No Historical Figures Were Harmed / A Song of Ice and Fire

Yes, this series has so many examples of this trope that we had to create a page just for it. Despite being a fantasy saga, George R. R. Martin grounds his work on a foundation of Historical Fiction, which he channels to evoke important social and political elements of The Middle Ages and The Renaissance, and taking example from historical characters and their fictional portrayal for the main characters.

As always, beware of spoilers.

House Stark

• House Stark as a whole is based on the House of York, a cadet branch of the House of Plantagenet that fought the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses. Like the Yorkists, the Starks are from the northern region of a kingdom like
• Eddard Stark:
  • Like Richard, Duke of York, his death in the early Wars of the Roses as a result of Margaret d'Anjou (a Cersei inspiration) sparked the Cycle of Revenge when his sons avenged him. His body was also beheaded and submitted to a mocking Decapitation Presentation, with the Duke of York having his head outfitted with a paper crown. His young son, the young Edward IV (an inspiration for Robb Stark) marches to war to avenge his death.
  • Like Ned, Richard III, Duke of Gloucester was popular and loved by Northern England for being a fair lawgiver and defender of their homeland. Richard of Gloucester was also named by Edward IV (a Robert Baratheon inspiration) as Regent of his children and tried to prove his children as bastards. Ned was also framed as a usurper and submitted to an in-Westeros Historical Villain Upgrade by his enemies, which is believed, by some historians, to have happened to Gloucester. On top of that, after his death, Richard was defended through whispered oral tradition well into the Tudor era and beyond, not unlike whispers of "The North remembers."
  • Also reminiscent of George VI, a second son who was never expected to rule, but was pushed into the role by unforeseen circumstances, and almost immediately had to lead his people through a major war. Both were quiet and shy as young men, and dealt with a lot of insecurity about their new positions, but nonetheless became much-beloved rulers. Also have daughters who are almost polar opposites.
  • Martin has said that Ned is also based on William Hastings, a close friend of Edward IV, who is an inspiration for Robert Baratheon. Hastings sought to remove his friend's children from the line of succession of the suspicion that they were bastards, as Ned did, and summoned one of Edward's/Robert's brothers to take the throne in their place. Despite Hastings's scheme being successful unlike Ned's, they were both betrayed and unceremoniously executed.
• Lyanna Stark:
  • Helen of Troy. A famously beautiful young woman engaged to one man, who either ran away or was kidnapped by another, no-one's quite sure, starting a devastating civil war.
  • Lucretia, whose rape by the son of the last King of Rome prompted his deposition by her husband, just as Lynanna's abduction by the son of the king of Westeros prompts his deposition by her fiancée.
  • It's possibly coincidental, but her skill as a horsewoman and Rebellious Princess tendencies, and the widespread grief at her early death makes her somewhat reminiscent of Charlotte, Princess of Wales (daughter of George IV). If the common fanon that Lyanna rebelled against her Arranged Marriage and married for love, only to die in childbirth not long after, is true, this parallel is even closer.
  • Lady Eleanor Talbot Butler: Lady Eleanor was a young widow who is believed the be the woman referenced in the document used by Richard III to nullify the marriage of his brother and Elizabeth Woodville and clear his way to the throne. Edward was thought to have married her, much in the way he did with Woodville, because she withheld sex from him until they were married. Some have speculated, without evidence, that she may have had a child by Edward and this child would have been heir to the throne. If anyone would have known about it, it would have been Edward's best friend Will Hastings, an inspiration for Ned Stark.
• Catelyn Stark:
  • Has a lot in common with Catherine of Aragon. Both beautiful redheads. Both betrothed to heirs, Brandon Stark and Arthur Tudor, of a realm who wouldn't usually marry someone from their land (Northerners typically marrying among themselves, whereas Spain was new to great power status at the time of Catherine and Arthur's betrothal, and the kings of England had typically married French princesses instead). Both their betrotheds died young, leading them to be married to their younger brothers instead. Both were politically astute (Catherine even serving as de facto Spanish ambassador to England for a time). Both were Mama Bears devoted to protecting their children's inheritance. Both were deeply pious, Cat being a devoted follower of the Faith of the Seven, the counterpart to the Roman Catholic Church Catherine followed. Luckily, Cat's marriage to Ned turned out a lot more happily than Catherine's did to Henry VIII.
  • Catelyn also resembles, Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, the matriarch of the York family and wife of Richard of York, one of the inspirations for Ned Stark. She was the mother of a large brood of children and was a devout woman fiercely devoted to the York cause and her husband and her family. She was incensed when her son Edward IV married for love and had much conflict with her daughter-in-law. Known as Proud Cis, her husband was killed at the battle of Wakefield and her son Edmund murdered via stabbing shortly thereafter, with the Lancastrians desecrating their corpses. Cecily is also thought to have favored her son George, over Edward, with rumors circulating that Edward was illegitimate.
• Robb Stark:
  • To the young King Edward IV, whose marriage to Elizabeth Woodville alienated his supporter Warwick the Kingmaker enough to betray him. In real life, Edward IV dodged that bullet, but Robb Stark pays a steep price.
  • His life as a Young Conqueror genius tactician from Grim Up North who dies as the result of betrayal may also remind one of Charles XII of Sweden.
  • He leads a rebellion against the crown, trying to secede the Northern half of the kingdom, like William Wallace (yes, the one from Braveheart). It helps that the North is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Scotland and Northern England, while the Westerlands are one to Southern England. Also, we have Tywin Lannister sharing many traits with King Edward Longshanks, while Robb shares his name with the first Scottish king after the interregnum, Robert the Bruce. Not to mention that like Wallace Robb was betrayed by an ally and killed, letting Tywin Lannister (just like Edward Longshanks) win the war.
  • He also shares some traits with Edmund, the Earl of Rutland, was Edward IV's younger brother whose death may have partially inspired the Red Wedding. After his father was killed in battle, seventeen-year-old Edmund was allegedly stabbed to death while an unarmed prisoner and, like his father, his body desecrated.
• Arya Stark:
  • Her being a Rebellious Princess and tomboy, her family being (seemingly) massacred, her disappearance and deep confusion over whether or not she survived, and having an obvious impostor claiming to be her, makes her more than a little reminiscent of Anastasia Romanova.
  • Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy was the youngest daughter of Richard of York and Cecily Neville and sister to Edward IV and Richard III. By all accounts clever and tough, she spent most of her life on the continent advocating for her family, and after Richard's defeat at Bosworth Field, she spent the rest of her life relentlessly pursuing revenge against Henry Tudor. She may not have had the ability to personally kill those who harmed her father and brothers, but her history indicates that had it been possible, she would have.
• Sansa Stark:
  • She shares several similarities with Elizabeth of York: both were red-headed, regarded to be extremely beautiful, whose two younger brothers went missing, and who became "the key" to holding their respective inheritances once their father and brothers are killed. They even share a love for tales of chivalry (it was revealed in Elizabeth's letters that she had interest in Arthurian stories). Elizabeth didn't suffer to the extent that Sansa does, however.
