Aemon Targaryen’s Family Tree, Explained

Few things can challenge fans of George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” franchise quite like the Targaryen family tree — and for good reason. As depicted in his books and the HBO shows “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon,” the Targaryen clan were once sprawling and powerful. However, their penchant for incest and a civil war between the Targaryen factions led to them being almost entirely wiped out by the events of “Game of Thrones.” While there are enough fierce, dragon-riding Targaryens around in “House of the Dragon” that it’s a struggle to keep our Aegons straight, there are only a couple of Targaryens left two centuries later when Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) hatches three dragon eggs and brings dragons back for the first time since the civil war.

There’s one Targaryen who got to see not only the fall of the Targaryen dynasty at the hands of Robert Baratheon and his allies, but also the return of dragons and the rise of the dreaded White Walkers foretold by ancient prophecy originally passed down by Targaryen kings: Aemon Targaryen, later and better known as Maester Aemon (played by the late Peter Vaughan on “Game of Thrones”). As a member of the Night’s Watch, he was split from his family and many forgot he was a Targaryen at all. Here’s how he connects to the rest of the clan, from his immediate family to his in-fighting ancestors and his brother’s descendants. 

Some of Aemon’s family are set to appear in the upcoming “Game of Thrones” prequel series “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” based on Martin’s “Dunk and Egg” stories. The “Egg” in “Dunk and Egg” is young Aegon Targaryen (yes, another one), Aemon’s younger brother who will one day ascend to the Iron Throne. He will be played by Dexter Sol Ansell in the series, which follows the young prince as he travels Westeros as squire to the hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey). Think of them like a really wholesome Arya and the Hound and you’re on the right track. 

We’ll get to know plenty more about younger brother Aegon, but Aemon also had two older brothers, Daeron “The Drunken” (Henry Ashton) and Aerion “Brightflame” (Finn Bennett), as well as two younger sisters, Daella and Rhae. Since he was a bright child and there were just too many male Targaryens around, Aemon’s grandfather Daeron II Targaryen chose to send the boy to the citadel to train as a maester. (His brother Egg would run into him in Oldtown while on his adventures, where Aemon would give him a mule, aptly named “Maester.”)

Their father, Maekar I (Sam Spruell), would eventually become king, with their mother Dyanna Dayne as queen. When Aemon finished his training at the citadel and became a Maester he chose to serve in his brother Daeron’s court at Dragonstone. Aemon comes from a long line of people who have lived and served at Dragonstone, including the great and terrible Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen.

Aemon and his siblings are directly descended from Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (played on “House of the Dragon” by Emma D’Arcy) and her uncle-husband Daemon (Matt Smith). Rhaenyra and Daemon’s son Viserys II, who served as hand of the king to his brother Aegon III (also called “Aegon the Younger”), eventually became king himself. His eldest son, Aegon IV “The Unworthy,” had so many mistresses and bastards that there were five Blackfyre rebellions as those bastards tried to claim the throne for themselves, but eventually his (purportedly) legitimate son, Daeron II, ended up on the Iron Throne.   

Daeron II is Aemon’s grandfather, so Rhaenyra and Daemon are his great-great-great-grandparents. As of “House of the Dragon” season 2, his great-great-grandfather, Viserys II, is still just a small child, though we could see more of him as the series progresses, especially once his brother Aegon III becomes king. 

Though Aemon took the vows of the citadel and is not supposed to sire any children or get married as a Maester, his family does have descendants and he ends up with a niece and two nephews: Daenerys Targaryen, Viserys III Targaryen, and Aegon VII Targaryen, better known as Jon Snow. 

Though Aemon had no children of his own, his brother Aegon V had three children: Rhaegar, Viserys III (Harry Lloyd), and Daenerys. Viserys died when given a “golden crown” by Daenerys’ husband Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), but Daenerys went on to nearly conquer King’s Landing and retake Westeros for herself in “Game of Thrones.” One person in particular stood in her way: her lover, battle partner, and nephew, Jon Snow (Kit Harington). 

Jon is Rhaegar’s only surviving child, named Aegon VII in the television series. He’s the child of Rhaegar and his mistress, Lyanna Stark, raised by her brother Ned (Sean Bean) as his own bastard in order to protect the boy when any remaining Targaryens were hunted down following Robert’s Rebellion. Meanwhile, Daenerys and Viserys were smuggled to Essos until they were adults for their protection, which led to Daenerys conquering most of Essos before turning her sights on Westeros. Jon eventually kills Dany to stop her from unleashing mass death upon King’s Landing, before heading back to Castle Black and the Wall, where he was sent as a younger man. 

Castle Black is also where Aemon was able to talk with his great-nephew, though whether Aemon knew of Jon’s heritage or not is up for debate. After all, the Targaryen family tree is confusing without changing a child’s name to protect them, so who knows?

Maester Aemon was the maester at Castle Black and one of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont’s (James Cosmo) most trusted advisors. There, he tended to the members of the Night’s Watch, who protect the people of Westeros from the wildlings (and other dangers) that live beyond the Wall. Jon Snow initially went there because he felt he had no real future anywhere else as a bastard, and he wanted to join his uncle Benjen, the First Ranger of the Night’s Watch. Eventually Aemon ends up helping guide Jon Snow when he becomes Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch himself, telling him to “kill the boy, and let the man be born.” 

But why was Aemon at Castle Black in the first place? After the death of his father and questions about the succession, Aemon chose to take the black and serve at the Wall instead of being caught up in any plots for the throne. He had no desire for power and perhaps knew that Egg would be a better king. Besides, he had already taken the vows of the Citadel and didn’t want to go back on those. 

It will be interesting to see what HBO does with “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” and how much of a role Aemon plays, since he’s mostly out of the picture at Oldtown, but fans of Dunk and Egg are definitely stoked. Aemon is a great character that exists almost entirely in the margins, but is related to just about everyone.