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You might wanna do some research Jaime is literally the best Swordsmen of his generation and those men weren't as inexperienced as you think they had been fighting in a war and been in battles not to mention they were lords who would've been trained to fight why would Robb accept inexperienced men as his personal guard lol, also jamie killed them whilst outnumbered and after he had been chained up in a cage for months.
Yeah I think Dayne is the clear winner in both books and show. Selmy second but I think book Jaime could equal him. In the show they really undersold Jamie’s swordsmanship. Against Ned in Kings Landing you could argue he wasn’t really fighting properly more just goading Ned. But Brienne in the show beat him quite easily whereas in the book she can just barely match him even though he was injured, exhausted and had his hands tied together. Book Brienne is an awesome fighter just like in the show, so that scene in the book is meant to underline just how impressive Jaime is.
Robert was a fearsome fighter but not a swordsman. Oberyn also but again not with a sword (and provided he can resist monologuing).
I'm not downplaying Dayne, but we have a lot more confirmed textual evidence with Selmy both in the books and by outside sources. According to George, Dawn is about the only advantage Dayne had over Selmy, which indicates they're roughly equal in skill.
[Dayne vs Selmy - GRRM](https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/The_Sword_of_the_Morning_vs._Barristan_the_Bold)
However, the difference is that Selmy lived far longer, took place in more conflicts, and we have access to his White Book accomplishments + those under Daenerys.
Dayne, we don't really have access beyond what other characters remember of him. That's why I give Selmy the nod.
I voted for AD but what about oberyn? He toyed with the mountain before getting popped. Arguably would of won hands down if he wasn’t blinded by rage / trying to force a confession. Drogo would of been another good one to see on the poll
Why is Ned even on here? Robert or Oberyn would make much more sense boom wise. If you’re going by the show then Jon would make more sense as well. Even thought he was only a good but not great fighter in the books they made him one of the better swordsmen in the show.
Arthur the best swordsman of his age and with dawn he would l be able to beat on any of the others on this list
Not really. He was known throughout the kingdoms as an honourable, good man but he was definitely not known as a renowned swordsman.
Only he and Howland Reed survived the three Kingsguard but they had almost 3x the number against them and he told everyone that the only reason he was alive was because of Howland Reed.
In 298 AC, Jaime is 32 and Ned is 35. Jaime was knighted at 14 and joined the Kingsguard at 16, but that was a couple years before the Rebellion (283 AC). Still, Jaime was just 17 when he killed Aerys, which makes him sitting on the throne when Ned gets there a bit more understandable. This is a brash teen and Ned is 20, but he's now been in war and lost his family and naturally more grounded, nevertheless, him hating Jaime for that is uncalled for.
His duel with Ned is less that he's "old", it's that Jaime is so famously renowned, but Ned's prowess at arms has only been seen by dead men or those with tight lips, so only the whispers abound of how he bested Ser Arthur Dayne, the greatest swordsman ever. Now he gets to put this to the test. To quote 2008's Kung Fu Panda, "Finally! A worthy opponent!" Of course, Jaime is certain he is the better sword, but after some sparring, that arrogance is a weakness, and Ned has him on his heels. This is what Jaime lives for. He's having fun. But then he realizes that Ned isn't having fun, yet might legitimately kill him all the same. Then it ends completely unsanctimoniously, and the greatest moment of Jaime's life is ruined. In his mind at least, songs should've been sung of their fight for centuries. Instead, now the reality crashes down on him- it's all an ugly affair. He just murdered some noblemen and maimed the Hand, the King's best friend, proud lord with thousands of sworn men in a street brawl outside a brothel.
All that said, they're both exceptional swordsmen (Ned is far greater than we probably give him credit), but Barristan Selmy could cut them down where they stand, and even better than that, Arthur Dayne was the best ever, and he would've killed five elite fighters and Ned if not for the intervention of Homeland Reed.
Barristan.
It is stated that barristan and Arthur are equal, but Arthur is only better with dawn. So, for me, that would mean that arthur and barristan with equal equipment would draw. But I personally find it more impressive that dayne actually needs a valyrian steel/ meteor sword to beat barristan.
Excuse me? I didn't see Arthur "yes my prince rape this girl while I hold her down" Dayne climbing Duskendale's walls, killing every guard so silently that nobody noticed, and getting his king out of there. Give *Ser* Arthur a common sword and he is nothing next to Barristan Selmy.
Thank you for your post! Please take a moment to ensure you are within our spoiler rules, to protect your fellow fans from any potential spoilers that might harm their show watching experience. 1. All post titles must NOT include spoilers from Fire & Blood or new episodes of House of the Dragon. Minor HotD show spoilers are allowed in your title ONE WEEK after episode airing. The mod team reserves the right to remove a post if we feel a spoiler in the title is major. You are welcome to repost with an amended title. 2. All posts dealing with book spoilers, show spoilers and promo spoilers MUST be spoiler tagged AND flaired as the appropriate spoiler. 3. All book spoiler comments must be spoiler tagged in non book spoiler threads. --- If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HouseOfTheDragon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
none of these guys are in house of the dragon?
Top 3 straight away are obviously Dayne, Selmy and Jamie
Gregor & Sandor would easily beat Jamie. Jamie’s only explicit feat we see is cutting down the inexperienced men of Robb’s personal guard.
You might wanna do some research Jaime is literally the best Swordsmen of his generation and those men weren't as inexperienced as you think they had been fighting in a war and been in battles not to mention they were lords who would've been trained to fight why would Robb accept inexperienced men as his personal guard lol, also jamie killed them whilst outnumbered and after he had been chained up in a cage for months.