  • She also has some commonalities with Anne Neville, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick, who was married to the son of Margaret of Anjou (Cersei), Edward of Lancaster (Joffrey), when her father switched sides in the war. While it is unknown if Edward of Lancaster was as Joffrey-like as the Yorkists liked to paint him after his death, the widowed Anne very quickly married her childhood friend, the future Richard III, who was an inspiration for Tyrion Lannister. It's not know if this was a practical arrangement for Richard (who needed her money) and Anne ((who needed his protection), or if it was a love match, but all indications were that it was a happy union, despite Richard's disability.
• Bran and Rickon Stark:
  • Edward V of England and his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York — better known as the famous Princes in the Tower. Heirs to a king, they were imprisoned, usurped and seemingly killed by a former ally of said king, but there is great uncertainty over their actual fate.
  • The two youngest York siblings, George and Richard (whose childhood nickname was Dickon) were sent abroad by their mother Cecily Neville for their own safety after their father's beheading and their brother's murder. They got word that their oldest brother had become Edward IV while staying as exiles in Burgundy.
• Rickard and Brandon Stark:
  • Their horrific execution and the war that follows bears similarity to the execution of Richard, Duke of York and his son Edmund, the Earl of Rutland. Their deaths were a critical turning point in the Wars of the Roses. See above for Ned Stark for more.
• King Theon Stark:
  • His determination to keep invaders out of his kingdom at all costs and preserve his forefathers' religion is similar to Vlad Tepes. The story about how he cut up invaders and put them near his borders to scare off invaders comes directly from an account of Vlad doing that to keep the Ottoman sultan away.

House Lannister

• Much like House Stark, the Lannisters are based on a cadet branch of the House of Plantagenet. In this case, it's the House of Lancaster. Their sigil and royal colors are even similar to the ones used by Lancastrians.
• Tywin Lannister:
  • His original role in Robert's Rebellion is inspired by Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, known as "The Kingmaker", i.e. a wealthy fence-sitter who decisively tilts the balance one way and is too valuable an ally to ignore altogether. Warwick also wanted one of his daughters married to the king, and he arranged for his younger daughter to marry the Edward of Lancaster, something which she is thought to have little say in.
  • In terms of personality, reputation and physique, Tywin resembles Edward Longshanks — tall, intimidating and ruthless. Longshanks's suppression of the Second Barons' War, which included the defeat of Simon de Monfort (who had a Silver Lion on Red Field sigil) at the Battle of Eversham and his reputation as the Hammer of the Scots (whose national sigil is the Lion Rampant — a Red Lion) both of which are combined in the suppression of House Reyne of Castamere (Red Lion on Silver Field) and his successful defeat of the Northmen (a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Northen England and Scotland). This is alluded to when Pycelle at Tywin's funeral notes that while Tywin was never King, he was all a King should be.
  • He also resembles King Philip IV "le Bel", the French King famous for his ruthless purge of The Knights Templar. King Philip IV was famous for being icy and unsmiling, and for his relative celibacy for a French King. He took France to a position of great power in Europe only to die before his time in an anti-climactic fashion and have his children (one of them, Queen Isabella of England, being a Cersei analogue) ruin all his gains and eventually spark The Hundred Years War. The books dealing with Philip IV and his descendants, The Accursed Kings was cited by Word of God as an influence for the whole series.
  • His previous history as the competent true-ruler to a mad King is inspired by the Duke of Suffolk and the Duke of Somerset. Both were effectively the true rulers of England during the incompetent reign of Henry VI. Suffolk desperately tried to preserve the Kingdom but was hated and eventually executed by the people.
• Cersei Lannister:
  • Margaret of Anjou. A beautiful, ruthless and ambitious queen, whose fierce desire to rule the realm of England paved the way for disaster. She was wife to an ineffective king, her son was a cruel boy of questionable descent, and her tumultuous relationship with her husband's right hand man helped draw their Feuding Families into a bloody civil war (The War of the Five Kings/War of the Roses). She eventually becomes the leader of her respective faction, the Lancasters; although, Margaret actually commands her army and participates in battle at some point. After the death of her son and a devastating defeat, she is held in captivity and effectively declawed; although, Cersei actually has a way out of this predicament.
  • Isabella of France, daughter of King Philip IV "the Fair" of France (who incidentally is one of the inspirations for Tywin Lannister), she was married off to Edward II King of England. Isabella was soon trapped in an unhappy marriage, as she was constantly humiliated by the king's favourites, who were also granted a higher position at court than Isabella herself. For both queens, the actions of their husbands lead to disdain towards them and as result both queens eventually look lovers and plotted against their terrible spouses. Isabella had an affair with English nobleman Roger Mortimer and together they have King Edward disposed from the throne and assumed power of her son Edward III due to his young age, but their Regent for Life plans were thrown off a cliff as soon as Edward III grew up, who wanting to avoid the same fate as his father, executed Roger Mortimer and exiled his mother Isabella. Incidentally Isabella was the instigator of the Tour de Nesle Affair, a scandal amongst the French royal family in 1314, during which the three daughters-in-law of King Philip IV of France were accused of adultery, which inspired the "Fawlty Towers" Plot (of framing Margaery Tyrell and her cousins for adultery) schemed by Cersei in A Feast for Crows.
  • Lucrezia Borgia, another beautiful blonde with a sinister reputation, daughter of a powerful man. Both thought accused of killing men with liquid (wine in Cersei's case, poison in Lucrezia's) and sexual impropriety, particularly committing incest with their own brother.
  • Has a great deal in common with Elizabeth Woodville, the queen of Edward IV. Woodville was a successful advocate for her ambitious family, securing many titles and advantageous marriages for them, something which alienated Edward's family. Also, as she watched her once athletic husband decline into obesity and drink, she become colder and exercised more power at court. She was very close to her brother, the dashing Anthony Woodville, Lord Rivers, although they weren't that close. However, she did face accusations that her two sons, known to history as The Princes in the Tower, were not legitimate, but that was over the fact that her marriage to Edward was thought to be invalid by some. She also had a daughter, Elizabeth of York, who was by all accounts the temperamental opposite of her mother, being sweet and docile.
• Tyrion Lannister:
  • Alongside Stannis, Ned Stark and Theon, Tyrion is a version of Richard III, with his Deadpan Snarker rhetoric and angst about his disability and flirtations with Then Let Me Be Evil coming from Shakespeare's Richard III. In addition, there is a Show Within a Show play made of his exploits, called "The Bloody Hand" which submits Tyrion to a Historical Villain Upgrade analogous to the posthumous reputation of the Duke of Gloucester as a result of Shakepeare.
  • He also has a lot in common with Jeanne "le Boiteuse" de Bourgogne, Philip VI's queen who ran the country while her husband was fighting in the Hundred Years' War. Both are very intelligent, love books, and are capable rulers, but due to their deformities, they get no thanks for it and are often Misblamed for things completely out of their control.
  • Also of the Emperor Claudius, specifically as portrayed in I, Claudius, who made up for being the runt of the litter in a powerful family by exercising his intellect through study. Also, Claudius's marvelous relationship with his nephew Caligula and inferiority complex towards his elder brother Germanicus mirrors Tyrion's one with Joffrey the Adorable and big brother Jaime.
