George R. R. Martin doesn’t only take ideas from famous historical figures to shape his own characters. He also “steals” ideas from historical events to shape his plots. And because of this, today I will not be looking into any specific character and its historical influence. Instead, I am going to focus on the main historical events behind the shocking and bloody Red Wedding.
It goes without saying that THERE WILL BE SPOILERS for anyone who still hasn’t read “A Storm of Swords” (and there might be some spoiler for “A Dance with Dragons” too) or seen the third season. Read at your own risk.
The so-called Red Wedding is a shocking and horrifying event within the Game of Thrones universe. It’s the event that marks the end of Robb’s Rebellion; but instead of taking place on a battle (as we would expect) it happens during a wedding, shocking viewers and readers alike.
Robb Stark, the crowned King in the North, needs to win back the Lords of the Crossing after breaking his oath of marrying one of the Frey girl’s and marrying Jeyne Westerling (in the books) or Talisa Stark (in the TV show). And to do so, he offers his uncle; Lord Edmure Tully (the future Lord of Riverrun) to marry one of Walder Frey’s granddaughters. The pact is sealed and so, Robb marches north with his army to the Twins to attend to said wedding. All seems to be going great until the bride and groom are carried away from the main hall for their bedding. Then, a song starts to play. It’s “The Rains of Castamere”, the famous song that immortalizes the destruction of House Reyne by the Lannisters. And then the blood starts running. All the northern men that accompanied Robb are brutally killed. Robb is hit by arrows and stabbed by Roose Bolton whilst one of the Freys slits Catelyn’s throat.
* And in the show they also kill Talisa and their unborn child. Which makes the event even more bloody.
So, where could have Martin got the idea for something as gruesome and gory as this. If it came only from his imagination, well, then he really is as psychopathic as we all feared. But the truth is that this event is heavily inspired by two gruesome events in Scottish history; the Black Dinner and the Massacre of Glencoe.
Let’s start by talking a bit about the Black Dinner. It is an infamous event in medieval Scottish history, and it took place in 1440. In the early fifteen century, the Douglas Clan became very powerful landlords in the Scottish Lowlands. Such was their power that they were seen as a threat to the stability of Scotland, especially by one of their rival clans; Clan Crichton. They thought that the Douglas’ Clan was just too strong and they were threatening to upset the country’s delicate balance.
Before continuing, let me point out that the growing number of rival clans within medieval Scotland was the cause of the ever frail balance of power. Just as it happens in the North within the Game of Thrones universe. Martin states that is really difficult to unite all families of the North within a common cause and that there is always strife between them despite their similarities. This, in my opinion makes it obvious that the North is clearly inspired by medieval Scotland, the same way that King’s Landing is inspired by the old city old Constantinople.
But let’s go on with the issue at hand. In the year 1440, William, the chief of Clan Douglas was a man of only six-and-ten (only two years older than Robb Stark) and he had barely been involved in any serious politics. Nevertheless, for some, the Douglas’ Clan still represented a serious threat. Why? Because the Scottish king; James II was still a boy of ten years old, and was considered that someone as powerful as William Douglas could easily influence the King and take control of him and the council.
Because of this, Clan Crichton, with the help of Alexander Livingston of Callendar and other names lost to history, made plans to break the power of Clan Douglas.
Sir William Crichton, castellan of Edinburgh Castle, invited William Douglas to a feast at the court of the young king. The Douglas’ Clan chief, presented himself to court accompanied by his younger brother, David and his advisor.
A banquet was held in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle, and it is reported that the young king was charmed by the Douglas’ brothers. Once the feast was coming to an end, a black bull’s head was brought into the hall by the servants. For that was an ancient Scottish symbol of death. Without any more warning, the brothers were seized and dragged out of the castle, where they were given a mock trial and were sentenced for high treason. Both were quickly beheaded.
Little had they know when they had entered the Hall. Obviously the presence of the King had made them feel safe. And of course, the laws of hospitality. In medieval society, the tradition of hospitality was sacred, and therefore, any guest was under the protection of their hosts.
