10.2.3. Ancestors and History
- The warrior queen Nymeria led her people to Dorne from the Rhoyne 1,000 years ago (I: 59. II: 233. SSM: 1
- The Dornish Princess Elia, wife to the crown prince Rhaegar, was raped and murdered by a Lannister knight, Gregor Clegane, along with Rhaegar's son and heir Aegon (I: 263 II: 203)
- Nymeria was the warrior queen of the Rhoyne who brought ten thousand ships to land in Dorne, taking Mors Martell as her husband and aiding him in vanquishing all rivals for the rule of Dorne (I: 690)
- Because of the Rhoynar influence, rulers of Dorne styled themselves "princes" rather than "kings" (I: 690)
- Dorne was never conquered by Aegon the Conqueror (I: 690)
- Dorne was not joined to the Seven Kingdoms until two hundred years after Aegon, and then it was by marriage and treaty rather than war. Baelor the Blessed negotiated the marriage of Daeron to Myriah Martell as a means of making peace with Dorne after Daeron I's failed conquest. Later, when Daeron was king, he negotiated the marriage of his much younger sister Daenerys (who was born after he had already had a son of his own) to the Prince of Dorne, thereby uniting the realms. (I: 690. SSM: 1)
- Doran Martell's hatred for House Lannister is well known (II: 203)
- Prince Doran Martell is said to mourn the death of Elia and her children even some fifteen years after the fact (II: 203)
- The Dornishmen have warred against the Reach and Storm's End for a thousand years (II: 233)
- The Tyrells despise the Red Viper, Prince Oberyn, because of a tourney mishap which left Lord Mace's heir Willas crippled (III: 72, 433, 437)
- Princess Elia Martell had never been the healthiest of women (III: 128, 486)
- Beldecar's History of the Rhoynish Wars makes mention of elephants (III: 136)
- Dorne and the Reach had fought border wars beyond count and made countless raids across mountains and marches even when at peace, leading to their great enmity, though it had waned somewhat since Dorne became a part of the Seven Kingdoms (III: 214)
- Growing frantic, Aerys gracelessly reminded Prince Lewyn Martell that Princess Elia was in his power and sent him to take command of 10,000 Dornishmen coming up the kingsroad (III: 418)
- Doran Martell past fifty (III: 430)
- Oberyn Nymeros Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne, is infamous. At sixteen he was found abed with the paramour of old Lord Yronwood, a huge man of fierce repute and short temper. A duel to first blood ensued, in light of the prince's youth and high birth. Both men took cuts and honor was satisfied, but Prince Oberyn swiftly recovered while Lord Yronwood's wounds festered and killed him. Afterwards men whispered that Oberyn fought with a poisoned sword, and thereafter friends and foes alike called him the Red Viper (III: 432)
- Prince Oberyn had gone on to the Free Cities, learning the poisoner's trade and perhaps darker arts as well if rumors could be believed. He had studied at the Citadel, going so far as to forge six links of a maester's chain before he grew bored. He had soldiered in the Disputed Lands across the narrow sea, riding with the Second Sons for a time before forming his own company. It is said that he beds both men and women both, and has begotten bastard girls all over Dorne. The sand snakes, men call them (III: 432, 433)
- The ruling Princess of Dorne, her daughter Princess Elia, and her son Prince Oberyn visited Casterly Rock many years ago, when Tyrion Lannister was a newborn. It was some 25 years ago, when Elia was fifteen or sixteen. Oberyn was a year younger than she was. Cersei and Jaime were 8 or 9 at the time (III: 433)
- As children, Elia and Oberyn were inseparable (III: 436)
- Jon Arryn came to Sunspear the year after Robert took the throne, and was questioned closely, along with a hundred others, about what happened during the Sack and who was responsible for deaths of Elia and her children (III: 436)
- When Prince Rhaegar was young, he rode brilliantly in a tourney at Storm's End, defeating many notables, including Prince Oberyn the Red Viper (III: 485)
- Elia Martell was a good and gracious lady (III: 486)
- Prince Oberyn attempted to raise Dorne for Prince Viserys. Ravens flew and riders rode, and Jon Arryn came to Sunspear to return Prince Lewyn's bones and ended all talks of war when he spoke with Prine Doran. Robert never visited Dorne thereafter, however, and the Red Viper rarely left it (III: 593)
