[NO SPOILERS] Am I the only one who sees Germania in the Walkers?

(Preface by saying I'm aware of the Viking fairy mythology references, this thought is, just thinking, despite that)

Since we always talk about what factions represent what real life peoples, here's something that just makes too much sense to me, but I never seem to see anyone else discuss.

In the real historical world, you've got a Roman influenced Britannia. And at the Northern border, you've got Hadrian's Wall.

Beyond Hadrian's wall you've got the Celts. Wild, warlike, tribal groups, people with blond and red hair, people that would pretty much become the Irish, the Highland Scots, etc.

But who was beyond the Celts?

Caesar's boogey men.

In Julius Caesar's writings he describes these terrifying people. They're HUGE. 6, 7 feet tall, every one of them. They're athletic. Lean but muscular. With pale white skin, blue eyes, and snow white hair.

They're naturally unafraid of the cold. They dress in animal skins, but wear fairly little clothing, all year long. They'll bath in icy rivers in the dead of winter. They'll even strip nude for battle.

Incredibly war like and aggressive, more so than the Celts. Bloodthirsty these people. The Celts, they can be reasoned with. Treaties could be made. The Celts were people to be either conquered and annexed under the Empire, or at the least negotiated with.

But these people, Caesars boogeymen, could not be negotiated with. The had no ability to understand treaties, and they had no desire for peace. War was all they knew and all they wanted. Kill people and take their stuff was the only system their culture understood. (Supposedly, Caesar claimed, these people did not farm. They did some small trading but no real mercantilism. They wouldn't even if they knew how. For a healthy male to make his living by any means other than warfare and plunder would be seen as both boring, and shameful)

This is, of course, how Caesar described the Germanic tribes, in his letters and writings.

Caveat: That's not saying this is how the real life Germanic tribes ACTUALLY were. This is how Caesar wrote about them. Some healthy embellishment is expected. After all, Caesar had his own political concerns, and here he is telling his own war stories, of course there is a propaganda aspect.

It was useful to Caesar to convince the Roman public at home that 1. He's out there doing dangerous, scary, heroic things on their behalf. 2. Because this terrifying threat exists out there, that can't be reasoned with, hungry to wipe out their civilization, and the only thing standing between them and destruction are Caesar's heroic legions, 3. and so all of Caesar's campaigning isn't his choice... no... its a necessity he endures, at great personal risk, for the good of Rome. Point being, that propogandist, hyped up retelling by Caesar reinforces my thinking. The white walkers seems like a dead on depiction of boogeymen of Germania that Caesar wanted Rome to believe in.

Just curious if anyone else picked up that vibe, or considered it before.

Submitted February 04, 2021 at 01:00AM by jrhooo https://ift.tt/36IiH4t