George R.R. Martin has stunned audiences with his intricate worldbuilding since the start of the A Song of Ice and Fire series in 1996, but he took it to a new level when he created an in-universe history book to detail the rise and fall of the Targaryen Dynasty. Fire & Blood details the events that took place from Aegon’s Conquest through the Dance of the Dragons and beyond, the latter of which became the subject of House of the Dragon.

With the third season of the Game of Thrones prequel on the horizon, it’s worth looking back at the real-world history that inspired Martin’s writing. While the events of Game of Thrones were heavily inspired by the War of the Roses in England, House of the Dragon has clear ties to an earlier English Civil War: the Anarchy.

Just like Martin’s Dance of the Dragons, the Anarchy was prompted by a male relative stealing the throne from the previous king’s daughter and named heir. These five historical figures directly inspired the characters from the book and the show. While the characters’ lives may not follow the exact same paths as their inspirations, they provide an interesting blueprint for the show to follow—or reject—during the Targaryens’ darkest hour.

1. Henry I
2. William Adelin
3. Empress Matilda
4. Stephen of Blois
5. Henry II
6. Other Players in the Anarchy
7. Will House of the Dragon Follow the Historical Record?

Henry I

Our story begins with Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror. After his father and older brother died, Henry took the throne, married Princess Matilda of Scotland, and had two children—a boy named William and a girl named Matilda. Henry ruled for 29 years, keeping England in a state of relative peace and uniting England and Normandy under his power, as his father had done before him.

14 years into his reign, Henry I’s son died, triggering a succession crisis. The king promptly remarried, but the royal couple produced no children. Seeing no other option, Henry officially named Matilda his heir in 1126 and made his barons swear to recognize her claim. Like Viserys in House of the Dragon, Henry’s attempts to secure his daughter’s position would collapse with his death.

This is the most direct historical parallel in the series. Although Henry was more proactive in defending his daughter (and didn’t have any future sons), his overall story is incredibly similar to Viserys’s in season 1. After his death, rumors spread that Henry had changed his mind on his deathbed, overturning Matilda’s position as the heir. This manifested in House of the Dragon through Alicent’s misinterpretation of Viserys’s dying words.

William Adelin

William was the only true-born son of King Henry I, making him the obvious choice to succeed his father. To prepare him for that role, Henry let his son rule England while he was in Normandy or at war, providing him with the experience and alliances he would need as king. However, he died in a shipwreck at 17, predeceasing his father by 15 years and leaving the kingdom in a tenuous state.

The most obvious parallel for William in Westeros is Baelon, the so-called “Heir for a Day” who died shortly after birth. Had he lived, he would have been the undisputed successor to Viserys I, as William was for Henry. However, Fire & Blood actually uses this situation twice. Before Viserys, King Jaehaerys I outlived his own sons, which likewise prompted a succession crisis. Thus, Aemon and Baelon are also parallels to the drowned prince.

Empress Matilda

Matilda was King Henry’s eldest child and a powerful political pawn. Her father betrothed her to Henry V of Germany when she was only eight years old, a move which helped Henry V become the Holy Roman Emperor. They married when she was twelve, and Matilda eventually became Queen of the Germans, Queen of the Romans, and Holy Roman Empress.

Henry V granted Matilda a considerable amount of power, even installing her as regent over Italy for two years. However, the pair remained childless, so when Henry died in 1125, Matilda had no reason to stay. She returned to Normandy, where her father married her to the future Count of Anjou and named her as his heir. But when Henry I died, Matilda was in France and couldn’t make it to England before her cousin, Stephen of Blois.

A few years after Henry I’s death, war began in earnest as Matilda’s half-brother Robert of Gloucester, uncle King David of Scotland, and husband Geoffrey of Anjou invaded England and its territories in defense of her claim.

Matilda’s forces were powerful enough to divide the realm but not take the throne. However, she didn’t need to conquer the capital because Robert captured Stephen on the battlefield. With her rival out of the way, Matilda ruled over England for approximately six months, despite the Catholic Church refusing to formally crown her as queen.

