Exploring the Lesser Known Branches of the Lannister Family Tree

When it comes to House Lannister, fans are pretty familiar with Tywin and his brood. One of Tywin’s primary obsessions is his family’s legacy. His own children seem to be falling well short of his expectations, and he makes no secret that he’s disappointed. In Game of Thrones, Tyrion quips, “A toast to the proud Lannister children…the dwarf, the cripple, and the mother of madness.”

Tywin’s fixation on legacy, and frustration over his children’s failures, trace directly back to his own father’s ineptitude. Although not featured as prominently, Tywin’s father and siblings have interesting histories that not only shaped the family’s past but continue to have an impact on the present members. Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the lesser known branches of the Lannister family tree.

WARNING: A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE AND POTENTIAL GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS AHEAD

Tytos Lannister: A former patriarch of the Lannister family, Tytos was Lord of Casterly Rock and known as the Laughing Lion. He and wife Jeyne Marbrand had five children: Tywin, Kevan, Genna, Tygett, and Gerion. According to The World of Ice & Fire, a companion book to the A Song of Ice and Fire series, Tytos was described as kind but weak-willed. He saw the good in everyone, from the powerful to the lowly. Unfortunately, this also gave him blinders when it came to threats against House Lannister.

He loaned money to lords who never repaid him, and his vassals openly ignored his orders and mocked him. It’s said that one of the reasons Tywin misliked laughter was because he so often heard it directed at his father. Tywin watched as the Lannisters were ridiculed and nearly brought to ruin because of Tytos’ mismanagement.

During this time, the neighboring houses of Tarbeck and Reyne grew in power—Lord Roger Reyne was known as the “Red Lion of Castamere.” The young Tywin declared to his father that he would restore House Lannister to its proper place. Soon afterward, the Reynes and Tarbecks rebelled against the Lannisters. Tywin took control of the family and crushed their rebellion, destroyed their castles, and ensured that both family lines were wiped out completely. The Lannister vassals had finally come to heel under Tywin’s leadership and he would soon leave the Westerlands to serve as Hand of the King.

The song “The Rains of Castamere” immortalizes Tywin’s destruction of House Reyne. The lyrics reference that the sigil of House Reyne was also a lion, but a red one instead of the golden Lannister lion. On Game of Thrones, “The Rains of Castamere” is most well-known as the signal to attack the Starks at The Red Wedding, which Tywin also orchestrated.

During Tytos’ final years, after his wife had died, he took a commoner for a mistress. She helped herself to the clothes and jewels once worn by Tywin’s dead mother, and Tywin wasn’t happy about it. Tywin’s anger towards Tyrion for his womanizing ways likely stems in part from Tytos’ transgressions.

Sadly, Tytos died of a heart attack while climbing the steps to see his mistress. Upon learning of his father’s death, Tywin returned to Casterly Rock. He forced Tytos’ mistress to walk the streets of Lannisport naked and confess her sins to every man she met, a fate his own daughter Cersei would suffer during her walk of atonement years later. One of the few things Tytos and Tywin had in common was that they died in a humiliating way: Tytos died climbing the stairs to share a night of passion with his common mistress, and Tywin was found dead in the privy after being killed by his own son, with a prostitute lying dead in the next room.

A last interesting fact about Tytos is that he established House Clegane. One day, Tytos happened onto a lioness and her prey, and made the mistake of trying to come between the two. The lioness killed his horse and was about to attack him as well until the kennel master of Casterly Rock came to his rescue. The kennel master, grandfather to Gregor “The Mountain” and Sandor “The Hound” Clegane, lost a leg and several of his dogs in the melee. As a gesture of gratitude, Tytos gifted the kennel master lands, a towerhouse, and took his son on as a squire, thus creating House Clegane.

Kevan Lannister: The second oldest of Tytos’ children. We’ve seen Kevan in a recurring capacity on the show since Season 1. His loyalty to Tywin is unwavering, even if it means he’s forever living in his older brother’s shadow. Along with his brothers, Kevan fought in The War of the Ninepenny Kings, also known as the Fifth Blackfyre Rebellion, and won his knighthood shortly afterwards. Tywin then charged him with collecting all the debts owed to the Lannisters. Houses that could not pay handed over a family member as a hostage.

Ser Harys Swyft was one of those who could not afford to repay his debt and surrendered his daughter Dorna. Kevan soon fell in love with Dorna and married her, making for one of the happier Lannister romances. On the other hand, Kevan’s oldest son Lancel has many dubious distinctions to his name, including an affair with his cousin Cersei, conspiring with her to kill King Robert, and turning into a religious fanatic. It doesn’t seem like there’s much love lost between Lancel and Kevan.

