Davos Seaworth
| Davos Seaworth | |
|---|---|
| A Song of Ice and Fire character | |
 Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth | |
| First appearance |
Novel: A Clash of Kings (1998) Television: "The North Remembers" (2012) |
| Created by | George R. R. Martin |
| Portrayed by | Liam Cunningham |
| Information | |
| Aliases |
The Onion Knight Davos Shorthand |
| Occupation |
Previous Smuggler Knight Lord Hand of the King |
| Family | House Seaworth |
| Relatives |
Marya Seaworth (wife) Dale Seaworth, Allard Seaworth, Matthos Seaworth, Maric Seaworth, Devan Seaworth, Stannis Seaworth, Steffon Seaworth, (sons) |
| Nationality | Westerosi |
Davos Seaworth (aka "the Onion Knight") is a fictional character from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. He is a POV character in A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords and A Dance with Dragons, of 13 chapters, and a main character in the television adaptation.
Character
Background
Davos, a smuggler at the time of Robert Baratheon's rebellion, brought onions to Storm's End, then under siege by Mace Tyrell and the Redwynes, to Stannis Baratheon and his men. As a reward for this service, Stannis had Davos knighted; as a punishment for years of illicit smuggling, however, Stannis personally "shortened" Davos' left hand, cutting the fingers off at the furthest joint. Davos later kept the remains in a pouch about his neck, and refers to them in the books as his "luck." Davos was given lands on Cape Wrath and has a Keep there. He is married and has seven sons.
Character
Davos is loyal to Stannis, due to the life and opportunities that Stannis knighting him has presented to Davos and his family. However he sometimes disagrees with Stannis's methods. Davos is a devout believer in the Seven, which puts him at odds with Melissandre and the Queen's Men, who worship R'hllor. Davos tries to always be honest to Stannis, speaking his mind instead of saying what Stannis wants to hear.
Storylines
In the books
Davos first appears in A Clash of Kings.[1] Due to Joffrey Baratheon's illegitimacy, Stannis names himself heir to his brother King Robert Baratheon. Davos supports him, though he dislikes Stannis converting to R'hllor under the Priestess Melisandre. Davos is sent to deliver letters saying Queen Cersei's children were born of incest, so cannot claim the Iron Throne. However Stannis receives little assistance.
Davos sails with Stannis to besiege Storm's End. Stannis' younger brother Renly Baratheon has declared himself King and tries to defeat Stannis, however is killed by a shadow birthed by Melisandre. The castellan of Storm's End, Ser Cortnay Penrose, refuses to surrender Storm's End. Davos advises attacking King's Landing before taking Storm's End, but Stannis says the Lords won't follow him if he appears defeated. Davos brings Melisandre, about whom he already has misgivings, to the caverns underneath Storm's End, where she births a "shadow" that kills Cortnay Penrose and allows Stannis to claim Edric Storm, his illegitimate nephew via Robert.
Davos is in command of a ship at the Battle of the Blackwater Rush, though disagrees with their commander, Ser Imry Florent, a brother-in-law of Stannis. However Tyrion Lannister uses wildfire to destroy most of the ships and a chain to trap most of the fleet. Davos' four oldest sons are killed by the wildfire. Davos is washed ashore on the Spears of the Merling King, losing his "luck", but is recovered by Stannis' men, rather than Joffrey's. Blaming Melisandre for the loss (due to the strategic import of Tyrion's wildfire and Melsiandre's religious associations with fire), Davos plots to murder the priestess. However her magic warns her and he is imprisoned by Ser Axell Florent. King Stannis, however, releases him to hear his counsel on attacking Claw Isle. Earlier Axell threatened to have Davos killed if he didn't help him become hand of Stannis. Davos' claims that it would be unjust to attack Claw Isle despite Lord Celtigar bending the knee to Joffrey, as its people are innocent and only following their Lord. For this honest counsel Stannis names him Admiral of the Narrow Sea, Lord of the Rainwood and Hand of the King. Davos then watches a ritual where Stannis use's blood leached from Edric to curse the three rival Kings. After two of these Kings, Balon Greyjoy and Robb Stark die, Stannis considers using Edric for a ritual, despite Davos' counsel. On hearing of Joffrey's death, Davos sends Edric Storm east to the Free Cities, foiling Melisandre's plans to sacrifice him to raise a dragon sleeping under Dragonstone.
