Memory and Medievalism in George RR Martin and Game of Thrones

Carolyne Larrington is Professor of Medieval Literature at University of Oxford, UK. She is the author of The Women’s Companion to Mythology (1997), Morgan and her Sisters in Arthurian Tradition (2006), The Land of the Green Man (2015) and Winter is Coming (2015), among others.Anna Czarnowus is Associate Professor in the faculty of the Humanities at University of Silesia, Poland. She is the co-editor, along with M. J. Toswell, of Medievalism in English Canadian Literature: From Richardson to Atwood (2020).

This new collection brings together a series of rich, insightful studies which dissect the work of George R.R. Martin and its wider impact and legacy. The contributions to this collection demonstrate how so many vital elements of the medieval world from the mundane aspects of religion, trade, finance, and academia to the glories of chivalry and tournaments, resonate in A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones. From analysing the role of key characters like Cersei Lannister and Sandor Clegane to exploring underlying elements such as masculine sexuality and violence, issues of disability or the role of emotionality, this collection has something for every reader including both fans of Martin’s writing and the wider works which it has inspired or scholars and student of the Middle Ages.

• IntroductionPart I – Memory1. On Medieval Dream Tradition in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire Bartlomiej Blaszkiewicz (University of Warsaw, Poland)2. The Medievalist Emotional Economy in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire Anna Czarnowus (University of Silesia, Poland)Part II – Reimagining History3. George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and Maurice Druon’s Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings) Carolyne Larrington (University of Oxford, UK)4. Broken Bodies, Broken Kingdoms, Broken Promises: The Revolutionary Failure of A Game of Thrones Robert Rouse (University of British Columbia, Canada) and Cory Rushton (St Francis Xavier University, Canada)Part III – Faith and Salvation5. The Dog, the Cynic, and the Saint: The Case of Sandor Clegane Thomas Honegger (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany)6. The Figure of George R.R. Martin’s Septon Meribald and the Franciscan Legacy Maria Blaszkiewicz University of Warsaw, Poland)Part IV – Key Institutions7. The Citadel and the Ivory Tower: Academia and Education in Westeros Mikayla Hunter (University of Oxford, UK)8. The Iron Bank Will Have Its Due: Trade and Economics in Game of Thrones Caroline Batten (University of Oxford, UK)Part V – Chivalry: Theory and Practice9. The Warrior(s) in Crisis: The Knights of Westeros and the Process of Civilization Anja Müller (Siegen University, Germany)10. Tournaments and Judicial Duels in George R.R. Martin’s The World of Ice & Fire and A Song of Ice and Fire Przemyslaw Grabowski-Górniak (Independent Scholar, Poland)Part VI - The HBO Effect: Violence and Misogyny11. From Romance to Rape: The Portrayal of Masculine Sexuality in Game of Thrones Kristina Hildebrand (Halmstad University, Sweden)12. The Case of Cersei Lannister: Neomedievalist Misogyny in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire Sylwia Borowska-Szerszun (University of Bialystok, Poland)Index