Ok, I know I'm very late to the party, but I've always wondered about gwyndolin. I have always remained with the impression that gwyndolin is a crossbreed like priscilla and that gwyn and seath made the same experiments like the lothric royal family and wanted to create the perfect heir, either to link the flame or just be everlasting and rule the age of fire forever. That is why gwyndolin is draped and masked, so no one sees his scaly skin and that is why he uses sorcery and has snakes for legs (imperfect dragon). He was just obedient and useful so they kept him, while priscila wasn't and they feared her. Also one of the miracle's icon's high resolution image shows a kind of tapestry that depicts gwyn and gwyndolin together above a group of silver knights, but that can always be some propaganda legend on gwyndolin's part.
If Gwyndolin is indeed the child depicted in the statue at Firelink Shrine, one thing we can point out is that most of his body, and by extension his legs, are enveloped in cloth, concealing their appearance. I wonder what gave him such an appearance...
what I love about Dark Souls is just the thought and implication of our character knowing none of this. There's something both depressing, AND funny in ALL THIS history, all these lives, all of these gods and thousands of years of scheming...… and then this one asshole just gets out of their prison cell and with no more motivation then "....I wonder if I could pick a fight with EVERYTHING that moves?" WINS
I mean realistically aren’t we the bad guy if we link the flame? To allow the hollows to exist as they choose is the correct choice. To come up and kill all these creatures and people truly is wrong. Some it’s understandable like Gwyn and his children because they cucked and fucked and really just bitch slapped humanity. But why do we kill the hollows? Just something I was curious about due to the ending of dark souls 3
@@Darksky1001able that's even better! "fuckin' gods leaving their undead and abominations bloody everywhere i swear to shit the second i find my way out of blight town i'm a give them a proper talking to!!!"
One more thing. Videos like this take countless hours of work. All the editing and piecing together, not to mention the genius of puzzling all these thoughts together. There is more work here than we think about. Whether you agree or not everyone should give this guy a thanks for working so hard on something we all care about.
I know it’s been said before Hawk, but I’d love to see an updated version of this now we have the Dark Souls series in its entirety. Your video was the first one that gave an appreciation of the actual sequence of events and periods of time involved. It was very easy to see the intro and no matter how much lore diving you did, think that the events took place in very rapid succession after each other. Almost like how a child hears about how the Earth was created and assumes it happened as told, rather than over millions of years.
I am going to say she attempted to create the flame for several reasons- *AD PLAYS* "FOR A HEALTHY BREAKFAST!-" I choked on my water from that unintentional comedic timing.
The point about Velka still being active when the Chosen Undead leaves the asylum makes the idea that she’s the one who truly wants to see the end of the cycle - because that would end Gwyn’s sin - a lot more plausible.
All-Father Lloyd created humans? How would the furtive pygmy fit in? It sort of seems like you forgot all about him, which is canonically easy, of course.
@@danielnewton6002 the dialogue of Lloyd's rings in ds3 only mention that the clerics of carim say that Lloyd is a fraud, and carim is known for being pretty shady.
@@jakes1566 In Japanese, Sullyvahn's soul description literally calls Gwyndolin chief god, the term the localization usually adapts as "Allfather" in these games. So, yeah, Loyd was a fraud who usurped Gwyn's role in the pantheon as soon as the opportunity presented itself, although it should have been the Firstborn's and Gwyndolin's birthright from the start lokeysouls.com/2020/11/16/irithyll/
In Japanese the serpents are not called "primordial," they are simply called the "world serpents," and the grave of "primeval man" is 古人 for primeval, which means ancient or primeval as it was translated. Be careful looking so deeply into the literal when dealing with a Japanese game, or in general, though the video is fantastic. I am a translator (oddly enough at the university Miyazaki went to). If you or anyone have any questions ask and I'll let you know what the Japanese says.
Unless the Japanese specifically contradicts the English, we haven't looked too deeply. Myazaki worked very hard with the English translators to make sure they did a good job, for which he chose to sometimes reveal more or less. It is therefore just shedding more light in this case rather than being wrong. Very cool by the way!
Thanks for the reply, it seems that you have far more knowledge than I do about the creative process behind the game, and that's a big relief to hear that Miyazaki takes special care with FROMSOFT to ensure the translations are accurate or relay additional meaning. I recently made a post on reddit about how Ludleth says he is a Pygmy in Japanese, and I truly wondered about the translation. I love almost all the translations, so that's good news and it makes sense! Thanks for the video and comment.
I'd like to know if thre is a place where i can find the dialogues and item descriptions in japanese for the games or if you can provide an english translation. It would be very much appreciated
I study the history of religion, and language is extremely important, hence we use a lot of Arabic terminology when described concepts in Islam, for example. This is of course because when you translate something, you risk changing the meaning.
@@jayjasespud but if youre telling a story surely you would use the names of the groups at the time of telling of. like, nobody calls the Ottomans the Saudi Arabians, even if many lived in the area that would become Saudi arabia.
@@garfieldinheat664 Those are entirely different. In the type of story around legends, I'd probably use the name of the figure people were most familiar with.
i like how they say multiple times that no one knows who Gwyns first born son is. but 4 months after this video was posted everyone found out in Dark Souls 3 who it was. The Nameless King...
@@phylippezimmermannpaquin2062 unless you just got into the series i’m surprised you didn’t already know, dark souls has been out for nearly 6 years and people connected the dots from the first born to the nameless king almost instantly. though if you’re like me and forget certain details or miss optional ones you might not have made the connection so it might be nice to know going in, makes the fight a little cooler and more dramatic than it already is
+lasse So much yes as im unable to find anything related to what will actually happen when the age of dark arrives ! but maybe there is nothing to be found ?
+Siegmeyer there is nothing in the games to suggest what would happen, with the possible exception of the abyss being a potential window into the world of the age of dark.
+lasse I think its solved now in DS 3 when you go to the abbyss version of the firelink shrine and the age of dark is allready arrived there it is some deep shit what the age of dark truely is but i think its the future version of 2 timelines after the firelink shrine because the woman of carim who sells you miracles said that she wanted to be a firekeeper and in the abbyss version of the firelink shrine are a pair of blind eyes on a corpse on her location and if you give the eyes to the actual firekeeper she said that firekeepers are not allowed to see because they wont believe in the flame like they do in the current blindness and lets be honest.. what would happen when the fire keepers have eyes and they dont believe in the linking of the flame ? my thoughts are that when a firekeeper does not believe in his flame it wont burn anymore likely in dark souls when gwyn is defeated and you have the choise to link the flame because you have faith in it or turn you back to the flame and let it burn out so that the actual age of dark can arrive (sorry for my english im just a german student but i hope you can get it :D)
+Siegmeyer The age of dark is the end of the age of fire that sees the gods on the top of the food chain and humanity being able to achieve full compability with their own "dark soul" in difference to the Giants or gods "Fire soul". If you start the age of dark in the first game you will be the "dark god" of this new era, though there are a few clues on how the world will be when the dark takes over in one of the cities in the game. Men will become abominations if they don't master their dark soul and since most arent able to do that most of mankind will become even worse than hollows.
Video: "Humanity is probably created by the gods like in Greek and other mythologies." Me: "The furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten indeed, as is apparently the titular Dark Soul(s)."
I'm of a mind that Gwyndolin isn't actually Gwyn's child but a child of one of Gwynevere's maidens corrupted by Seath. It feels really clear to me from the Moonlight Butterfly (also a Seath creation) track that plays when you fight Gwyndolin. Pryscilla, who is almost definitely an experiment of Seath's as well (I suspect Gwyndolin was attempt one in terms of near successes and then Pryscilla was attempt number 2). Remember guys, what are snakes? Beings that failed to become dragons. Gwyndolin was half snake probably because he failed to fully become a dragon for one reason or another but Seath kept him as part of his grand conspiracy with Frampt and Gwynevere. Why? Probably for his affinity with Illusions. I'm not sure HOW he developed such powers but he has no trace of the sun. He is a false god. Why else would he need to try so hard to convince everyone, even going so far as to try and contact Gwyn (which I surmise to be impossible. Gwyn isn't dead in the traditional sense. Yes he hollowed out but his soul; his essence, was already consumed by the first flame. There'd be nothing left to contact).
Thank you. I had completely forgotten this comment. I thought no one took it seriously so I never really tried to really push it but glad to see you guys appreciate it.
