Conquest and tactics, human feelings and hearts, ghost dragons, not to mention Gong Yu's endless secret history and heroic elegy. Fantasy stories circulating in Westeros and surrounding continents and islands are in full swing. The novel Fire and Ice and the TV series Game of Thrones are also very suitable for the audience.

Behind the complicated characters and the complicated plot, it will inevitably lead to deep-seated questions: Where did the vast world of ice and fire come from?

After reading this book list related to European history, we will have a more real insight into fire and ice, and where it came from.

George Raymond Richard Martin, the author of the novel, minored in medieval history during his college ·R·R·. The whole novel has been serialized to this day, and it is also full of metaphors and mappings of European history.

In the most rough thinking, Westeros is a mixed map of Europe: the northern kingdom is an eastern European region represented by Russia, with a vast territory and a cold climate. Donne's collar is a portrayal of the Iberian peninsula, with a warm and rich atmosphere of Spain and Portugal.

Eyrie in the Irene Valley is famous for its mountains and green trees, and looks like Central Europe in topography. Hejian, which connects the northern border, Casterly Rock and Irene Valley, is the region of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Even the territory of the storm site is similar to that of Italy. As for the iron islanders and sea warriors who flooded the gods, there is no doubt that they were Scandinavian vikings.

If the above is just speculation, it is even more mysterious where the fifth season of Game of Thrones, which was broadcast a few days ago, will be filmed. Dorn's Yangji City and Living Water Garden are located in Seville, Spain. Littlefinger and Sansa's journey from Elling Valley to Winterfell is the scenery of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

What is the process of race drive and integration, dynasty change and metabolism on the European continent? How similar is it to the world of ice and fire? You can refer to two introductory books.

From a macro perspective, Stavri and Anoos's General History of the World pays more attention to the "global view of history" and pays attention to the interaction between civilizations. The third part, Medieval Civilization of Eurasia, gives a rough but clear description of the mirror image of Westeros.

Accordingly, John Hearst's minimalist European history is also a shallow reader. Following the clue of Greek Hellenistic World and Roman Civilization, and taking the world of ice and fire as the background, this paper talks about the protracted battles in the Middle Ages. The interactive influence of religion and kingship explained in the book is also the theme that Martin tries to present.

Of course, the "general history" will inevitably have ink spots, and the "minimalism" also has the hidden worry of being partial, so it is quite necessary to supplement it with more detailed books. The History of Medieval Europe, co-authored by Judy Bennett and Warren hollister, is a popular textbook in many American universities. Focusing on the development of the Christian world, we don't ignore the radiation of Byzantium and Islam, and there are also chapters devoted to the formation of early countries such as Britain and France for reference.

However, although norman davis's History of Europe is controversial about the quality of translation, it deeply involves the evolution of Europe in the Middle Ages with a lot of information. The illustrated history of Cambridge is a series of three volumes about the Middle Ages, Germany, the British Empire and France, and also involves a detailed analysis of specific events.

If the comparison with Europe is only an overview, Martin's reference to British history will be more nuanced if we carefully distinguish it. In public, he once said that the early conception of fire and ice was inspired by English history, especially wars of the roses, and the archetypes in the novel had some historical projections.

Take the nobles of the seven kingdoms as an example. King Robert Baratheon at the beginning of the story, when he was young, was a warrior who wielded a hammer and killed the enemy on all sides. Together with the Arryns and the Starks, he overthrew the rule of the Targaryen family for hundreds of years. But after sitting on the iron throne, the illiterate king indulged in debauchery and was killed by a wild boar while hunting. This is very similar to Henry VIII's indulgence and death.

Tywin lannister was thin, more like/kloc-Edward the Long Leg who ruled Britain in the late 3rd century. Historically, Edward I of England was called "the brave lion", and the lion was just the family emblem of Lannister.

Daenerys targaryen, the last descendant of the royal family, is a female character, but she is similar to henry vii in history. Henry vii had an exile experience, and then he crossed the Strait with the intention of restoring the country. With the French aid, henry vii finally regained the British throne.

In the struggle and hatred of the seven forces, there was a schemer petyr baelish, who was born in poverty, but he was very clever. The Chancellor of the Exchequer became the Lord of eyrie, and his nickname was Littlefinger. Historically, this is exactly the same as Cromwell, a close minister of Henry VIII. Just as Littlefinger betrayed Catelyn Stark, Cromwell betrayed his ally anne boleyn and gradually gained the upper position.

About this past, Hilary Mantel's famous historical novel Wolf Hall, which won the Booker Prize in 2009, has a wonderful story. In June 5438+10 this year, the English drama of the same name hit hard, and it also had a good reputation.

Martin said frankly that the York family and wars of the roses led by house of lancaster provided raw materials and nutrients for fire and ice. After Robert and Ned Stark died one after another, the Lannisters supported Joffrey, Stannis and Renly raised flags to become the successors of Baratheon, Robb raised soldiers for his father to command the Northern Territory, and Baron Greyjoy of the Iron Islands also tried to take advantage of the chaos to become king.

The bonfire of the Battle of the Five Kings is like a copy of wars of the roses, in which Henry VI, King Edward V of England and Richard III died one after another and more than a dozen princes died one after another. According to records, nearly 30 thousand people were killed in the battle of Downton alone.

This history is described in detail in Michael Alexander's Three Crises in Early English History. How the Battle of the Roses interprets the evolution and dilemma of kingship, and how the relationship between monarch and minister, political system, tax system and religious forces play a game are also fully explained.

In contrast, FLTRP's English-Chinese bilingual encyclopedia Britain in the Middle Ages focuses on the dynasty change from 1066 to 1485, the expansion and contraction of the territory, the overthrow and reconstruction of the dynasty, and outlines smooth clues. The History of Oxford, edited by Kenneth Morgan, points out the origin and trend of English medieval history in a broader dimension.

If you are interested in exploring the essence and laws behind historical events, Marc Bloch, the founder of yearbook school, has a great book, Feudal Society, which is also a rare reference.

In addition to history, Fire and Ice also focuses on the fantasy world beyond human nature, tactics and war. Martin said that he was a fan of ted williams's Memories, Sorrow and Thorns, and his works were also inspired by Williams.

How to deal with the magical elements in the transcendental segment is the most difficult place to write fantasy stories. To this end, Martin chewed Tolkien's works repeatedly and carefully handled the relationship between magic and stories.

Without the history, religion and culture of the above books, it would be difficult for fire and ice to achieve today's magnificent appearance. If you are familiar with the history of Europe and medieval England, you will have a deeper understanding of Westeros and Bravos.

The boundary between documentary and novel has always been the reader himself. With the focal length of both close-range and distant view, a magnificent epic can show different charm.

It's interesting to see the world like this. WeChat official account: Fu Kick Kick WeChat ID:futeeetee.