• Jamie Lannister:
  • Has elements in common with Anthony Woodville, Lord Rivers, the handsome and cultured brother of Edward IV's consort, Elizabeth Woodville. The siblings were very close (but again not that close) with Rivers providing companionship to her when Edward IV was off carousing. Rivers, who was a successful military man and champion jouster, was also a strong rival to Edward's brothers, George and Richard, the latter of whom had him executed.
  • Also has elements in common George Boleyn, the brother of Anne Boleyn, who was a popular courtier and handsome man who was very close, but not that close to his sister. That said, he was falsely accused of having an incestuous relationship with Anne and executed for it.
• Kevan Lannister:
  • His status of being the eternally loyal and reliable brother who emerged to be an effective and competent ruler in his own right is similar to the story of John, Duke of Bedford the younger brother of Henry V. Much like Kevan, Bedford would fight in his brother's wars and was known for his reliability. Just prior to his death Henry appointed John as the man to oversee the newly conquered French territory. John would valiantly fight to maintain his brother's lands. He also was an important arbiter to guarantee peace in England. Also, like Kevan, his untimely death led to chaos in England and the loss of France.
• Tytos Lannister:
  • To Henry III. Like Henry, Tytos was an amiable, easy-going man but a weak ruler who had a revolt break out late in his rule from some of his most powerful vassals, a revolt put down by his more ruthless son; Edward I being an inspiration for Tywin Lannister, Tytos's eldest son.
• Gerold Lannister:
  • If Tywin is Edward I and Tytos is Henry III, then Gerold is John Lackland. Do note that John is believed to have murdered a nephew too.

House Baratheon

• Robert Baratheon
  • He is quite similar to King Edward IV, just as Stannis and Renly are to Edward's brothers Richard III and George, the Duke of Clarence. Just as Robert was the greatest warrior of his day who overthrew a dynasty and began his own, Edward was considered to be England's finest warrior at the time, and went on to reclaim the throne for the Yorkists during the War of the Roses. Both Robert and Edward fell into sedentary lifestyles during their respective reigns, which contributed to each king's death later on.
  • Robert was also inspired by Henry IV. As Lord Henry Bolingbroke, he established his own family dynasty (The Lancasters) after being slighted one time too many by the current king, Richard II, whom Henry deposed. Like Robert, Henry IV was a famed warrior and tournament champion. And like Robert, he had mixed feelings about becoming the next king and ended his life regretting the things he'd done in the past. And it's this change in the system that sets the stage for the country's next big conflict (ones which threaten to bring their new dynasties to early ends); The War of the Five Kings for Robert's kingdom and The War of the Roses for Henry's. Henry like Robert, also had doubts of his son. Luckily for Henry, Henry V turned out to be up to the task, while Joffrey was not. The image quote on his page even describes Henry as the "The Real-Life Robert Baratheon."
  • Possibly of Alexander the Great and Henry VIII. Like the two, Robert is fairly mercurial in personality and undergoes a decline in rulership before his death despite his reign being inaugaurated with great promise. Like Alexander the Great, Robert is an utterly fantastic general neatly married with boundless charisma but who's administration of the empire he conquered left much to be desired and who's death triggered a Succession Crisis amongst his former subjects that tore apart most of his gains. Like Henry VIII, Robert was the Hunk with a passion for physical activities early in life, only to descend into being a Fat Bastard by the end of his reign (due to an injury in Henry VIII's case, versus Robert's depression), with an Awful Wedded Life to boot.
  • To Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, leaders of the popular rebellion which overthrew the Tarquin dynasty and ended the Roman monarchy. Collatinus was married to Lucretia, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (a son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus) enraged Collatinus to the point he incited the rebellion against the Tarquin dynasty. Brutus and Collatinus were both cousins to the royal family, but Brutus was spared the enmity held for the Tarquin name by belonging to the Junia gens and remain in power following the rebellion; Robert was able to legally claim the Iron Throne through his Targaryen grandmother while avoiding the hatred held for the Targaryen name by being a Baratheon.
• Stannis Baratheon:
  • Martin admitted that he based Stannis partially on George Baker's rendition of Caesar Tiberius, in I, Claudius. A sombre and gloomy ruler, who was reluctant to rule, didn't like the fact he was never thanked for his work, and spent a lot of time sulking on an island. Like Tiberius, whose reputation was later stained by his association with his sidekick Sejanus, Stannis gets a darker reputation by associating with Melisandre and becomes feared for his ruthlessness.
  • As with Eddard Stark, Tyrion Lannister, and Theon Greyjoy, Stannis is modeled on Richard III, the former Duke of Gloucester. His brothers Robert and Renly are based on Edward IV and George Clarence, Richard III's brothers, and like his historical inspiration his campaign is based on his desire to prove the illegitimacy of his nephews. He's also a great military commander like Richard III, and faces opposition from a family symbolized by a rose. Stannis eventually wins support in the North after coming to rescue them from Wildlings and has a heavy emphasis on giving justice, while Richard III was similarly well-known for his defense of the North from Scottish border raids and his legal reforms.
  • Can be considered a Gender Flipped version of Mary I of England: the rightful heir to the throne, whose inheritance is nonetheless constantly interfered with. Both reluctantly arrange the death of a short-lived usurper (Renly and Lady Jane Grey, respectively). Both are middle-aged by the time they (attempt to) ascend the throne. Both have great trouble producing a viable heir. Both are viewed with great suspicion for following a different religion than most of their kingdom (Mary's Catholicism and Stannis's Rh'llorism) and gain a sinister reputation for having people burned alive for religious reasons (Mary's zeal for persecuting Protestants to restore England to the Catholic faith, Stannis for performing Human Sacrifices to invoke the powers of Rh'llor).
  • Even if those are just mere coincidences, Stannis Baratheon is similar to Vlad the Impaler too, who, while deserving a part of his dark reputation for being paranoiac and revengeful, shares several of Stannis's personality characteristics and social conservatism. He was too an an incorruptible Knight Templar with a strong sense of duty and justice and complete disdain for criminals, enemies and traitors, inflicted many cruel punishments (impaling and burning people alive), not to mention fighting his own younger, handsome, and possibly queer sibling for the throne. Both Stannis and Vlad are the middle children with a negative reputation among the nobility and common people due to lack of charisma and rigid sense of justice but capable to inspire complete loyalty among their inner circles. Vlad was known to be serious and a frightening presence with a strong build with widened shoulders. Vlad's own younger brother, Radu the Handsome, was known to be beautiful and joyful, was rumored to be gay or bisexual, and rebelled against his own house for the throne of Wallachia. Lastly, both Stannis and Vlad are put in a situation where they have to defend their countries from a bigger outside force, the White Walkers in the case of Stannis and the Ottoman Empire in case of Dracula.
