# Game of Thrones: How much of the culture/lore was taken from history vs made up by the author? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268 "2014-04-16T16:12:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/1 "2014-04-16T16:12:51Z")
How much of the society & culture of Game of Thrones was taken from history, and which parts are the inventions of George R.R. Martin? Examples [ul] [li]Kings,Queens,Knights, etc: These of course existed in real life[/li][li]“Hand of the King”: As far as I can tell, this was made up by GRRM, and didn’t seem to exist in history (at least by that title)[/li][li]Maester: Did this title exist?[/li][li]What about the names of the characters like Cersei, Melisandre, Tywin, etc: Were some made up by the author, or were they all historical names[/li][/ul] Any other aspects that GRRM made up? (excluding the fantasy parts, of course) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/2 "2014-04-16T16:36:12Z")
[quote=“Polerius, post:1, topic:686268”] [li]Maester: Did this title exist?[/li][/QUOTE] I understand it’s just an old/alternate/we hadn’t figured out dictionaries yet spelling of “master”. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/3 "2014-04-16T16:58:16Z")
Robert Baratheon: King Edward IV of England Queen Cercei: Elizabeth Woodville Tywin Lannister: Warwick the Kingmaker Jamie Lannister: The Knightly bits of Antony Woodville Tyrion Lannister: The intellectual parts of Antony Woodville Stannis: Richard III Ned Stark: William Hastings Whoever wins: Henry Tudor. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/4 "2014-04-16T17:55:31Z")
The Red Wedding was loosely based on [a real historical event](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/05/game-of-thrones-red-wedding-black-dinner-real-events_n_3393099.html), according to GRRM. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/5 "2014-04-16T18:23:13Z")
Here’s an awesome [video](http://blip.tv/brows-held-high/between-the-lines-game-of-thrones-6803322) highlighting some of the similarities between Game of Thrones and England’s War of the Roses. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/6 "2014-04-16T23:43:17Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > Here’s an awesome [video](http://blip.tv/brows-held-high/between-the-lines-game-of-thrones-6803322) highlighting some of the similarities between Game of Thrones and England’s War of the Roses. Dammit, that’s what I was going to say! Stark/York, Lannister/Lancaster. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/7 "2014-04-17T02:18:47Z")
I found Barbara Tuchman’s _A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century_ very useful as background reading for GoT. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/8 "2014-04-17T04:00:07Z")
The Targaryen marriage practices were copied from Ancient Egypt. The Faith of the Seven is an expy for the Roman Catholic Church; albeit with some major differences (septas being equal to septons, at least in theory). It’s also not as dominant as the Church was during this era; witness the widespread tolerance for paganism in Westeros (indeed it’s still the majority faith in the North, and Ned Stark was appointed a major royal office). ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/9 "2014-04-17T05:38:04Z")
The Andal invasion of Westeros is analogous to the Angle and Saxon invasions of Britain. Aegon the Conqueror and the Targaryens were inspired by William the Conqueror and the Normans. The Valyrian Freehold is comparable to the Roman Republic/Empire. The Iron Islanders are ax wielding raiders who travel by longship, so obviously there’s some Viking influence in their origin. But referring to a life in which one relies entirely on piracy and raiding for sustenance as “the old way” comes from Ancient Greece. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/10 "2014-04-17T12:50:48Z")
It’s a hard question to answer. For example, in book 5 a certain army gets stuck in a blizzard just outside of Winterfell, which they were marching to conquer. Sounds a lot like Napoleon’s winter retreat from Moscow to me. Treachery at feasts and weddings is a common practice in small-scale societies. They _have_ to come together sometime, but they always do it at their own risk. Iron Age Britains believed that gods lived in pools and wetlands. It’s semi-analogous to the weirwood groves. Sword-lore and sword-naming was a real thing for northern European cultures. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/11 "2014-04-17T12:54:49Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I found Barbara Tuchman’s _A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century_ very useful as background reading for GoT. Thank you, it’s on Kindle and will soon be in my tablet 😃 If sword-naming means giving names to swords (well, weaponry in general, it’s simply that famous folk were more likely to have had a sword as their main weapon), it was common in Southern Europe as well. Tizona (Ember-like), the name of one of el Cid’s swords, has come to mean “sword” in poetic Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/12 "2014-04-17T15:08:45Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > “Hand of the King”: As far as I can tell, this was made up by GRRM, and didn’t seem to exist in history (at least by that title) Martin invented the title, but the office is analogous to one of the [Great Officers of State](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Officer_of_State), either the Earl Marshal or the Lord High Constable. Or perhaps the Grand Vizier in an Asian court. The badge is reminiscent of the badge worn by a [British baronet.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BaronetUK.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/13 "2014-04-17T15:28:17Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > The Faith of the Seven is an expy for the Roman Catholic Church; albeit with some major differences (septas being equal to septons, at least in theory). It’s also not as dominant as the Church was during this era; witness the widespread tolerance for paganism in Westeros (indeed it’s still the majority faith in the North, and Ned Stark was appointed a major royal office). The Faith of the Seven AND the Order of Maesters are the church stand-ins, albeit with some big differences. The Maesters play the role in Westerosi society that the literate, educated clerics did in Medieval Europe. I got the impression from the books that there’s not much requirement for literacy to be a Septon/Septa. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/14 "2014-04-17T15:32:08Z")
The Wall = Hadrian’s Wall ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/15 "2014-04-17T15:34:35Z")
The Dothraki always struck me as being kind of similar to the Mongol horde. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/16 "2014-04-17T15:42:46Z")
The dragons are based on dinosaurs. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/17 "2014-04-17T16:09:40Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The Dothraki always struck me as being kind of similar to the Mongol horde. Or the Huns. Braavos is clearly a Venice analogue. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/18 "2014-04-17T16:43:45Z")
Daenerys is partially inspired by Joan of Arc: teenage girl with God/dragons on her side collects an army and leads them to great victories. Obviously there are plenty of differences, but Joan’s example proves that it was real-world possible for a teenage girl to lead an army in a medieval society. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/19 "2014-04-17T16:57:11Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I understand it’s just an old/alternate/we hadn’t figured out dictionaries yet spelling of “master”. Just as “Ser” is an alternate spelling of “Sir.” Ser is used identically on the weird world on which Jack Vance set[The Moon Moth](http://www.unexploredworlds.com/RealPulp/htm/rpulp145.htm), one of his more famous stories. Possible tribute from GRRM to one of the Old Masters… [Another source](http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26824993): > [@](#): > > Martin says one of his main inspirations was not fantasy, but a series of novels set in medieval France, little known or read in the English language.\* Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings\*) was written by Maurice Druon between the mid-1950s and the 1970s. It’s a seven-volume saga chronicling the dynastic fight for the French throne in the early part of the 14th Century, culminating in the Hundred Years War. > > “_The Accursed Kings_ has it all,” writes Martin, in an introduction to a recently reissued translation. “Believe me, the Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and Plantagenets. It is the original game of thrones.” ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268/20 "2014-04-17T17:04:50Z")
Valyrian steel seems to be a fantasy version of [Damascus steel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_steel). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-how-much-of-the-culture-lore-was-taken-from-history-vs-made-up-by-the-author/686268.md?page=2)