A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, also entitled “Tales of Dunk and Egg,” is the collection of fantasy novellas set about 90 years prior to events in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel universe, namely the The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight. It chronicles the adventures and misadventures of Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall, who would eventually become the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and his squire Aegon “Egg” Targaryen V, who would become the future King Aegon.
The first novella in the series is The Hedge Knight which details the how Duncan/Dunk begins his journey as an itinerant “hedge knight” and how the young Aegon/Egg ends up becoming his squire. Here, Dunk is a squire to Ser Arlan of Pennytree, a hedge knight or a mercenary knight who follows a certain chivalric code of conduct.
Ser Arlan dies of illness before he can bestow the title of knight upon him so he takes his armor, weapons, and whatever remaining equipment he has left behind, heading off to the town of Ashford to make a name for himself as a hedge knight at the fete cum jousting competition at Ashford, adopting the name “Ser Duncan the Tall.” While staying at an inn he runs into a mysterious, feisty, bald boy calling himself “Egg” who persistently pushes that he be allowed to serve as his squire.
The pair makes to Ashford and manages to participate in the competition after having been guaranteed by Prince Baelor Targaryen. Dunk is barred from using Ser Arlan’s coat of arms so he commissions a beautiful puppeteer named Tanselle to paint him a different one. While resting in the tent of one of the competitors, Egg rushes to report that Tanselle is being assaulted by Prince Aerion for a perceived slight.
Dunk strikes Aerion in defense of Tanselle and nearly is executed on the spot until Egg intervenes, finally revealing himself to be Prince Aegon Targaryen, the younger brother of Aerion and heir to the Iron Throne. Dunk’s crime cannot go unpunished though so he opts to undergo trial by combat rather than endure mutilation. Aerion however complicates matters by demanding a variant of trial by combat called a “Trial of Seven” which involves mounted and close quarter combat between two battle groups composed of seven knights each. Aegon/Egg promises to round up warriors to fight with and for Duncan.
Dunk meets up once more with his armorer Steely Pate who gives him a new shield with his personal sigil---a parting gift from Tanselle. Come day of the trial Ser Humfrey Hardyng and Ser Humfrey Beesbury agree to fight on Duncan's behalf; and Aegon/Egg recruits Ser Robyn Rhysling and the formidable Ser Lyonel Baratheon. Prince Baelor Targaryen himself joins in completing Dunk’s line up of fighters. Aerion unhorses Dunk during the joust but being stronger, larger, and more used to hardship he overcomes his opponent in single combat. Aerion retracts his accusation after his defeat. Dunk’s comes out of the trial victorious but his victory has come at a terrible cost: Prince Baelor dies from a blow to the head and the two Humfreys perish from their injuries as well.
Dunk received a pardon from Prince Maekar, Aegon’s father, and is offered a position in the Targaryen house as trainer to your Aegon, but he refuses the post asking instead for permission to resume his wanderings as a hedge knight taking Aegon as his squire.
The Sworn Sword, the second novella in the series, starts off with Dunk and Egg arriving at The Reach having sworn his allegiance to Ser Eustace Osgrey of Standfast giving the readers insight on how a fiefdom in Westeros operates. Ser Eustace narrates events that occurred during the so-called Blackfyre Rebellion, a civil war that happened within House Targaryen, that reached its’ bloody zenith at the Battle of the Redgrass Field.
Ser Eustace takes Duncan and Aegon into his fief as his sworn sword in order to help him resolve a territorial dispute between himself and his rival, the mysterious Lady Rohanne Webber of Coldmoat, who has earned the intimidating moniker “The Red Widow.” The harvests in the Standfast lands have been poor because of defective irrigation sources that have their roots in Coldmoat territory. Dunk and Ser Bennis, another sworn sword in the service of Ser Eustace, are tasked to investigate and they trace the source to a dam built up by Lady Rohanne’s vassals.
Ser Bennis, outraged at their discovery, wounds one of the peasants, cutting one on the cheek. Word of Ser Bennis’ declaration of hostilities reaches Ser Eustace and fearing reprisals from Lady Rohanne, he commands Dunk and Bennis to train conscripts from the villages under his rule. Still fearing direct confrontation Ser Eustace sends Dunk on a peace mission to Coldmoat where he discovers that she is in a precarious situation herself.
She too is in danger of losing her properties to a male relative if she doesn’t find another husband, her fifth---hence her fearsome namesake, the red widow spider---before the second death anniversary of her father. Dunk is unsuccessful in his negotiations with lady Rohanne but she does give him her side of the story concerning the animosity between her and Ser Eustace, divulging that he fought to support the usurper to the Iron Throne, Daemon Blackfyre, making him a traitor.
