The Religions of Ice and Fire:
A Study of the Religions of A Song of Ice and Fire
Anderson, E. B. (1995). Performance, practice and meaning in christian baptism. Worship, 69(6), 482.
In this article the author explains the role of baptism in Christianity. He details things such as how the ritual is performed and its use in the religion. It will be useful in drawing parallels between the religion of the Drowned God in the series and Christianity.
Bohn, E. D. (2011). The logic of the trinity. Sophia, 50(3), 363-374.
In this article the author explains what the Holy Trinity is in the Christian context. It will be useful in drawing parallels between the concept of the Holy Trinity in Christianity and the religion of the New Gods, The Seven, in the series.
DeMaris, R. E. (2013). Sacrifice, an ancient mediterranean ritual. Biblical Theology Bulletin, 43(2), 60-73.
The author of this article explains the concept of sacrifice in a more geographical context. They relate the practice back to the areas surrounding the Mediterranean and explain a bit about it. This article will possibly be useful in explaining the practices of the followers of R’hllor in the series.
Gruenwald, I. (2001). Sacrifices in biblical literature and ritual theory. Review of Rabbinic Judaism, 4(1), 1-1
This article puts the idea of ritual sacrifice into the biblical context, exploring what exactly ritual sacrifice is and how it played a role in the Bible. It will be useful in the project in explaining some of the possible theories behind the practices of the followers of R’hllor, as ritual burning plays an important role in that religion.
Phillips, J. (1995). Paganism, past and present. Social Alternatives, 14(4), 16.
In this article the author examines paganism, both in the past and in a more contemporary sense. This examination details some of the practices of pagans as well as giving some sort of historical context to paganism. It will be useful in drawing parallels between the religion of the Old Gods and the series and the practice of Paganism both in the past and in the present.
Academic Articles
Academic Books
Clark, P. (1998). Zoroastrianism: An introduction to an ancient faith. Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press.
In this book the author explains some of the history and the practices of Zoroastrianism. This will provide insight into the purposes of the religion and its followers. This will be useful in either confirming or dispelling the idea that the religion of R’hllor is based on Zoroastrianism, as some people claim it to be.
Nasrallah, L. S. (2003). An ecstasy of folly: Prophecy and authority in early christianity. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Theological Studies, Harvard Divinity School.
The author of this book takes a look at prophecy and the role that it played in early Christianity. This article will be useful in building the section on the religion of R’hllor, as the religion deals heavily in prophecy, giving perhaps some idea of the reasons for this.
Patton, K. C. (2009). Religion of the gods: Ritual, paradox, and reflexivity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
The author of this book gives some idea of the place of ritual in religion. It will be useful in understanding most of the religions present in the series as they are all heavily steeped in ritual. This book is less about the specifics and more for giving a general background in the topic.
Other Sources
A Wiki of Ice and Fire: Religion. (2013, August 17). Retrieved from http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Religion
This page is more of a hub on the A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) Wiki. It gives a brief description of the religions present in the series. It contains links to the individual pages for each religion, so rather than listing all of them it is easier to do this. These pages will be useful in building the descriptions for each of the religions that are going to be looked at on the website.
GameofThrones. (2012, April 16). Game of Thrones Season 2: Religions of Westeros. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DIe0Q3PgcOw
This video outlines the main religions present in the series as seen by the author of the series, George R. R. Martin, as well as the producers of the HBO show. It gives some insights into what the author intended to do with the religions he included in his series of books. This will be useful in the individual descriptions of the religions as to the purpose of the religions within the world.
GameofThrones. (2012, April 16). Game of Thrones: Season 2 – Burning of the Seven Gods (HBO).
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m4ArTZ3wiI
This video provides some insight to the religion of R’hllor, The Lord of Light, and its fight against the current prevailing religion in Westeros, that of The Seven. It describes some of the basics of the religion and showcases one of the most important features of it, the use of fire in ritual. This video will be useful in the section of R’hllor for both its content and its visual impression.
GameofThrones. (2012, May 4). Game of Thrones: Season 2 – Theon Being Baptised (HBO). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov9RoXxtwU0
This video provides a visual of one of the main practices of the followers of The Drowned God, baptism. Unfortunately the representation in the video differs from that in the book but it still gives some idea of their practice. It will be useful in the section on The Drowned God.
Gibson, D. (2013, June 4). Can a Christian watch ‘Game of Thrones’? Retrieved from http://www.religionnews.com/2013/06/04/can-a-christian-watch-game-of-thrones/
This article gives opinions for and against the suitability of Game of Thrones for a Christian audience. On the one hand the books and show presents a group of morally wrong characters doing terrible things with their only purpose to be to further their own desires. It is on very shaky moral ground. On the other hand, some argue that the series reflects the Christian framework in some important ways. This article will be useful in the discussion of how some religions in our society responded to religion in ASOIAF.
Lose, D. (2013, June 6). The Gospel According to ‘Game of Thrones’. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lose/the-gospel-according-to-game-of-thrones_b_3395995.html
The article works to strengthen the argument that the series can be viewed positively in a Christian light. It reinforces that point that the series is definitely more so Christian realism as opposed to idealism. It will be useful in the section relating to the contemporary religious reactions to the series.
Martin, G. R. R. (1996). Game of Thrones. New York, NY: Random House.
This, along with the other four books currently in the series, constitutes the source material from which most of the analysis for this project is to be drawn. It will be useful in most matters pertaining to textual information as presented on the website.
Payne, R. (2013, June 8). Blinded by the Lord of Light: Magic, Religion, and “Proof” in “Game of Thrones”. Retrieved fromhttp://www.pajiba.com/think_pieces/magic-religion-and-proof-in-game-of-thrones-.php
This article provides an analysis of the religion of R’hllor, god of the red priests in the series. It makes the argument that there are two main groups following this god and outlines some of the differences in technique and belief between them. It also provides insight into what is considered “proof” by the characters in the series when their faith is brought into question bringing up the question of what is considered divine. This article will be useful for the building the section on R’hllor on the website and also for a section on magic in their world.
Ryan, J. (2013, April 1). The Grim Image of Game of Thrones. Retrieved from http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/march-web-only/grim-image-of-game-of-thrones.html?start=2
This article takes the stance that the series is inappropriate for the Christian viewer. Drawing parallel between this series and the LOTR series the author dissects how George R. R. Martin’s vision of a realistic world is flawed. It argues that the series goes over the top in some ways in portraying the brutality of what Martin considers to be the “real world”. This article will be useful in providing some debate to the section on how contemporary religions view the series.
Schmidt, G. (2013, June 3). Only the Good Die Young: The Moral Universe of Game of Thrones. Retrieved fromhttp://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/6157/only_the_good_die_young__the_morality_of_game_of_thrones/
This article deals with the idea of Christian idealism vs. Christian realism as presented in Game of Thrones. The author draws parallels between the idealistic version put forth by Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the realism put forth by Martin in this series. This article will be useful in discussing the responses to the series in our society.