Making Madness: Rethinking Aerys II Targaryan

[Knight and Dayne]

Intro

Ser Barristan gave us his recollection of Jaehaerys II's famous thoughts on Targaryan Madness:

...madness and greatness were two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land (ASoS 71)

It's a great quote, but a look at the lives of Targaryan kings reveals a more complex picture. Sure, some are better than others, but it makes more sense to attribute this to the difficult nature of leadership than some blood trait.

My main argument here will be that Aerys II Targaryan's descent into madness was engineered by outside forces. It was not a necessary outcome of his Targaryan-ness. I'll provide a close look at his life, companions, and parallel figures to show some possible culprits and motives for this extended regicide.

Shockingly, this went long, so I'm going multi-part. We'll start with evidence that history was unkind to Aerys (at least early on). If folks are interested, part 2 will Duskendale, and future installments will be wild speculation about what it all means.

Aerys II The Beloved?

Lets play a game. Name the king who:
(1) grew up with his two best friends from other great houses, who would continue to be his most important supporters after ascending to the throne,
(2) was less studious but more charismatic than his peers,
(3) distinguished himself as a warrior in a kingdom-defining conflict before being crowned,
(4) loved tournaments, feasts, and women,
(5) had a loveless, arranged marriage,
(6) presided over a relatively peaceful and prosperous kingdom for many years,
(7) and was undone following the souring of his relations with the Lannisters.

For all his hatred of Targaryans, Robert Baratheon and the Mad King sure had a lot in common.

Now, I'm not suggesting that there's anything here that yet suggests foul play, but the parallels are striking, and I think they point to how the political and cultural dynamics of the day shaped the careers of kings. It's certainly enough to show that Aerys II was no Aegon the Unworthy, at least not at first.

Famously, Aerys and Tywin feuded, but the kingdom prospered anyways. Tywin was competent, ruthless, and decisive. He was undeniably effective in his role as hand of the king, but never inspired much love. Aerys was generous, idealistic, and flaky. Viserys can't have been entirely wrong when he claimed his father was well loved - it seems there was a time when it was true. This is characteristic of GRRM's portrayal of successful rulers: they have strong, competent, and willful subordinates and the kingdom prospers through a balance of their strengths and weaknesses. (See Daenarys and her advisors.) Weak rulers drive away competent help, surround themselves with sycophants and demand unilateral rule. (See Cersi after Tywin's death.)

It's clear that Aerys goes from one column to the next, but why and how? Also, I won't belabor the point, but Robert was totally following the same path before the boar got him.

The Seeds of Madness

While the Defiance of Duskendale provides a clear breaking point, I'd be remiss if I didn't account for some pretty crazy stuff Aerys II did earlier in his reign. In roughly chronological order, we have:

"Taking liberties with" and generally creeping on Joanna Lannister

Paranoia about Rhaella's fidelity

De-Tonguing Ilyn Payne

There's a trend here: Growing jealousy of Tywin Lannister.

I. Joanna: Cause, not a Symptom of Madness

Let's start with girl problems. Aerys is forced into a marriage with his sister Rhaella because the Woods Witch told Papa Jaehaerys II they'd sire the PwwP.* Neither sibling is particularly fond of the other, but they gut it out. Rhaella looks the other way as Aerys sleeps around, occasionally kicking women out of her service, but never really (as far as we know) confronting Aerys about it.

By contrast, Aerys' best friend Tywin gets to marry a girl he actually likes, who Aerys has been crushing on. Aerys makes some off-color jokes while drunk and "takes liberties" during the bedding. There's more drunk bad jokes later that fit the same pattern, but it doesn't really add up to madness. There's also a truly bitter comment following Joanna's death, which I'll address separately.

Consider especially that history is written by the victors. We know Tywin was pissed about all this, but, from what we know of his ruthlessness and his fierce defense of his and his family's reputation, he doesn't really do much about it. This is not an A+J=T argument, simply an acknowledgement that, based on what we know, Aerys and Joanna could have been anything from flirting to annoy Tywin to a full-blown star-crossed love. It's plausible, and Aerys isn't the only recent Targaryan who might not be guilty of rape.

