Episode 1 - Knights, Chivalry and War: Nothing like the songs.

Here we will tackle how George RR Martin inverts chivalric romances, and traditional stories of princesses and knights. And that although he displays examples of  romance, he makes a point of revealing the violence, rape and brutal realities of the medieval world. Douglas has prepared an analysis to compare the presence of tourneys and ‘trial by combat’ as a vehicle for showing how war and violence underpins all aspects of society within Westeros from leisure to the justice system. Ralph will then compare such a reality not only to the British medieval world but also warrior states such as Sparta and other examples of antiquity such as gladiatorial games in Rome.