- After the Submission of Sunspear, the Young Dragon left the Lord of Highgarden to rule Dorne for him. He moved with his train from one keep to the next, chasing rebels and keeping the knees of the Dornishmen bent. It was his custom to turn the lords of the keeps he stayed in out of their chambers, to sleep in their place. One night, finding himself in a bed with a heavy velvet canopy, he pulled a sash near the pillows to summon a wench. When he did so, the canopy opened and a hundred red scorpions fell upon him. His death led to rebellion throughout Dorne, and in a fortnight all the Young Dragon had won was undone (III: 747)
- About the time Tyrion Lannister was born, some 8 or 9 years before the Sack of King's Landing, the ruling Princess of Dorne set out on a quest to find a husband for Princess Elia and a wife for Prince Oberyn, travelling to Starfall, the Arbor, Oldtown, the Shield Islands, Crakehall, and Casterly Rock. Her eldest son, Prince Doran, was betrothed to Lady Mellario of Norvos at the time, and so remained at Sunspear as castellan (III: 795)
- Prince Doran's mother, the ruling Princess of Dorne before him, had served at King's Landing in her youth as one of Princess Rhaella's companions. She knew Lady Joanna from that occasion and was friends with her (III: 795)
- It seems the ruling Princess of Dorne planned to wed Princess Elia or Prince Oberyn to one of Lord Tywin's children, or both of them to his twins. However, after his wife's death he was unreceptive and offered the newborn Tyrion, which was seen as an insult (III: 795, 796)
- Baelor Breakspear led a host of stormlords and Dornishmen at the Redgrass Field, where they shattered the enemy by charging into the rebel rear (TSS: 112)
- Dorne closed its ports and the high pass during the Great Spring Sickness, thereby sparing itself from the plague (TSS: 121)
- Following Daeron II's marriage to a princess of Dorne, many Dornishmen and women flocked to his court. He later arranged the marriage of his sister to the Prince of Sunspear, even though it was said that she and Daemon Blackfyre were in love (TSS: 137)
- In recent decades, there appear to have been many conflicts in which Martell house guards have taken part (IV: 3)
- House Martell used a spear as its emblem, while Nymeria and the Rhoynar used the sun as their emblem. These were combined when Nymeria wed Lord Mors Martell (IV: 42)
- When Daeron the Good married the Dornish princess Myriah and then brought Dorne into the realm, it was agreed that Dornish law would always rule in Dorne (IV: 43)
- It's claimed that Prince Lewyn Martell kept a paramour, a great beauty in her day, while he was in the Kingsguard (IV: 193)
- Many armies have marched into Dorne in past centuries, only to perish in the hot red deserts (IV: 308)
- There is bad blood between the Fowlers and the Yronwoods since the Fowlers chose Martell over Yronwood during Nymeria's War (IV: 594)
- Prince Lewyn of Dorne was an uncle of Doran Martell and died fighting on the Trident (SSM: 1)
- Dorne has had a violent history, particularly with the mountain houses who lived by raiding across the borders into the marches, feuded with each other endlessly, and were the first to face invaders (SSM: 1)
- Dorne accepted the High Septon even after Maegor the Cruel and Jaehaerys the Concilator disarmed the Faith and carried undue influence over the Faith (SSM: 1)
- The Rhoyne is a river on the eastern continent (SSM: 1)
- The Rhoynar brought various old gods with them, but over the last thousand years they have largely disappeared and been replaced by the Faith of the Seven (SSM: 1)
- The Martells name themselves prince or princess after the Rhoynar custom. The Rhoynar rulers of the various cities along the Rhoyne River followed the same convention (SSM: 1)
- Dorne avoided being ruled by Aegon the Conqueror by refusing to assemble huge armies to be burned by dragons as happened to the army of the Two Kings, nor did they hide in their castles as Harren the Black and his sons did. They fled before the dragons instead and returned to harrass and murder when they could (SSM: 1, 2)
Last revised November 17, 2009
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