I've been binge-watching Game of Thrones, a show notorious for its depictions of violence and cruelty. Many people find it shocking, but I've read a few books on the history of the Middle Ages and my impression is that, if anything, the people of 13th-century England were even worse. That's just my impression, though. It makes sense to me because TV producers are often obliged to tone down the violence in order to appease censors. I'd like a historian on the Middle Ages to offer a detailed comparison.

Is the violence and cruelty in GoT completely true to history?