A Song of Ice and Fire - Queen's Men / Characters

This is a listing of Queen's Men in A Song of Ice and Fire.

For the main character index, see here

For the main House Baratheon of Dragonstone entry, see here

The Queen's Men

"One realm, one god, one king! STANNIS! STANNIS! ONE REALM, ONE GOD, ONE KING!"

The Queen's Men are the members of House Baratheon of Dragonstone that have converted to the faith of R'hllor. Their name comes from the fact that Selyse was among the first in court to convert and the most vocal supporter of Melisandre and the Red God.

Ambiguous Syntax: It's implied "The Queen" these men serve is Melisandre and not Selyse.
Big Brother Is Watching: Dragonstone is a sniveling, jumpy place thanks to these guys.
Bit Character: There are more Queen's Men not listed here: Benetheon Scales, Lambert Whitewater, Perkin Follard, Dorden the Dour.
Does This Remind You of Anything?: Their cry of “One realm, one god, one king” echoes almost exactly Roman Emperor Constantine’s declaration of “One empire, one God, one emperor”, as well as the Nazi slogan “One people, one empire, one leader”.
Party Scattering: Godry Farring, Corliss Penny, Richard Horpe, and Justin Massey all head south to deal with the Boltons; the rest stay and guard Selys and Shireen at Castle Black.
Praetorian Guard: For House Baratheon.
Remember the New Guy?: None of them are ever seen before the fifth book, where they suddenly become major supporting characters to Stannis.
They Just Dont Get It: He tries, bless him, but Jon Snow can't convince them that Val isn't a "wildling princess" and that marrying one of Stannis' men to her would mean absolutely nothing to the wildlings, who choose their leaders based on strength, charisma, and cunning, not lineage.
Token Good Teammate: Brus Buckler and Justin Massey are far less abrasive than the others. Everyone else is either ridiculously arrogant and aggressive or a complete non-entity. Ser Narbert and Ser Benethon are also the only ones who attend Jon Snow's meeting regarding the rescue of the Wildlings at Hardhome, displaying at least some degree of compassion for them.

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Ser Axell Florent

Ser Axell Florent, Hand of the Queen

"R'hllor has blessed me with that gift. Like Lady Melisandre, he shows me the future in the fire."

Brother of Alester, castellan of Dragonstone, uncle to Queen Selyse, and self-styled Hand of the Queen. Ser Axell is one of the most fervent followers of R'hllor.

See the House Florent page.

