As I’m making this blog, HBO is in the middle of airing it’s 8th and final season of Game of Thrones. With a heavy focus on dragons and ice zombies this season, the show puts viewers into a fantasy world that seems so different from our own. Many elements of series however, don’t stray too far from reality. Game of Thrones is the TV adaptation of a book series called A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin. Martin has always had a passion for history, and graduated from the prestigious Northwestern University with a minor in the subject (he also received a bachelor's degree in journalism). He has admitted that his series, especially the earlier books, was inspired by medieval England. I thought it would be fun to examine key characters in the Song of Ice and Fire series and their real-life counterparts in English history that Martin possibly got his inspiration from.
"History is written in blood, a gold mine – the kings, the princes, the
generals and the whores, and all the betrayals and wars and confidences.
It’s better than 90 percent of what the fantasists do make up."-- George RR Martin
Gilmore, Mikal. “George R.R. Martin: The Rolling Stone Interview.” Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/george-r-r-martin-the-rolling-stone-interview-242487/.
Watercutter, Angela. “Game of Thrones Book Delays Hurt Their Author, Not Fans.” Wired, Conde Nast, 3 June 2017, www.wired.com/2016/01/george-rr-martin-game-of-thrones/.
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