#asoiaf culture

[poorshadowspaintedqueens]

I saw some stuff about a woman to be known to be well educated in tudor times needed to know the classics. Got me trying to think. What would be the westrosi equivalent of ‘the classics? They don’t have their Ancient Rome and ancient Greeks The Odyssey or iliad. I think it would be safe to assume Latin would be Valyrian. No idea what Renaissance humanism would be in westros

I’ve actually been pondering this for fanfic reasons.

One of the areas of worldbuilding that GRRM hasn’t gone into--and this is no shade on him; he’s got enough going on--is what we’d term ‘high culture’. Literature, art, drama, material culture. We hear about songs, including a subset of them written and performed in High Valyrian, which certainly suggests that people in Westeros preserved and engaged with older cultures. I imagine there’s a heavy Rhoynish influence in Dorne as well, and that the Valyrian influence is much stronger in the Free Cities than in Westeros.

In stories I’ve written, I’ve offhandedly mentioned things like ‘Rhoynish romances’ or ‘Valyrian drama’, on the assumption that these things existed even if they’re not explicitly mentioned in canon. Ancient drama and poetry flourishes across cultures and geographical boundaries. Art has literally existed since humans existed. We don’t get descriptions of paintings or tapestries in the books, but we know they’re around. We know some families have tombs and vaults, which implies the existence of sculpture and decoration. In the case of the Starks, they’ve been making tomb effigies since...idk? Brandon the Builder? We know there are goldsmiths in Lannisport and that Myr is famous for a variety of crafts including glassmaking and lacemaking (similar to Venice) and that Tyrosh is known for dyes. We get tons of descriptions of outfits but very few of dressmakers or craftspeople.

One of the things I have appreciated about the shows (GoT in earlier seasons, HotD generally) is that they had to think about these things that were implicit in the text--what would people wear in certain climates? How would different castles be decorated differently to reflect their regional peculiarities? I loved that one of the ways that Alicent Hightower displayed her power in the later episodes of House of the Dragon was through interior decoration. It required minimal dialogue but it communicated so much.

I don’t suppose this answers your question exactly, but there’s definitely a sense of ‘Valyrian culture’, ‘Rhoynish culture’, ‘Andal culture’, and ‘First men culture’ that would have to manifest in art in some way, even if we don’t get details. How that translates into education is less clear given the stranglehold that the Citadel has on the way young nobles are being educated across Westeros.

[fangrurin]

Fashion of the Great Houses of Westeros: House Tully of Riverrun

[witchthewriter]

𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬:

Btw this is the best High Valyrian translator I've found.

a/n: some swears lol. If you really want to learn the language, then Duolingo is great!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬?

After the "Doom of Valyria", High Valyrian transformed dailly language of an empire into more of a scholarly language kept alive by the elite nobles, poets, and scholars across Essos and Westeros.

𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧

Each of the Nine Free Cities developed their own distinct Low Valyrian tongue like the Braavosi, Lorathi, Lysene, Myrish, Norvoshi, Pentoshi, Qohorik, Tyroshi, and Volantene.

So while High Valyrian remained the sacred, elite lore language, these Low Valyrian offshoots became the common tongue.

It's probably why it's so difficult to get the exact wording right when there's so many different versions of one language.

𝑨𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔!

Blood of the Dragon = Zaldrīzo ānogar

Game of Thrones = Tymptir Dēmalȳti

Freedom = Dāerves

Ñuhor līr gūrēnna = I will take what is mine.

Ao ynoma dīnilūks? = Will you marry me?

Valyrio muño ēngos ñuhys issa = Valyrian is my mother tongue.

My name is (name). = Ñuha brozi (name) issa

Seven Hells! = Sīkudi nopāzmi

I love you. = Avy jorrāela

Mother of Dragons = Muña Zaldrizoti

Prince = Darilaros

Twin = Idaña

Older Sister = Mandia

Younger Sister = Hāedar

Older Brother =Lēkia

Younger Brother = Valonqar

Wolves = Zoklī

Cats = Kēla

Small = Byka

𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 🔥

Dragon = Zaldrīzes

Dracarys = Dragon-Fire

Dohaeras = Serve

Lykirī= Be Calm

Naejot = Forward

Umbās = Wait

Ynot! = Come! (to me)

Daor! = No!

Vēzot! = Up!

Rȳbās! = Listen! Obey!

Ninkiot! / Parmot! / Tegot! = Land!

