What with all its dragons, giants, direwolves and White Walkers, it's pretty obvious that
Game of Thrones is just fantasy. But there are a lot of historical parallels to be found
in HBO's runaway hit, as well as the books the show was based on. Here's the real-life
history that inspired Game of Thrones.
Inspiration
Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of British history already knows there are some
serious similarities between Westeros and the Wars of the Roses. In case you're unaware
just what was going on in England in the 15th century, however, here's a recap. There were
basically two royal houses, the Yorks and the Lancasters - sound familiar? - who both
thought their guy deserved to be on the throne. Obviously, a whole bunch of people were killed
as a result.
According to the Guardian, the similarities between the real-life Wars of the Roses and
the war for the Seven Kingdoms goes beyond just the names of the royal houses. The monarchs
who ruled England during those tumultuous years were sometimes just as villainous as
Cersei, as weak as Tommen, and as arrogant and delusional as Stannis. There were plots,
bloody battles, so-called "protectors of the realm," and even plenty of sailing across
a "Narrow Sea" - in this case, the English Channel. Now, obviously some facts have been
altered in George R.R. Martin's work to allow for all the dragons and ice zombies, but the
basic framework was already very much in place.
Tyrion Lannister
You might remember Richard the Third as a hideous, hunchbacked villain, staggering around
the battlefield in a futile attempt to set up history's most one-sided financial transaction.
"A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!"
That's the way Shakespeare chose to remember him - probably because that's the way the
Tudors wanted to remember him. Shakespeare lived in a time where you could lose your
head for displeasing the queen, and the queen was only sitting on the throne because her
grandfather had deposed Richard the Third at the Battle of Bosworth - so she kind of
had a vested interest in making everyone think he was a bad guy.
So you might be surprised to hear that Tyrion Lannister is loosely based on Richard the
Third - largely because Tyrion isn't a villain. In fact, some people argue that he's the show's
primary protagonist. According to Den of Geek, though, Tyrion has some indisputable similarities
to Shakespeare's infamous villain - he's a dwarf, while Richard had scoliosis, a condition
of the spine that made him short in stature. Like Tyrion, Richard often fought for the
common people, even going as far as establishing a court that gave legal assistance to the
poor. And like Tyrion, Richard's contemporaries believed his appearance reflected negatively
on his character.
The Red Wedding
As it turns out, Walder Frey wasn't the first guy who thought up the idea of killing all
his enemies at a feast. George R. R. Martin based the Red Wedding on an event from medieval
Scotland, where the tradition of "bread and salt" acted in a similar role to the laws
of guest right in Game of Thrones.
But medieval people weren't exactly known for being sticklers for rules, and like the
Freys, Scottish nobles would sometimes kill their own dinner guests. According to Entertainment
Weekly, the specific story Martin based the Red Wedding on was known as "The Black Dinner,"
and it went down like this: The King of Scotland invited the earl of an enemy clan to his home
as a gesture of peace. There was a great feast, and at the end of the feast the king's men
started beating a drum ominously - before presenting the earl with a black boar's head,
a symbol of death. After that, they dragged him outside and executed him. Dramatic? Sure.
But it definitely got the message across.
Daenerys Targaryen
According to Den of Geek, Daenerys Targaryen is based not on a woman from history, but
on a male historical figure instead - Henry Tudor, who defeated Richard the Third at Bosworth
and went on to become Henry the Seventh.
Like Daenerys, Henry had lived in exile, and like Daenerys, he crossed a "narrow sea" with
a foreign army, which he then used to win the battle and gain the throne. The last thing
Henry did to secure the throne was marry his third cousin, Elizabeth of York, which wouldn't
have been entirely out of the question for Daenerys' character either, since she was
surprisingly cool with the idea of shacking up with her own nephew. That's the royals
for you.
The Lord of Light
Melisandre is arguably the most morally ambiguous character on Game of Thrones. She's clearly
got the best interests of the realm at heart, being fully intent on helping fulfill the
prophecy of Azor Ahai and saving Westeros from the White Walkers. But she also burned
a little girl at the stake, and that's generally regarded by most people as a no-no.
The Red Woman follows the Lord of Light, the god of a religion that is driven by fire,
light and sacrifice. But the religion the Red Woman follows isn't entirely made up - according
to the Washington Post, Martin based it on the real-life Arabic religion Zoroastrianism.
Both Zoroastrianism and the Lord of Light's faith have a belief in the purifying properties
of fire and in the opposing forces of light and darkness. And in both religions there
is a belief that good will rise up to defeat evil, just as Azor Ahai was supposed to rise
up to defeat the White Walkers.
Jaime Lannister
Even the ancient world had its own version of the prosthetic hand. After all, whenever
a culture engages in war, there are going to be people who lose limbs - and not all
of them took it lying down.
According to Bustle, Jaime Lannister's historical amputee-counterpart was Gotz von Berlichingen,
a German knight who lost his hand in a cannonball-meets-sword incident during the siege of Landshut in 1504.
