Was Orys Baratheon the first Hand of the King?

Question

After Aegon's Landing, Orys Baratheon was made his Hand, making him the first Hand of the King to the Targaryen dynasty. What I want to know is if this is where the practice started. It's entrenched enough that almost all the claimants to the Iron Throne name Hands after declaring themselves King/Queen - Renly, Stannis, Dany and

Aegon VI

all do it. Did the petty Kings of Westeros do this before Aegon's Landing or did Aegon I start the tradition?

Answer 1

Orys Baratheon was indeed the first to hold the position known as Hand of the King. Aegon I basically created the post when he first assigned it to Orys shortly after landing in the mainland of Westeros, using the following words to describe Orys:

"My shield, my stalwart, my strong right hand"

And from that came the position's name.

Source: A George R R Martin reading from Chicon 7