Activist-Fundamentalist Antics: Supports burning non-believers alive, is constantly trying to get everyone around him who does not worship R'hllor to convert, and despises those who reject R'hllor greatly.
Aristocrats Are Evil: He likes shoving people in fires a little too much for comfort. Including family.
Arranged Marriage: To the eldest daughter of Gerrick Kingsblood, whom he and the other Queen's Men wrongfully believe to be the "rightful" King-Beyond-the-Wall.
Belief Makes You Stupid: His fanatical devotion to R'hllor blinds him to realities of the world around him, as he simply does not get that other people could have a reasonable point of view and not worship R'hllor.
Cain and Abel: The Cain to his brother's Abel, since he allowed his brother to be burned as a Human Sacrifice without protest and coveted his position as Hand of the King. Jon Snow considers him to be a kinslayer for this.
The Dragon: To Queen Selyse, as the most prominent of the Queen's Men.
Evil Uncle: Tells Stannis to have Edric Storm burned, even though his mother is Axell's niece which makes Edric his great-nephew.
The Fundamentalist: Alongside his niece Selyse, he was one of the first R'hllor converts on Dragonstone and worships him whole-heartedly, despising any who do not.
Holier Than Thou: Lords his devotion to R'hllor over everyone, believing that his excessive devotion makes him better than everyone else.
Hypocrite: He claims that Lord Celtigar deserves to have his lands and castle sacked for bending the knee to Joffrey instead of staying loyal to Stannis, as a man's loyalty to his king should triumph everything else (this despite the fact that Celtigar is an old man and served Stannis loyally, and only bent the knee to save his life and the lives of his men). He doesn't take it well when Davos points out that House Florent betrayed their rightful king during Robert's Rebellion and very nearly stabs him right in front of Stannis.
Jerkass: Particularly to Davos, who he looks down on for being lowborn and a disbeliever in R'hllor (though he was courteous to Davos before the series began as he knew Stannis favoured them).
Kick the Dog: One time at a feast, he told a story about a Targaryen princeling who dressed an ape in his late son's clothes, as a way to shame Davos for his lowborn birth.
Axell: A wiser prince would have known that you cannot send an ape to do a man's work.
Knight Templar: Boy, howdy. Not content to just fight, kill or burn things for R'hllor, but he'll bore you wholesale by preaching, too.
Leave No Survivors: His solution to Lord Ardrian Celtigar bending the knee to Joffrey after being captured at the Battle of Blackwater Bay is to sail to Celtigar's holdings on Claw Island and kill everyone there, including the smallfolk. Stannis and Davos dismiss the plan as too brutal and cowardly, with Stannis adding it would accomplish nothing anyway and even calling the plan "evil".
Phony Psychic: He claims that R'hllor has made him able to see visions of the future in fires, but according to Melisandre, the only things he sees are what he already wants to see.
Privileged Rival: To Davos, who bought his knighthood with crates of onions and is looked down upon by his fellow lords for being an upjumped smuggler, while Ser Axell had the privilege of being highborn and everything that came with it. But Davos can give Stannis one thing that Axell can't — honest counsel, which is exactly the kind of thing Stannis values and appreciates the most.
Professional Butt-Kisser: Too bad for him that Stannis is completely immune to suck-ups.
The Proud Elite: Something he and Selyse seem to share, to a degree. Except, he takes it a few steps further.
Seers: Claims he can see the future in fire. Melisandre implies to Davos that Axell is simply seeing what he wants to see, and is deluding himself.
Shame If Something Happened: He demands that Davos support his bid to become Stannis' Hand of the King, remarking that if he doesn't, it would be terrible if Davos accidentally fell from one of Dragonstone's bridges. He can't follow through on this threat because Stannis appoints Davos as his Hand.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Two cases:
- With Davos Seaworth, because Davos is a lowborn knight who Stannis has chosen as his Hand and because Davos opposes Melisandre's influence, her methods, and Axell's efforts to gain more power in Stannis' court.
- With Jon Snow, who he is supposed to be working with to secure the Wall against the upcoming assault by the Others, but Axell is instead trying to convert Wildlings to the faith of R'hllor and secure more power. He repeatedly clashes with Jon, who wants to save the Wildlings regardless of their religion but Axell wants them to convert. Axell wishes to marry Val for power as Axell, Selyse, and her men view Val as a Wildling "princess" and falsely believe marriage to Val would win them the allegiance of the Wildlings — but Jon has to repeatedly explain that Selyse and Axell cannot force Val to marry and that it wouldn't gain them power, even if Val does accept a betrothal, because the Wildlings do not view her as their princess — but only as the sister-in-law of their former king — since Wildling leadership is not an inherited position, but a position earned by an individual's deeds.
Upper-Class Twit: Underneath it all, he's not all that bright. And, certainly has no concept about how anybody else functions on a day-to-day basis.
Would Hurt a Child: He encourages Stannis to let Melisandre burn Edric Storm (one of Robert's bastards and a great-nephew of Axell's) in order to wake the stone dragon on Dragonstone.

Ser Brus Buckler

Cousin of Lord Ralph Buckler. He is loyal to Stannis Baratheon and is one of the Queen's Men, having converted to the faith of R'hllor.

Alliterative Name: Brus Buckler.
Arranged Marriage: With Gerrick Kingsblood's second daughter.
Bit Character: Plays only a minor role as part of Queen Selyse's larger retinue.
The Fundamentalist: Like all the Queen's Men.
Hangover Sensitivity: Jon notes that he looks half drunk during one of Selyse and Melisandre's sermons.
Nice Guy: Gave Shireen her first dance at Sigorn and Alys Karstark's wedding, while most of Stannis' other followers do little more than shun her due to the greyscale.
Undying Loyalty: He remains loyal to Stannis despite his cousin Ralph supporting Joffrey.

Ser Clayton Suggs

"He learned all he knows in the wynds of Flea Bottom. Were I to put you in his charge, he might strangle you with your own chain or scoop your eye out with a spoon."

—Stannis to Maester Tybald

A hedge knight from Flea Bottom, Suggs is a Queen's Man whose devotion is matched only by his cruelty. His personal coat-of-arms is a pig with wings.

