Textual research on the historical prototype of the novel is like guessing the girl's weight: you can only guess the approximate value forever, but you can't get the final truth; The weight holder, like the author, can veto with one vote. Originally, novels are fiction, and Nabokov hates critics asking "which characters allude to which truth", so we don't have to hold on to the persistence of some domestic redologists and say something casually.
In Game of Thrones, the geographical background of the times is roughly in medieval Europe, about15th century. Of course, it can't be said to be conclusive. For example, in the original work, everyone in Westeros eats potatoes, and Donne also produces peppers. This corresponds to the era of great navigation in Europe. In fact, by the 65438+ 1960 s, the French were still saying that "only pigs and British people eat potatoes in the world." As for Si Nuo's statement that northerners have defended the North for 8,000 years, which dwarfs the 5,000-year-old civilization of China and Egypt, it is still the same sentence: Don't take it too seriously, just take the big one.
The late medieval characteristics of the Game of Thrones era are reflected in the following details:
Not mechanical civilization; Medicine is quite superstitious; The city of learning has a bachelor's degree, much like the scholastic philosopher in the late Middle Ages and the university town in the early years, but the rampant witch doctor like Mr. Du Ben is also chilling. Pain relief basically depends on poppy milk, so everyone looks unkempt because there is no modern sanitary conditions.
Neither books nor plays describe gunpowder and artillery. If we consider that the Japanese used matchlock guns in the war in16th century, we have to say that the world view of ice and fire will not be later than that of Europe in15th century. Long swords are widely used in one-on-one combat, and they are still in the era of cold weapons; There are plate armour, but it is not popular. Only nobles wear them. Crossbows are very popular. At the bloody wedding, Frey shot the king of the Northern Territory with a crossbow. Later, the little devil made a crossbow and killed his dear father in the toilet. It can be seen that at that time, Chibi used crossbows instead of guns, and Sun Quan, played by Zhang zhen, used bows and arrows instead of guns, which was similar.
In terms of architectural style, the buildings in the world of ice and fire are basically the characteristics of the late Middle Ages, majestic but rough; What is worth mentioning is the tapestry of Winterfell. The art of tapestry in the Middle Ages came from aristocratic castles and was invented by the British before the Renaissance. What about the stone houses in continental Europe? Had to use tapestries. After the Renaissance, nobles no longer lived in castles, and tapestries were no longer popular. Donne's flowing water garden is set in Seville Palace, which was built at the latest during the Renaissance.
(I went in April 20 15, hmm)
Speaking of feudal lords, this thing is the most characteristic in the late Middle Ages. The vassals, vows and subordination of Lord Westeros are dazzling. Small princes listened to big princes, big princes listened to the king, Robert died, Renly and Stannis grabbed the family inheritance: these are typical feudal characteristics, and China people who are used to centralized monarchy may be a little confused, but it is much easier to understand by looking at the historical background of China in the Spring and Autumn Period: Qin Mugong once betrothed his daughter to Jin Wengong to help him restore the country; Jin Wengong led the combined forces of Song, Qi and Qin, and the battle of Chengpu defeated Chu. Similarly, Frey betrothed his daughter to Robb, who led the northern Coalition forces to find the misfortune of the Lannisters. Such is feudalism.
When it is mentioned in the novel that Egon the conqueror conquered seven continents, its prototype is naturally that William the conqueror conquered Britain in English history 1066. Although the map of Westeros looks like Britain, and even the capital King's Landing looks like London from a distance, on the whole, the seven countries are quite colorful. Westeros is more like a mixture of British Isles and Western Europe.
Let's start with the northernmost one.
The Great Wall of Despair is located in the northernmost part of the seven kingdoms, to resist ghosts and savages. The prototype of this place is obviously the Hadrian Great Wall in Rome, which resists the "barbarians beyond the Great Wall" in the Roman concept. When the Romans occupied England, they built the Great Wall 100 kilometers long and 5 meters high for the northwest border of Rome to resist the barbarians. Of course, Hadrian's Great Wall can't even compare with the towering and formidable Great Wall in the play, so there must be some China elements here, and the Great Wall in China is mixed. After all, the Great Wall in English has a special meaning.
