What is a hedge knight in the new Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

New Game of Thrones spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is out now, bringing George R.R. Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg to the small screen.

Set around 100 years before Game of Thrones (and roughly 70 years after House of the Dragon), the show follows Dunk, a hedge knight trying to make a name for himself and earn some cash at a tourney after the death of his elderly mentor. He meets precocious young Egg, who wants to squire for him, and Dunk reluctantly agrees.

But what exactly is a hedge knight? It's a term that A Song of Ice and Fire book readers will be more familiar with, but these kinds of knights haven't really been in the spotlight in TV adaptations until A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. We've got everything you need to know right here, so you can make sure you know your hedge knights from your household knights (and let's not get confused with landed knights, either…).

What is a hedge knight?

In Westeros, many knights are household knights, who have been taken into the service of a lord – if they are not already landed knights, with their own land and properties, and all the power that goes with it. Those are the knights we're most familiar with in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, along with the knights of the Kingsguard (or Queensguard), and they're loyal to one master.

For example, Ser Gregor Clegane, AKA the Mountain, is a landed knight as the Knight of Clegane's Keep. Kevan Lannister, Tywin's younger brother, is a household knight for House Lannister.

By contrast, hedge knights are wandering knights who travel around Westeros seeking temporary employment and serving lords as and when they're needed. They're not as wealthy as their household or landed counterparts and often enter tourneys (like Dunk does in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms) to top up their coffers. In fact, they get their name from the idea that they're too poor to afford a room at an inn when they're on the road, and instead have to sleep under hedges. In episode 2, Dunk calls hedge knights "the bridge between the lords and the smallfolk," because they spend time with both.

New episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms are streaming weekly on HBO Max and NOW. For more, look ahead to the other upcoming Game of Thrones shows and movies and the best new TV shows on the way in 2026.