House of the Dragon: George R.R. Martin Calls Out “Sloppy” Targaryen Sigil Change in Game of Thrones

The second season of House of the Dragon is currently in full swing on HBO, and the prequel series follows the Targaryen reign nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin has always been open about his feelings towards the adaptations of his works and recently praised House of the Dragon‘s second season. However, there is one thing about the series and its predecessor that he’s not too happy with. In a recent blog post, the author revealed he doesn’t care for the way the Targaryen sigil is depicted in the series. 

Martin originally designed the Targaryen sigil as a dragon with three heads, two legs, and two wings. When Game of Thrones first started, it followed Martin’s design for the house’s sigil. However, it was changed along the way and House of the Dragon continues to use the second design, which features four legs. 

“No animal that has ever lived on Earth has six limbs,” Martin wrote. “For what it’s worth, the shows got it half right,” Martin added. “Someone got sloppy, I guess. Or someone opened a book on heraldry, and read just enough of it to muck it all up. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” he added, referring to the show’s fifth season changing when Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) fleet finally headed towards Westeros. 

“Muchof the confusion about the propernumber of legs on a dragon has its roots in medieval heraldry,” Martin wrote. “In the beginning both versions could be seen on shields and banners, but over the centuries, as heraldry became more standardized, the heralds took to calling the four-legged beasties dragons and their two-legged kin wyverns.No one had everseen a dragon or a wyvern, of course; neither creature actually existed save in legend, so there was a certain arbitrary quality to this distinction… and medieval heralds were not exactly renowned for their grasp of zoology, even for real world animals.Just take a look at what they thought a seahorse looked like.” 

“Dragons DO exist in the world of Westeros, however (wyverns too, down in Sothoryos), so my own heralds did not have that excuse.Ergo, in my books, the Targaryen sigil has two legs, as it should,” he explained. “Why would any Westerosi ever put four legs on a dragon, when they could look at the real thing and could their limbs?My wyverns have two legs as well; they differ from the dragons of my world chiefly in size, coloration, and the inability to breath fire.(It should be stressed that while the Targaryen sigil has the proper number of legs (two), it is not exactly anatomically correct.The wings are way too small compared to the body, and of course no dragon has three heads.That bit is purely symbolic, meant to reflect Aegon the Conqueror and his two sisters).” 

What Is House of the Dragon About?

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

House of the Dragon‘s fifth episode of Season 2 drops on HBO on July 14th.