• Renly Baratheon:
  • Renly as the analogue to George, Duke of Clarence, a resentful, spoiled brother overshadowed and resentful of the prestige and reputation of his brothers, and finally rising in rebellion against the family by marrying into an enemy house, killed by his brother for his treachery, and who is wrongfully lionized as a hero by the new regime.
  • Henry I of England, the youngest of three brothers, not in line to the throne, who upon the death of one brother, took advantage of the other's — who'd been declared the rightful heir — widespread unpopularity and acted quickly to amass a greater military force with which to take the throne for themselves. Things worked out better for Henry than Renly however, presumably because Robert Curthose had no access to shadow magic.
• Joffrey Baratheon:
  • Prince Edward of Westminster. Also known as Edward of Lancaster (Lannister), he was the spoiled son of a ruthless queen. Though there were those who questioned his paternity, he was determined to succeed his father as king. Like Joffrey, Edward had a penchant for cruelty, despite his young age; he was rather zealous about having captured Yorkists (Starks) beheaded. Unlike Joffrey, Edward was at least brave enough to take part in battle. And they both died badly while still just barely boys, failing to consummate their marriages or truly reign as kings.
  • Emperor Caligula. Both young rulers infamously known for their insanity, which in Caligula's case may have been caused by illness or poisoning, while Joffrey's cruelty is the result of inbreeding and poor upbringing. Also they had both less than stellar relationships with their uncles Claudius and Tyrion's, respectively. Jack Gleeson, who plays Joffrey in Game of Thrones, even looks similar to Caligula, as shown here◊.
  • Gioffre Borgia was the (allegedly illegitimate) son of an unscrupulous ruler (albeit a pope rather than a king, this was at a time when the Pope was effectively the ruler of a large and influential country), married for political purposes to a girl named Sancha while both were very young, and was also rumoured to have murdered his own brother.
• Tommen Baratheon:
  • A child king that was utterly innocent and dominated by his regents is certainly the reputation of Henry VI of England who was only nine-months old when he became King.
  • The series Game of Thrones also makes Tommen somewhat similar to Henry VIII, of being the younger son of a warrior King that was never expected to rule but was beloved by the people and whom many had high hopes for. He also was very excited when he became engaged and married his brother's widow Catherine of Aragon. He was also very easily persuaded and manipulated by greater men, and in particular came to heavily rely on a charismatic churchman from humble origins, Cardinal Wolsey. Especially ironic as Jonathan Pryce would play Cardinal Wolsey.
• Myrcella Baratheon:
  • Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV, was the temperamental opposite of her formidable mother, Elizabeth Woodville and was lauded for her beauty and docile temperament. She also got along well with her disabled uncle, Richard III, even though Richard and her mother did not get along.
  • She also shares some similarities with Elizabeth I of England. Both were the middle child and last in line among three siblings despite arguably being the most qualified to rule amongst them. Like Myrcella, Elizabeth I had an older sibling with a bloodthirsty reputation (her half-sister Mary I "Bloody Mary" infamously burned many alive at the stake) and a younger sibling who became a Puppet King due to his young age (during Elizabeth's half-brother Edward VI's reign, England was governed by a regency council). There's also the commonalities between Myrcella's alleged father Robert Baratheon and Elizabeth I's father Henry VIII, not to mention that Elizabeth I's mother Anne Boelyn was also the target of (trumped up) accusations of adultery and incest with her own brother, George Boelyn.
• Edric Storm:
  • Being the only bastard of a licentious king that he openly recognized as his child is similar to Henry Fitzroy the only acknowledged bastard of Henry VIII. Henry VIII like Robert acknowledged paternity because his lover had no husband. In contrast to Edric, Henry VIII considered making Henry Fitzroy his heir due to not having a legitimate son. He could not pursue this because Henry Fitzroy died at 16 before his father.
• Orys Baratheon:
  • Robert, Count of Mortain, half-brother of William the Conqueror (Aegon the Conqueror's inspiration). William considered him one of his greatest supporters and made him one of the greatest landholders in his half-brother's new Kingdom of England. Orys too, despite his uncertain origins was made Hand of the King, a position as the King's Number Two made right for him, and was granted the rule of the Stormlands through his marriage to Princess Argella, the Storm King's only daughter.
• Shireen Baratheon:
  • Tsarevich Alexei Romanov. Both are the children of a monarch with a notable disease — greyscale for Shireen and hemophilia for Alexei — and both of their mothers are in the thrall of a controversial mystic — Melisandre or Rasputin.

House Targaryen

• King Aerys II:
  • To the French King Charles VI the Mad who was initially seen as a good and wise King but eventually became mentally ill. Charles VI was famously paranoid, believed he was made of glass, would randomly attack and kill pageboys and knights, and in the infamous Bal des Ardents, aka "the Ball of the Burning Men", he and several other young nobles disguised themselves as wood savages as a lark, using costumes made of linen, flax and inflammable resin, which accidentally caught fire^note the attendants rushed to protect the King and four people died in the process; Charles himself was saved when his fifteen-year-old aunt threw her skirt over him to protect him from the flames.
  • To Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last King of Rome. Lucius had a penchant for murdering his political rivals, particularly senators, while also judging capital criminal cases without consulting his advisors, blanketing Rome in a reign of terror. But it would be the actions of one of his sons which would spark the popular rebellion against the Tarquin dynasty.
  • His general eccentricism, long hair and nails, and constant paranoia are quite similar to the legends surrounding the later life of billionaire Howard Hughes who refused to allow anyone except a trusted few in his company and was deeply hypochondriac. Like Hughes, Aerys II was an active youthful playboy filled with a passion for impractical schemes^note Similar to Hughes's Spruce Goose and his disastrous management of RKO Pictures who eventually became a paranoid hermit.
• Rhaegar Targaryen:
  • To Edward the Black Prince. Both are seen as the ultimate embodiment of medieval chivalry and subject to a great deal of romanticism in life and after death, and they are regarded as the ultimate Great-King-That-Never-Was, at least by supporters.
  • He also has elements of the Trojan princes Paris and Hector from The Iliad. Like Paris, his abduction of a woman promised to another started a war. Like Hector, he was loved and admired by everyone who knew him, was slain on the battlefield by the vengeful leader of the enemy forces, and his death precedes the ruin of his family and their dynasty. Also like Hector, he had an infant son who was brutally killed in an effort to wipe out the deposed royal family... or was he?
  • To Sextus Tarquinius, the youngest son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Sextus is the perpetrator of the legendary Rape of Lucretia, who was the wife of his cousin Collatinus; this event would instigate the rebellion which resulted in the overthrow of the Tarquin dynasty in Rome, the end of the Roman monarchy and birth of the Roman Republic.
• Viserys Targaryen:
  • James Francis Edward Stuart, "the Old Pretender", living in exile after his father was killed (though James's father James II was merely forced into exile), and styling himself as King. He also has a great deal of similarity in personality to "Bonnie Prince Charlie" (son of the Old Pretender), who despite his romantic reputation in poetry, was an alcoholic, obsessed with reclaiming his birthright and abusive to his lovers.