Activist-Fundamentalist Antics: He wants to burn unbelievers alive as sacrifices to R'hllor to bring favor on Stannis' cause.
Bald of Evil: He is balding, which adds to his already somewhat sinister and unkempt appearance.
Blood Knight: He lives to see others bleed and hurt, particularly when he is the one doing the hurting.
The Brute: Even more that Ser Godry Farring.
Cue the Flying Pigs: His coat-of-arms references the phrase. Combined with his humble origins, this could also hint at him rubbing in his success in a Who's Laughing Now? way.
Evil Sounds Deep: A not-all-that-nice man with a deep voice.
The Fundamentalist: Although Ser Justin Massey suspects his worship of R'hllor comes less from actual devotion than a love of Human Sacrifice.
He-Man Woman Hater: Despises women, taking every chance he gets to hurl insults towards Asha that are often gender and sexually based.
Jerkass: Asha considers him the most unpleasant person in Stannis' army due to his general attitude, love of fire and torture, and constant antagonism towards everyone.
Mirror Character: To Davos Seaworth — both men were recruited into Stannis' army from the gutters of Flea Bottom and have some kind of "dirty" skill as their greatest asset. Davos is loyal, honest, kind and valued by Stannis for his honest counsel (and smuggling skills), while Clayton is only kept around for his brutality and usefulness as a Torture Technician. Davos also strives to climb the ranks in spite of his lowborn birth, becoming a King’s Hand and learning to read and write, while Clayton is content to stay a ser as long as he has a steady supply of victims. And, in spite of those marked differences, both men are very brave when it comes to facing danger.
Pyromaniac: Very worryingly, and openly, fascinated by fire. He manages to thoroughly creep Asha and Justin out.
Sadist: Openly takes pleasure in the torment of others.
Scary Teeth: His mouth is full of broken and rotted brown teeth.
Sir Swears-a-Lot: Particularly around Asha, with most of his conversations with her revolving around how many times he can call her a cunt while threatening to burn her alive.
Token Evil Teammate: And that's saying a lot, considering most of the Queen's Men are fanatics.
Torture Technician: When he was on Dragonstone, he would hang out with the torturers and sometimes join them in interrogating prisoners, especially when those prisoners were young women. After finding out Maester Tybald has been sending messages to Roose Bolton from Arnolf Karstark, Stannis threatens to turn the maester over to Suggs, who gleefully suggests he could cut out one of Tybald's eyes, or strangle him with his maester's chain.
Villainous Valour: For all his cruelty and abusive behavior, he surprises even Asha when actual danger seems close and he tells her to run and get help while he alone faces a dozen riders with only a sword. The riders turned out to be allies, but he gets some credit for being prepared to stand his ground like that.
Would Hit a Girl: Wants to burn Asha alive and enjoys taking part in the torture of women at Dragonstone.

Ser Godry Farring

The Giantslayer

"A man who bears Valyrian steel should use it for more than scratching his arse."

A knight of House Farring, Ser Godry is loyal to King Stannis Baratheon and is one of the Queen's Men. He is Ser Gilbert Farring's cousin.

Activist-Fundamentalist Antics: He wants to burn unbelievers alive as sacrifices to R'hllor to bring favor on Stannis' cause.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite his attitude and exaggerated boasting, Godry is a capable warrior, and valued enough by Stannis to be put in command of his vanguard.
Bling of War: Wears silver steel armor inlaid with niello.
Blood Knight: Aggressively tries to get Jon Snow to duel him, and mocks him as a coward when Jon tells him he has other duties to attend to.
The Brute: To Richard Horpe's The Dragon.
The Fundamentalist: Like most of the Queen's Men, he is a R'hllor fanatic that has little time or regard for those not of his faith.
Glory Seeker: How he's regarded by Jon and Asha.
In-Series Nickname: The Giantslayer, gained by slaying a giant at the battle of Castle Black. However, the giant had been fleeing the battle at the time, making him something of a Miles Gloriosus.
Jerkass: He is completely unpleasant to everyone.
Pet the Dog: If the insults of a condemned cannibal are any indication, he cared for his young cousin Bryen somewhat.
Phallic Weapon
Ser Justin Massey: Oh leave off Godry. We all know what a big, giant sword you have, I'm sure. No need to wave it in our faces yet again.
Small Name, Big Ego: Jon Snow notes that Godry is a knight of great renown — at least, according to Godry himself.
Ungrateful Bastard: When Hors Umber says that he'll join Stannis in exchange for a few (highly reasonable) concessions, Godry takes this as a personal insult and says that they should slaughter him and his men for daring to attach conditions to their support, regardless of how this will leave Stannis in a worse situation. Stannis thankfully ignores him.