He is stripped of most of his property for his participation in the failed revolt. Lady Rohanne also reveals that she was once deeply in love with Ser Eustace’s son who died tragically fighting against loyalist forces. News of Ser Eustace's past disloyalty alarms Dunk and he returns to Standfast to declare that he is renouncing his services to him. Deadlocked, Lady Rohanne makes good with her threats and burns the forest around Standfast grounds.
In response to this Duncan disbands the militia proposing to face the Red Widow alone to minimize casualties. Near Coldmoat territory Dunk secretly negotiates with Lady Rohanne, cutting his own cheek as reparation for the wounding of the peasant by Ser Bennis. This act satisfies Lady Rohanne but she demands an apology or an acquittal for the accusation that she had masterminded the forest fire. Both parties agree upon trial by combat to settle the matter with Dunk representing Ser Eustace and Ser Lucas, Lady Rohanne’s arrogant retainer, as her champion.
The duel is fought in the stream bisecting the warring fiefs, as it is the only patch of neutral ground available in the area. Dunk emerges as the victor but is badly injured and nearly drowns in the process. He is revived by the Red Widow’s maester and is shocked to discover that Ser Eustace and Lady Rohanne have wed, deciding to consolidate their lands and political clout. Having recovered enough to resume his travels, a dejected Dunk prepares to leave but is stopped by a contrite Lady Rohanne. She gives him her best mare but he refuses to take the gift. Persistent that Dunk mustn’t leave empty handed she insists that he take something as a memento of their brief time together. Dunk gives her a fervid kiss and takes a lock of her hair as a relic. Satisfied with his “rewards” Dunk and Egg resume their journey of discovery.
The Mystery Knight is the third and last novella in the series and in this book additional details concerning the Blackfyre Rebellion are discussed. The novella starts with the pair travelling to Lord Beron Stark’s lands to join his campaign against the Greyjoy raiders pillaging the northern seaboard. En route they encounter a group of knights and noblemen heading to a tournament in celebration of Lord Butterwell of Whitewalls wedding to the daughter of Lord Frey.
A dragon’s egg is the announced prize for the tourney’s champion. During the wedding feast Egg’s suspicions are aroused when he notices that most of the tourney participants are Blackfyre Rebellion partisans. Dunk joins the joust under the name “The Gallows Knight” because of the image of a hung man painted on his shield. The “Snail Knight,” Ser Uthor Underleaf, earning his unique name for his personal sigil, the snail, defeats him in the joust.
Having been defeated Dunk then gives Ser Uthor his armor and horse as a penalty. Uthor warns Dunk though that he has been bribed to kill Dunk in the final joust. Before the final round of the competition can start though news of the theft of the dragon egg begins to spread around the castle. Ser Glendon Ball is accused of stealing and is quickly imprisoned by Gorman Peake. Meanwhile, Alyn Cockshaw---who divulges that he had bribed Uthor---injures Duncan as he searches for the missing Aegon, and thinking him dead, throws him down a well.
Maynard Plumm, who turns out to be one of Lord Hand Brynden Rivers’s many agents, rescues and treats his injuries. He reveals that the cryptic John the Fiddler is none other than the son of Daemon Blackfyre and that the so-called tournament is actually a gathering of rebel forces for another coup attempt. Eventually Dunk locates Aegon/Egg along with a visibly terrified Lord Butterwell. He now knows Egg’s true identity and fears for his life. Black Tom Heddle, Lord Butterwell’s son-in-law, tries to kill Egg to instigate a war but is stopped by Dunk and in order to help Egg make his escape Dunk faces off with Daemon Blackfyre and charges Gorman Peake with falsely accusing Ser Glendon with theft.
Ser Glendon chooses to undergo trial by combat to prove his innocence and he defeats Daemon in a decisive victory. While all these events happen forces under the King’s Hand enclose Lord Butterwell’s castle, and the coup plotters, including the younger Daemon, are captured. Dunk and Egg are met by the Hand of the King and Aegon/Egg demands that he reward Ser Glendon, Dunk, and the other hedge knights for their heroic efforts to stop a second rebellion. Lord Butterwell is spared from execution but ninety percent of his properties are confiscated and his castle is demolished as a demonstration of the Iron Throne’s power. Dunk is able to ransom his gear and the dragon egg is recovered by another one of the Lord Hand’s agents.
