Propaganda is eternal. Plus it has all the puritanical earmarks to make the story travel (deviant sexual behaviour, punished by accidental and humiliating death... this is the kind of thing that makes urban legends soar.)
don't forget that especially the male aristocrats didn't like that she was sleeping outside of her marriage although men were doing it regularly at the time. So they took that about her and escalated it towards beastiality to make it even more atrocious. Then again the attendant confirming something else could also be propaganda to keep the line of succession untouched from what she was doing. Even though I don't think she would die from the horse falling on her (why would you lift it up anyways?)
Didn't a similar thing happen to Marie Antoinette? Like, she never actually said "Let them eat cake", but her political rivals and detractors said she did posthumously. There is, as I recall correctly, absolutely ZERO evidence that Marie Antoinette ever said that.
You caught on that Fredrick and Pompey (and then Ivan) died in the battle the same way they did in real life...but so did Alexander. While in Babylon, Alexander became ill after a prolonged banquet and drinking bout, and on June 13, 323, he died at age 33. There was much speculation about the cause of death, and the most popular theories claim that he either contracted malaria or typhoid fever...or that he was poisoned. After a drinking bout.
And Catherine is absolutely denying the horse story (by calling it a pile of shit, in essence saying the story about her and the horse is bullshit lies).
My favorite part of this battle is that Ivan was able to kill Alexander and Frederick because he offered them the way they died but because he got it wrong with Catherine she was able to defeat him (with the chess reference alluding to his death). Really well written. My least favorite part of this battle is how many reactors are proud that they know the horse story, usually in a "ha, ha, she f**d a horse" way. Even if they barely know a single thing about the rest of the battle, they still know that one. It just goes to show that if you make the lie juicy enough it will get repeated and believed well after it has been discredited.
Tsar/czar comes from “Caesar”, just like the German title “Kaiser”, since “Caesar” has become synonymous with “emperor” thanks to Caesar Augustus (not Julius Caesar as some people think). Many nations over time have claimed the title of “the next Rome”, hence the references
True story. Olso from Octavius Caesar Augustus the first emperor (nephew and adopted child of Gaius Iulius Caesar) for the romans was "Augustus" the exact term of "emperor", while "Caesar" was another name they took when they became "Augustus".
See, this is an interesting factoid. Plenty of comments point out the chess bars, like they even _need_ to be pointed out, but this is far more interesting and lesser known.
@@AloneKaze The title of cause derives from Gaius Iulius Caesar - why would you think Octavian assumed the name Caesar? Octavian took it because it was the name of G. I. Caesar, who was his great uncle (and eventualyy been dubbed godlike).
Recently discovered you because of ERB. And dang, dude, you're taking me to school. I've watched these rap battles many times for a decade and only now do I see I only got around 10 percent of the references. Really appreciate your bar breakdowns, it gives me a newfound appreciation for the lyrical work they put into these.
Absolutely, he's making me like them even more, and they've clearly gotten better and better with every season and putting so many things into these bars.
Yeah he’s the most knowledgeable reactor I’ve seen. Other than the Luke skywalker vs Harry Potter battle. That made me sad with how very little he knew
He is very good, but I’ve found I have to watch him and all of Knox hills breakdowns to actually get all the references haha Sometimes he takes the lines too seriously and misses some obvious references others don’t. he said he has some issue like whats up with zuckerberg in that battle which is probably the reason. Everyone other than these two don’t seem to break anything down at all, due to lack of any knowledge on the characters.
"I weep. It's all so easy." Definitely a line that I have to thank Hans Gruber from Die Hard for, referencing the line "For when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer." "Never gonna get" always overrides my brain and I start hearing En Vogue.
Zach Sherwin is the guy who wrote most of that... Also playing Alexander and was Sherlock Holmes and Einstein. He comes up with most of the dopest bars in ERB... Like, that's who you call when you get stuck.
Albert Einstein Wayne Gretzky Ebenezer Scrooge Alexander the Great Walt Disney Egon Spengler Stephen King John Wick Voltaire Doc Brown Sherlock Holmes And has writing credits on over half the battles. Did I miss anything?
@@cm4n63 Second half of Doc Brown VS Doctor Who, too. Though honestly I want to see them VS each other as themselves like Peter and Lloyd have done a couple times. The man who spits bars like a minigun VS the bullet factory himself, the guy who writes those bars. Have them bring their AAA games against each other.
Bucephalus was Alexanders horse. From what I remember, he wasn't wild but he had never been "tamed" and was well known for being untamable, until Alexander made an attempt and realized that the horse was afraid of his own shadow, so he turned the horse towards the sun and thus was able to tame it. Also, the actor who plays Alexander is Zach Sherwin, who has been in quite a few ERBs and does his own writing. He's a rapper and has his own channel. You should check him out, as he's quite talented with flow and wordplay and the stuff of his that I've listened to has world play themes to them. Like not using specific letters in an entire song.
