Like with any fandom, the story of Game of Thrones (and by extension the entire Ice and Fire series) has generated a lot of speculation by the fans. But, recently, I've come across a particular theory that seems to have gained quite a bit of support amongst the fanbase; the true parentage of Jon Snow.
Now, as this is all speculation at this point, I'm not sure if a spoiler warning is needed, but I'm putting one up anyway, just in case.
So then, the official story of the show and books is this; about twenty years before the story began, there was a rebellion in the land of Westeros, wherein the ruling family, the Targaryens, tried to fight off the uprising of Robert Baratheon, who later won and became king. The cause of this rebellion? His betrothed, Lyanna Stark, was apparently kidnapped by the heir to the throne, Rheagar Targaryen. Robert was joined in his efforts by Lord Eddard Stark, Lyanna's brother, who, like Robert, wanted to free her from Rheagar.
Long story short, the rebels won and the Targaryens were defeated, including Rheagar, who died in battle with Robert. However, despite this, both Eddard and Robert were too late to save Lyanna, who was on her deathbed by the time they finally arrived. With the Targaryens vanquished, Robert became king and Eddard returned home. However, Eddard went home with a newborn baby boy, who was apparently the result of him having spent a night with another woman during the rebellion. This apparent illegitimate son was named Jon Snow and was raised by Eddard for many years until the real story began.
However, some fans have theorised that this was actually all just a cover story. That Lyanna was never kidnapped by Rheagar and that the two, in fact, simply ran away together. On top of that, the theory also states that Jon Snow is neither illegitimate, nor the son of Eddard, but rather the child of Lyranna and Rheagar, with his birth being what killed the former. If so, Jon is actually the heir to the throne, rather than Eddard's illegitimate son, and that the whole "Lyanna having died from Rheagar" story was just a cover that Eddard created to hide Jon's identity from those with anti-Targaryen feelings, like Robert
There's a lot of small points that fans like to bring up to support their idea, but I won;t be mentioning them here. I just wanted to give the outlines of the theory and say that, while I certainly see how such a theory might come about, I've never been entirely sure whether it's one worth believing.
So, I'd like all of you to give me your thoughts on the matter. Do you follow this theory yourself? Do you disagree with it? Or do you perhaps have some opinion of it that lies in-between?
Now, as this is all speculation at this point, I'm not sure if a spoiler warning is needed, but I'm putting one up anyway, just in case.
So then, the official story of the show and books is this; about twenty years before the story began, there was a rebellion in the land of Westeros, wherein the ruling family, the Targaryens, tried to fight off the uprising of Robert Baratheon, who later won and became king. The cause of this rebellion? His betrothed, Lyanna Stark, was apparently kidnapped by the heir to the throne, Rheagar Targaryen. Robert was joined in his efforts by Lord Eddard Stark, Lyanna's brother, who, like Robert, wanted to free her from Rheagar.
Long story short, the rebels won and the Targaryens were defeated, including Rheagar, who died in battle with Robert. However, despite this, both Eddard and Robert were too late to save Lyanna, who was on her deathbed by the time they finally arrived. With the Targaryens vanquished, Robert became king and Eddard returned home. However, Eddard went home with a newborn baby boy, who was apparently the result of him having spent a night with another woman during the rebellion. This apparent illegitimate son was named Jon Snow and was raised by Eddard for many years until the real story began.
However, some fans have theorised that this was actually all just a cover story. That Lyanna was never kidnapped by Rheagar and that the two, in fact, simply ran away together. On top of that, the theory also states that Jon Snow is neither illegitimate, nor the son of Eddard, but rather the child of Lyranna and Rheagar, with his birth being what killed the former. If so, Jon is actually the heir to the throne, rather than Eddard's illegitimate son, and that the whole "Lyanna having died from Rheagar" story was just a cover that Eddard created to hide Jon's identity from those with anti-Targaryen feelings, like Robert
There's a lot of small points that fans like to bring up to support their idea, but I won;t be mentioning them here. I just wanted to give the outlines of the theory and say that, while I certainly see how such a theory might come about, I've never been entirely sure whether it's one worth believing.
So, I'd like all of you to give me your thoughts on the matter. Do you follow this theory yourself? Do you disagree with it? Or do you perhaps have some opinion of it that lies in-between?
