Suppose you can’t get enough of the Westeros drama this autumn. In that case, you can enjoy the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon, which will give you a deeper insight into the historical civil war that tore apart the House Targaryen, taking place two hundred years before the events of the GoT series. 

To help you get prepared for the series, we found some intriguing facts about House Targaryen that will pique your interest. 

They married among themselves

The Targaryen family tree would use some fresh blood. Literary! It is well known that they used to marry among themselves to keep the bloodline pure. Alongside that, their different religious practices kept them apart from other houses. Consequently, hundreds of years of inbreeding led to medical issues, mainly mental health problems. This produced many mad rulers with bizarre personalities and ultimately encouraged rulers with several sons to skip the line of succession in favor of more stable heirs. 

They are dragon-tamers

According to legends, the Valyrian Freehold was once ruled by families of dragon lords, and Targaryens used to be a part of this empire. They could tame and ride dragons, and they used to live in more-or-less harmonious coexistence with these majestic beasts. However, after the tragic event commonly known as the Doom of Valyria, the Targaryen House remained the only family that could successfully tame and ride dragons.  

They have premonition-like dreams

The carriers of the dragon’s blood are known to have prophetic dreams that often include dragons and tend to haunt them throughout their lives. However, it is believed that Targaryens managed to escape the Doom of Valyria precisely because of this ability. Young ​​Daenys Targaryen predicted that Valyria would get destroyed and persuaded her father to move the whole family. Also, in the Game of Thrones series, we could witness Daenerys having similar prophetic dreams. For instance, her dreams predicted the birth of her dragons as well as the fall of Astapor. 

They have a tradition of gifting a dragon egg to newborns

Depending on the culture, people gift newborns with toys, jewelry, or money. However, the Targaryen House had a centuries-old tradition of giving their newborn dragon eggs and placing them in the cradle. This custom continued even after the death of the last dragon in an attempt to hatch the eggs by the members of the Targaryen family. Still, unfortunately, there aren’t any more recent updates on this unique tradition. 

They speak the Valyrian language

Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon is the right shows for you if you’re a language nerd and love fictional languages. Alongside Dothraki, the Valyrian language earned a reputation for being one of the most convincing fictional languages ever created. In the GoT series, we can hear Dany, as well as other Targaryens, speaking in the High Valyrian with some traces of the Low Valyrian dialects. If you’re interested in learning a few Valyrian phrases to impress your friends, you can enroll in the High Valyrian language course on Duolingo. 

Conclusion

If you’re already hooked on the incredible and nail-biting adventures of Targaryens, remember that new episodes are going live every Sunday evening on HBO.