Carolyne
Larrington, Winter is Coming: The
Medieval World of Game of Thrones. London: I. B. Tauris, 2016.
Reviewed by Stephen Basdeo
(1408016@leedstrinity.ac.uk)
The
book and television series Game of
Thrones will likely be familiar to medieval scholars. With another television
series planned for this year, and at least two more books from Martin which are
due to be published, the Game of Thrones
mania is unlikely to fade soon. There have obviously been books published about
the show before, but these have mostly been companion pieces to the television
series, concerned chiefly with the production of the show. Carolyne Larrington’s
Winter is Coming, however, is ‘what
happens when a scholar of medieval literature and culture watches the HBO show Game of Thrones and reads George R. R.
Martin’s series, A Song of Ice and Fire’
(p. xiii). The aim of the books is not, however, to ‘chase up Martin’s sources
or to spot direct influences on […] the show’ (Ibid). Rather, Larrington uses Game of Thrones as a window through
which she teaches the reader about the medieval period, and she does it
effectively. As there is currently no work of a similar kind on Martin’s books
or the show, Winter is Coming therefore
breaks new ground for medievalists.
Larrington
bases her work upon both Martin’s books and the television show which, she
says, in the terms that medieval scholars use, might now be spoken of as ‘two
different recensions’ (Ibid). When Larrington refers to the ‘series’, she is
referring to the narrative as manifested across television and print (p. xiv). Following
the introduction there are five chapters; chapter one discusses the social
customs, manners, and ideology of the people across the ‘known world’. After
the introductory chapter Larrington adopts the persona of a travel writer:
chapter two discusses the North of Westeros, from Winterfell to the Wall; the
third chapter examines King’s Landing and the southern parts of Westeros; in the
last two chapters Larrington takes the reader beyond the narrow sea, travelling
to places such as the Free City of Braavos and the Dothraki homelands.
The
first chapter is an engaging and lively discussion of the social codes which
exist in the known world of Game of
Thrones, and sets the scene for the discussions of the regions of the known
world that follow. Almost beguilingly Larrington moves from discussing the
world of Game of Thrones to teaching
the reader about actual medieval manners and customs. There is the example in
the first chapter of the use of patronymics in the series:
When a man
identifies himself as his father’s son he makes clear his lineage and offers
one good reason why he should be respected: Shagga of the Stone Crows feels
that it’s imperative to make clear on every possible occasion that he is the
son of Dolf […] Before the emergence of surnames, and indeed still in modern
Iceland, a patronymic was the only way to distinguish someone from others
bearing the same given name (pp.14-15).
Larrington
then proceeds to discuss examples of patronymics being used in tales such as Beowulf (Ibid). It is brief discussions
such as these that the non-specialist reader will find most useful. Usually in
academic monographs, it is assumed that the reader has prior knowledge in
regard to small details such as these, and it is therefore nice to have these
types of things explained.
After
discussing the social codes of medieval Europe through the lens of Westeros and
Essos, Larrington takes the reader first to the north, beginning at Winterfell,
the home of House Stark. Ned Stark’s dominion over Winterfell, she argues, is
much more like the dominion that an Anglo-Saxon Earl had over his people,
rather than the later medieval models of kingship which prevail in King’s Landing (p.57). Indeed, the cold
North is a place for warriors, not knights. It is an austere place, and its
inhabitants, such as Ned Stark, disapprove of the pageantry and decadence of
those in the southern capital of King’s Landing (Ibid). The contrasts between
the ruling powers of the North and South of Westeros thus provide Larrington
with an effective entry point for a discussion of the differences in Anglo-Saxon
and Norman power structures.
Larrington
does not confine herself to simply discussing the various historical sources
which undoubtedly gave Martin, and the show’s creators, inspiration in creating
their medieval world. She also points out various aspects of the series which
have relevance to today, particularly in her discussion of the phrase ‘Winter
is Coming’. In Westeros, winters last for years, evoking memories of the Norse fimbulvetr, the mighty winter which is
the precursor to ragnarok (p.96). But
as Larrington points out, the population shifts which ensue as a result of a
coming winter in Game of Thrones –
where the wildlings seek refuge behind the wall – are a timely reminder for our
own day of the humanitarian crises that will inevitably occur as a result of
climate change (p.96). Furthermore, Larrington also points out where the
medieval world conjured by Martin and the show’s creators diverges from its
source material. This is particularly highlighted by her discussion of the role
of religion in the books and the television show. For example, while the Faith
of the Seven, with its priests and ceremonies, does bear some relation to
medieval Catholicism, the class system of Westeros does not appear to have any
theological underpinning (p.18).
