A Song of Ice and Fire: Fantasy and History III

After a very long break (for which I am completely ashamed) I return to this blog to continue my series of post dedicated to the universe of “A song of Ice and Fire” by George R. R. Martin. This time I will be focussing on Margery Tyrell, the “sweet” and beautiful new Queen. And I will be comparing him to another “sweet” and beautiful new Queen; Anne Boleyn.

Margery Tyrell as portrayed in the HBO show

Portrait of Anne Boleyn

Before starting, I want to let one think clear: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, in a really extensive way. The “problem” with Margery, is that a great part of her character development happens in “A feast for crows” and “A dance with dragons” (the last two published books), and it’s a bit difficult talking about her without making any mention to what happens in those books. So if you haven’t read those books and don’t want to be spoiled, please do not read this post. Go read the books, and then come back (or wait until the TV show covers that, whatever you like).

With that said, let’s start by talking about Anne Boleyn.

Anne Boleyn was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, a well respected diplomat and favorite of Henry VII of England who would later become Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond. Anne and her siblings (Mary and George) grew up at Hever Castle in Kent. At the time of her birth, the Boleyn Family was considered one of the most respected within the English Aristocracy.

She became Queen of England in 1533 and reign until 1536 as the second wife of King Henry VIII of England. She was also named Marquess of Pembroke. Her marriage to Henry made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation. 

She grew up and received her education far away from the Tudor court; in the Netherlands and later France. She didn’t return to England until she was 20 years old (her age is not certain though) in order to marry James Butler, Earl of Ormond. The marriage wasn’t carried out in the end, but she secured a post at court as maid of honor to Henry VIII’s wife; Catherine of Aragon.

In 1526, the King began his pursuit of Anne. But, against all odds, she refused to become his mistress. After months of Anne’s denial, Henry’s wish to annul his marriage to Queen Catherine so he would be free to marry Anne grew stronger than ever. When the Pope refused to agree to the annulment, Henry decided to break the power of the Catholic Church in England by naming himself Head of the Church of England.

Soon after, Henry divorced Catherine and declared their marriage null and void. He married Anne on 25th January 1533. She was crowned Queen on the 1st of June of that same year.

A few months later, she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth, whose gender was a huge disappointment for Henry. Three miscarriages followed, and by March 1536, the King was courting another lady: Jane Seymour.

As time went on, Henry convinced himself that Anne would never give him a male heir and wished to get rid of her, so he had her investigated her for high treason and she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London on May the 2nd of 1536. 

There, she was tried before a jury. The charges laid against her were: adultery, incest, and witchcraft. She was found guilty on  the 15th of May. She was beheaded four days later.

Natalie Portman playing Anne in "The other Boleyn girl"

So, why exactly do I see any resemblance with Margery Tyrell? Well, it surely isn’t as obvious as it was in Tywin’s case. But I do believe there exists certain similarities.

Both Margery and Anne grew up and received their respective educations far away from the court they would later rule over. Margery grew up in Highgarden, the seat of her Lord Father; Mace Tyrell. And just as the Boleyn family, the Tyrell’s are one of the richest families in Westeros (only second to the Lannisters).

Anne Boleyn was secretly betrothed to Henry Percy, but said betrothal was broken and they never actually married. The case with Margery is not exactly like that, but there are some similarities. Margery actually married the rebel “False King” Renly Baratheon before marrying the King. But both her family and herself claim that the marriage was never consumed, so technically they were never really married.

Anne was considered to be brilliant, charming, elegant and graceful. Just like Margery. And she loved to flirt. Just like Margery. And Anne was also a devout Christian (although a revolutionary one). Just like Margery. In the book, especially in “A feast for crows”; we are told that Margery Tyrell goes very often to pray at the Sept of Baelor and she actually is depicted as a rather devout character.

The main difference between this two, in terms of personality is that Anne was really opinionated, really passionate and had a very sharp tongue an a terrible temper. But is that really a difference? Margery always comes off as meek and ladylike and very calm. But that (in my opinion) is just a façade. In the fourth book, there’s a scene that actually proves that. It’s when Cersei visits her at the Sept of Baelor after she’s been arrested for adultery. If you can recall, she screams and curses and calls Cersei a lying bitch (I don’t recall the exact words, but it was something like that) and reveals a much less “nice” side of her “perfect” persona, proving my point that she really is as passionate as Anne, but disguises it better.