The northern region, from the topography alone, is Scotland or northern England; But there are two details worthy of attention. First, the northern area is huge, almost equal to the sum of the other six countries; The winter is long and the utensils are desolate; You Lannisters all admit that the northern border is almost impenetrable. The northern position is so lofty, it seems that it is still Scotland, with a little Russian flavor. Western Europe is quite afraid of Russia: after all, Sweden, Napoleon and Hitler all invaded Russia and were beaten out by the vastness and coldness of Russia. Napoleon said that "the most powerful general in Russia is Winterfell", but Stannis tried to attack Winterfell and lost his wife and daughter. Theon once occupied Winterfell, and was captured alive by Ramsey, who brutally ravaged him into a smelly guy. The northern border is a fighting nation, not for fun.
It's not hard to guess the Iron Islands: when pirates travel north and south, they have a family motto of no farming, no weaving and no production, and the authentic Viking style: that is Scandinavian tribes.
The soil around Hejian is fertile, but there are frequent wars. You come and go, and the terrain is trivial and complicated. Small lords rampage, just like the Rhine Valley and the Trident River in the Middle Ages. Think of it as the Rhine. In the play, most people in this place drink ale instead of wine, and most residents are short and heavy, that's what it means. South of Hejian is the tomb, near south-central Germany.
The western territory of the Lannister family is more like the British Isles to Western Europe to the seven countries: there are many ports and rich minerals. More obviously, the symbol of Lannister is a lion, which is also a symbol of Britain. Duke Tywin and his incestuous golden twins are both blond British aristocrats. The whole family is pretentious and pretentious, and indeed looks like the British Empire. But if you think about it carefully, you will find Martin's malice: the Lannisters, like the British Empire, were crowned by the wise SHEN WOO of Taiwen, but then the minerals were hollowed out and forced to marry, Zhan Mu broke his hand, Cersei walked naked, and Tyrion ran around. It is said that the Starks are miserable, but at least a few children are still alive. It's sad that Tywin died in the toilet, especially malicious.
Donne's scene in the play is the palace in Seville, Spain: Donne is located in the southwest. The book describes that peppers and fruits are rich, men are romantic, women are hot, and southern customs are like this. It's completely Iberian style, the combination of Portugal and Spain, and it seems that there is a little bit of Mexico. The illegitimate daughter of Prince oberon-Matre is named Sand Snakes, which is equivalent to several desert areas in Spain. At Zi's wedding, his old man kept a straight face to keep his heart from jumping. He boasted about how Donne's fashion was open and how illegitimate daughters were not discriminated against. Cersei was unhappy when she heard it. This is probably the British view of Spain: she was born with contempt and envied and hated in her heart. Bronn the goat is more enlightened. She sang how good Donne's girl was, so she got some good luck. Who said that the two princes, oberon and Dao Lang, were dressed in a little Arabic style and smelled oriental? Yes, Spain was colonized by Muslim Moors for seven or eight hundred years.
Because of the difficulties of birds, this valley is almost insurmountable. It is located in the southeast of the seven countries, facing the narrow sea, just as the Alps are in the southeast of western Europe, close to the Mediterranean. Mrs. Lysa has a strong desire for love. On the night of her wedding to Littlefinger, she ran screaming all over the mountain. On the one hand, it is true that Mr. Ailin, the ex-husband, is too old to be satisfied; On the one hand, this is well documented. In the Middle Ages, Europeans thought that alpine women were very hungry, and the French joked that they could "crush walnuts" naked. According to an old legend, William, Duke of Aquitaine, crossed the Alps and was imprisoned in a castle by two ladies for a week. During this period, William ate a lot of female chicken and spices to please the two ladies. Therefore, Littlefinger is not easily squeezed by Lady Lysa in the play. He pushed Mrs. Lysa to the next door, not necessarily without the sigh that "there is no arable land, only dead-tired cows"
Agriculture in the river bend is developed, flowers are everywhere, and people are romantic and lively. This place is close to France. Highgarden is about equal to Paris. The Hundred Flowers Knight and the little rose of Queen Foucault grew up in Paris, full of flowers and luxury. Renly's stormy place is very similar to Italy: close to the narrow sea (Mediterranean), the shipping industry is developed. Winsburg can be regarded as Rome. Of course, if you think about the sexual orientation of Hundred Flowers Knight and Renly, and combine real French and Italian men, it is also very strange to think of it. The previous generation of men in Tilea generally didn't take care of things, and all the big ideas were taken away by the Queen of Thorns and the Rose, which was wrong to think of.
