This is a listing of ancestors of House Greyjoy that appear in the Fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. Visit here for the main character index.
For the main Iron Islands entry, see here.
The Greyjoys of Pyke claim descent from the Grey King of the Age of Heroes. Legend says the Grey King ruled not only the western isles but the sea itself, and took a mermaid to wife.
In the era when the ironborn chose their rulers through the kingsmoot, only Houses Greyiron and Goodbrother produced more kings than the Greyjoys.
Lord Vickon Greyjoy
The head of House Greyjoy during the War of Conquest. Chosen by the ironborn to rule them after the death of Harren the Black.
- Dragon Ascendant: Famously so: the Greyjoys wouldn't be where they are now, otherwise.
- Posthumous Character: For obvious reasons.
- Undying Loyalty: To Aegon, for the simple reason that no sane mane would fight the Targaryen's dragons.
- You Are in Command Now: What happens when your king gets himself torched in the biggest pyre ever seen thanks to the major tactical blunder of staying put.
Lord Goren Greyjoy
Vickon Greyjoy's son and successor.
- Alliterative Name: Goren Greyjoy.
- Decapitation Presentation: His gift of the head of the fake priest King Lodos to Aenys I Targaryen.
- The Wise Prince: One of the few wise rulers of the Iron Islands. He puts down a conspiracy to crown the son of Qhorin Volmark as King of the Iron Isles. Later he sends Aenys the head of a man boasting to be the priest King Lodos come again. After Aenys offers Goren any reward within his power, Goren demands the right to expel the Faith of the Seven from the Iron Isles.
Lord Dalton Greyjoy
The Red Kraken
- "The storm is coming."
The young Lord Reaper of Pyke during Dance of the Dragons. At the time of the death of Viserys I he was just 16 years old.
- A Child Shall Lead Them
- And Now You Must Marry Me: When he took Faircastle, he claimed four of Lord Farman's daughters as salt wives and gave the fifth to his brother Veron since she was "homely".
- Blood Knight: He was known for being bloodthirsty.
- Cool Sword: Nightfall, a Valyrian steel blade he took from a dead corsair.
- Doomed Moral Victor: According to the Ironborn. Despite the fact that his actions ultimately brought more harm than good to the Iron Islands in the long term, he's considered a hero for bringing back (however briefly) the old reaving traditions and living true to the Old Way to his dying breath.
- Evil Laugh: When word reached the Iron Islands that the Dance of the Dragons had begun, Dalton began laughing.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: See Doomed Moral Victor above. As The World of Ice & Fire points out, in any other realm, a lord like Dalton Greyjoy would be remembered as a hotheaded fool whose actions brought about disaster to his house, but the Ironborn hold him in high esteem for his audacity and adherence to their old traditions.
- In-Series Nickname: The Red Kraken, for the time he took a dozen wounds and emerged from fight covered in blood.
- Karmic Death: He was murdered by a girl only known as Tess, who cut his throat open with his own dagger as he slept in Lord Farman's bedchambers in Faircastle.
- Revenge: After watching his uncle get cut down in the Stepstones, he avenged his death but took a dozen wounds.
- Too Dumb to Live: Never bothering to marrying a rock wife or at least declaring and heir throws the Iron Islands into a succession war.
- Universally Beloved Leader: His rule is remembered fondly as a great hero in the Iron Islands as a time when the Old Way was revived.
- Slashed Throat: How he died.
- Succession Crisis: He never married a rock wife, having only numerous salt wives with many young salt sons. When he died, there was no clear successor, which kicked off a civil war.
- Wise Beyond His Years: Instead of immediately jumping at the Greens offer like many young lords would have done, Dalton wisely waited for the Blacks better counteroffer.
Lord Dagon Greyjoy
The Last Reaver
Lord Reaper of Pyke around 210 AL, Dagon was the last ruler of the Iron Islands who was able to threaten the entire western shore of Westeros until Euron Greyjoy took the Seastone Chair. His attacks were eventually stopped by House Targaryen.
- Always a Bigger Fish: Victarion recalls that even though he proved himself against House Lannister and House Stark, he was no match for the Targaryens.
- The Ghost: Has yet to appear in the Dunk and Egg stories, but the stories appear to be building towards a clash with him given the number of times he is mentioned.
- Posthumous Character: Mentioned several times by Ironborn in the books, who look upon his reign as the golden age for the Ironborn.
Lord Quellon Greyjoy
Lord Reaper during Robert's Rebellion and the father of Balon, Victarion, Euron and Aeron, Lord Quellon is considered to be the wisest Lord to sit the Seastone Chair since Aegon's conquest. Though he was an extremely powerful warrior himself, as a lord he actively pursued peace and enforced new and progressive laws that banned (or strictly regulated) the worst practices of the ironborn like thralldom, reaving and the keeping of salt wives, taxing this latter practice. Died in the last days of Robert's Rebellion fighting the Shield Islanders.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Unlike other lords who had tried to reform the Iron Islands, no one challenged Quellon simply because he really was that great of a warrior.
- Died Standing Up: Died fighting a naval battle. His son Aeron later thanks the Drowned God for granting his father the honor of a death at the sea. Becomes sort of
Harsher in Hindsight because Quellon's reforms were against ironborn religion. - Four-Star Badass: Led a hundred warships in service to the Iron Throne during the War of the Ninepenny Kings and played a crucial role in the fighting.
- Large and in Charge: This Lord of the Iron Isles was six and a half foot tall
- Lightning Bruiser: Described by Maester Yandel as strong as an ox and quick as a cat.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: Quellon's sons are fervent believers of the Old Way. This led to Balon's failed rebellion.
- Neutral No Longer: He kept the Iron Islands out of Robert's Rebellion until he learned of Prince Rhaegar's death, at which point Balon, Euron, and Victarion convinced him to enter the war on Robert's to prove their loyalty and gain some spoils while they could.
- Perilous Old Fool: Although he was elderly and growing infirm, Quellon insisted he must lead the Ironborn fleet during Robert's Rebellion. This decision cost him his life at the battle off the Shield Islands.
- The Wise Prince: One of the few Lords of the Iron Islands that took measures to bring his people closer to the rest of the realm.
