Bronn
| House / Order | House Stokeworth (by marriage); formerly a sellsword |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Westerosi (lowborn) |
| Status | Alive (as of A Dance with Dragons) |
| Origin | King's Landing; the Crownlands |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | |
| Weapon | A longsword |
| Fate | Married into House Stokeworth; lord of Castle Stokeworth, having left Lannister service |
| Portrayed by | Jerome Flynn |
Bronn is a sellsword of low birth, sharp wit, and complete pragmatism who rises from hired blade to knighthood and, by unsentimental scheming, to a lordship. For much of his story he is the bought sword and unlikely friend of Tyrion Lannister, serving him with a loyalty that lasts exactly as long as the coin does.
Cynical, deadly, and utterly without illusions about honor, Bronn embodies the self-made survivor of Westeros: a man who will do anything for advancement and never pretends otherwise.
Background
Bronn's origins are obscure even to himself; he is a common-born sellsword who has wandered the realm and the Free Cities selling his skill with a blade. He carries no loyalty he is not paid for, and he is candid about it, which Tyrion finds refreshing. He is a superb and economical fighter, preferring to win rather than to look good doing it.
Biography
A Game of Thrones
Bronn falls in with Tyrion when both are captured by Catelyn Stark and taken to the Eyrie. When Tyrion demands a trial by combat, Bronn volunteers to be his champion for the promise of reward. Facing Lysa Arryn's knight, Bronn fights dirty and practically rather than chivalrously, exhausting and killing his armored foe, and wins Tyrion his freedom. Tyrion keeps him on, and the two form a bond of mutual interest and dark humor.
A Clash of Kings
As Tyrion governs King's Landing as Hand, Bronn becomes his enforcer, commander of the City Watch, and indispensable man, carrying out tasks honest men would refuse. For his service in the Battle of the Blackwater, Bronn is knighted, styling himself Ser Bronn of the Blackwater. He is honest that his loyalty has limits: he tells Tyrion plainly that there is a price at which he would betray him.
A Storm of Swords
When Tyrion is accused of King Joffrey's murder and seeks Bronn as his champion against Gregor Clegane, Bronn declines: Cersei has bought him off with a profitable marriage to Lollys Stokeworth, placing him in line for the lordship of Stokeworth. Bronn chooses advancement over friendship without apology, exactly as he always warned he would.
A Feast for Crows
Bronn settles into his new station, scheming his way toward becoming Lord of Stokeworth by maneuvering past those ahead of him in the succession. He names a child after his old patron in mockery and keeps a wary distance from the dangerous politics of the capital, having secured for himself exactly the rise a sellsword could dream of.
Character
Bronn is shrewd, brutally honest, and entirely self-interested, a man who treats honor as a luxury he cannot afford. His candor about his own venality is, paradoxically, a kind of integrity: he never pretends to be more loyal than his price allows. Quick-witted and quicker with a blade, he is one of the saga's great survivors, climbing from gutter to castle on nerve, skill, and a refusal to ever bet against his own life.
Relationships
Bronn's relationship with Tyrion is the heart of his arc, a friendship of equals built on shared cynicism and mutual usefulness, which ends precisely when a better offer appears. His marriage into House Stokeworth, arranged by Cersei to detach him from Tyrion, secures his rise to lordship.
Quotes
I never bet against my own life.
There's no shame in losing your sword, so long as you pick it up again.
In the television series
In HBO's Game of Thrones, Bronn was portrayed by Jerome Flynn, in a notably expanded role. His arc follows the novels through his rise as Tyrion's sellsword, then continues beyond them: he serves Jaime in the later wars, survives to the end, and is named Lord of Highgarden and master of coin. These later events have not occurred in the books, where Bronn's ambitions center on Stokeworth.