Through the years Kevan, continues to serve Tywin faithfully and is shaken by his murder. He refuses Cersei’s offer to be Hand of the King because she won’t name him regent as well (in the show, he refuses the position of Master of War). In A Feast for Crows, Kevan doesn’t mince words with Cersei: “From what I saw of Joffrey, you are as unfit a mother as you are a ruler.” Zing! Kevan returns to the West for a time until Cersei’s imprisonment. The Small Council, led during her confinement by Grand Maester Pycelle, eventually offers him the regency and he returns to serve King Tommen and clean up Cersei’s mess. Kevan eventually confronts her over her affair with Lancel and tells her that no matter the outcome of her trial, her rule is over.

Unfortunately for Kevan, no good deed goes unpunished. In A Dance with Dragons, he’s lured into a chamber where Varys shoots him with a crossbow. Before Varys and his little birds murder Kevan, he says he bears him no ill will, but won’t allow him to undo Cersei’s misrule. Kevan’s fate in the books has been sealed, but maybe the show will go in a different direction. At the end of Season 5, he was last seen in the Red Keep at the end of Cersei’s walk of shame.

Genna Lannister Frey: Genna is Tytos’ middle child and his only daughter. When Genna was young, her father and Walder Frey arranged for her to be married to Frey’s second son, Emmon. Tywin was the only one to speak out about it being a poor match. Genna, who was none too thrilled about the marriage herself, always thought fondly of Tywin fondly for defending her. She eventually married Emmon, whom she considers incompetent and frequently barks orders at, even in public. They have four sons, two of which died during the War of the Five Kings. Most notably, her younger son Tion was killed by Rickard Karstark as retaliation for Jaime killing his sons.

In A Feast for Crows, Genna appears in person during Jaime’s siege of Riverrun. Her strong personality and intelligence secures her a place on his war council and she encourages him to execute Edmure Tully. Throughout the siege, she and Jaime have several interesting conversations about their family, and she drops one of her more well-known quotes. “Sweetling,” she tells Jaime, “I have known you since you were a babe at Joanna’s breast. You smile like Gerion and fight like Tyg, and there’s some of Kevan in you, else you would not wear that cloak…but Tyrion is Tywin’s son, not you. I said so once to your father’s face, and he would not speak to me for half a year.”

Genna recognized that Tyrion’s political skills was superior to Jaime’s, much to Tywin’s chagrin. Overall, Genna seems like an interesting character and I’m hoping she’ll be part of Jaime’s Riverlands storyline in Season 6.

Tygett “Tyg” Lannister: Tygett was a skilled knight who excelled in battle and skill at arms. During the War of the Ninepenny Kings, he killed a grown man during his first battle. Despite his prowess as a warrior, he resented still lived in Tywin’s shadow and resented it. Over the years, Tygett tried to forge his independence, but he and Tywin never had a pleasant relationship. In A Clash of Kings, Tyrion remembers his uncle with fondness, and thought he was kinder than Tywin. Tygett died of a pox when Tyrion was a young teenager.

Tygett and his wife Darlessa Marbrand and had one son, Tyrek. Tyrek is the same age as Joffrey and was also squire to King Robert with his cousin Lancel. After Myrcella sets sail for Dorne, an angry mob threatens the royal party and riots ensue. Tyrek disappears and is presumed dead, but his body was never found. Tywin, Tyrion, and the Gold Cloaks search for him to no avail.

In A Feast for Crows, Jaime suspects that Varys may have had a hand in Tyrek’s disappearance, noting he was suspiciously absent from the docks that day. Could he have helped spark the riots and snatched Tyrek in the chaos? Since Tyrek was King Robert’s squire, he was privy to valuable information about the King, including the circumstances of his death. The show has bypassed this storyline, but it will be interesting to see if Tyrek ever turns back up in the books.

Gerion Lannister: Gerion was the youngest and most reckless of Tytos’ children. Like Kevan and Tygett, he was overshadowed by Tywin and their relationship was volatile. Despite this, he was known as someone who laughed easily and had a gift for making others laugh. Tyrion and Jaime often refer to him as their favorite uncle. In A Storm of Swords, Tyrion fondly recalls Gerion giving him prizes for reciting historical facts.

Eventually, Gerion decided to blaze his own path and set sail on a quest to find Brightroar, the ancient Valyrian sword belonging to House Lannister. Brightroar was lost hundreds of years ago when King of the Rock Tommen II sailed to Valyria and never returned. Tywin dispatched men to look for Gerion, who was last seen in Volantis buying slaves. He needed them to replace most of his crew, who deserted him upon learning of his intent to sail into the Smoking Sea in search of the sword. It’s been almost a decade since his disappearance.

Tywin was the glue that held the Lannisters together and since his death they’ve begun to crumble. The family legacy now remains in the hands of Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion. I’ll be interested to see if any of them return to their seat at Casterly Rock. We haven’t seen it on the show or in the books. In March 2015, on his Not A Blog, George R.R. Martin said Casterly Rock will appear in the books sometime in the future, but not necessarily in The Winds of Winter. As for Tywin’s extended family, it remains to be seen what their roles will entail. Will Gerion and Tyrek ever turn up, dead or alive? Will Kevan’s fate prove different on the show than it is in the books? Will Genna play a larger role? Only the greenseers know.