his name.  Believed to be driven by Essie’s lover Sylvenna Sand, among them included a law that stated husbands who beat their wives would suffer the same, regardless of the reason for the chastisement.

Essie (pregnant with Gaemon Palehair) and Sylvenna Sand

I have watched most of the fandom believe that dorne is a progressive place, and while compare to the rest westeros it is truth, especially when it comes to women inheritance isn't it a bit too much to believe that it is socially progressive as well?

Like, sure for the female elite it much better to live on dorne. But I don't see Doran surround himself and take council with merchants or commonfolk that studied or erudite people.

Am i wrong?

It's true that Doran organizes his government on typical feudal lines, but it's also true that the rank-and-file Dornish, the "Dornish in the street," seem to have a louder and more accepted voice in shaping public opinion than the smallfolk of Westeros. However, I think when we look to social progressivism in Dorne, our best example is the policies promoted by Sylvenna Sand during the Moon of the Three Kings: using the child Gaemon Palehair as her mouthpiece, Sylvenna promulgated decrees that equalized inheritance between male and female children, mandated a bread and beer dole in times of famine, estabished a crude form of disability insurance for veterans, and punished wife-beaters. I think this speaks to a broader social progressivism in Dornish culture that goes beyond issues of gender equality to embrace at least a proto-concept of social welfare. As to whether it's all a bit much to believe, I think GRRM is borrowing from certain histories of the post-1066 wars of expansion that framed Wales as being a more egalitarian society than Norman England, based on certain Welsh legal customs around inheritance, etc.

The court of this four-year-old bastard king was made up of whores, mummers, and thieves, whilst gangs of ruffians, sellswords, and drunkards defended his "rule." One decree after another came down from the House of Kisses where the child king had his seat, each more outrageous than the last.

These edicts were almost certainly the work of a Dornish whore named Sylvenna Sand, reputedly the paramour of the little king's mother Essie, if Mushroom is to be believed.