How Much is Game of Thrones Inspired By History?
Well, I’ll say partly. There are a lot of historical events and characters that inspire the literary epic that Game of Thrones is. A major theme of inspiration for George R. R. Martin has been the Wars of the Roses. Other than that, GRRM has also said that the character arcs in his stories draw a lot of inspiration from Tolkien, who has been a major influence in defining the archetypic idea of a fantasy universe.
One of the most striking landmarks from the Game of Thrones has been the northern wall which was made solely with solid ice and stretched for over 300 miles and acted as the last line of defense north of Westeros. Visit the Hadrian’s Wall and you will feel a striking resemblance between both the walls. But we are not here to talk only about the wall, rather we will talk about how there have been instances in GRRM’s epic that draw a lot of parallels from the annals of European history.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
- Joffrey Baratheon and Edward of Lancaster
King Joffrey has been shown as a vicious personality who always talked about cutting off heads and making war. While reading about Edward, we come to know that he also showed somewhat related traits. Just like Joffrey’s parentage has been a major talking point in the series, the parentage of Edward of Lancaster has been questioned many times. He also has a tinge of madness that we often relate with Joffrey as if both of them knew that whatever happens, they would remain the occupant of the throne.
2. The Conquerors — William and Aegon
The Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror was a bastard who had ambitions of ruling the whole of England. He crossed over the sea with an army and started running the country by gaining control over anyone who dared to challenge him. The Queen of England is his 22X Great Granddaughter. This might seem familiar to those who have watched Game of Thrones because the story of Aegon the Conqueror and his dragons has been inspired by the story of William the Conqueror. Just like William, Aegon came to Westeros with his dragons and established the Targaryen Dynasty.
3. The Hunchbacks
A witty guy who is small in stature and walked with a hunch, who was made out to be a vicious monster by his relatives and stood accused of killing his own family members. We are not talking about the fictional character of Tyrion, however, Richard III shared the same characteristics as that of Tyrion Lannister. He was considered a divisive figure just like his fictional counterpart with the character of Tyrion Lannister drawing a lot of inspiration from the historical figure.
4. The Last Feast
We all can unanimously agree that one of the most important events from the Game of Thrones history has been the Red Wedding. It was where much of the Stark family was wiped off by the Freys and the Boltons. There have been eerie similarities between the Red Wedding and two particular events from Scotland, namely, the Black Dinner and the Massacre of Glencoe. It was the Black Dinner where two prominent members of the powerful Douglas clan were killed midway while they were dining with the King of Scotland. Then there was the infamous Glencoe Massacre where around 30 members of the MacDonald clan were brutally killed when they failed to pledge their allegiance to William III, the new king of England and Scotland, in 1692.
5. The War between the Families
Right from the beginning, we can sense a certain animosity between the Lannisters and the Starks. This animosity can be traced back to the War of Roses where the two prominent families of England indulged in constant civil wars to occupy the throne of England. The House of Lancaster has always been denoted by their emblem of Red Rose which coincidentally is the color for Lannisters. Similarly, the House of York was denoted by White Rose which was somewhat connected with the honorable Stark family of Winterfell.
Other than these major themes, there have been a lot of other connections that are worth mentioning here. For example; the City of Braavos can be considered similar to the Venetian Empire since both of them were wealthy settlements built on water and dealt with trade. The horde of Dothrakis can be compared to the Huns who were always known as the fierce horse-mounted warriors who came from the East. Other than that, there were the Ironborns who drew a parallel to the Vikings as both of them made their living by raiding and looting other coastal kingdoms.
Meanwhile some good news for the readers who eagerly await The Winds of Winter:
There is no denying the fact that art imitates life and GRRM has created an epic that rivals the likes of LOTR and Harry Potter. Inspired by a lot of historical legends and stories, he has created a separate fantasy universe where the ice zombies and fire dragons are tussling for superiority over the Iron Throne while the royal families bay for each other’s blood to take control. Just like Valyrian Steel was considered the strongest metal there is, the same was the case with Damascus Steel which was famous for its rippled appearance, and the swords forged from it were considered best in the world at that time (circa. 1100 AD). Those mighty weapons might have been lost but the history remains and similarly, the art that George R. R. Martin has created would live on for ages and would continue to entertain our people for generations to come.