Couldn't it also be that seath maybe used gwyns "dna" (if that even exists in dark souls) or even his lord soul in the hope that would help to create a full dragon. That might be why he is seen as one of gwyns children but is kept away from the public. A bastarf child created in unnatural ways.
gwindolin is possibly the son of priscilla and gwyn, with priscilla being seath's daughter, it's not excplicit who the mother is but from the japanese it's stated that seath and gwyneveere are husband and wife, so there is that. Another candidate could be velka
33:07 now with the last dlc of dark souls 3 out, the ringed city, we know that this statue is gwyn's wife holding filianore, who is revered by the undeads, if you look at the walls next the statue, we see several priests with dragon head or goat head offering eggs to her, reference to her having the egg of midir
I agree with the part about the 4 knights not being something that happened all at once or was even a fixed number. It was clear Gough and Ornstein gained their renown fighting dragons but Artorias and Ciaren seemed like they dealt with post dragon problems. I could honestly see Artorias gaining his fame and rank in the war with the Demons. His large sword, likely awarded after the war, looks about the same weight class of the black knights. If he was some kind of hero demon war, when he heard about what was going on in Oolicila, it would not be a leap to see him looking to fight that battle. He's killed people twisted into monsters before and I'm sure it was triggering Izalith flashbacks with people turning into monsters and all.
Also if you look closely at the of gauntlets Artorias, they are pretty well copy and pasted versions of silver knight gauntlets just with suet coating them
I was still a married man some years ago when i saw this video and the several others you made and had nothing but respect and appreciation for these things. The fire has long since faded, but embers have begun to dance across the long, dark night.
+Jake Saliba He should have put a line bellow and then place the events as he explains them. This is not exactly a timeline video as it is explanation why this is before that and so on
@@emiliagianova3938 altough it sounds good it would just be impossible since he is interpreting or explaining the reason why he did assumptions in some places. i quite like that since he is not trying to force his way of thinking but rather tries to leave us with most possible interpretivism ground. second thing is sheer amount of information in the timeline would make it a toooooo long of a line to see anything.
it's kind of weird how gwyn's wife is not a named character. it's always made me sort of suspect that his wife IS a named character but they're estranged for some controversial reason and you just never find out which of the named characters she is - be it velka or the witch or caitha etc. i guess it's more likely she just wasn't important to the story so they didn't bother to name her. but why is she gone, you know? you'd think the game would explain why she's gone since it feels the need to explain why everyone else is gone, and even explain why those who are still present never left.
Three years old I know, and I know this channel is DS1-exclusive to a large degree, but... I did always like DS2's implication that a lot of gods abandoned Lordran pretty early and established their own religions elsewhere in the world. Alternatively / in addition: Nothing stoppong kings from having heirs through concubines (thinking of Lady Jessica in Dune for instance). Gwyn might have just been the kinda baller who never actually married.
@@colbyboucher6391I mean hawk isn’t exactly esclusive to DS1, as much as most of his content predates later lore drops. He does use info from DS3 in his new content, but only as a secondary source, which I think is the way it should be handled. DS1 is Miyazaki’s ideas of the lord in purest form, with DS3 being something he did later to clarify what we were messing up and make it a whole trilogy, with DS2 being from a different team, and therefore the least reliable.
After 10 years of discussion and theory crafting for this game, this video stands out as the most comprehensive and well researched piece of Dark Souls lore content. Thanks again for sharing it with us all.
Hawkshaw, I love your videos and I've watched them 100 times but this part with the clam in ash lake always kills me @ 11:11 for reals tho, love your stuff so much
@@Hawkshaw Lol! I was wondering why you chose to put that clip in there. It made no sense whatsoever and now that you say it was an any mistake, it makes it hilarious.
@@JorgeM270there is some importance to it revolving around the clams in seath’s cave and the fact that they drop purging stones. Elaborated more in their video about the plot against the gods.
If the meaning of "appointed official" is emphasized in the Japanese, perhaps "The Four Kings" would be better named as "The Four Viceroys" in English.
holy mother there is any video game lore so vast as Dark Souls ? Nothing is told yet everything is connected so fascinating thanks for the video. Waiting for more.
Super old but I would say the elder scrolls universe is much much much larger. Not necessarily better, but there is undeniably more lore within it. I mean you could make at least 100 movies on it and never even get through half the lore. Ds could probably be split into 5-10 movies. Again DS isn’t worse it just doesn’t have as much content
ive fallen asleep to this video 6 nights in a row. Im a schizo with adhd and it means a lot that a voice relaxes me, yours is very nice albeit i like it through the speaker of my phone more than my laptop. I have watched it all the way through, dont get me wrong, its very well researched and executed as well. I love the dark souls series and this video is awesome! i wish it didnt take me so long to discover the magic behind this community and the from series as well, but i am here now lol thank you!
You know it's good content when someone like me that's NEVER PLAYED Dark Souls can sit, listen, and be fully engaged. I really enjoy lore and world building, so when someone REALLY does the heavy lifting like this...dude, this was just dope!
The humans aren't the pygmies? But a Pygmie took the dark soul, the souls all humans have. Plus, the gods and giants are both gigantic, giants usually being even bigger than the gods. So they wouldn't be referred to as "pygmies" since the term pygmie implies not only primitive, but "small of stature." In fact, humans are about the smallest sentient things in DS.
Pygmie could also imply position or status instead of size. For example, even if giants r bigger than Gods, they r "pygmie" because the Gods rule over the giants Size is more convoluted than time in Dark souls. I mean Gwyndolin's illusion is like huge compared to Gwyn ingame.
@@thedeadcannotdie No matter how you look at it, you're wrong. Pygmy comes from latin pigmei, a fabulous race of dwarves as described by Homer. After that it was used to describe the real pygmies we know today. It is in no way a replacement word for peasant.
Jason Hymes Well that was extremely shortsighted. If you’re going to be that pretentious, do yourself a favor and at least have sound reasoning. So to counter that (and I find it hard to believe it should have to be said) you are aware that words evolve over time, yes? And that can change due to a variety of factors, such as location, how common a word is and the context in which it’s used. Like the word “Vulgar” for example. It’s more commonly used nowadays to ascribe to something Obscene or socially inappropriate. Yet I’m the past it has been used by various forms of Nobility to describe the dialect of a given language, used by common folk. Though the Nobility may not have necessarily seen those who used “vulgar speech” as obscene or inappropriate, there is a through line that can be drawn between the two. Besides, The Souls Series isn’t exactly known for having straightforward lore.
Dark Souls has such a great setting and atmosphere. You're killing things because they want to kill you, and get better at it the more you do it. But at the same time, you're being completely unaware of the transgressions which happened prior. Such a good representation of what an unknowing chosen one would go through.
Been a gamer for a long time. Never got around to Dark Souls. Always felt I did not have the constitution, the determination, and the fortitude to play through it. Work is slow this evening. Thank you for making a timeline.
Happy 4th Birthday, yo. (I’m going off of the upload date instead of the channel creation, but still, astounding work has been shared these past 4 years)
Absolutely love listening to your videos before I fall asleep. I have very very bad anxiety and doing so is often difficult. You have a very soothing voice - listening to the DS lore videos is like hearing campfire stories. Thank you so much!
Hey there. First let me say, I've paled through and finished every souls game multiple times. They're pretty much all I've played for the last 3 years, as well as DeS on release. So naturally, I'm obsessed LOL. I've watched pretty much every lore video put out on all of the games but I've struggled to put it all together in a coherent timeline. Then this video came along. As someone who's a HUGE lore enthusiast (seriously, I can't get enough of the depth and thought that has gone into the lore of these games, not to mention how it's all interwoven into the mechanics, items, creatures, bosses, etc etc...but I digress). So as I was saying, then this video came along. So believe me when I say, I get how much work and effort must've gone into creating this. And man, you did an AMAZING job with it. Not to mention your Nito video that cast an entirely new light on DaS for me. Fantastic work and a very fresh perspective, using the smallest of clues and drawing from Greek Myth. Bravo
This is helping me crystallize a true motive for Gwynn did. The theme of transformation that spans the series, as well as the cycle plot device, coupled with men turning into dragons and giants turning into trees....4 kings turning into tree like beings (sharing a piece of Gwynn's giant soul)... But anyway, it's not all there yet. I hope you keep making these videos, great great job🙏
Thank you for such genuine appreciation. It's great finding people who see it as we do and have been lost in the amount of content one can keep delving through. We will continue to make them! Despite how long it's been now, don't lose hope aha
Will there ever be a revised video of the timeline incorporating knowledge added in DS2 and 3? I guess that would be closer to 5 hours at this rate, lol.
Witch Beatrice is a reference to Schierke, a child witch from the manga Berserk, from which Miyazaki drew a lot of aesthetic inspiration. This is likely why there exists a child version of Beatrice's model.
The design of both characters is pretty standard design for witches in all media, there is no correlation between the two whatsoever, Berserk refferences in Dark Souls overall is exageration to be honest
The amount of research you put into this is incredible. I'm always amazed by how much fans of these games are able to piece together from the scarce information they present us with.
