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| “ | Jaime had once told him that Moore was the most dangerous of the Kingsguard—excepting himself, always—because his face gave no hint as what he might do next. | „ |
| ~ Tyrion Lannister about Mandon Moore. |
Ser Mandon Moore is a minor antagonist in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series and its television adaptation, Game of Thrones. He was a knight of the Kingsguard who served King Robert I Baratheon and his apparent eldest son, King Joffrey I Baratheon.
In the TV series, he was portrayed by James Doran.
Personality[]
Ser Mandon Moore is a cold-hearted and emotionless individual who is always seen with a dead and lifeless stare, which is unnerving and frightening towards Sansa Stark. Because Mandon's face never gave anything away, Jaime considers him to be a dangerous man, and Tyrion Lannister notes that Mandon is a man others would choose not to follow.
Because of his behavior, he is never close with his sworn brothers, with Ser Barristan Selmy noting that Mandon had no friends and all he has are his sword and duty.
While he is someone who shows little-to-no emotion, he is loyal to King Robert and King Joffrey. However, he is shown to really be loyal to the latter, as he would follow his orders on beating Sansa without question.
Despite this, Mandon, similar to Larys Strong, is an enigmatic individual whose true allegiance is a complete mystery; After he tried to murder Tyrion during the Battle of the Blackwater, the latter began suspecting if Cersei or Joffrey were the ones who sent Mandon to kill him, though Tyrion couldn't find proof to support his claim.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Ser Mandon Moore and his infamous dead pale eyes and lifeless stare.
Ser Mandon Moore was originally a knight of the Vale and is familiar with Ser Vardis Egen. He was brought to King's Landing by Lord Jon Arryn and placed as a member of King Robert's Kingsguard. However, neither Jon nor Robert were really fond of Mandon, nor did they really love him. In addition, the smallfolk do not love him either. The possible reason he was brought to King's Landing was due to the request of Lady Lysa Arryn, Jon's wife. In addition, the reason behind this request was due to the influence of Lord Petyr Baelish, which might be the reason that Ser Mandon might be an agent of Littlefinger's, though there is no evidence to prove it. Jaime Lannister considered Mandon to be the most dangerous of the Kingsguard, after himself, since Mandon’s dead eyes and lifeless stare gave no hint to his intentions.
Recent History[]
A Game of Thrones[]
Following the arrest of Lord Eddard Stark, Ser Mandon Moore guards the doors to the council chamber when Ser Boros Blount brings Sansa Stark before the small council. Later, Mandon escorts Sansa back to the high tower of Maegor's Holdfast.
Mandon was present in the throne room of the Red Keep when Sansa was brought before Cersei Lannister in order to be manipulated. Mandon, along with the other Kingsguard, mockingly laughed at Ser Barristan Selmy when he was shamefully dismissed by Cersei and Joffrey, which broke the tradition of the Kingsguard, where they are sworn to serve for life.
A Clash of Kings[]
Under the orders of Joffrey Baratheon, Mandon, along with Ser Preston Greenfield, Ser Boros, and Ser Meryn Trant, would remorselessly beat Sansa Stark without question. When Tyrion Lannister returned to King's Landing, Mandon initially refused to let him into the small council chamber. Tyrion managed to convince/threaten him into allowing him to enter. During the first and most notable of the bread riots in the city, Mandon was supposed to guard Sansa as her sworn shield, but he instead chose to guard Joffrey, believing that the king's life was a priority. During the chaos, Mandon severs the hand of a man who grabbed Joffrey. In the safety of the Red Keep, when Tyrion noticed that Sansa was missing, he proceeded to criticize Mandon for losing her, though Cersei defended him.
During the Battle of the Blackwater, Moore was assigned to guard Joffrey and Tyrion. When Joffrey returned to the castle on his mother's orders, Mandon stayed with Tyrion. After Sandor Clegane fled the battle due to his fear of Wildfire, Mandon followed Tyrion, who took command of the Lannister forces. They fought against Stannis Baratheon's forces, who were trying to break down the King's Gate, and then went to attack those attacking the River Gate.
