While being gifted with great wit and cunning by a bemused Bard, he is written as an unambiguous evil devil who has been left “deformed, unfinish’d” by his maker.
Perhaps most infamously damning is how Shakespeare projected the king in Richard III. Renowned 16th century historian Thomas More, a man for all seasons, likewise described Richard as being “little of stature” and appearing outwardly grotesque in accordance with a twisted inner-nature. In History of the Kings of England, published during the successive reign of Richard’s enemy and destroyer, this small in stature Yorkist king is described as having a hunchback, as well as a stunted body and distorted features due to spending two years in his mother’s womb before exiting with fully grown teeth and long hair in tow. Despite contemporary historian John Rous initially praising Richard during his reign as a “good lord,” he quickly changed his tune in the following years. If legend and critics are to be believed, this king of short rule (two years) and even slighter stature should be remembered a hideous monster by all measurements. Like when Tyrion was appointed to Hand of the King in season 2 of Game of Thrones, Richard III promoted a number of programs for the betterment of the “small folk.” Not bad. Richard III also introduced the concept of bail to Britain in 1484 to keep the accused out of prison and from having their property stolen he likewise banned restrictions on the printing press during his tenure and also chartered the College of Arms, which is still in use today. Read more: The Real History of Game of Thrones – Wildfire To recount everything that those wars were about, and how Martin borrowed from them, is an article unto itself ( which you can click on here!), but in the case of Tyrion’s influence, it comes near the very end of the long struggle about who is the rightful heir to the House Plantagenet Dynasty, the House of Lancaster or House of York (sound familiar yet?). And this all the more ironic since he is based on an English king who has traditonally been cast, even by Shakespeare, in the role of tragic villain.Īye, like so much else in Game of Thrones, Tyrion finds his roots in the War of the Roses, a 30-year series of small and bloody English civil wars during the mid-15th century that serves as the greatest basis of influence on ASOIAF. Even in the case of Tyrion Lannister, who might feature the yarn’s biggest heart despite his smaller size. Oh sure, they can have dragons and White Walkers, and whatever it is Bran’s supposed to be, but in the end, Martin’s stories about Westeros often serve as a crash course in the worst of humanity. Martin, be they on the page with “A Song of Ice and Fire” or on a television screen in Game of T hrones, is that they’re hardly fantasies at all. The not-so-hidden secret about the fantasies of George R.R.
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