This is probably the best Lore video I've seen!!! Incredibly well researched and nicely explained. As proof of how good this video is, a lot of information presented makes total sense when pairing it with the new information we learn in Dark Souls 3 Please, keep them coming!!!
I put this on when I fall asleep and I’ve never been able to stay awake for longer than 10 minutes. Idk if that’s a good or bad thing for you but I appreciate it.
Hawkshaw why don't you put subs for this video? It's extrimely interesting and thrilling but some parts are hard to follow and understand for the ones who are not native english speakers, besides with subs a lot of people that now are not able to enjoy the video would be able to do it.. I would really appreciate subs :(
I don't know what is it about this video whether it's your voice, delivery, presentation, lore or the effort you put into it. it's just so touching, so peaceful so chilling about it that when I watch it I forget about anything and I connect or joined with this beautiful tale and live every word of it. My words fail to explain my thoughts... thank you so much
I know this video is 3 years old now but i wonder if Miyazaki has ever taken the time to watch this. I bet it would warm his heart to see how well you managed to discern the history of the world he created. I feel like everything you have presented is plausible and it makes going back though and playing that much more interesting.
Your vidoe makes the absolute most sense, with every context clue, and tiny bit of environmental storytelling, item& enemy placements, and item descriptionwere given. I really think you're Batman, an amazinf detective work. This is the most lore accurate timeline!
Just before I watch the full video, I love how you didn't say something like "if you found this video good, then there are further videos on my channel that are similar." Instead of that you simply invited newcomers to watch further videos, if they are interested. As I'm a newcomer, having heard about you plenty of times from other souls channels, this is a great first impression. Good job.
12:01 After hearing this, I noticed something while reading an item description about Gwyn's four knights. If it were a specific, fixed group with a title, one would assume it should be capitalized, like "the Four Knights." However, it isn't, and is simply "the four knights." It's a small thing, but I felt it worth noting
I’ve watched your videos so many times. I’m going through just to make sure I’ve liked them all. I want you to know that you made me appreciate these games even more. I loved them so much already and you showed me things I could never connect as a puny console player unable to use no clip. Not even mentioning the lore you expanded. You’re great!
Your lore videos top everyone else's. I'll take hour + lore vids over 2 minutes ones any day. The amount of research, time and detail that you dedicate is award worthy.
Gwyn explicitly did know gwyndolin there's pictures of them together in front of crowds at the grand cathedral on the icon for some of the miracles when you examine them in the menu
Amazing. It's like a refresher on the lore and I even look at some things from another perspective. I listen to this on my way to work and back and can't wait to watch it all! Great job.
Man, I would KILL for you to make the same type of video for Dark Souls 3, particularly for the Untended Graves as it drives me nuts and I cant figure it out.
Somehow this video has made its way back to my recommendations again. And its still as glorious and makes sense as ever. Its still mind boggling how deep dark souls lore is and how easily ones view on it can be influenced. There is the lore that the characters wants you to belive and the lore thats lying underneath. It just takes a lot of digging to crack the upper layer.
I like how you said that. There's what the characters try to push on as truth for their own reason and agenda, and the real truth. Might finally try to play these games lol
Why does this video not have more view??? This is the exact video I was searching for to explain to my friend exactly everything I know about dark souls already from the playing the game countless times and even so I still learned so much watching this video. Great work with this video I appreciate your dedication
I somehow rediscovered this video and am still awe struck with the amount of depth it has not only the game but this video. Thank you for this wonderful creation that just relights my want to play dark souls and become immersed in it's glory once more. I love this game
All these years later, i still come back to this classic. I always saw Vaati, EpicNameBro, Hollow etc as the storytellers of the comunity, the ones that are amazing at retelling semi hidden stories and putting them together. However i've always seen you guys on this channel, together with a couple others (Redgrave, T.A., Quelaag/Xingenue etc just to name a few) as the archeologists of these games..the ones that don't put too much "flare" and drama into their videos, but whom have the hard job of just...connecting dots, staring at textures for hours and comparing them, and trying to eliminate the red herrings from the things we can give for certain. Not saying i agree with 100% of this channel's theories (probably a good 80-90% tho) but every single video is worth watching from start to finish and gives incredible insight
Truly amazing, the amount of time you must have put in to this is appreciated. thankyou for all your hard work. I enjoyed being presented this complex story in an easy to follow time line.
Hawkshaw, your vids have made the best game I've played (been playing since nes 8bit era) significally even much better. They add so much to my understanding and appreciation to a game I already regard the greatest of all time
I have to say, major props for not getting a clickbait title with the sort of revelation you had about the undead's 'quest' towards the end. I loathed it when people throw those things to the front for some extra views, and have to give you major respect for letting it be learned for those who watched all the way through. All in all, an amazing video. Serious props.
I know i'm... 1 2 3 4... SEVEN years late, but... When Gough said "There are no more dragons left to hunt" I took it as there not being a need to hunt Seath since he betrayed his own, thus not needing to be hunted.
Hi guys, I wanted to let you know that this video does now have english subtitles available! Hopefully it helps with the whole fluidity while watching.
Hawkshaw I appreciate the time and effort you took on this video, so please don't misunderstand my comment... but I feel like in retrospect a lot of the things you talk about here are wrong like the whole genesis of humans and pygmys and giants/lords and the dark soul is just wrong and you overly complicate one of the very few if not the only piece of the story we are explicitly told with no veil of mystery it's just says straight up here is what happened! so your confusion there is a mystery to me??? but I digress A random example of you being wrong in retrospect is fillanor being the youngest of gwyns children, this throws out the argument of gwyn being absent in gwyndolins life completely, and there's a few errors in the video like that and of course it's easy to pick anything apart with the power of retrospect so I'm wondering is this about just dark souls 1 imaging that none of the rest of the series happened??? And one more thing again not trying to be rude just some friendly criticism. Saying things like "maybe gwyndolin was raised by serpents because she/he is raised by them now" takes away credibility from you and that type of poetic licensing has no place in the fact based video your trying to make, I understand if you are trying to say she/he is part serpent because she/he was raised by serpents but linking she/he is physically raised by serpents as in he/shes legs and feet and raised as in reared/brought up is ridiculous and almost made me turn off the video at 50 odd minutes but I'm glad I stuck around I thought it was a well made video if it's just dark souls 1 lore no information from the rest of the series with some mistakes that arose from overthinking, occams razor should be enforced before convoluted confirmation biased takes hold and despite my long torturous comment I've just subscribed to your channel and look forward to future videos, take care.
