by Ed West
Further reading
Ackroyd, Peter Foundation
Ashley, Mike British Kings and Queens
Brooke, Christopher The Saxons and Norman Kings
Clements, Jonathan Vikings
Crossley-Holland, Kevin The Anglo-Saxon World
Duffy, Maureen England
Fraser, Antonia The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England
Goodwin, George Fatal Colours
Groom, Nick Union Jack The Story of the British Flag
Hannan, Daniel How We invented Freedom
Hindley, Geoffrey A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons
Holmes, George The Later Middle Ages 1272-1485
Jones, Dan The Plantagenets
Lacey, Robert Great Tales from English History (Parts One and Two)
McLynn, Frank Lionheart and Lackland
Morris, Marc The Norman Conquest
Mortimer, Ian The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III
Oliver, Neil A History of Ancient Britain
Ormrod, W.M. The Kings and Queen of England
Palmer, Alan Kings and Queens of England
Read, Piers Paul The Templars
Schama, Simon A History of Britain
Speck, W.A. A Concise History of Britain
Strong, Roy The Story of Britain
Weir, Alison Lancaster and York
White, R.J. A Short History of England
Wood, Harriet The Battle of Hastings
*There is also a website, http://history-behind-game-of-thrones.com which looks at the real-life events that inspired Game of Thrones.
Footnotes
i Kendall, Paul Murray Richard the Third
ii Bryson, Bill Mother Tongue
iii There is debate about the circumstances of Tyler’s death, and who drew a weapon first and why. Suffice it to say that the meeting didn’t go well for him.
iv Much of this is of course conjecture or guesswork, there being few sources for the period; most of our information comes from a miserable British chronicler called Gildas, whose account of the period, The Ruin and Conquest of Britain, is unsurprisingly rather negative about the recent turn of events.
v Freeman, Charles A New History of Early Christianity
vi Clements, Jonathan Vikings
vii Schama, Simon A History of Britain
viii Schama, Simon
ix Schama, Simon
x http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/mar/24/game-of-thrones-realistic-history
xi Morris, Marc The Norman Conquest
xii Jones, Dan The Plantagenets
xiii Jones, Dan
xiv Schama, Simon
xv Ormrod, W.D. The Kings and Queens of England
xvi http://history-behind-game-of-thrones.com/real-events/unsullied-thermopylae
xvii Anyone who could prove he owned land at the start of Richard’s reign did not have to show how his family came by it, because before that was beyond memory.
xviii Jones, Dan
xix Hannan, Daniel How We Invented Freedom
xx Jones, Dan
xxi Like almost everything from this period, this is disputed by some historians
xxii http://history-behind-game-of-thrones.com/gameofthrones/walder-frey-weddings-warwick
xxiii http://history-behind-game-of-thrones.com/real-events/redwedding
xxiv Goodwin, George Fatal Colours
xxv This is admittedly a colourful version of events. What really took place, to paraphrase comedian Stewart Lee, was probably not quite as romantic.
xxvi Weir, Alison Weir Lancaster and York
xxvii Admittedly it was Thomas More who first wrote this, and he was not exactly an impartial observer of Richard III; however Gloucester was in charge of the Tower at the time, so it’s not implausible.
xxviii Goodwin, George Fatal Rivalry
xxix This is at least one tradition for the rhyme, first recorded in the 18th century but thought to be much older.
xxx How much say the young boy had in this is obviously open to question.