History Characters / ASongOfIceAndFireAerysKingsguard

-->'''Jaime to Catelyn:''' That was the White Bull, loyal to the end and a better man than me, all agree.

* BrokenPedestal: For Jaime to a degree, who looked up to Gerold, after the Lord Commander privately reprimanded Jaime for judging the Mad King's evil actions, and the realm considering him a good man for being loyal to the tyrannical Mad King, while reviling Jaime for killing a murderous lunatic like Aerys.

* BeneathTheMask: As a Hightower, he has deep roots with the Faith of Seven, [[spoiler: so he was deeply disturbed at witnessing the mockery of a "Trial by Combat" [[note]]a fight to the death in the eyes and judgement of the Gods[[/note]] to Rickard and Brandon Stark and tries to rationalize it to Jaime Lannister for the sake of innocence, who actually is in [[ThinkHappyThoughts his own little world]] as he used to do whenever Aerys got extra nutty. The fact that during the Rebellion he eventually followed Rhaegar's orders instead of the king's (mind that the relationship between father and son was strained) seems to suggest that he was more [[{{Hypocrite}} critical of the king]] than he let Jaime know.]]

* BeneathTheMask: As a Hightower, he has deep roots with the Faith of Seven, [[spoiler: so he was deeply disturbed at witnessing the mockery of a "Trial by Combat" [[note]]a fight to the death in the eyes and judgement of the Gods[[/note]] to Rickard and Brandon Stark and tries to rationalize it to Jaime Lannister for the sake of innocence, who actually is in [[ThinkHappyThoughts his own little world]] as he used to do whenever Aerys got extra nutty. The fact that during the Rebellion he eventually followed Rhaegar's orders instead of the king's (mind that the relationship between father and son was strained) seems to suggest that he was more critical of the king than he let Jaime know.]]

* WorldsBestWarrior: Though it is outright stated that there is no such thing as an unbeatable warriorand with that being said, everyone thinks of Arthur as the greatest fighter of his genarationand better than themselves, even other tremendously skilled swordsmen like Jaime Lanniser or Barristan Selmy. [[WordOfGod Martin]] himself outright stated that when armed with [[ThunderboltIron Dawn]] he would defeat ser Barristan Selmy, another major contender for the title.

* WorldsBestWarrior: Though it is outright stated that there is no such thing as an unbeatable warriorand with that being said, everyone thinks of Arthur as the greatest fighter of his genarationand better than themselves, even other tremendously skilled swordsmen like Jaime Lanniser or Barristan Selmy. [[WordOfGod Martin]] himself outright stated that when armed with [[ThunderboltIron Dawn]] he would defeat barristan Selmy, another legendary knight.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Ser Barristan Selmy seems to view Arthur Dayne as such; though according to George RR Martin they were equally skilled, Dayne was just more beloved by the smallfolk and more trusted by Rhaegar Targaryen.

* MasterSwordsman: Outright admired as such by Jaime Lannister and recorded as exceptional.

* TangledFamilyTree: He was related to Catelyn Tully through her mother, Minisa Whent; Minisa's familial relation to Ser Oswell and the rest of the Whents has not been established in the books.

* KnightInShiningArmor: Jaime Lannister is the only one ''not'' remembered as being this.

* CoolHelmet: Some art depicts him wearing a helm in the shape of a white bull's head.
* GoodIsNotNice: [[spoiler: Jaime remarks upon his disbelief when Hightower, one of his mentors and idols, reprimanded him for privately questioning his oaths after watching Aerys brutally murder Rickard and Brandon Stark, and how absurd it is that he is still seen as a hero while Jaime is hated for killing the Mad King.]]

* UndyingLoyalty: To the King and to Prince Rhaegar, along with Arthur Dayne. He was one of his companions Rhaegar left King's Landing to kidnap Lyanna Stark, and was allegedly involved in organizing the Tourney of Harrenhall at Rhaegar's instructions.

* AnimalMotifs: House Grandison's sigil is a sleeping lion. He dies in his sleep (and is replaced by a Lannister)

!!Ser Arthur Dayne
!!!The Sword of the Morning

Lord Edric Dayne's uncle and one of the most famed knights in recent Westerosi history, Arthur Dayne was a member of the Kingsguard at the time of Robert's Rebellion. He was slain by Eddard Stark at the Tower of Joy.

