Video: Journey through the 12,000-year history of Game of Thrones

The fictional world of Game of Thrones has a notoriously rich and detailed history thanks to author George R.R. Martin. So much so, that HBO is currently developing five prequel projects, each concerning five different time periods. With so much history, learning the basics about events that are still affecting current characters like Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen thousands of years later can be daunting. Not anymore.

Thanks to YouTube user whycreate, 12,000 years of Song of Ice and Fire history has been boiled down to one 11 minute video. Wonderful.

From the First Men’s invasion of Westeros via the Arm of Dorne, to the current events on Game of Thrones, everything is here. Martin’s world has also been a complicated one, and videos such as this paint a clearer picture of historical basis that drive many of the events of the series, even 12,000 years later.

Of course, the farther back one goes in history, the less details we have. The handy timeline that accompanies the narration sometimes jumps thousands of years, but as we approach more modern times, it slows down to mere cover mere months of time.

As this video illustrates, Martin has created a lavish history for his world, and those believing that the adventures of Tyrion Lannister or Bran Stark represent the sum total of that history are missing out on huge swaths of Martin’s creation. Everything from the name of Arya’s direwolf to the titles bestowed on those that sit the Iron Throne have a rich background in Martin’s world.

Next: Tom Hopper (Dickon Tarly) talks Game of Thrones endings

We salute whycreate for the video. A dive through 12,000 years of history is the perfect antidote for the long wait until season 8.

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