House of the Dragon is a very detailed world meticulously created by George RR Martin. The showrunners have done a brilliant job of converting his visions into reality on our screens. Everything from dragons, battle scenes, births and deaths have been perfectly portrayed. One such ominous and important part of House of the Dragon are the Silent Sisters. The same sisters who have been seen prepping the dead in House of the Dragon. So let us explore their appearances in House of the Dragon and their role in the show.
Silent Sisters in House of the Dragon
The silent sisters have been seen on multiple occasions in House of the Dragon. After all, there have been quite a number of deaths on the show. They wear black attires with long veils that cover their entire faces. Most significantly we see them dressing and preparing the body of Ser Vaemond Velaryon after he was beheaded by Prince Daemon Targaryen. Princess Rhaenys Targaryen was in fact present during the proceedings. She was unaffected for the most part purely because of the number of deaths she had seen.
She had witnessed the silent sisters prepare the bodies of both her children Laena and Laenor before their funerals. Next time we see the sisters dress the body of King Viserys in the presence of Queen Alicent Hightower. We see them one last time in House of the Dragon season 1 when they prepare the body of Princess Rhaenyra’s daughter Visenya Targaryen who was stillborn.
What are their duties and responsibilities in House of the Dragon?
The Silent Sisters are also known as death’s handmaidens. They follow the faith of the seven. Just as the other septas, they too have taken a vow of chastity. However, since they deal with the dead, the silent sisters go one more step forward and take vows of silence. Thus their name. In this way they devote themselves to the gods and to their duties by denouncing all kinds of worldly pleasures. Its their way of living a serene life of prayer and contemplation. As mentioned before, they wear black and grey attires and have a veil covering all except their eyes.
As seen especially in the case of King Viserys and his death, the silent sisters need to dress the dead body with linens and silks. They use salts, fragrants and herbs to preserve the body and prepare it for the last rites. Several techniques are also used by the Silent Sisters to remove the remaining flesh off the bones. They drain the body off its blood and even take out some of the organs. Due to its nature, this profession or rather calling is often also considered to be a punishment. After all living a life as a mute and interacting with dead bodies all day long sure sounds like a punishment to me. This could be a possible storyline used by the showrunners of House of the Dragon to further explore the silent sisters. Many widowers too join the sisters in a life of servitude.
