A Girl and A Boy: The Avenging Dragons

In response to the many similarities and differences concerning “Game of Thrones” star female ruler, Daenerys, and “Histories of the Kings of Britain” destined male ruler, Arthur Pendragon, I would like to expand on their lineage and the historical underpinnings of their story and burdens. Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama series by George R.R. Martin that faithfully adapts several key elements of magic, sword play, dragons, and supernatural creatures found in the literary material while incorporating an aptly selected scenery that spans most of Northern Ireland. The series is predicated on the tale of continuous civil war between the seven houses of westeros and their endeavors to control the kingdom by obtaining the Iron Throne.

Firstly, some of the differences between king Arthur and Daenerys is situated with the coming of their births. However, I would love to expand on both characters in terms of their being. Both have a divine or mystic nature to them, while also being heavily associated with Dragons. Daenerys was the last of the Targaryen race, whose claim to throne and childhood are a little more complicated.  Being born of a dying lineage, Daenerys, the daughter of the Mad King, Aerys Targaryen who was driven insane by the multiple still births of his lineage with his child, was born a female. Eventually, Aerys was also betrayed by his allies, the Baratheons who took his thrown as King of the Seven Kingdoms and created a new rule with the Lannisters. As a woman, in this world, Daenerys birth right was overshadowed by family mental history, her young age and youth, as well with the existence of her incestuous rapist male sibling, Viscerys. Eventually, Danerys becomes the "mother of dragons", and the “unburned”. When the last Targaryen’s died with their dragons, the magic realm was changed forever and became very elusive. The generations that were able to unite and manipulate magic became of the old legends, and the first children’s stories. This omission or disappearance of magic is much like, the disappearance of Merlin, but also serves to give Daenerys a competitive edge upon the death of her brother. In comparison, Arthur was born and prophesied after a dragon shaped comet that scorched the sky shortly before the death of his father, who (let’s not forget) was Uther Pendragon. In the histories of the king of Britain Arthur Pendragon, was also born of a dying lineage. At the time his father Uther Pendragon, and uncle Aurelius Pendragon were still defending their British homeland against the Saxons, with every war their health and ability to lead diminished. Arthur was conceived in a time of need, and prophesied by Merlin as a heroic successor destined to bring Britain relief and freedom from the long history of betrayal and past transgressions against the British nobility and its people. Upon Arthur’s birth a great light in the form of a dragon pierced the sky across all the lands, as a divine and miraculous symbol of the removal of oppression.

Speaking of Symbols: Historically (and in the picture provided), we can see that the sigil for King Arthur is a red dragon, much like the one Merlin alludes to in HKB. In Game of thrones, the sigil for the Targaryen’s is actually a three-headed dragon, which more closely alludes to the devil and the end of the world, but for this blog post it will be associated with the mentioned rulers :D. King Arthur united Britain and rescued his people from the clutches of slavery, while Aerys united Westeros, and Daenerys intends to do again. However, both men failed their country, and dare I say it I think Daenerys will also fail if history continues to repeat itself. It should be noted that in an interview George R. R Martin did state that he did not base anyone character on a previous historical entity on a one to one base, but did draw a lot from English History

 Overall, while I agree that Arthur's and Daenerys's most notable characteristics being conquerors and rulers who had a true heart and respect for their peopl. eApart from being neglected the privilege of having a celestial being announce her birth to the world, the one defying characteristic of Daenerys is not her magic ability of being “unburnt” but rather her luck and innocence. Daenerys as a benevolent ruler, is vastly undermined by her blatant inability to lead, and shoddy approach to rule. By the first season of the “Game of Thrones” series, her attempt to assimilate into the Dothraki culture causes civil dissension and mutiny, while also killing her husband. Instead of being overthrown, the birth of her Dragons give her the power to free... and eventually re-enslave the peoples of Mureen in Slaver’s bay. In short, Khaleesi has made the mistakes of a soldier trying to be King, inadvertently leading to many unnecessary deaths and eventually the decline of entire races…. At least Arthur only failed Britain. 