The resemblance here with the Red Wedding is quite obvious. Both victims were put at ease by the safety that the laws of hospitality guaranteed them (since they are also sacred in Westeros, and it is specifically told that any men that breaks it is forever accursed), and their deaths were signaled by something symbolic; the bull head’s and the “Rains of Castamere”.
The death of the Douglas’ brothers, extinguished the main male line of the Douglas Chiefs. Because of this, their lands and titles fell into the hands of James the Gross, lord of Avondale (William’s great-uncle). He sought no revenge for the murders, which might indicate that he had been a conspirator along with Crichton.
Just like in Game of Thrones. The Red Wedding leaves the northern rebellion without a King, and the Starks without an heir, which helps Roose Bolton (who had conspired with the Freys) land the charge of Warden of the North.
The other major event in the history of Scotland that may be behind the conception of the Red Wedding is the Massacre of Glencoe. This is slightly different, for this time it’s the guests who kill the hosts, but still, there are similarities.
In 1688, William, Prince of Orange accepted the invitation to take the English throne. The Scottish Parlament wasn’t happy and requested the return of James VII of Scotland (named II of England) who had been exiled to France. The response of James II wasn’t the one they expected: he persuaded them to accept William as their King. Disregarding it, John Graham led a force of Scottish Highlanders in a Jacobite Uprising to bring back James II, which failed.
On August 1691, King William offered all Highland clans a pardon for their part in the Jacobite Uprising. But they had to take an oath of allegiance before the 1st of January 1692 in front of a magistrate. The clans asked permission to James II to take the oath. The King’s answer, who was in France, came back in mid-December, a few weeks before the deadline. This, and the bad weather, caused Alisdair Maclain, 12th Chief of Glencoe to arrive late to taking the oath. But, as it was due to the weather, Sir Colin Campbell, sheriff of Argyll was forced to accept the oath as valid. But the failure to meet the deadline was enough of a pretense for the Campbell Clan to pursue their revenge against the perceived slights of the Maclain Clan.
And so, in the late January of 1692, they sent two companies of the Earl of Argyll under the command of Capitain Robert Campbell to Glencoe to quarter their troops. For two weeks, the soldiers were hosted by Alexander MacDonald (who was the son of Alisdair Maclain), Alisdair Maclain, and other members of the Clan.
On the morning of February 13, 1692, Capitan Campbell and his men were ordered to massacre the families who had sheltered them. And so, the bloodshed began. Alisdair Maclain was killed in his bed by Campbell’s soldiers. His sons and wife escaped, but 38 men of the clan were murdered in their homes or as they tried to flee.
And so, we can see the similarity between the Campbell Clan and the Freys, both of whom are capable of committing atrocious crimes to avenge what they perceive as slights to themselves.
But probably the biggest similarity between the two bloody events is the aftermath. In the case of the Massacre of Glencoe; it is actually remembered to this day, and all Glencoe inns and pubs bear signs that read: NO CAMPBELLS ALLOWED. This may only be for the tourist’s sake. But for hundreds of years, sings like that actually existed in Glencoe and weren’t for the tourists.
And perhaps, that is from where Martin took the Northmen’s motto: “The North Remembers”. Because after the Young Wolf’s murder, his Bannermen did surrender to King Joffrey, but they did not forget the Freys. Such is proven right in the chapter of “A Dance with Dragons” where Ser Davos sails to White Harbor to bring Lord Manderly to King Stannis’ side.
Lord Manderly tells Davos about the Red Wedding and complains about the Freys that he is forced to feast: “My son Wendel came to the the Twins a guest. He ate Lord Walder's bread and salt, and hung his sword upon the wall to feast with friends. And they murdered him. Murdered, I say, and may the Freys choke upon their fables. I drink with Jared, jape with Symond, promise Rhaegar the hand of my own beloved granddaughter ... but never think that means I have forgotten. The north remembers, Lord Davos. The north remembers, and the mummer’s farce is almost done. My son is home.” And true to his words, he has all the Freys that accompanied his son to White Harbor killed on the way to Winterfell to attend the Lord Ramsay’s Wedding.
And so, perhaps the North will remember just as Glencoe, after 300 years, still remembers.
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