Tag Archives: Faith Militant

History and Legends of Game of Thrones: The High Sparrow and the Bonfire of the Vanities

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WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE MOST RECENT EPISODES OF GAME OF THRONES AND INFORMATION ABOUT A VERY SPECIFIC CHARACTER!

Today we are going to take a break from the big ideas and grand scale events of the show and talk about one particular person: The High Sparrow.

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We’ve already discussed the High Sparrow’s position on things the Faith deems immoral and we’ve seen his minions of the Faith Militant perform an act so awful and so soul shattering I’m surprised it hasn’t caused an uproar yet.  I am, of course, talking about this.

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Yes, it seems the Faith Militant has left the people of King’s Landing with fate worse then death, a world without booze.  I’ve mentioned before that the Faith is dead set against all form of vice including gambling, sodomy, and most tragically drinking but at the same time it’s hard to completely hate the man since he has also preached that all men are equal in the eyes of the gods and that people should make it their duty to help those in need.  The High Sparrow has led the Faith Militant on a crusade against sin and while that isn’t all that special in itself what’s really interesting is that it has a direct historical parallel.

Just like the Faith Militant several of the real world Medieval Catholic holy orders would occasionally stage large coups in populated cities and wage a war on vice and sin.  One of the most famous of these coups was staged by this man.

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This is Girolamo Savonarola, a Catholic friar who dressed plainly and had several strong opinions on what was right and wrong.  Like the High Sparrow Savonarola preached for reform in the Church and against excess and immoral behavior.  Savonarola’s sermons were also quite apocalyptic and were very critical of what he deemed to be the immoral practices of the Church and of the people of Renaissance Florence.  While this did not make him many friends in high places (he was excommunicated from the Church in 1497 by Pope Alexander VI) he did prove to be incredibly popular with the common people.  This culminated in him leading bands of people through the streets of Florence and carrying out the infamous Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497.

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The Bonfire of the Vanities was Savonarola’s attempt to return the city of Florence to a more pious state.  He and his bands of children would wander around the city, knocking on the doors of the rich and powerful, and demanding any luxury items or secular works of literature and art.  As you can see above they were all gathered into a big pile and burned (no account on whether or not they destroyed barrels of wine but I’m sure they did).  Unfortunately Savonarola’s power and reputation would not last.  His views and ideals became too unpopular (nobody liked to live in Medieval Europe sober for too long) and all the powerful enemies he made were more than happy to see him burned as a heretic and traitor.

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Author’s Note: If I’ve wound up spoiling the future fate of the High Sparrow in this post I am truly sorry.

So there you have it, a direct historical counterpart to a specific event and person in the Game of Thrones world to a real life counterpart.  Thank goodness this is just a fantasy novel set in a time long ago.  It’s not like leaders and pundits today are going on about the corruption of society or anything.

History and Legends of Game of Thrones: The Faith Militant

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WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE MOST RECENT EPISODES OF THE SHOW AND SOME OF THE BOOKS!

Today we are going to talk about the newest political player in the show and one who threatens to turn the entire balance of power upside down: the Faith Militant.

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Members of the Faith Militant are easily recognizable from their plain black robes, the seven pointed star of the Seven scarred into their head, and their rabid devotion to the fundamental teachings of the Faith and hatred of all vice and foreign influence.  Over the course of just a couple of episodes the Faith Militant has essentially taken over Kings Landing after being shrewdly backed and re armed by Cersei Lannister.  With their new power they patrol the streets forcefully removing activities such as gambling, prostitution, and worship of foreign idols.  They have also proven to be completely fearless and even the king himself must submit to their authority.

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Before the events of the show the Faith Militant had a long and often troubled history.  They were established during the early reign of the Targaryans when they perceived the Targaryen family as unfit to rule (they didn’t like the practice of each Targaryen marrying a family member, incest is a big no no in the Faith of the Seven) and rose up in revolt.  The early faith was divided into two groups.  The Poor Fellows, who were recruited from the lower classes and women, were light foot soldiers who looked exactly like the zealots running around in King’s Landing now.

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And the Warrior’s Sons, who haven’t shown up in the show but are mentioned in the books.

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The Warrior’s sons were different from the Poor Fellows in that they were nobles and knights who fought with full armor and better weapons while the Poor Fellows had nothing more than clubs and axes.

After the Faith rose up against the Targaryens they met serious opposition with the rise of King Maegor the Cruel.

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Maegor lived up to his name and brutally suppressed the revolts of the Faith, but any attempt at crushing them would be met with horrendous casualties and even more revolts to put down.

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The Faith Militant would eventually be disbanded with the death of Maegor and the rise of Prince Jaehaerys who agreed to pardon any member of the faith who had revolted in exchange for peace.  The revolt was over and the Faith remained peaceful until the War of the Five Kings and the new rise of the Faith Militant.

The role of the Faith Militant and the power that orders like the Warrior’s Sons and the Poor Fellows wielded follows a direct parallel to real world organizations such as the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller.

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Like the Warrior’s Sons, military orders like the Templars recruited from the nobility and knightly class.  They were originally founded to help guard the routes to holy sites like Crusader occupied Jerusalem (a service which they charged fees for) and protect the well being of Christians everywhere.  While orders like the Templars are among the most well known they were certainly not the only ones and each order enjoyed the privilege of have to answer only to God, an authority that would help lead them to do terrible things in the name of their faith.

The Poor Fellows of Game of Thrones have a slightly different origin then their wealthier brothers.  During the Medieval Ages it was not uncommon for large groups of poor and downtrodden penitent sinners to gather into large groups and wander around the country performing penitence for their sins and others.  They would often beat and whip themselves in their shame and became what we call flagellants today.

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The flagellants became infamous in the mid 1300’s when the Black Death was sweeping Europe.

L0004057 The plague of Florence in 1348, as described in Boccaccio's Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://images.wellcome.ac.uk The plague of Florence in 1348, as described in Boccaccio's Decameron. Etching by L. Sabatelli after himself. Engraving By: Giovanni Boccaccioafter: Luigi Sabatelli and Pier Roberto CapponiPublished: - Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons by-nc 2.0 UK, see http://images.wellcome.ac.uk/indexplus/page/Prices.html

Since it was believed that the Death was divine punishment from God large bands of people gathered together to whip and beat themselves in an act of penitence.  This culminated in a large number of revolts such as the Peasant Revolt of 1381, when a large number of English peasants who were fed up with lousy pay and the fear of death, revolted against their former masters demanding substantial change.

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With rich knights and lords defending the Church with their lives and swords and the peasants using their faith to rally and punish those they saw fit the Church/Faith Militant was and continues to be a powerful political force that lords and nobles must pay heed to.