28 years ago in 1998, George R.R. Martin released the first novella in The Tales of Dunk and Egg series, The Hedge Knight. The Hedge Knight follows Ser Duncan the Tall as he meets his squire Egg and takes part in the Tourney at Ashford Meadow following the death of the knight he was squired to, Ser Arlan of Pennyworth. A major theory with A Song of Ice and Fire fans since The Hedge Knight came out was the idea that Ser Arlan never actually knighted Dunk, and that Dunk is lying about his knighthood throughout the series.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Could Run For 10 Seasons, Longer Than Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin gave A Knight of the Seven Kingdom's showrunner 10 to 12 outlines so HBO can finish the series before GRRM writes more books.
The second Game of Thrones prequel following House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' series premiere quietly confirms what ASOIAF diehards have been theorizing for years: Dunk is not a knight. In the Dunk and Egg books, Dunk looks to the ground anytime he mentions that Ser Arlan knighted him, implying he's lying. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has not adapted this detail so far, but stylistic choices in AKOTSK episode 1 strongly imply Arlan never got a chance to knight Dunk.
Was Ser Duncan the Tall Knighted?
All evidence in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 1 suggests that Dunk was not knighted by Ser Arlan. Unlike Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is making use of flashbacks to fill in Dunk's backstory. Ser Arlan appears multiple times in AKOTSK Episode 1, whenever Dunk reflects on him. Audiences see Arlan giving Dunk multiple clouts on the ear, as well as a scene where Dunk asks Arlan if he intends to knight him someday, only for Arlan to remain silent and spit out an orange he's eating.
Notably, a flashback does not occur when Plummer asks Dunk if he was ever knighted, and Dunk explains that Arlan knighted him before dying the night prior. This is the only instance in the episode of Dunk mentioning Ser Arlan and the show not cutting to a flashback to back up his memory. Notably, Dunk claims that the only witness to his knighting was "a robin in a thorn tree," but as seen earlier in the episode, the robin was not a witness to Dunk being knighted, but instead to Dunk pooping – suggesting that Dunk is figuratively talking about his a**.
In The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight, Dunk looks down at his feet anytime he references Ser Arlan knighting him. In Game of Thrones, looking down at his feet is Bran's tick for lying. It's possible A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is intentionally omitting this detail to keep Dunk's knighting more ambiguous, but the use (and absense) of flashbacks more or less confirms what A Song of Ice and Fire theorists have known for years: Ser Duncan the Tall was never knighted.
Just Because Dunk Wasn't Knighted Doesn't Mean He's Not a True Knight
When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter that Dunk was never knighted and his lack of a formal knighting reads as intentional commentary from George R.R. Martin: you don't have to be a knight to be knightly. By the time of Game of Thrones, Ser Duncan the Tall had gone down in history as one of the greatest knights in Westerosi history. Both Bran Stark and Jaime Lannister revere Dunk. Jaime sees Dunk as a true knight, and Joffrey pointing out how many pages Dunk has in the White Book compared to Jaime is part of what inspires him to be a more honorable person.
It's Official: Game of Thrones is Getting a Sequel Series
HBO is officially moving forward with a Game of Thrones sequel series that will center on Arya Stark.
As audiences will see throughout A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Duncan the Tall will embody a level of chivalry few Game of Thrones characters were able to, while still being profoundly human. Season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will show Dunk acting like a truer knight than the actual knighted characters, remembering his vows and fighting for the smallfolk with pride & honor. Only time will tell if A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms or The Tales of Dunk and Egg will definitively confirm whether Dunk was knighted or not, but hopefully neither series will. After all, it doesn't matter.
- Release Date
- January 25, 2026
- Network
- HBO
- Showrunner
- Ira Parker
- Directors
- Owen Harris
- Writers
- George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker
WHERE TO WATCH
- Cast
- Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, Daniel Ings, Henry Ashton, Edward Ashley, Shaun Thomas, Sam Spruell, Finn Bennett, Bertie Carvel, Ross Anderson, Danny Collins, Daniel Monks, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Carla Harrison-Hodge, Jenna Boyd, Danny Webb, Tanzyn Crawford
- Franchise(s)
- Game of Thrones
- Creator(s)
- George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker
