this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2026
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Hi, so I've seen the red wedding mentioned in game of thrones and venom 2. Yes, I can smell you judging me from here! It's okay. I was just wondering if this is a recent myth? Where does the red wedding concept come from?

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[–] PugJesus@piefed.social 6 points 14 hours ago

There are a number of incidents in world history, some verifiable, some dubious, of similar massacres during events of hospitality. Vlad the Impaler of Romania supposedly murdered many of the unruly noble vassals of Transylvania after inviting them to a feast, for example. Genghis Khan's father, Yesugei, was poisoned at a wedding feast, when Genghis was just a young boy.

In general, most rulers prefer to avoid violations of hospitality because this leads to an atmosphere of fear that makes negotiation nearly impossible, and negotiation is the foundation of both explicit truces and implicit peace outside of wartime.