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Considering the audacity and violence in Game of Thrones, it can be safely assumed that the justice system of Westeros is not without its flaws. Although crimes are rampant, the ongoing war allows many of them to go unpunished. Quick and severe punishments — which are often executions — are preferred over incarceration. A trial is nothing more than a showy and religious ritual, as the outcome is supposedly determined by what “the gods have spoken”. To further add to the theatrics, the accused or accuser may also demand a trial by seven.
A variation of a trial by combat, a trial by seven is a rare occurrence. The most notable examples in the history of Game of Thrones is the trial by seven of Maegor the Cruel and Duncan the Tall.
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What Is a Trial by Seven?
A trial by seven involves the accused and accuser each choosing six other champions to engage in combat (the seventh champion can also be someone other than them). It only ends when all seven men on one side have been defeated (either by yielding or dying). If the accused emerges victorious, he is declared innocent of all charges. However, if he dies or admits to his crimes during the fight, he is judged to be guilty. Similarly, if he is unable to find six men to stand with him, the trial by seven automatically concludes, and he is declared guilty (“If a cause is just, good men will fight for it”). It is believed that the victor only succeeds due to the judgment of the gods, making the outcome fair and just.
As Baelor Targaryen explains:
It is another form of trial by combat. Ancient, seldom invoked. It came across the narrow sea with the Andals and their seven gods. In any trial by combat, the accuser and accused are asking the gods to decide the issue between them. The Andals believed that if the seven champions fought on each side, the gods, being thus honored, would be more like to take a hand and see that a just result was achieved.
Maegor Targaryen’s Trial by Seven
The King’s Champions | The Faith’s Champions |
|---|---|
Maegor I Targaryen | Damon Morrigen (Damon the Devout) |
Dick Bean | Lyle Bracken |
Bernarr Brune | Harys Horpe (Death’s Head Harry) |
Bramm of Blackhull | Aegon Ambrose |
Rayford Rosby | Dickon Flowers (the Bastard of Beesbury) |
Guy Lothston (Guy the Glutton) | Willam the Wanderer |
Lucifer Massey (Lord of Stonedance) | Garibald of the Seven Stars (the septon knight) |
House Targaryen had a frail relationship with the Faith Militant, and the latter finally revolted when King Aenys I Targaryen announced the marriage between his eldest son and eldest daughter in 41 AC. As a result, Aenys fled to Dragonstone, where he ultimately died. Although Prince Aegon was his heir, Maegor I Targaryen arrived at King’s Landing and usurped the Iron Throne. He was challenged to a trial by seven by the Warrior's Sons (the upper order of the Faith Militant), who disputed his right to rule:
And so ascended the king’s younger brother, Maegor the Cruel. His first act was to challenge the Faith Militant to kill him, if they believed his rule to be ungodly. To the order’s eternal credit, they accepted. Ser Damon Morrigen proposed a ‘trial by seven’, Ser Damon and six of the Faith Militant against the king and his six champions. It was a contest in which the kingdom itself was at stake, and the accounts and tales are many.
No Kingsguard fought for Maegor, and it was only after a common man-at-arms, Dick Bean, stepped up that five highborn knights were compelled to volunteer as his champions. Maegor fought with his father’s Valyrian steel sword, Blackfyre, and was eventually the last man standing. However, he was severely injured and remained unconscious for several weeks until he was revived by his soon-to-be third wife, Tyanna of the Tower. When he woke, he rode on his dragon, Balerion (the Black Dread), and proceeded to burn down the Sept of Remembrance — thus, waging a full-fledged war against the Faith Militant.
Duncan the Tall’s Trial by Seven
Duncan’s Champions | Accusers’ Champions |
Duncan the Tall | Aerion Targaryen |
Baelor Targaryen | Daeron Targaryen |
Lyonel Baratheon | Maekar Targaryen |
Raymun Fossoway | Steffon Fossoway |
Humfrey Beesbury | Willem Wylde |
Humfrey Hardyng | Donnel of Duskendale |
Robyn Rhysling | Roland Crakehall |
In 209 AC, Duncan the Tall headed to a tourney at Ashford Meadow, with his squire ‘Egg’ in tow. Upon arrival, he met a Dornish puppeteer named Tanselle, who agreed to paint a new sigil on his shield. Later that night, she performed a puppet show about a knight defeating a dragon — which Prince Aerion Targaryen considered to be an act of treason. He ordered an attack on the puppeteers and, just when he broke one of Tanselle’s fingers, Duncan rushed to her defense and struck the prince. When the royal guards were about to intervene, Egg stepped forward and revealed himself to be Prince Aegon Targaryen. However, Prince Daeron Targaryen claimed that Duncan had kidnapped Aegon, causing Aerion to insist on a trial by seven.
With Aegon’s help, Duncan acquired six allies for the trial, including Prince Baelor Targaryen. The trial eventually ended with Duncan facing Aerion alone, who withdrew his accusation. Although Duncan was declared innocent, he felt guilty about all those who died while fighting. These included Baelor, who was mortally (and accidentally) wounded by Prince Maekar I Targaryen. As Bronn narrated the incident in Game of Thrones:
Once in a long while, you may get two real highborn sh*ts having a go at each other and one of them might be fool enough to demand a trial by seven. Exactly how it sounds: seven men against seven men. Makes for a good show, but any man who has been in battle knows that the more men involved, the less skill needed, the more chance of accidents. Just ask that Targaryen prince who got his head staved in by his brother all those years ago, and all for some hedge knight.
This trial by seven also had unexpected consequences: Maekar now considered Aerion unfit for the throne, and favored Aegon, his youngest son, instead. He agreed to let Aegon serve as Duncan’s squire during his travels in Westeros, which allowed the hedge knight to teach Egg some humility (which was absent in his brothers) and give him a better understanding of the smallfolk.
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Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
