Winning the Game of Thrones: The Host of Characters and their Agendas (13 page)

     
Baelor Breakspear in “The Hedge Knight” and his unexpected tragedy resemble the fate of Edward the Black Prince

     
The big castle in Edinburgh is on Castle Rock, like Casterly Rock, though there are others in the world.

     
The civil war called the Dance of the Dragons (far back in Targaryen history) mirrors
Empress Mathilda’s struggle to inherit her father’s throne while much of England preferred her male cousin Stephen. Upon winning, Mathilda was not allowed the crown in her own right, but had to settle for passing it to her son. The
Dance of the Dragons confirmed that only males could inherit the Iron Throne. Daenerys may be in for trouble…

The War of the Roses

While other parallels appear, the War of the Five Kings appears to be a retelling of the English Wars of the Roses (1455-85), between the Houses of 
Lancaster and 
York like the Houses of Lannister and Stark. Many first names, only altered slightly, are shared between series: Jon, Robert, Edmund, Edward/Eddard, Richard/Rickard, Geoffrey/Joffrey, Thomas/Tommen, Walter/Walder, James/Jaime, Jane/Jeyne, Margret/Margaery, Marcella/Myrcella,
Caitlyn/Catelyn,
 and
Lisa/Lysa.

Henry VI of House Lancaster was placid and amiable when not seized by debilitating fits. His more forceful wife, Margaret of Anjou, claimed the regency and ruled through her young son, unfortunately cultivating his cruelty and violence. Cersei Lannister and her two sons are a close parallel, of course.

Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and next in line for the crown, declared her son illegitimate and marched on London. Outnumbered, he was arrested and, like Ned Stark, forced to swear allegiance to the king. However, he later had a more successful bid, as he became
“Protector of the Realm” and regent, as Ned Stark was meant to be for young King Joffrey. The Duke of York was even named King Henry’s heir as a compromise.

However, Margaret refused to let her son’s rights be put aside. Civil war began, north against south. The Lancastrians surprised and killed York, and
stuck his head on a pike, but York’s heir,
Edward, defeated the Lancasters
and was crowned King Edward IV. Margaret’s
son Edward died in a heroic last stand like Prince Rhaegar’s. Henry VI was quietly executed in the Tower of London, and Margaret fled.

The new King Edward IV was fat and over-devoted to pleasure and women, much like King Robert Baratheon, who’s based on him, as Martin acknowledges.
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Despite negotiations abroad, Edward secretly wed Elizabeth Woodville, a politically unwise choice that angered some nobles as much as Robb’s wedding. When Edward died suddenly from unhealthy living, illness, or possibly even poison, his youngest brother, the future Richard III, cut Edward’s sons from the succession, claiming they were bastards. He also arranged for the death of his third brother, and many nobles he accused of treason. In this and other ways, he came to echo Stannis, the largely-disliked heir to his kingly brother.

At last, Henry VII, the last distant descendant of the Lancasters, sailed from over the sea to defeat Richard and claim the crown (this plot will likely fall to Daenerys, the “prince who was promised”). Henry wed Edward IV’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and united the red and white roses of their house sigils to create the Tudor Rose.

Cersei as Margaret and Robert as Edward IV are close analogies. Likewise, the realm in chaos at King Robert’s death, with his children declared bastards and Starks and Lannisters vying for the throne echoes this time period.

How will this all end? It’s unclear. Richard, Duke of York (basically the Ned Stark character) never inherited England, but his sons Edward IV and Richard III did, followed by Edward’s daughter Elizabeth. Will Ned’s son Jon Snow inherit such a destiny, ending the war by wedding the Targaryen heir, Daenerys? Or will Sansa make the dynastic wedding? Martin notes, “The Lancasters and Yorks fought themselves to extinction until the Tudors came in. But the Tudors were really a new dynasty; they weren’t Lancasters. So...”
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It seems the Targaryens will take the throne from both, after a fight nearly “to extinction.”

Of course, Martin notes that his characters are only loosely historical:

You can do one-for-one conversions of the real-world to fantasy, but if you’re going to do one-for-one, you might as well just write straight historical fiction. Why write about a character who’s exactly like Henry VIII? If you want to do that, then just write about Henry VIII.