Although Matilda was technically in power, her enemies didn’t allow her to reign for long. The city of London turned against her, forcing Matilda and her supporters to abandon the capital, and Stephen’s queen raised forces to capture Matilda’s half-brother. With a major hostage taken on both sides, they were at a stalemate. The factions traded Stephen and Robert, and Stephen reclaimed the throne.

Matilda was on the defensive. She was briefly trapped in Oxford Castle before crossing an icy river to escape. But the people’s rejection of her had broken something in the bold queen, who took a passive role in the war from that point forward. Instead, her supporters backed her eldest son, Henry. She returned to Normandy and lived there for the rest of her life, dying at age 65.

Like with William Adelin, multiple characters in House of the Dragon have similar arcs to Matilda. The most obvious is Rhaenyra, who was named Viserys’s heir only to have the throne stolen by her half-brother. However, similar events took place years before when Rhaenys, the eldest descendant of King Jaehaerys, was passed over in favor of her uncle Baelon and then her cousin Viserys. Between the two women, audiences get a taste of how staunchly the kingdom was opposed to a woman in power.

Stephen of Blois

Stephen of Blois was the son of Stephen-Henry, Count of Blois, and Adela of Normandy, daughter of William the Conqueror and sister of Henry I. While the records aren’t clear on how many children his parents had, Stephen was at least their third living son, which meant he had little reason to expect any inheritance. However, after his father died, Stephen was sent to join King Henry’s court, acquiring money, lands, and a wealthy bride named Matilda of Boulogne.

When the king died, Stephen rushed to claim the throne with the support of his younger brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester. The people of London supported Stephen, along with many of the English barons. But while Stephen and his wife were one of the wealthiest couples in the country, his claim was weak. Not only was he not descended from the previous king, but he was not the eldest grandchild of William the Conqueror, thanks to his older brothers William and Theobald. Even so, it seemed for a time like his usurpation of Matilda’s throne would go uncontested.

Once the Civil War began, Stephen’s skill as a ruler came into question. Many of the barons did whatever they felt like while he was off battling Matilda, which is part of why the period is called the Anarchy. Though he officially won the war, his seat was still in danger, and his children’s inheritance even more so. He attempted to crown his son Eustace as his co-monarch, but the Catholic Church refused to allow it.

When Matilda’s son came back to England, displaying an intimidating amount of military prowess, Stephen made a deal with the young man. Stephen would rule uncontested for the remainder of his life, but Henry would be made his heir. This disinherited Stephen’s sons, with Eustace dying later that year and his younger brother William fleeing the country.

While the king might have been biding his time until he could turn the tables on the young prince, Stephen died less than a year after signing the Treaty of Winchester, clearing the way for King Henry II.

Similar to how Matilda’s story played out in both Rhaenys and Rhaenyra’s arcs, Stephen’s role could similarly be distributed across multiple House of the Dragon characters. Baelon and Viserys both took the role of heir from Rhaenys and her children, and Daemon originally seemed like he might usurp Rhaenyra’s claim. When the two got married, the threat of usurpation landed firmly in the Hightower court.

The most obvious parallel to Stephen is Aegon II, who was crowned shortly after his father’s death and became the figurehead in direct opposition to Rhaenyra. However, Aegon was initially uncertain about becoming king, having to be forced into the role by his family. Stephen’s ambition and strategic plays were given to Aemond instead, splitting the role between the two brothers.

Henry II

The final major player in the Anarchy is Henry II. Henry was the eldest child of Empress Matilda and Geoffrey of Anjou, taking on the burdens of both his parents’ positions as he grew up. Henry was only two years old when his grandfather died, at which point his parents focused on claiming as much territory as possible. Henry received a high-quality education befitting a prince but was largely kept out of the conflict while his mother served as the figurehead for their side.

In 1147, Henry decided he was old enough to get involved in the war. The 14 year old took a small army to England, but his attempts at conquest failed miserably when he was unable to pay the soldiers and had to ask Stephen for the money to return home.

Despite Stephen granting the request, Henry had plans to continue the fight. He married Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had only ended her marriage to the French king Louis VII two months earlier), and her dowry and inheritance made it so the couple owned more of France than the French king.

After handling the resulting conflicts in France, Henry returned to England to claim the throne. The barons and the church, tired of all the fighting, pressured Henry and Stephen to find a compromise. Stephen officially adopted Henry and made him his heir, allowing Henry to take the throne in 1154.

