Dragons, sorcery and magic may not traditionally evoke thoughts of medievalism, though the Game of Thrones, through its depiction of the Middle ages, has successfully brought to the masses a compelling story grounded in real medieval analogs. To say that no artistic liberties were taken by the author would be ignorant. The story is in itself a work of fiction, though that does not disqualify it from encouraging interest in the Middle Ages. Much criticism and discussion has been brought up against the show for its supposed inaccurate portrayal of the Middle Ages, and its exploitative use of sex and violence . A topic that is often overlooked are the aspects in which Martin gets right. Should the fact that much of the book is based upon an
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Each major house and free city are based upon some real-world equivalents and in some case a mixture of many. So much culture is injected into the world that to cover it all would be an effort in futility. It is without question that the Starks are viewed as the protagonists of the tale. The deep-seated honor, and traditions portraited by the people of the north hails from Germania and was well document by Tacitus who stated “every German, according to his means, receives his guest with a well-furnished table.” An interesting aside and one that is unlikely to be known is that the ‘shaming of Cersei’ for adultery also hails from Germanic descent. It is likely surprising that such a horrible and graphic custom could be perpetuated by the same culture that gave us the good guys. This is exactly the reason why the story inspires interest in real medieval history! The Starks are a strange amalgamation of Scottish, and Germanic culture fused together with the conflict of the Yorkish. Not only does the story promote interest in various cultures and real world analogs, it also also informs the reader or viewer about the social, political, economical and geographical features of the regions. These are all stories, pieces of history, though concentrated and delivered as easily (well sometimes…) digestible pieces of
Each major house and free city are based upon some real-world equivalents and in some case a mixture of many. So much culture is injected into the world that to cover it all would be an effort in futility. It is without question that the Starks are viewed as the protagonists of the tale. The deep-seated honor, and traditions portraited by the people of the north hails from Germania and was well document by Tacitus who stated “every German, according to his means, receives his guest with a well-furnished table.” An interesting aside and one that is unlikely to be known is that the ‘shaming of Cersei’ for adultery also hails from Germanic descent. It is likely surprising that such a horrible and graphic custom could be perpetuated by the same culture that gave us the good guys. This is exactly the reason why the story inspires interest in real medieval history! The Starks are a strange amalgamation of Scottish, and Germanic culture fused together with the conflict of the Yorkish. Not only does the story promote interest in various cultures and real world analogs, it also also informs the reader or viewer about the social, political, economical and geographical features of the regions. These are all stories, pieces of history, though concentrated and delivered as easily (well sometimes…) digestible pieces of