Some actually describe Anne as “the perfect courtier”. Is there anything that would describe Margery better? That caused both women to have plenty of admirers and suitors at court.

And Margery, just as Anne, made a King set aside another woman in order to become Queen. Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon, so he could make Anne his Queen. And King Joffrey broke the betrothal to Sansa Stark to marry Margery.

The idea of annulment, in Henry’s case, had been considered some time earlier by his desire to secure the Tudor line by conceiving a male heir. In Joffrey’s case, he had also been looking for an excuse to set aside the Stark girl. But in both cases, Anne and Margery played major roles in the breaking of these vows.

And besides all that, both women were special enough to be able to manipulate their respective kings. Henry VIII is known as much for his tendencies to behead wives as for his hot temper and his stubbornness. And Joffrey, being the vicious mad boy king he is, is as crazy as he is uncontrollable. But somehow, both Anne and Margery found a way to control these forces of nature, even if it was just for a little while.

But perhaps, the clearest similarity between these women lies within their downfall. 

In Anne’s case, it all started with the arrest of a Flemish musician in Anne’s service. He initially denied being the Queen’s lover, but later confessed (probably under torture). And because of this other nobles were arrested: Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Sir Richard Page and the Queen’s own brother: George Boleyn. They all claimed being innocent of the charges. The Queen herself defended her own innocence all the way through to her execution. But still, she was charged of adultery and incest, which being a Queen were crimes that were considered treason to the Crown. Most historians consider this charges to be nothing but a scheme to replace her as Queen.

Margery’s case is really similar (only that we don’t know how it ends because George R. R. Martin hasn’t written it yet). Cersei, feeling supplanted by this young Queen, plots to have her arrested. First she tortures the Blue Bard, a singer that often accompanies Margery and her cousins, in order to get him to confess having bedded Margery. And then she sends Osney Kettleblack to the High Septon to confess having been seduced by Margery. In the end, she stands accused of having had sexual encounters with: Osney Kettleblack, Jalabhar Xho, Bayard Norcross, Ser Tallad the Tall, Hugh Clifton, Hamish the Harper, Lambert Turnberry, Mark Mullendor and the Blue Bard. Cersei also wants to accuse Loras Tyrell (the Queen’s brother) but ends up deciding that it is unnecessary and completely unbelievable (Loras is a known gay). And so, Margery is arrested and imprisoned by the Faith at the Sept of Baelor where she is questioned day and night. At the end of the last published book, Margery is awaiting trial by the judges of the Faith.

But perhaps, the clearest similarities do not lie as much in the deeds of Anne Boleyn’s life, but in the perception the everyone else had of her.

Anne Boleyn can be seen as either a victim or a harpy; and has been depicted as both many a times. She is the woman who caused the break between England and the Catholic Church . And yet, some view her as a fervent Protestant reformer who ushered in the Reformation to England and paved the way for her daughter, Queen Elizabeth. And others consider her a very ambitious woman and an opportunist who slept her way to the top and set aside the much beloved Catherine of Aragon.

The same goes for Margery; the line between being her father’s pawn to reach power and being herself an ambitious and cunning woman who hungers for power is really blurred.

All in all, they both were women who rose to the top and made quite a lot of enemies on their way, whom ended causing their downfall.

* One really unimportant but funny fact: HBO cast as Margery Tyrell the actress Natalie Dormer, who had previously played Anne Boleyn in the The Tudors.

A Song of Ice and Fire: Fantasy and History I

“A song of Ice and Fire” by George R. R. Martin is probably one of the best written pieces of fantasy of all time. And the great thing about it is that is not a copy of “The Lord of The Rings”.

The thing is that such was the influence and importance of Tolkien’s work in the fantasy landscape that ever since, almost every fantasy book that has come out has been trying too hard to be Lord of the Rings. And the result of that is a huge line of Tolkien’s rip offs that lack both the quality and imagination of the original. Therefore, a work like “A song of Ice and Fire” feels fresh and it’s really welcomed. The great thing about Martin’s work is that it creates its own world and dynamics and it takes from its own influences.

Whilst Lord of the Rings took a lot from the Nordic Mythology, A song of Ice and fire takes from European medieval history. And that is very noticeable.

There’s a great deal of things that could be said about this series of books, but I will keep this focused on the resemblances between real life history and the events and characters of this book. 

As there are thousands of these resemblances, I’ll devote one post to each of these. And the first post of this series will be dedicated to the resemblance between the figure of Isabella of France and Cersei Lannister.

