'Game of Thrones' Update: George R.R. Martin Reveals the Historical Inspiration for His Character the High Sparrow

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin loves history, so much so that the stories, places, and characters his fictional novels are mostly inspired by real-life events and individuals in the past.

He has revealed that his Game of Thrones series was heavily influenced by England's War of the Roses - a struggle between the royal families of Lancaster and York.

As for the new religious character High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce), Martin said that his swift rise to power in King's Landing was inspired by the Protestant Reformation of Catholic Europe in the 16th century, which led to the devastating Thirty Years' War.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Martin described his Sparrows as a version of the medieval Catholic Church, but with a fantasy twist.

"If you look at the history of the church in the Middle Ages, you had periods where you had very worldly and corrupt popes and bishops. People who were not spiritual, but were politicians," he said. "They were playing their own version of the game of thrones, and they were in bed with the kings and the lords. But you also had periods of religious revival or reform-the greatest of them being the Protestant Reformation, which led to the splitting of the church-where there were two or three rival popes each denouncing the other as legitimate. That's what you're seeing here in Westeros."

Martin said that the first two High Septons seen in Game of Thrones were each corrupt in his own way, and the first one was even torn apart by an angry mob during the food riot in season two. The one Tyrion appoints to replace him is less corrupt than the first, but is actually ineffectual. Tyrion's sister Cersei naturally distrusts him, so Martin said she "has to deal with a militant and aggressive Protestant Reformation, if you will, that's determined to resurrect a faith that was destroyed centuries ago by the Targaryens."

The people from Westeros also believe in the Seven, and Martin explains that this is much similar to the Holy Trinity of the Catholic church.

"Instead of the Trinity of the Catholic Church, you have the Seven, where there is one god with seven aspects," he said. "In Catholicism, you have three aspects-the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I remember as a kid, I was always confused by that. 'So there are three gods?' No, one god, but with three aspects. I was still confused: 'So he's his own father and own son?'"