Update (July 2026): Since the conclusion of the television series, I have gone back and reworked all of the “Top 10 Warriors of Westeros” posts. What began as a Top 10 has now expanded to a full Top 20 in light of additional material and perspective we gained.
This original Top 10-20 list stays as is for historical purposes, as it has been superseded by the overall new and updated Top 20 ranking. The core arguments and personal opinions remain largely unchanged. With George R.R. Martin’s remaining books still unwritten, these rankings are still a mix of book canon and informed speculation. I’ve simply improved formatting, clarity, spelling, and flow so the series reads better and holds up as a proper archive piece.
The original Top 11-20 is as follows:
I realize that any list put forth is going to be tough and not everyone will agree, but as I stated with my first post in this series about Brynden Tully: that's the fun! There are so many warriors here that I shuffled around my list a number of times before deciding on who I did. So without further delay: warriors #11-20.
#11- Victarion Greyjoy. I actually had him listed in the Top 10, but he didn't survive the final cut-down to 10. He is certainly the most deadly warrior of the Iron Islands. One can easily make the case of Victarion being somewhere between #6 and 10 in the Top Ten. Every time I've read the series I've gotten the feeling that there are not to many people that would want to cross swords with him. He is surprisingly a thinking warrior and not a hulking brute like The Mountain calm off the battlefield and deadly on it.
#12- Ser Garlan Tyrell- Unfortunately I can't place him higher. He is widely acknowledged as one of the finest swordsmen living in the Seven Kingdoms, but we have nothing more to go on. Even his brother, Loras (in talking to Sansa) admits that Garlan is the better swordsman.
#13- Prince Rhaegar Targaryen- Admittedly I had a hard time with him. Prince Rhaegar was apparently a splendid jouster, but when he took the field against Robert on the Trident it was Robert that prevailed; to me looking at this point there is nothing wrong in that combat: Robert in his prime was just that good. Rhaegar represents the unfulfilled promise of many characters in the book (least of all his own) from Cersei, to Lynna Stark to his younger brother Viserys. He is the sum of all of those characters "what might have beens."
#14- The Knight of Flowers- Probably controversial being placed this low, but here's why: if the list was for best jouster and showman then he vaults to the top of the list bar none. But it's not. Loras plays at war and his Grandmother the Queen of Thorns says as much. Despite his bezerk fury at Renly's death Loras can't really be placed higher in my honest opinion. He has flashes of brilliance, but interestingly enough when it comes time to lead in battle he utterly fails a the Siege at Dragonstone.
#15- Qhorin Halfhand- he leads off the "bottle-neck" of northerns on my list. He is probably the best warrior living north of the Neck. Certainly he is the greatest warrior the Black Watch. GRRM loves to parallel characters and stories in the book so it will be interesting to see if Jaime's switch to his opposite hand parallels Qhorin's.
#16- Greatjon Umber- every time I think of Greatjon Umber I get the impression of bezerk fury! At the Red Wedding it takes 8 men to subdue him!
#17- Eddard Stark- Eddard never engages in combat in the series, but he somehow managed to walk out of the Tower of Joy alive one of only two men to do so out of 10 in that epic battle. However, until the details of that fateful encounter are fully known then he's in limbo. He also falls further because GRRM has stated that his brother Brandon was the better warrior.
#18- Brienne of Tarth- well, the warrior maiden is massive and bigger then Jaime, but not quite as large as Ser Gregor. At over 6 feet tall she is worthy of a spot on this list as she has taken out a few bad guys in the series. She does fight Jaime, but then again Jaime wasn't really trying to hurt her either. She almost gets killed by Biter of all characters... that actually hurts her standing in my opinion.
#19- Jon Snow. Like Robb we get the sense that he is good, but we are never sure just how good, at least not yet... Obviously he has outstanding leadership qualities and if this list were for that alone he would be in the top 10. He leads the Black Watch ably, but he is one of those characters that there is more to come namely in A Dance of Dragons.
#20- Robb Stark. We never get a sense of just how good of a warrior he is with a sword, but it's obvious that he is an outstanding leader on the battlefield, too bad his promise is cut short.