In contrast, Dragonstone Island is miserable, just like malta island: although it is suitable for people like Stannis to send troops, nothing comes out; Historically, Malta is indeed like a Longyan Island: it is a paradise for smugglers like the Onion Knight. Imagine: If you are Stannis, watching your brother become the king of Europe in Berlin, your brother playing happily with the Flower Knight in Rome, and you are squatting in Malta, you will feel resentful and even superstitious about the girl in red, and you will not hesitate to fight for the throne.
Although everyone knows George? 9? Fire and Ice, written by R.R. Martin, is based on wars of the roses in British history. But he obviously thinks that Britain is a tiny place, and the place is not big enough, so he wants to use the whole of Europe as a stage for the seven countries. A simple comparison is: William the Conqueror conquered the whole of Britain in history, with less than 10 thousand troops; As a Lannister, Zhan Mu, the kingslayer, was captured by Robb in World War I, and his army exceeded 12000. It was indeed a big map, and the scale of the war was also large, which made the British people addicted to "our place is small, but we can also fight epic battles."
The first part talks about the seven countries of Westeros, which basically correspond to the western European world, that is, to the west of the Alps; The narrow sea is the Mediterranean in the real world. Further east, the continent of Essos is the East in the European concept. It must be said here that Greece and the Balkans now belong to Europe and should be a family. But in the Middle Ages, this place first belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire, and then it was divided by Muslims for a long time. In the British worldview, Central Europe goes east, the old Eastern Roman Empire and Muslim places are all regarded as the East.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Monte Cristo puts on airs and says that he wants to live and enjoy life like an oriental and find a Greek slave. At that time, everyone in the Great Qing Dynasty must be thinking: What is bothering you in the western world that hinders us in the East?
Speaking of El Soto, nine trading city-states are the most popular. In the TV series, these places look prosperous and colorful, full of wine, wine pools and meat forests. Compared with the dusty Westeros, it really makes people feel very happy, and it is easy to make people feel "Dragon Mother, why are you still going to the West?" You just eat and drink here to form a harem for the rest of your life. "
The prototype of a free trade city-state should be the famous ports in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf in the real world: Naples, Venice, Basra and so on. It is said that before risorgimento, the city-states were fragmented, nominally controlled by the Pope, but actually tore at each other. Jiang Bologna, a famous sculptor in Florence during the Renaissance, made his own sculptures to describe the situation, relying on Florence and urban warfare next door, and became famous in one fell swoop. Michelangelo also designed guard equipment for Florence and Bologna to deal with the Pope. Most port cities have regional autonomy, prosperous shipping, mutual independence and communication, and so on.
Among the nine city-states, the most famous is Bravos, and the prototype of this place is obvious: Venice. A few obvious details:
There is an iron bank in Braavos, and Venice is one of the founders of early European banking. It is recognized that the Bank of Venice, 1 17 1 year, is the first modern bank in the world.
◆ Arya's fencing master Cirio is from Bravos. He taught Arya the dance of water. This fencing is not practical, but exquisite. As we all know, Venice is a water city and loves dancing.
In the play, Arya goes to the dock to sell oysters, which is a real Venetian flavor.
◆ Assassin organization is a god of thousands of faces. In Bravos, human skin masks emerge one after another. As you know, Venice is the land of masks.
In contrast, the embryonic form of other city-states is not obvious. Pantos's huge city walls and dense crowds have the flavor of Constantinople. Mill's carpet and lens are a bit like Laguza in earlier years, but it's enough to stop.
Slave Bay corresponds to Benin Bay in West Africa. The legendary evil triangle trade was launched here, and a large number of slaves were transported and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, there is also a little Egyptian color here. The Great Pyramid of Mirin, authentic Egyptian style; The harpy is a typical Egyptian god of thought: human beings fight animals. For example, Anubis in Egypt, who is responsible for weighing people's hearts, is a wolf's head; Not to mention the sphinx; The picture of the Egyptian god of war shows that the eagle-headed man and the eagle-headed banshee are simply a pair. Therefore, when the dragon mother sat in the pyramid and recited a long list of titles, she was paying tribute to Cleopatra when she arbitrated the lamb burned black by her dragon. Sure enough, all queens belong to mutual appreciation.