My conclusion is this is give-and-take. Tywin's successes annoy Aerys, so Aerys annoys Tywin back. They've been friends since childhood. It's only a big deal in retrospect.

2. Rhaella's Miscarriages

This is where it starts getting weird. Before all of the above, the wiki gave me this tidbit:

In 259 AC, Rhaella gave birth to their firstborn son and heir, Prince Rhaegar. He was "born in blood and grief" during the disaster known as the tragedy of Summerhall, which killed King Aegon V, his eldest son Prince Duncan, and many others.[8] Aerys's father, Jaehaerys, ascended the Iron Throne after the tragedy. It would later be rumoured that, on the night of Jaehaerys's coronation, Aerys took the maidenhead of Lady Joanna Lannister, who had come to court for the celebrations.

Sequence of events: Rhaegar is born, Aegon V dies, Jaehaerys II ascends, and Aerys II possibly has sex with Joanna. 4 years before her marriage to Tywin and all that followed.

Rhaegar is strong and healthy and awesome and everyone loves him etc etc.

Then we get this:

In 263 AC, Lady Joanna Lannister was dismissed by Rhaella, shortly after having married Lord Tywin. Whilst no official reason was given for Joanna's abrupt dismissal, she was not the first of Rhaella's ladies to be dismissed in this fashion, nor was she the last.[4]

Those blanks are easy to fill in. These are not:

Rhaella's difficulties with childbirth played their part as well. In 263 AC and 264 AC, Rhaella had a miscarriage. In 267 AC, whilst Aerys was away in the westerlands, Rhaella gave birth to the stillborn Princess Shaena. Prince Daeron, born in 279 AC, survived for only half a year. After Daeron, a second stillbirth followed in 270 AC, and a miscarriage in 271 AC. In 272 AC, Prince Aegon was born two months premature. He would die in 273 AC.

If you've been paying attention, that's a healthy boy born immediately before A+J=<3 could have started, and right after it had to end, we have 2 stillbirths, 2 miscarriages, and two sickly kids that die within ~a year. Aerys is at first supportive of his suffering wife, then suspicious, then outright paranoid, locking her in a tower with bedwarmers and generally being nasty.

Dead kids are a really good litmus test for Aerys' sanity, and they're clearly a pressure point from him. The birth of Jaehaerys in 274 leads to a return to form for our maddening king, and when Jaehaerys dies, Aerys goes on a paranoid killing spree. Aerys then recovers, makes some really decent promises, and when Viserys is born in 275, Aerys is positively doting and kind.

Yes, this is a crazy way to act. No, I'm not defending Aerys. I'm pointing out that 7 dead children in 11 years isn't good for anyone's mental stability. That Rhaella kept giving birth and ended up with 3 surviving heirs indicates she wasn't sickly or incapable, even given that she's had every mother's worst nightmare on repeat for more than a decade. And, if you'll keep following me down the rabbit hole, there's a pretty tidy explanation for all these insanity-inducing dead kids.

Pycelle served 6 kings, and was on the small council for the entirety of Aerys' reign. His duties must have been the same, including seeing to the medical needs of the royal household, so he'd have access to pregnant Rhaella.

Pycelle is an expert poisoner, and is known for being subtle in his craft. He had the means to kill off Rhaella's un- and newly- born children without anyone being the wiser.

Pycelle is both a Maester and a Lannister loyalist, and both of those factions would have reason to start killing Targaryan babies:

Lannisters: because of the growing Tywin/Aerys rivalry, or simply for revenge; a more clandestine Castamere. But more likely, it's:

Maesters: because they've got an agenda. Here's a good introduction, no way to spell it out now.

3. Ilyn Payne and Tywin the Traumatized

With all the family drama, it's easy to forget that the Aerys/Tywin realm-running tag team has been doing a good job, in keeping with GRRM's good rulers have strong subordinates theme. Over time, Aerys overrules Tywin or contradicts his advice a few times, but there's not much of consequence there.** Aerys is petty sometimes, Tywin is inflexible. Add in a wacky neighbor and you've got a sitcom.

