Historical Periods June 18, 2013

Second Sons

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In Game of Thrones, bands of soldiers-for-hire (known as “sellswords”) sell their fighting services to the highest bidder. Without loyalty to a country or king, they fight for whomever holds their contract. In the “Second Sons” (Season 3, episode 8), Daenarys encounters a company of sellswords in Yunkai known as the Second Sons.   “Men who fight for gold have neither honor nor loyalty. They cannot be trusted.” – Ser Barristan Selmy  “They can be trusted to kill you if they are…

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Episode Recap June 14, 2013

End of Season 3

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This was a fantastic season on Game of Thrones. I really enjoyed it–for better or for worse, it certainly had some of TVs most memorable moments. I’m sad the season is over so quickly. I wasn’t sure what to do or if people will keep reading this blog now that the season is over, but I really enjoy writing the posts so I’m going to keep blogging. To prevent spoilers, my blog posts will continue focusing on events depicted in…

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Characters, War of the Roses June 12, 2013

The Late Lord Walder Frey and Thomas Stanley (Part 2)

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House Tully called Lord Frey the “Late Lord Frey” because, during Robert’s Rebellion, he delayed arriving with troops until the outcome was clear. As far as I know, however, Ralph Neville was not known for failing to provide military support. For that aspect of Lord Frey’s reputation, George RR Martin may have taken a cue from the fence-sitting Thomas Stanley. This post is continued from Historical Basis of Lord Frey. The fourth husband of Margaret Beaufort (Henry VIII’s grandmother), Stanley was…

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Characters, Hundred Years' War June 10, 2013

Historical Basis of Lord Frey

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In yesterday’s season finale of Game of Thrones, we found Lord Walder Frey sitting in his great hall matter-of-factly eating and talking to Lord Bolton while old women scrubbed the Stark’s blood off the wood floors. Lord Frey is beginning to rival Joffrey as the most reviled character in the show. He’s abrasive, hostile, lecherous, egotistical, and completely indifferent to anyone’s needs but his own. During the Red Wedding, Lord Frey coolly tells Catelyn Stark to go ahead and kill his wife….

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Real Events, War of the Roses June 9, 2013

The Red Wedding and Heworth Moor

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Episode: Season 3, Episode 9 “Rains of Castamere” While we’re all still reeling from the Red Wedding last weekend, I thought I’d follow up with the second half of the blog post I promised when I first wrote about the Red Wedding. Admittedly, I’ve been umming and ahhing about writing this post because I’m not 100% sure if I’m right. But, this blog isn’t meant to provide a “secret-decoder ring” for the history George RR Martin borrows. Admittedly, I’m only making…

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Historical Periods June 8, 2013

The Dark Ages: George RR Martin Reveals Origin of Hospitality Laws

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Episode: Season 3, Episode 9 “The Rains of Castamere” It sounds like a lot of people are still reeling from the Red Wedding and understandably so. Admittedly, I read A Storm of Swords a couple of years ago, so The Rains of Castamere was not shocking to me. But, when I figured out it would probably be Sunday, I was dreading seeing it. I really liked Catelyn and Robb. George RR Martin has been making the rounds of newspapers and…

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