Ser Duncan The Tall Facts Only Game Of Thrones Fans Know About Dunk & Egg's Knight

"Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" have introduced us to many a character who had a rough start in life. Think Gendry or Aegon II's illegitimate children. Dunk, too, was orphaned at birth. Throughout the three novellas, we get clues as to his parentage or at least the circumstances of his abandonment, but the eventual knight isn't even sure about his own name and age. He assumes that he's a bastard or that his father was a criminal bound for the Wall. Dunk spends his early childhood on the streets of Flea Bottom, where he and his fellow wayward toddlers would survive by selling scraps of unidentified meat to be cooked in bowls of brown. As an adult, he would admit to having been wild and unscrupulous in his youth; he considered him and his friends to have been "little monsters" and thought himself the worst of the bunch.

When he was about 5 or 6 years of age (though some accounts suggest he may have been even younger), he was given an opportunity that changed his life in ways he couldn't have imagined. A hedge knight traveling through King's Landing was in need of a new squire and found one chasing a pig through an alley. Ser Arlan of Pennytree took Dunk under his wing. For roughly 10 years, Dunk faithfully served Ser Arlan, who taught him what it meant to be a knight. He appreciated the man's kindness and credited him for making him the person he became, though asides reveal that Ser Arlan slapped or beat him on occasion. 

"A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight" will be yet another entry into what's fast becoming TV's most popular subgenre — the lone wolf and cub narrative. That's because, only a few pages into the text that inspired the show, Dunk makes the acquaintance of Egg — a peculiar and special young boy who will become his traveling companion. He first comes upon Egg when he's bathing in a stream, which allows Dunk to see that the kid is short, scrawny, and bald though he's only about 9 years old. Egg appears to be working as a stable boy but desperately wants to be Dunk's squire. The self-made knight refuses at first but relents when Egg tells him that the innkeepers aren't his parents; he's an orphan. 

Egg's plight tugs at Dunk's heartstrings. Having been orphaned himself and having been given a way out of that miserable life, he somewhat begrudgingly extends the same generosity to the boy. The strange, hairless child is unusually insightful and quick witted, and it isn't long before Dunk figures out why. While the nickname fits with his smooth dome of a head, it's also the first syllable of Aegon. At a crucial moment that saves his supposed master from punishment and perhaps death, Egg reveals himself to be a Targaryen prince. Events — both fortuitous and tragic — unfold shortly thereafter, but the result is that Egg is given permission to stay on as Ser Duncan's squire, and to tour Westeros in his service in order to learn true honor, so long as he continues to use his alias to avoid scandal or risk. 

The Blackfyre Rebellions take up a chunk of the timeline in between the events of "House of the Dragon" and "Game of Thrones." They're too complex, with too many characters, locations, and dates to be easily explained in a paragraph, but here's the short version: The family of a legitimized Targaryen bastard repeatedly attempts to win back the Iron Throne five times over a period of about 65 years. Some of these uprisings pose a more serious threat to ruling Targaryens than others. The First Blackfyre Rebellion has just ended when Ser Arlan brings Dunk on as his squire. 

Dunk and Egg consider abandoning their post with Ser Eustace Osgrey when they discover he was loyal to the Blackfyres. Dunk is obviously loyal to the Targaryens, due in part to his close connection with Prince Aegon, who's in line to succeed the throne. He somewhat inadvertently thwarts the Second Blackfyre Rebellion before it even begins when he and Egg enter a wedding tournament at Whitewalls (attended by "Thrones" villain Walder Frey), where a dragon egg is advertised as the prize for the winner. Prince Aegon goes missing, as does the egg, and in trying to find both, Dunk deduces that a mysterious figure known as John the Fiddler is actually Daemon II Blackfyre. The tourney had been a ruse to gather those sympathetic to the Blackfyre line's claim in one place and to allow Daemon (for whom it was rigged) to win. As a member of the Kingsguard, Dunk put an end to the Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion as well when he slaughtered the next challenger to the Throne, Daemon III. 

One of the most relatable things about Dunk is that he doesn't think of himself as great, as so many "Thrones" personalities do. Because of his humble origins and his wishy-washy claim to knighthood, he experiences something akin to imposter syndrome and undervalues his own abilities and intelligence. Sure, he wasn't formally educated, and he doesn't have Tyrion's way with words, but Dunk isn't nearly the lunkhead he fears he is. In fact, his personal journey through Westeros' high and low society as well as fate itself may have conspired to create the right man for the right moment. 

Dunk isn't necessarily the best at any given skill. Martin writes that he's good with a sword and even better with an ax or mace. However, one of his major advantages in a fight and in life is that he can pull from what he learned on the streets of Flea Bottom, what he learned from Ser Arlan, and what he's learned from Egg in any situation. This means he can wrestle, plot, or charm his way out of a pickle, depending on what the day calls for. More to the point, multiple characters throughout "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" and Martin's other volumes have prophetic dreams about Ser Duncan, including Daeron the Drunken, Daemon II Blackfyre, and, as previously mentioned, Bran Stark. The "A Song of Ice and Fire" books and the "Game of Thrones" shows often debate within themselves whether dreams can be trusted to foretell one's destiny, but in the case of Ser Duncan the Tall, they seem to have been reliable. 

Though the "Tales of Dunk and Egg" tie into existing "Game of Thrones" lore at nearly every turn, there's one particular tie-in — teased by George R. R. Martin himself — that fans are most excited to see unfold on screen. Martin has more or less confirmed that Ser Duncan the Tall is the ancestor of Brienne of Tarth. This isn't altogether surprising, since Brienne towers above all the women and nearly all the men with whom she comes into contact. But the author, who will co-produce and co-write "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight," hasn't filled in any of the juicy details as to how Duncan begets Brienne. He's only hinted that the truth will come out at some point in his epic masterwork's future. 

Fans suspected as much before Martin went on the record about Dunk and Brienne's connection. Besides their height and prowess in tourneys and battle, Brienne's family happens to have possession of Dunk's shield ... the one bearing the elm tree and the shooting star that Tanselle designed almost a century earlier. There are, of course, other ways that the Tarths could've inherited the shield. It could've been won or purchased. But since Brienne's family lineage is murky compared to some of Westeros' other noble families (her mother and brothers are dead; her grandparents aren't named), some readers have theorized that Ser Duncan may have fathered a child while in the Kingsguard, and the pregnant woman may have been hastily married off to an older lord to cover up the indiscretion. Only time — and future "Game of Thrones" content — will tell.