It takes a turn for the worse when Aerys hears talk that Tywin's the real power behind the throne. This exacerbates the rivalry, strains their friendship, and plays on Aerys' two-sided jealousy and sense of superiority in a psychologically precise way. Whispers and rumors mark a major break between King and Hand. We've been privy to enough of Westerosi politics to know that rumors come from somewhere. I don't have a neat candidate for this one, but this smacks of manipulation as well.

Ilyn Payne losing his tongue marks this break - he's an important Lannister (Captain of Tywin's personal guard) at a time when Aerys starts getting rid of Lannisters, and his harsh punishment directly reflects a direct psychological attack on the king.

I'd like to re-emphasize the durability of Aerys and Tywin's friendship. Even after everything, Tywin doesn't abandon Aerys until well after Duskendale, and Aerys never moves against Tywin directly. It's tragic in a way to see it playing out. We know that the point of no return is Aerys' mocking of Joanna's death and Tyrion's birth, which again reflects Aerys' psychological triggers: Joanna, troubled birth, and latent rivalry with Tywin.

*There's an interesting digression here on dynastic incest I'll skip for now.

**I am of course being glib. The trade dispute(s) and actual policy differences between Aerys and Tywin are really fruitful ground for understanding the present condition of Westeros, but that's a different story.

[Beorn Snow]

Very good analysis.

A+J is starting to look more plausible.

Wouldn´t it be funny if the story about Bael the bard said more about the Lannisters than the Starks? After all Joanna makes them lannisters via mother-line, and mother-line mattering more seems to be a theme.

Like Aegon the III. It seems to occur pretty often that the female gets passed over, but her son getting the lordship/throne.

[Knight and Dayne]

Thanks! I've not done much with Bael the Bard symbolism, but I can see how it fits. That could be a really fun take.

[Mithras]

No inference to Dany regarding dead children and madness?

[Lord Varys]

Well, actually, I think we are wrong if we believe Pycelle was a Lannister loyalist at heart back during those years, but rather Lord Tywin's colleague on the Small Council whom he had grown to like and admire. That doesn't mean Pycelle did anything to betray House Targaryen at this point - especially not in light of the fact that Tywin himself, apparently, stayed true to his old friend.

In retrospective we tend to make Pycelle this die-hard Lannister loyalist because of his counsel during the Sack and his Lannister-friendly policy during the reign of Robert. But this is mostly done for the good of the Realm, I'd think, as Pycelle honestly believes that Tywin Lannister as Hand (or even king) would be a blessing for the Realm. Tywin is the greatest administrator Pycelle has ever met, and he must have been not all that impressed by Robert or Jon Arryn afterwards.

We see that Pycelle eventually leaves Cersei's ship when she turns out to be stupid/self-destructive in AFfC.

Pycelle actually involving himself in the murder of Targaryen children could have led to his own execution. I'm not sure if he'd have risked that. Not to mention that there are countless examples of Targaryen suffering miscarriages/stillbirths or dying in childbirth (three of Maegor's wives, Princess Daella, Queen Aemma, Laena Velaryon, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Naerys Targaryen). I very much doubt that maesters were involved in all or any of that.

[Chaircat Meow]

Welcome to the forums and thanks for this OP. General has gone to the dogs lately, so its really good when someone does a well written interesting OP. I look forward to part 2. I think GrrM has made Aerys's reign and the fall of the Targs very complex and multifaceted. There are lots of hints throughout the novels and world book about various factors at play. I think your basic thesis, namely that Aerys was driven mad by people working against him, has a lot of truth to it.