You made my entire week when I discovered all of your long Dark Souls lore videos that I have yet to watch. Thank you, thank you, a hundred times, thank you. :D
Just wanna point something out that I dont see lore people ever comment. I dont think people can be "exiled" from the Undead Burg because thats not it's function. The word Burg in German means castle or a fortified hill, which the level clearly is. A castle has primarily a residential and defensive function to those it houses with it's architectural elements providing for it's defence. Hence why the Burg is not a village per say, but rather a military base guarding the approach to Anor Londo. What do I mean by this? First look at all the smaller square towers with the pointed rooves that can be seen while traversing the level, they neither have any bells on them nor any visible way to get up to the top most level which leads me to believe their function is purely decorative The Burg and Firelink have one through the aqueduct connecting them, and the winding path to get up to the first bonfire is a clear sign of defensive parimeters in mind. The first bonfire is inside one of the bridge supports and the bridge leading into it is makeshift which would suggest that the original bridge was burned down (more on that later) All access to the other walls like the one next to you immediately upong getting up the stairs from the aqueduct have large piles of cut stone cording them off The guard tower where the hollow crossbowman is immediately before Havel and the Black Knight, as well as the placement of the stairs and doorways suggests that the measures are there to defend against people trying to come IN from the direction you come from, not come out from the opposite way The "dwellings" like the one where the chest with the resin is at are too small and only contain basic furniture like tables, chairs and cubbords as well as barrels and crates with (presumably) supplies. Plus there are no beds visible. The Lower Undead Burg is simply too small with all the doors and windows visible to accomodate a good civilian population. With all that said I believe the Burg was specifically built AFTER the Oolacile incident and the rise of the Curse to hinder any potential humans or undead that may try to gain access to Anor Londo. However based on some evidence and speculation I believe that the level itself points to a rather sad and dark backstory. Basically all the hollows up top are undead soldiers, as you'd expect still manning the ramparts as you should on a castle. Few of the hollows below only wears clothes specifically the torch wielding ones that attack you. The hollow warrior that immediately shatters the pavises and barricades after Hellkite flies by for the first time and you step on that platform, Why was he there? Couldn't have been to ambush you since its too obvious and he is too slow. Over on the right you have more barricades riddled with arrows there the two pikemen are above the undead merchant. How the stairs leading to him a blocked off with crates, how the one hollow in the room below is behind a book case. The fact that the first bonfire has rickety makeshift bridge leading to it and the ladder leading up the damaged staircase is pulled up. The defensive formation of the hollows on the bridge all looking in the direction you come from and the dead bodies with the items scattered on said bridge. The lowered portcullis leading to the Parish. The pile of burning corpses in the Lowerd Undead Burg and the sections of wall with piles of stone in your way. And let us not forget the MOST obvious place no one talks about, the town you can see below next to the Blighttown swamp behind the section of wall. If anyone was ever exiled and if any place ever held a population of ordinary humans I believe it is that place. And based on a couple of videos of a person no clipping his way down, the place looks far too big to be merely cosmetic and is more likely cut content. So based on ALL of this here is what I think happened. Gwyn leaves to kindle the flame, Anor Londo is pretty much deserted. Undead start appearing left and right with the Way of White killing or rounding them up. The people are panicking. Not soon after the town below the Burg starts getting it's fair share of hollows. Order starts to dwindle. A number of civilians make a hasty retreat with posslibly a few soldiers of the town's garrison to the Burg seeking protection. The Soldiers allready manning the Burg with maybe some of their families living there are hesitatnt at first but agree let the survivors from the town in. Months pass maybe with no word from the Capitol or the outside world, survivors start to lose hope. Havel could appear to try and organise his rebellion. Siegmeyer's wife is killed. People grow suspicious. Hollows start to appear among them. Soldiers from the Burg and the Town get suspicious of eachother. Soldiers from the Burg decide to retreat to the ramparts and try and block off the other survivors below. Infighthing and riots start (hence the pile of burning corpses) Soldiers make a hastry reatreat. The gate leading down the lowerd Burg is shut and locked with two men stationed to guard it. Chaos breaks out below, Capra shows up and worsens the situation. Soldiers up top begin having doubts. Some more smart ones take their families and retreat via the wall deeper into the the upper Burg and block the path with the stones used for repairs. Soldiers on the ramparts fight amongst themselves. Some escape up via the Havel tower others use the ladder near the bonfire, they raise the drawbridge. Those left behind siege the bonfire door and burn the bridge therefore resulting in the makeshift one being there. Last of the soldiers retreat to the Parish and shut the portcullis. A few stay behind to bravely fend off assaults on the bridge. For a time they succeed, then they go hollow too. Some time after the Knights of Balder and Berenike knights arrive at the town below, they storm it and make it through with casualties. They settle at Firelink and prepare to ascend the Burg, they send scouts and realize the Burg is swarming with hallows and a few very desperate survivors. The survivors in the Cathedral maybe having seen them lower the elevators to them. Knights ascend direclty to the Parish cathedral (hence the mixture of knights Baldur and Berenike there with the hollows) The spend some time to recover before formulating a plan to storm Sen's fortress to reach Anor Londo. Spend the next hundred years doing so... Also your Havel being trapped in the tower as a makeshift prison does hold more credibility when you consider that the tower where the Undead Female merchan is nearest also has it's middle floor collapsed. Not to mention that Havel's tower has no way for you to reach the top since the exit to the roof is boarded off. You might say the two hollow crossbowmen did it out of desperation but I'd argue against that. The metal ladder on the outside of the tower makes no sense from a defensive stand point. You are trying to funnel people in towards the Parish and have the MOST advantage in case of trouble. A big defensive tower like that with PERFECT line of fire over the bridge and the lower platform shouldn't have a ladder that anyone can climb on the OUTSIDE.
As a completely new convert to the Dark Souls world, this video has been on repeat as I fill my head with the lore of the world. You sir are a scholar.
I hope this video - as well as your others, they are of the same pristine quality as this - stays online for years to come. It's the masterclass summation of the game, and should remain as such for all time. Thank you, Hawkshaw.
in a game where time flows like melted rubber and molasses, you have seemed to make a clear timeline where every event of significance has been accounted for. great work, took me two sessions to finish the whole video, worth it.
Watched it a 2nd time I confess. And damn it's so detailed and quite possibly consistent with the Lore. Wonder how the time line and where does it ties/connects with Dark Souls III. Once again, thank you for taking the time to put out this video. LOL.... Wonder what Hidetaka Miyazaki would think of it????
Great video, I can tell you spent a significant amount of time on it. I hope you recreate this lore video because the dark souls 2 and 3 answer many questions and theories
Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/user?u=3372968
May grace guide us all.. ✨
Hawkshaw
Do you plan on doing any other souls game lore or are they as in-depth?
Ok, I know I'm very late to the party, but I've always wondered about gwyndolin. I have always remained with the impression that gwyndolin is a crossbreed like priscilla and that gwyn and seath made the same experiments like the lothric royal family and wanted to create the perfect heir, either to link the flame or just be everlasting and rule the age of fire forever. That is why gwyndolin is draped and masked, so no one sees his scaly skin and that is why he uses sorcery and has snakes for legs (imperfect dragon). He was just obedient and useful so they kept him, while priscila wasn't and they feared her. Also one of the miracle's icon's high resolution image shows a kind of tapestry that depicts gwyn and gwyndolin together above a group of silver knights, but that can always be some propaganda legend on gwyndolin's part.
11:14 what was that bit for?
If Gwyndolin is indeed the child depicted in the statue at Firelink Shrine, one thing we can point out is that most of his body, and by extension his legs, are enveloped in cloth, concealing their appearance.
I wonder what gave him such an appearance...
@@B.R_Watkins lopen
Man dodges death while looking oddly closely at people through binoculars for one hour and thirty minutes
Feet
Me doing a bb lorerun
11:07 speaking of binoculars what the heck happened here? Sudden cut to a different scene and a pause in audio?
what I love about Dark Souls is just the thought and implication of our character knowing none of this. There's something both depressing, AND funny in ALL THIS history, all these lives, all of these gods and thousands of years of scheming...… and then this one asshole just gets out of their prison cell and with no more motivation then "....I wonder if I could pick a fight with EVERYTHING that moves?" WINS
I mean realistically aren’t we the bad guy if we link the flame? To allow the hollows to exist as they choose is the correct choice. To come up and kill all these creatures and people truly is wrong. Some it’s understandable like Gwyn and his children because they cucked and fucked and really just bitch slapped humanity. But why do we kill the hollows? Just something I was curious about due to the ending of dark souls 3
Youre essentially the glorified janitor coming to clean up everything and trying to survive while doing it.
@@Darksky1001able that's even better! "fuckin' gods leaving their undead and abominations bloody everywhere i swear to shit the second i find my way out of blight town i'm a give them a proper talking to!!!"
@@TheCreepyLantern Lol!
The Chosen Undead is just the new guy at work doing a better job than you
shoutout to that random uncommentated crab footage at 11:09
clam ?
Yeah lol, it was so random.
13:06 shoutout for the closeup
What was that clam footage about? He's talking about dragons at the time, is he implying that clams are dragons?
I don't even remember these enemys.
One more thing. Videos like this take countless hours of work. All the editing and piecing together, not to mention the genius of puzzling all these thoughts together. There is more work here than we think about. Whether you agree or not everyone should give this guy a thanks for working so hard on something we all care about.
I'm glad there are people like you out there who appreciate this
@Alexandry Dumass Better than Vaati, the McDonalds of lore who people praise for reading descriptions to them
This is something I generally don't think about. These are great videos, but I don't think to myself just how much time they must've spent on working
Shut up.
Real
I'm gonna need scuba gear for lore this deep.
Jake Foley Or Covenant of Artorias. This lore is as deep as the Abyss
+Svil Buscus this lore is so deep not even the covenant of artorias can protect you
My 3rd time whatching this
@@ifoldyougo6517 Midir says hi 🙃🙃
Guam is a good place to go to get our certifications- very competitively priced.
"...a divine blessing in her chest..."
oh you bet
Oh yeah
Chest ahead,
Therefore try holding with both hands
I know it’s been said before Hawk, but I’d love to see an updated version of this now we have the Dark Souls series in its entirety. Your video was the first one that gave an appreciation of the actual sequence of events and periods of time involved. It was very easy to see the intro and no matter how much lore diving you did, think that the events took place in very rapid succession after each other. Almost like how a child hears about how the Earth was created and assumes it happened as told, rather than over millions of years.
I am going to say she attempted to create the flame for several reasons-
*AD PLAYS*
"FOR A HEALTHY BREAKFAST!-"
I choked on my water from that unintentional comedic timing.
The point about Velka still being active when the Chosen Undead leaves the asylum makes the idea that she’s the one who truly wants to see the end of the cycle - because that would end Gwyn’s sin - a lot more plausible.
