Best Monarch We've Seen

[khal drogon]

 

12. Balon Greyjoy.  Really this guy proclaimed himself king for no better reason than because his ancestors had been kings and wanted to be king too.

 

His reasons for rebellion is much similar to the "King in the North" guys except the Ned factor. The Iron Islands has different culture and different gods and they don't want those Southrons dictating them. While reading fan opinions of why they want the North to be seceded I have seen most cite the same reason. And he seemed well accepted among the Ironborn much like Robb among Northmen. His Northern takeover plan was definitely shortsighted and his treatment of his son was worse, but he was no way a bad King comparable to the likes of Joffrey.

[ConfusedCounselor]

 

His reasons for rebellion is much similar to the "King in the North" guys except the Ned factor. The Iron Islands has different culture and different gods and they don't want those Southrons dictating them. While reading fan opinions of why they want the North to be seceded I have seen most cite the same reason. And he seemed well accepted among the Ironborn much like Robb among Northmen. His Northern takeover plan was definitely shortsighted and his treatment of his son was worse, but he was no way a bad King comparable to the likes of Joffrey.

 

Well, that one is pretty important. When the crown abuses his vassals, they might take that as reason to secede.

 

Also, an independent north can exist in peace with the south according to their customs.

An independent Iron Isles can only live in perpetual war according to their customs, which are essentially raiding and reaving. 

[denny717]

No. Robert was an idiot with too much support, and Renly a noob.

Why do you insist dany is better then anyone else and think renly sucks because of inexperience? Dany small amount of experience shows she's also capable of mistakes. (I don't think she's bad, but not great). Renly was well liked, and had experience in scheming against the likes of Littlefinger and varys. Everyone on this list was inexperienced at one time or another, some proved to be able, some not so much. Though renly was kind of a jerk about skipping his bro in the line of succession, and had trouble producing an heir, but that last one is something dany had against her too. And although Robert was a good king during times of war, and people liked him, your right he was a fat idiot.

[khal drogon]

 

Well, that one is pretty important. When the crown abuses his vassals, they might take that as reason to secede.

 

Also, an independent north can exist in peace with the south according to their customs.

An independent Iron Isles can only live in perpetual war according to their customs, which are essentially raiding and reaving. 

Yes,but the secession idea comes from what I mentioned. 

 

Secession is a bad idea if you ask me.

[Lady Blizzardborn]

 

His reasons for rebellion is much similar to the "King in the North" guys except the Ned factor. The Iron Islands has different culture and different gods and they don't want those Southrons dictating them. While reading fan opinions of why they want the North to be seceded I have seen most cite the same reason. And he seemed well accepted among the Ironborn much like Robb among Northmen. His Northern takeover plan was definitely shortsighted and his treatment of his son was worse, but he was no way a bad King comparable to the likes of Joffrey.

The men who shouted "King in the North" were not elevating themselves but another.  That makes it a different kettle of fish, and as you mention there is also the Ned factor.

 

Balon got his butt kicked last time he tried to declare himself king, and now he's taking advantage of the chaos to declare himself king again.  His people are not particularly suffering under the Iron Throne's rule.  All they would gain is "ooh, we get to rape and pillage again."  

 

He was well-accepted among the Ironborn, as they chose him to lead them.  That's one of the rights Aegon I granted them when he took over the Seven Kingdoms.  

 

I have to disagree in that the short-sighted takeover plan, rejecting a deal that would have made him king anyway and with much greater benefits, and being rotten to his son put a man squarely in the "bad king" category.  How many of his people were lost when Ramsay destroyed Winterfell?  That was mostly Theon's fault but it never would have happened if Theon hadn't been desperately trying to impress his father "King" Balon.  Not taking Robb's deal caused way too many problems.  

[Lady Blizzardborn]

Why do you insist dany is better then anyone else and think renly sucks because of inexperience? Dany small amount of experience shows she's also capable of mistakes. (I don't think she's bad, but not great). Renly was well liked, and had experience in scheming against the likes of Littlefinger and varys. Everyone on this list was inexperienced at one time or another, some proved to be able, some not so much. Though renly was kind of a jerk about skipping his bro in the line of succession, and had trouble producing an heir, but that last one is something dany had against her too. And although Robert was a good king during times of war, and people liked him, your right he was a fat idiot.

That's a matter of opinion.  There is growing fan support for the idea that Dany is not barren and MMD didn't mean that she would be.

[Snowhere fast]

For motives I'd have to say that Mance, Robb and Dany are the best. They aren't really for greed or wealth etc but for either safety or justice. Stannis could technically fit in that category but I do feel his reasons are mainly for himself, not for the people.

[watcher of the night]

It would be better to rank them along the lines of their wartime, diplomatic and economic efforts. Some of them were great war leaders but piss poor diplomats and vice versa.

