Authors from the anthology have joined together to create a sort of "Extras" sampling on their various blogs to help promote the book launch. In this "An Event of Ice and Fire." Smart Pop Books is doing their part by making available the wonderful introduction by editor James Lowder:
This blog post will get updated later in the day to include links to some of the other Event of Ice and Fire links, once they get posted. For now, on to my extra offering...
Martin's Religiosity
My contribution to the volume is the essay "Of Direwolves and Gods," in which I make the argument that the gods of Westeros are not the ones we usually expect in a fantasy series, but ... well, perhaps this quote from the essay best sums up the thesis:
"In fact, the religions portrayed in A Song of Ice and Fire are reflections of the religions in our own world. They require a leap of faith, because the effects of belief are so intangible. The religions of Westeros claim to dictate absolute, perfect truths through imprecise, flawed institutions and beings--just like the religions we encounter every day."During the research for the essay, I was very pleased to stumble upon this great Entertainment Weekly interview with George R. R. Martin where he discussed his own religious views, or lack thereof. He identifies himself as a lapsed Catholic, an atheist or agnostic. Still, he says "I find religion and spirituality fascinating," and that fascination has surely manifested at the rich religious diversity that shows up in his series ... as well as the diversity of religious viewpoints that are presented.
Martin's Religion Quotes
In addition to the interview, I also read all 5 volumes of the series, specifically with an eye toward highlighting any reference to religion. As such, I feel fairly well qualified to present an authoritative list of the best religion quotes from the series. Perhaps ironically, most of them are made by Lannisters. Many of these quotes, with some swaps of nouns and titles, could well apply in our own world.
Here they are, in sequential order of how they appear in the series (so you can stop if you want to avoid spoilers from later books):
- Catelyn had more faith in a maester’s learning than a septon’s prayers. - A Game of Thrones
- "The Seven have never answered my prayers. Perhaps the old gods will." - Samwell Tarlys, A Game of Thrones
- “If I could pray with my cock, I’d be much more religious.” - Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones
- Almost a prayer . . . but was it the god he was invoking, the Father Above whose towering gilded likeness glimmered in the candlelight across the sept? Or was he praying to the corpse that lay before him? Does it matter? They never listened, either one. - Jaime Lannister, A Feast for Crows
- "The septons sing of sweet surcease, of laying down our burdens and voyaging to a far sweet land where we may laugh and love and feast until the end of days . . . but what if there is no land of light and honey, only cold and dark and pain beyond the wall called death?" - Maester Aemon, A Feast for Crows
- Lancel Lannister: "Will you pray with me, Jaime?"
Jaime Lannister: "If I pray nicely, will the Father give me a new hand?"
Lancel: "No. But the Warrior will give you courage, the Smith will lend you strength, and the Crone will give you wisdom."
Jaime: "It's a hand I need." - A Feast for Crows - Lancel Lannister: “My faith is all the nourishment I need.”
Jaime Lannister: “Faith is like porridge. Better with milk and honey.” - A Feast for Crows - “Death should hold no fear for a man as old as me, but it does. Isn’t that silly? It is always dark where I am, so why should I fear the darkness? Yet I cannot help but wonder what will follow, when the last warmth leaves my body. Will I feast forever in the Father’s golden hall as the septons say? Will I talk with Egg again, find Dareon whole and happy, hear my sisters singing to their children? What if the horselords have the truth of it? Will I ride through the night sky forever on a stallion made of flame? Or must I return again to this vale of sorrow? Who can say, truly? Who has been beyond the wall of death to see? Only the wights, and we know what they are like. We know.” - Maester Aemon, A Feast for Crows
- "Gorghan of Old Ghis once wrote that a prophecy is like a treacherous woman. She takes your member in her mouth, and you moan with the pleasure of it and think, how sweet, how fine, how good this is . . . and then her teeth snap shut and your moans turn to screams. That is the nature of prophecy, said Gorghan. Prophecy will bite your prick off every time." - Marwyn, A Feast for Crows
- "My own gods are the old gods, the gods of the North, but you can keep the red god, or the Seven, or any other god who hears your prayers. It’s spears we need. Bows. Eyes along the Wall." - Jon Snow, A Dance with Dragons
- "Give me priests who are fat and corrupt and cynical., ... the sort who like to sit on soft satin cushions, nibble sweetmeats, and diddle little boys. It’s the ones who believe in gods who make the trouble." - Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
- The gods are mad. - A Dance with Dragons
- "The gods are blind. And men see only what they wish." - Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
- "Prophecy is like a half-trained mule.... It looks as though it might be useful, but the moment you trust in it, it kicks you in the head." - Tyrion Lannister, A Dance with Dragons
- The Drowned God did not answer. He seldom did. That was the trouble with gods. - A Dance with Dragons