Gevī! / Hegnīr! = Good!

[wraithwen]

starklings (sans rickon)

finally started reading the books after a long time of being a wiki lurker :")

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Tropes, in and of themselves, are not bad. They exist for a reason, and have served as necessary story-building blocks since the dawn of time. A fantasy story leaning into a chosen one or hidden prince trope is not inherently a bad thing. I think a lot of people underestimate GRRM's very deep relationship with the genre and misunderstand how he engages with it in the text.

[ladyofthevalley]

People who don’t understand the Arya and Sansa sibling bond obviously didn’t have WWE style brawls in the middle of the living room floor with their sibling.

You can hate each other, say heinous things, full on battle until first blood.

But you’re still siblings,

all the Arya-antis and Sansa-antis are placing too much weight on the events of kings landing.

[spacerockfloater]

“The Targaryens/ Valyrians are not white supremacists and can’t be compared to European Colonisers!”

Oh? My bad then. I must have them confused with some other white folks who thought their appearance made them superior, brought whole continents to heel, exploited the lands of others for their own greed, destroyed whole civilizations and enslaved vulnerable people who unfortunately lacked the advanced weapons of mass destruction they possessed.

“Well, the Andals and the First Men were also colonisers, so they deserved it!”

No way! Are you actually telling me that every race has a history of violence because human nature itself is corrupt and we’re no better than animals fighting for their place on this earth? That’s so crazy and original. By the way, are you saying that people deserved to get colonised and enslaved because they were fighting other people in order to survive? Are you suggesting these “savages” should have been contained by the righteous white folks who came there to better their lives? Not to mention that the Andals and the First Men came to Westeros 12,000 and 6,000 years ago respectively, while the Targaryens attacked Westeros barely 130 years ago (literally just 3 - 4 generations) from the Dance of the Dragons? So are you comparing the morality of the people who migrated here, who were so primitive that barely even possessed weapons of steel, with that of the most advanced civilization ever built in the ASOIAF universe? That’s so interesting! It’s almost as if the Andals and the First Men didn’t know any better until it was too late and were trying to find a land that could accommodate their millions of people, so they were essentially fighting for survival, whereas the Targaryens who came from a race that had evolved philosophically, politically, academically and technologically wise, possessed enough wealth and land to sustain their little family, yet still chose to go to war against the land that nurtured them out of pure greed! Hmmm. Do you also believe that the Greeks had it coming when they were enslaved by the Ottomans and should just let go of the past because it’s been so long since they regained their freedom (barely 200 years ago btw, after 4 centuries of slavery), because their Ancient Ancestral Tribes migrated to Greece and conquered the land 3,500 years ago, a little after the age of bronze? No? Then you might see why that kind thinking is flawed.

Stop defending these inbred bastards with your full chest. We get it. They look badass. We all have a fave war criminal but all of the Targs need to be put to the sword, along with their fucking lizards. Purposely denying the parallels between the Targaryens/ Valyrians and the Colonisers/ Conquerors of our world screams white saviour complex.

[fromtheseventhhell]

Arya learned the Braavosi language and culture well enough to pass as someone "born and bred" there while interacting with actual native Braavosi, but I'm supposed to think she's going to have difficulty navigating Westerosi noble life...as someone who was actually raised as a Westerosi noble? The way you can tell that people don't think before they "theorize" about Arya will always crack me up

[cheryroseart]

Daenys the Dreamer 🔮

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Please don’t repost without credits❕

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[15-lizards]

The sequel to this: ASOIAF clothing styles!

The Westerlands and The Reach def have similar styles bc they’re so close to each other and have similar climates. Like with their hair, they love showing off their wealth and opulence, so gowns are made from the finest fabrics and are heavily detailed with embroidery, puffed sleeves, and short bodices

The North is so big that what a person wears definitely influenced by location (near the wall, near the vale, or near the riverlands) but in general, there are a lot of high necked, tight fitting gowns for practicality. Made of thick, heavy fabrics but with wide sleeves and lots of embroidery to make it look pretty!

Dorne is full of colors to offset the beige of the desert. They use a lot of long, loose, airy fabrics so that they can have detailed and intricate outfits but still be covered from the sun and not be overheated. Location determines how covered up they are because of the heat. Detailing is VERY big, especially golden embroidery and lining.

