Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin has shared some of the historical influences behind the upcoming HBO show House of the Dragon, which is based on his novel Fire and Blood. As part of the SDCC panel on the show, Martin said he gets inspiration from history and turns it up to 11.
"Game of Thrones, as I’ve said, was based on the Wars of the Roses," Martin said. "[House of the Dragon] was based on an earlier period in history called the Anarchy. I pilfered freely from history. When Henry I, when his only legitimate son drowned, he was left with his own legitimate child Matilda, he made her heir and then made his lords swear their fealty to her. Then when he died, her cousin came in and there was this big war that she wound up fighting for decades."
“I get inspiration from history and I turn it up to 11.” – George R. R. Martin #HOTDSDCC #HouseoftheDragon
— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) July 23, 2022
The real-life war between Empress Matilda and Henry I's nephew Stephen of Blois seems to mirror the events that will unfold in House of the Dragon, which similarly takes place hundreds of years before Game of Thrones.
In this story, there's a power struggle between King Viserys Targaryen's brother and daughter that leads to the civil war known as the Dance of Dragons. In House of Dragons, that conflict will play out between Emma D'Arcy's Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Matt Smith's Prince Daemon Targaryen. When asked why Westeros has such a problem with queens, Martin said the answer lies in history.
"That was the inspiration there," Martin said. "I don’t think Westeros is any more anti-woman than real life. What we call actual history."
It's been a busy week for House of the Dragon already. We got a brand new trailer a few days ago that honed in on the queenly conflict at the heart of the prequel. We learned the series will incorporate multiple time skips, that it may serve as a foundation for other Westeros stories, and that its redesigned Iron Throne includes 2,500 swords. We also learned about some of the other unused Game of Thrones prequel ideas, and spotted a handful of new stills from the show.