A Song of Ice and Fire» author George Martin says that the HBO series Game of Thrones» and A House of Dragons» have misrepresented the Targaryen symbol.
Martin set out his own view of the dragons present in «Game of Thrones». He says that they are designed to be realistic, so they have two legs «not four, never four», not four — like bats, birds, winged dinosaurs, and all other real animals. «No animal that ever lived on Earth had six limbs», — Martin wrote.
He created the Targaryen symbol in the form of a dragon with two legs and two wings (and three heads, but this is a symbolic representation of Aegon the Conqueror and his two sisters).
«Game of Thrones» drew regular two-legged dragons in the first four seasons and most of the fifth. But when Daenerys’s fleet appeared, all the sails had four-legged dragons on them.
«Someone must have done it sloppily. Or someone opened a book on heraldry and read it just enough to ruin everything. Fragmentary knowledge — dangerous thing», — the writer added.
The popularity of the «Game of Thrones» series even led to the creation of several new covers of Martin’s books with the incorrect Targaryen coat of arms, which also made its way into «A House of Dragons».
«A few years later, the «House of Dragon» decided that the heraldry should match the «Game of Thrones», but they chose a bad sigil. That sound you heard was me screaming: «no, no, no». Those damned extra legs even made it onto the covers of my books, despite my strenuous objections,»,” Martin writes.
Perhaps the «cry» of George Martin can be heard in the following spin-offs «Game of Thrones», «Knight of the Seven Kingdoms». The series is expected to air in late 2025 and tells the story of Ser Duncan the High and Aegon V Targaryen about 100 years before the start of the main series.
Source: IGN