What is a Weirwood Tree doing in the Red Keep?

In HBO’s House of the Dragon, one notable set piece that plays host to many important scenes and character dialogue is a weirwood tree planted in the middle of the Red Keep. Hardcore fans who only watched the original Game of Thrones run may find it odd that this seemingly heretical idol is left standing in the middle of King’s Landing.

The weirwood trees are religious idols worshiped first by the children of the forest and later by the first men. The nearby woods are connected to the old nameless gods in a manner similar to certain Native American religions.

A Little History

The history of Westeros itself is an allegory for England during the dark ages, with the Britons being the first men, the Andals being the Anglo-Saxons, and the Targaryen invasion playing the part of William the Conquerer and his Normans. Over time the Andals conquered much of the lands below “the neck”, leaving only the Northern kingdoms relatively intact.

When the Andals came, they brought their religion, known as The Faith of the Seven. The Seven is somewhat of a cross between Roman paganism and Catholicism, combining the former’s polytheism with the latter’s imagery and influence. As such, these weirwoods would be considered heresy. Fearing that these weirwoods were used to spy on them, the Andals burned every weirwood they could find. The only weirwoods that survived were in the north and parts of the Riverlands. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVDofIuNzyM

So Why This Tree?

This raises interesting questions about why a weirwood would be doing not only this far south but in the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. An important fact is that this weirwood would be important as in the ASOIAF novels, Bran Stark would use that very weirwood to peer into King’s Landing and recall all of the past few centuries.

The reason for this tree being planted, I believe, is part of a peace deal between the North and the Targaryens. Unlike the other kingdoms, the North wasn’t subdued by Aegon in a pitched battle. Instead, King Torren Stark, realizing his people would suffer tremendous loss against Aegon’s Dragons, bent the knee without a fight.

In return for submission, Aegon allowed Torren to keep his domain and made him a valuable ally. Since Aegon promoted religious tolerance, there is a good chance that part of the peace deal with the Starks allowed for the planting and protecting weirwoods further south into King’s Landing itself. 

Because the Red Keep wasn’t complete until Meagor the Cruel, that tree was most likely planted by the reign of King Jaharrys I.

Because the Targaryons practice religious tolerance (relatively), they helped preserve the remaining Old Gods’ idols in the South. The tree is relatively small compared to the one in Winterfell, so either the region doesn’t get as much rain or wasn’t planted that long ago.

One of the great things about HotD and GoT is they both love to throw in easter eggs for readers. Having a northern relic this far south is a great way to engage their audience subtly. Often the best franchises feature such explicit details to keep people engaged and coming back to this world.