Tyrion led his forces to attack Stannis at the riverfront. Mandon Moore and Ser Balon Swann fought against soldiers from House Velaryon, who support Stannis. When Tyrion nearly fell into the Blackwater Rush, Mandon cried out for him and offered him his hand. Though it seemed that Mandon wanted to save him, he immediately slashed his sword at Tyrion, cutting off his nose in the process. Before Ser Mandon could murder Tyrion, the latter's squire, Podrick Payne immediately intervened by pushing him into the Blackwater, causing Mandon to drown under the weight of his armor.
During his convalescence, a fevered Tyrion has a nightmare where he is still fighting the battle in the burning inferno of the Blackwater, back to the burning "bridge" of ship wreckage. In the dream, Mandon attacks Tyrion again, striking to kill him and waking him up. Tyrion believes that Mandon was bribed by Cersei to assassinating him during the battle, in order to present Tyrion's death as another casualty of battle against Stannis's army. Podrick is ashamed and regretful to have caused Mandon's death, but Tyrion praises Pod for saving him and instructs him to keep silent about Mandon's assassination attempt and not to tell any other person about it.
A Storm of Swords[]
The late Ser Mandon's vacant place is filled by Ser Loras Tyrell, who willingly joined the Kingsguard by his father's insistence on Joffrey. The place left vacant by Mandon's sworn brother Sandor Clegane is later filled by Ser Boros Blount, who is reinstated into the Kingsguard by Lord Tywin Lannister.
Tyrion tried to discover any information about Mandon, to no avail. Mandon was no real friend to anyone, not even his sworn brothers of the Kingsguard and his entire character remains a complete mystery. It was also discovered Mandon has no living close family members, and the current living members of House Moore in the Vale are all distant relatives to him, with no one being close to him. Thus, Tyrion was never able to solve the enigmatic assassination attempt which costed Mandon's life and Tyrion's own nose. The assassination attempt was kept a secret to the public by Tyrion's order to Podrick, with everyone thinking he almost got killed by Stannis's combatants.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Unlike the other characters, Mandon never displayed any emotion throughout the story, with the possible exception of the time in which Ser Barristan was dismissed from the Kingsguard, although the event is seen through Sansa's POV, making it unclear whether Mandon joined in laughing at Barristan beneath his closed helmet. Even Roose Bolton showed little reaction and emotion to certain things, most notably a hint of fear in the fifth book. Mandon remained completely cold, even as he was dying by drowning in the second novel after being pushed into the Blackwater Rush by Podrick.
- In the TV series Tyrion doesn’t lose his nose from the slash and Podrick kills Mandon by impaling him through the back of the head with a lance.
- In the graphic novel adaption of A Clash of Kings, Mandon’s death is slightly alternated, as he is shown to be crushed by two colliding ships rather than drown in the Blackwater.
- To this day, the reason why Ser Mandon tried to kill Tyrion remains unknown and a complete mystery. Popular theories of readers suggest he was ordered by someone to murder Tyrion, who is dangerous rival to many. Main popular candidates include Cersei (the one whom Tyrion accuses the most), Joffrey, and Littlefinger. The possibility of Mandon having attacked Tyrion by his own initiative is also not excluded, although those who knew Mandon described him as too cold, obedient and impersonal to want to kill someone for personal reasons, yet the mind and heart of Mandon remain a complete mystery to everyone.
- In none of all her POV chapters, whenever she thinks about Tyrion constantly getting away from death, or whenever she thinks about her past schemes, Cersei ever thinks about Mandon's attempt to murder Tyrion. Tyrion himself kept the fact that Mandon tried to kill him a secret, with only Podrick Payne knowing what happened. Like the rest of the public, Cersei seems to think Tyrion got his injuries and lost his nose to one of Stannis Baratheon's vassals in the Battle of the Blackwater. Nothing suggests she knows Mandon did that to her brother.
- The version of the TV series Game of Thrones suggested that Joffrey might've ordered Mandon to kill Tyrion, though even this was never truly confirmed.
External Links[]
- Mandon Moore on the A Wiki of Ice and Fire.
- Mandon Moore on the Game of Thrones Wiki
