Jeyne and Aemma Arryn

[Padraig O'Sullivan]

Does anyone have any guess as to the relationship between Jeyne and Aemma Arryn?

Would they have been half sisters or would Jeyne have been Aemma's niece from say a marriage her father had before he married Daella Targaryen.

[Lord Varys]

My take on that is that Princess Daella was Rodrik Arryn's first wife, and they had only Aemma. Daella died delivering Aemma in 82 AC, and Rodrik took another wife. With that woman he had a son who was the father of Lady Jeyne. Both Rodrik Arryn and his son, Jeyne's father, were dead during the Great Council in 101 AC, as Jeyne was already Lady of the Vale by then, although under the guardianship of Yorbert Royce, the Lord Protector of the Vale.

I imagine that Jeyne is about as old or slightly younger than her first cousin Rhaenyra. If Rodrik's only son was born in 83 AC he could easily have been married in 98 or 99 AC.

Jeyne's father being Aemma's elder half-brother is also a possibility but it would be weird to assume that Daella would only become the second wife of a Lord of the Vale...

I'd also not be surprised if the Iron Throne recognized Lady Aemma as heir to the Eyrie prior to her marriage to Prince Viserys (apparently in 93 AC) as I'd be surprised if a granddaughter of Jaehaerys I really came after her half-brother in the succession. I've previously argued that the Viserys-Aemma match was clearly not planned in advance. Aemma was only eleven years old in 93 AC, and it seems that the marriage was consummated at that point. My guess is that this match was made following the crisis of 92 AC when Jaehaerys I decided to pass over Rhaenys and name Baelon Prince of Dragonstone. It seems as if Rhaenys was already married to Corlys Velaryon by that time, and thus enjoyed his support as well as the support of Storm's End due to her mother Jocelyn Baratheon (Jocelyn's brother Lord Boremund was Rhaenys' maternal uncle), and possibly even the support of Queen Alysanne herself (during the years of the Second Quarrel).

To counter this as well as to continue Baelon's line, Jaehaerys may have come up with that match. Thus Baelon would enjoy the support of the Vale through Aemma, and Viserys' children by her would have about as much Targaryen blood as Rhaenys' children by Corlys.

[Colonel Green]

Jeyne's father being Aemma's elder half-brother is also a possibility but it would be weird to assume that Daella would only become the second wife of a Lord of the Vale...

Jeyne may have been Rodrik's granddaughter by an elder half-sister of Aemma, also, which would have meant that if things went as all involved hoped they would, Daella would have several children, including a male heir who would take seniority over a half-sibling (whereas with an older Arryn half-brother, any child of Daella's would be at most second-in-line). Of course, Daella died in childbirth the first time, so there was only one girl born of the marriage.

[naseridrl]

Jeyne may have been Rodrik's granddaughter by an elder half-sister of Aemma, also, which would have meant that if things went as all involved hoped they would, Daella would have several children, including a male heir who would take seniority over a half-sibling (whereas with an older Arryn half-brother, any child of Daella's would be at most second-in-line). Of course, Daella died in childbirth the first time, so there was only one girl born of the marriage.

Yeah I think if there was a son existing then Daella would never have married him. But if there was either no child or only daughters then its not that much of an issue to be a second wife.

Jeyne certainly had some fire in her though she put Daemon in his place easily enough. I wonder who her parents were? I also wonder how close she and Rhea were considering that Lord Royce was Lord Protector maybe they grew up together in the same place.

[Lord Varys]

Jeyne would have had close ties to the Iron Throne due to being closely related to Aemma. And when Daemon was not well-liked at court, there is no reason to assume that Jeyne would accept him in the Vale.

The idea that Aemma had actually an older half-brother could make sense from a dynastic point of view. If Jaehaerys and Alysanne did not want to install Targaryen-Arryns in the Eyrie, it would be actually no bad idea to offer Daella as second wife to Rodrik. Thus Daella's children or grandchildren could not all that easily try to claim the Iron Throne while already being the Lords of the Vale...