Ser Barristan from the series "Game of Thrones"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Game of Thrones is set in a fantasy world created by author George R. R. Martin. Despite all the cruelty of the multi-part story, it continues to attract more and more attention to itself, because directors, actors and screenwriters are hard at work on every detail. The world of Game of Thrones is inhabited not only by real people, but also by fantastical creatures such as White Walkers, Dragons and Children of the Forest. However, ordinary characters without any abilities are also interesting to the audience. One of the regular but important characters in the series is Ser Barristan Selmy.

Becoming a Knight

In the series, this hero is first introduced at the age of 61, but a lot of facts are known about his youth, when he was just becoming a knight. The father of the guy was Sir Lionel Semley, from whom he inherited a craving for battles. Selmy earned his nickname "The Courageous" at the age of ten, when he first took part in a tournament at Blackhavel. Due to his young age, the guy decided to keep his name a secret, but after losing to Sir Dunan, also known as the Dragonfly Prince, his identity wasexposed. Despite the shameful defeat, many were shocked by the courage and strength of the boy, so they called him "Courageous".

When Barristan was sixteen years old, he decided to take part in the tournament that was held in King's Landing. Also young Ser Barristan again decided not to give his name. This time, he was able to defeat Prince Duncan and Duncan the Tall, who served as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. As a reward, King Aegon V Targaryen decided to reward the guy and make him a knight.

Ser Barristan on the side of the Targaryens

After being knighted, Selmy began to faithfully serve the Targaryen family. On behalf of the king, Sir Barristan took part in several wars and helped to suppress many rebellions. It is known that more than once he often won battles, despite serious injuries. One such incident occurred during the Duskvale Rebellion, when a knight was able to save the king with an arrow through his chest. At twenty-three, Selmy was admitted to the Royal Guard, and within a few years he achieved the title of Lord Commander.

Service to Robert Baratheon

When the rebellion began under the leadership of Robert Baratheon, Ser Barristan remained among the few loyal to the king. Game of Thrones first showed Selmy as a devoted Baratheon knight, but he wasn't originally one. Even when a Targaryen victory was impossible, he remained true to the oath he swore to the king.

After the Battle of the Trident, Barristan was captured by Robert. When Baratheon found out about the bravery of the knight, he decided to have mercy on him. Howit turned out that during the battle, Semley was able to hit twelve of Robert's warriors, but could not leave due to being wounded. Then Baratheon sent a personal maester to Sir Barristan to heal the wounds of the knight. Shortly after the victory, Baratheon restored Selmy to the title of Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

For many years Barristan served Robert and participated in all battles as the head of the king's army. He dissuaded Baratheon from taking part in the knightly tournament, thereby saving the king from shame. He also accompanied Robert on a boar hunt. When the king was badly wounded and dying, Ser Barristan guarded his quarters.

Selmy's expulsion

After the death of Robert Baratheon, the Iron Throne was taken by Joffrey Baratheon. Then the new ruler of Westeros decided to send Barristan to rest. This order violated Selmy's oath to serve the king to death, so the knight did not want to leave his post, not even agreeing to a reward in the form of gold and his own lands. In addition, the king's order hinted at the Cyr's inability to fulfill his duties.

Then Joffrey ordered Barristan to be captured, but he killed two of the guards who attacked him, thus proving his strength. After that, he left the castle and went to Daenerys Targaryen. In Qarth, he saved her life, thereby gaining the favor of the Mother of Dragons.

Death of a hero

Despite the fact that Sir Barristan remains alive in George R. R. Martin's novels, the creators of the series decide to kill the hero. According toseries, a knight dies at the hands of the Sons of the Harpy.

Former slave owners of Meereen called themselves Sons of the Harpy. After Daenerys freed all the slaves in the city, the masters rebelled. During one of the riots, Barristan Selmy dies, who managed to kill many of them before his death.

In the book, he became the ruler of Meereen after Daenerys went with an army to King's Landing to reclaim the Iron Throne.

The actor who played the role of the knight

Sir Barristan Selmy took part in the events shown from the first to the fifth seasons of the story. The image in which Ian McElhinney had to reincarnate is Sir Barristan. The actor celebrated his 68th birthday in August. Despite his age, Ian continues to take part in the creation of film projects.

Earlier, he took part in the movie “City of Amber. Escape”, where he played the role of one of the builders of the underground city. He has also starred in Hamlet, Michael Collins, The Prayer of the Day.

Despite the fact that the character of Ian McElhiney will no longer appear in the "Game of Thrones", it is unlikely that fans will be able to forget him, because this character was important to the whole story.