Game of Thrones ran for ten seasons and each episode was packed with information. From names of characters and regions to the varying religions and rulings, the world created by George R.R. Martin is a daunting series to jump into for any new viewer. The books can be just as intimidating with how condensed the information is with the several changing perspectives.
While Westeros has a beautiful history, remembering all the information about the land can be hard, especially when fans are more worried about if their favorite character will die at any moment. With the prequel, House of Dragons, just around the corner, fans might need a refresher on some facts about the land that created such an immense escape from reality. Here are some of the lesser-known facts about Game of Thrones’ Westeros that all fans should know.
Spoilers
5 Natives To Westeros
While Westeros is populated with humans of varying backgrounds and histories now, it can be a shock to some when they realize that humans were not native to Westeros. The First Men arrived from Essos about 12,000 years before Game of Thrones was set. The Children of the Forest, small, human-like creatures, were the original inhabitants of Westeros.
The First Men were brutal killers and took over their land while tearing down sacred Weirwood trees, which is the iconic tree seen in Episode One, Season One where Ned Stark is cleaning his sword. The Children of the Forest are often at war with the First Men, and at some point, they create the White Walkers to protect themselves.
The show depicts these creatures first in Season Four. Leaf, the creature’s name, is shown saving Bran Stark’s life from the wights at the entrance of the Three-Eyed Raven Cave. It is also explained in Season Six when Bran uses his abilities to learn how the Night King was created.
4 The Reclusive People
Like The Children of the Forest, Westeros has another kind of people that live very different lives than humans. As the name implies, Crannogmen live in crannogs, which are artificial islands, in the swamplands of the Neck. These men are talented hunters and brutal warriors, making them hard to conquer. They keep their distance from the Seven Kingdoms and often look down at their people and believe them to be ‘cowardly’.
Their history says that they grew close to the Children of the Forest, and potentially married within the races, which explains the shorter height of the Crannogmen. When the North was ruled by King Rickard Stark, the Crannogmen swore oaths of fealty to the Starks, but now are ruled by House Reed from Greywater Watch. Jojen and Meera Reed are examples of crannogmen.
3 The Long Night And The Wall
There is mention of the Long Night usually when referencing Stark’s House words, “Winter is Coming”, which is appropriate when realizing how the House was formed. The Long Night is a great winter that lasted a generation, and it happened 8,000 years before Game of Thrones was set. During this period, the White Walkers invaded Westeros, destroying land, and killing humans. During the Long Night, humans fought with the Children of the Night to push the White Walkers back off their land. In the eastern stories, there is a legend of a hero by the name of Azor Ahai, who wielded a sword made of fire named Lightbringer, however, Westerosi do not mention him.
When the White Walkers were pushed back far enough, the Wall was formed by Brandon Stark, who used magic to great the structure to prevent the creatures from returning. This is also when Winterfell is created, along with House Stark and the Night’s Watch. The Free Men who were trapped North of the wall became the “Free Folk” or “Wildlings”. These men had to accustom themselves to the harsh climate and terrain of the North, and soon became hostile to those beyond the Wall, even though they all shared the same ethnic backgrounds.
2 Changing Of Religions
Like all history, there is usually a group of people who come in and try to transform society into a new way of life. And Westeros is no different. As mentioned, the Children of the Forest and men finally reconciled their differences and became peaceful towards one another, thus giving men the Old Gods.
Soon after this, however, the Andals invaded in the Fingers and attacked the First Men who lived in the Vale. By burning down the weirwood groves and slaughtering the Children of the Forest, the Andals took over the Seven Kingdoms and overruled the Old Gods with their own religion, the Faith of the Seven. While the North still try to hold their tradition to the Old Gods, and the Iron Islands believe in the Drowned God, the rest of Westeros took up this religion.
In both the show and books, fans often understand the Seven when they hear the names such as The Father, The Mother, The Warrior, The Smith, The Maiden, The Crone, and The Stranger. There could be some Christian Trinity inspiration when creating this religion from the three person unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
1 The Mad King
While the Mad King is often referenced in both the show and the books, there is so much more history about Aerys Targaryen than what is told. While the prequel will surely touch on this matter frequently, it is important that fans know more about the history before diving in blindly. Aerys’ reign begins about 40 years before Game of Thrones. Aerys and Twyin Lannister were childhood friends to start, however, as the story progresses, their friendship deteoriates. Tywin Lannister tries to restore his dominance over Westerlands while Aerys rules.
But things clash Aerys refuses to marry his son, Rhaegar, to Twyin’s daughter, Cersei. Instead, Aerys married his son to Princess Elia Martell of Dorne. Soon, the Mad King became paranoid over the whispers that Twyin was better suited for the throne. Aerys began to go against Tywin’s advice in spite of him due to his bitterness, which began the Defiance of Duskendale. Lord Darklyn of Duskendale refuses to pay his taxes and takes Aerys captive, which only furthers his mental stability sufferings. While Twyin and Barristan Selmy rescues Aerys, the imprisonment already took his toll on Aerys.
The madness flourished from there, leaving him fearful of sharp objects, doing as he pleased which led to killings and playing with fire, even distrusting his own son. Towards the end of his reign, before Jaime Lannister ended up killing him, the Mad King was prepared to destroy all of King’s Landing to prevent anyone else from ruling the Seven Kingdoms. This can also be seen at the end of Game of Thrones when Daenerys destroyed the city, and Drogon burned the chair.