Reading Mandeville’s Travels was quite the wild ride for me. I think this text, especially in conversation with Game of Thrones, has a lot to offer as we think about the importance of perspective. The narrator of Mandeville’s Travels disguises (not well) a broad and open narrative of world traveling, when in reality, the purpose of the descriptions is solely to create an identity for his “own” people. The purpose of a map, in this case, is not to physically guide, but to ideologically guide—the supposed Sir John Mandeville cultivates a sense of a true reality that is bound by strict guidelines. A colonial mindset is the driving force of this text as he imagines his world by direct contrast to others. In Game of Thrones, there is also an imagining of worlds. Over concerns about Daenerys’ pregnancy, Robert orders Ned to kill the baby her because of his fear. The King is highly disturbed at the thought of the “others” taking over, similar to the strong convictions of Sir John Mandeville as he points out the gross lack of Godliness in others that are different than him. Both Robert and the narrator are obsessed with the belief that they are the rightful heirs to power and goodness. I was especially interested in the construction of Christianity in Mandeville’s Travels and the dependence on the identity as a defense to create alarming foils.
Mandeville's Travels definitely has a Eurocentric colonial perspective on the world with the Europeans being considered civilized because they are more godly, while the Asians were considered less civilized because they were not as godly. This is reflected in Game of Thrones because the inhabitants of Westeros consider themselves to be civilized while viewing the Dothraki of Essos uncivilized.
Game of Thrones definitely has an "other" complex, especially when it comes to family. Despite the fact that Theon has not been with his family since he was eight years old, he still speaks arrogantly of the Greyjoys. He even goes as far as to say that no family in all of Westeros can look down on "us." He exhibits little, if any, loyalty to the Starks. A person is their family. Varys refers to Ned and Cersei as "the lion and the wolf" and when Jamie confronts Ned and his guards at the brothel he calls them "a pack of wolves." They are so defined by family that they are referred to by their family sigils. Even Robert and Cersei confirm the only reason that the seven kingdoms haven't fallen apart, despite everyone's different desires, is that the two of them are bonded by marriage, making them a family. If they weren't married, then their respective families would be "others" and there would be civil war.
I really like the language of ideological guide here, and I'd be fascinated to hear more on your take on Mandeville's construction of christianity in his ideological work. Have you ever heard of the concept of Christendom (https://www.britannica.com/event/Middle-Ages#ref908220)? Remind me to talk about it tomorrow, because if you're intersted in the intersection of coloniality and Christian practice I think this concept is right up your alley.