RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hey folks, now that we’re done with Sansa V and the Purple Wedding is now firmly in the rearview mirror, the next chapter to tackle is Jaime VII. That’s a ways off yet, but in the meantime we’ve got some good stuff on the tumblrs:

ASOIAF:

• Was a coronation considered a religious ceremony?
• What sort of disputes would lords paramount hear in court?
• How does the downfall of democracy change the original metaphors of ASOIAF?
• What would Stannis have done as king had Ned’s plan worked?
• Edmure at the Fords and Tywin’s escape to King’s Landing.
• Why were cups and plates used as trophies?
• Why does it benefit the Tyrells if Tyrion isn’t accused?
• Would Tywin have been satisfied with a marriage pact to Rhaegar’s son?
• Philosophy in the Citadel.
• Why did GRRM reveal the catspaw dagger when he did?
• How much contact do septons/septas and maesters have with their families?
• Is Varys aware of the Red Wedding 2.0?

Non-ASOIAF:

• Why doesn’t Beast have angst about his appearance?
• Views on Thaddeus Stevens.
• Too many villains in NWH?
• Thoughts on the Eternals.
• What does Westphalian sovereignty mean?
• Why does it pain me to say that the Wheel of Time TV show was good?
• Thoughts on the Belgariad.
• Why is the borough of Queens so diverse?
• Did the Romans have last names?
• Would a land tax work in the Middle Ages?
  • Part II
• Why was the Papacy so Italian?
• Is that why the Reformation happened?

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Sansa V, ASOS

Pages: 1 2

“Is it all lies, forever and ever, everyone and everything?”

Synopsis: Sansa leaves the frying pan for the fire.

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

Guest Appearance on History of Westeros Podcast

Last night, I appeared on the History of Westeros Podcast to discuss the Peake Rebellion, the death of Maekar and the Great Council of 233, and the death of Tywald Lannister and the Rains of Castamere.

Check it out!

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

With the Purple Wedding done, the next milestone is…the end of the book, which is still 20ish chapters off. In the mean-time, however, we’ve got some good stuff on the tumblrs.

ASOIAF:

• Possibilities and implications of Jon Arryn being crowned instead of Robert.
• How did the Citadel become a pan-Westerosi institution?
• An ask re: Summerhall disaster.
• The meaning of Renly’s peach.
• A couple of questions about scutage.
• The great eyre of Henry II.
• The difference between duels and trials by combat.
• What killed off the toleration of dueling?
• More on the Enlightenment and dueling.

Non-ASOIAF:

• How was Herbert Hoover rehabilitated, both as a statesman and historiographically?
• Why did Tolkien hate allegory?
• The meanings of police reform.

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Tyrion VIII, ASOS

Pages: 1 2

“My own wedding is looking much better in hindsight.”

Synopsis: “it’s a nice day for a purple wedding/it’s a nice day to start again”

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hey folks, now that Sansa IV is done, the decks have been cleared for the Purple Wedding. But before we can get to those festivities, we need to deal with the Tumblr backlog. Thankfully, we’ve got some good stuff for your reading pleasure.

ASOIAF:

• How plausible is copper currency in Westeros?
• When did trial by combat fall out of favor in Europe?
• What is the state of optometry in Westeros?
• What power did an underage monarch have during their regency?
• In the Robin Hood era, what did sheriffs do?
• Lawyers in medieval England.
• Institutional memory and changing institutions in medieval Europe.
• Why is Judah Macabee one of the Nine Worthies?
• King Robert and wardship over Robert Arryn.
• What if Sansa doesn’t attend the Purple Wedding?
• What if Ned isn’t killed after he confesses in AGOT?
• Why don’t the Lannisters have a bigger fleet?
• How to abolish the right of pit and gallows.
• How often did knights fight other knights rather than infantry?

Non-ASOIAF:

• Question about the Killing Joke.
• Hercules and the other Greek Gods in Marvel’s Thor.
• Thoughts on Hickman leaving the X-books.
• Why was Winston Churchill not re-elected after WWII?
• The Crisis of the Bedchamber.

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Sansa IV, ASOS

Pages: 1 2

“They have made me a Lannister, Sansa thought bitterly.“

Synopsis: Sansa and Tyrion attend Joffrey’s wedding breakfast and everything goes smoothly.

