Evidence that Dunk was never knighted

Early in “The Morrow,” the season 1 finale of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Lyonel Baratheon tells Dunk, “The gods don’t favor a fraud.” Dunk asks, “Then why have they favored me?” — a line that follows the death of Baelor Targaryen, who was mortally wounded defending Dunk in a trial by combat.

The series and the novellas point to a darker truth: Dunk was never actually knighted, and is presenting himself as a knight. That claim undercuts much of Dunk’s striving in The Hedge Knight, where the newly orphaned hedge knight enters the Ashford Meadow tourney to win enough prestige and wealth to avoid obscurity.

He needs to prove he’s a knight to compete, but nobles who once served with Ser Arlan Pennytree dismiss both men; Dunk learns how quickly service and reputation can be forgotten. Martin drops subtler clues in the novellas.

dunk, knighthood, ser lyonel, baelor targaryen, arlan pennytree, hedge knight, ashford meadow, trial combat, the morrow, seven kingdoms