https://archmaester.site/wiki/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Oberyn_MartellOberyn Martell - Revision history2026-06-15T15:15:14ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.3https://archmaester.site/wiki/index.php?title=Oberyn_Martell&diff=50&oldid=prevArchmaesterjimmie: GoT character article, book-canon ASOIAF (Corvus) + portrait (Wren)2026-06-13T16:26:50Z<p>GoT character article, book-canon ASOIAF (Corvus) + portrait (Wren)</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Infobox character<br />
| image = https://archmaester.site/portraits/got/oberyn-martell.jpg<br />
| name = Oberyn Martell<br />
| title = Prince of Dorne, The Red Viper<br />
| house = [[House Martell]]<br />
| race = Dornish<br />
| status = Deceased<br />
| region = [[Dorne]]; [[King's Landing]]<br />
| born = 257 AC, [[Sunspear]]<br />
| died = 300 AC, [[King's Landing]]<br />
| weapon = A spear, often poisoned<br />
| fate = Killed by [[Gregor Clegane]] in trial by combat after winning the fight but pressing for a confession<br />
| actor = Pedro Pascal<br />
| quote = Elia of Dorne. You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children.<br />
}}<br />
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'''Oberyn Martell''', called the '''Red Viper of Dorne''', is the younger brother of Prince [[Doran Martell]] of [[Dorne]] and one of the most charismatic figures introduced in ''[[A Storm of Swords]]''. Brilliant, hot-blooded, and famed for his skill with a poisoned spear, he comes to [[King's Landing]] nursing a long-cherished thirst for vengeance against [[House Lannister]].<br />
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Oberyn's defining purpose is to avenge his beloved sister [[Elia Martell|Elia]], who was raped and murdered along with her children during the [[Sack of King's Landing]], a crime the Lannisters never answered for.<br />
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== Background ==<br />
Oberyn is the third child of the ruling house of [[Dorne]]. Worldly and learned, he studied poisons at the [[Citadel]], traveled widely in [[Essos]], commanded sellswords, and fathered eight bastard daughters known as the [[Sand Snakes]]. He earned his epithet "the Red Viper" both for his deadly poisoned blade and for an old duel in which he wounded Lord [[Edgar Yronwood]], who later died of the festering wound. His sister [[Elia Martell|Elia]] was wed to [[Rhaegar Targaryen]]; during the [[Sack of King's Landing]], she and her children were brutally murdered by [[Gregor Clegane]] on the orders, Dorne believes, of [[Tywin Lannister]]. Oberyn never forgave the crime.<br />
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== Biography ==<br />
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=== ''A Storm of Swords'' ===<br />
Oberyn arrives in [[King's Landing]] as the Dornish representative to King [[Joffrey Baratheon|Joffrey]]'s wedding, ostensibly to take Dorne's seat on the small council. In truth he comes hunting vengeance, openly threatening Lannisters and reminding them of Elia's fate. He befriends the imprisoned [[Tyrion Lannister|Tyrion]] and tells him the story of visiting Casterly Rock in Tyrion's infancy. When Tyrion is condemned for Joffrey's murder and demands [[trial by combat]], Oberyn volunteers to be his champion, seeing his chance to face [[Gregor Clegane]], the man who killed Elia, and to wring a confession from him.<br />
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=== Death ===<br />
In the trial, Oberyn fights the giant Gregor with dazzling speed and skill, wounding him repeatedly with a spear coated in manticore venom. He has all but won, but instead of finishing his enemy, he circles and demands aloud that Gregor confess to raping and murdering Elia and name Tywin as the man who gave the order. The dying Gregor seizes Oberyn, smashes his teeth out, and crushes his skull with his bare hands while confessing, killing the prince in a horrific moment that dooms Tyrion. Oberyn's poison, however, ensures Gregor's slow, agonizing death.<br />
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== Character ==<br />
Oberyn is passionate, brilliant, and fearless, a lover of wine, women, and combat who lives without the prejudices common in Westeros. He is bisexual and open about it, takes a paramour, [[Ellaria Sand]], whom he loves, and dotes on his bastard daughters. Beneath the charm runs a deep, patient rage for justice. His tragic flaw is that very passion: by demanding a confession instead of killing his beaten foe, he throws away victory and his life.<br />
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== Relationships ==<br />
Oberyn's love for his murdered sister [[Elia Martell|Elia]] drives his entire arc. He is devoted to his paramour [[Ellaria Sand]] and his daughters, the [[Sand Snakes]]. His warm, unexpected rapport with [[Tyrion Lannister|Tyrion]] makes him a rare friend to the Imp. His hatred of [[Gregor Clegane]] and [[Tywin Lannister]] defines his mission.<br />
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== Quotes ==<br />
<blockquote>''Elia of Dorne. You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children.''</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>''The Mountain that Rides. Ser Gregor Clegane. The Hound's big brother. You'll be fighting the Mountain that Rides.''</blockquote><br />
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== In the television series ==<br />
In HBO's ''Game of Thrones'', Oberyn was portrayed by Pedro Pascal. His arc and death follow the novels closely. The show later developed the consequences of his death through [[Ellaria Sand]] and the [[Sand Snakes]] in a storyline that diverges considerably from the book's Dornish plot.<br />
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[[Category:Characters]]<br />
[[Category:Game of Thrones]]<br />
[[Category:House Martell]]</div>Archmaesterjimmie