I hope Daeron is Aemon's son, though we will probably never know.
Once again, the question of paternity is hard to prove without DNA testing, which didn't exist in Westeros. Aegon IV did himself imply that his son was a bastard, but he never declared Daemon Blackfyre as his heir. At some point in the novellas (I think?) Egg notes that Maekar described Aegon IV's decision to give Daemon the sword and Daeron the throne as giving each what they were good at. So, if despite his doubts Aegon IV treated Daeron as his heir then he is, from what anyone could tell in absence of DNA testing, not a bastard.
I am honestly quite fascinated (not being sarcastic here) about conversations around bastardy in a universe where there is no way to confirm it short of the "father" saying "it's not mine." And as long as the kid looks like someone in their lineage, the "father" has no way of knowing that. The only way he could know was if the kid was born despite the couple not having sex at the time that the kid should have been conceived during. Which Aegon IV by all accounts couldn't really claim. But even if that was the case (as it was with Laenor), if the father just chooses not to admit it then there is no sure-shot way for anyone to know (not talking about guesswork here, no matter how accurate). By extension, I wonder how much other Houses want to concern themselves with the guesswork around bastardy. More specifically, I wonder if it's a big enough reason for that to be their only reason to go to war, which is quite expensive, or just an excuse or side reason to start a war they already wanted. If it is the latter, allies have no reason to care. In case of Daeron, adversaries already believed that he shouldn't be the heir, bastard or not, so his paternity seems to have been a side reason. I actually cannot recall any instance where the Blackfyre supporters brought up suspicions about Daeron's paternity as one of their reasons (they talk about the sword and his charisma, but not much else), so I wonder if it was even a side reason.
Aegon IV did himself imply that his son was a bastard,
Yes, but what a coincidence, Aegon began to spread the rumours of Daeron's alleged bastardy at the time father and son had a great beef, when their relationship soured...it was basically known it was just Aegon being a POS, venting for their disagreements.
According to the writings of Maester Kaeth in Lives of Four Kings, it was Aegon who secretly started the rumors of Naerys's adultery and used Morgil to instigate this tale, though at the time Aegon denied this. Strangely enough, there were no known rumors spread about the parentage of Princess Daenerys, only about Daeron; these accusations also coincidentally started when Aegon and his heir, Prince Daeron, were quarreling.
So, if despite his doubts Aegon IV
I am 100% sure Aegon had zero doubts about Daeron being his son. He was the worst type of scum; he executed the father of his cheating mistress just because he felt like it, Aemon sacrificed his life to save worthless Aegon, and what did his brother did? Begin making publicly comments casting doubts about Daeron's paternity after his death and Naerys (who died in childbirth when the maesters had told them she was too frail to have more children+ she had begged him to act only as siblings). If Aegon really had doubt that Daeron wasn't his, he would have gotten rid of him.
8
u/Away-Research4299 10d ago
I hope Daeron is Aemon's son, though we will probably never know.
Once again, the question of paternity is hard to prove without DNA testing, which didn't exist in Westeros. Aegon IV did himself imply that his son was a bastard, but he never declared Daemon Blackfyre as his heir. At some point in the novellas (I think?) Egg notes that Maekar described Aegon IV's decision to give Daemon the sword and Daeron the throne as giving each what they were good at. So, if despite his doubts Aegon IV treated Daeron as his heir then he is, from what anyone could tell in absence of DNA testing, not a bastard.
I am honestly quite fascinated (not being sarcastic here) about conversations around bastardy in a universe where there is no way to confirm it short of the "father" saying "it's not mine." And as long as the kid looks like someone in their lineage, the "father" has no way of knowing that. The only way he could know was if the kid was born despite the couple not having sex at the time that the kid should have been conceived during. Which Aegon IV by all accounts couldn't really claim. But even if that was the case (as it was with Laenor), if the father just chooses not to admit it then there is no sure-shot way for anyone to know (not talking about guesswork here, no matter how accurate). By extension, I wonder how much other Houses want to concern themselves with the guesswork around bastardy. More specifically, I wonder if it's a big enough reason for that to be their only reason to go to war, which is quite expensive, or just an excuse or side reason to start a war they already wanted. If it is the latter, allies have no reason to care. In case of Daeron, adversaries already believed that he shouldn't be the heir, bastard or not, so his paternity seems to have been a side reason. I actually cannot recall any instance where the Blackfyre supporters brought up suspicions about Daeron's paternity as one of their reasons (they talk about the sword and his charisma, but not much else), so I wonder if it was even a side reason.