Davos Seaworth
| House / Order | House Seaworth |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Stormlander (lowborn) |
| Status | Alive (as of A Dance with Dragons) |
| Origin | Dragonstone; The North |
| Born | c. 260 AC, King's Landing (Flea Bottom) |
| Died | |
| Weapon | |
| Fate | Sent by Stannis Baratheon to find the lost Stark boy Rickon on the island of Skagos |
| Portrayed by | Liam Cunningham |
Davos Seaworth, called the Onion Knight, is a former smuggler raised to knighthood and lordship by Stannis Baratheon, and a viewpoint character in A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Dance with Dragons. Lowborn and honest, he serves as Stannis's most loyal and clear-eyed counselor, the conscience of a king surrounded by zealots.
Born in the slums of Flea Bottom, Davos never forgets his origins, and his plain decency and common sense make him the moral anchor of Stannis's faltering campaign.
Background
Davos was a successful smuggler operating out of King's Landing. During Robert's Rebellion, he ran a cargo of onions and salt fish through the besieging fleet to relieve the starving garrison of Storm's End, saving Stannis and his men. Stannis knighted him for the deed, granting him lands and the surname Seaworth, but also, in his rigid justice, struck off the last joint of four fingers of Davos's left hand as payment for years of smuggling. Davos kept the fingerbones in a pouch as a luck-charm and bore Stannis no grudge, honoring the king's fairness. He took an onion for his sigil.
Biography
A Clash of Kings
Davos serves Stannis faithfully as he presses his claim to the throne, troubled by the growing influence of the red priestess Melisandre and her foreign god. He smuggles Melisandre into a sea cave beneath Storm's End, where she gives birth to a shadow that murders Renly, an act that fills Davos with dread. He commands a ship in the assault on King's Landing and is nearly killed when the fleet is destroyed by wildfire at the Battle of the Blackwater. He loses four of his sons in the fire.
A Storm of Swords
Cast ashore and presumed dead, Davos returns to Dragonstone consumed by hatred for Melisandre, even plotting to kill her. Arrested, he wins his freedom and is named Hand of the King precisely because he will tell Stannis hard truths. He saves the imprisoned smuggler-turned-rebel and, crucially, reads the Night's Watch's plea for help and persuades Stannis that a true king's duty is to defend the realm, turning Stannis north to The Wall.
A Dance with Dragons
Stannis sends Davos as an envoy to win the great northern port of White Harbor and its lord, Wyman Manderly, to his cause. Davos is at first imprisoned and reported executed (his head and hands supposedly displayed), but this proves a ruse by Manderly, who secretly favors the Starks. Manderly agrees to support Stannis if Davos undertakes a near-impossible task: to sail to the dreaded island of Skagos and bring back Rickon Stark, the surviving Stark heir, alive.
Character
Davos is honest, humble, and brave in a quiet way, valuing loyalty and plain truth over flattery and intrigue. Illiterate for much of his life, he learns to read late and works to better himself. His low birth gives him sympathy for the smallfolk and an unromantic view of power. He is the rare man who serves a king out of genuine gratitude and conviction rather than ambition.
Relationships
Davos's defining bond is his fierce loyalty to Stannis Baratheon, whom he serves as both Hand and conscience. His distrust and fear of Melisandre drive much of his arc. His grief for the sons lost on the Blackwater shadows him. His unlikely friendship with Wyman Manderly turns on a shared, secret love of the Starks.
Quotes
I have known no man so true as Stannis. I gave my fingers for his right to rule.
A knight who remembered his vows, that's all.
In the television series
In HBO's Game of Thrones, Davos was portrayed by Liam Cunningham. His arc broadly follows the novels, then continues beyond them: he survives Stannis's fall, joins Jon Snow in the North, and serves as an adviser through the end of the series. His mission to Skagos for Rickon is cut from the show, and these later events have not occurred in the books.