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“ | Good fighter, Toyne, but he lacked stamina. | „ |
~ Barristan Selmy on Simon Toyne. |
Simon Toyne is a minor antagonist in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series. He was a member of House Toyne, a noble house of the Stormlands sworn to House Baratheon of Storm's End. Following his family's fall from grace, as a result of the actions of his ancestors, Ser Terrence Toyne and his brothers, Simon became a recurring adversary of House Targaryen, in which he became the founder of the infamous outlaw band known as the Kingswood Brotherhood, who would continually harass the Targaryens and other nobles until they were suppressed by Aerys II Targaryen's Kingsguard.
Biography[]
Simon Toyne was born to House Toyne at an unknown date. For many years, the Toynes, were one of the sworn and honorable noble families loyal to House Baratheon, their liege lords and the rulers of the Stormlands. However, they fell from grace following two incidents involving several members of the house during the reign of King Aegon IV Targaryen; Ser Terrence Toyne, a member of Aegon's Kingsguard, was caught abed with Lady Bethany Bracken, one of the king's many mistresses, as Bethany was distressed over Aegon's embraces and sought solace in Terrence, whom she found to be handsome. Though the two had proclaimed their love, King Aegon the Unworthy had Ser Terrence executed, and Lady Bethany was forced to watch as her lover was dismembered before her very eyes. She was eventually executed as well. The death of Terrence Toyne greatly angered his two brothers, who sought revenge on King Aegon by attempting to assassinate him, but were both slain by Prince Aemon Targaryen, whom the brothers also slew. These two separate altercations is what brought disgrace on House Toyne.
This is what caused the Toynes to become sworn enemies of House Targaryen. Many years later, during the reign of King Aerys II Targaryen, Simon Toyne, who was a descendant of Terrence Toyne and the Brothers Toyne, as well as the last of the family line, founded the outlaw band known as Kingswood Brotherhood, who, while under Simon's leadership, would soon gain an infamous recognition for robbing and kindapping nobles, and holding them for ransom and then disappear into the Kingswood to evade capture. At the same time, they were supported by the smallfolk living in in or around the Kingswood in the Crownlands and the Stormlands, in which they provided the outlaws with shelter to hide in, because they believe they were the only ones who protected their rights. According to Ser Barristan Selmy, during a tourney at Storm's End held by Lord Steffon Baratheon, Simon entered as a mystery knight and was unhorsed by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen during the joust, though according to a semi-cannon source, Ser Barristan may have confused two separate tourneys.
Eventually, the Kingswood Brotherhood became such a nuisance that the Mad King sent a host of loyal vassals under the leadership of Ser Arthur Dayne of the Kingsguard to suppress them. Ser Arthur managed to gain the trust and confidence of the Kingswood's smallfolk by petitioning King Aerys to give them better rights and ensuring that his forces pay for the items they took from the peasantry. As a result, Simon Toyne and the Kingswood Brotherhood lost the aid of the smallfolk and therefore could no longer walk through the forest with impunity and had nowhere to hide. In an ensuing battle that followed, Simon Toyne was killed by Barristan Selmy while the Kingswood Brotherhood was defeated, putting an end to their criminal activities. With Simon's death, House Toyne became extinct.
Trivia[]
- In the television series, according to Ser Barristan Selmy, while Simon Toyne was a good warrior, however, he lacked stamina, implying that he was quite slow in combat, which is what resulted in his downfall. In the novels, there is no detailed mention of Simon's fighting skills.