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- "They threw a cowpie at you, so you decide to kill them all?! They're starving, you fool! All because of a war you started!"
- ―Tyrion Lannister to King Joffrey Baratheon
The Riot of King's Landing was an event during the War of the Five Kings. After seeing off Princess Myrcella Baratheon at the docks on a ship bound for Dorne, the royal procession including King Joffrey is subjected to the jeers of the starving crowds of the capital city, culminating in Joffrey foolishly ordering his outnumbered personal guard to execute the entire crowd, sparking off a city-wide riot.
Background
During the War of the Five Kings, the problems in King's Landing have multiplied. The worst of these is the food shortages. In normal times, food is mostly brought in from the Reach and the Riverlands. When the war started Mace Tyrell had cut off all road transport to King's Landing as Highgarden had declared for Renly Baratheon over Joffrey. After most of Renly's army went over to Stannis, the Tyrell forces pulled back to Highgarden, but the roads did not reopen until the alliance was forged with the Lannisters. Meanwhile, the Riverlands have been a nightmare; first the Lannister forces under Ser Gregor Clegane were burning everything, then it became a battle field of the foraging armies of the Starks and Lannisters, and then came the chaos of outlaw gangs. Shipping into King's Landing has also been hampered with Stannis seizing ships in Dragonstone and Sallador Saan engaged in piracy. The only reliable food sources are the nearby lands of Rosby and Stokesworth, but much of this food is earmarked for the castle, the upperclass, and the city defense forces. Little is getting to the markets. There is still fishing and Tyrion has openned the Kingswood for hunting and gathering, but it's just too little.
Added to this, there has been an influx of refugees into the city seeking the protection of the city walls from the war. Littlefinger has instituted a entrance tax, taking what little these people have. All taxes have been raised to pay for city defenses (even a very unpopular prostitution tax). To build and firm up defenses, people have been evicted and their homes demolished. Crime has spiraled out of control, gold cloaks and sellswords guard all food stalls. Merchants thought to be overcharging have been murdered. Crowds marching to the Red Keep to say that they are starving were met by Joffrey firing on them with a crossbow and telling them to resort to canabalism.
For weeks, several people speak out against King Joffrey, Queen Cersei, Lord Varys, etc., and most especially, Tyrion Lannister, who is prejudically blamed because he is a dwarf, but also because the others were here when times were better, Tyrion as King's Hand is new. People see him imprisoning Grand Maester Pycelle and exiling former Gold Cloak Janos Slynt and think he is consolidating power for himself and Joffrey is a puppet. He gets blamed for the King's unpopular edicts.
The Riot
As the royal procession worked their way back to the Red Keep, crowds of peasants gather around them, at first calling out calls of praise to Joffrey, but there was a sarcastic tone to their voices. Soon they began begging for bread because they are starving due to the disruptions in trade due to the war. After being subjected to the japes and jests of the crowd, including shouts of "bastard!", "monster of incest!", and "Stannis!", someone throws a cowpie at King Joffrey's head.
Joffrey at riot
Enraged at the excrement thrown in his face, Joffrey demands that his guards kill the man responsible. He offers a reward and someone calls out that it was thrown from a higher level of the crowd. Joffrey orders Sandor Clegane to find the man and kill him, but Sandor can't even get through the tightly packed crowd. It is when Joffrey orders him to kill everyone in the way, sparking off a general panic, that the riot ensues.
High Septon torn limb from limb
Unfortunately for Joffrey, normally used to absolute power in ordering the torment of Sansa Stark, or an offending minstrel in his courtroom, his word actually isn't law. His few dozen guards are quickly overwhelmed by hundreds of angry commoners and refugees. The High Septon is dragged down screaming by the crowd and torn limb from limb.
The Kingsguard carve a path through the mob with their swords, barely managing to rush Joffrey, Cersei, and Tyrion to the security of the Red Keep. Sansa Stark is separated from the group and nearly raped before Sandor Clegane saves her. When Tyrion tries to thank Sandor for saving Sansa and averting a political disaster. Sandor says, "I didn't do it for you."
Aftermath
Much of the city remained in chaos for most of the night, with random violence and looting spreading across the capital. Some of the wealthy were killed and their manses destroyed. A large part of Flea Bottom burned down. The pent up frustrations with Lannister rule and the starvation conditions in the city which Queen Cersei had flippantly ignored for months now came back to haunt Joffrey's court.
In the books
In the books, the Riot of King's Landing is considerably more violent. The party of nobles and their guards are on horseback not on foot. The riot begins after a woman walks out before King Joffrey's horse, halting the procession. She holds up her dead baby, which died from malnutrition due to the war he started. Tyrion sees Sansa say something to Joffrey, and Joffrey callously tosses one silver coin at the woman. It bounces off the dead baby to roll into the crowd, where people fight over it. The woman begins screaming insults at Joffrey and Cersei (accurately shouting that they are a "bastard" and a "brother-fucker", respectively). The crowd takes this up as well and then someone throws manure at Joffrey and he demands the culprit to be executed. (The book does not specify that it is cow manure, given the food situation it is unlikely that a lot of cows are around.)
In the ensuing violence, Ser Preston Greenfield of the Kingsguard and Ser Aron Santagar, the Red Keep's master-at-arms are killed. Nine gold cloaks are killed and 40 are wounded. Lollys Stokeworth (daughter of Lady Tanda Stokesworth) is raped by dozens of men, she is found wandering naked by men looking for Tyrek Lannister (one of Robert's former squires who has disappeared. Nobody bothers to count all the dead rioters. The High Septon is also torn limb from limb in the book, leading Tyrion to quip that "starving men take a dim view of priests too fat to walk".
After the riots, Tyrion begins a curfew from dusk to dawn anyone found on the streets will be killed. This is horribly unpopular, but curtails the nightly murder-robberies that have been taking place. The danger of the city is what prompts Tyrion to bring Shae into the Red Keep for safety. With Varys' help he gets her a position as handmaiden to Lollys Stokesworth who is pregnant after being raped. Tyrion and Varys both try very hard to find Tyrek Lannister who is Tyrion's cousin and who's father was his favorite uncle.
Gallery
See also
- Riot of King's Landing at A Wiki of Ice and Fire (spoilers from the books)