• Daenerys Targaryen:
  • Daenerys is in many senses a Distaff Counterpart to Alexander the Great. A Young Conqueror who collects multiple titles from different regions (Khaleesi, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals) much like the Macedonian (Basileus, Hegemon, Pharaoh, Shahanshah) and her main approach to conquest and governance is by assimilating into different groups of people, being patronized and praised by multiple religions (the Dothraki animism, the Red Temple) similar to Alexander (who was praised by priests of both Zeus and Ammon) and being driven by a strong sense of destiny and an interest in building a multicultural empire that brings together peoples from different parts of the world (Westerosi, Dothraki, Lhazareen, Naathi), she also straddles the line between visionary and warlord and is divided between wanting to rule and wanting to conquer.
  • Daenerys's time among the Dothraki resembles the captivity of Roman Empress Galla Placidia among the Visigoths in 5th century AD. She was the sister of the ineffective Emperor Honorius, and was taken captive during the Sack of Rome by their king Alaric, then married off to his successor Athaulf. By some accounts, she adjusted well to life among the Visigoths and was happily married to the king. She named their only son after her father, which was a clear political move to place her son in the succession line, as her brother did not have any children yet. Unfortunately, like Drogo and Rhaego, Placidia's son and husband died pretty soon and she was sent back to the Romans, where her later life was drastically different from Daenerys'. However, like the khaleesi, Placidia retained some Visigoths who stayed loyal to their former queen and became her personal guard.
  • The Targaryens in general share similarities with the Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt, in particular the Ptolemic Dynasty, with Daenerys specifically fulfilling the role of Cleopatra. A woman who was expected to, at best, be a consort for her brother only for him to be killed, whereupon she rises up to become one of the most powerful rulers the world has ever seen. Both are noted for their attractiveness to men^note though Cleopatra has received a Historical Beauty Upgrade over the years and are skilled omniglots. Both are considered to be a Last Of Her Kind for their respective families, dynasties, and cultures (Old Valyria for Dany, Diadochi^note Hellenistic kingdoms that formed after Alexander the Great's conquests for Cleopatra).
• Aegon "Young Griff" Targaryen:
  • His landing of the Golden Company on the Stormlands under the Dragon banner echoes the arrival of Henry Tudor/Henry VII in England (his banner was a Red Welsh Dragon) who likewise spent much of his reign on a continent separated by sea from his native homeland and most of his supporters were fellow exiles Fighting for a Homeland. If he is actually a female-line Blackfyre as fanon theorizes, that makes him even more like Henry VII, considering that Henry's "claim" was through his mother being descended from John of Gaunt's legitimatized bastards.
  • On the whole, he echoes many historical pretenders claiming to be missing and dead princes who somehow survived massacres and purges. Examples include Pseudo-Demetrius I of Russia, the ninth-century Byzantine pretender Thomas the Slav, who justified his war against Emperor Michael II by claiming to be the long since deposed and deceased Constantine VI, and from the Wars of the Roses itself: Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, both of whom claimed to be the lost and presumed dead "Princes in the Tower" challenging Henry Tudor's claim to the throne.
• King Aegon I "the Conqueror":
  • William the Conqueror. Pretty self-explanatory, minus the dragons and the aforementioned incest, an absolute outsider to a land where he is gravely outnumbered and conquered by bringing something new to the battlefield (the Saxons hadn't faced anything like the Norman heavy cavalry before).
  • Also greatly resembles Henry VII, coming from across the sea with a small force and welding a previously gravely divided kingdom together, before providing decades of pragmatic and peaceful rule.
  • Likewise, his focus on ruling and administration after winning his battles, overall stoic personality and the peace he brought to Westeros after the constant wars of earlier kingdoms recalls the First Roman Emperor Augustus, especially since his immediate descendants proved to be one Sketchy Successor after another.
  • King Cnut. Both are foreign conquerors, both gain a reputation as great and wise kings, and both are bigamists with two wives, whose respective children fight viciously over the succession after his death.
• King Maegor I "the Cruel":
  • Henry VIII of England, both were the sons of ruthless but pragmatic kings, both married six times and had great trouble producing an heir — although Henry never married three women at once, and he did eventually succeed in his endeavors where Maegor failed. Both king's were known for their stocky build, bluebeard tendencies, their troubling tendency for butchering their advisors, ministers and friends, and a disturbingly large body count. Also, both had problems with the faith, as Henry VIII founded the Church of England to remove the Pope's influence on the kingdom for good (and also for the selfish reasons we all know), while Maegor put down the Faith Militant rebellion with much bloodshed.
  • His Shoot the Builder tactics are derived from many legends revolving on kings killing builders of famous monuments, such as Ivan the Terrible and the architect of the St Basil's Cathedral's.
  • King William II of England was the son of William the Conqueror much like Maegor was the son of Aegon the Conqueror, and like Maegor, he was infamously Hated by All, feuded with the clergy, and died under ambiguous circumstances without leaving any issue, possibly due to being sterile. (The other leading theory being that he was gay; unlike Maegor, William never married.)
  • Finally, while culturally very separate from the other examples here, Maegor burning the followers of the Faith inside the Sept of Remembrance is highly evocative of Oda Nobunaga burning down the Buddhist temple Enryaku-ji. Like Nobunaga himself after the act, Maegor would forever be tainted in the eyes of the followers of the Faith he persecuted.
• Jaehaerys I "the Concilliator":
  • Henry II of England, who came to the throne after the troubled reign of Stephen I and spent most his long tenure reforming the government and touring his vast realm with his wife and children. Also had a very politically powerful wife.
  • George III of Great Britain. Both the third generation of a foreign dynasty to ascend the throne. Both reigned for over fifty years, setting a record. Both were considered The Good King through most of that time, but mentally degenerated late in life. Both were humble and kind men, despite coming from Royally Screwed Up families. Both had a lot of children, which a couple of Sketchy Successors in there. The succession of both was also somewhat irregular (Jaehaerys was the third son of a the second-previous king, George the grandson of the previous king), as was the succession after them (Jaehaerys's crown passed to his grandson by his second son, Viserys I, while George's crown passed, after his eldest son George IV and third son William IV, to his granddaughter by his fourth son, Queen Victoria).
  • Also to King William III/II of England and Scotland. Both succeeded highly controversial kings who directly conflicted with the dominant religion (Maegor the Cruel with the Faith of the Seven and the Catholic James VII/II with the Protestant Church of England), both were popular, effective monarchs who helped restore the reputation of the monarchy in the eyes of the faith and the people, and both ruled effectively as a Ruling Couple with their wives, who they were closely related to and who also had strong claims to the throne in their own right. They also both experienced very notable depression and downturns in their health and general effectiveness following the deaths of their respective wives.
  • He also has some parallels to Queen Victoria. Both ascended to the throne in their teens following the death of an uncle. Both lost their fathers at a very young age, and were raised by their mother. Both had a controlling father figure they had to boot from their court when they got too ambitious (For Jaehaerys, it was Lord Rogar Baratheon, his stepfather and Protector of the realm during his regency. For Victoria, it was John Conroy, her mother's comptroller and rumored lover). Both married young, out of love, to a relative (Kissing Cousins for Victoria, Brother–Sister Incest for Jaehaerys). Both had consorts who proved to be very politically active. Both had a truly absurd number of kids, and both outlived several of them. Both ruled over periods of relative peace and prosperity, and ruled longer than any monarch before them. Both worked to reform the monarchy for the modern age after a series of unpopular kings, and as a result are remembered fondly.