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hey folks! Now that Tyrion VII is done and Sansa IV is coming up on the horizon, it’s high time we had a Tumblr Roundup, because we’ve got some good stuff on the docket.

ASOIAF:

• Westerosi accents.
• Why did Cersei choose to have three children?
• Corlys’ motives with regards to the Stepstones.
  • Followup on the Stepstones.
• A discussion on Stannis and Targaryen loyalists.
• How common was it for swords to break and be reforged?
• Did knights use crossbows from horseback?
• Why was John of Gaunt hated?
• John of Gaunt’s place in the succession.
• Why was Edward II so unpopular?
• Contemporary English historical terms.
• Would Aegon have done better going straight to the smallfolk?
• Varys’ original plan in King’s Landing.
• What is Varys’ perfect prince supposed to do?
• My process for writing chapter-by-chapter essays.
• Would Baelor Breakspear’s line have ended even if he’d survived Ashford?
• Renaissance popes as crypto-atheistic rakes.
• Could peasants working in royal households get patronage?
• Could commoners working in royal households sell their royal gifts?

Non-ASOIAF:

• The length of fantasy novels.
• Color palettes of medieval fantasy.
• Marvel’s What If?
• Why is the Mona Lisa in the Louvre?
• A case study of academic columbusing.
• International reactions to the American Civil War?
• Does D.C have progressive metaphors?

Patron Questions:

• “What is the most mundane detail that writers usually get wrong in their worldbuilding? Economic, military, social, whatever–just which detail is usually wrong?”
  • That’s a tricky question. It’s probably something like sanitation or travel speeds or something like that.
• “How do you think fAegon is going to get a dragon, so we can get Dance of Dragons Mk II over King’s Landing in The Winds of Winter?”
  • I think Dany will invite him to ride a dragon, thinking he’ll end up like Quentyn because he’s not a real Targaryen, only to find that it doesn’t work and he rides the dragon just fine. This will be the straw that gets her to launch into her dragon duel above the city.
• “Will King’s Landing still be the capital of Westeros at the end of this, or will it basically be a charred ruin?“
  • Probably both.

Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis: Tyrion VII

Pages: 1 2

“I survived the Green Fork and the Blackwater, I can bloody well survive King Joffrey’s wedding.”

Synopsis: Tyrion gets ready for a wedding with a bit of early morning delight.

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes. Caveat lector.

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Hey folks, now that Dany V is done it’s time to burn off some built-up stuff on the tumblrs so that we’re current. So here goes!

ASOIAF:

• A discussion on Bloodraven:
  • Part I
  • Part II
• Uses of the glass candles.
  • Part II
  • Part III
• What if the Vale joined Robb?
• Were the Five Forts built to guard against White Walkers?
• Robb Stark and Harrion Karstark.
• How do the Tullys stay on top of the Brackens and Blackwoods?
  • Part II
  • Part III
• Shavepate’s motivations.

Non-ASOIAF:

• Was the Great Society a perversion of the New Deal? No.
• Why is Franklin Richards no longer a mutant?
• Why did the (contemporaneous) British Parliament strengthen the state while the Polish Sejm weakened it?
• Thoughts on the Locked Tomb novels.

Patron Questions:

• “Do you have any ideas on how to build an economy where a sixth of the population can make plants grow with magic and another sixth can ‘plant’ metal in depleted mines and form new veins? I keep trying and I mentally freeze up every time I try.”
  • So what you’re dealing with is a scenario in which there is limited scarcity in agriculture and mining, but not no scarcity because labor still has to go into harvesting and mining, and then processing and manufacturing. So start with lower prices for food and metal ores and work from there – does this mean real wages are higher, because food is cheaper? Are farm incomes lower, because supply is less constrained? Are manufactured goods cheaper and more abundant because their raw materials inputs are cheaper?
• “I recently sprung for the X of Swords hardcover. What should I read before cracking it open?”
  • The main thing you need to read for the X of Swords event is the Tini Howard/Marcus Toh Excalibur run, which does a lot o work setting up the X of Swords event. Other than Excalibur, you don’t really need much since you’re already pretty caught up on Dawn of X.