1. I do believe in A+J=T and my interpretation of the Tywin/Aerys relationship is different to yours. In my view the account in the world book is a faithful recounting of Yandel's view of events, but is also a very deliberate attempt on GrrM's part to conceal the full truth of things. There are very strong hints Aerys and Joanna had a sexual encounter (probably rape) on the night of the 272 tourney. If Tywin does think Tyrion might be Aerys's he clearly knows this. I think we have very strong evidence Tywin was working to overthrow Aerys from 273 onwards. The world book makes it clear Aerys was never going to accept Tywin's marriage proposal in 275: his whole purpose is to keep Tywin in his place. Tywin's decision to stage the Lannisport tourney and ask for Rhaegar's hand for Cersei thus becomes inexplicable unless we assume Tywin always intended Aerys to refuse (and for Rhaegar to later accept). On this theory, Tywin hoped Aerys would snub him in front of all his lords so those same lords could see Tywin get his revenge when he and Rhaegar overthrew Aerys and Cersei became Queen. This plot is reported as a rumour in the world book. According to this view Tywin also wanted to kill Aerys at Duskendale and might have deliberately prompted him to go by protesting too vigorously.

2. I think the maesters were aborting the Targ heirs as you suggest. The Targs are a magical dynasty and the maesters want less magic. Rhaegar got away because he was born at Summerhall. We don't know how Vis slipped through the net, but most maesters won't be in on the plot. We also see that the maesters were encouraging Rickard's series of marriage alliances and there are hints that southron ambitions was an explicitly anti-Targ alliance designed to remove the whole dynasty and put Robert and Lyanna in their place.

So by 273 onwards Aerys had some very powerful forces in the realm working against him, which exacerbated his natural propensity for abnormal behaviour.

edit: spelling etc.

[Chinoiserie]

Very good essay, Aerys is quite interesting and somewhat tragic character even if he was quite horrible (in a similar manner Viserys was).

It would be strange for me that the Maesters would be poisoning the Targaryens so long after the dragons died. The Targaryens would not excactly be that magical anymore and there would be a great risk for the Maesters if they are discovered and the realm could possible suffer as well from succesion crisis that could lead to war and not resolved in the Great Counsil. I do not think Lannisters would have been guilty either, certainly not as early the dead children started.

I wonder if some Blackfyres could be the guilty party but Varys was not at the court that early and I do not know how they could have had the means elsewise. Mayhaps the deaths of the children was just unfortunate concidence and a reason for Aerys's decent to madness. But I think there is something behind this anyway...

[Knight and Dayne]

Loving the love! Thanks all. Part two is on the way.

No inference to Dany regarding dead children and madness?

That takes me onto some unfamiliar ground, but I'd love to hear your take. More interesting to me re: Dany is that the quote at the top is Barristan talking to her about the nature of her Targaryan heritage, and, much as I love the old knight, I think he's full of it. He's all bent out of shape about his own role in the reign of the mad king and that guilt seriously warps his recollection.

snip

Really good point about Pycelle's loyalty. I should have expanded that bit. I agree he's not a Secret Lannister from birth, and serving with and growing to admire Tywin is as good an explanation of his loyalty as anything. My own version of it is the Maester anti-Targ agenda led to his Lannister loyalties, because he realized the Lannisters were his best weapons against the Targaryans. That would also position him as a player in the rumor mill I see as driving the rift between Aerys and Tywin.

snip

Why are the Maesters so keen to kill Targaryans? Some great objections here: Lord Varys mentioned the (1) risk to Pycelle and (2) the long history of difficult births. Chinoiserie mentions (3) dead dragons and (4) the threat of a succession crisis.

1. I think I've covered this, but I'm happy to clarify. We know Pycelle is an expert at poisons, and very very good at covering his tracks. He would have killed Jon Arryn for Lysa if Lysa's plot failed, and no one would have known. It was a risk, but a calculated risk, and it is possibly the main goal of his order.

2. Difficult Targaryan births across multiple generations seems good proof that there's something fishy. Maester baby murder seems like the most likely explanation

3. Sharp observation, and something I was saving for part 3. Short version is, the woods witch prophesy made Aerys and Rhaella a target. The whole purpose of their coupling is to bring a PwwP into the world, and that's about the last thing the Maesters would want, thus making it worth the risk and worth some extreme measures

4. I believe a succession crisis might have been the goal all along, or is at least seen as a preferable alternative to a resurgent House Targaryan. This also might help explain why Pycelle starts bleeding Lannister crimson: they're the house best suited to transition the realm away from Targaryan rule.