The dragon mother's guard is unsullied, armed with pike and shield, which at first glance looks like a classic Macedonian phalanx; But the unsullied are castrated, which is even more pitiful. Here is a very oriental detail: Europeans always think that castration is only suitable for orientals, so unsullied people can be regarded as authentic eastern soldiers. In the history of the real world, there were many eunuchs in the Eastern Roman Empire, and there was also a eunuch named Narcissus. Non-punitive castration accepted by the ancient western European world was generally only used for eunuchs and singers.
Valeria in "The Dragon Mother chatters like a bean shooter" is very close to ancient Greece in the European concept:
The first era is far away, the second is highly civilized, the third is superb in language learning, and the fourth is only ruins to mourn. Medieval Europeans thought that ancient Greece was the golden age and Rome was the silver age, so there was no need to worship it as a myth in the world of ice and fire. As for how Varelia's steel sword is invincible and how he is afraid of ghosts, it is somewhat similar to the superstition of ancient magic soldiers in China's martial arts novels, but it is inevitable to say one more thing here: Ned Stark, who was holding Varelia's steel sword, was beheaded, and his sword was melted and turned into two, which were given to Joffrey and Zhan Mu respectively. As a result, Joffrey took the sword at the wedding and dominated the sky; Si Nuo hacked to death a strange ghost with Varelia steel sword, and he was stabbed to death in a few episodes; Fortunately, Zhan Mu couldn't hold Valeria Steel Sword because of a broken right hand, which means Valeria Steel Sword is really unlucky.
The dragon mother's husband's family is composed of many tribes in Slak, which is the concentrated imagination of westerners on nomadic people. The dragon mother, the horse's husband, Zhuo Gekao, thick eye shadow and muscle knots, and My Sun and Stars, all combine the European impressions of Huns and Mongols. As we all know, Mongolian Khan is Khan, and the khal is written as khal.
At that time, Mongolians were all over the world, soldiers went straight to eastern Europe, and Europeans were afraid of it; As early as 800 years ago in Genghis Khan, the Huns, led by Attila, the whip of God, once tortured Europe to the bare.
Historically, Valentinian, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, had a sister named Hongnuoliu. The princess's sister Wang gave the ring to Attila, the barbarian leader at that time, and proposed to Attila. She asked Emperor Valentinian to cede half of the Western Roman Empire to herself. This incident later aroused hatred between Xiongnu and Rome, and finally came to the battle of Sharon, which made both western Rome and Xiongnu lose. If Hong Nuo here is replaced by Jackie Chan and Attila is replaced by Drogo, of course, in real history, Attila did not marry Hong Nuoliu in the end. It's just that he just married another wife in history and died in the bridal chamber. Even barbarian kings can't live a happy life.
Melisandre, the most enchanting beauty in this film, comes from the distant summer of Southeast Asia (Asshai) and serves the King of Light. She talks about how sacred fire is every day, and then barbecues the living. Who asked: What happened to this sect?
A: Looking to the southeast, the European continent is almost the West Asia in our perspective, and that place is Persia. What is the most famous religion in Persia? China replied: Zoroastrianism. What's the use of Zoroastrianism? Flame, this is not, where are the six sects besieged? Guangmingding At that time, Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao were separated, and they had planned to "burn my mutilated body and burn it"!
So the prototype of the King of Light worshipped by melisandre is probably Zoroastrianism in Persia; She may be like Xiao Zhao herself, a Zoroastrian saint.
Unfortunately, we can't travel through novels. Otherwise, melisandre will move in a Gankun, or simply call Zoroastrianism in Middle-earth to help. Zhang Wuji follows the light, the four great French kings, the five-element flag scattered, Tu Longdao, and the eternal sword used together. Two days later, Westeros calmed down.
Of course, the suspense will turn into Zhang Wuji's hand to slay the dragon, and the story of whether the dragon mother and the three dragons can be slaughtered will be endless!