Rhialto the Marvellous

I knew that, actually. I was just trying to convey Westeros's weird "sort-of, kind of England" history.

Quite a few interesting parallels here... Janos Slynt shares a great many things with Thomas Cromwell--except of course, for the latter's genius. Both are fat, ugly, the sons of butchers who gain titles for their willingness to do a king's business, and lose them just as quickly. (So now we just wait for his son to close down the puppet shows in King's Landing and for his grandson to overthrow the monarchy and establish a Lord Protectorate. ;) ) Pycelle's large and luxurious beard may refer to Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's, which he started growing on Henry VIII's death.

He might just get his chance. The Faith seems to like Tommen. It's just Mommy Dearest they have a problem with. Also, the Maegery situation smacks of Anne Boelyn's--held on trumped up adultery charges. And she's got a pinch of Catherine of Aragon as well...

An excellent point. Also, Edward I was, if I recall correctly, often referred to as the Panther, much as Tywin (like all Lannisters) is compared so constantly to lions. Another one--Maegor the Cruel seems to be another combination figure. Much as his father seems to blend William the Conquerer with China's Quin Shi Huang, Maegor seems like a combination of two much despised monarchs of England--William II Rufus, and John I. Both of them were hard men who quarrelled with the faith, which resulted in terrible reputations.

It's a bit of a longshot--largely because he's something of an archetype--but Tywin, the preeminent nobleman of his age, bears a passing resemblence to Edward I of England. Both were the sons of unworthy fathers who squandered the wealth, honor and power of their families. And both managed to not only undo the damage their fathers inflicted, but to make their families even greater than before. Both are famed for being brilliant and ruthless, talented generals and the foremost legal and political minds of their time. Both are amazingly vigorous in their old age. Both are handsome men, but cold and with a slight physical peculiarity that gives rise to jokes and nicknames that one does not say in their presence. Both treat their children rather harshly, more like chess pieces than an as beloved offspring. Both fight wars with their northern neighbors which they win through superior cunning and by sowing treachery among their rivals' followers. Both rivals are cruelly mutilated upon their death. Both die in the midst of a war, leaving it to their less competent offspring to handle. (Though Edward II was a much better ruler than Cersei, it must be acknowledged.)

I've mentioned this one before. Dany's marriage to Khal Drogo is very likely a reference to the Nibelunglied, where Kriemhild marries Attila the Hun in hopes of revenging the death of Siegfried. The Painted Table may be a reference to Quin Shi Huang Di, China's "First and Foremost" Emperor, who began the Great Wall, and had them start counting the years from his reign. Among his many activities, while planning the uniting of the seven nations of China (that's right--seven nations) was the creation of a map which showed them as one country. The Baratheon brothers happen to be very similar to the brothers York--Edward, Richard, and Clarence--during the War of the Roses.