And like Jaime Lannister, Gotz kept on fighting even after his hand was replaced by an iron
prosthetic - in fact, he had a couple of prosthetics and could even hold things like shields, reins,
and quills.
The sack of King's Landing
It's impossible to compare the destruction of King's Landing in the penultimate episode
of Game of Thrones to anything from ancient history because no one in ancient history
had access to aerial weapons, let alone dragons. According to the Atlantic, to find a historical
parallel, you have to go forward in time - way forward, to the firebombing of Dresden in
World War II, when Allied aircraft almost completely wiped out the German city. And
whenever you choose to wipe out a city, it becomes impossible to separate the innocent
from the combatants - just as Daenerys discovered during her attack on the Westerosian capital.
Similarly, the bombings of the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were equally merciless,
and the justification given by Dany for burning King's Landing is remarkably similar to those
that were made for killing civilians in Japan.
"Mercy is our strength. Our mercy towards future generations who will never be held
hostage by a tyrant."
Essentially, the idea is that the bombings were okay because they would end the war and
ultimately save more lives than they cost. And like other historical figures, Daenerys
probably believed that demonstrating her strength would convince any potential challengers to
submit rather than challenge her.
The Night's Watch
The only people - Westeros who don't bother themselves with all the political nonsense
going on in the rest of the Seven Kingdoms are the folks up at Castle Black because,
let's face it - they have bigger problems on their mind.
The Night's Watch does have one interesting historical parallel: the Knights Templar.
This organization was made up of a small group of soldiers who protected travelers on the
roads through the recently conquered Holy Land. According to Vintage News, the Knights
Templar were charged with keeping hooligans away from the "good people" of the world - which
is pretty similar to the way the people of Westeros see Wildlings. The Templars sometimes
came from noble families and were sometimes criminals who sought to redeem themselves
through service to God. And they even had to swear a vow of chastity and poverty, just
like the men of the Night's Watch.
The Wall
After the Romans set up shop in Great Britain, they quickly discovered that the tribes who
inhabited the island's northern regions were very dangerous and very hostile. And that's
pretty much exactly what happened in Game of Thrones too, only it took place many years
before the events we see in the show.
The Wall was built to keep out the White Walkers and the Wildlings, who live in the far northern
end of Westeros, just like Hadrian's Wall was built to keep out the Picts, who lived
in early Scotland. George R. R. Martin has even said that the Wall of Westeros was based
on Hadrian's Wall, although Hadrian's Wall today is just a shadow of its former self
- a White Walker could just step over the thing. According to English Heritage, however,
Hadrian's wall originally topped out at 15 feet - a far more formidable structure than
what remains today.
Joffrey
You'd have a hard time finding a historical figure more sadistic and unhinged than Caligula
- just like you'd have a hard time finding a Game of Thrones character much worse than
Joffrey.
Like Joffrey, Caligula was totally unhinged. According to Ancient History Encyclopedia,
he enjoyed watching executions and tortures, was overcome with paranoia, and even had his
own relatives executed. As far as we know, however, Joffrey never threatened to make
his horse a consul, which is a small win for the Iron Throne.
According to Persephone Magazine, Joffrey's character also has distinct similarities to
Edward of Lancaster, another Wars of the Roses character who may or may not have been the
son of a king. Edward was born eight years into his mother's marriage to Henry the Sixth,
and Henry was almost entirely unhinged at that point - so it seems doubtful that he
was the boy's biological father. Like Joffrey, Edward was also a sadistic little creep, though
not quite on par with Caligula. That guy was just the worst.
"I am all men as I am no man and there I am… a god."
Theon Greyjoy
Poor Theon. Sure, he was kind of a jerk during the early seasons of Game of Thrones, but
the young Ironborn prince more than paid for his crimes when he met Ramsay Bolton and became
the pathetic and deplorable Reek.
Luckily, as far as history is aware, there never was a Reek - at least, not a famous
one. But according to History Behind Game of Thrones, Theon does have similarities to
another figure from the Wars of the Roses: George Plantagenet. A rebellion separated
both George and Theon from their fathers - Theon was sent to live with the Starks as a hostage
after his father rebelled against Robert Baratheon, while George became a hostage too after his
father rebelled against the king. Theon and George were both third sons who became their
families' heirs through the deaths of the elder sons. And they both had to choose whether
to fight for their brother or father. In the end, both chose to betray their brothers.
The Dothraki
The parallels between the Dothraki and the Mongols aren't exactly subtle. A Dothraki
leader, for example, is known as a "khal," while the Mongol leader was a "khan." George
R. R. Martin has also freely admitted they were based on the Mongols, though he also
said he threw in some elements from the steppe tribes and American Indian plains tribes.
Still, Martin has been criticized for his portrayal of the Dothraki, since they kind
of embody the notion of the stereotypical "noble savage" - but the author has argued
that his portrayal aligns with the true nature of the historical Mongols. Even at the height
of their sophistication, he argued, they were fond of pillaging and butchering to their
hearts' content. Which does sound an awful lot like the Dothraki.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite
stuff are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.