Was Game Of Thrones Modeled After The Real War Of Roses?

By Sara Bellum On May 8, 2012 In Sara Bellum No Comments

Dear Sara,

Rumor has it the George R.R. Martin modeled Game of Thrones after the real War of the Roses, is that true?

Thanks,
Game Of Thrones Fan

Dear Game Of Thrones Fan,

Yes, in part. Like all good writers George R.R. Martin did a good amount of research before begining his novels but as his is a work of fiction he was able to cherry pick through history and only use the parts he found to be of particular interest. Even then he did not just record history but made these his own. Much as D.B. Weiss is doing on the television version of the books. A shared vision perhaps but it is where it diverges that makes it more fun.

The “First Men” approximately correspond to the Celts. Th Andals and their seven kingdoms are pretty close in nature to the Saxons and their kingdoms in England. The Targaryens are very like the Normans (without the dragons of course). House Lancaster sort of matches up to House Lannister while House York does the same to to House Stark. The Dothraki being nomadic tribesmen who swoop out of anywhere to devastate and loot would probably be the Huns but in later centuries could be the Vandals. These things need not match up precisely.

-Sara Bellum

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Sara Bellum

Editor at Buzzy Multimedia Publishing

The name's Sara Bellum, and I'm the editor-at-large here at BuzzyMag - the hostess with the mostess, if you will. I like to think that my first calling is fighting crime and delivering a heaping dose of sweet, sweet justice to all manner of thugs, miscreants, hoodlums, ruffians, and ne'er-do-wells, but unfortunately, violent vigilantism doesn't exactly pay big bucks these days.

Times are tough, my friends, and I've got bills to pay, so I decided to put my encyclopedic knowledge of all things sci-fi & fantasy-related to use to help me land a day job. To tell you the truth, it's kind of a nice change of pace. My manicures have been lasting a bit longer lately.