Commentary: ‘A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms’ Mirrors The Real History Of Bored Princes
by Frank Martin
Like a lot of high fantasy, the Game of Thrones universe models itself after the Middle Ages. There are knights, kings, and jousting torments just like the very real historical era on which the setting is built. Of course, this is a completely fictional realm with magic and dragons, but that doesn’t mean real history can’t be used as a framework. The two previous shows in the universe, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, take place during a time of great conflict. However, the Middle Ages were not a time of total war. There were peaceful reigns, as well, and it’s great to see A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms fully embrace the boredom royalty faced during an era of peace.
The first season follows Dunk (Peter Claffey), a former squire who ventures to a tournament in order to prove himself as a knight. The tournament hosts many of the great families in Westeros such as the Baratheons and the Targaryens. They compete in events such as jousting for glory. However, Dunk gets into trouble when a Targaryen Prince named Aerion (Finn Bennett) assaults a performer and Dunk comes to her rescue. After striking a prince, a trial by combat is undertaken between two groups of seven nights, resulting in many injuries and deaths.
There really wasn’t that much to do during the Middle Ages, especially for royalty. They either partied or fought. During a time of war, it was easy to focus the fighting because there was an enemy to face. During a time of peace, though, all of that fighting energy needed to be directed somewhere. That is why events like these allowed knights to show off their combat skills without going to war. Because of this conflict-centered mindset, the knights saw nothing wrong with conducting a large-scale and brutal trial by combat. There was never any real need for these royals to inflict such damage on each other. They did so simply because they were bored without a war, which is exactly how real kings behaved throughout history.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is now streaming on HBO Max.
