Fan-Made 'Game of Thrones' Map Shows the Allegiances of Westeros
It's a visualization of the struggle.
When Game of Thrones meets data a mess of tangling alliances and betrayal in Westeros in Westeros. If a newly-released map](https://www.inverse.com/topic/data) visualization, it’s a mess of Westeros by UK-based coder Andy Barefoot is any indication, then a lot of characters get pulled in different directions through their many allegegianc and loyaltieses and loyalties.
In Barefoot’s “Game of Thrones Web of Allegiances,” he [map](https://www.inverse.com/topic/maps)s out the 509 credited characters that have appeared on the show. They’re placed according to their geographic connections. 120 different family Houses and organizations like the Iron Bank of Braavos or the Faceless Men pull at the characters to visualize their allegiances.
“I like the show a lot and knew a lot of the content already,” Barefoot tells Inverse, “which makes it easier to spot any glitches.” As he was looking for different data sets to practice data visualization skills, Game of Thrones seemed like a great option. “There are a lot of keen fans out there that I thought would be into it.”
Tormund, for instance, is pulled in between his loyalty to the Free Folk, Mance Rayder, and Jon Snow.
Data and images were scrubbed from the Game of Thrones wiki and A Wiki of Ice and Fire, mainly for the listings under the “Allegiances” field in character profiles. Barefoot had to lay a pixel grid over a map of Westeros so he could map the locations. The “false diagram” model allows you to interact and grab and drop different characters, Barefoot explained.
As such, the location of characters has more to do with their connections than their physical location. As such, the interactive nature of the map alows users to move icons around to get a clearer picture of the allegiances.
Arya’s icon, for instance, lingers near the Northern castle of Ramsgate, the geographic mid-point between House Stark at Winterfell and the Faceless Men at Braavos. All in all, there are 726 connections among and between the 509 characters that have appeared on the show thus far.
The icons for major characters like Jon, Daenerys, and Arya appear larger because they’ve appeared more frequently on-screen. By comparison, one-off nameless characters are tiny dots without photos. The map reaches 509 character icons for including these lesser characters, like the members of Izembaro’s acting troupe or members of the Brotherhood Without Banners.
Compared to areas to the South, the North is fairly united.
The allegiances tell a lot about the political climate of Westeros. Over the show’s previous six seasons, Casterly Rock has remained unified under Lannister control for the duration of the show, whereas locations like King’s Landing or Dragonstone have been a veritable mess when it came to control and political conflict](https://www.inverse.com/topic/conflict). Both Baratheons and Targaryens have claimed Dragonstone, which Daenerys is set to reclaim early in Season 7.
Check out the “Game of Thrones Web of Allegiances” right here and another visualization by Barefoot right here if you’re interested in remembering “Who Killed Who?”