Also, lots to say about Varys. Stay tuned.

[Chaircat Meow]

If we believe that there is a Citadel conspiracy in the conclave to destroy the Targs and install a new non/less magical dynasty Pycelle's letters, used by Yandel, could take on a different aspect. They can be seen as letters of recommendation for the potential vacancy at the top. I suspect the maesters were working with an eye on the long term, so a take over by Tywin was not planned, but was something that might be discussed or at least considered by someone in the know. Of course, Pycelle might not have been too heavily in the know. It's dangerous to have your man in king's landing knowing your big secrets.

[Gomagoti]

great essay.am tuned.

[Knight and Dayne]

Welcome to the forums and thanks for this OP. General has gone to the dogs lately, so its really good when someone does a well written interesting OP. I look forward to part 2. I think GrrM has made Aerys's reign and the fall of the Targs very complex and multifaceted. There are lots of hints throughout the novels and world book about various factors at play. I think your basic thesis, namely that Aerys was driven mad by people working against him, has a lot of truth to it.

1. I do believe in A+J=T and my interpretation of the Tywin/Aerys relationship is different to yours. In my view the account in the world book is a faithful recounting of Yandel's view of events, but is also a very deliberate attempt on GrrM's part to conceal the full truth of things. There are very strong hints Aerys and Joanna had a sexual encounter (probably rape) on the night of the 272 tourney. If Tywin does think Tyrion might be Aerys's he clearly knows this. I think we have very strong evidence Tywin was working to overthrow Aerys from 273 onwards. The world book makes it clear Aerys was never going to accept Tywin's marriage proposal in 275: his whole purpose is to keep Tywin in his place. Tywin's decision to stage the Lannisport tourney and ask for Rhaegar's hand for Cersei thus becomes inexplicable unless we assume Tywin always intended Aerys to refuse (and for Rhaegar to later accept). On this theory, Tywin hoped Aerys would snub him in front of all his lords so those same lords could see Tywin get his revenge when he and Rhaegar overthrew Aerys and Cersei became Queen. This plot is reported as a rumour in the world book. According to this view Tywin also wanted to kill Aerys at Duskendale and might have deliberately prompted him to go by protesting too vigorously.

2. I think the maesters were aborting the Targ heirs as you suggest. The Targs are a magical dynasty and the maesters want less magic. Rhaegar got away because he was born at Summerhall. We don't know how Vis slipped through the net, but most maesters won't be in on the plot. We also see that the maesters were encouraging Rickard's series of marriage alliances and there are hints that southron ambitions was an explicitly anti-Targ alliance designed to remove the whole dynasty and put Robert and Lyanna in their place.

So by 273 onwards Aerys had some very powerful forces in the realm working against him, which exacerbated his natural propensity for abnormal behaviour.

edit: spelling etc.

A lot to think about here.

I'm strangely agnostic on A+J=T. I get the argument, but it doesn't seem necessary or consequential, so I'm content to let it be for now, but I'm happy to chat more about it if you like.

As to the Tywin/Aerys relationship, my interpretation is that a lot of what we've heard is poisoned by retrospect, and, as I've insisted, there was a great deal of complex respect, envy, friendship, and rivalry between the two men up to the bitter end. In particular, if you buy my argument about kids being a litmus test for Aerys' sanity, the Lannisport tournament coincides with the seemingly miraculous survival of Viserys. In other words, Aerys is doing alright. I see Tywin recognizing this, and honestly believing he can start repairing the rift for political or for personal reasons (hard to separate the two with that pair). In the end, the Rhaegar/Cersi proposal ends up being an overreach, showing either the extent of the damage done (or, if your tinfoil hat is nearby, a Dornish thumb on the scale).

[Lady Blizzardborn]

This is really good.

Do keep in mind that Rhaella's pregnancy record is not entirely unique in Targ history. There have been several Targ queens (either Targs themselves or married in) who had miscarriages, stillbirths, deformed children, etc.

