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References and Homages


Ran
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This isn't really the place for it as it's more or less the complete opposite, but has anybody read the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks? I'm doing a re-read of the series right now and Weeks seems to have been influenced by GRRM.



- Duke Regnus Gyre is one of the most powerful men in the country. He's also one of the most honourable men, and refuses to stage a coup to take the throne when the old king dies, despite knowing that he would be a better ruler than the king's son who is set to succeed him. This references Ned refusing to take the throne after the Sack and instead letting Robert have it


- Gyre is sent to garrison Screaming Winds, the northernmost post in the country by the new king. Screaming Winds reminds me heavily of the Wall, and Ned was supposed to be sent there for trying to crown Stannis


- Unlike Ned though, Gyre makes it there and ends up serving there for 10 years IIRC. But then upon his return he is murdered. So in both series the powerful honourable man is sentenced to the northernmost outpost and murdered.


- King Aleine IX is almost exactly like Aerys. He's paranoid, weak, mad, stupid, generous to his allies, and his family has been weakening for generations like the Targaryens did


- There's a king, but the real power rests with the Sa'Kage, the city's underworld. Much like how Littlefinger and Varys controlled a lot of the real power in King's Landing


- The mad king is murdered during a coup by his commander (Lord General Agon vs Ser Jaime Lannister)



I thought of a bunch more last night as I started my re-read (I'm only like 100 pages into the first book), but I can't remember them at the moment. But there's tons of parallels that leads me to believe that Weeks was definitely influenced by Martin


Edited by markg171
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  • 2 weeks later...

I was browsing the used record store earlier and came across a band called Marillion--at first I was excited because they might have been a ref. to GRRM, but some of their records were copyrighted 1988. Anyone heard this band, or know if GRRM might be referencing them in the name of his singer? (I was too cheap to buy any.)

Yes, I think this is a direct reference to the band. Marillion was everywhere in the UK back in the mid-late 1980's. I thought of them immediately when I read about Marillion the singer at the Eyrie.

Marillion's biggest hit was a song called 'Kayleigh'.

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Yes, I think this is a direct reference to the band. Marillion was everywhere in the UK back in the mid-late 1980's. I thought of them immediately when I read about Marillion the singer at the Eyrie.

Marillion's biggest hit was a song called 'Kayleigh'.

Big fan of the band too, but according to this post, it's a coincidence

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Prince Rhaegar reminds me a bit of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, the one assassinated at Sarajevo in 1914: both had vague plans for reform that were suspected by the monarchs to whom they were heir (Franz Josef; Aerys II); both Franz Ferdinand and Rhaegar made unusual marriages (Franz Ferdinand marrying below his social level to a mere Countess; Rhaegar marrying--or eloping or kidnapping--while his first wife was still alive to someone else's betrothed). both seemed nicer and more enlightened than most of the rest of their dynasty; the deaths of both heralded the imminent fall of their dynasties; and both died tragically so they can be a Rorschach blot for the dreams or what-might-have-beens of others.


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This ↓ is rather unlikely, but:

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/House_Teague their sigil is is golden trident...

In Pirates of Carribean, Edward Teague is father of Jack Sparrow.

According to some internet sources in Pirates of Carribean 5

Jack is on quest to find Poseidon's trident...

Edited by Blue Tiger
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This ↓ is rather unlikely, but:

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/House_Teague their sigil is is golden trident...

In Pirates of Carribean, Edward Teague is father of Jack Sparrow.

According to some internet sources in Pirates of Carribean 5

Jack is on quest to find Poseidon's trident...

Lol dude you're obsessed with Pirates of the Caribbean
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A thought crossed my mind though it's probably not a real reference I can't help but feel some connection between Ironborn culture and some biblical references. In the bible Samuel the Prophet searched for a 'godly man' to rule as king of Israel(doesn't it remind you of some other prophet who also said the king must be a man of god?), he also poured a flask of olive oil on Saul's head, similar to the Ironborn but with seawater instead.
One last thing- the smallfolk and highborn alike sought the prophet's counsel and his words carried weight(they urged him to find a king) similar to the way the lords of the Islands seeks Aeron's advice on who should rule after Balon.

Coincidence? well, yeah probably haha but still, interesting thought no?

Edited by Staker
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Interesting....I think there are iots of Biblical references in ASOIAF, and Aeron does remind me of a Biblical prophet--the difference being of course the Greyjoys are an established line, and Saul;s family had never been kings until he was....

Somewhere above in this thread I pointed out Ned saying to Cat 'I never asked for this cup to pass to me.'

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From "How to tame a dragon" ?

I haven't. I've thought about Glaurung....

I have three wee ones, including two boys, so How to Train Your Dragon is pretty popular in my home. Given that the George appreciates Sesame Street, another favorite of ours, I figured Toothless the night fury might've gotten a shout out.
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  • 2 weeks later...

I have three wee ones, including two boys, so How to Train Your Dragon is pretty popular in my home. Given that the George appreciates Sesame Street, another favorite of ours, I figured Toothless the night fury might've gotten a shout out.

TWOIAF was written recently and grrm didn't write the content about Sothyros and other far flung places, so IMO it is possible that the authors were giving a shoutout to 'HTTYD'
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Studying Elizabethan England I think I might have stumbled upon one that haven't been spotted to do with Ireland.



The Battle of the Yellow Ford (1598): Such a big link to ASOIAF here!!!!


  • Yellow ford = v. similar to green fork (ruby ford), blue fork and red fork
  • On the wiki it says the battle took place near to the River Blackwater
  • Battle started with an ambush from a wood a la Whispering Wood
  • Also like Whispering Wood, the ambushing party won
  • Irish Alliance vs English Crown = Northern men and Rivermen allied under Robb's rule vs Westeros Crown (Lannister)
  • Both Yellow Ford and Whispering Wood marked an escalation in war
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