House Martell

House Martell of Sunspear is one of the Great Houses of Westeros and the ruling family of Dorne, the southernmost and most distinct of the Seven Kingdoms. Their sigil is a red sun pierced by a golden spear, and their words are "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" -- a fitting motto for the only kingdom Aegon the Conqueror failed to subdue by force. They rule from Sunspear, the ancient seat near the Summer Sea.

Dorne and its rulers are set apart by the Rhoynar, the river-folk who came west under Nymeria long ago and merged with the First Men and Andals already settled there. From the Rhoynar the Dornishmen take customs alien to the rest of Westeros, chief among them equal inheritance regardless of sex: in Dorne the eldest child rules, son or daughter alike. Martell rulers therefore style themselves Prince and Princess rather than Lord and Lady.

History

When Aegon the Conqueror turned his dragons against Dorne, the Dornish refused open battle, melting into the desert and answering fire with ambush. After years of bloody, fruitless war Aegon abandoned the conquest, and Dorne remained independent for nearly two centuries. It was finally brought into the realm peacefully, through marriage, under Daeron II Targaryen.

That long defiance left scars and grievances. The murder of Princess Elia Martell and her children during the Sack of King's Landing -- crimes never answered for -- fuels the cold patience of Doran Martell and the open fury of his brother Oberyn.

Notable Members

• Doran Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne, patient and ailing
• Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper, his hot-blooded brother
• Elia Martell, their sister, slain wife of Rhaegar Targaryen
• Arianne Martell, Doran's daughter and heir
• The Sand Snakes, Oberyn's bastard daughters

Significance

Dorne's independence of spirit, its old ties to the Targaryens, and its unhealed wounds make House Martell a wild card in the wars of the realm. Behind Doran's seeming inaction lies a long game aimed at vengeance against the Lannisters.