Ser Justin Massey

The Smiler

Feel free to perish as you wish, Humfrey. Myself, I would sooner live to see another spring.

A knight of House Massey in service to Stannis Baratheon. He is one of the Queen's Men, but is less devout and more reasonable than most.

The Casanova: Squired for Robert Baratheon, where Stannis claims Justin "acquired his appetite for female flesh".
Commander Contrarian: Becomes this after the march to Winterfell is forced to stop and camp for days in the middle of a snowstorm, with the army slowly losing troops to the cold and running low on supplies. At the mess hall one night, he points out how every conceivable plan to take Winterfell will fail, causing several other Stannis supporters to call him a coward and question his loyalty.
Deadpan Snarker: It's easy to get the impression that he's a better verbal jouster than he is an actual one. Feed him a line (like Asha and Alysanne do), and he'll do a good enough job to zing the return.
Everyone Has Standards: Shows a clear distaste for human sacrifice, even if it is part of his religion, as well as Ser Clayton Suggs in general, noting with disgust to Asha of Suggs' fondness for torturing young women.
Freudian Slip: While bemoaning the winter snows and refuting all plans for a siege of Winterfell, he accidentally cries out "Gods be good", over which Richard Horpe points out and questions him.
The Fundamentalist: Averted, which is a rarity for a Queen's man. He dislikes burning people alive, but does believe in R'hllor. However, it appears that his faith in R'hllor is lessening with every setback Stannis suffers in the North.
Alysane Mormont: Have you lost your faith in red R'hllor?
Ser Justin: I have lost faith in more than that.
In-Series Nickname: The Smiler, due to smiling nearly all the time.
Mr. Vice Guy: Greed for a better position in the world and lust for Asha (both her and the power she could give him).
Nice Guy: Aside from his ambition for a marriage to give him good lands and titles (especially as supporting Stannis has caused him to lose his lands in the south), he is by far one of the most pleasant members of Stannis' forces.
One Degree of Separation: His relative Wallace Massey is the squire of Ser Denys Mallister, but they never get to meet since Wallace remains on the Shadow Tower and Justin marches southwards.
Only Sane Man: During the march to Winterfell, at least to Asha's eyes.
Perpetual Smiler: Which led to his nickname. However, the march to Winterfell and the troubles Stannis' army encounters makes him smile less and less.
Social Climber: One of his motivations, especially given he's lost his lands in the south.
Sour Supporter: And, getting sourer as Stannis' northern campaign goes more and more off the rails. Yet, desertion doesn't seem on the cards just yet.
The Squire: In his youth he was one of Robert Baratheon's squires before being knighted.
Token Good Teammate: For the Queen's Men, although he is fairly ambitious. However this is justified, as he has lost his lands through supporting Stannis.

Ser Richard Horpe

The Slayer

"We have but one god here. Speak not of demons in this company. Only the Lord of Light can save us now."

One of Stannis Baratheon's most loyal knights and a Queen's Man. He is Stannis' second-in-command during the campaign in the North.

Blood Knight: He loves fighting and killing foes, and is pretty good at it too. However, his brutal nature cost him a spot in the Kingsguard.
Covered with Scars: His face is covered by pockmarks and several old scars.
The Dreaded: Stannis and Cersei are unnerved by this man.
The Fundamentalist: He is a Queen's Man, so his excessive devotion to R'hllor is pretty much a given.
- However, Stannis tells Asha Greyjoy that he believes Ser Richard's faith is opportunistic rather than being a true devout.
In-Series Nickname: Called "The Slayer" by Stannis due to his love of battle and fighting skills.
Know When to Fold 'Em: It's mentioned that he and Massey were the ones that convinced Stannis that the Battle of the Blackwater was lost and they needed to regroup.
Lean and Mean: He is described as being lean, and is quite the fanatical follower of R'hllor, to the point where he threatens to kill other knights who he suspects might be losing their faith.
Mouth of Sauron: As Stannis becomes increasingly distant during the campaign in the North, Ser Richard begins speaking for him at gatherings.
Number Two: To Stannis while campaigning in the North.
Passed-Over Promotion: Cersei Lannister objected to him joining the Kingsguard, a decision which even Stannis agrees with due to his excessive bloodlust.