While
both the books and the television series of Game
of Thrones are thought to be ‘medieval’ stories, one of the surprising
facts that Larrington brings to light is just how many non-medieval sources the
series takes inspiration from. As she points out, Martin bases some characters
and some events upon early modern sources. The character of Brienne of Tarth,
for instance, is perhaps founded upon two tales of female knights from the late
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: Bradamante in the two Italian romances Innamorato (1495) and Orlando Furioso (1516), and Britomart
from Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene (1590s)
(p.32). In addition, Margery Tyrell’s plight – a queen having been accused of
adultery and imprisoned – is reminiscent of that faced by Anne Boleyn (p.111). The
King’s Court at King’s Landing is also more reminiscent of a Tudor Court, with
its knights, ladies, king’s guards, and jesters rather than the itinerant court
of an earlier medieval monarch (p.103-104). Some events in the series are a
fusion of medieval and modern sources. The infamous ‘Red Wedding’, for
instance, in which the remaining members of House Stark are massacred by Walder
Frey, is based upon both Geoffrey Chaucer’s Man
of Law’s Tale and the Glencoe Massacre of 1692 (pp.36-37). Thus although
Larrington does not say, Martin in some instances is following in the footsteps
of Georgian and Victorian medievalists in utilising a combination of both
medieval and early modern sources.
Indeed,
one thing which would have added to Larrington’s discussion would have been a brief
discussion of Martin’s works in context with past medievalist writers. Martin
is heir to a long and prestigious line of popular authors from Sir Walter Scott
who, in the words of John Henry Newman, ‘first turned men’s minds in the
direction of the Middle Ages’ with his novel Ivanhoe (1819).[1] Scott’s novel indeed has
also been cited by Martin himself as a major inspiration to him.[2] Similarly there is J. R.
R. Tolkien who, with his Lord of the
Rings (1954-55), has been designated as the ‘father’ of the modern fantasy
epic.[3] It is important to note,
however, that the absence of such a discussion in no way detracts from
Larrington’s work.
Larrington
is obviously a fan of the show, and this comes through in her work. It is in
the epilogue where she really shows how much of a ‘fan girl’ she is by
speculating as to where the series might go next, and how it might end. Will
the Iron Throne be occupied by Bran or Rickon (their stories being perhaps
reminiscent of Havelock the Dane)? Or will Daenerys Targaryen ‘break the wheel’
by regaining her birthright? Of course, Larrington is not Martin, but she
prophesies that Game of Thrones will
most likely end like a typical medieval romance. There will be a Targaryen
restoration, a wedding to an heir who’s technically a Targaryen, a limited
degree of social reform in Westeros, as well as the restitution of Stark lands.
Only time will tell if Larrington is correct in this matter.
In
conclusion, Larrington’s work takes us on a journey through the known world of Game of Thrones. It is a work which will
be of most use to medievalists – those who study later representations of the
medieval period. Larrington’s engaging and accessible style, however, means
that this book will have a wide appeal, most obviously to members of the
general public who are fans of the show. Finally, for those who do not wish to
read the book in case they come across any ‘spoilers’, Larrington has marked
where spoilers appear in the book by placing the image of a raven in the
margin. As a companion to the show and an introduction to medieval history,
therefore, Larrington’s work is thoroughly recommended. At a time when
humanities scholars are increasingly being asked to further their engagement
with the public, Larrington has hit upon a winning formula: she uses popular
culture as a window through which she can educate and inform the public about
medieval history.
Stephen Basdeo
Leeds
Trinity University
[1] John Henry Newman cited in Alice
Chandler, ‘Sir Walter Scott and the Medieval Revival’, Nineteenth-Century Fiction 19.4 (1965), 315-332 (315).
[2] Geoffrey McNab, ‘Song of Ice and
Fire author George RR Martin on success, chess and the wrath of superfans’ The Independent, 8 August 2014.
[3] Margaret Drabble (ed.) The Oxford companion to English Literature
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), p.352.
