Science and Technology

The developmental level of science and technology across the Continent, and the known world as a whole, is roughly comparable to real-life late medieval levels.

## Military technology

Main article: Armament
Military technology in Westeros and Essos is loosely comparable to the kinds used during the real-life Hundred Years' War and Wars of the Roses. Crossbows are prevalent, though they have not superseded longbows, which are also quite common on the battlefield (again, much like the 1400s in real-life northwestern Europe). Various kinds of advanced siege weapons such as catapults are employed. Horse cavalry are widely used, and some regions of Essos are known to use mounted elephants. Heavy cavalry, using mounted knights in full plate armor, is a mainstay of the battlefield, though they are more commonly fielded by the wealthier regions of Westeros (i.e. the Reach or the Westerlands), while the poorer kingdoms (such as the North or the Iron Islands) make do with chain mail instead of full plate armor. Many armies frequently make use of different kinds of mercenaries.

 File:Heartsbane Cropped.png  Valyrian steel is a type of metal forged in the once-mighty Valyrian Freehold, used to make swords that are exceptionally sharp and tremendously strong. The knowledge of how to create Valyrian steel was lost in the fall of Valyria four hundred years ago, making the few surviving Valyrian steel swords incredibly rare and expensive. Valyrian steel is rumored to have been forged with the aid of magic spells and dragon-fire.

 File:Wildfire Blood of My Blood.png  Gunpowder does not exist in the medieval fantasy world of Westeros. They do possess Wildfire, a highly flammable and explosive, napalm-like substance: the Alchemists' Guild refuses to divulge how wildfire is created, but claim that it is done with magical spells (a claim dismissed by others, particularly the maesters). Even so, Wildfire is similar to real life "Greek fire", which was actually used by the Byzantine Empire in medieval times, and thus was actually a technology known to medieval peoples (and thus not entirely out of keeping for a medieval setting). Dragons were, of course, used in warfare, but they are more of a magic-based fantasy creature. Moreover, the last known dragons in the world died out two hundred years ago, largely due to many of them being used up in a Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of Dragons, in which dragons were used to kill other dragons. Thus, dragons have not been used on the battlefield in two centuries.

### Ships

Main article: Ships
 File:703 Euron Attacks.png  From great war galleys such as Stannis Baratheon’s flagship *Fury*, to the longships of the Iron Fleet, to Davos Seaworth’s humble smuggling ship *Black Betha*, numerous ships of many different kinds sail the waters around Westeros and beyond. Some belong to pirates, or can be hired as sellsails in wars, such the fleet of thirty pirate ships commanded by the Lyseni sellsail Salladhor Saan.

## Currency

Main article: Currency
Several different types of **currency** are used in the world's various economies.

## Books and writing

Different societies have their own writing systems. The main one encountered is the one used for the Common Tongue of the Andals throughout Westeros. The Andals introduced the first full writing system to Westeros: the First Men before them only used a basic rune script for the Old Tongue which was only used for basic inscriptions on grave markers, etc. The Dothraki do not have a written language. In the novels, it is stated that the Valyrian languages in the Free Cities and Slaver's Bay have their own glyph-based writing systems, but no attempt has been made to represent this in the TV series.

The novels refer to characters in Westeros using both "parchment" (made from animal skins) and "paper" (made from wood pulp). This is not incongruous to the setting: paper was introduced to real life Western Europe as early as the twelfth century, though it did not surpass use of parchment for many centuries. Generally, parchment was still used for important documents - legal charters, important diplomatic messages, etc. - while paper was a cheap, less durable alternative. Given that Westeros is loosely based on the Wars of the Roses in England during the late 1400s, it is not contradictory that their society uses a mix of paper or parchment for different tasks. Paper seems to be often used for more common tasks: the messages sent via the raven network are described as being written on little scrolls of "paper" - paper is thinner and lighter than parchment so it is probably easier to roll, easier to fit more writing on each roll, and easier for the birds to carry.

 File:701 Cersei letter to Jon behind the scenes.png  More important hand-delivered messages tend to be written on parchment, particularly royal decrees from King's Landing. Most if not all books are made out of parchment, not paper: books are usually commissioned or hand-copied and thus more like luxury items, so anyone commissioning one will have it made of high quality. They don't have cheap mass-produced paper books.

No mention has been made of printing press technology, and it apparently doesn't exist in Westeros (and probably not in Essos either). The printing press was only introduced in real-life Medieval Europe in the mid-1400s and took time to be implemented, again matching the general historical period of the setting. It is unknown if other societies use earlier forms of printing, such as wood-block printing, etc.

## Songs

*See also "Songs"*
* "The Rains of Castamere"
* "The Bear and the Maiden Fair"
* "Gentle Mother, Font of Mercy"
* "It's Always Summer Under the Sea"
* "The Dornishman's Wife"
* "Hands of Gold"
* "Jenny of Oldstones"

## Games

*See also "Games"*
Games, sports, board games, etc.

## Animals and plants

Main article: Animals and plants

**Animals**

**Plants**