Who's Got the Power? We've Got the Power!

One of the biggest struggles in A Game of Thrones is the conflict over power in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Power is portrayed in the forms of wealth, warfare, and supernatural and there is a seemingly endless struggle throughout this book and the rest in the series to achieve this power. The same struggle for power is also present within the History of the Kings of Britain as the Britons, the Romans, the Saxons, and the Normans fight for control over the lands. These people are continually sailing back and forth between the lands in an attempt to conquer them. Through this never-ending power struggle for the people of Westeros and the people of Medieval England, we can determine that: power is not infinite, it is not absolute, but rather it is continually shifting from one man to another or from one family to another or from one kingdom to another.

Within Game of Thrones, Jon Snow and Jamie Lannister are examples of men who achieve power through warfare. Both of these men are highly skilled swordsmen and there are not many who can defeat these two in battle. The Lannisters, specifically Tywin and Cersei represent those who achieve their power through wealth. The Lannisters’ saying is that, “A Lannister always pays his debt.” This represents the overwhelming wealth that they possess and it is this wealth that makes them powerful over many others in the Seven Kingdoms. Stannis Baratheon and the Red Lady symbolize those who receive their power through the supernatural. Stannis utilized the supernatural powers to create a shadow with which he killed his younger brother, Renly to become the sole heir to the Iron Throne.

Within A History of the Kings of Britain, King Arthur is one of the men whose power comes from his ability to fight in battle. King Arthur is well known for his great strength and his ability to conquer all lands. Merlin, the wizard, represents a person who gets power from the supernatural. He uses his prophecies and his magical powers to aide various Kings over the years.

In the book A Clash of Kings, Varys asks Tyrion the answer to the following riddle:

“In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it’ says that king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be your.’ So tell me-who lives and who dies?”

Tyrion answers, “Depends on the sellsword.” Varys counters by asking, “Does it?”

The obvious answer to this question is that the sellsword has the power as he wields the sword, however, Varys argues that power is ephemeral in that it “lies where we think it lies.”

This riddle sums up the struggle for power throughout Game of Thrones for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The riddle serves as a parallel for the inhabitants of Westeros. The sellsword symbolizes the commoners, the mass of people who are fighting for the Kings. These common people offer their support and loyalty to the ruler who benefits them the most. This parallels the riddle in that the sellsword is seen as holding all of the power, therefore, he can choose which of the three leaders will benefit him the most so he should save that one.  

The most important thing to remember, however, is that power is not infinite. Although the sellsword is comfortable in this situation, that can change at any moment. There will always be people who want to take the power for themselves as is visible throughout the whole of Game of Thrones as the Starks, the Baratheons, and the Targaryen are all fighting for the Iron Throne which is currently under the rule of the Lannisters.