First off, let’s briefly explain who Isabella was.

Isabella of France (1295- 1385) was the Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre. She was notable at the time for her beauty, diplomatic skills and intelligence. And has often been described as the She-wolf of France.

She was sent off to marry far away from home at the age of 12. Her husband, Edward the II, was notorious for the patronage he lavished on his favorite: Piers Gaveston, who was also his lover. This started a period of political turmoil that ended with an extended fight between the king and some of his nobles. The nobles would end up executing Gaveston, forcing the king into revenge. After his lover’s death, he turned to a new favorite, Hug Despenser the younger. His association which him resulted in the Despenser War and a period of internal repression across England.

Isabella, tired of her husband and Despenser, travelled to France under the guise of a diplomatic mission, where she began an affair with Roger Mortimer. Once there, he called for her son, and heir to the throne, to sign the peace treaty with the French. With her son by her side, she set sail towards England with a small army and took over Edward’s crown. She deposed him and became regent on behalf of her son: Edward III. A few years later, her husband died under strange circumstances, and it’s often believed that it was arranged by her.

Isabella landing in England with her son, the future Edward III in 1326

Seated as Queen next to her lover, Isabella led a lavish existence and ruled no better than her husband had.

When her son was seventeen, he deposed Mortimer and executed him, taking all power away from Isabella. She was exiled in an English castle until the end of her life whilst her son ruled.

She soon became a popular figure in plays and literature, usually portrayed as beautiful but cruel and often manipulative.

As you see, there is clearly some resemblance there.

Both were woman that were sold off to marry a rich and powerful king. Both Robert Baratheon and Edward II were handsome men, tall and fair. And both Isabella and Cersei found out during their wedding night’s that in their marriages there were three people, not two. In Isabella’s case was a real third person: Pierce Gaveston, her husband’s lover. And in Cersei’s case, was Lyanna Stark, Robert’s death fiancee. 

Another common aspect is that they both were regarded as very beautiful. At the time Isabella married, Geoffrey of Paris described her as “the beauty of beauties in the kingdom if not in all Europe”. And in Cersei’s case, it is often said that she is the most beautiful woman in Westeros.

And although far more far fetched there is even a small resemblance between the Isabella’s husband and Cersei’s. When the nobles executed Gaveston, the king, Edward II, went on a grieving rage and swore revenge. Which he actually got. Just as King Robert’s rage when he hear of the kidnapping and murder of his beloved Lyanna, which also ended in a bloody revenge.

Isabella was a fiercely protective mother, just like Cersei. Isabella took over her husband’s crown because he confiscated her lands and removed her children from her custody to be looked over at the Despenser’s household. Cersei is also a fiercely protective mother. And you could provable say that the only thing she truly cares are her children. Cersei actually takes the final step against her husband when Ned Stark threatens her and says he’ll tell her husband that the kids are the spawn of incest (which would mean death to them).

Both women actually though that they could be better rulers that their own husbands and decided to take over and rule themselves. Both planned the murder of their husbands so they could reign as regents for their sons. And in both cases, their sons ended up pushing them away from power. 

But, obviously, there are also differences between this strong willed women: for instance, Isabella’s son (Edward III) was not a psychopath and ended up being a pretty good king (at least for Middle Ages standards). Joffrey, instead, is basically crazy and a pretty bad king.

Isabella was a perfect match to her male contemporaries. Cersei, on the other hand, may not be as good as she thinks she is as a schemer. Her brother, Tyrion, is a thousand times better than her at the game of politics.

And Robert Baratheon had very little in common with Edward II. The latter was a soft man with no passion for hunting nor the usual kingly activities, whilst Robert was, first and foremost, a warrior. Robert also was a womanizer, instead, Edward was homosexual (or bisexual at least).

But whatever their differences are, Isabella and Cersei were raised to be no more than a pawn in a bigger game, but decided that they wanted to have a say at the game of thrones.

Cersei Lannister played by Lena Heady

Isabella of France played by Sophie Marceau in the
highly historically inaccurate "Braveheart"

In the next chapter of the “fantasy and history” series. I will compare Tywin Lannister to Edward I (the father of Isabella’s husband), also known as Hammer of the Scotts and Edward Longshanks. He ruled England with a hand of iron and destroyed the rebellion lead by William Wallace. Tywin, instead, squashed the rebellion lead by House Reyne of Castarmere in a very similar way.

But I’ll leave that to next year !

Happy New Year to all!!!