Ser Malegorn

Ser Malegorn of Redpool

A knight in service to Stannis and a Queen's Man, serving as a bodyguard to Queen Selyse.

All Men Are Perverts: A lecherous man, cupping the arse of the women next to him at the wedding of Alys Karstark and Sigorn.
Arranged Marriage: To Gerrick Kingsblood's youngest daughter.
Only One Name: Being of non-noble heritage.

Ser Patrek

Ser Patrek of King's Mountain

"No man has ever had cause to question my courage. No woman ever will."

A knight in service to Stannis and a Queen's Man, serving as a bodyguard to Queen Selyse. Gets himself torn to pieces by giants.

The Fundamentalist: Like most of the Queen's Men, he is a fanatical believer in R'hllor.
Jerkass: As with most Queen's Men, he is completely unpleasant and antagonistic toward anyone who does not share his beliefs.
Only One Name: As he is a non-noble knight.
Plot Device All Along: His banner is described as being a blue star, and when he's killed, it's spattered by blood. Hey, what's that prophecy that everyone thinks is about a comet? "Under a bleeding star"?
Too Dumb to Live: Tries to sneak past or attack a giant to "rescue" a woman who wasn't even being held hostage.
Wrong Genre Savvy: Saw himself as a knight errant trying to win Val's affection, and sought to rescue her from a giant. Besides Val not at all being a Damsel in Distress, the giant was her friend and Ser Patrek gets torn apart as a result.

Lord Sweet

"The craven sees an outlaw behind every blade of grass."

Lord Sweet is the head of House Sweet and one of the Queen's Men.

Bit Character: Only appears in one scene.
Ironic Name: Named 'Sweet' but he's far from it.
Jerkass: Insults Jon Snow's courage.
No Name Given: Only referred to by his family name.

Merrel and Morgan

Guardsmen.

The Alcoholic: Merrel however can be formidable when sober.

Ser Narbert Grandison

A Stormlands Knight.

Captain Obvious: Much of his dialogue is stating things that are apparent, such as that a horn being blown means someone is coming.
My Nayme Is: Narbert instead of Norbert.
Nap-Inducing Speak: Jon sees him yawning during one of Melisandre's sermons about the Lord of the Light.
This Cannot Be!: Upon seeing Wun Wun he marvels that the giants are all supposed to be dead.
Token Good Teammate: He doesn't seem to be a R'hllor fanatic compared to most of the others and attends a meeting where support for the Free Folk is voiced.
Undying Loyalty: He remains loyal to Stannis even when the rest of his House has bowed to Joffrey.

Ser Corliss Penny

A knight of House Penny sworn to Stannis.

Fantastic Racism: Blames the northmen and their "demon trees" for the blizzard impeding the path to Winterfell.
Jerkass: About as pleasant as an ardent worshipper of R'hllor can be, which is to say he helps burn people as human sacrifices without question and exhibits Fantastic Racism against the northmen.
Your Mom: As one man is about to be burned at the stake for cannibalism, he yells at Penny, "What sort of name is Penny? Is that how much your mother charged?"

Characters / A Song of Ice and Fire - Queen's Men

For the main character index, see here

For the main House Baratheon of Dragonstone entry, see here

The Queen's Men

Ser Axell Florent, Hand of the Queen

Ser Brus Buckler

Ser Clayton Suggs

Ser Godry Farring

The Giantslayer

Ser Justin Massey

The Smiler

Ser Richard Horpe

The Slayer

Ser Malegorn of Redpool

Ser Patrek of King's Mountain

Ser Narbert Grandison

Ser Corliss Penny

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Characters / A Song of Ice and Fire - Queen's Men

Edit Locked

For the main character index, see here

For the main House Baratheon of Dragonstone entry, see here

The Queen's Men

Ser Axell Florent, Hand of the Queen

Ser Brus Buckler

Ser Clayton Suggs

Ser Godry Farring

The Giantslayer

Ser Justin Massey

The Smiler

Ser Richard Horpe

The Slayer

Ser Malegorn of Redpool

Ser Patrek of King's Mountain

Ser Narbert Grandison

Ser Corliss Penny

Previous

Index

Next