Update (July 2026):(Since the conclusion of the television series, I have gone back and reworked all of the “Top Warriors of Westeros” posts. What began as a Top 10 has now expanded to a full Top 20 in light of the additional material and perspective we gained.
With George R.R. Martin’s remaining books still unwritten, these rankings remain a mix of book canon and informed speculation. The core arguments and personal opinions are unchanged, I’ve simply improved formatting, clarity, spelling, and flow so the series reads better and holds up as a proper archive piece.)
The overall Top 20 Greatest Warriors of the Westeros can be found here.
We’ve made it from #10 down to #1 on the list of Greatest Warriors of Westeros, and only one warrior remains. And that one warrior is only told through recollections via the main characters, and interestingly enough, by two of the main antagonists. It is also interesting further still that for different reasons, both come to the same conclusion.
But, as a movie once said, in the end “There can only be one,” and that choice is Ser Arthur Dayne, The Sword of the Morning.
The Sword of the Morningis by consensus the greatest knight that ever lived. It’s not just one person saying this, it’s everyone in the whole damn series. The main problem is that as of now we know precious little about him. So how can he be number one? Easy. Read on.
#1- Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning
Ser Arthur was a member of the Kingsguard and is widely considered one of the greatest knights of that order. Now that is saying something when you consider some of the men that have worn the white: Gerold Hightower, Duncan the Tall, (read the Dunk and Egg stories for more info), Ser Ryam Redwyne, Ser Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, amongst others. When one can mention the Sword of the Morning in the same breath as these legendary fighters…you know you are talking about someone special.
Ser Arthur was instrumental in defeating the Kingswood Brotherhood as well as slaying the Smiling Knight. While fighting the Smiling Knight, the man’s sword broke. Ever the chivalrous knight, Ser Arthur let him retrieve another before recommencing combat.
Jaime Lannister was made a knight at that point and was deeply impressed by Ser Arthur. So is it simple hero worship on Jaime’s part? Doubtful? Hero worship? Consider Jamie's own words:
"That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead."
It was Ser Arthur who brought the grievances of the smallfolk to Aerys II during the time of the Kingswood Brotherhood. Because of this, he became beloved by the smallfolk, and they turned their support away from the Brotherhood. Couple this with his actions against the Smiling Knight. Would anyone let The Mountain that Rides get another sword if he broke it? Again, doubtful.
In short, Ser Arthur was the real deal when it came to living and breathing what a knight should do and be. Martin loves contrast, so he uses Ser Arthur as the epitome of knighthood, then casts this against the events of the books.
Now from here it takes a bit of reading and then deductive reasoning on the part of… well, everyone everywhere. Look at the list so far: Is there anyone on the list that Ser Arthur couldn’t beat? Ser Arthur is one of those warriors that comes along once every thousand years. He is designed to be legend. The fact that he was one in his own time just makes everything add up. There is no one listed so far that he would fear and have a better than everage chance of beating outright. Think about those that I haven’t listed — is there anyone there who could beat him? I say no. Those I have listed? No again.
If for no other reason, Ser Arthur Dayne gets the top spot when you consider the words from none other than the Kingslayer himself, when he says this to Ser Loras Tyrell about Ser Arthur in A Feast for Crows:
“I served with Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, who could have slain all six of you with his left hand while taking a piss with his right.”
Now Jaime is no slouch himself when it comes to a blade (He was #3 on this list) and this is pretty high praise from someone who is about as arrogant as they come prior to his sword hand being lopped off.
The Praise would be off putting if it was from just Jaime, but once again Eddard Stark saves the day by taking the same stabce as Jaime about Ser Arthur on a different occasion:
"He was the finest knight I've ever seen and he would have killed me if it were not for Howland Reed."
Strong stuff and coming from Eddard and it's hardly open to interpretation. Think about who Eddard has seen in his lifetime: Ser Barristan Selmy, Bronze Yohn Royce, Robert Baratheon, Prince Rhegar and many more. Yet Eddard gives him the compliment that he does. A way to honor a foe who is insanely heroic? A trick of sorts? Highly unlikely as it's Eddard saying this, a man famous throughout the kingdom for his honor.
