Hear Me Roar
Fair-haired, tall, and handsome, the Lannisters are the blood of Andal adventurers who carved out a mighty kingdom in the western hills and valleys. Through the female line they boast of descent from Lann the Clever, the legendary trickster of the Age of Heroes. The gold of Casterly Rock and the Golden Tooth has made them the wealthiest of the Great Houses.
Their sigil is a golden lion upon a crimson field. The Lannisters are famous for their saying, 'a Lannister always pays his debts.
Principal houses sworn to Casterly Rock are Payne, Swyft, Marbrand, Lydden, Banefort, Lefford, Crakehall, Serrett, Broom, Clegane, Prester, and Westerling.
- TYWIN LANNISTER, Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, Shield of Lannisport,
- —his wife, [LADY JOANNA], a cousin, died in childbed,
- —their children:
- —SER JAIME, called the Kingslayer, heir to Casterly Rock, a twin to Cersei,
- —QUEEN CERSEI, wife of King Robert I Baratheon, a twin to Jaime,
- —TYRION, called the Imp, a dwarf,
- —his siblings:
- —SER KEVAN, his eldest brother,
- —his wife, DORNA, of House Swyft,
- —their eldest son, LANCEL, squire to the king,
- —their twin sons, WILLEM and MARTYN,
- —their infant daughter, JANEI,
- —GENNA, his sister, wed to Ser Emmon Frey,
- —their son, SER CLEOS FREY,
- —their son, TION FREY, a squire,
- —[SER TYGETT], his second brother, died of a pox,
- —his window, DARLESSA, of House Marbrand,
- —their son, TYREK, squire to the king,
- —[GERION], his youngest brother, lost at sea,
- —his bastard daughter, JOY, a girl of ten,
- —their cousin, SER STAFFORD LANNISTER, brother to the late Lady Joanna,
- —his daughters, CERENNA and MYRIELLE,
- —his son, SER DAVEN LANNISTER,
- —his counselor, MAESTER CREYLEN,
- —his chief knights and lords bannermen:
- —LORD LEO LEFFORD,
- —SER ADDAM MARBRAND,
- —SER GREGOR CLEGANE, the Mountain That Rides,
- —SER HARYS SWYFT, father by marriage to Ser Kevan,
- —LORD ANDROS BRAX,
- —SER FORLEY PRESTER,
- —SER AMORY LORCH,
- —VARGO HOAT, of the Free City of Qohor, a sellsword,
Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport and Warden of the West, Tywin is a calculating, ruthless, and controlling man in his mid-fifties. His wife Joanna Lannister died in childbirth while delivering his dwarf son Tyrion, and he took no other wife. He loves his children Jaime and Cersei, but despises Tyrion for being deformed and causing his beloved wife Joanna's death.
During his youth, Tywin managed to single-handedly restore his family's honor and fortune, and dedicated himself to reinforcing Lannister prestige. Though ruthless Tywin was still an able and shrewd ruler who brought great prosperity during his two tenures as Hand of the King. However, King Aerys' increasing paranoia and jealousy drove the two into bitter disagreement. Tywin resigned as Hand and returned to his own lands when Aerys named his son Jaime to the Kingsguard robbing Tywin of his heir. During Robert's Rebellion Tywin remained at Casterly Rock, taking no side until after Robert's decisive victory at the Battle of the Trident. Tywin then gathered his forces and rode for King's Landing. Aerys was convinced that Tywin had returned to aid him and opened the gates of the city. Tywin's forces promptly sacked the city, Jaime murdered Aerys, and Rhaegar's wife and children were slain by Lannister knights under Tywin's orders.
Cersei Lannister
Older than Jaime by mere moments, Cersei (a POV character) is the twin sister of Jaime Lannister with golden hair and bright green eyes. Though beautiful, Cersei is self-serving, greedy and cruelly uses others to gain her own ends. After Robert's Rebellion she married the new King, Robert Baratheon, and became Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. A willful and ambitious woman, Cersei resents the restrictions put on her for her sex. She is always concerned for the safety of her children, Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen. She neither loves nor respects her husband, King Robert.
