 TV series rise and fall just like Empires, yet the fall of Game of Thrones was of biblical proportions from being odds on to being the greatest TV series ever made, to then finishing with that last series. If we put that nightmarish final season to one side for a minute however and refrain from opening old wounds and pouring lemon juice inside, the world that George R.R. Martin created was nothing short of genius, with all sorts of historical realities inspiring the world and the plot. Martin has previously discussed how the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism with its fascination with fire, the Wars of Roses and the Hundred Years War were all notable historical inspirations for Game of Thrones. Today however I want to focus on the role that Scottish history played in inspiring the world and the plot. Martin who is currently involved in creating a HBO prequel called The House of the Dragon said in an interview with Brown University Library that Scotland has a lot of incredibly bloody history from which he draws inspiration from. More specifically, Martin revealed that the red wedding episode of Game of Thrones, where many prominent characters were deceitfully murdered, was directly inspired by two bloody Scottish events, the Black Dinner of 1440 A.D. and the Glencoe Massacre of 1692. The Black Dinner refers to being the young 16 year old era of the Douglas clan, William Douglas, along with his younger brother, were invited to dinner at Edinburgh Castle by three powerful political figures, including William Crickton, the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, who surrendered the young 10 year old king of Scotland at the time, James II. The story goes that during dinner when the boys were eating, a black bull's head which symbolised death was placed before the young William Douglas and his party. Shortly after, William Douglas and his younger brother were taken outside to Castle Hill, giving a brief mock trial and then beheaded. In response, the powerful Douglas clan laid siege to Edinburgh Castle. The Glencoe Massacre took place over 250 years later in 1692, when members of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were brutally killed by the Scottish government. Around 35 members of the clan were killed, many of whom were asleep at the time, with the chief, two women and two children among the dead. They were apparently killed for not swearing allegiance or not fast enough anyway. To the royals of Scotland, England and Ireland, William III, also known as William of Orange, and Mary II, who had come to power in 1689, three years earlier, after the Glorious Revolution. The incident was apparently meant to send a message to other clans. Another Scottish inspiration for Game of Thrones was Hadrian's Wall, which was built by the Romans thousands of years ago in Northern England, close to the modern Scottish-English border. The wall helped to provide a barrier between Roman Britannia and the pre-Scottish peoples of the North, such as the Caledonians and later the Picts. In the world created by Martin, the giant wall of ice and magic separates the Seven Kingdoms from those north of the wall. The wall was guarded by the Night's Watch, a brotherhood sworn to protect the Seven Kingdoms from the Northern Barbarians. The northern section of the Seven Kingdoms that is controlled for large periods by the House of Stark is also potentially inspired by Scotland. What other connections between history and Game of Thrones do you find interesting? Please let me know in the comments below, and please subscribe and hit the bell to turn on notifications. Thank you. Thanks for watching. Please support this work through buymeacoffee.com and Patreon. All the links are in the description below. Through buymeacoffee.com you can make small or large one-off donations that help support this work, with there also being an option to make recurring donations every month. Through Patreon you will gain exclusive access to participate in my bi-monthly Q&A, the ability to vote in exclusive polls and your name will be included in a special thank you message in each of my videos. All for as little as £1 per month. The link to the Patreon page of Celtic History Decoded is in the description below. Please also remember to subscribe to this channel and hit the bell so that you are notified every time I post a video. And remember to follow Celtic History Decoded on Instagram and Twitter. If you are interested in history in general, subscribe to my other channel, History Decoded. Thank you, speak to you soon.