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King Harwyn Hoare, known as Harwyn Hardhand, is a supporting character in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series.
He was a King of the Iron Islands who conquered the Riverlands from House Durrandon, the royal family of the Stormlands, thus becoming the first King of the Isles and the Rivers. His son and then his grandson would succeed him in their own respective reigns until House Hoare went extinct during Aegon I Targaryen's conquest of Westeros.
Biography[]
A Song of Ice and Fire[]
Harwyn Hoare was born in or before 109 BC. In the past, prior to becoming king, he raided the Stepstones, a chain of islands between Essos and Westeros. He also visited the Free Cities of Lys, Tyrosh, and Volantis. At an unknown point, he was taken prisoner in the Basilisk Isles, where he was imprisoned for two years, and then served as a sellsword in the Disputed Lands. Harwyn also joined the sellsword company, the Second Sons, and they would fight in many battles.
When his father, King Qhorwyn Hoare, also known as Qhorwyn the Cunning, fell ill, Harwyn succeeded him as king, as his older brothers had died before him, with his eldest brother dying from greyscale while his other brother Harlan was killed after falling from a horse. Though Harlan's death was seen as an accident, it became suspicious after King Qhorwyn died six days later, and it was believed that Harwyn was responsible for his brother's death so he could become king.
Conquest of the Riverlands[]
Prelude[]
Seeking to conquer the Riverlands, the newly-crowned King Harwyn planned his invasion of the region, which is ruled over by House Durrandon of Storm's End and currently held by King Arrec Durrandon; however, the house's hold on the Riverlands is weak, as the Durrandons are constantly forced to crush every rebellion the rivermen would pose to their storm overlords. Leading a fleet of 100 longships, Harwyn landed south of the castle of Seagard before carrying the ships to the Blue Fork. During a battle at Tumblestone, he shattered the forces of Ser Samwell Rivers, a natural bastard son of Lord Tommen Tully. In response to this defeat, the latter joined forces with Lady Agnes Blackwood, the Lady of Raventree Hall and head of House Blackwood. However, before Lady Agnes could march on Harwyn, she was betrayed by her rival, Lord Lothar Bracken, as Houses Bracken and Blackwood are known to have an ancient feud with each other.
Lothar proceeded to take Lady Agnes and two of her sons as hostages before delivering them to King Harwyn. After strangling the two sons to death, Harwyn, who was impressed with Lady Agnes, offered to make her a salt wife, but eventually killed her when she refused.
Battle at Fairmarket[]
In response to Harwyn's invasion of the Riverlands, King Arrec Durrandon marched from the Stormlands with a great army. However, a score of Riverlords rose in rebellion against Arrec and allied with King Harwyn in the hopes of gaining independence. As the forces of House Durrandon marched north, they were harassed by the riverlands and were denied any supplies. King Arrec eventually met Harwyn at the Blue Fork, but despite having half as many forces as the ironborn and the rivermen, the Stormlanders were tired and not well supplied. As Arrec was headstrong and indecisive, the ensuing battle at Fairmarket resulted in an ultimate victory for King Harwyn and the rivermen, while Arrec and the Stormlanders were forced to withdraw, having lost half of their forces, while two of King Arrec's brothers were slain in battle.
Aftermath[]
As House Durrandon had lost their hold on the Riverlands, King Harwyn places the region under the rule of House Hoare, against the wishes of the rivermen. In addition, with the Riverlands now annexed, he became the first King of the Isles and the Rivers. When Lothar Bracken rose in rebellion against his new overlord in an attempt to become the new river king, Harwyn crushed the rebellion before sacking Stone Hedge, the ancestral seat of House Bracken. He then has Lothar imprisoned in a crow cage, where the latter would starve to death a year later.
Later reign and death[]
Throughout most of his entire reign, King Harwyn would rule over the Riverlands while at the same time suppressing any rebellion in the region. Eventually, at the age of 64, he died in bed with a salt wife.
Legacy[]
King Harwyn, with his past on the left, and his line's future on the right.
After his death, Harwyn was succeeded by his son Halleck, who became the second King of the Isles and the Rivers, but the latter would prove to not be as successful in battle as his late father. Halleck would then be succeeded by his own son Harren, who would become the infamous Harren the Black. When he was burned alive within his own castle of Harrenhal by Aegon the Conqueror and his dragon Balerion, this brought an end to House Hoare's river kingdom, and Harwyn Hardhand's brutal legacy was brought to an end.
Game of Thrones[]
Biography[]
Harwyn as he appears in Game of Thrones: Histories and Lore.
Harwyn Hoare was born on the island of Orkmont, one of the seven main Iron Islands. He never sailed his father's fleet or fought with swords. As he proved to be wild, unruly, and useless, his father, King Qhorwyn Hoare, sent his son away to the east so he could vanish. During his time away, Harwyn raided and plundered with pirates and fought in Essos with mercenaries.
After his father passed away, he returned to the Iron Islands as a candidate for the kingsmoot, an assembly where the next monarch would be chosen. Although Harwyn's older brother Harlan died falling from his horse under mysterious circumstances, Harwyn was chosen to be king without being objected to. Sailing with his father's fleet, he conquered the Riverlands, which were ten times the size of the iron Islands, as the river lords had not expected a commander who was skilled in both land and naval warfare, as Harwyn had learned more about war during his time in Essos.
External Links[]
- Harwyn Hoare on the A Wiki of Ice and Fire.
- Harwyn Hoare on the Game of Thrones Wiki
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