Jaime Lannister
Younger twin to Cersei, and son of Tywin and Joanna, Jaime Lannister (a POV character) is one of the most famous knights in all of Westeros. He became a knight and ascended to the Kingsguard at a young age. Two years after his induction, he murdered the mad king during the sack of King's Landing, earning him the epithet "Kingslayer". He shares his sister's arrogance, amorality, and striking good looks. In A Storm of Swords he becomes a point-of-view character.
Jaime was an immensely talented warrior from his youth. He gained honors for valor in the field during the suppression of the Kingswood Brotherhood and was invited to join the Kingsguard at the age of 15, becoming its youngest member ever. It was a great honor; however, his true reason for accepting was to be closer to his lover, his own twin sister Cersei. The honor was tarnished when he realized that his appointment was a way for King Aerys to deprive the powerful Lord Lannister of his eldest son and heir, since knights of the Kingsguard renounce their lands and titles and are sworn not to marry or have children. Seeing Aerys's true purpose, Tywin resigned as Hand, and returned with Cersei to Casterly Rock. With his sister gone, and tasked with guarding a king he now realized to be insane and cruel, Jaime became increasingly disenchanted with his role.
During Robert's Rebellion, Aerys kept Jaime out of the fighting to secure the continued loyalty of the Lannisters; however, after the Battle of the Trident, Jaime discovered that Aerys planned to burn King's Landing and all of its inhabitants rather than let Robert Baratheon take them. When Tywin Lannister tricked Aerys into letting his troops into King's Landing and began to sack the city, King Aerys attempted to put this plan into action. Jaime responded by killing the king, earning him the epithet "Kingslayer" and a reputation as an evil and dishonorable man. Jaime later reflected that he is often reviled for what he considers to be his finest act.
Jaime is initially portrayed as arrogant, impulsive and amoral.
Kevan Lannister
Kevan is Tywin's younger brother and most trusted captain, known for his reliability and loyalty. Kevan recognized the superiority of his brother at an early age and is comfortable doing his duty to realize his brother's wishes, though this means perpetually living in his shadow. It is said that Kevan never had a thought that Tywin hadn't had first.
Lancel lannister
Lancel is the oldest son of Ser Kevan. At King's Landing, he served as squire to King Robert. He is described as sandy-haired, with a wisp of a mustache and emerald green eyes, looking much like a younger Jaime.
Tyrion Lannister
Tyrion , (a POV character from the start of the series) is Tywin's third child, a highly intelligent dwarf mockingly nicknamed "The Imp" and "Halfman". Though Tyrion shares his father's talent for political maneuvering, he receives little respect from Tywin because of his deformity, sharp tongue, penchant for whoring, and the death of his mother during his birth. He is capable of cruelty to his enemies, but also has great sympathy for fellow outcasts and the mistreated.
He was ten years old when the Mad King was killed. He had a love of tumbling and other gymnastics, which did not sit well with his father, and was forbidden from taking a tour of the Nine Free Cities when he became a man at sixteen, though his uncles Gerion and Tygett had done the same. Instead he was given charge of all the cisterns and drains at Casterly Rock.
When Tyrion was thirteen, he and his brother rescued a girl, Tysha, on the road from a band of attempted rapers. Jaime pursued the scoundrels while Tyrion took the girl to a nearby inn. In the books Tysha was a crofter's daughter, in the television series a wheelwright's orphan, but either way Tyrion was smitten by the girl and they married soon after with a drunken septon performing the marriage. They lived as man and wife for a fortnight, until the septon sobered and told Tywin Lannister. Tywin commanded Jaime to tell Tyrion the truth: the girl was a whore, and Jaime arranged the whole thing (road, rapists, etc.) so Tyrion would have his first woman. Tywin then had Tysha brought to Casterly Rock where Tywin gave her to the garrison having each man pay her silver after they took her. He forced Tyrion to go last, paying her with gold "because I was a Lannister, and worth more." The event traumatised Tyrion, but made him unendingly grateful to Jaime for his kindness in allowing Tyrion to taste love, even if only briefly.
