The Meaning of Dunk’s Sigil on A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS

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The second part of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reveals that Dunk finally locates someone who recalls Ser Arlan of Pennytree: Baelor Targaryen, the Hand of the King. Baelor even jousted with Ser Arlan once! With Baelor verifying Dunk’s story, the Master of Games at Ashford allows him to compete in the tournament. However, this creates a new issue: Dunk needs a banner to represent himself. He wonders why he can’t simply use Ser Arlan’s old one, and the story explains how he and Egg came up with the design they ultimately chose. This hastily-created banner surprisingly reflects Dunk’s character and the important connection he’s about to make, and its meaning will last far beyond the tournament itself.

According to the laws and customs of Westeros, only legitimate sons are allowed to inherit a knight’s coat of arms. While people understand Dunk inheriting the possessions – like the horses, armor, sword, and shield – of the knight he served, he isn’t allowed to display that knight’s symbol. He definitely can’t compete in the tournament carrying Ser Arlan’s silver winged chalice on a brown field. Luckily, Dunk recently encountered Tanselle Too-Tall, a puppet painter, who offered to create a design for his shield. True to form, Dunk hadn’t given any thought to what his symbol should be.

Tanselle thought Arlan’s proposed colors – dull brown and silver – were too gloomy and suggested something brighter. Dunk wanted to pay tribute to the knight who had been like a father to him. He envisioned a sunset-colored background, reflecting Ser Arlan’s love of the outdoors. Then Egg proposed using a large brown elm tree with green leaves as the central image for the sigil, inspired by the tree where Dunk often camped. He felt the strong, sturdy tree perfectly represented the knight. It was also a fitting symbol for a hedge knight – someone who doesn’t own land, travels the country, and typically sleeps under the open sky rather than in castles or tents.

Just before finalizing his banner, Dunk had a last-minute idea. He asked Tanselle to add a shooting star, remembering one he and Egg had seen while everyone else at the tournament was admiring the colorful tents. Egg had told Dunk that seeing a shooting star was a sign of good luck, which gave the nervous and inexperienced knight some hope. Dunk liked the idea so much, he decided to include it on his personal banner.

This is a slight difference from the original story: here, Dunk watches a shooting star after Egg has fallen asleep. He then wonders about the meaning of the star and feels that sleeping outdoors has brought him a unique stroke of good fortune.

Dunk didn’t carefully plan his personal symbol, but he and Egg still created a design with a lot of significance. It honors Ser Arlan, reflects Dunk’s reliable nature, and even commemorates the night they first slept under the stars. It’s a fitting emblem for a true knight – and it’s the image used for the book and show’s title. The process of designing the sigil together perfectly captures their budding relationship, though neither of them understands why it’s so meaningful just yet (and some viewers are also in the dark). Like Dunk and Egg, we don’t realize the full importance of a shooting star as a symbol of the good luck that brought these two unlikely friends together – it feels like fate.

It’s funny, they had no idea that the little symbol they created together for some minor knight would actually become so iconic, outliving both of them. And honestly, if I’m going to explain why it sticks around long after that tourney at Ashford, well, I’m going to have to start revealing some major plot points – so consider yourself warned!

Fans of the books have long suspected that Brienne of Tarth was related to Ser Duncan the Tall, often called Dunk. This idea stemmed from several similarities – both were tall, honorable warriors. More importantly, a shield bearing Dunk’s emblem eventually found its way to Brienne’s ancestral home, Evenfall Hall, on the island of Tarth. In A Storm of Swords, years after Dunk’s death, Brienne has a shield painted with his symbol, recognizing it from a hanging in her father’s study, though she didn’t fully understand its origins.

George R.R. Martin verified in 2016 that Brienne is related to Duncan the Tall, though their precise family connection isn’t clear.

Okay, so here’s the interesting thing: Brienne carrying Dunk’s banner is actually a bit of a legal gray area within the world of Westeros – it’s a symbol created because of the rules, and now she’s potentially breaking those same rules by displaying it. But it doesn’t feel like a betrayal of Dunk at all! In fact, as someone descended from him and carrying his spirit, I think Brienne is exactly the right person to honor that symbol – it represents not just him, but their whole unique bond. It’s a lovely, layered moment, and feels completely true to both characters.

Mikey Walsh writes for TopMob and is excited to discuss the details of the Dunk and Egg series. You can find him on Bluesky at @burgermike, and he also enjoys debating the rankings of Targaryen kings.

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2026-01-26 06:33