All-Father Lloyd created humans? How would the furtive pygmy fit in? It sort of seems like you forgot all about him, which is canonically easy, of course.
^this
Dark souls 3 really messed up a good portion of this video. We know that "Allfather" Lloyd was a self given title.
@@danielnewton6002 Yup, a good chunk of this video is obsolete.
@@danielnewton6002 the dialogue of Lloyd's rings in ds3 only mention that the clerics of carim say that Lloyd is a fraud, and carim is known for being pretty shady.
@@jakes1566
In Japanese, Sullyvahn's soul description literally calls Gwyndolin chief god, the term the localization usually adapts as "Allfather" in these games. So, yeah, Loyd was a fraud who usurped Gwyn's role in the pantheon as soon as the opportunity presented itself, although it should have been the Firstborn's and Gwyndolin's birthright from the start
lokeysouls.com/2020/11/16/irithyll/
In Japanese the serpents are not called "primordial," they are simply called the "world serpents," and the grave of "primeval man" is 古人 for primeval, which means ancient or primeval as it was translated. Be careful looking so deeply into the literal when dealing with a Japanese game, or in general, though the video is fantastic. I am a translator (oddly enough at the university Miyazaki went to). If you or anyone have any questions ask and I'll let you know what the Japanese says.
Unless the Japanese specifically contradicts the English, we haven't looked too deeply. Myazaki worked very hard with the English translators to make sure they did a good job, for which he chose to sometimes reveal more or less. It is therefore just shedding more light in this case rather than being wrong.
Very cool by the way!
Thanks for the reply, it seems that you have far more knowledge than I do about the creative process behind the game, and that's a big relief to hear that Miyazaki takes special care with FROMSOFT to ensure the translations are accurate or relay additional meaning. I recently made a post on reddit about how Ludleth says he is a Pygmy in Japanese, and I truly wondered about the translation. I love almost all the translations, so that's good news and it makes sense! Thanks for the video and comment.
I'd like to know if thre is a place where i can find the dialogues and item descriptions in japanese for the games or if you can provide an english translation. It would be very much appreciated
I study the history of religion, and language is extremely important, hence we use a lot of Arabic terminology when described concepts in Islam, for example. This is of course because when you translate something, you risk changing the meaning.
@@Wesinhuman I knew he is a Pygmy, it has been obvious to me since quite some time, now. Good to know, he really is.
"her daughters of chaos" makes it sound like a group who came together and called themselves daughters of chaos rather than her actual daughters.
To me it sounds like the narrator of the intro is telling a story, and that is how they're referred to after the fact (when the story is being told)
@@jayjasespud but if youre telling a story surely you would use the names of the groups at the time of telling of. like, nobody calls the Ottomans the Saudi Arabians, even if many lived in the area that would become Saudi arabia.
@@garfieldinheat664 Those are entirely different. In the type of story around legends, I'd probably use the name of the figure people were most familiar with.
All women rock band
Could be both.
i like how they say multiple times that no one knows who Gwyns first born son is. but 4 months after this video was posted everyone found out in Dark Souls 3 who it was. The Nameless King...
Oh, I didnt know but it's a welcomed spoiler
@@phylippezimmermannpaquin2062 unless you just got into the series i’m surprised you didn’t already know, dark souls has been out for nearly 6 years and people connected the dots from the first born to the nameless king almost instantly. though if you’re like me and forget certain details or miss optional ones you might not have made the connection so it might be nice to know going in, makes the fight a little cooler and more dramatic than it already is
@@Shrekinspace I havent finished the third game yet so I havent looked at any lore in that one
...yes...but what was/is his name?
@@fourmoyle that's why he's called "the nameless king" after he betrayed gywn everything about him got wiped out from history
I still come back to rewatch these first videos every now and then
They're so great
I would love a focused video on what the "Age of Dark" is, exactly.
+lasse So much yes as im unable to find anything related to what will actually happen when the age of dark arrives ! but maybe there is nothing to be found ?
+Siegmeyer there is nothing in the games to suggest what would happen, with the possible exception of the abyss being a potential window into the world of the age of dark.
+lasse I think its solved now in DS 3 when you go to the abbyss version of the firelink shrine and the age of dark is allready arrived there it is some deep shit what the age of dark truely is but i think its the future version of 2 timelines after the firelink shrine because the woman of carim who sells you miracles said that she wanted to be a firekeeper and in the abbyss version of the firelink shrine are a pair of blind eyes on a corpse on her location and if you give the eyes to the actual firekeeper she said that firekeepers are not allowed to see because they wont believe in the flame like they do in the current blindness and lets be honest.. what would happen when the fire keepers have eyes and they dont believe in the linking of the flame ? my thoughts are that when a firekeeper does not believe in his flame it wont burn anymore likely in dark souls when gwyn is defeated and you have the choise to link the flame because you have faith in it or turn you back to the flame and let it burn out so that the actual age of dark can arrive (sorry for my english im just a german student but i hope you can get it :D)
the age of dark is the end of the world. It's just nothingness.
+Siegmeyer The age of dark is the end of the age of fire that sees the gods on the top of the food chain and humanity being able to achieve full compability with their own "dark soul" in difference to the Giants or gods "Fire soul". If you start the age of dark in the first game you will be the "dark god" of this new era, though there are a few clues on how the world will be when the dark takes over in one of the cities in the game. Men will become abominations if they don't master their dark soul and since most arent able to do that most of mankind will become even worse than hollows.
Video: "Humanity is probably created by the gods like in Greek and other mythologies."
Me: "The furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten indeed, as is apparently the titular Dark Soul(s)."
I'm of a mind that Gwyndolin isn't actually Gwyn's child but a child of one of Gwynevere's maidens corrupted by Seath. It feels really clear to me from the Moonlight Butterfly (also a Seath creation) track that plays when you fight Gwyndolin. Pryscilla, who is almost definitely an experiment of Seath's as well (I suspect Gwyndolin was attempt one in terms of near successes and then Pryscilla was attempt number 2). Remember guys, what are snakes? Beings that failed to become dragons. Gwyndolin was half snake probably because he failed to fully become a dragon for one reason or another but Seath kept him as part of his grand conspiracy with Frampt and Gwynevere. Why? Probably for his affinity with Illusions. I'm not sure HOW he developed such powers but he has no trace of the sun. He is a false god. Why else would he need to try so hard to convince everyone, even going so far as to try and contact Gwyn (which I surmise to be impossible. Gwyn isn't dead in the traditional sense. Yes he hollowed out but his soul; his essence, was already consumed by the first flame. There'd be nothing left to contact).
I love this comment
That makes sense, great theory
Thank you. I had completely forgotten this comment. I thought no one took it seriously so I never really tried to really push it but glad to see you guys appreciate it.
Couldn't it also be that seath maybe used gwyns "dna" (if that even exists in dark souls) or even his lord soul in the hope that would help to create a full dragon. That might be why he is seen as one of gwyns children but is kept away from the public. A bastarf child created in unnatural ways.
gwindolin is possibly the son of priscilla and gwyn, with priscilla being seath's daughter, it's not excplicit who the mother is but from the japanese it's stated that seath and gwyneveere are husband and wife, so there is that. Another candidate could be velka
" this is not going to be a pocket sized piece of lore sentimentalism"
lol I love Vaati but...that is a pretty good burn 😂
Hehe, burn. Like with Fire.
@@saeyabor Get out of here...
@@MaledictGaming I tried to, but every time I just wake up at the bonfire.
@@canaanstuart3331 You aren't gonna believe this but... same problem.
@@saeyabor Don't you dare go ......
33:07
now with the last dlc of dark souls 3 out, the ringed city, we know that this statue is gwyn's wife holding filianore, who is revered by the undeads, if you look at the walls next the statue, we see several priests with dragon head or goat head offering eggs to her, reference to her having the egg of midir
I agree with the part about the 4 knights not being something that happened all at once or was even a fixed number. It was clear Gough and Ornstein gained their renown fighting dragons but Artorias and Ciaren seemed like they dealt with post dragon problems. I could honestly see Artorias gaining his fame and rank in the war with the Demons. His large sword, likely awarded after the war, looks about the same weight class of the black knights. If he was some kind of hero demon war, when he heard about what was going on in Oolicila, it would not be a leap to see him looking to fight that battle. He's killed people twisted into monsters before and I'm sure it was triggering Izalith flashbacks with people turning into monsters and all.
Also if you look closely at the of gauntlets Artorias, they are pretty well copy and pasted versions of silver knight gauntlets just with suet coating them
Yes and Ciaran was an assassin for the royalty of Anor Londo and possibly murdered a lot of humans like her
Many many years later and this is still the one Dark Souls lore video that shattered my mind and changed my whole outlook on the game like no other
I was still a married man some years ago when i saw this video and the several others you made and had nothing but respect and appreciation for these things. The fire has long since faded, but embers have begun to dance across the long, dark night.
