🛡️ House Baratheon · Alive
Brienne of Tarth
Also known as: Brienne the Beauty (mockery) · The Maid of Tarth
Titles: Ser — first woman knighted in Westerosi history · Lord Commander of the Kingsguard
Portrayed by: Gwendoline Christie · Origin: The Stormlands · Seat: Evenfall Hall, Tarth · First appears: S2E3 “What Is Dead May Never Die”
“All my life men like you have sneered at me. And all my life I've been knocking men like you into the dust.”
Biography
The only living child of the Evenstar of Tarth, Brienne grew up too tall, too strong, and too honest for a world that wanted ladies to be ornamental. Mocked as 'Brienne the Beauty' by suitors who courted her on a cruel bet, she answered the only way she ever would: she got better with a sword than all of them. She won a place in Renly Baratheon's Kingsguard by unhorsing Ser Loras Tyrell in a melee — and when Renly was murdered by a shadow in front of her, she was blamed, hunted, and bound to the only person who believed her: Catelyn Stark. Her oath to Catelyn — to return the Stark daughters — became the spine of her life.
Assigned to escort Jaime Lannister to King's Landing, she dragged the realm's most cynical knight back toward honor: he lost a hand defending her from rape, leapt unarmed into a bear pit for her, and armed her with Oathkeeper. She kept every promise the war allowed — defeating the Hound in single combat over Arya, executing Stannis for Renly, arriving in the nick of time to save Sansa in the snow and swearing the sword to her at last. In Winterfell's great hall, on the eve of the Long Night, Jaime knighted her by firelight: the first woman knight in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. She ended the series as Lord Commander of Bran's Kingsguard — and finished Jaime's entry in the White Book herself, giving the Kingslayer the last word history denied him.
Attributes & statistics
Editorial scores (0–100) and metadata — our own estimates for comparison, not official canon.
| Combat | 96 |
|---|---|
| Intellect | 60 |
| Loyalty | 100 |
| Influence | 55 |
| Survivability | 85 |
| Moral compass | 97 |
Screen time: 145 min across 42 episodes · Named on-screen kills: 12 · Lore milestones: 8 · Debut: S2E3 (2012)
Timeline
- ⭐ S2E5 — Renly's Death: A shadow kills her king; she flees blamed for the murder.
- ⭐ S3E7 — The Bear Pit: Fights a bear with a wooden sword; Jaime jumps in.
- S4E8 — Duel with the Hound: Wins the most brutal one-on-one fight in the series.
- ⭐ S8E2 — Knighted by Jaime: Ser Brienne of Tarth, first of her name.
- ⭐ S8E6 — Lord Commander: Heads King Bran's Kingsguard; completes the White Book.
Key relationships
- ally Jaime Lannister — He knighted her; she wrote his history
- sworn-to Sansa Stark — The oath to Catelyn, finally fulfilled
- sworn-to Arya Stark — Offered her sword; Arya chose her own path
- rival Sandor Clegane — Defeated him in single combat over Arya's custody
Trivia
- Gwendoline Christie is 6'3" — and trained extensively in sword work and horseback for the role.
- Her duel with the Hound was a show-only invention; they never meet in the books.
- Oathkeeper is forged from the melted Valyrian steel of Ned Stark's Ice.
- Her knighting scene was written specifically because fans had campaigned for it for years.
- She is the only character to have served Renly, Catelyn, Sansa, and Bran — and kept faith with all four.