• Queen Alysanne Targaryen:
  • GRRM himself has compared her to Eleanor of Aquitaine — in terms of her power, dignity, and political skill, but without any of Eleanor's potential flaws (her marriage controversies, scheming with her sons, etc.)
  • She also bears some resemblance to Queen Mary II of England and Scotland, being one-half of a popular Ruling Couple with a king whom they were closely related to, taking the reins from a highly unpopular ruler who had clashed with the dominant religion, and helping to restore the monarchy in both popularity and effectiveness. Also like Mary II, she predeceased her husband, which directly contributed to his own decline in both health and effectiveness.
• King Viserys I:
  • King Henry I, who after the death of his son and heir (William Adelin died when his ship sank, while Baelon Targaryen died an infant) named his daughter and only surviving child his heir in defiance of a misogynistic society still firmly rooted in the Heir Club for Men. While both were regarded as fairly competent kings in their own time, the thing they're remembered most for looking back is the Succession Crisis this decision directly precipitated. Though Henry Beauclerc never muddied the issue by remarrying and having more sons; Matilda's usurper Stephen of Blois was the son of Henry's sister, who was backed by the nobles who would rather have any available male heir.
  • He also bears some similarities to James II of England and VII of Scotland. Both married twice, and had an elder daughter by their first wife, and a younger son by their second wife. This triggered a succession crisis and war between supporters of the two half-siblings at the end of their respective reigns (Viserys died, while James II was deposed by his own daughter and her husband). Although the Jacobite crisis was much longer and not nearly as bloody as the Dance of the Dragons, and the precipitating factor was the religion of the two claimants, not their gender.
• King Aegon II "the Usurper":
  • Stephen of Blois, nephew of King Henry I of England, who vied over the English throne in the 12th century "Anarchy" against his cousin Empress Matilda, King Henry's daughter. Aegon was even persuaded to take the throne by his wife and mother, much as Stephen was. Both Stephen and Aegon suffered from Pyrrhic Victory, as they eventually defeated their female rivals but in the long run they couldn't pass the crown to their sons, and the kingdom went to Matilda's and Rhaenyra's sons, King Henry II the Plantagenet and King Aegon III the Younger, respectively.
• Queen Rhaenyra I "the Realm's Delight", "Maegor with Teats":
  • Empress Matilda, who vied with her cousin Stephen of Blois for the English throne from 1135 to 1153. Matilda's father left the throne to her, her male relative overruled that claim with the support of several English barons, and Matilda's son Henry became king after Stephen's death (thus vindicating his mother's claim), as is the case with Rhaeneyra, Aegon II, and Aegon III respectively. It must be noted, however, that Matilda died peacefully and at the height of her powers (ensuring that her son Henry II remained king), while Rhaenyra was defeated and truly wretched when she was executed.
  • Mary of Scotland. Like Mary, Rhaenyra died in disgrace by being executed as a usurper, but at least her son becoming king united two warring factions. Also like Mary's descendants, Rhaenyra's descendants were deposed and exiled.
  • Lady Jane Grey as well, given they were both the first officially crowned queen regnant of their countries and yet are usually not counted amongst lists of rulers in that country.
  • Mary I of England. Both were formerly popular princesses considered great beauties who went to seed largely due to stress and extensive pregnancies (though Rhaenyra was more successful in that regard, carrying five children to term, whereas Mary only experienced false pregnancies, likely as a symptom of ovarian cancer). Both clashed with their respective Wicked Stepmother and became an unpopular queen obsessed with pursuing revenge on those they perceived as having wronged them.
• Daemon Targaryen "the Rogue Prince":
  • Robert of Gloucester, Empress Matilda's illegitimate half-brother and chief military supporter during the Anarchy. Robert of Gloucester was spurned as a possible king due to his illegitimacy, so he joined his half-sister's cause. Daemon Targaryen was spurned as his brother's heir both because of his mercurial nature and his rivalry with the powerful Hightower family, who plotted first to have Princess Rhaenyra made heir to the throne despite her gender, and then arranged a marriage between Lord Hightower's daughter Alicent and Viserys I which produced King Aegon II... and the Dance of the Dragons.
  • Geoffrey of Anjou, Matilda's second husband and other main supporter, father of future King Henry II and pretty much founder of The House of Plantagenet, and said to have given the Plantagenets their name from the broom-plant he wore on his chest, the Latin name of which was Planta Genista. Like him, Prince Daemon was the father of the future King who would reunite the feuding branches of the dynasty, and despite having been spurned as a ruler in his own lifetime, the current Targaryen dynasty descends directly from him.
  • Charles of Valois, King Philip IV's boisterous brother. All his life went on in the pursuit of power and a throne, like his brief adventure of being Emperor of Constantinople or King of Aragon, but every chance of ruling in his name or his brother's heirs' name would eventually be spurned. Despite this, he was an excellent military leader, and after his brother's sons all died without heirs, it was his son, Philip of Valois, who would inherit the throne. So like Daemon, he was never a king, but his offspring eventually were. Also The Accursed Kings were a source for George Martin's characterization of many characters.
• King Aegon III "the Dragonbane":
  • Henry II, son of Empress Matilda and Geoffrey of Anjou (Real Life counterparts of Rhaenyra I and Prince Daemon Targaryen). He became his uncle's heir for lack of any other suitable candidate, thus ultimately vindicating his mother's claim. However, the rest of his life was rather more peaceful than Henry's. He also had a son who was renowned for his abilities as a warrior (see Daeron I below).
• King Daeron I "the Young Dragon":
  • Alexander the Great, according to Word of God, at least in terms of how many young Lords and Princes wanted to emulate his prodigious achievements. Like Alexander, he died at young age and his conquests dissolved shortly after his demise.
  • Julius Caesar, he also wrote a book about his conquests that is a favorite among lords, and prized by commoners like the newly-literate Davos for its readability.
  • Richard the Lionheart in that he waged a war in a desert region at great cost in lives and money, yet remains popular as a warrior king while criticized as a reckless Blood Knight by historians and the less glory-minded characters such as Stannis.
• King Baelor I "the Blessed":
  • Louis VII of France. Both were the second sons of their fathers, the reigning kings; both were fervently devoted to their faiths and were training for ecclesiastical careers before coming to the throne. As kings, both proved to be meek, timid, and pious, but also strengthened relations between the Crown and the Church/Faith. Just like Baelor had three sisters, Louis had three wives, the first of whom was a passionate, free-spirited, temperamental young woman who defied her royal husband and kept lovers. They also founded famous religious buildings; Baelor commissioned the Great Sept in King's Landing, while Louis VII laid stones for Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
  • King Louis IX of France, the Saint. Both Baelor and Louis led zealously religious lives, and Louis was even canonized as a saint. There are many similarities between the two pious kings, especially between how they chose to rule their respective realms: both made attempts at reconciliation with neighbouring territories, both made a pilgrimage of some kind, and both oversaw many religiously motivated changes. The obvious differences are that Baelor was a complete pacifist, celibate and died childless, while Louis IX was a The Paladin, Happily Married and had nine children with his lady wife.