Hang in there buddy. Don't you dare go hollow.
Praise the sun!
I can still feel the heat on my skin.
Don't go hollow, I'm sure your very own sun is waiting for you out there.
Don't give up, skeleton!
If it wasn't for lore channels like this. My dark souls copy would've stayed on the shelf. I love the lore and it inspires me to play on
-watches 3 times
-remains confused
+Jake Saliba He should have put a line bellow and then place the events as he explains them. This is not exactly a timeline video as it is explanation why this is before that and so on
@@emiliagianova3938 altough it sounds good it would just be impossible since he is interpreting or explaining the reason why he did assumptions in some places. i quite like that since he is not trying to force his way of thinking but rather tries to leave us with most possible interpretivism ground. second thing is sheer amount of information in the timeline would make it a toooooo long of a line to see anything.
1 minute of Clam.
oysterzone
The Age Of Aqua Life
@@mustycheese3692 Age of the Deep confirmed
Aldrich’s drean
it's kind of weird how gwyn's wife is not a named character. it's always made me sort of suspect that his wife IS a named character but they're estranged for some controversial reason and you just never find out which of the named characters she is - be it velka or the witch or caitha etc. i guess it's more likely she just wasn't important to the story so they didn't bother to name her. but why is she gone, you know? you'd think the game would explain why she's gone since it feels the need to explain why everyone else is gone, and even explain why those who are still present never left.
Three years old I know, and I know this channel is DS1-exclusive to a large degree, but...
I did always like DS2's implication that a lot of gods abandoned Lordran pretty early and established their own religions elsewhere in the world.
Alternatively / in addition: Nothing stoppong kings from having heirs through concubines (thinking of Lady Jessica in Dune for instance). Gwyn might have just been the kinda baller who never actually married.
@@colbyboucher6391I mean hawk isn’t exactly esclusive to DS1, as much as most of his content predates later lore drops. He does use info from DS3 in his new content, but only as a secondary source, which I think is the way it should be handled.
DS1 is Miyazaki’s ideas of the lord in purest form, with DS3 being something he did later to clarify what we were messing up and make it a whole trilogy, with DS2 being from a different team, and therefore the least reliable.
After 10 years of discussion and theory crafting for this game, this video stands out as the most comprehensive and well researched piece of Dark Souls lore content. Thanks again for sharing it with us all.
Hawkshaw, I love your videos and I've watched them 100 times but this part with the clam in ash lake always kills me @ 11:11
for reals tho, love your stuff so much
haha was a mistake with the editing.. it was our first video!!
@@Hawkshaw
Lol! I was wondering why you chose to put that clip in there. It made no sense whatsoever and now that you say it was an any mistake, it makes it hilarious.
dude I thought I was having a stroke, that clam moment caught me off guard
@@bbungison I was like any minute now he'll explain the importance of this clam
@@JorgeM270there is some importance to it revolving around the clams in seath’s cave and the fact that they drop purging stones. Elaborated more in their video about the plot against the gods.
If the meaning of "appointed official" is emphasized in the Japanese, perhaps "The Four Kings" would be better named as "The Four Viceroys" in English.
Makes sense to me , that they would be nobility but not kings. So interesting for me, as an english speaker to learn these original translations.
holy mother there is any video game lore so vast as Dark Souls ? Nothing is told yet everything is connected so fascinating thanks for the video. Waiting for more.
"Nothing is told yet everything is connected" so true, so awesome
Super old but I would say the elder scrolls universe is much much much larger. Not necessarily better, but there is undeniably more lore within it. I mean you could make at least 100 movies on it and never even get through half the lore. Ds could probably be split into 5-10 movies. Again DS isn’t worse it just doesn’t have as much content
Elder Scrolls
ive fallen asleep to this video 6 nights in a row. Im a schizo with adhd and it means a lot that a voice relaxes me, yours is very nice albeit i like it through the speaker of my phone more than my laptop. I have watched it all the way through, dont get me wrong, its very well researched and executed as well. I love the dark souls series and this video is awesome! i wish it didnt take me so long to discover the magic behind this community and the from series as well, but i am here now lol
thank you!
You know it's good content when someone like me that's NEVER PLAYED Dark Souls can sit, listen, and be fully engaged. I really enjoy lore and world building, so when someone REALLY does the heavy lifting like this...dude, this was just dope!
The humans aren't the pygmies?
But a Pygmie took the dark soul, the souls all humans have.
Plus, the gods and giants are both gigantic, giants usually being even bigger than the gods.
So they wouldn't be referred to as "pygmies" since the term pygmie implies not only primitive, but "small of stature." In fact, humans are about the smallest sentient things in DS.
Pigmy is just name, though
Pygmie could also imply position or status instead of size. For example, even if giants r bigger than Gods, they r "pygmie" because the Gods rule over the giants
Size is more convoluted than time in Dark souls. I mean Gwyndolin's illusion is like huge compared to Gwyn ingame.
@@thedeadcannotdie No matter how you look at it, you're wrong. Pygmy comes from latin pigmei, a fabulous race of dwarves as described by Homer. After that it was used to describe the real pygmies we know today. It is in no way a replacement word for peasant.
Jason Hymes Well that was extremely shortsighted. If you’re going to be that pretentious, do yourself a favor and at least have sound reasoning.
So to counter that (and I find it hard to believe it should have to be said) you are aware that words evolve over time, yes? And that can change due to a variety of factors, such as location, how common a word is and the context in which it’s used.
Like the word “Vulgar” for example. It’s more commonly used nowadays to ascribe to something Obscene or socially inappropriate. Yet I’m the past it has been used by various forms of Nobility to describe the dialect of a given language, used by common folk.
Though the Nobility may not have necessarily seen those who used “vulgar speech” as obscene or inappropriate, there is a through line that can be drawn between the two.
Besides, The Souls Series isn’t exactly known for having straightforward lore.
Didn't he say All father Lloyd made humans?
I'd love to see you tackle this again given what we know about the Ringed City now.
so gwyndolin is basically macaulay culkin in home alone?
Or I should say, he is the wacky trap
ur on somtin wacky m8
theyre both also pale as shit
vtheawesome this made my day
@@vtheawesome Reported for bulli
Dark Souls has such a great setting and atmosphere. You're killing things because they want to kill you, and get better at it the more you do it. But at the same time, you're being completely unaware of the transgressions which happened prior. Such a good representation of what an unknowing chosen one would go through.
Been a gamer for a long time. Never got around to Dark Souls. Always felt I did not have the constitution, the determination, and the fortitude to play through it. Work is slow this evening. Thank you for making a timeline.
Happy 4th Birthday, yo.
(I’m going off of the upload date instead of the channel creation, but still, astounding work has been shared these past 4 years)
I don't think he's as old as his video is dude... He sounds much older than 4. Just saying.
Absolutely love listening to your videos before I fall asleep. I have very very bad anxiety and doing so is often difficult. You have a very soothing voice - listening to the DS lore videos is like hearing campfire stories. Thank you so much!
Hey there. First let me say, I've paled through and finished every souls game multiple times. They're pretty much all I've played for the last 3 years, as well as DeS on release. So naturally, I'm obsessed LOL. I've watched pretty much every lore video put out on all of the games but I've struggled to put it all together in a coherent timeline.
Then this video came along.
As someone who's a HUGE lore enthusiast (seriously, I can't get enough of the depth and thought that has gone into the lore of these games, not to mention how it's all interwoven into the mechanics, items, creatures, bosses, etc etc...but I digress).
So as I was saying, then this video came along. So believe me when I say, I get how much work and effort must've gone into creating this. And man, you did an AMAZING job with it.
Not to mention your Nito video that cast an entirely new light on DaS for me. Fantastic work and a very fresh perspective, using the smallest of clues and drawing from Greek Myth. Bravo
This is helping me crystallize a true motive for Gwynn did. The theme of transformation that spans the series, as well as the cycle plot device, coupled with men turning into dragons and giants turning into trees....4 kings turning into tree like beings (sharing a piece of Gwynn's giant soul)...
But anyway, it's not all there yet. I hope you keep making these videos, great great job🙏
Thank you for such genuine appreciation. It's great finding people who see it as we do and have been lost in the amount of content one can keep delving through. We will continue to make them! Despite how long it's been now, don't lose hope aha
+Hawkshaw What's coming up next?
Working on the next one- more general again- the philosophy behind Dark Souls and its success.
Will there ever be a revised video of the timeline incorporating knowledge added in DS2 and 3? I guess that would be closer to 5 hours at this rate, lol.
Witch Beatrice is a reference to Schierke, a child witch from the manga Berserk, from which Miyazaki drew a lot of aesthetic inspiration. This is likely why there exists a child version of Beatrice's model.