Henry had a difficult time as king, bringing order back to a kingdom that had been consumed by infighting for 15 years. He was obsessed with restoring the strength of the kingdom, which led him to gain at least partial control of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, alongside his other holdings, as the Angevin Empire. He also established the foundations of English Common Law and forced the English barons to submit to his authority.

While Henry II had his fair share of scandals, his reign is generally considered successful. His personal life was not. In the later years of his reign, his sons routinely rebelled against him, often with the support of his wife. During one such conflict, the king fell ill and died, leaving his son Richard (and, later, his son John) to claim the throne and continue the Plantagenet dynasty.

The most obvious character from House of the Dragon to mirror Henry’s journey is Jacaerys Velaryon, who served as both Rhaenyra’s heir and a player in the war at large. However, those who have read Fire & Blood may see more similarities between Henry and Rhaenyra’s other children. Without spoiling too much, there are distinct characters who represent Henry’s time as his mother’s heir, his rise to the throne, and his skill as an administrator.

Other Players in the Anarchy

Although there are far more Targaryens in the Dance than there were royal claimants in the Anarchy, most of the other characters in House of the Dragon seem to be built as amalgamations of multiple figures from the historical record.

For example, Daemon seems to be inspired by both Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and Geoffrey Plantagenet. Like Robert, Daemon was a potential candidate for the throne who chose to back the female claimant. Robert was also in charge of Matilda’s military forces and helped raise her son to be a talented and intelligent king. Geoffrey Plantagenet was Matilda’s husband, and while he was not active in the English conflicts, he provided Matilda and their sons with a safe place to live and an income to fund their armies.

The incestuous tradition of the Targaryens allowed George R.R. Martin to combine the two roles into his dragon prince.

Similarly, Alicent seems to be a strange combination of Adeliza of Louvain and Matilda of Boulogne. Adeliza was Henry I’s second wife, but she was unable to produce any children with the king. Despite not having a personal tie to the usurper, Adeliza eventually turned her step-daughter in to Stephen after offering her refuge. She entreated the king to be kind to Matilda, but the event still functioned as a massive betrayal.

Matilda of Boulogne was Stephen’s wife, who played a more active role in the war. She was a chief advisor to her husband and coordinated his forces after Stephen was captured. This connects well with Alicent’s role as de facto regent for Viserys and a prominent member of Aegon’s small council. Interestingly, Stephen’s mother, Adela of Normandy, has virtually nothing in common with Alicent, becoming a nun after her husband’s death and generally staying out of the conflict.

While other characters from House of the Dragon may be similar to figures from the Anarchy, those traits become less distinctive the farther they are from the main conflict. Furthermore, there are important historical figures who don’t seem to have a place in the show at all, like Eleanor of Aquitaine.

George R.R. Martin explained in 2000 that his writings are meant to have “the scope of historical fiction without the restrictions of knowing the end.” The many side characters involved in the Dance of the Dragons serve as wild cards that allow him to do just that.

Will House of the Dragon Follow the Historical Record?

While the similarities between Martin’s works and major events in English history are striking, they are not necessarily fixed. If Game of Thrones had followed history exactly, we certainly wouldn’t have ended with Daenerys’s death. Her clearest historical parallel (Henry VII) reigned for 24 years and started the Tudor dynasty.

Martin has repeatedly insisted that historical inspirations don’t mandate any particular endings for him. In a 2005 interview, he explained, “It’s always a mix-and-match approach, and anyone who thinks that by identifying my source material they can predict my plot is going to be severely misled.”

Those who have read Fire & Blood may already see some places where the Dance of the Dragons deviates heavily from the events of the 12th century.

Furthermore, the book and show do not have identical trajectories. As Martin discussed about the changes to the Blood and Cheese incident, House of the Dragon has the potential to change drastically from the events outlined in the book. While knowledge about the Anarchy will certainly enrich your viewing experience, it may not spoil much. After all, the Targaryens may completely change the game with their dragons in the upcoming seasons.

House of the Dragon season 3 premieres on Sunday, June 21 on HBO and HBO Max.

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