In the book epic “Song of Ice and Fire”, on the basis of which the television series “Game of Thrones” is shot, there are many interesting characters who are not present in the film adaptation. Among them is the legendary knight Duncan the High (in the series "Game of Thrones" he does not appear, since he died much earlier). Meanwhile, his story is quite entertaining.
Origin and childhood of Duncan
In addition to some references to Sir Duncan the High, in some saga novels this character is the main character of three separate stories by George Martin (“The Knight of the Land”, “The Sworn Knight” and “The Mysterious Knight”).
Nothing is known about the hero’s parents. They probably either died, or were the dregs of society, of which there are many in the area of the Royal Harbor, teeming with criminals and impoverished, called the Flea Pit. As long as Duncan remembered himself, he always lived on the street, surrounded by the same Holodroots as he was.
His physical data helped the guy survive in this environment: he was always distinguished by incredible strength and gigantic growth, which enabled him to take food from weak comrades. The main entertainment of street kids in the Flea Pit was the abduction of severed heads from the peak on the city walls. Having fun in this way, the hero learned to be quick and agile, which came in handy more than once when he stole.
Duncan - Sire Sire Arlan Squire
One day, the wealthy knight Arlan from Pennitri arrived at Royal Harbor. His nephew squire recently died. Seeing a strong and agile homeless child, the nobleman decided to take him to his place.
Becoming a squire of Sir Arlan, Duncan began to learn all the knightly wisdom. In addition to the ability to fight, the mentor taught him to understand the knight's arms.
Duncan carefully took care of the master, but the latter's chronic drunkenness weakened his health so much that, having caught a cold on the way to the next tournament, the knight died. The young man buried the teacher, and left his belongings to himself. After that, he goes to the jousting tournament in Ashford and takes part in it, taking the name Duncan the High.
However, to be a full-fledged knight, the hero needed a squire. Having met in a tavern with a nimble little boy named Egg, who turned out to be a fellow countryman of Duncan, the newly made knight decided to take him to his place.
Sir Duncan High and Prince Eigon Targaryen
In the first two days of the tournament, the knight and his squire only watched the fights. During the next of them, Prince Airion defeated his opponent dishonestly. This angered the heroes. Therefore, when the prince later attacked a troupe of stray actors (he did not like the performance), Duncan the High defended them by striking Airion.
Despite the noble act, for the attempt on the prince, the hero could lose the arm and leg with which he struck Airion. Egg saved the situation by telling him that in reality he was the younger brother of the quick-tempered prince. However, Maykar, the father of both, wanted to punish the disgraced knight in all severity of the law.
To defend himself, Duncan the High demanded to arrange a duel of seven to seven knights. He managed to emerge victorious from this battle and defend his innocence. Then Maykar, seeing his nobility and honesty, gave him his son Egg (Eigon) as squire, so that both kept secret the royal royal origin of the guy. Thus began a lifelong friendship.
Together with Egg Duncan traveled almost all of Westeros. At first, the young knight entered the service of Lord Eustace Osgrey. Protecting his interests at one of the tournaments, the hero was seriously injured, after which he left an ugly scar.
Leaving Syrah Osgrey's possessions, Duncan and Egg decide to go to the North to assist Lord Stark in the fight against the pirates of the Iron Islands. However, along the way, friends decide to earn extra money. For this, Duncan wants to take part in a knightly tournament in the White-Walled Castle. Arriving there, the heroes find themselves in the very center of the uprising.
After the events of the tournament, Duncan and Egg go to Lord Stark, as planned.
The fate of the hero
In 2013, George Martin announced that several more works would be dedicated to this character, so most of the hero’s adventures are likely to come.
It is only known that in the future, Duncan the High will join the Royal Guard, and subsequently head it. This hero will faithfully serve the Targaryen dynasty and several times stop the rebellion against them. Egg will become King Aigon V, despite the fact that initially he had practically no chance of it.
As for the death of Duncan and Egg, George Martin has not yet told how this happened. The novels only mention a tragic incident in the Summer Castle.
Fun facts about the character
- The growth of the protagonist is 2.15 m.
- It is believed that this knight lived for about 67 years. However, this is an approximate figure, since the year of birth of the character is unknown.
- Duncan was illiterate, but later, thanks to Egg, he learned to read and write.
- The clan coat of arms of the High was invented by his squire. It depicts a tree and a shooting star above it.
- During the events at the White-Walled Castle, Duncan was predicted that he would become a knight of the Royal Guard, and that a dragon would hatch from the dragon’s egg, which was the main prize in the tournament. The first of the predictions came true, but the fate of the second is still unknown.
- Eigon named his eldest son part of his best friend - Duncan (Prince Dragonfly). The three of them, under unknown circumstances, died in the Summer Castle.
Theories about a character named Duncan High
Brienne Tarte once found an old shield with the coat of arms of Duncan the High in her father’s weapons castle. How he got here, no one knew. However, this finding allows us to put forward a theory of the relationship of women with the legendary knight.
Another argument for the fact that Brienne has the same physique and appearance as Duncan the High.
Also, many questions remain about the death of a knight. Probably, King Aigon, Prince Egg and Duncan managed to ensure that the dragon hatched from the egg obtained at the tournament in the White-Walled Castle. But they could not cope with him when the baby grew up and therefore died from his fire.
There are still many questions regarding a character named Duncan High. "Game of Thrones" - a series that does not yet pay attention to this hero. However, if in the future it turns out that he really was the ancestor of Brienne, - perhaps he is mentioned in the television series. In the meantime, readers who have loved Duncan the High are looking forward to new stories about his adventures.