Learning to read, he comes across a plea for help from the Wall, and convinces Stannis to sail north and aid the Night's Watch against a wildling invasion. Stannis defeats a far larger wildling army and meets Jon Snow. Davos is sent to White Harbor to persuade Wyman Manderly, one of the most powerful Northern Lords, to support Stannis' cause. Manderly hears Davos' plea in the Merman's Court, where he is also hosting three members of House Frey, who betrayed the Starks at the Red Wedding in which Robb Stark and many Northmen, including Wylis Manderly, were murdered treacherously. Davos claims the North should support Stannis as he will give them vengeance, but Manderly imprisons Davos. He sends word to King's Landing that he has executed him, but in reality the man executed was another criminal vaguely resembling Davos. Davos is imprisoned in the Wolf's Den, however he is released by Robett Glover and taken to Manderly, who explains that he couldn't defy the Lannisters while his only surviving son was a captive, but they have been returned. Manderly implies he will murder the three Freys and reveals that many of the other northern lords wish to overthrow House Bolton, who has assumed control of the North following their betrayal of House Stark, but dare not openly defy the Boltons unless a Stark heir can be found. He reveals that he has been harboring Wex Pyke, former squire to Theon Greyjoy who followed Rickon Stark after the sack of Winterfell, and tells Davos that if he retrieves Rickon from the cannibal island of Skagos the Northmen will support Stannis' campaign.
In the series
In the HBO series Davos has the fingers taken from his right hand, as Liam Cunningham is left-handed. He has only one son, Matthos, who dies at Blackwater.
Several aspects of Davos' storyline are altered for the television series. After returning to Dragonstone after the Battle of the Blackwater, he tries to kill Melisandre, as revenge for his son's death and her influence over Stannis. While in captivity, he is approached by Shireen Baratheon, the King's daughter who teaches him how to read. Eventually, as Stannis is considering sacrificing his bastard nephew Gendry in a blood magic sacrifice to eliminate his rivals for the Iron Throne, he seeks Davos's counsel, as he has doubts. Davos opposes the idea of sacrificing Gendry. Stannis announces that he will release Davos but only on the condition that he not try to kill Melisandre again. Davos swears he won't, but tells the King that he will continue to oppose her plans. Stannis frees him and appoints him as Hand of the King. When a test sacrifice of Gendry's blood results in the death of Robb Stark, Stannis decides to sacrifice his nephew to win the war. However, Davos helps him escape. He avoids execution when he tells Stannis about the plea sent by the Night's Watch about the resurgent threat of the White Walkers. Although Stannis plans to uphold the sentence, Melisandre saves Davos by telling the King that his Hand will play a large part in the war in the North.
He also has the suggestion of appealing to the Iron Bank of Braavos for financial support, and manages to convince the Bank's representatives to back Stannis. Following the defeat of the Wildling army, Davos accompanies Stannis' army on the march to Winterfell. After Ramsay Bolton manages to destroy Stannis' supplies, Davos is sent back to Castle Black to obtain more supplies, unaware that Stannis' true motive is to prevent him interfering in the sacrifice of Stannis' daughter Shireen, whom Davos is very fond of. Davos later witnesses Melisandre returning, despondent, to Castle Black, and is distraught to realise that Shireen is dead.
Reception
Schmoops has claimed Davos Seaworth demonstrates the social stratum of the Seven Kingdoms, by becoming a knight despite his humble origins.[2] David Benioff has said that Davos is one of his favorite characters.
References
- ↑ "A Clash of Kings: Prologue".
- ↑ "Davos Seaworth". Shmoop.