Gringotts Goblins and Middle-Earth Dwarves

I find it interesting that these are two of the biggest fantasy series in society and their similarities are quite similar, it's not something that's typically thought about but as soon as it's pointed out it seems so obvious. With the previous blogs we had some people comparing The Hobbit to the Harry Potter series and the similarities are shocking, right down to both main characters possessing invisibility. It had me thinking, since we talked about Tolkien resembling Jewish people in the race of the dwarves if there was anything similar in the story of Harry Potter. When Harry goes to the bank to view his inheritance the reader meets the goblin race for the first time. Now in The Hobbit there is a goblin race, the ones who live under the misty mountains, as well but they are presented differently in each tale. As opposed to being violent and blundering the goblins in Harry Potter are in charge of Gringotts Bank, they are the main group responsible for all of the money in the wizarding world, at least in London. This reminds me of the history between the Christians and the Jews that we discussed in class, how they Jew’s were made to be in charge of loans, taxes, money, etc since it didn’t interfere with their beliefs, as opposed to the Christians. In Gringotts there is no other race running the bank it is all goblins, no wizards, giants, centaurs, just goblins. On top of that these goblins contain other characteristics that the stereotypical caricature of the Jewish person has, on top of the money greed caricatures often depicted them with large, hooked noses, elongated ears, beady and drooping eyes. Even their hair, long and curly/wavy, is similar to how orthadox Jews wear their hair. In Harry Potter all goblins we encounter fit this description to a tee and J.K doesn’t have dwarves, the race Tolkien portrays Jewish characteristics, but instead pushes these traits onto her modified race goblins, subconscious or not.

The Intersection of Religion and Race in the Middle Ages and its Ancient Roots

As we have seen in tales like The King of Tars religion and race are inextricable from one another– so much so that in highly exaggerated stories like this one, the "black" Sultan of Damascus turns white upon converting to Christianity after losing the "pray-off" to his wife, the "pure white" daughter of the Christian King of Tars.

I have a hypothesis that this feature of Medieval Christendom is not so much one inherent to Christianity itself as much as it might be a holdover from the past of pagan Europeans who had really only begun to be Christianized from around the latter half of the first century CE onwards anywhere north of Rome and southeast of Ireland, which were both largely christianized fairly early on (around the 4th-5th Centuries CE).

In particular, this seems to be something retained from the customs of the Germanic pagans (or "heathens") due to unique characteristics of Germanic religious metaphysics with regards to the nature of the soul and patrilineal descent and whose religion was particularly tribalistic and demanding of lineal purity, even compared to other tribal groups around them, such as the Celts, who were more given to syncretism and mixing with other groups, such as the Romans, as seen in Roman Gaul, Hispania, and Britain (Symbols & Image in Celtic Religious Art, Miranda Green) and more prone to giving greater importance to matrilineal descent, as can be seen in the continental Celtic practice of pairing foreign male gods (usually Roman) with indigenous Celtic female deities (Rosmerta, Sirona, Nantosuelta, Epona, etc.) often depicted with cornucopiae signifying their fertility(Green).

For the Germans (and perhaps the Norse especially) the family line was exceptionally important because a child only received a soul when he was accepted by the father into the Innangard, or  "kin-yard/fence, because only then could the ancestors be reborn through his progeny and he himself be reborn as well. For the Heathens, religion really was equivalent with "race".It is unlikely that a concept so integral to the beliefs of the Norse and other Germanic peoples would have been forgotten entirely even after converting to Christianity. While the continental Germans converted piecemeal during the first millennium CE with some tribes becoming Christian during the 400s, such as the Vandals and Goths, and the Franks following a little later, others, especially in Saxony and other parts of Northern Germania, only converted during the 800s, and that too under duress by the Franks, whose king Charlemagne forced them to do so after a protracted war led to the capture and capitulation of the Saxon leader, Widukind. Christianity didn't really reach the North until around the beginning of the second millennium CE, with it not really becoming official until around 1100 nor reaching the interior of the land until around the 15th Century.