[khal drogon]

The men who shouted "King in the North" were not elevating themselves but another.  That makes it a different kettle of fish, and as you mention there is also the Ned factor.
 
Balon got his butt kicked last time he tried to declare himself king, and now he's taking advantage of the chaos to declare himself king again.  His people are not particularly suffering under the Iron Throne's rule.  All they would gain is "ooh, we get to rape and pillage again."  
 
He was well-accepted among the Ironborn, as they chose him to lead them.  That's one of the rights Aegon I granted them when he took over the Seven Kingdoms.  
 
I have to disagree in that the short-sighted takeover plan, rejecting a deal that would have made him king anyway and with much greater benefits, and being rotten to his son put a man squarely in the "bad king" category.  How many of his people were lost when Ramsay destroyed Winterfell?  That was mostly Theon's fault but it never would have happened if Theon hadn't been desperately trying to impress his father "King" Balon.  Not taking Robb's deal caused way too many problems.

All I am saying is the fundamental idea behind his rebellion is same as the Northern Rebellion. They are a different culture and do not want to be ruled by the South. I am really not talking about Balon alone here. I always felt both the Northmen and Ironmen are not much happy with a southern crown ruling over them. The Northern independence movement really did not happen out of nowhere. For the North Ned's beheading was the final straw. Balon's rebellions reflected this anti-IT sentiment more than him wanting to be King imo. 
Also Balon had no reason to accept Robb's offer. It was against the "Old way" he advocates. I pretty much agree with all the other things you said.

[Tyrell_like_Squirrel]

It would be better to rank them along the lines of their wartime, diplomatic and economic efforts. Some of them were great war leaders but piss poor diplomats and vice versa.

 

I'm ranking them to include all those qualities. Their general competency in each of this areas was a determining factor in assessing their rank on my list.

 

The wildlings don't have an economic infrastructure like the rest of Westeros, so Mance doesn't have to worry about that specific issue. But we can still commend him for how he measures up to Martin's standards and our own when it comes to being King.

 

Martin is assessing what makes a good King, among many other things, in ASOIAF. I think the general criteria is a good king protects his people. A good king should try to keep the peace when possible, should not put their personal desires above the good of the realm, and should be able to prioritize the most dire needs of the country appropriately.

 

Obviously there's a lot of room for argument within this definition. Does Stannis loose points for going to war with certain grievances as motives? Or does he gain them by using his army to defend the realm from a massive invading force? Does he loose points for going to war in both of these instances? Or is he justified by trying to uphold the laws of the land and maintain balance and order?

 

All of these are questions that commentators can answer and argue for. I don't claim that my opinion is superior, only that it is my opinion.

[Caspoi]

If we are simply going to with these thirteen kings/queen I Think that the ranking order would be:

 

1. Stannis Baratheon, now I don't think that he is infalliable but he is at least fair and just in his judgement, ironically I don't Think that he would do the best on the Iron Throne (different religion and such) but I will give him the number one spot.

 

2. Daenerys Targaryen, She is still inexperienced but I believe that Daenerys is both willing and capable to learn and she cares for the common man, an important trait.

 

3. Robb Stark, while he ultimately lost the war he still did quite well for a Young teenager who had just accended to the throne, beating more experienced commanders on the battlefield and doing his best to help his allies. While he had no experience of actual ruling none of the later candidates had it either or were awful at it.

 

4. Mance Rayder, while Mance never actually ruled in the feudal sense the fact that he is one of the few men to unite all the widlings as a king-beyond-the-wall really has to Count for something. He failed at taking the wall however and while his attempt to take the free folk to safety is admirable his desertion from the Night's Watch takes points from intentions.

 

5.Renly Baratheon, while he had the ability to make himself popular Renly never actually got the oppurtunity to fight or rule (he did rule the Stormlands but we have hardly any information from there) and he Always cam of as too ambitious to me.

 

6. Tommen Waters, ignoring the regency (and his illigetemacy) I think that Tommen has the makings of a quite okay king at the very least.

 

7. Aegon Targaryen, while Varys likes to claim that he is the perfect prince my own first impression of the boy is rather poor and he does not seem to possess any qualities (apart from his last name) that would make him a good king.

 

8. Robert Baratheon, while many of the problems are related to circumstance Robert really did not bring Westeros to a good shape and his legacy would be destroyed by one of the biggest wars in the history of Westeros. He was a very absent king who hardly did any ruling and whose initial charm got lost in time.

 

9. Euron Greyjoy, he might be an evil maniac but at least he is an evil maniac who seems to know what he is doing.

 

10. Aurane Waters, the only thing that we know of him is that he is a pirate who stole the Royal Fleet and is using it to raid trade ships from the Free Cities, I mean really.

