Learning in Game of Thrones and the Middle Ages
One key aspect to learning about the life and upbringing of people from the Middle Ages is understanding how they were taught themselves. There are many sources available discussing how universities were run in the Middle Ages, as well as sources that explain court schools and the personal teachers that would have been hired to teach the noble family’s boy children. Students attempting to understand education in the Middle Ages require this information, but it can be somewhat impenetrable. Bringing the subject of learning Game of Thrones into the equation may complement and help inspire greater engagement with actual medieval sources.
In the series A Song of Ice and Fire written by George R. R. Martin, as well as the television series based on the novels, Game of Thrones, there is not much information about scholastic learning beyond the frequent references to Oldtown and the Maester’s Citadel. The learning that does take place outside of Oldtown mostly takes place in the houses of nobles, done by the maesters of each family. The concept of universities does not exist in this universe, so anyone who knows how to read/write had to have learned from the maester of their family or someone else in their house that would have learned those skills.
This is similar to the situation in the Middle Ages before universities became more common. There would be teachers contracted by various noble families to teach their children, mainly male, in various subjects. Primary sources on medieval education can be found on the Internet History Sourcebook, which compiles segments of primary documents that discuss education and literacy from the Middle Ages. Instructors should select whichever document suits their individual lesson plan and the desired audience.
During the Carolingian Empire in the late eight century, education became a priority. This renaissance started with Charlemagne and Alcuin of York, who took it into their hands to promote education, specifically among the young men of their kingdom. A good primary source to supplement this would be Charlemagne’s letter to Abbot Bagaulf. This letter explains the importance that Charlemagne himself placed on educating the people under his command and how important being educated was in the royal court. With the help of Alcuin of York, Charlemagne was able to expand education through his kingdom and make it more accessible for people in his kingdom to get to.
Using Game of Thrones to teach learning and education in the Middle Ages does have its difficulties, seeing as how the Citadel in Oldtown is the only entity they have that closely resembles a university. The Citadel and the Maesters are mentioned in both the novels and the television series, meaning that any student with any background in Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire will have some kind of understanding of the idea of learning in Westeros. In the television series, season 5 ends with Sam asking to go to Oldtown to train to be a Maester. This scene can be used to explain the role of Oldtown and the Citadel:
Along with this scene, Chapter 45 of A Feast For Crows could be assigned. This chapter deals with Sam and Gilly arriving at Oldtown and going to the Citadel, where Sam converses with some maesters and students who train at the Citadel. This chapter outlines the culture of the Citadel in great detail. There is also a section from A World of Ice and Fire titled “Oldtown,” which also discusses the Citadel.
In Westeros, private teachers are also commissioned for specialty lessons, such as Syrio Forel, who was commissioned to teach Arya Stark sword-fighting. It should be emphasized that Arya was an unusual case; if her father had not commissioned Forel to come teach her, there was no other way for her to learn (unless one of her male relatives taught her, which was unlikely given that she was female).
Providing documents from primary sources alongside the Game of Thrones material would allow students to better compare and contrast the two. Using Game of Thrones to teach a topic like medieval learning should help increase student engagement. While to some, the topic of scholasticism would be very interesting, others (especially undergraduate students with no background in the history) might struggle to find the significance of this material for themselves. Using popular culture as a ‘hook’ could help overcome this resistance.
If there is time to have active-learning within the classroom and the class size is not too large, students could split into two groups and profile either side of the discussion: one focusing on learning in the Middle Ages and the other focusing on that within Game of Thrones. Splitting the class and having them analyze each group individually gives students the opportunity to focus on one group for a period of time rather than frantically looking at both sides trying to come up with information. This also gives students the opportunity to teach each other, which can be a valuable lesson for some. There is a great deal of value in allowing students to basically run a discussion; this establishes the classroom as a place open to their contributions, whatever form that may take.
Using Game of Thrones to teach what seems like a rather dull subject like teaching and learning during the Middle Ages can liven up the classroom, not only for the student but for the teacher as well. Adding in popular culture adds a new level of interactivity for students, seeing as though many of them would be invested in the storyline of either the television series or the novels. Using this as a gateway into the actual medieval sources is a good way for educators to get their students excited and keep them entertained through the lesson.
The Digital Citadel 