What is a Hedge Knight? Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms explained

The hero in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is deemed a ‘Hedge Knight,’ so here’s everything you need to know about that term and what it means.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is HBO’s newest George R.R. Martin adaptation, and a story that plays out around 80 years after the House of the Dragon events, but roughly 100 years before Game of Thrones.

The show focuses on the bond that forms between Ser Duncan the Tall, aka Dunk, and his young squire Egg, while the former enters a deadly tourney against some of the toughest warriors in Westeros.

It also sees Dunk finding his feet as a Ser, while everyone mocks his status as a Hedge Knight, which makes him a figure of fun in the show’s early scenes.

What is a Hedge Knight?

A ‘Hedge Knight’ is a lowborn or poor and impoverished warrior who lives off honor rather than status, carrying the title of knight without the wealth or protection that usually comes with it.

George R.R. Martin came up with the title, and used characters like Dunk to explore themes of class and chivalry, as well as what a knight represents versus how the world really works.

In Episode 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Duncan arrives at a tourney in Ashford, where he is roundly mocked for his standing, with a sex worker referring to his ‘Hedge’ status as “like a knight, but sadder,” and saying that he’s “got to sleep in the hedges because no lord will have it.”

But over the course of the series, Dunk shows that a Hedge Knight is a forced to be reckoned with.

Were Hedge Knights real?

Yes, Hedge Knights were real, as while author George R.R. Martin gave them their name and specific identity, the concept absolutely existed.

In medieval times, they were knights who served no lord, owned no land, and survived by offering their services as warriors for hire.

They would journey between tournaments, wars, and short-term service, sometimes sleeping rough or in ditches, stables, and barns, and mostly living hand-to-mouth. Much like Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, meaning the show is very much rooted in reality.