 

11. Balon Greyjoy, proud, cruel and stupid Balon is an old pirate obseessed with tradition who lets it (tradition of piracy) dictate his every course of action.

 

12. Joffrey Waters, sure he is just a teenager given unlimeted Power and found unable to handle it, so were many of the absolut worst rulers in the history of the world. Relatively few of the so-called mad kings and emperors were actually mad, most just suffered from the Joffrey syndrome.

 

13. Viserys Targaryen, he is basically Joffrey+madness.

[Lady Blizzardborn]

All I am saying is the fundamental idea behind his rebellion is same as the Northern Rebellion. They are a different culture and do not want to be ruled by the South. I am really not talking about Balon alone here. I always felt both the Northmen and Ironmen are not much happy with a southern crown ruling over them. The Northern independence movement really did not happen out of nowhere. For the North Ned's beheading was the final straw. Balon's rebellions reflected this anti-IT sentiment more than him wanting to be King imo. 
Also Balon had no reason to accept Robb's offer. It was against the "Old way" he advocates. I pretty much agree with all the other things you said.

Okay.

 

 

If we are simply going to with these thirteen kings/queen I Think that the ranking order would be:

<snip

 

12. Joffrey Waters, sure he is just a teenager given unlimeted Power and found unable to handle it, so were many of the absolut worst rulers in the history of the world. Relatively few of the so-called mad kings and emperors were actually mad, most just suffered from the Joffrey syndrome.

 

 

You've seen their patient records? ;)

[Caspoi]

Lady Blizzardborn@ Not really but a common tendency for the mad kings is to have been given power at a very young age and this corrupts them. Imagine telling a not-so-responsible teenager who had jus reached pubirty that he can do whatever he wants and that there is no one who can stop him.

[robb stark of the north]

If i had to choose 3 of them it would be:

 

1)Stannis Baratheon, the King who Still Cared and gave up his seat to save his kingdom.

2)Aegon the Sixth, cz he was shaped to rule from a really young age.

3)Mance Rayder, because he managed to unite all the wildling tribes and assemple a huge army.

[Northernmonkey]

Mance wins hands down

[Nictarion]

If i had to choose 3 of them it would be:
 
1)Stannis Baratheon, the King who Still Cared and gave up his seat to save his kingdom.
2)Aegon the Sixth, cz he was shaped to rule from a really young age.
3)Mance Rayder, because he managed to unite all the wildling tribes and assemple a huge army.

He hasn't given up anything. He's still actively working towards taking the IT.

[Fat Mac]

In the series it's Mance. Truly cares for the people, and is working hard towards their survival.

Dany has good intentions, but has gotten into situations that will take years to resolve. But her heart is in the right place.

Stannis has mostly been in war mode, but he's shown he cares by going to the wall.

Those are the best three, I'd say.

[Fat Mac]

He hasn't given up anything. He's still actively working towards taking the IT.

I think they meant Dragonstone and Storms End. Stannis didn't officially abandon either when he went North, but he may as well have because they're isolated Castles in a sea of enemies that outnumber him tremendously.

[Daniel Tarly]

That's a matter of opinion.  There is growing fan support for the idea that Dany is not barren and MMD didn't mean that she would be.

 

What else could her womb being closed mean?

[Ser Belwas The Strong]

1. Stannis Baratheon, the King Who Cared, he is the best military strategist of Westeros and has the best religious/paranormal consultant, his impressive victory at wall outnumbered 20 to 1 speaks for itself, a man of action and few words, a truly just man, i'll follow him to my death.

 

2. Mance Rayder, uniting dozens if not hundreds of wilding tribes under one common cause, a very competent and wise leader, but a deserter still, i´ll follow him to his death.

 

3. Rober Baratheon, a legendary warrior, imposing figure head and an incredible charm, his reign was pacefull and prosperous.

 

4. Euron Greyjoy, guiding a bunch of savages is always a tricky thing to do, but no one did it better than mister Euron Crowseye

 

5. Robb Stark, young but strong leader, too bad he was betrayed by his bannerman and mother.

 

6. Aegon IV Targaryen, molded from birth to rule and be a good King, his training is begining to show.

 

7. Daenerys Targaryen, a troublesome road, she showed good intentions, but sometimes they are not enough.

 

8. Joffrey Baratheon, a competent young man, bad influences made his reign a failure.

 

9. Tommen Baratheon, probably under a good regent his reign could shine, so far not so much.

 

10. Viserys Targaryen, a tormented soul despise by all, including his family.

 

11. Balon Greyjoy, bad overall.

 

12. Auranne Waters, seems to be succesful on his pirates endevours, but hardly a King.

 

13. Renly Baratheon, although he had a crown, he was crushed by the Rightful King in one day.