I was always under the impression that the Dayne’s were just below the Yronwoods in the Dornish hierarchy. Are they not the Dornish equivalent of House Swann and even though the Torrentine is not navigable by boat to the extent that the Slayne is, do they not still sit on the overland trade route connecting Dorne to Oldtown? Also, factoring in the Dornishmen’s high value export commodities places them pretty high in the food chain. Thoughts? – Thank You, RSAFan

The Daynes are fairly prominent – they’re a principal house, they have that marriage link to Nymeria, etc. But the Jordaynes, Santagars, Allyrions, Tolands, Yronwoods, Wyls, and Fowlers are also principal houses and many of them have more useful economic advantages: the Tor and Ghost Hill sit on the Sea of Dorne which gives them a closer shot to the Narrow Sea trade, Godsgrace and Vaith sit on rivers that give them some of the rare arable land in Dorne and access to the Narrow Sea,  the Fowlers sit on top of the caravan route through the Prince’s Pass, etc.

And as for the Daynes, it’s unlikely that there is much overland trade between Starfall and Oldtown, because that trade wouldn’t get much further than Starfall due to having to go over the Red Mountains to get to the rest of Dorne, as opposed to the easier route through the Prince’s Pass. Likewise, the high value export commodities probably aren’t produced in the arid Red Mountains – it’s far more likely that production takes place more in eastern Dorne.