Just a backup in advance of the detumblring
Since Jaime III took so long, I got a LOT of Tumblr asks in my backlog, enough that I couldn’t fit all of them into one post. So here we go: When did the Plantaganets start speaking English? How do you fight war elephants: Part I How do you take a castle by treachery? The courts of lesser lords. The House Arryn look. Premodern population growth. Masterly Houses and titles of address: Part I Part…
No. Littlefinger’s dodgy practices affected the royal treasury, not the incomes of lesser houses, but he then used the income gained from those dodgy practices to take advantage of said financial woes for political purposes.
I think you’re assuming Cersei is more sane than I am.
Brienne absolutely isn’t smuggling Jaime to safety, but what happens next, it depends.
I think Tommen’s going to get in the way, yeah.
A mix of the highland clans of Scotland and the extremely independent clans of the Scottish Marches.
Here’s why I don’t think it’s just hyperbole: this isn’t the only place where Littlefinger and tenfold increases comes up.
In A Storm of Swords, Tyrion states that while “crown incomes are ten times higher than they were under Aerys… [so] are the crown’s expenses. Robert was as generous with his coin as he was with his cock… the incomes are considerable, but they are barely sufficient to cover the usury on Littlefinger’s loans.”
As I explain in my essay, this claim on its own is suspect, because if incomes have grown by tenfold (highly unlikely on its own) and so have expenditures (likewise highly unlikely), then debt-to-income shouldn’t have grown, but somehow a tenfold increase in income is only sufficient to cover the interest rate, let alone the principal of the loan.
To me, this makes Littlefinger’s claims from Gulltown part of a pattern of behavior, where he makes extravagant claims of increased income, and then takes on much larger levels of debt than would be necessary to meet expenditures. (For example, his practice of not paying back any principal on the debt and taking out new loans to pay the interest, which is accounting malpractice likely covering up fraud.)
Not really.
“Aerion has already filled his father’s ear. And Daeron has not helped you either. To excuse his own cowardice, he told my brother that a huge robber knight, chance met on the road, made off with Aegon. I fear you have been cast as this robber knight, ser. In Daeron’s tale, he has spent all these days pursuing you hither and yon, to win back his brother.”
“But Egg will tell him the truth. Aegon, I mean.
“Egg will tell him, I have no doubt,” said Prince Baelor, “but the boy has been known to lie too, as you have good reason to recall. Which son will my brother believe? As for the matter of these puppeteers, by the time Aerion is done twisting the tale it will be high treason. The dragon is the sigil of the royal House. To portray one being slain, sawdust blood spilling from its neck … well, it was doubtless innocent, but it was far from wise. Aerion calls it a veiled attack on House Targaryen, an incitement to revolt. Maekar will likely agree. My brother has a prickly nature, and he has placed all his best hopes on Aerion, since Daeron has been such a grave disappointment to him.” The prince took a sip of wine, then set the goblet aside. “Whatever my brother believes or fails to believe, one truth is beyond dispute. You laid hands upon the blood of the dragon. For that offense, you must be tried, and judged, and punished.”
“Punished?” Dunk did not like the sound of that.
“Aerion would like your head, with or without teeth. He will not have it, I promise you, but I cannot deny him a trial. As my royal father is hundreds of leagues away, my brother and I must sit in judgment of you, along with Lord Ashford, whose domains these are, and Lord Tyrell of Highgarden, his liege lord. The last time a man was found guilty of striking one of royal blood, it was decreed that he should lose the offending hand.”
(Emphasis mine)
Daeron’s self-serving lie didn’t help matters, but Baelor makes it quite clear: Dunk striking Aerion is a separate legal matter from whether or not Dunk kidnapped Aegon, and there would have had to be a trial by combat.
Making that trial a trial by seven was “my right, I do believe.“ Daeron not having made his contribution would make it somewhat more politically embarrassing for Aerion to claim that right, but he always had the perogative to “insist upon a trial of seven.”
Because Cersei wants Margaery dead and she no longer has any brakes.
Hey folks! Jaime III is finally done, and so are copy-edits to my academic manuscript, so content should be more frequent in the future. In the mean time, I’ve got lots and lots of stuff on the Tumblrs (so much so that I may do a second Roundup later this week): How could Anguy spend his money in a prudent fashion? How much money is 10,000 dragons? Part I Part II Prizes in tourneys: Part I Titles…
RFTIT Tumblr Backup 