Is Aemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon?

One of the things that we can easily notice about the characters in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon is that their names are often repeated and taken after some of the most prominent members of their house. This has been the same case for the Targaryens, who often repeat the Aegon name due to the status of the Conqueror in the lore of their house. Of course, the name Aemon is also often repeated, as we’ve heard the name many times in the past. So, is Aemon Targaryen a character in House of the Dragon?

Regardless of which Aemon it is, there is no Aemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon. That’s because all of the Aemons in Targaryen history either lived before or after the events of House of the Dragon. The closest character to this name is Aemond Targaryen, the second son of King Viserys I.

It might be a bit confusing for some people that there are different Targaryens that carry the same name. But it’s actually the same as the fact that many different real-life families simply borrow the names of their great predecessors. As such, we are here to talk about whether or not there is a character named Aemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon.

Who Is Aemon Targaryen?

For those who have been following Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, one of the things that you would have noticed is the fact that the names of the characters are often borrowed from other characters that came before them. This is something that has been common in George RR Martin’s characters in his books, as some parents would name their children after some of the past members of their family in the past.

For example, there have been a lot of Brandons in the Stark lineage, as Bran Stark was named after his late uncle, Brandon Stark, who was probably also named after another Brandon that belonged to House Stark long ago. And this is something that we have noticed in House of the Dragon as well because the Aegon Targaryen we know in the series was basically named after Aegon the Conqueror, who conquered the entire continent of Westeros more than a century before the events of the series.

Of course, another common name that we may have heard among the Targaryens is the name “Aemon” because there have been a few Aemon Targaryens in the history of House Targaryen. So, who are the different Aemon Targaryens that we know of?

The first Aemon that would come to mind is the son of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, who is often called the Old King due to having the longest reign in Targaryen history. This Aemon Targaryen was born as the third child of Jaehaerys and Alysanne but became the heir to the Iron Throne because his older brother, Aegon, died early in his life. Aemon was also the first to mount Caraxes, the Blood Wyrm, and was the father of Princess Rhaenys, the Queen Who Never Was. He died at the age of 37 after getting hit by a crossbow bolt, as he never ascended to the Iron Throne during his entire lifetime.

Meanwhile, the second Aemon that we know of is Aemon the Dragonknight, who is the son of Viserys II, who we know is the second son of Daemon and Rhaenyra. He was never a king, but Aemon was called the Dragonknight because he was often regarded as the noblest knight to have ever lived in the history of Westeros. Cregan Stark once said that Aemon was the best swordsman he had ever faced, and this very same Targaryen was still the subject of songs a hundred years after his time due to his legendary status as a knight. He died defending his king from an assassination attempt.

Probably the most popular Aemon Targaryen among fans of Game of Thrones is Maester Aemon, who was the maester that was serving Castle Black during the timeline of the series. While he may have been a Targaryen, he decided to be a maester long ago, and that meant that he had forsaken his claims to his royal lineage. He was supposed to be the heir to the Iron Throne after his father’s death, but he refused the throne and gave it to his brother, Aegon V, instead.

Since then, he began serving as the maester of Castle Black for the Night’s Watch because he feared that his status as a Targaryen might be used by his brother’s enemies. As such, by taking the black, he was no longer a Targaryen in terms of his status but only by blood. He served the Night’s Watch for many decades, as he died during the time of the events of Game of Thrones as a man that has reached over a century.

Is Aemon Targaryen In House Of The Dragon?

Now that we know three different Aemon Targaryens that have existed throughout the history of Westeros, does that mean that there is an Aemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon? Unfortunately, there is no Aemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon.

Aemon Targaryen, the father of Princess Rhaenys and the uncle of King Viserys I, died before the events of House of the Dragon, and that means that he couldn’t have lived during the events of Viserys’s reign. And Viserys wouldn’t have become king had Aemon been alive because he was supposed to be King Jaehaerys’s heir.

Meanwhile, Aemon the Dragonknight was born on 136 AC, which is five years after the Dance of the Dragons. He was the son of Viserys II, who was the son of Daemon and Rhaenyra. As such, he won’t be in House of the Dragon on account of the fact that his life began after the Targaryen civil war. 

Finally, Maester Aemon Targaryen was born on 198 AC and died on 300 AC. That means that, while he may have lived through a good part of Game of Thrones, he was yet to be born during the events of House of the Dragon, considering that he was born 61 years after the conclusion of the Targaryen civil war. In that regard, he shouldn’t be in House of the Dragon.

Of course, we do have a character named Aemond Targaryen in House of the Dragon. He is the second son of King Viserys I to Queen Alicent Hightower. His name may sound like Aemon, but he has the extra letter “D” at the end of his first name. As such, he isn’t an Aemon Targaryen but is a totally different character.

Aemond is the final person to ever mount Vhagar, the largest dragon in the world at that time. He became a crucial piece for the Greens during the events of the Dance of the Dragons due to the fact that he was a skilled fighter and dragonrider, even with one eye.

However, Aemond died a year after the war broke out as he ended up fighting an epic confrontation with Daemon in what is known as the Battle Above the Gods Eye. He, Vhagar, and Daemon’s dragon Caraxes all perished in the fight. Meanwhile, Daemon’s body was never found, but he was presumed dead as well.