There are also documented cases of Targs having madness without any interference from others but...I have to ask if you think Pycelle's involvement could indicate some kind of tampering with Aerys II's mind as well via food or drink? If there are poisons in this world that will make a dog turn against his own master, surely there could be something to make someone a bit unstable.

Here's a bit of crackpot for your theory: Pycelle's name has always struck me as interesting, just one letter away from being a Lannister name.

[Knight and Dayne]

If we believe that there is a Citadel conspiracy in the conclave to destroy the Targs and install a new non/less magical dynasty Pycelle's letters, used by Yandel, could take on a different aspect. They can be seen as letters of recommendation for the potential vacancy at the top. I suspect the maesters were working with an eye on the long term, so a take over by Tywin was not planned, but was something that might be discussed or at least considered by someone in the know. Of course, Pycelle might not have been too heavily in the know. It's dangerous to have your man in king's landing knowing your big secrets.

Here's where I've got to confess my TWoIaF is a continent away, so I'm running on memory, chats with friends, and the Wiki. Can ya help a commoner out with Pycelle's letters?

He was the Grand Maester, and he's far more competent than we're led to believe, so it's hard for me to believe he's not a big player.

[Knight and Dayne]

This is really good.

Do keep in mind that Rhaella's pregnancy record is not entirely unique in Targ history. There have been several Targ queens (either Targs themselves or married in) who had miscarriages, stillbirths, deformed children, etc.

There are also documented cases of Targs having madness without any interference from others but...I have to ask if you think Pycelle's involvement could indicate some kind of tampering with Aerys II's mind as well via food or drink? If there are poisons in this world that will make a dog turn against his own master, surely there could be something to make someone a bit unstable.

Here's a bit of crackpot for your theory: Pycelle's name has always struck me as interesting, just one letter away from being a Lannister name.

I think I covered the Targ history problem above, but I'll add some detail. The IlluMaestnati has been at it for a long time, and I'd bet those historical difficult births coincide with the strength of the conspiracy at that point in time. A big part of my theory is also the boring reminder that Targ racial traits like madness and birth problems are attributable to outside forces, rather than some innate quality. Incest is probably still bad for baby though.

Love the food theory - it dovetails nicely with Aerys' later poison phobia.

Nothing wrong with a little crackpot!

[Chaircat Meow]

Here's where I've got to confess my TWoIaF is a continent away, so I'm running on memory, chats with friends, and the Wiki. Can ya help a commoner out with Pycelle's letters?

He was the Grand Maester, and he's far more competent than we're led to believe, so it's hard for me to believe he's not a big player.

Well there's not much to say. We just know Yandel is supposed to have used letters/reports Pycelle sent to the Citadel about his time on the small council when writing about Aerys's reign. Yandel sometimes says, Pycelle says x,y,z. Pycelle dismisses, for instance, rumours Aerys and Joanna had an affair and is quoted saying how wonderful and diligent Tywin was.

It just seems to me that the GM is unlikely to be in the inner circle of Citadel plotting. He's really just their ambassador to king's landing,(an extremely important post, no doubt) and while he'll know a lot I expect it would be prudent to keep him in the dark about some things.

[Knight and Dayne]

Ah, thx. I've always found in Maesterly writing, "X dismisses Y," "X says Y" etc. comes across as a bit of academic snark - like "I totally believe this salacious thing, but I'm unwilling to sign my name to it directly," or "Can you believe what this idiot said? No takebacks, loser!"

[Lord Varys]

Well, I'm certainly not opposed to the idea of a Citadel conspiracy, but I doubt that it would have taken them so long to put the Targaryens down if that had actually be their goal since, well, the Conquest. Not to mention that child murder is an ugly thing, and not exactly a good way to end the Targaryen bloodline for good. Marwyn seems to indicate that it is the blood the grey sheep mistrust, and that he may have that, too (check his line about why they did not trust Maester Aemon).