There is some reason to believe that beliefs of this kind could have been retained, even after Christianization, especially when one considers the fairly late conversion of a lot of the German tribes. Looking at the stories of early German Christian kings, like Clovis, king of the Franks, they reveal a Christianity that was far more flexible than the later, dogmatized faith, one that could appeal to Germanic pagans like Clovis, who could view Christ or the Christian god as a last resort and a sort of Germanic warrior, a view that is paralleled in the 8th Century Anglo-Saxon poem Dream of the Rood (Cross), in which Christ is seen as a hero who overcomes death.

Who knew George R.R. Martin was working with Disney?

Daenerys, from Game of Thrones, is beginning to think that she can use her Targaryen heritage and Dothraki culture and create something that is completely new. Danny feels she should be praised for saving the maegi from the brutality of pillaging. The ways she holds herself so highly overshadows the truth that she did not help anyone. Maui, from Moana, can be seen to exemplify those same traits. He believed he was helping the human race by stealing the heart of Te Fiti. Maui is too self-absorbed to realize that he started the wave of death that has been spreading to the surrounding islands in Hawaii. Both characters are similar in how they are treated as outsiders and how they think they are heroes for offering an outsider input.

               Daenerys and Maui are both considered outsiders in their cultures. Since Danny is of Targaryen decent, being sold to a nomadic Dothraki khal, Drogo, was a huge culture shock for her, especially at the age of an early teenager. Danny’s brother, Viserys, was using her to gain back the throne of the seven kingdoms. Danny was visually different from the rest of the Dothraki because she was the only white person amongst the Dothraki. She was not respected like she thought she would be for being their khaleesi, queen. The Dothraki made it clear that she will continue to be an outsider in their culture by not respecting her commands. Similarly, Maui is considered an outside to humanity because he was tossed out into the ocean by his parents. The gods rescued him and granted him the status of demigod. Maui decided to proceed helping humanity, who rejected him from birth, in order to feel the acceptance and approval that he never got. Humanity still negatively views Maui as the culprit for the spreading famine across the islands.

               Both characters think they are saving a primitive race as a hero when they do not solve anything. Daenerys believes she saved the maegi from being raped when the Dothraki invaded the Lamb Men village. Danny believes she was liberating potential slaves as well as reshaping the Dothraki culture. This is a classic example of colonialism since Danny tries to mold an established population into her ideals. Danny does not approve of the Dothraki method of claiming their spoils, and she believes she has the power to change their pre-established methods. The maegi took the life of Danny’s child and of her husband, Drogo, to prove to Danny that she saved no one. Danny was blinded by her own personal victory of saving the maegi that she did not realize that the maegi has to live with the fact that her previous life was destroyed and violated by the Dothraki. Similarly, Maui does not realize he is not a hero. Maui stole the heart of Te Fiti, and unintentionally unleashed a wave of death, because he thought he was giving humanity another gift of life. Through Maui’s endeavors of giving gifts to humanity, he begins to develop a superiority complex. He believes he is the strongest being on the planet and looks down upon the humans. Maui believes he is saving the human race, which leads to his ego overshadowing the death wave he unleashed. When Moana found Maui, he had no intention of returning the heart. Moana tells Maui that he is no hero because he has does not care about the lives of the people he is trying to save/impress. She then shows Maui off by going against Te Ka alone to fix the mistake he created.

Sexism: Not Okay In Real Life, But Okay In TV Show

As a person who is obsessed with Game of Thrones and can’t wait for the next season, it is defeating to see the sexist and misogynistic views in which the show portrays women. From the way Daenerys comes to terms with her inner power and her inner dragon to the way that she changes the great Khal Drogo, the series sexualizes women and tries to play it off in a positive light. Many people view the show as empowering women because it emphasizes the strength and courage that is possessed by Daenerys and paints her in a positively powerful light. However, they fail to acknowledge the way she came to recognize that strength and the way in which she came to terms with her power. In Game of Thrones, Daenerys realizes her true power only after marrying an important and powerful man. She learns to stand up to her brother only after she realizes that her brother can no longer hurt her because she has Khal Drogo’s bloodriders to protect her. It is only after this that she learns to embrace her status as a Queen and the power that comes with being the “dragon.” Although later in the series Daenerys gains more strength and power on her own, after the death of Khal Drogo, the book originally portrays the strong Daenerys rising as a result of her marriage to Khal Drogo.  

