Brienne of Tarth is (in the lore and meta-commentary) a likely distant descendant of Ser Duncan the Tall, but the exact family link has not been revealed on the page in the books yet.

How Is Brienne of Tarth Related to Duncan the Tall?

The Core Answer

  • George R. R. Martin has explicitly said that Brienne carries Ser Duncan the Tall’s blood, confirming that she is his descendant in some way.
  • In-universe, this is treated as a subtle background detail rather than something characters openly talk about; the connection is teased through clues like heraldry, physical traits, and scattered hints.

So, in simple terms: Duncan the Tall is an ancestor of Brienne of Tarth , but the books have not yet specified which generation or through which parent.

Evidence Inside the Story

Fans (and GRRM’s comments) lean on a few strong pieces of evidence:

  • The shield in Evenfall Hall
    • Brienne remembers seeing an old shield in her father’s armory on Tarth bearing an elm tree with a shooting star, which matches Ser Duncan the Tall’s personal sigil.
* She later restores and carries that same design as her own, a huge wink that her family has inherited Duncan’s heirloom.
  • Physical resemblance
    • Both are extremely tall, broad, and physically powerful compared to those around them.
* They share a kind of awkward, earnest demeanor and are mocked for their appearance, then repeatedly prove people wrong through courage and honor.
  • Moral and thematic parallels
    • Duncan and Brienne both embody a very old-fashioned, idealistic version of knighthood: keeping oaths, protecting the weak, and doing the “right thing” even when it’s costly.
* Many commentators describe Brienne as carrying Dunk’s legacy into the later era of Westeros.

Together, these clues plus GRRM’s direct confirmation outside the story form the backbone of the “Brienne descends from Dunk” reading.

The Leading Theories: How the Bloodline Works

Because the text hasn’t spelled out a full family tree yet, readers have built several in-universe theories.

1. The “Dunk + Targaryen princess → Tarth” theory

A popular idea ties Duncan romantically to one of Aegon V “Egg” Targaryen’s sisters, usually Rhae Targaryen.

  • Rhae is known to have married and had children, but the husband is never clearly named, leaving space for speculation.
  • The theory:
    • Duncan has a relationship with Rhae.
    • Their child gets “folded” into House Tarth, either by Rhae marrying a Tarth lord or by the child being passed off as that lord’s issue.
  • This would make Duncan a direct ancestor somewhere up Brienne’s paternal Tarth line.

This theory fits with Duncan’s close ties to the Targaryens in the Dunk & Egg stories and with the idea of a noble-but-quietly-handled lineage.

2. The “bastard daughter who marries Lord Tarth” theory

A variant keeps the Rhae (or similar) angle but moves it sideways:

  • Duncan fathers a bastard daughter, possibly with a Targaryen or another noblewoman.
  • That daughter later marries Lord Selwyn Tarth (Brienne’s father), bringing Dunk’s blood into House Tarth more recently.
  • This would make the connection closer in time while still allowing for secrecy and social complications.

3. The “older Tarth branch” theory

Others prefer a more distant, less dramatic link:

  • Duncan fathers children who marry into Tarth (or a cadet branch) generations earlier.
  • Over time the exact details vanish, but the bloodline, the shield, and the physical type remain.

This works well with the idea that the shield at Tarth is a treasured relic passed down as a family heirloom from Dunk’s direct descendants.

At the moment, none of these are canonically confirmed on the page; they’re fan reconstructions built around GRRM’s external confirmation and the clues in the texts.

Meta Context and “Latest” Discussion

With HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adaptation moving forward, the Brienne–Duncan connection has become a fresh talking point in forums, videos, and analyses again.

  • Commentators expect the show to:
    • Develop Dunk’s personal life and potential love interests,
    • Show more of his interactions with Targaryen princesses or with House Tarth,
    • Possibly plant explicit seeds for the Brienne lineage that the main series only hints at.
  • Recent fan videos and articles frame Dunk as “the legendary knight whose blood lives on in Brienne,” emphasizing her height, the shield, and her Knight-of-Heart rather than Knight-by-title nature.

So the trending consensus is:

Duncan the Tall is a forefather of Brienne of Tarth; the fun part is guessing how the bloodline runs, and future Dunk & Egg stories (or the show) might finally spell it out.

Quick TL;DR

  • Brienne of Tarth is confirmed by GRRM to be a descendant of Ser Duncan the Tall.
  • The books hint at this with:
    • The old Tarth shield matching Duncan’s sigil,
    • Their shared height and build,
    • Their similar honorable, oath-keeping personalities.
  • The precise genealogical path is not yet canonically detailed ; leading theories involve Duncan fathering a child who marries into House Tarth, possibly via Rhae Targaryen or a later Tarth match.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.