Having seen only bits and pieces of a few shows, I am floored that anyone would take GoT as a representation of European Middle Ages, or anything human, in fact. I thought it was supposed to be like Dune or something.
I agree, the series is set in a totally different world although obviously the author did take some inspiration from medieval history, but apparently Westeros has been stuck in a “medieval” feudal level of society for thousands of years, not centuries (though there is some hint that the society might not really be that old as the official histories claim).
The religious landscape is very different, the Faith of the Seven does seem based on Catholicism, but half the country is essentially pagan as the Northerners follow the “Old Gods” and that is considered acceptable, even when the North tries to become independent the religious differences really don’t see too important, especially in the show, though certainly the Rhllorists who follow the “Lord of Light” are portrayed as intolerant of other faiths.
Some of the technology is more advanced, much of it actually was invented in the Renaissance, not the historical middle ages. Then there’s the order of maesters, they are as essentially a secular version of actual orders of monks who helped advance scientific knowledge.
Also, at least when it comes to the books, I just accept that “kids on Planetos mature faster than on Earth” not just when it comes to sex but in general. I think GRRM had admitted that he didn’t do enough research on child development when he started to write the books. Bran’s first GOT chapter, for example, really does not strike me as authentic “8 year old” voice, he sounds much older, yet oddly clueless about sex.
Note that the show actually aged up the younger characters, mostly to allow for the sex scenes to be legal, but also because some of the actions would likely seem unbelievable if the ages weren’t changed. On the other hand, some of the characters, such as Robb Stark, wound up looking immature for their age.