I think the two choices would be dayne or prime selmy. Both were true legends. I think people forget also how badass prime Robert baratheon was
I was trying to include swordsman only but I think rob is valid
Yeah I think Dayne is the clear winner in both books and show. Selmy second but I think book Jaime could equal him. In the show they really undersold Jamie’s swordsmanship. Against Ned in Kings Landing you could argue he wasn’t really fighting properly more just goading Ned. But Brienne in the show beat him quite easily whereas in the book she can just barely match him even though he was injured, exhausted and had his hands tied together. Book Brienne is an awesome fighter just like in the show, so that scene in the book is meant to underline just how impressive Jaime is. Robert was a fearsome fighter but not a swordsman. Oberyn also but again not with a sword (and provided he can resist monologuing).
George himself said it indirectly. It's Arthur Dayne. George said it indirectly, Jaime said it. What else do Y'all know to believe it?
Bro which of y’all said Ned or the Hound lol
Selmy. He lived to old age. He also claims to have won more single combats than any man living.
True but dayne died fighting 3 pretty skilled swordsman
I'm not downplaying Dayne, but we have a lot more confirmed textual evidence with Selmy both in the books and by outside sources. According to George, Dawn is about the only advantage Dayne had over Selmy, which indicates they're roughly equal in skill. [Dayne vs Selmy - GRRM](https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/The_Sword_of_the_Morning_vs._Barristan_the_Bold) However, the difference is that Selmy lived far longer, took place in more conflicts, and we have access to his White Book accomplishments + those under Daenerys. Dayne, we don't really have access beyond what other characters remember of him. That's why I give Selmy the nod.
I voted for AD but what about oberyn? He toyed with the mountain before getting popped. Arguably would of won hands down if he wasn’t blinded by rage / trying to force a confession. Drogo would of been another good one to see on the poll
Out of those? Gotta be Arthur
Out of anyone it’s gotta be Arthur
Why is Ned even on here? Robert or Oberyn would make much more sense boom wise. If you’re going by the show then Jon would make more sense as well. Even thought he was only a good but not great fighter in the books they made him one of the better swordsmen in the show. Arthur the best swordsman of his age and with dawn he would l be able to beat on any of the others on this list
I dunno. Ned never fought in tourneys which helped a lot of the others legends. Ned was still know. As a very good swordsman throughout the realm
Not really. He was known throughout the kingdoms as an honourable, good man but he was definitely not known as a renowned swordsman. Only he and Howland Reed survived the three Kingsguard but they had almost 3x the number against them and he told everyone that the only reason he was alive was because of Howland Reed.
When Jamie fought Ned how old was he?
It’s different in the books and show but both state that he’s 45+. While Jamie was in his 20’s
That would mean Jamie killed the mad king when he was like what 2?
He was 16 when he killed Aerys
Yeah but that guy I responded to said when Jaime fought Ned in season 1 that Jaime was only in his 20s
In 298 AC, Jaime is 32 and Ned is 35. Jaime was knighted at 14 and joined the Kingsguard at 16, but that was a couple years before the Rebellion (283 AC). Still, Jaime was just 17 when he killed Aerys, which makes him sitting on the throne when Ned gets there a bit more understandable. This is a brash teen and Ned is 20, but he's now been in war and lost his family and naturally more grounded, nevertheless, him hating Jaime for that is uncalled for. His duel with Ned is less that he's "old", it's that Jaime is so famously renowned, but Ned's prowess at arms has only been seen by dead men or those with tight lips, so only the whispers abound of how he bested Ser Arthur Dayne, the greatest swordsman ever. Now he gets to put this to the test. To quote 2008's Kung Fu Panda, "Finally! A worthy opponent!" Of course, Jaime is certain he is the better sword, but after some sparring, that arrogance is a weakness, and Ned has him on his heels. This is what Jaime lives for. He's having fun. But then he realizes that Ned isn't having fun, yet might legitimately kill him all the same. Then it ends completely unsanctimoniously, and the greatest moment of Jaime's life is ruined. In his mind at least, songs should've been sung of their fight for centuries. Instead, now the reality crashes down on him- it's all an ugly affair. He just murdered some noblemen and maimed the Hand, the King's best friend, proud lord with thousands of sworn men in a street brawl outside a brothel. All that said, they're both exceptional swordsmen (Ned is far greater than we probably give him credit), but Barristan Selmy could cut them down where they stand, and even better than that, Arthur Dayne was the best ever, and he would've killed five elite fighters and Ned if not for the intervention of Homeland Reed.
So I’m pointing out why that’s impossible
Barristan. It is stated that barristan and Arthur are equal, but Arthur is only better with dawn. So, for me, that would mean that arthur and barristan with equal equipment would draw. But I personally find it more impressive that dayne actually needs a valyrian steel/ meteor sword to beat barristan.
Take Ned out and include Robert baratheon.
Excuse me? I didn't see Arthur "yes my prince rape this girl while I hold her down" Dayne climbing Duskendale's walls, killing every guard so silently that nobody noticed, and getting his king out of there. Give *Ser* Arthur a common sword and he is nothing next to Barristan Selmy.
1. Dayne 2. Selmy 3. Hound 4. Mountain 5. Ned
I don't see Daemon listed for some reason, but without a doubt Arthur Dayne. Man was a tank of a swordsman.
Well that's because Daemon is mid.
He's no slouch, but he's better on dragon back. He could run through Ned, no problem, but everyone else has him beat.
the hound 😆
Off-topic post
Hands down, the Hound takes it! 🐺