Jamie Adair

Jamie Adair is the editor of History Behind Game of Thrones, a website about the history behind George RR Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels and the hit TV show, "Game of Thrones."

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Polls July 18, 2017

Cheeze or Yes, Please: Poll on Ed Sheeran’s Appearance on GoT

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Ed Sheeran, one of the biggest singers in the world, did a cameo on the Season 7 opener of Game of Thrones — and not everyone’s down with it. Many fans found it jarring and critics cited it as a rare misstep. “Throughout the last six seasons,” Forbes commented. “Members of the bands Snow Patrol, Coldplay, Sigur Ros, Mastadon and Of Monsters and Men all showed up on Game of Thrones at one point, but if you didn’t know that, I wouldn’t blame you.”…

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Season 7 recaps July 17, 2017

Game of Thrones Recap “Dragonstone”: The Map Rooms Mean War

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Games of Thrones is back — and so is this blog, at least for now, despite a taxing year for yours truly with far too much illness and stress. Given that I still feel like I’m still recovering from 2016, blog output may be reduced this season. I’ll see how it goes. I may not write recaps or if I do, they will likely be significantly briefer (or less precise). Although I’m not good at recapping, I do like writing about…

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War July 16, 2017

Ramsay’s Last Strategy: Battle of the Bastards

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This article breaks down a few historically significant moments from the Battle of the Bastards between Jon Snow & the Wall’s forces and Ramsay Bolton and his vassals. This is from last year: Season Six, Episode 9 of Game of Thrones. [Author’s note: I wrote this last year but I got a little carried away with the illustrations. I created 12 drawings for different parts of the battle and then I got sick shortly after that so I never published this…

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Game of Thrones July 1, 2017

Happy 150th Birthday Canada: Narnia and the (Canadian) Beavers

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Today is Canada’s 150th birthday. Although I now live in the USA, I’m Canadian and I’ve been looking for an excuse to write about CS Lewis’ tribute to Canadian and Greek efforts in World War II for a long time. Yes, I know Narnia is not one of the Seven Kingdoms and Lucy Pevensie isn’t Sansa’s long-lost cousin, but hey it’s Canada Day. Plus the possible history behind these symbols is pretty cool – and Canada’s national holiday gives me…

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Recap Season 6, War of the Roses June 27, 2016

The Winds of Winter: Historic Recap (Season 6, Episode 10)

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Last night’s Emmy nominated episode paved the way for what may be Game of Thrones’ last battle: the battle against the Night King and the white walkers. Once again the rulers of Westeros’ houses have changed and new alliances have formed. This recap looks at the history behind a few key scenes and their historical basis. An explosive end for Cersei’s rivals This year’s season finale did not disappoint in terms of its death toll. What was surprising is how Cersei escaped…

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Season 6 Recap June 20, 2016

Historic Recap: Battle of the Bastards, Season 6, Episode 9

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Episode 9 – “Battle of the Bastards” – of Season Six Game of Thrones is epic – not because it necessarily surprised anyone but because the battle scenes were so phenomenally well produced. This episode has tons of historic tidbits for history lovers – and this recap will take you through a few of them. The episode only has two storylines: Meereen and Winterfell. Both places are under attack. This week’s recap focuses on a few specific historical events from the…

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Ancient History June 16, 2016

Khal Moro: Eat Your Heart Out — Part 1

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[Author’s note: A few episodes ago Daenerys was back in Vaes Dothrak, where Khal Moro and his cronies threatened her with effective imprisonment, rape, or slavery. They should have known better than to bully Daenerys where she once had one of her most glorious moments (after she ate the wild stallion’s heart). This two-part article takes a look back at the gruesome history behind Season 1’s heart-eating ritual. Warning: No shocker, but this article gets a little gross. And, the second half is much…

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Season 6 Recap June 5, 2016

Historic Recap: The Broken Man

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Coming into this episode from last week, the big question that everyone wants answered is: “Will Arya survive?” Or will the Waif succeed in killing her? It’s easy to assume that Arya isn’t in real danger. After all, she is everyone’s second or third favorite character – at least according to most polls. But, this is Game of Thrones – and as we know from Lady, Ned, Catelyn, Robb, Hodor, Summer, Osha and many others, anything can happen. Tonight’s episode…

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