Master of Laws
Renly Baratheon, last Master of Laws
Master of Laws[1] is the chief legal officer and advisor to the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms on matters relating to the laws of the land and the administration of justice. The holder is a member of themonarch'sSmall Council, the inner cabinet of the realm. They are also responsible for overseeing theCity Watch of King's Landing, managing the dungeons at the Red Keep, as well as supervising the royal executioner, also known as theKing's Justice.
History[]
House of the Dragon: Season 1[]
Nine years into the reign of KingViserys I Targaryen,LordLyonel Strong ofHarrenhal serves as Master of Laws. PrinceDaemon Targaryen previously served as Master of Laws for a time, though theHand of the King, SerOtto Hightower, convinced Viserys that Daemon was acting as a tyrant, and had him removed. As Master of Laws, Lyonel Strong is mindful of precedent, and expresses doubt about PrincessRhaenyra Targaryen possibly being named heir, as no queen has ever sat theIron Throne.[2]
After the dismissal of SerOtto Hightower, Lord Strong is appointed as the newHand of the King.[3] LordJasper Wylde thus takes his place as Master of Laws.[4]
Game of Thrones: Season 1[]
Renly Baratheon is Master of Laws, during the reign of his older brother, KingRobert Baratheon. Renly abandons the title in order to lay claim to the Iron Throne himself following Robert's death.
Game of Thrones: Season 5[]
The post has remained vacant after Renly left. Even afterTywin's death, whenCersei restaffs the Small Council, she does not bother to appoint a new Master of Laws.[5]
Game of Thrones: Season 8[]
In the Small Council meeting followingBran Stark's election as King, Bran notes that they still do not have either a Master of War or a Master of Laws. Bran's handTyrion explains that suitable candidates for both positions are being evaluated and they will bring those candidates forth for an audience with Bran in the coming weeks.[6]
In the books[]
In theA Song of Ice and Fire novels, given that Renly was only a child when his eldest brother Robert was crowned king, he was only appointed as Master of Laws a few years before the beginning of the narrative, after he had come of age. It is not stated which person (or persons) served as Master of Laws under Robert before him.
Following theBattle of the Blackwater,Tywin grants the title to his younger brother,Kevan. However, Kevan did not reappear in Seasons 3 and 4, leaving it unclear if he held the position in the TV continuity. In Season 5's episode "The House of Black and White" however, he stated that he had only just returned to the capital for Tywin's funeral, indicating that he was not in King's Landing "off screen" during the past two seasons, but was in the Riverlands commanding Lannister armies. Therefore, in the TV continuity, Kevan was not made Master of Laws. Moreover, apparently the office was simply left vacant after Renly left - and itremains vacant after Tywin's death, because when Cersei reformed the Small Council she did not bother to name a new one.
InA Feast for Crows, Cersei renames the office justiciar. She appoints Lord Orton Merryweather to the office; he flees back to Longtable after Cersei is arrested.
InA Dance with Dragons, Kevan, currently the Lord Regent, appoints LordRandyll Tarly as the new justiciar for King Tommen.
