l'Empereur des diables

linndechir:

xylodemon:

game of thrones meme | seven quotations | king stannis is my god

King Stannis is my god.

—Davos Seaworth, A Clash of Kings

“He made me and blessed me with his trust.”

FINALLY!!

FINALLY! I KNOW WHAT THIS QUOTE REMINDED ME OF. DAMN IT I KNEW IT. 

Hear me out. Since this quote is actually in the book it is nothing but a stroke of genius from Martin which only shows that he knows his History and he knows the ideology of Medieval/Modern Kings quite well. 

In the beginning of  the 17th century it became very common what in Spanish is called “Gobierno de hechuras”, govern of creatures. The expression was branded by Sir John Elliot a Hispanic Historian. It was a kind of ideological justification for the new style of government that became very popular during the XVII Century: the use “favourites” or validos. Meaning the influence of one individual over the King and as consequence the influence of that individual over the destiny of the Realm. (Olivares, Lerma).  

The validos used also networks of people (“clients”) who were placed in key posts of administration. These networks worked through the exchange of favours and honours and were based on a great level of personal trust between the valido and his people.

But more important than this is the justification for this style of government. It was necessary for the favourites or validos to justify their position and decisions. Both before the king but also before their network of clients. The justifications are similar. 

They were so close to the King that their influence was not merely mesured in terms of competence but also by their personal relationship with the King. Usually these men were the ones who were there to awake the King and who dressed him and who witnessed the most private moments of his life. So it was a relationship based not just on political trust but also on personal trust. 

So it was the King who made the favourite. The power of the favourite was given to the favourite by the King and it could not exist without him. In the moment the King quit trusting his valido, the same would fall and always in great disgrace. 

The Duke of Lerma, the first great “valido” or favourite of History, extended this kind of personal trust to the relationship he enjoyed with his network of clients. One of those clients, Pedro Franqueza, once wrote to him and said “Tu eres mi dueño y yo soy tu hechura”. Roughly translating: “You are owner and I am your creation”.  

The same expression could be said about Lerma or Olivares and their relationship with their respective Kings. Their Kings made them and “blessed” them with their trust.

So that quote from Franqueza bears in my view significant resemblance to Davos’s quote. Because Davos wouldn’t be what he is without Stannis. Probably Stannis wouldn’t exist without Davos as well but that’s the story. But what I want to stress out here is that there is a deep ideological/historical justification for this relationship. Because no other relationship between advisor and King in ASOS is like this. Not Ned/Robert not Jorah/Dany. 

Davos and Stannis are remarkably branded by the traditional rules that marked the relationship and the connection between a favourite and King. Even the fact that Davos is viewed as an outsider - and is one really -is pretty much how the favourites/validos were seen by the more established powers in Court and administration. And also their level of personal trust and confidence exceeds the common boundaries that a relationship between Favourite/King would also exceed given its very nature and aims.