Welcome back! I hope you guys enjoyed my last blog. After reading your comments, I’ve decided that I’m going to try to avoid spoilers in my blog in order to encourage you guys to read it! As part of my next post, I’m going to introduce the geography and important families/organizations of A Song of Ice and Fire, as I’m going to reference them in future blog posts, so this’ll serve as a good reference post.
Geography
This map does a pretty good job of showing the continent of Westeros, where most of the events in the story take place. There are seven kingdoms: the North (in the North, gray), the Eyrie (white), the Riverlands (light blue, central), the Westerlands (red), the Reach (green), the Stormlands (yellow), and Dorne (orange, south). Additionally, there are two additional regions: the Crownlands (reddish-orange), which surrounds the Capital, King’s Landing, and the Iron Islands (gold, north of the Westerlands). One final important landmark is located in the far North: the Wall, which marks the Northern most boundary of the Northern kingdom and divides the North from the far north.
Families/Organizations
Each kingdom is controlled by a family (think like how states have individual governors). Initially, the North is controlled by House Stark, the Eyrie is controlled by House Arryn, the Riverlands are controlled by House Tully, the Westerlands are controlled by House Lannister, the Reach is controlled by House Tyrell, the Stormlands are controlled by House Baratheon, and Dorne is controlled by House Martell. The Crownlands aren’t necessarily controlled by any house, as the Capital is located there (kind of like how there’s no governor of Washington DC). The Iron Islands are controlled by House Greyjoy. Finally, the Wall is controlled by the Night’s Watch, a collection of criminals and volunteers who guard the wall in order to prevent raids from the people beyond the wall (called wildlings).
A Wider Perspective
This is a map of the entire world that A Song of Ice and Fire. The continent East of Westeros is called Essos. If you’re like me, then the first time you see this map, you think how small Westeros is in comparison to the rest of the world. This perspective made me wonder what the point was of the entire story. From a global perspective, the story of A Song of Ice and Fire seems to be a minor political squabble that gets drowned out by the sheer scope of the world. The stakes of the story seem to be comparatively smaller than, say, The Lord of the Rings, when the entire fate of Middle Earth depended on Frodo. However, upon further consideration, it becomes clear that this is one of the points that George R. R. Martin is trying to make. A Song of Ice and Fire is a political story about a couple families fighting over who controls a kingdom. Martin makes it clear throughout the books that, for the most part, whoever is in charge doesn’t really affect that many people. And, by making the world of the story so much bigger, Martin further trivializes these political fights that are isolated in one nation.
Hi Matt! This was a good post to give us the first taste of the world of “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The shape of Westeros reminds me of England from my first glance at it. I believe that early England was also split into different states and barons were given the authority to rule by the monarch. Moving forward, I think it was an interesting point you made to note the size of Westeros in comparison to the rest of the world in the novel. Your point that you made about Westeros being so insignificant in comparison to the rest of the world was great. It really puts into perspective what is important, petty political squabbles may seem important to the parties involved, but in reality they accomplish nothing in the context of the rest of the world. It looks as though this series is definitely looking to send a message about the world we live in today.
Hi Matt! As someone who hasn’t read A Song of Ice and Fire and has only seen the last season of Game of Thrones, this post was super helpful! I’m sure I’ll be referring to it during your future posts. I appreciate that you included maps. Maps of fantasy worlds are one of my favorite things about the genre. I find it very interesting how authors choose to lay things out in their worlds, and how much of it is intentional. I like how you explained that the size of the world really was intentional, and is actually part of an important message in the story.
Hi Matt,
I have never seen Game of Thrones or read A Song Of Fire and Ice, so this map was really helpful for me. This map is so interesting to me and I love how authors can literally create their own words, it portrays how endless the possibilities are of writing. I’m glad you decided not to add any spoilers for when I eventually read the books. I will definitely be referring back to this post for context