In fact, a unified Realm offered the Hightowers, the Faith and the Citadel an opportunity to accumulate more power and influence. This is especially evident when the High Septon effectively usurps the position of the Iron Throne during the Faith Militant Uprising - when Aenys I is forced to retreat to Dragonstone the new central authority of the Realm is the High Septon.

If we check the Hightower policy - the guys actually controlling the Citadel throughout its existence as well as the Faith since the office of the High Septon emerged - after the Conquest we realize that the Hightowers were sneaking up to the Targaryens and trying again and again to marry into the royal house to take it over in a Tywin-like fashion until they succeeded with Alicent's marriage to Viserys I. First Lord Manfred Hightower offers his own maiden daughter as third wife to Aegon I. Aegon declines. Then Ceryse Hightower is forced upon Prince Maegor as his first wife by both Lord Martyn Hightower and the High Septon (who happens to an in-law to Lord Martyn). The huge age difference between Ceryse and Maegor (she in her mid-twenties, he a thirteen-year-old) suggests that Ceryse was originally supposed to wed Prince Aenys - a plan that could never be implemented because the Targaryens most likely simply announced the betrothal of Aenys and Alyssa at one point without ever consulting or asking the Lords for a suitable bride for the king's heir.

Then there is the whole Hightower-Faith opposition against Maegor's second wife, Alys Harroway, clearly also motivated by the dwindling of Hightower-Faith influence at court following the introduction of another wife to Maegor.

And finally Otto Hightower becomes Hand, brings his family to court, and Alicent first becomes the lover/nursemaid of the Old King, then the lover of Daemon Targaryen, and finally the lover and eventual wife of Viserys I. Once secure as the king's wife Alicent and Otto began emulating the Targaryens not destroying them. All of Alicent's children become dragonriders, Aegon the Elder marries his sister Helaena - a way to show the world that the Hightower-Targaryens are, in fact, just as special and Targaryenesque then the more pure-blooded dragons.

If this had been part of an early plot to destroy House Targaryens things would have gone differently. We know pretty much nothing about twisted/sick dragons prior to the Dance - Rhaena's crippled dragon aside - and we should also keep in mind that Vaegon the Dragonless - a son of Jaehaerys I - rose to the position of Archmaester during the reign of the Old King.

I imagine that the Citadel covertly began targeting the Targaryen dragons during and in the wake of the Dance, but the dynasty as a whole wasn't targeted. I assume the Storming of the Dragonpit was arranged/helped along by Green agents in the city who, in turn, were manipulated by Citadel and Faith agents hating the dragons. Later on, the whole poisoning of the dragons plot was implemented and master-minded, I assume, by Grand Maester Munkun who happened to serve as one of the regents for Aegon III and eventually became both Hand and sole regent for some time. If he could then not take steps to take out the dragons, no one could have done it. However, he would also have been ideally positioned to take out Aegon III and Viserys II, the last surviving male members of House Targaryen, to end the dynasty. But he did not.

And later on we don't see any hints that the Citadel was actively trying to get rid of the Targaryens as there are simply no great plots happening that could have resulted in a dynasty with no dragon blood taking over. The Blackfyres are Targaryens, too, just as the Targaryen-Baratheons that eventually rose to the throne after Robert's victory.

[Chaircat Meow]

Well, we will get more details in WoW from Sam. But wrt to Citadel hostility to the Targ dynasty as a whole, I think the idea is that Aegon V, or someone around that time, spooked them, and they decided it was better to eliminate the whole dynasty than risk the return of the dragons.

[Knight and Dayne]

My candidate for that something is the woods witch prophesy. It certainly shows why Aerys specifically was a target.

[Mitbert Strangejoy]

Great post! I'm absolutely on board with Pycelle being behind the miscarriages and early child deaths. Maesters generally are involved in both childbirth and taking care of the sick; Pycelle was the only person with sufficient access and knowhow to engineer such a stunt.

However, I'm not 100% sure that Pycelle is a creature of the Lannisters. It's possible that his apparent Lannister loyalty had more to do with undermining the Targaryens than promoting the Lannisters.