Chapter Text
Spring of Modernity: The Kingdom of the North from the Battle of the Dawn to the Drafting of the Northern Compact
By Alys Deer-Harclay[1]
Copyright © 836 AL Winterfell University Press.
Section I: The Re-founding
Historians traditionally date the beginning of the modern North to the reign of King Jon[2] and Queen Sansa following the Battle of the Dawn. Their rule transformed the Kingdom of the North, which re-emerged as an autonomous realm following the Targaryen Reign and Baratheon Interregnum. The length of their rule, its relative peace, and the dedicated efforts by both sovereigns to rebuild the North set in motion vital changes to the political, economic, and social order, which remain to this day.
Thanks to the Peace of the Three Queens, reached at Dragonstone six months prior to the Battle of the Dawn by Queen Sansa, Queen Daenerys, and Queen Yara, many of the key issues that might have diverted the monarchs’ attention from domestic matters had already been addressed. Queen Daenerys accepted the independence of the North, using the traditional borders – not the more expansive region briefly ruled by King Robb – in return for King Jon’s relinquishment of his potentially superior claim to the Iron Throne and King Jon and Queen Sansa’s eldest child as her heir.
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Visibly pregnant and reportedly quite ill with morning sickness when treating with Queen Daenerys and Queen Yara, Queen Sansa agreed to that, in return for North’s freedom and assistance with the war against the Others, her eldest would be named a Targaryen and designated as Queen Danaerys’ heir.[3] While deemed a necessary agreement to save the North from the twin terrors of the White Walkers and the Targaryen Dragons, neither King Jon, the Houses of the North, or even the negotiator Queen Sansa were pleased when with the agreement. This was despite the terms, which allowed the child to remain in the North until the age of thirteen. However, serendipitously for the continuance of the separate kingdom, Queen Daenerys’s heir, Aemon Targaryen, came into the world joined by his twin brother Torh Stark. Thus, the two kingdoms simultaneously secured heirs, and Northern opposition to the terms of the Peace evaporated. This was only amplified by King Jon’s success in the Battle of the Dawn, a fortnight later, freeing the North from its existential threat.
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One factor often overlooked by the academic community, but not cultural consumers, is how important the strength of King Jon and Queen Sansa’s partnership was for their success. Their marriage, set in motion by Petyr Baelish’s[4] revelation, confirmed by Lord Howland Reed, of King John’s Targaryen ancestry, may have begun as a political match between two emotionally fragile individuals raised as siblings, but it eventually blossomed into what appears to be a true love match. They also appear to have been good parents. The pair raised seven children to adulthood: the twins born on the eve of the Battle of the Dawn; a daughter, Catryian, born two and a half years hence; a second daughter, Lyanna, born a mere year later; a third son Brandon, born three and a half years after his sister amid Queen Sansa’s period of regular trips South; a third daughter, Bria, born seven years after Brandon, once Queen Sansa had concluded her duties chaperoning Aemon about the Six Kingdoms, and finally Ned, six years later, and evidentially quite a surprise.[5] Their children’s letters all recall their parents fondly.
We are exceptionally well informed of King Jon and Queen Sansa’s relationship thanks in part to the King’s correspondence during his travels through the North and the Queen’s extensive travels with Aemon.[6]
[1] Rodrick Ashwood Professor of Early Modern Westeros and Professor of History at the University of White Harbor
[2] Contemporaneous and early histories written in the North traditionally refer to the first king after the Battle of the Dawn as “Jon Stark,” “Jon Targaryen,” or “Jon Stark Targaryen,” depending on the source. Southern contemporaneous accounts used both the names “Jon Targaryen” and “Jaehaerys Targaryen,” while later Southern histories use “Jaehaerys Targaryen” almost exclusively, distancing him from the North and subtly restating the Southern king’s claim over the Northern throne. Where necessary, this book will follow current usage and use “Jon Stark Targaryen,” as that appears to be the name used by the man in question.
[3] Letters exchanged between Queen Sansa and King Jon demonstrate that neither was initially aware of the pregnancy when she traveled South to treat. She appears to have tended toward seasickness, which masked her condition in the early days of travel.
[4] Very little remains in the historical record about Baelish. He is believed to be of Braavosi origin, and served on the Small Councils during the Baratheon Interregnum, but seems to have disappeared from the historical record shortly after King Jon and Queen’s Sansa’s marriage.
[5] In addition, Queen Sansa appears to have had at least one miscarriage shortly before Bria’s birth, and one stillbirth, in the period between Bria and Ned’s birth.
[6] This is primarily attributable to King Torh’s decision, five years after his mother’s death, to copy their correspondence and send it to his remaining living siblings. Therefore subsequent fires and divisions of libraries were unable to destroy the complete set of their correspondence.