* GoodIsNotNice: [[spoiler:Jaime remembers guarding the king and queen's bedroom with Ser Jonothor as they listened to Aerys raping his wife. When Jaime asked if they were supposed to protect her too, Darry replied, "We are, but not from him."]]

* IChooseToStay: King Aerys tasked him to find Prince Rhaegar and bring him to King's Landing. He succeeded in finding him, but instead of coming back to the Red Keep with the Prince, he followed Rhaegar's order to stay guarding Lyanna Stark along with Arthur Dayne and Oswell Whent, which is strange as the Lord Commander is a even more important figure than usual in wartime. Why did he thought Rhaegar's order had the priority instead of the king's is yet to be found out.

* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: No one was more chivalrous and knightly than Arthur, and he was loyal to Rhaegar to a fault, but that loyalty led the Knight to hold a damsel in distress hostage and attack the brave heroes come to rescue her. Somewhere along the line, Ser Arthur Dayne became the very kind of person knights are supposed to fight against.

* TheOathbreaker: Prince Lewyn's paramour was a "secret" kept by his fellow Kingsguard, though how well-kept is strongly debatable. Although, if you go into technicalities, he didn't actually take her to wife, so... we're basically talking the exact same get-out clause that the Black Watch use to nip off to Mole Town with, except this time used for Dornish cultural reasons.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Granted, he's an angel compared to some historical kingsguard, but he's the only one of Aerys' Kingsguard who never made a HeelFaceTurn from a villainous king (as Barristan and Jaime did), defected from Aerys to Rhaegar (as Whent, Dayne, and Hightower did), or was coerced into fighting for Aerys through a hostage (as Lewyn Martell was). His sole moment of note is defending Aerys' MaritalRapeLicense.

* BlindObedience: To

-->'''Ser Arthur Dayne:''' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner And now it begins]]. ''(draws his sword)''

-->'''Ser Arthur Dayne:''' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner And now it begins]].
-->'''Eddard Stark:''' No... now it ends.

* TheOathbreaker: Prince Lewyn's paramour was a secret kept by his fellow Kingsguard, though how well-kept is strongly debatable. Although, if you go into technicalities, he didn't take her to wife, so... we're basically talking the same get-out clause the Black Watch use to nip off to Mole Town used for cultural reasons.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Ser Barristan Selmy seems to view Arthur Dayne as such; though according to George RR Martin they were equally skilled, Dayne was more beloved by the smallfolk and more trusted by Rhaegar Targaryen.

* BadassGrandpa: At the time of his death, though, [[OlderThanTheyLook he apparently didn't look it]].

* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Or so most would believe. No one was more chivalrous and knightly than Arthur, and he was loyal to Rhaegar to a fault, but that loyalty led the Knight to hold a damsel in distress hostage and attack the brave heroes come to rescue her. Somewhere along the line, Ser Arthur Dayne became the very kind of person knights are supposed to fight against. Of course, the pertinent question here is [[spoiler: was Lyanna a DamselInDistress, or did she go willingly?]]

* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: No one was more chivalrous and knightly than Arthur, and he was loyal to Rhaegar to a fault, but that loyalty led the Knight to hold a damsel in distress hostage and attack the brave heroes come to rescue her. Somewhere along the line, Ser Arthur Dayne became the very kind of person knights are supposed to fight against.

* DuelToTheDeath: Had a famous one with the Smiling Knight which riveted young Jaime Lannister. He also engaged in an epic duel with Ned Stark that the latter barely survived.

* KnightInShiningArmour: Rivaled only by Aemon the Dragonknight, for best example in the series.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Ser Barristan Selmy seems to view Arthur Dayne as such, though according to George RR Martin they were equally skilled, more beloved by the smallfolk and more trusted by Rhaegar Targaryen.

* TheUnreveal: Of the three Kingsguars, he's the one with the most ambiguous reasons to have been guarding Lyanna Stark instead of fighting or protecting the king. While the other two traveled with Rhaegar and Lyanna since the beginning, Ser Gerold was instead tasked by King Aerys to find Rhaegar, which he did; but rather than bringing Rhaegar to King's Landing with him, [[IChooseToStay he stayed at the Tower of Joy]]. It's yet to be explained why guarding that tower was more important than coming back to the court and playing a more active role in the royal forces as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard is expected.