House Greyjoy of Pyke is one of the Great Houses of Westeros. It rules over the Iron Islands, a harsh and bleak collection of forbidding islands off the west coast of Westeros, from the Seastone Chair in the castle of Pyke on the island of the same name. The head of the family is traditionally known as the Lord Reaper of Pyke. Their sigil is a golden kraken on a black field, and their house motto is "We Do Not Sow."
Appearance and Traits[]
Members of the family tend to be attractive and tall. They often have black hair and dark black eyes, and some have prominent noses which are compared to beaks or shark fins.
History[]
Ancient History[]
The Greyjoys of Pyke claim descent from the Grey King of the Age of Heroes.
In the era when the ironborn chose their rulers through the kingsmoot, only Houses Greyiron and Goodbrother produced more kings than the Greyjoys. Member of the family who were crowned High King of the Iron Islands in a kingsmoot include Loron, Theon III, and Balon V.
The iron lords, including the Greyjoys, intermarried with the victorious Andals when they invaded the Iron Isles. Greyjoys allied with Andals against King Greyiron, the last Greyiron king.
Lords of the Iron Islands[]
At the time of Aegon's Conquest, King Harren the Black of House Hoare ruled all the lands between the mountains, from the Neck to the Blackwater Rush. When Harren and his sons perished in the burning of Harrenhal, Aegon I Targaryen granted the riverlands to Lord Edmyn Tully of Riverrun. The surviving lords of the Iron Islands fell into chaotic squabbling, leading Aegon to invade the islands to subdue them. After they bent the knee Aegon allowed them to revive their ancient custom and choose who should have the primacy among them. They chose Lord Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke. Since Vickon's election in 2 AC, the Greyjoys have ruled the Iron Islands.
As Aegon I followed the Faith of the Seven and has been anointed by the High Septon at Oldtown, Vickon allowed the septons and septas of the Faith to return to the Iron Islands, angering the priests of the Drowned God and many of his pious lords. Vickon's son Goren, who succeeded his father in 33 AC, defeated a rebel claiming to be the priest-king Lodos the Twice-Drowned in 37 AC. As a reward, King Aenys I Targaryen granted Goren any boon within his power to give. Goren requested permission to expel the septons and septas from the Iron Islands, which Aenys was forced to allow.
During the Dance of the Dragons, Lord Dalton Greyjoy was offered the office of master of ships and a place on the small council by King Aegon II Targaryen in exchange for an alliance. Preferring Rhaenyra Targaryen's offer over Aegon II's, Dalton sided with the blacks instead. Dalton raided along the western coast of Westeros during the remainder of the war.
Darklyn's Rebellion[]
When Lord Robin Darklyn rebelled against King Maelor, many of the Great Houses chose sides in the conflict. Lord Greyjoy declared the Iron Isles for the King, but retained only a guise of loyalty, for he was committed only to himself. His inclination towards opportunism would be evident, as the raids against the rebel Westerlands soon turned into attacks on the loyalist Reach.
Assaults of Lannisport and Greenshield[]
The Ironborn split their forces into two, in order to gamble for more gain. Lord Harlaw led a part of the fleet in the West while Lord Drumm and Goodbrother sailed further south.
Initially this plan proved a total failure. Lord Harlaw attacked Lannisport three times, only to break each time, in the Assault of Lannisport. Wishing to try a fourth, his men opted for mutiny and killed him, demanding Lord Greyjoy take them south for easier loot. The Lord Reaper agreed and left the West for the rest of the war.
Simultaneously, Lord Drumm and Goodbrother fared no better at first. The lords of the Shields defeated them in a brief skirmish which was the First Battle of Greenshield. This disaster was further compounded when Lord Goodbrother perished from wounds a few days later. However, the Ironborn succeeded when Lord Greyjoy arrived to attack the Shields again. This time they won and the Shield Isles were looted for weeks, after the Second Battle of Greenshield.
The Hoare King[]
While the Ironborn warriors were away, a pretender King seized control of the Iron Isles. In 183 AC, Hagon Hoare, alleged descendant of Harren the Black, and leader of the mummer’s troupe, The Black Lamp, had ushered a courtesan calling herself the Black Pearl, across the Narrow Sea for King Monterys’ entertainment. There in King’s Landing, Hagon measured the temper of the realm, and found it ripe for internal conflict. Seeing an opportunity to reclaim his supposed birthright, he and a majority of his troupe remained in Westeros, and traveled west, entertaining smallfolk and nobles alike, and recruiting followers. Finally reaching the Iron Isles, he took his troupe to the lands of houses with Hoare blood flowing through their family tree, and surreptitiously planted seeds for an independent Ironborn Kingdom. When the Darklyn rebellion drew the bulk of the Ironborn forces away from the Isles, he enacted his plan to claim the Hoare throne. His supporters mustered their warriors and ships, and boldly attacked Pyke (Storming of Pyke). Finding a sparsely defended castle, the siege did not last long, and he soon crowned himself King Hagon.
Dregs of the Rebellion[]
Following Darklyn's execution, news of the peace had not reached certain parts of the realm in time to end bloodshed, and the Ironborn had no intention of stopping. The year after taking the Shield Islands was spent reaving the lands of the southern Westerlands, and the entire Reach coastline. A daring attack was even made on Oldtown, but this failed (Assault of Oldtown). Thus began the end of the reaving for the Ironborn. The Redwyne fleet had gathered and refitted the survivors of the Greenshield's fleets and smashed the invaders at sea, forcing them back to their islands. Their return was almost even more disastrous. A great Western fleet was prepared to destroy what was left of the enemy armada, but was supposedly stopped by a romanticized plea from the Lord Greyjoy himself, son of Dagon Greyjoy and Johanna Lannister. While the story of Dagon and Johanna remains one of the most popular love ballads of the realm, it was not an appeal to such love that prevented further violence. Lord Greyjoy's acumen was the source of this peace. Offering Lord Farman a large war indemnity from the Shields, he mitigated much of the damage.
Yet, there was the Hoare to take care of, and dealing with him was not as easy. While the Seven Kingdoms celebrated the coming of peace, the Iron Islands were locked in perpetual warfare all across the isles for many more moons to come, until Greyjoy assaulted his own seat (Second Storming of Pyke) and hung the pretender from the walls of the castle by his entrails.