  • Edward the Confessor, another famously religious monarch, elevated to (near) sainthood after their deaths. Both had very troubled family relationships. Both failed to produce heirs, eventually leading to a Succession Crisis (albeit the one following Baelor was delayed by a couple of generations).
• King Aegon IV "the Unworthy":
  • Along with Maegor I, Martin describes him the Henry VIII of the Targaryens. Henry’s life differs in its progression and his gradual decline into corruption and disrepute, and both left a legacy of conflict in their stead based on political decision made upon personal whims. Each became known for their relationships with women and how these affairs affected their rules, more often in a negative manner than not.
  • John of Gaunt, too. He's practically the worst aspects of both put together. Without the foresight of either. And his legitimized bastards cause a lot of trouble, rather like how those descended from Gaunt's bastards, the Tudors, ended up usurping rule of England.
• King Aegon V "the Unlikely":
  • Louis XVI. Both are become king unexpectedly (Louis when his older brother died at a young age, Aegon when his oldest brother died and his second-oldest was disinherited. Both attempt to reform archaic institutions, losing the support of the nobility, which sets off a chain of events that led to their deaths and, likely, the end of the monarchy in their country (although Aegon at least did not live to see it).
• Prince Duncan Targaryen:
  • Edward VIII of Britain, who abdicated the throne because he wanted to marry a divorced woman, Wallis Simpson, clearing the way to the throne for Elizabeth II.
• Princess Saera Targaryen:
  • Her promiscuity and causing a national embarrassment to her father is reminiscent to Julia, the daughter of the Emperor Augustus who partook in orgies and one of her lovers being Augustus's arch-enemy Mark Antony's son. However, Julia was banished by Augustus, whereas Saera escaped her captivity and becomes a prostitute.

Other Characters

• Jon Arryn:
  • A Decomposite Character of Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick and dubbed "the Kingmaker". Like Jon, he would bravely fight to make a young Lord he was close to, (in Warwick's case his nephew Edward IV, for Jon his ward Robert) King. Both Jon Arryn and Warwick were treated well by the King they helped create upon ascension. The crucial difference is that Robert and Jon never had a falling out unlike Warwick and Edward IV.
• Roose Bolton:
  • Very loosely, but several prominent features of his (sociopathic, pale and ageless, proponent of Cruel and Unusual Deaths (via flaying), and association with bloodsucking creatures (leeches) give the impression that he's based off of Dracula, both the real person and the fictional vampire.
  • A treacherous noble who betrays his northern realm to a southern kingdom who has been in a union with the northerners, sporting a barbaric coat of arms featuring a dead enemy and being responsible for a infamous nasty party? Gustaf Trolle is a pretty good match.
  • Earl Godwin, a powerful, ambitious noble whose reputaion was forever marked by the accusation he betrayed and murdered a potential claimant to the throne (Robb Stark and Alfred Aetheling, respectively). Both married a child of theirs to the siblings (or an imposter thereof) of the men they were accused of killing, to try and maintain control over their lands.
  • Another Decomposite Character of Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick. Roose was a powerful supporter of Robb Stark, an analogue to the young King Edward IV. After Edward/Robb broke a betrothal and married someone else, Roose/Warwick betrayed their king and became a supporter of the rival house of Lancaster/Lannister. The difference is that Edward got lucky and took his revenge on Warwick.
• Theon Greyjoy:
  • Theon is a Decomposite Character of Richard III, alongside Ned Stark, Tyrion and Stannis. Theon is more heavily inspired by the darker interpretation of Richard III. Most notably, Theon imprisoning Bran and Rickon and proclaiming himself Prince of Winterfell, only for Bran and Rickon to disappear, closely mirrors Richard III and the Princes in the Tower. Unlike Theon, though, Richard did not personally ruin his reputation by claiming to have murdered the princes that vanished under his watch; history did that for him. Theon initially fights on behalf of the Starks and the North (his first kill was a wildling he shot to rescue Bran), which is similar to the Duke of Gloucester, who was well-known for his efforts to defend Northern England from Scottish raiders. However, the whole time he's fighting for King Robb Stark, Theon secretly resents his status as a Stark hostage and dreams of imminently gaining his own glory as future King of the Iron Islands; this echoes the popular depiction of Richard as an opportunistic villain scheming for his brother's crown. Theon's fate, being tortured into an ugly, limping cripple is also a meta-joke on the manner in which Richard III was made into a caricature of a scheming hunchback by William Shakespeare. Theon's nickname Reek^note Which sounds similar to Rick, short-form for Richard also alludes to it.
  • Theon has frequently been compared to George, Duke of Clarence. Both were separated from their fathers at young ages, the third surviving son of said father and spent time as hostages, seen as turncoats after betraying Edward IV/Robb Stark, and both received horrific fates (George is executed, possibly via a butt of malsmey wine, while Theon is tortured to the point he forgets his own name).
• Margaery Tyrell:
  • Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife; Margaery's incarceration on false or trumped up charges of adultery is much the same as how many historians now believe Anne's downfall went. Incidentally, in the adaptation of both stories, Margaery in Game of Thrones and Anne Boleyn in The Tudors are both played by the same actress. Ironically, Natalie Dormer has said in interviews that she took the part on the reassurance she wouldn't just be playing Anne Boleyn again, which may explain some of the show's changes to her character arc.
  • Of Isabel and Anne Neville, the daughters of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker during the War of the Roses. Much like the Tyrells, Warwick really wanted one of his daughters to be Queen and used marriages to broker political alliances. Isabel was married to George of Clarence, one of the inspirations for Renly, and Warwick supported George's weak grab for the throne. When George's attempt failed, Warwick then switched sides to the Lancasters and married Anne to Prince Edward of Lancaster, one of the inspirations for Joffrey. Warwick and Edward of Lancaster were killed shortly after this marriage. The then teenage widow Anne found her way back to the Yorkist side and married George's younger brother Richard of Gloucester. The two became a Ruling Couple during Richard's tenure as Lord of the North, and she became Queen of England when Richard ascended to the throne as Richard III.
  • For the series Game of Thrones, Margaery actually has much in common with Catherine of Aragon (ironic for the reasons above). Catherine was betrothed to marry the heir to the English Throne Prince Arthur. Arthur died shortly after their marriage, and Catherine would soon be betrothed to her widow's younger brother the future Henry VIII who quickly fell in love with Catherine and was utterly delighted by the betrothal. Margaery's alliance with the Faith also does reflect Catherine's strong loyalty to the Catholic Church amidst the rising tide of Protestantism. Though Margaery's faith is more of a calculated maneuver whereas Catherine's faith was sincere.
  • Emma of Normandy, who after a political marriage as Queen to Æthelred the Unready, she then turned around and married his political rival, Cnut the Great, and became his Queen.
