One in ten Brits thought Jon Snow from Game of Thrones was a real person

Virgin Radio

29 Nov 2021, 12:13

A survey commissioned by Sky HISTORY found more than a third of Brits knew more about Game Of Thrones than actual historical events, with some believing Jon Snow was a real person. 

The survey of 2,000 adults found one in 10 believed Jon Snow, a character from the fantasy show, was a real-life historical figure. 

On top of this, one in 20 thought it was the Lannisters and Starks, also from Game Thrones, who fought in the Wars of the Roses. It was, in fact, the houses of York and Lancaster. 

Respondents also got other fictional and nonfiction figures mixed up, with 40 percent believing King Arthur was a real person alongside Robin Hood (29 per cent), Count Dracula (12 per cent). 

Despite this, seven in 10 of people surveyed considered themselves clued up about British history. However, only 36 per cent knew the Black Death occurred in the 1300s, and nearly half couldn’t remember how many wives Henry VII had, with one in 10 believing Joan of Arc was one of them!

Over a third also didn’t realise the king had created the Church of England and 54 per cent had no idea William Shakespeare was alive during the Tudor period.

One of the more amusing statistics to emerge from the survey was that one in twenty British adults thought Gandalf the Grey, from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, was a real person. 

People tended to fare a bit better with their knowledge of historical battles, with 67 per cent having heard of the Battle of Hastings and 66 per cent knowing about the Battle of Waterloo. Of those surveyed, 63 per cent had also heard of D-Day and 62 per cent knew of The Somme. 

Although, some admitted they thought The Battle of Hogwarts, from Harry Potter, and The Clone Wars, from Star Wars, were also real famous historical battles. 

The survey was commissioned as part of the launch of Sky HISTORY’s new series, Royal Bastards: Rise of the Tudors on Mondays at 9pm. 

A spokesperson for the channel said: “British history is littered with so many important stories as well as iconic myths and legends, it’s hardly surprising that people’s memories can be a little foggy.

“What is clear is that British people take pride in their history and have a thirst for more information and knowledge about it. Our role is to show them that history is well and truly alive, and that fact is every bit as exciting and dramatic as fiction.”

It seems many people have forgotten the history lessons they had in school! To be fair, we want to believe Gandalf the Grey was a real person too.