King Baelor Targaryen I

• General Notes
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    Baelor I, known as the Beloved and the Blessed, was the ninth Targaryen king to reign on the Iron Throne.   Known for his piety, Baelor was a Septon as well as a king.  He was the second son of Aegon III and ruled after the death of his brother Daeron I.  While Baelor prayed, his uncle, Viserys, ruled as his Hand of the King. 
    
    Upon his brother Daeron's death, Baelor is said to have walked the Boneway barefoot to make peace with Dorne.  It is also said that he saved his cousin, Aemon the Dragonknight, from a snake pit and was bitten many times by the vipers.  Legend says the vipers refused to strike Baelor because he was so pure and holy, and because of his faith in the Seven.  The truth is that he was bitten half a hundred times and should have died from it.  Some say that Baelor was deranged by the venom.  This tale may simply be a metaphorical version of Baelor’s visit to Dorne, referring to Dorne itself as a "snake pit" and the Dornish people as "vipers."  
    
    Baelor is not seen as a great King, and he would have ruined the realm with his follies were it not for his uncle Vaserys.  Some people, however, remember Baelor as a great and holy man, given to deep prayer and fasting to experience religious visions.  They honor him for his contributions to the Faith, including the construction of the Great Sept in King's Landing.
    
    Others regard Baelor as a weak, simpering fool, prone to hallucinations and bad decisions brought about by excessive zealotry.  His zealotry led Baelor to attempt to replace all the ravens in the realm with doves.  Baelor also earned the contempt of his nobles by forcing Lord Belgrave to wash the feet of a leper and making an eight-year old boy High Septon.  He attempted to birth new dragons by praying over his eggs. 
    
    Baelor confined his sisters, Rhaena, Elaena, and Daena Targaryen (to whom he was briefly married) in the Maidenvault so they did not tempt him with carnal thoughts.  He starved himself to death by prolonged fasting to cleanse himself of lust.