Another instance is when Daenerys changes the feelings of the all mighty Khal Drogo through the power of sex. The series illustrates Daenerys using sex as a tool to make Khal Drogo less “animal-like” and more civilized towards her. At first he only takes her from the back, more in the show than the book, however, once Dany learns how to properly please a man she makes him have sex with her face to face. Why does Dany have to use sex in order to obtain respect from Khal Drogo, her husband? And why is that quickly overlooked by most of the people who watch GoT?  

More upsetting than these instances of sexism and misogyny are the ways in which the series has tried to downplay them and use them to further the plot. The scene in the show/book where Dany forces Drogo to have sex face to face is meant to show the change in their relationship; it is the moment when Dany manages to soften the Khal Drogo and change his ways. However, it is overlooked because it was common back in the time period from which the series is influenced. Many people say it is okay because it is just part of the world that the is created within the series by George R. R. Martin. But this does not make it okay. Why is it okay to be sexist within a fantasy world in a TV show, movie, or book, when it is not okay in real life?  

The End of Monstrous Races

      In most medieval themed books such as Game of Thrones, History of the Great Kings of Britain, Lord of the Rings, etc. We see a common theme among the monstrous races that exist in these different universes. In all of these books, creatures like giants, dragons, shape shifters, etc. all existed at some point in time. They act as vestiges of an old world that no longer exists; a way of life that has been forgotten and will not move forward in the contemporary sense.


     The first we learn about these monstrous races are in HKB, where we learn of Brutus's travels to Briton and killing the giants the reside there. The giants in HKB represent savagery and strength and Brutus and his people cannot settle in Briton while they occupy the island. They've been there for what is understood as centuries and their way of life cannot coexist with the new way that is being forced upon them by Brutus. In The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, we see a similar trend, but it's presented in a slightly different way. The creatures that are present in Mandeville's travels exist in the contemporary time, but do not live anywhere near mankind. They instead live on the far reaches of the world. This theme of monstrous races being killed off or being forced to live far from mankind occurs in several different modern novels that take inspiration from these old medieval texts.


     We'll start with the hit TV series and novel, Game of Thrones. In this series, there are several races that are going into the point of extinction during the present time period of the novel. Dragons, a popular topic in the novel, play a huge role in the past, as well as the present. We learn all throughout the series that dragons were used by great kings to win wars and conquer cities, but time turned them into dust and the dragons were thought to have died out. Now, when three dragon eggs are discovered and given to a Targaryen, shit starts to hit the fan. Most people refuse to believe that they exist anymore, and the people in high power attempt to either take the dragons or kill them off entirely. We don't learn too much about the past of dragons, but they must've had a huge impact in history for them to be reacted to in this way.


     Giants that only live north of the wall only have a few left in existence, and we even see the last of their kind killed off during one of the battles in the series. It's understood that giants used to be in far greater numbers, living in clans north of the wall. They speak an old language called the "old tongue" and follow an old religion that most other going-extinct races follow called the "old gods of the forest". There are also ancient beings that live even further north called the "children of the forest" that follow the same religion as the giants who have been said to be the original inhabitants of Westeros. In the series, one of the final groups that existed were also killed off making the children of the forest become seemingly extinct.



   
     Game of Thrones is the more popular topic when it comes to contemporary medieval texts, but this reoccurring theme of monstrous races is also apparent in the Lord of the Rings. Old Elven kingdoms are shrinking at steady rate. We learn about a man named Beorn who is the last skin changer due to his kind being killed off. We learn of dragons that are very few in existence, and we also know that wizards like Gandalf or Saruman also are very few in existence.