• Robert 'Sweetrobin' Arryn:
  • He has various aspects in common with Charles II of Spain, the last king of the Habsburg dynasty. Both born feeble and sickly brought by consanguinity — the Arryns are said to be the purest of the Andals (though Sweetrobin is not intellectually disabled like the Spanish monarch), their seats, prospective alliances and capacity to rule were brought into question and lead to succession crises. They were both the only surviving sons of multiple attempts at having heirs; with time, they both became considerably unkempt and rowdy.
  • Edward VI of England was the young son of Henry VIII, who Henry had been desperate to create. His short reign was marked by power struggles between his counselors before young Edward fell sick and died at 15.
• Lysa Tully Arryn:
  • Livilla, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, whose blood ties resembled those of Lysa to the Starks. Both resentful of a female relative (Livilla toward her sister-in-law Aggripina, Lysa toward her sister Catelyn). And both murdered their husbands in conspiracy with commonborn lovers, Sejanus and Littlefinger respectively, as part of each man's ambitious plan of social climbing. Both these acts indirectly brought a Caligula (in Livilla's case, the Caligula) to the throne. And both received a nasty death as a result, Lysa being thrown from the moon door by Littlefinger, Livilla being starved to death by her own mother.
• Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish:
  • He's been compared to the Ancient Roman figure Sejanus. Both were heavily ambitious men of relatively humble origins. Both played a major role in running a country on behalf of its depressed, uninvolved ruler. Both were effective administrators, but also corrupt, unscrupulous and ruthless in their ambitions to gain power. And both seduced a powerful, married noblewoman and used their infatuation with them to poison their husbands.
• Prince Doran Martell:
  • Appears to have much in common with the infamous British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Both were hated by their own country for their endless appeasement to their enemies. Doran is actually The Chessmaster and is simply waiting for the moment to avenge his sister and brother. His disability and enjoyment of the Water Gardens also bears some resemblance to FDR's struggle with polio and his hydrotherapy at Warm Springs.
  • Possibly also King Philip II of Spain, who also had gout and used one of the early examples of a wheelchair.
• Ser Gregor Clegane:
  • As a seven-feet-tall medieval warrior of superhuman strength, he resembles Pier "Grutte Pier" Gerlofs Donia, a Frisian pirate who brandished a 2-meter zweihänder and could behead several people at once with it. The difference was that Gerlofs Donia protected his countrymen from marauding armies whether Clegane carried out the marauding.
  • As a 7-feet tall warlord whose headaches made him aggressive and violent, he resembles the Bulgarian Tzar Kaloyan, whose migraines contributed in his bloody campaigns in Thrace and burning the city of Philippopolis out of pure lust for revenge. Like Gregor, he also reportedly died by being stabbed with a spear.
  • He also bears more than a passing resemblance to John Chivington, U.S. Army colonel during American Civil War. Both were giants (6 feet 7 inches for Chivington, 7 feet for Clegane), both supposedly pious (Chivington being a Methodist pastor, Clegane sporting a seven-pointed star on his shield), both responsible for indiscriminate massacres of peaceful people loosely associated with enemy faction (Sand Creek for Chivington, Sherrer and Mummer's Ford for Clegane).
• Melisandre:
  • Bears more than a passing resemblance to Rasputin. Both are controversial mystic advisors to a monarch, with an extremely close relationship to that monarch's wife. Additionally, both monarchs have an heir that has a notable illness — greyscale for Shireen and hemophilia for Tsarevich Alexei.
• Ser Barristan Selmy :
  • For William Marshal, considered "the greatest Knight who ever lived". Winner of 500 tourneys, including one where he unseated Richard the Lionheart himself, a long-lived Badass who later discovers that he has to play a political role as regent and finds out that he's not all that bad, also considered an embodiment of Honor Before Reason by the French AND the English, and ensured that the Crown kept faith with the Magna Carta passed by the Barons.
• Mance Rayder:
  • A Wildling raised as a member of the Night's Watch, only to defect back to his people by blood and unite them in an attack against the people who raised and trained him? Mance is quite a dead ringer for Arminius. Also, Arminius's wife and son were kidnapped by his enemies, and he couldn't reunite with them.
• The Brave Companions:
  • Their rampage in post-war Westeros is based on the Écorcheurs who rampaged across France during The Hundred Years War. They were mercenaries imported home who chose to pillage when they ran out of war to pay their bills.
  • In a more modern sense, they also bear a strong resemblance to the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS A Nazi penal battalion made up of convicts, led by the notorious rapist and WWI veteran, Oskar Dirlewanger. The unit saw the worst of the war in Eastern Europe, engaging in brutal war crimes against partisan and resistance groups across the region and often suffering extreme casualties of their own when faced with actual trained armies.
• The High Sparrow:
  • Has quite a few similarities to Thomas Becket. Becket was a close friend of Henry II, who appointed him Archbishop of Canterbury in the hopes that their close relationship would allow Henry to exercise greater authority over the church. Instead, Becket took his duties as archbishop seriously and resisted Henry's efforts, leading to Henry (unintentionally) ordering Becket's death. Likewise, Cersei named the Sparrow, already living an ascetic lifestyle similar to Becket's, High Septon in order to establish control over the Faith, only to have the High Sparrow betray and imprison her due to her impious behavior. The HBO adaptation doubles down on the similarities as Cersei assassinates the High Sparrow by blowing up the Sept of Baelor in Season 6, like Becket, who was also killed at his workplace, just in less dramatic fashion.
• Mushroom the Fool:
  • His irreverent court history is reminiscent of Procopius, the historian of the Byzantine Empire whose "Secret History" unearthed several centuries later, was a scathing, licentious and irreverent depiction of the court of Justinian and Theodora.
  • His work also has similarities with that of Pietro Aretino, a famed satirist and the creator of literary pornography. Aretino largely focused in making fun of the Pope and the Florentine aristocracy in a time when this often resulted in harm, death or exile.
• The Shepherd:
  • His fate is reminiscent of that of Jacques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, namely in that both were burnt at the stake and that their last words were a curse that the monarch who'd condemned them to death would follow them into the grave shortly afterwards.
  • His story and rise to power is reminiscent of the friar Girolamo Savonarola, who led a religious movement that led to the expelling of the ruling Medicis from Rennaisance Florence, and ended up imprisoned and hanged as a heretic.
• Ser Terrence Toyne:
  • Of Thomas Culpepper, a knight in the service of King Henry VIII (of whom Aegon the Unworthy is considered an expy) who embarked on an affair with the king's fifth wife, Catherine Howard, which ended in their executions when it was discovered.
• The Faceless Men:
  • A Mystery Cult of a religious order of assassins with a particular brand of ethics and whose rituals and initiations are highly secret, they derive a lot of inspiration from The Hashshashin.
• High King Robar II Royce:
  • As the high king organizing disparate tribes of a native people against sea-faring invaders who will nevertheless ultimately come to politically dominate the realms he is defending, King Robar II seems to be the ASoIaF counterpart of King Arthur.

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