It makes more sense to take certain interesting elements of Henry VIII and certain interesting elements of Edward IV, and maybe something from here and something from there, and put them together and use your imagination to create your own character – someone who is uniquely himself and not exactly like someone from history. The same is true of the battles and things like that.
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The Lord of the Rings 

Martin adds, “There are a number of homages to LOTR in my book. I am a huge Tolkien fan.”
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He comments:

Although I differ from Tolkien in important ways, I’m second to no one in my respect for him. If you look at Lord of the Rings, it begins with a tight focus and all the characters are together. Then by end of the first book the Fellowship splits up and they have different adventures. I did the same thing. Everybody is at Winterfell in the beginning except for Daenerys, then they split up into groups, and ultimately those split up too. The intent was to fan out, then curve and come back together. Finding the point where that turn begins has been one of the issues I’ve wrestled with.
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With the Celtic and Norse elements set in a culture much like medieval England, these series have many strong parallels. There are also more deliberate small homages. From the “R.R.” in Martin’s author name to his mythic multiple hero war epic, he’s determined to imitate the best.

Sean Bean

From the first episode,
Lord of the Rings
 Star Sean Bean is riding about with sword and armor like Boromir (and like Boromir, he dies at the end of the first book). Bean comments:

I do happen to enjoy playing those kind of roles: Riding horses, wearing wigs, growing beards. I do have an affinity to that kind of role and I think the good thing about “Game of Thrones” is there is such scope for it. With “Lord of the Rings” there were admittedly three films and they were thoroughly researched and very well replicated on screen but with what George [R.R. Martin] has created, it’s a very different world that goes on much longer and has more twists and tales.
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Sam

The most blatant link is Sam. As Jon the hero’s fat unheroic friend, he’s like Sam Gamgee, practical and smart while his friend has grave responsibilities. Samwell Tarly is Jon’s tie to the everyday world, and like Sam Gamgee, he grows from a humble buffoon (or “fat hobbit”) to a hero.

Ravens

The Hobbit
 features a wise old raven, and Bilbo sends it with a message to Bard, the only one to remember the ancient secrets of speaking to birds. It’s this talent among others that marks Bard as descendent of kings. Likewise, young warriors and poets in Celtic myth were trained in bird lore – those who could understand ravens’ speech and sometimes take bird form could receive warnings of the future. It gradually becomes clear that someone is sending Jon messages through Commander Mormont’s raven, who gives warnings like “burn” for the wight’s attack, and at odd moments calls Jon a “king.” He may have the blood of a king or be destined for kingship.

Ned vs Boromir

Martin’s fans humorously insisted he pit his heroes and magic against those in Tolkien: Who would win in a fight – Nazguls or White Walkers? Smaug or Drogon? After varying amounts of consideration (and laughter), Martin chose Ice over Glamdring and said Tyrion would beat Frodo. Smaug and the Nazguls would decimate the field. And in an inevitable comparison, he bet the warrior Boromir would beat Ned the lord.
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The Decline of Magic

Dragons have been lost to the world, the children of the wood have all but vanished. Giants, krakens, and unicorns are rumored to exist, but all dwell far from the world of men. Daenerys’s dragons may have brought back the magic, or it may be its last gasp before the power fades forever.

Many of Martin’s characters go around “citing examples of how the realm was once better off and has now declined,” as Linda Antonsson and Elio M. Garcia, Jr. note in their essay on romanticism in the series. They add:

As one example, the Night’s Watch has fallen on hard times. Their numbers are depleted and their cause neglected by most of the great lords and kings, compared to the past when, as Yoren describes it in A Clash of Kings, “a man in black was feasted from Dorne to Winterfell, and even high lords called it an honor to shelter him under their roofs.”
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In Tolkien’s world, the elves have nearly vanished, along with ents, dragons, and other magical creatures from the beginning of days. At series end, the greatest of the elves travel west forever, bearing the last of the magic rings. Martin’s world may likewise see an end to the wonder of its world.

Other connections:

     
Tyrion describes most lore about dragons as “fodder for fools” including “talking dragons, dragons hoarding gold and gems,” and dragons telling riddles, all of which are clear references to
The Hobbit
 (V:767). Tyrion also notes that the eyes are where a dragon is vulnerable “not the underbelly as certain old tales would have it” (V:759).