     In most medieval texts, there are lots of non human races that have existed at one point in time. And in most medieval texts these races are killed off to the point of extinction because the old world cannot change with the new.

The Mappa Mundi and the Imperial Departmento Cartigraphicae Map of the Milky Way

In the Warhammer 40k universe, the Departmento Cartigraphicae is the branch of the Adeptus Mechanicus that is tasked with mapping the eternal void of space as the Explorator fleets chart its depths. The map of the Milky Way that they have devised is similar to the Mappa Mundi and the Medieval concept of a map portrayed in Medieval scripts such as The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Just as Jerusalem, the focal point of the Christian faith, is the center point of the Christian-centered maps of the Medieval era, so too is Holy Terra, formerly known as "Earth," the focal point for Imperial maps that chart the galaxy. Terra is the holiest and most cherished planet in the entire Milky Way Galaxy as it is not only the seat of Imperial power within the religiously fanatical Imperium of Man, but it is also the birthplace of Mankind, a race which is inherently holy and destined to rule all creation, and subsequently the Emperor of Mankind, the Eternal God of Mankind made flesh to lead Holy Humanity to its final victory. In addition, similarly to how the Mappa Mundi is divided into three sections, displaying the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia, the map of the 40k universe is divided into five sectors, each being a distinct section of the Milky Way Galaxy. In the Mappa Mundi and in Mandeville's Travels there is the concept that the farther one travels from Europe and Jerusalem towards the edges of Africa and Asia, the more bizarre and stranger the world becomes. This same concept is also prevalent in the map of 40k as the farther one moves from Terra and the Segmentum Solar, the sector in which Terra resides, the more terrible and grim the galaxy becomes, with the exception of the Segmentum Pacificus, which resides on the farthest "West" part of the galactic map, farthest from the horrors of the galaxy, similar to Europe in Mundi. The Segmentum Obscurus and the Segmentum Tempestus are both farther to the "East" and farther from Terra, but still somewhat close, thus they both are fraught with enemies that the Imperium of Man is relatively familiar with such as the heretical forces of Chaos who's holy war with the Imperium is reminiscent of the Crusades and Jihads fought between Christians and Muslims. In addition to heretics against the Imperial truth, these sections of space are teeming with monstrous xenos races such as the hyper-violent and crude Orks or the hive-minded killing machines that are the Tyranids, and alongside them are tamer, but no less alien and no less threatening, xenos races such as the collectivist Tau or the ancient and immensely wise Eldar. In these sectors of space, human worlds are also home to various races of abhumans, subspecies of humans that were born from genetic mutation brought about by the living conditions they found themselves in on foreign planets. These abhumans are similar to the almost human monstrous races featured in the Mappa Mundi and in Mandeville's Travels. The ratlings, for example, bear resemblance to the troglodites portrayed on Medieval maps and in Medieval travel narratives as they are nearly human, yet they have grown much shorter than the average man and are agile and rat-like due to the tens of thousands of years they spent trapped underground in squalid conditions as the surface of their colony world was irradiated and toxic. Another abhuman race are the ogryn, violent, simple-minded, and extremely large, they resemble giants portrayed in Medieval texts. They came to be because their home colony was subject to extremely high gravity due to the planets incredibly dense core. Lastly, the Segmentum Ultima comprises the farthest "East" expanse of the galaxy and contains the galaxies most ancient and mysterious threats. Farthest from the Emperor's grace, the Segmentum Ultima is home to xenos races such as the Necrons, an army of undying, immortal machines bent on the eradication of all biological life, or the cold, calculating Rak'Gol, about which almost nothing is known aside from their periodic attacks on human ships and worlds, harvesting all sentient life and disappearing back into the void before any had the chance to respond to the distress call. All in all, the maps of 40k and the Christian Medieval era bear many similarities to each other in the way they are designed and in the monstrous beasts that inhabit their fringes.