I think in the Stormlands, clothing is more durable than anything else, no wispy fabrics here.They’re fairly similar to the north, with thick and sturdy fabrics, high collars, and long sleeves to keep out the constant rain. However I think they love metal accessories and jewelry on their gowns, and put it everywhere

And the Riverlands have a much more “casual” silhouette than the Reach or the Vale, with a drop waist or a loose dress than only gives you figure when you wear a belt. Low necklines and long sleeves I think, because the weather is not freezing but not Dornish either. I think a lot of soft fabrics too, for those who can afford velvet and such

[salialenart]

Valyrian fashion sketch

Happy Birthday to George Martin. I am so grateful to read his books, they had so much impact on me. Forever loving his universe and characters 🌞💖 wish him great health and happiness. I hope to read more books from him🤭

[drakaripykiros130ac]

I imagine if the Asoiaf world had been put on screen in the early 2000s, not only would they have shown respect to the canon events of the book, but they would have also cast the right actors (who are the exact description of the characters in the books).

There would have been amazing dialogue, and no fear of political propaganda ruining the experience.

Admittedly, the CGI wouldn’t have been as good (or who knows? The dinosaurs in the original Jurassic Park movie looked amazing, and it was the 90’s) and the trailers might have been dull.

But it wouldn’t have mattered, because plot wise and character wise, it would have been amazing to watch. More focus on a good story and less on what is “politically correct” (that remains highly debatable) or shock value.

It’s a shame, really. Because there is no hope of anything good coming out these days. Watch them destroy “Aegon’s Conquest” next.

[dodiaska]

my imagining of the tully girls, cat in blue and lysa in green :]]

i took most elements of their outfits from polish silesian traditional dresses, from the bytom region!!! i image they would only wear those costumes on rlly important occassions and usually wear much more casual wear, maybe more south (KL?) inspired :]]

im rlly hppy with this one !!

[atopvisenyashill]

every time someone does “valyrian culture was more egalitarian than andal culture” discourse i point to the fact that jaehaerys invented the doctrine of exceptionalism and was an evil misogynistic menace to every woman he knew, how visenya was not the ruler of their house despite being older, and how the vale which is STEEPED in andal culture & chivalry & the seven regularly has their houses ruled by women in a way that almost no other region outside of dorne has ntm having the ONLY ruling lady of a paramount house INCLUDING VALYRIAN AND FIRST MEN HOUSES and also i start shrieking

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

What makes the legend of the last hero stand out among the more prominent messianic figures in the story is its ‘every man’ sort of feel. The Prince That Was Promised can only ever be royal - since the existing requirement is to be born of Aerys and Rhaella’s line, who ruled as king and queen. Azor Ahai is interpreted in story as being related to a king. Yet the last hero was just some guy. His tale has been passed down across millennia, but he himself remains anonymous. We don’t know what family or region he came from. He may have been low born or high born, it doesn’t really matter. And what’s most interesting is how GRRM chooses to parallel his story in the published material. Waymar Royce, Bloodraven, Coldhands, Sam Tarly, Bran Stark, and Jon Snow all serve as narrative mirrors for the last hero. But there’s are quite a few differences. Waymar Royce is a highborn lord, but Jon and Bloodraven are bastards. Jon Snow is the typical fantasy warrior, yet Sam and Bran are GRRM’s deconstructions of what it looks like when a boy who doesn’t fit the chivalric ideal of knighthood gets to be the hero. Jon and Bran are also especially noteworthy because they are at the heart of one GRRM’s core thesis statements:

 “I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things.”

So as a propaganda piece, I'd imagine that repeating this tale goes a long way. Imagine you're some unassuming kid from Flea Bottom. You'll never be the promised prince because you're not related to the king. It's a bit hard to be Azor Ahai because where in seven hells will you get dragon eggs, and how will you attain the magic required to bring them to life? But then you COULD be the last hero. Regardless of who your parents are and what type of blood you've got, you too can gather all your friends and go on a hero's journey. And isn't that what children's dreams are made of?

[daenystheedreamer]

dont like when people try to masculinise/feminise targ names when genderbending cos valyrian names are already gendered based purely on vibes. daenys and rhaenys are feminine but aenys is masculine, and its not the prefix because daeron and rhaegar are masc but aerea is feminine. viserys jaehaerys aerys are masc but naerys daenerys are fem. yeah -a names tend to be fem and -on tend to be masc but even these have weird extras, like -ar names are masc despite similarity to -a. feminine non -ys names tend to end in -a but then there’s gael. basically a girl can be daemon and a boy can be rhaenyra