Game of Thrones is a series that features some great battles. A medieval expert analyzed a scene from season 2 and evaluated the actions of the parties involved.
Who is the expert? Dr. Michael Fulton is an expert in the field of medieval studies and is mainly focused on castle warfare. In a video from the YouTube channel Insider, he examined and evaluated scenes from various films and series.
The tactics shown were particularly important: How do the participants of the battle proceed, what tricks do they use, and how realistic is it all?
In the case of Game of Thrones, Michael Fulton took a closer look at the Battle of Blackwater. As a refresher: This conflict takes place in episode 9 of season 2 and involves the assault on the capital, King’s Landing, where the despised Joffrey Baratheon sits on the Iron Throne.
He and his entourage defend the city under the leadership of Tyrion Lannister, while Stannis Baratheon leads the attack outside the walls. In the end, the defenders achieve a clear victory. However, in the expert’s analysis, it turns out that both sides made mistakes during the battle.
Fans of Game of Thrones will soon get more content: Watch the trailer for the upcoming series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms:
The direct route is not necessarily the best
What does the expert say? Initially, Michael Fulton looks at how the attackers rush towards an open gate. This gate is very narrow and is one of three ways to breach a wall in medieval times.
The other two are: Either you use ladders or siege towers to climb over the wall. Or you undermine the wall to destroy it and then enter the fortress through the rubble. The expert describes this tactic as follows:
You dig a large hollow space under the wall. The wall above is supported with wooden posts. Then you throw a lot of combustible materials in. The entire support burns down. The wall above collapses.
Michael Fulton
What the expert warns against is digging under the wall like prison breakers. This way, the soldiers would appear individually on the other side and could be easily dealt with by the defenders.
What else does the expert criticize? What is pure Hollywood fantasy are the flaming arrows that the defenders shoot over the walls. They would have no practical use, according to the expert. Because on the battlefield, there are no houses to burn – especially none with thatched roofs made of reed.
In fleeing from the arrows, the attackers seek shelter right under the castle wall. The idea behind this: This way, the archers above would have a hard time hitting them. At this point, the expert wonders why the defenders do not simply throw stones down at the attackers.
In the end, Fulton raises a question that came to mind while watching the scene: Why do the defenders leave the safe fortress and confront the attackers directly? This would not have been necessary, as the attackers were too few in number to overcome the defensive measures.
What is the final verdict? Overall, the scene does not convince the expert. He rates it 3/10. Compared to other examples from the video, that is not even the worst score. The battle at Pelennor from Lord of the Rings, for example, receives only 1/10. The weapons fare somewhat better: Expert in medieval studies explains how realistic the weapons and armor in Lord of the Rings are
