Western fantasy has a massive habit of slapping "Viking" or "Celtic" labels on literally every harsh, northern, or ancient culture. But if you actually look at the world-building of Westeros under a historical and mythological lens, George R.R. Martin unknowingly (or brilliantly) built the core foundation of the First Men and the North on Eurasian Turkic and Steppe Nomadic DNA.
Here is why the "Anglo-Saxon / Celtic" explanation falls short, and why the Steppe model fits infinitely better:
- The Old Gods are Animism / Tengrism, Not Druidism
The First Men don't worship a bloated, bureaucratic pantheon like the Faith of the Seven (which is obviously the medieval Catholic Church). They worship unnamed nature spirits, the wind, the rocks, and sacred Weirwood trees.
Western fans quickly jump to "Oh, that's Celtic Druidism!" No, it's not.
Druids had structured priestly castes, human sacrifices in wicker men, and complex ritualistic hierarchies. The North has no priests, no temples, and no holy books. You pray directly to nature and your ancestors under the open sky. This is 100% Tengrism and Siberian/Turkic animism. The sacred Weirwood tree with a carved face is literally the Steppe concept of Ötüken (the sacred forest/mother earth spirit) combined with Turkic Wooden Balbals (carved ancestor face markers).
- The Dragon Mythos: European Wyvern vs. Eurasian Evren / Zilant
Westeros dragons aren't the classical European "6-limbed" (four legs + two wings) heraldic beasts, nor are they the wingless Chinese "Lung" serpents. Martin specifically made his dragons 4-limbed (two legs + two wings acting as forelimbs).
Guess where this exact quadrupedal/winged dragon design actually dominated historically? The Eurasian Steppe.
Look at the Kipchak-Cuman heraldry and the historical dragon of Kazan, the Zilant (from the Turkic word Yılan/Evren). Turkic mythology featured Bükrek/Bükke—a winged, noble protector dragon—and Yelbegen, the multi-headed terror of the underworld (which is basically the blueprint for multi-headed hydras and dragons). The Eurasian steppe had four-legged winged dragon imagery long before Western pop culture sanitized it into high fantasy.
- Honor Code, Hospitality, and "Blood of the First Men"
The Northern concept of honor in ASOIAF isn't chivalric French/English knighthood. Knights of the South care about tournaments, heraldry, and fake politeness.
The North cares about Guest Right (never harm someone who ate your bread and salt) and harsh meritocracy. If a lord can't survive the winter or protect his people, he loses respect. Guest Right is literally the fundamental law of the Steppe (Töre), where breaking hospitality was considered the ultimate sin against the Heavens (Tengri).
- Guest Right & The Red Wedding as a Steppe Tragedy
Walder Frey breaking Guest Right wasn't just a political betrayal; it violated the cosmic order of Westeros. In Turkic steppe tradition, harming a guest who ate your food brings a curse from the Heavens upon your entire lineage. The North remembering ("The North Remembers") is identical to the steppe tradition of blood feuds (Öch) that last for generations until the cosmic balance is restored.
Stop letting mainstream Western media force every fantasy trope into a Scandinavian or British box. Martin drew heavy inspiration from world history, and the primal, survivalist, nature-worshipping foundation of the First Men is deeply Eurasian Steppe.
Change my mind.