Oh and we got to see The Sword of the Morning in action in the television version of Game of Thrones.
No boasting, no threats, simply the quiet confidence of knowing hes about to slay multiple people despite the odds.
Another unusual thing about Ser Arthur is that he is the only character in the series having a mighty blade, but one that is wholly unique: it’s not Valyrian steel.. Now, this could just be an odd coincidence, but GRRM rarely does things for happenstance in the series. Ser Arthur’s sword, Dawn, is actually made from the metal of a fallen meteor and is featured in the house’s coat of arms as a result. Again, this may mean nothing, but then again it could be an interesting angle considering the whole "Prince who was promised" prophecy (although the leading candidate is Daenerys).
More interesting is the fact that after the Tower of Joy (see below), Ned brings his sword to Ser Arthur’s heir. This heir is Edric Dayne, who is wet-nursed along with Jon Snow. That’s interesting… very interesting. Why would Eddard bring Jon Snow to a family to be wet-nursed when said family is one that he just killed its most famous scion? In short, you don’t — at least not without a reason. Even Eddard is not going to do something like this for no reason. It could be Eddard’s famous honor, but I’m doubting that is the reason. In short, Ser Arthur’s story is not done yet, I’m guessing, and it is very much tied up in Jon Snow and Eddard.
Another point is that Ned’s statement about Ser Arthur begs the question: What exactly happened at the Tower of Joy in Dorne? We know (or are pretty certain) that Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna Stark and Prince Rhaegar. Why else would three of the Kingsguard (including its Lord Commander, Gerold Hightower) be guarding it and Lyanna while a war for the crown of the Seven Kingdoms was being waged? Either way, it’s apparent that you don’t send your best warriors and their commander to the end of the kingdom for no reason.
So again — just what happened there? One gets the feeling that it wasn’t your average sword fight. It could turn out that it was nothing like we expected. Howland Reed poisoning Ser Arthur, or any number of other possible explanations? Apparently it was Eddard who killed Ser Arthur Dayne, but to me that seems a bit too tidy. We do know that it was seven against three. Ten men in the fight, and only two walked out alive, with neither ever talking about what happened. With the only one now left alive being Howland Reed…
Obviously, as of the video clip above noted above we know what happened in the television show — but not in the books.
So unless some new characters get introduced in the series, it’s Ser Arthur Dayne that stands as the Greatest Warrior of the Word of Ice and Fire.
That’s right — we know little about him, and none of it directly. But from what we do know, we know this: the Sword of the Morning stands head and shoulders above the rest. How is this so? Two of the main characters of the books, Jaime and Eddard, have the same opinion. That alone is saying something…
Ser Arthur is a mystery with some holes poked through the shroud of his character. He is not a deep history character, and his exploits are well known to the Seven Kingdoms — just not to the reader as of yet.
And there it is. I don’t expect that people will totally agree with my selections, but as I stated, that’s the fun. Something like this makes it impossible to ever reach consensus. But if you don't like my conclusion? Take the word of the man who wrote the books:
If both men had equivalent weaponry, it might be a toss-up.
In the end I wanted to get this done before A Dance of Dragons is out, and I made it with eight days to spare.
My next post will contain my list of warriors #11–20 — i.e. those that didn’t make the top 10. It was tough to get to 10, so there are some excellent warriors that have nothing to be ashamed about being where they are.
#11- Victarion Greyjoy. I actually had him listed in the Top 10, but he didn't survive the final cut-down to 10. He is certainly the most deadly warrior of the Iron Islands. One can easily make the case of Victarion being somewhere between #6 and 10 in the Top Ten. Every time I've read the series I've gotten the feeling that there are not to many people that would want to cross swords with him. He is surprisingly a thinking warrior and not a hulking brute like The Mountain calm off the battlefield and deadly on it.
#18- Brienne of Tarth- well, the warrior maiden is massive and bigger then Jaime, but not quite as large as Ser Gregor. At over 6 feet tall she is worthy of a spot on this list as she has taken out a few bad guys in the series. She does fight Jaime, but then again Jaime wasn't really trying to hurt her either. She almost gets killed by Biter of all characters... that actually hurts her standing in my opinion.
