Jack Sceltun Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Spoilers for any and all canon below Spoiler I have heard second hand (through these forums and the wiki) that Blackfyre the sword was a bastard sword (aka hand-and-a-half). However, I have not been able to confirm this with CANON evidence. There's some semi-canon/ssm stuff that it was bastard and even a ssm that it was a greatsword but I'm not interested in that at present. I have done asearchoficeandfire and off-word searching myself with no luck. Can anyone confirm the lack of a canon statement regarding this? Or, even better, can you point me to where this info is? (I assume AGoT, ACoK, ASoS, AFfC, ADwD, HK, SS, MK, PQ, AWOIAF are canon). Thanks for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Melnibonean Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 It was only in correspondence with fans, nearly a year after Storm had been published, that The George first revealed the name of the primary Valyrian steel blade of House Targaryen. Then, two years before Feast, we got The Sworn Sword in Legends II, and we learned that Daemon Blackfyre weilded the sword Blackfyre, and that Bloodraven wielded Dark Sister, the other ancestral Valyrian steel blade of House Targaryen. (We also learned that Dark Sister had been wielded by Aemon the Dragoknight.) Blackfyre the sword was not mentioned in canon again until The Mystery Knight was published about a year before Dance. Blackfyre supporters in Westeros were wary of Daemon II since he did not weild Blackfyre. In The Princess and the Queen, we learned that Daemon Targaryen and Visenya had wielded Dark Sister. (I can't search The World of Ice and Fire right now.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah.jenice Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I couldn't find any reference to the size of Blackfyre in any of the novels (including Dunk & Egg and TWoIaF), and there are actually no mentions of the sword in the main series (Blackfyre only pulls references to the rebellion without sword mentions). Here are all of the quotes about the sword I could find: TWoIaF: Quote Armed with the Valyrian steel blade Blackfyre, [Aegon I] was counted amoungst the greatest warriors of his age... Quote Blackfyre, the sword of the Targaryen kings (Pg 69 illustration credit) Quote ...bestowing upon him the sword of Aegon the Conqueror, Blackfyre... A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Quote "...He gave the sword to Daemon. Blackfyre, the sword of Aegon the Conqueror, the blade that every Targaryen king had wielded since the Conquest..." Quote "...He does not bear the sword! If he were his father's son, Bittersteel would have armed him with Blackfyre. There are a few others that just say "sword" but you get the idea. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aryagonnakill#2 Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I always assumed someone who wanted it to be Longclaw edited it into the wiki that it was a bastard blade. Personally I can't see it being anything other than a Greatsword, but who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferocious Veldt Roarer Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Are the graphic novels canon? Or at least, GRRM's instructions to the creators? Here's a relevant SSM: "Bloodraven carries Dark Sister, Corbray has Lady Forlorn, and Daemon fights with Blackfyre, the sword of Aegon the Conquerer and all the Targaryen kings that followed him. Blackfyre should be somewhat larger and darker than the other two, and its design needs to suggest flames". Dark Sister and Lady Forlorn are longswords, and Blackfyre is "somewhat larger". A bastard sword seems like a reasonable assumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Melnibonean Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 The George says it's a greatsword here, but the SSM suggests that he calls it a bastard sword elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sceltun Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Thank you for the helpful replies. I know of a SSM from last year where he flat out denies that Blackfyre is Longclaw. What was interesting is that the questioner called Blackfyre the "bastard sword of the Targaryen kings" yet GRRM didn't correct that. What peaked my interest in the now-seemingly-defunct LC=BF theory was this gem from TWoIaF: Quote Qhorin Volmark died at the Conqueror's own hand, cut down by Aegon's Valyrian steel blade, Blackfyre. Especially when: Quote Fight with them, Qhorin [Halfhand] had said, before he surrendered his own life to Longclaw. I just thought that it was a pretty big coincidence that the two (possible) bastard swords we know of both killed a Qhorin by Targaryens (assuming R+L=J). Furthermore, a bastard sword is a "hand-and-a-half" sword and the brother Qhorin was known as "Halfhand". If the SSM that "LC does NOT = BF" is true, then that's a pretty crazy coincidence. Maybe it's just a subtle allusion? In the end, if Little Griff pulls out a longsword in ch. 1 of WoW, he may not be either BF or Targ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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