You know things are about to slow down and get a good deal more complex when you have an entire chapter devoted to one out of the three hundred years of the Targaryen dynasty…

The Year of the Three Brides really emphasizes GRRM’s attempt to make Targaryen/Westerosi history less of a sausage fest, emphasizing the key political roles played by Rhaena, Alyssa, and Alysanne, and letting us know a lot more about who they were as people than was the case in WOIAF. While far from perfect, I do feel GRRM should be encouraged to do more on this front.

Starting with the first bride, we get Rhaena Targaryen marrying Androw Farman. Having now finished F&B Volume I, I find it hard not to look for warning signs from the beginning. Sam Stokeworth and Alayne Royce attending the wedding and the mention of Elissa Farman as “high-spirited” are early warning signs of the tragedy that is to come.

However, I find myself equally interested in the politics of the wedding. Lyman Lannister attends the wedding both out of loyalty to the Princess he once sheltered, but also as part of a long-term strategy. Being the cautious cat that he is, it is interesting that he’s the one who informs King’s Landing of the marriage having happened, which keeps him from any royal ire. Not surprisingly, the Queen Regent is pissed that she wasn’t consulted, and Rogar is pissed that his borthers and nephews weren’t considered, since he clearly had ambitions of making the Baratheons the new Velaryons.

The formation of the first Small Council is quite interesting. We get Edwell Celtigar (ex-Maegorite) as Master of Coin and Lord Treasurer – the combined use of Essosi and Westerosi styles suggesting that these roles are still very much in flux. Daemon Velaryon (ex-Jaehaerian) as Master of Ships and Lord Admiral, the second of his name to hold the job. Prentys Tully as Master of Laws, showing that the Tullys’ royal favor was not limited to Edmyn, and the “redoubtable” Lady Lucinda (so now GRRM has two adjectives to describe influential women). Qarl Corbray (ex-Aegorian) as Commander of the City Watch, which shows that Slynt is not the first Commander to have a position on the Small Council. Rogar Baratheon as Hand of the King. Natch.

Rogar comes off as a somewhat smarter version of Robert Baratheon, preferring the axe to the warhammer, although definitely someone much more interested in the acquisition and maintenance of political power than his descendant. Hence his marriage to…

Queen Alyssa. As I said last time, there’s definitely a slight Freudian nature to Jaehaerys’ resentment of the union between his mother and his Hand, although I quite liked the way that Jaehaerys’ cautious nature comes through in Barth’s description of the way he guards his responses to the wedding.

The wedding itself is a perfect example of the use of soft power; you get the High Septon to buy into the new power structure, you invite tens of thousands to watch, and you really push the boat out – literally, given the “mock sea battle to be fought in the waters of Blackwater Bay” in addition to the tourney and the week of feasting – to get the whole of the political class to buy in as well.

Incidentally, the “Golden Wedding” (I see what you did there, GRRM) is a nice opportunity to see who’s who in 49 AC: Donnel Hightower and Lyman Lannister are two of the more significant southern power players; Brandon Stark is on the way out and about to be replaced by his sons Walton and Alaric; the Marcher Lords are surprisingly more prominent than the Lords of the Reach; and it’s a very international event, what with the Archon of Tyrosh, a Princess of Dorne, and twenty-two Pentoshi magisters.

Jaehaerys’ granting audience to the sixscore lords is where I got the biggest FDR vibes, because FDR was also a master of the one-on-one meeting, appearing to be whatever he needed to be to appeal to the person he was dealing with at the time, and a lifelong master of the art of appearing to agree with someone without having actually committed to anything. And of course, Alysanne starting her tradition of women’s courts makes a lot of sense as well.

Speaking of Freudian overtones, I’m not surprised that Jaehaerys didn’t get along with his stepdad given the “bachelor party” his brothers threw. It’s also an interesting sign of cultural change – in the wake of the Faith Militant uprising, the nobility feel more leeway to indulge themselves.

I found it amusing that Dany’s arrival in the Dragonpit was the most recent in a long line of Targaryen symbolic politics, where Jaehaerys and Alysanne are making a not-so-subtle statement to 40,000 people about why there will be no more civil wars against the Targaryens.

I found myself liking the War for the White Cloaks more than I expected to. It’s a very OTT topper to what is already the period of Targaryen history with the most pageantry, we get some really fun characters. The rejects – the Keg o’Ale, Tom the Strummer, and the Serpent in Scarlet – are arguably more interesting than the winners, although Pate the Woodcock and Samgood of Sour Hill are some good proto-Dunks.

So let’s talk about Alysanne. I got Eleanor Roosevelt vibes both from the fact that “her childhood had been spent in the shadow of her brothers” and that she was described as “pretty but seldom as beautiful.”

I also found the relationship between Alysanne and Barth quite interesting – reminded me a little of how some presidential advisors came to be closer to the First Lady than the President like Edward House and Eleanor Roosevelt or some of JFK’s advisers and Jackie Kennedy.

The politics of Jaehaerys’ marriage are quite interesting – boxing out Rhaena means that Jaehaerys needs to get someone pregnant now, but there’s a division about who. Rogar wants an alliance with Tyrosh (and to safely marry Alysanne to his youngest brother), but Alysanne wants a loyalist marriage to a lesser house and points to religious differences between Westeros and Essos (didn’t know R’hllorism was so big in Tyrosh, but the slavery angle probably explains that; also, would love to know if the Patternmaker is associated with the mazes), and Benifer argues for a Tyrell, Hightower, or Arryn to expand the coalition.

Some of the less likely ones are quite interesting: Elinor Costayne is really out there, as are Celtigar’s daughters, but I’m surprised we didn’t get more houses pressing their suits while in town for the marriage.

Naturally, in the wake of the Faith Militant uprising, religion plays a big role here. Septon Mattheus reminds me of a mix between my characters Most Devout Volkmar and Lewys Flowers, an unctuous asshole who wants to be the next HIgh Septon.

Speaking of which, I still find it surprising that the Velaryons are described as “the second house in the realm,” given how small their lands are in relation to…pretty much everyone else.

Alysanne and Jaehaerys’ marriage-cum-armed standoff I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it’s a very well-executed romantic drama, perhaps not as well written as the Tower of Joy but very much in the same vein, with Dragonstone standing in as the place of perfect contentment. On the other hand, it’s a bit too dramatic, where people are speaking a bit too well-written, where Rogar comes across as a stage villain and the Kingsguard as impossibly noble. That being said, the footnote which describes this as Grand Maester Benifer’s version of the story, which makes me think that Gyldayn represents GRRM’s cynical side and Benifer his capital R-Romantic side.

And now that the weddings (but not the beddings) are complete, we’re back into the thick of political intrigue!