Tywin Lannister
| House / Order | House Lannister |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Westermen |
| Status | Deceased |
| Origin | The Westerlands; King's Landing |
| Born | 242 AC, Casterly Rock |
| Died | 300 AC, King's Landing |
| Weapon | |
| Fate | Shot dead with a crossbow by his son Tyrion while on the privy |
| Portrayed by | Charles Dance |
Tywin Lannister is the Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, and head of House Lannister, the wealthiest and one of the most powerful houses in Westeros. A cold, calculating, and ruthless statesman, he is the dominant force behind the Lannister cause in the War of the Five Kings and serves as Hand of the King to his grandson Joffrey.
Feared throughout the realm, Tywin restored his family's greatness through pitiless competence after his weak father nearly ruined it, and he never forgot the lesson that a great house survives only through strength and the dread it inspires.
Background
Tywin inherited a House Lannister made a laughingstock by his amiable, ineffectual father, Lord Tytos, whose lords mocked and cheated him openly. As a young man, Tywin crushed the rebellious Reynes of Castamere and Tarbecks so utterly that he wiped them from existence, an act memorialized in the dread song "The Rains of Castamere." He served twenty years as Hand to the Mad King Aerys II, ruling the realm well until Aerys's jealousy and humiliations drove him to resign. He married his cousin Joanna, whom he loved deeply and whose death in giving birth to Tyrion embittered him forever.
Biography
A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings
When his son Jaime is captured by the Starks, Tywin takes the field, commanding the Lannister war effort against the rebel forces. He installs himself at Harrenhal and dispatches his dwarf son Tyrion to rule as Hand in King's Landing. Outmaneuvered for a time by Robb Stark's victories, Tywin secures the war through the Tyrell alliance and arrives in time to break Stannis Baratheon at the Battle of the Blackwater.
A Storm of Swords
As Hand to King Joffrey, Tywin consolidates Lannister dominance. He orchestrates the infamous Red Wedding in concert with Walder Frey and Roose Bolton, destroying Robb Stark and his cause through treachery rather than battle. He governs the realm with grim efficiency and contempt for sentiment, while clashing endlessly with Tyrion, whom he despises and blames for Joanna's death.
Death
When Joffrey is poisoned, Tywin moves to convict Tyrion of the crime, condemning his innocent son to death. Freed by Jaime, and learning from him the cruel truth about his first wife Tysha, Tyrion confronts Tywin in his privy. There he discovers Tywin's whore, Shae, in his father's bed, the final proof of his hypocrisy. Tyrion shoots Tywin dead with a crossbow. The great lord's corpse stinks foully as it lies in state, a final, undignified humiliation for a man who prized his house's dignity above all.
Character
Tywin is the embodiment of cold pragmatism: brilliant, disciplined, and utterly without mercy. He cares only for the power and legacy of House Lannister and is willing to commit any atrocity to secure it. He has no patience for love, weakness, or the opinion of lessers, "a lion does not concern himself with the opinion of a sheep." His one tenderness, his love for Joanna, died with her, leaving only the iron lord.
Relationships
Tywin's relationship with his children is defined by control and disappointment: he idolizes Jaime yet bound him to the Kingsguard, dotes on and constantly thwarts Cersei, and openly loathes Tyrion. His marriage to Joanna was the great love of his life. His hypocrisy over Shae and Tysha proves his undoing.
Quotes
A lion does not concern himself with the opinion of a sheep.
The lion who must tell others that he is the king is no true king at all... A man with power has no need of such tricks.
In the television series
In HBO's Game of Thrones, Tywin was portrayed by Charles Dance. His arc follows the novels closely, including his death at Tyrion's hands on the privy. The show added several invented scenes between Tywin and Arya during her time as a servant at Harrenhal, which do not occur in the books.