Lyman Beesbury

Lord Lyman Beesbury is a minor character in the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series and a supporting character in House of the Dragon. Lyman was lord of Honeyholt, the seat of House Beesbury. He also served as Master of Coin and Lord Treasurer during the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen. 
After the death of the latter, Lyman Beesbury was the only one of the small council to support the claim of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, as her father named her his heir. His refusal to the support the claim of Rhaenyra's half-brother Prince Aegon Targaryen ended up costing him his own life, making him the first victim in the Dance of the Dragons.
In House of the Dragon, Lyman was portrayed by Bill Paterson.
== Biography ==
Lord Lyman Beesbury was born in 49 AC, back when King Jaehaerys I Targaryen was in his youth. For a very long time, Lyman served as Master of Coin and Lord Treasurer to the Targaryens, which went nearly uninterrupted all throughout King Jaehaerys' reign until the end of the reign of King Viserys I. Prior to the Dance of the Dragons, Lyman was 80 years old after King Viserys died in his sleep. 
Following the king's death, his wife Queen Alicent Hightower and her sworn shield Ser Criston Cole, who sought to put Alicent's eldest son Aegon on the iron throne, secretly assembled the Small Council to discuss the succession. While most members of the council supported the Greens in their coup to crown Prince Aegon as king, Lord Lyman Beesbury is the only one who opposed it, reminding them that King Viserys' daughter Princess Rhaenyra is the eldest child and was named her father's heir. 
Though Alicent, the Greens, and the small council pleaded him to reconsider, Lyman still refused to agree with the changing of the succession. In addition, many of the lords and knights of Westeros had already sworn fealty to Rhaenyra. After declaring to the Greens that he will not sit in the small council while they plot to steal Rhaenyra's crown, he gets up and turns to leave. 
What happened next is of much dispute: Grand Maester Orwyle, who was present at court, claimed that Lyman Beesbury was arrested by the command of Ser Otto Hightower and imprisoned in the Black Cells where he died from a chill while awaiting trial. 
Septon Eustace, who favored Prince Aegon over Rhaenyra, claimed however, that Lyman was forced back into his seat by Ser Criston Cole, who then cuts his throat with a dagger. According to Mushroom, who served as House Targaryen's court fool, claimed that Criston threw Lord Beesbury from a window to be killed by the iron spikes of the dry moat below Maegor's Holdfast. 
Despite the claims of the latter two, however, unlike Orwyle, neither Septon Eustace nor Mushroom were present. Eventually, all sources agree as one that Lord Lyman Beesbury is the first casualty of the Dance of the Dragons. As his death was kept a secret, many believed that he is languishing in a Black Cell. When his grandson and heir, Ser Alan Beesbury, learned of this, he demanded the release of his grandfather in a loud voice.
Much later, during the Dance of the Dragons, Lyman's death was avenged when Ser Criston Cole was killed during the Butcher's Ball by Robb Rivers, a bastard of House Blackwood, while Otto Hightower was executed after Rhaenyra took over KIng's Landing.
== Legacy ==
While Lyman Beesbury is remembered as being the first to die during the Dance of the Dragons, history remained neutral towards the late Lyman.
Category:A Song of Ice and Fire Heroes
Category:Dark Fantasy Heroes
Category:Book Heroes
Category:TV Show Heroes
Category:Live Action Heroes
Category:Medieval Heroes
Category:Male
Category:Officials
Category:Aristocrats
Category:Deceased
Category:Posthumous
Category:Honorable
Category:Loyal
Category:Traitor
Category:Benevolent Rulers
Category:Wealthy
Category:Victims
Category:Scapegoat
Category:Elderly
Category:Honest
Category:Parents
Category:Spouses
Category:Non-Action
Category:Supporters
Category:Servant of a Villain
Category:Friend of a Villain