The design of both characters is pretty standard design for witches in all media, there is no correlation between the two whatsoever, Berserk refferences in Dark Souls overall is exageration to be honest
The amount of research you put into this is incredible. I'm always amazed by how much fans of these games are able to piece together from the scarce information they present us with.
+qinoga Me too. It did take a lot of research so I hope it was worth it, I'm amazed just how much From Software managed to be able to put in!
this is the best fucking lore video ever
This is probably the best Lore video I've seen!!!
Incredibly well researched and nicely explained.
As proof of how good this video is, a lot of information presented makes total sense when pairing it with the new information we learn in Dark Souls 3
Please, keep them coming!!!
I put this on when I fall asleep and I’ve never been able to stay awake for longer than 10 minutes. Idk if that’s a good or bad thing for you but I appreciate it.
Hey everyone, the missing text for the timeline has just been added!
Hawkshaw why don't you put subs for this video? It's extrimely interesting and thrilling but some parts are hard to follow and understand for the ones who are not native english speakers, besides with subs a lot of people that now are not able to enjoy the video would be able to do it.. I would really appreciate subs :(
Hawkshaw Awesome work.
Spoiler - The firstborn :
The Nameless King
Hopefully youll read it.
www.reddit.com/r/DarksoulsLore/comments/9adaax/hawkshaw_timeline_video_about_language_evidence/
I don't know what is it about this video whether it's your voice, delivery, presentation, lore or the effort you put into it. it's just so touching, so peaceful so chilling about it that when I watch it I forget about anything and I connect or joined with this beautiful tale and live every word of it. My words fail to explain my thoughts... thank you so much
I use this video during nights when i can't sleep. Helps everytime, thanks alot! :)
Van Kraaiveld me too :D
Hehehe :)))
I've never played dark souls but this video was recommended to me and now I want to
I know this video is 3 years old now but i wonder if Miyazaki has ever taken the time to watch this. I bet it would warm his heart to see how well you managed to discern the history of the world he created. I feel like everything you have presented is plausible and it makes going back though and playing that much more interesting.
Sometimes I question how much of the lore was actually intentional.
Your vidoe makes the absolute most sense, with every context clue, and tiny bit of environmental storytelling, item& enemy placements, and item descriptionwere given. I really think you're Batman, an amazinf detective work. This is the most lore accurate timeline!
Just before I watch the full video, I love how you didn't say something like "if you found this video good, then there are further videos on my channel that are similar." Instead of that you simply invited newcomers to watch further videos, if they are interested. As I'm a newcomer, having heard about you plenty of times from other souls channels, this is a great first impression. Good job.
31:52 "there is a divine blessing in a chest" *zooms in on chest* I see what you did there, huge fanservice
12:01
After hearing this, I noticed something while reading an item description about Gwyn's four knights. If it were a specific, fixed group with a title, one would assume it should be capitalized, like "the Four Knights." However, it isn't, and is simply "the four knights."
It's a small thing, but I felt it worth noting
well now we actually have a new candidate for the "who locked up Havel?" plot: Silver Knight Ledo from the Ringed City DLC
Honestly, still the best lore channel on Dark Souls. Please make more.
I’ve watched your videos so many times. I’m going through just to make sure I’ve liked them all. I want you to know that you made me appreciate these games even more. I loved them so much already and you showed me things I could never connect as a puny console player unable to use no clip. Not even mentioning the lore you expanded. You’re great!
Anyone else lowkey like to fall asleep to these kind of videos with this song in the background?
I sometimes come here just for the intro. Those first 7 seconds are just amazing. I so love the DS running sounds.
This video deserves SO MANY MORE LIKES than it has. Thanks for making this Hawkshaw
As long as those who can really appreciate it like it, that's enough I guess for now.
Your lore videos top everyone else's. I'll take hour + lore vids over 2 minutes ones any day. The amount of research, time and detail that you dedicate is award worthy.
Gwyn explicitly did know gwyndolin there's pictures of them together in front of crowds at the grand cathedral on the icon for some of the miracles when you examine them in the menu
Amazing. It's like a refresher on the lore and I even look at some things from another perspective. I listen to this on my way to work and back and can't wait to watch it all! Great job.
+Official Kurse So do I haha. I watch many DS videos driving to and from work.
Man, I would KILL for you to make the same type of video for Dark Souls 3, particularly for the Untended Graves as it drives me nuts and I cant figure it out.
Somehow this video has made its way back to my recommendations again. And its still as glorious and makes sense as ever. Its still mind boggling how deep dark souls lore is and how easily ones view on it can be influenced. There is the lore that the characters wants you to belive and the lore thats lying underneath. It just takes a lot of digging to crack the upper layer.
I like how you said that. There's what the characters try to push on as truth for their own reason and agenda, and the real truth. Might finally try to play these games lol
I have no idea what this man is talking about half the time, but his voice is nice and he's saying cool big words so I'm just gonna go with it.
Why does this video not have more view??? This is the exact video I was searching for to explain to my friend exactly everything I know about dark souls already from the playing the game countless times and even so I still learned so much watching this video. Great work with this video I appreciate your dedication
I somehow rediscovered this video and am still awe struck with the amount of depth it has not only the game but this video. Thank you for this wonderful creation that just relights my want to play dark souls and become immersed in it's glory once more. I love this game
Where the fuck are your views I can't even comprehend the effort it took to present this masterpiece of speculation damn bro
+Tyler Coswell haha well share the link around let lore buffs know!
I remember being a fan of this channel a long time ago. Can't believe I now have more subscribers because this channel was so good.
Criminally low views for quality content!
With 22k subs and 560k views, I'd say he's doing quite well!
All these years later, i still come back to this classic.
I always saw Vaati, EpicNameBro, Hollow etc as the storytellers of the comunity, the ones that are amazing at retelling semi hidden stories and putting them together.
However i've always seen you guys on this channel, together with a couple others (Redgrave, T.A., Quelaag/Xingenue etc just to name a few) as the archeologists of these games..the ones that don't put too much "flare" and drama into their videos, but whom have the hard job of just...connecting dots, staring at textures for hours and comparing them, and trying to eliminate the red herrings from the things we can give for certain.
Not saying i agree with 100% of this channel's theories (probably a good 80-90% tho) but every single video is worth watching from start to finish and gives incredible insight
Truly amazing, the amount of time you must have put in to this is appreciated. thankyou for all your hard work. I enjoyed being presented this complex story in an easy to follow time line.
+David Brasher i'm glad it came across as intended.
This is the best souls lore content I know, and I have seen a ton of videos from many different creators. But I always come back to this. Thank you
It really impresses me that even after +/-5 years after the release of this game we get to see such great content. Amazing job!
+Von Neondor Cheers! Always shows just how good a game is if its still giving so much later eh?
I'm not big on reddit or any social media, but this deserves more exposure!! SO MANY answers. I bet many people would love to watch this!!
I'm glad you think so, join the struggle and see if you can help do that!
Hawkshaw, your vids have made the best game I've played (been playing since nes 8bit era) significally even much better. They add so much to my understanding and appreciation to a game I already regard the greatest of all time
I have to say, major props for not getting a clickbait title with the sort of revelation you had about the undead's 'quest' towards the end. I loathed it when people throw those things to the front for some extra views, and have to give you major respect for letting it be learned for those who watched all the way through.
All in all, an amazing video. Serious props.
+Kaptitanbear You understand what it's all about. Thank you- we've made this for the enthusiasts and not to trick people into viewing.
I know i'm... 1 2 3 4... SEVEN years late, but...
When Gough said "There are no more dragons left to hunt" I took it as there not being a need to hunt Seath since he betrayed his own, thus not needing to be hunted.
You've put more work into this video than I've seen some people put into their lives. Excellent job!
I’ve lost count for how many times I watched this. Absolutely divine!
Yes, indeed! I’ve seen this so many times I’m beginning to go hollow! Same goes for the wait for Elden ring news. 😔
this is simply incredible. its the most definitive, concise, complete explanation of dark souls 1's lore i've ever seen.
