House Baratheon of King's Landing

DISCLAIMER: THE SYMBOLS IN THIS SET ARE FROM THE HBO TV SERIES, NOT THE ORIGINAL NOVELS.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s famous series of novels (collectively known as “A Song of Ice and Fire”), the television series “Game of Thrones” first premiered in 2011 on the channel HBO. It is set in a fantasy world heavily based on the society and culture of the European Middle Ages. Two primary continents, known as Westeros and Essos, make up the bulk of the visible landmass in this world, with the former being featured in storylines much more frequently. While typical elements from fantasy stories, such as dragons and various forms of magic, are seen throughout the series, in the long run these generally take a backseat to the military conflicts, political machinations and family dynamics that are the principle focus of the story.

The continent of Westeros is made up of many different regions, each of which has its own culture and history. Most of these regions form constituent parts of a single political realm, which is presided over by a ruling monarch. While the monarch holds ultimate power over the realm, local governance of each region is handled by a “Great House”, a noble family whose members answer directly to the sovereign. House Baratheon is one of these Great Houses, and in the series, they are also the House that rules over all of Westeros, having seized the throne from Aerys II, the last king of the Targaryen dynasty, seventeen years prior to the series beginning.

After the death of King Robert Baratheon at the end of the first season, the subsequent political turmoil (events that largely set in motion the storylines for all the successive seasons) results in numerous parties all claiming the right to the throne of the Seven Kingdoms. One of these parties is Joffrey Baratheon, Robert’s eldest son (at least officially). His sigil is actually a combination of imagery from two other Great Houses: The black stag on a field of gold is the tradition sigil of the Baratheons, representing his father (for full details, see the symbol for ‘House Baratheon’), while the golden lion on a field of red is the tradition sigil of House Lannister, representing his mother (for full details, see the symbol for ‘House Lannister’). While Joffrey is the one who actually claims the throne after Robert’s death, the major caveat is that he is not actually Robert’s legitimate son, but a bastard born of an incestuous relationship between his mother Cersei Lannister and her twin brother Jaime. While there are some characters who dismiss this information as a foul rumor, including Joffrey himself, many others take it as fact, and this is one of the primary reasons that so many other parties all believe that Joffrey’s right to the throne is non-existent.