It’s difficult talking, writing, or thinking about something that is medieval without sounding like Shakespeare on the balcony. Game of Thrones, which is a medieval fantasy series, suffered from the problem for a long time.
From the dialogues to the context and references of a place that does not even exist, the writers had a hard time writing the script for each episode of Game of Thrones. However, as time went on, the screenplay artists eventually got the hang of it and Game of Thrones wasn’t alienated from the world with its medieval setting, not its kingly English.
Do you speak the common tongue of Game of Thrones, ser?
The common tongue goes by many names. Some call it the language of the Andals, others call it a trade language. However, you and I both know the common tongue as “English”, but not just any English, medieval English.
Introduced by the Andals when they came to Westeros, the Common Tongue spread quickly and almost everyone in George R.R. Martin’s world knows how to speak the Common Tongue (except the Giants and Dothraki). However, when nobles talk, their language has a completely different flair and elegance that is absent in the poor people.
Arya Stark and Tywin Lannister had a discussion about the pronunciation of “M’lord” and “My Lord,” which Tywin Lannister quickly noticed when Arya Stark was serving as a cupbearer in Harrenhal. With such careful dialogues and attention to detail, it was a tough job for screenwriter Vanessa Taylor to come up with the exact words needed to sound like medieval English but not so old that people get disconnected.
In an interview with Cole Haddon, Taylor revealed that there was always a sense of dread that one word could potentially ruin the storyline if the audience couldn’t understand. That was one of the most challenging aspects of being a screenwriter for Game of Thrones.
I had a hard time holding it all in my head. I could only get my mind around so much, so I had to laser focus on that part of the story, get it all down and then move on to the next.
She continued,
I always felt like I was struggling to remember all the parts of the world and the mythology. I found period challenging as well, how to make it sound authentic but not alienating.
But if you had noticed, there’s not really much Old English in Game of Thrones. In fact, their language is equal to the modern American English language, with all the curse words which do make sense to say if Joffrey Lannister becomes your king.
So, how did the iconic HBO show (which has a game coming, by the way) trick you into thinking that the whole language was medieval in nature, with everyone bowing and calling each other “ser” and “lady”? Well, that was the genius part that Vanessa Taylor discovered.
Don’t say “thou” and “ye” than what is necessary
As stupid as this rule sounds, Vanessa Taylor had a better way of explaining it with a good metaphor. But before she realized this rule, Taylor struggled quite a lot with writing the script for Game of Thrones.
That’s where the genius of Vanessa Taylor came into play. You see, she realized from her friend Bryan that you don’t actually have to do all the talking in medieval English; you can just use some selective words which evoke a sense of medieval times.
What my friend Bryan called “too much ye olde talk”. If felt kind of like the way a martini can have a hint of vermouth, I think you want a hint of period, enough to evoke it, but not to go full bore.
That’s why Sandor Clegane was allowed to say his beloved word while it still felt like we were in medieval times. That was the power (and genius) of the screenwriters and screenplay artists who worked on Game of Thrones over all these years.
Well, through all the curse words and m’lords, Game of Thrones ran for a total of 8 seasons from 2011 to 2019. The medieval show with modern English currently stands at a rating of 9.2/10 on IMDb and a whopping 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Game of Thrones is available to stream on HBO Max (USA).
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