10/10
gratz on the 1 mil views! deserves 10x as many
Hi guys, I wanted to let you know that this video does now have english subtitles available! Hopefully it helps with the whole fluidity while watching.
quick question, i recognise the armour set you use in the video but what sheild and sword are you using? they would go great with my fashion souls
Hawkshaw I appreciate the time and effort you took on this video, so please don't misunderstand my comment... but I feel like in retrospect a lot of the things you talk about here are wrong like the whole genesis of humans and pygmys and giants/lords and the dark soul is just wrong and you overly complicate one of the very few if not the only piece of the story we are explicitly told with no veil of mystery it's just says straight up here is what happened! so your confusion there is a mystery to me??? but I digress A random example of you being wrong in retrospect is fillanor being the youngest of gwyns children, this throws out the argument of gwyn being absent in gwyndolins life completely, and there's a few errors in the video like that and of course it's easy to pick anything apart with the power of retrospect so I'm wondering is this about just dark souls 1 imaging that none of the rest of the series happened??? And one more thing again not trying to be rude just some friendly criticism. Saying things like "maybe gwyndolin was raised by serpents because she/he is raised by them now" takes away credibility from you and that type of poetic licensing has no place in the fact based video your trying to make, I understand if you are trying to say she/he is part serpent because she/he was raised by serpents but linking she/he is physically raised by serpents as in he/shes legs and feet and raised as in reared/brought up is ridiculous and almost made me turn off the video at 50 odd minutes but I'm glad I stuck around I thought it was a well made video if it's just dark souls 1 lore no information from the rest of the series with some mistakes that arose from overthinking, occams razor should be enforced before convoluted confirmation biased takes hold and despite my long torturous comment I've just subscribed to your channel and look forward to future videos, take care.
Hawkshaw oh ok my bad. Seems like he has a few new children every game. Gwyn gets around so it's easy to forgive on either of our parts lol
Hawkshaw when do the new videos come? ;-;
The statue at the warriors of sunlight covenant area is of gywn's first born.
I rewatch this whole video every so often, it's incredible. Thank you for that!
You made my entire week when I discovered all of your long Dark Souls lore videos that I have yet to watch. Thank you, thank you, a hundred times, thank you. :D
Just wanna point something out that I dont see lore people ever comment. I dont think people can be "exiled" from the Undead Burg because thats not it's function.
The word Burg in German means castle or a fortified hill, which the level clearly is. A castle has primarily a residential and defensive function to those it houses with it's architectural elements providing for it's defence. Hence why the Burg is not a village per say, but rather a military base guarding the approach to Anor Londo. What do I mean by this?
First look at all the smaller square towers with the pointed rooves that can be seen while traversing the level, they neither have any bells on them nor any visible way to get up to the top most level which leads me to believe their function is purely decorative
The Burg and Firelink have one through the aqueduct connecting them, and the winding path to get up to the first bonfire is a clear sign of defensive parimeters in mind.
The first bonfire is inside one of the bridge supports and the bridge leading into it is makeshift which would suggest that the original bridge was burned down (more on that later)
All access to the other walls like the one next to you immediately upong getting up the stairs from the aqueduct have large piles of cut stone cording them off
The guard tower where the hollow crossbowman is immediately before Havel and the Black Knight, as well as the placement of the stairs and doorways suggests that the measures are there to defend against people trying to come IN from the direction you come from, not come out from the opposite way
The "dwellings" like the one where the chest with the resin is at are too small and only contain basic furniture like tables, chairs and cubbords as well as barrels and crates with (presumably) supplies. Plus there are no beds visible.
The Lower Undead Burg is simply too small with all the doors and windows visible to accomodate a good civilian population.
With all that said I believe the Burg was specifically built AFTER the Oolacile incident and the rise of the Curse to hinder any potential humans or undead that may try to gain access to Anor Londo.
However based on some evidence and speculation I believe that the level itself points to a rather sad and dark backstory.
Basically all the hollows up top are undead soldiers, as you'd expect still manning the ramparts as you should on a castle. Few of the hollows below only wears clothes specifically the torch wielding ones that attack you.
The hollow warrior that immediately shatters the pavises and barricades after Hellkite flies by for the first time and you step on that platform, Why was he there? Couldn't have been to ambush you since its too obvious and he is too slow. Over on the right you have more barricades riddled with arrows there the two pikemen are above the undead merchant. How the stairs leading to him a blocked off with crates, how the one hollow in the room below is behind a book case.
The fact that the first bonfire has rickety makeshift bridge leading to it and the ladder leading up the damaged staircase is pulled up.
The defensive formation of the hollows on the bridge all looking in the direction you come from and the dead bodies with the items scattered on said bridge. The lowered portcullis leading to the Parish.
The pile of burning corpses in the Lowerd Undead Burg and the sections of wall with piles of stone in your way.
And let us not forget the MOST obvious place no one talks about, the town you can see below next to the Blighttown swamp behind the section of wall. If anyone was ever exiled and if any place ever held a population of ordinary humans I believe it is that place. And based on a couple of videos of a person no clipping his way down, the place looks far too big to be merely cosmetic and is more likely cut content.
So based on ALL of this here is what I think happened.
Gwyn leaves to kindle the flame, Anor Londo is pretty much deserted. Undead start appearing left and right with the Way of White killing or rounding them up.
The people are panicking. Not soon after the town below the Burg starts getting it's fair share of hollows. Order starts to dwindle. A number of civilians make a hasty retreat with posslibly a few soldiers of the town's garrison to the Burg seeking protection.
The Soldiers allready manning the Burg with maybe some of their families living there are hesitatnt at first but agree let the survivors from the town in.
Months pass maybe with no word from the Capitol or the outside world, survivors start to lose hope.
Havel could appear to try and organise his rebellion. Siegmeyer's wife is killed.
People grow suspicious.
Hollows start to appear among them. Soldiers from the Burg and the Town get suspicious of eachother.
Soldiers from the Burg decide to retreat to the ramparts and try and block off the other survivors below.
Infighthing and riots start (hence the pile of burning corpses)
Soldiers make a hastry reatreat. The gate leading down the lowerd Burg is shut and locked with two men stationed to guard it.
Chaos breaks out below, Capra shows up and worsens the situation.
Soldiers up top begin having doubts. Some more smart ones take their families and retreat via the wall deeper into the the upper Burg and block the path with the stones used for repairs.
Soldiers on the ramparts fight amongst themselves.
Some escape up via the Havel tower others use the ladder near the bonfire, they raise the drawbridge.
Those left behind siege the bonfire door and burn the bridge therefore resulting in the makeshift one being there.
Last of the soldiers retreat to the Parish and shut the portcullis. A few stay behind to bravely fend off assaults on the bridge. For a time they succeed, then they go hollow too.
Some time after the Knights of Balder and Berenike knights arrive at the town below, they storm it and make it through with casualties. They settle at Firelink and prepare to ascend the Burg, they send scouts and realize the Burg is swarming with hallows and a few very desperate survivors. The survivors in the Cathedral maybe having seen them lower the elevators to them. Knights ascend direclty to the Parish cathedral (hence the mixture of knights Baldur and Berenike there with the hollows)
The spend some time to recover before formulating a plan to storm Sen's fortress to reach Anor Londo.
Spend the next hundred years doing so...
Also your Havel being trapped in the tower as a makeshift prison does hold more credibility when you consider that the tower where the Undead Female merchan is nearest also has it's middle floor collapsed. Not to mention that Havel's tower has no way for you to reach the top since the exit to the roof is boarded off.
You might say the two hollow crossbowmen did it out of desperation but I'd argue against that. The metal ladder on the outside of the tower makes no sense from a defensive stand point. You are trying to funnel people in towards the Parish and have the MOST advantage in case of trouble. A big defensive tower like that with PERFECT line of fire over the bridge and the lower platform shouldn't have a ladder that anyone can climb on the OUTSIDE.
Been on the grind for years now keep it up. This video made me rethink my view on the souls world and how deep a games work can actually go
I'm not one to write comments but you killed it, awesome video.
As a completely new convert to the Dark Souls world, this video has been on repeat as I fill my head with the lore of the world. You sir are a scholar.
Can someone make a mod that lets you give the charred ring back to ceaseless instead of killing him? I just feel so bad for the dude
I hope this video - as well as your others, they are of the same pristine quality as this - stays online for years to come. It's the masterclass summation of the game, and should remain as such for all time. Thank you, Hawkshaw.
the best video ever
iv been playin sense demon souls and this is the best lore video the iv ever seen
fucking awosome
in a game where time flows like melted rubber and molasses, you have seemed to make a clear timeline where every event of significance has been accounted for. great work, took me two sessions to finish the whole video, worth it.
Looking forward to more content. I appreciate your dedication towards Dark Souls lore!
Man I’ve played through this game so many times and my mind is being blown
Watched it a 2nd time I confess. And damn it's so detailed and quite possibly consistent with the Lore. Wonder how the time line and where does it ties/connects with Dark Souls III. Once again, thank you for taking the time to put out this video. LOL.... Wonder what Hidetaka Miyazaki would think of it????
I cannot possibly fathom the amount of work that went into this video... just... wow.
Thank you!
How you don’t have 100k subs is beyond me
Great video, I can tell you spent a significant amount of time on it. I hope you recreate this lore video because the dark souls 2 and 3 answer many questions and theories