Vasilyevich was Ivan’s patronymic, which is a derivation of one’s father’s name. In Slavic countries, one’s full name typically consists of one’s name, patronymic, and surname. When referring to someone in a polite or respectful manner, you would use the form “name + patronymic” and omit the surname. Close friends can refer to one another just by their patronymic as a kind of nickname. Other cultures use patronymics as well. In some cases, they morphed into surnames (e.g. Johnson, O’Malley, McShane). Iceland still uses patronymics (with masculine ending in “-son” and feminine in “-dottir”), since they don’t have surnames. It’s also why Thor in MCU refers to himself as Thor Odinson. Odinson isn’t his surname, it’s his patronymic (Thor, son of Odin). I think in Arabic they use “ibn” to denote the same thing, since it also means “son of”
18:47 It was actually even pettier; it was customary for ladies of the court to wear six petticoats under their dresses but because it was a warm day in Moscow (as weird as that phrase sounds) she opted to only wear three.
Catherine the great beheading pompey was a double, playing on what happened to him in Egypt and playing off Catherine staging a coup d'etat against her husband to become the tsar of Russia. Also the chess bars go back to Alexander's bars on how Ivan died
I would love to see you watch "history of the entire world, i guess" - by Bill Wurtz If you have not seen it before. Thank you for all the great reactions. This is one of my favorite ERBs I am glad you got to it
Peter the Great was Tsar 8 (even though he wasn't the 8th Tsar, more like the 14th). "Empress to Tsar 8" was stated as a chess move, ending in a checkmate.
Man I luv the knowledge and things I learn about these web rap battles I've known the words to for years but not all the references. Keep up the great work. You got a new follower.
People say alexander was insightful with his Gordian knot comment but, as a fellow greek, with the same name and same hair, i can tell you that his method was something that anyone with curly hair would know :p
Only watched ur "normal" music reactions and just now came around to ur ERB reactions, I noticed it before but these ones just show it off perfectly, ur history knowledge is insane sir!
Ivan: "I hear you enjoy the saddle!" MrLboyd: *sharp intake of breath* XD (In reality, Catherine died of a stroke while eating breakfast. The doctor's records were pretty clear. The horse story was made up by her political enemies to smear her.)
8:38 It was actually called Asia to the Greeks and the Romans. Directly east of Greece was Asia Minor, and Asia Superior was directly east of that. I have no idea why Europeans just continued to call everything else east "Asia" the further they got, but the name was created to describe modern-day Turkey and then Iran/Syria...etc..
Surprised you missed the "tear out my eyes" reference. Ivan the Terrible commissioned St. Basil's Cathedral (shown behind Ivan in the video). Allegedly he asked the architect if he could ever create something so beautiful again. When the architect answered yes, he believed he could, Ivan (again allegedly) had the architect's eyes gouged out so he couldn't create anything as beautiful again.
Supposedly Ivan had the eyes of the architect who designed St Basils REMOVED. So that he could never build something more beautiful than St Basils. So frederick would have payed ivan to do that if he had to look at him all the time.
In Czech Republic we have a similar legend about Hanuš, he built Orloj (look it up Its beautiful) and ministers in Prague decided to remove his eyes with 1000 degree knife, so he couldnt build another
It should be noted that Terrible is an inexact way to translate Ivan’s nickname. The word Grozny means “terrible” but also means “awesome in its might”, like a thunderstorm
Oblique attack tactics line was a double. Oblique was a marching tactic where the army would March straight forward but at a signal the army would diagonal to a certain point of the enemy line. In basic training during drill and ceremony we had to learn it.
Again, maybe too obvious but Katherine's line about 'I keep 'em chomping at the bit' is playing with the horse reference but also an idiom. Chomping at the bit means eager and excited (like a riled up horse). Referencing the horse and the multiple guys she's said to have been with, saying she excites all the guys.
I've watched multiple reactions to this video and am surprised how every single reaction fails to notice how Catherine uses the garrote wire that Ivan discards to remove Pompey.
What i love about your reactions is, you explain the shittiest situations and facts in the most formal and most noble language i could ever find Literally, saying "extinguishing" instead of KILLING LOL
the _ic ending in slavic names means "heir of" or "child of" so vasilyevich means "child of vasily". similar to the _son or _dottir ending in norse names.
You were in the ball park about Pompey. He fled to Egypt to get away from Julius Caesar, he was beheaded by a group who thought that killing him would impress Caesar. And he was about to give a speech when the assassination happened. So he was beheaded just before he was to start his verse.
The Gordian knot was philosophical idea at the time. The complex knot represented all the intertwined kingdoms of Asia. If you could untangle it you could rule it. His solution, brute force. Doesn't seem far fetched.
I love the fact that you're one of the few to realize that each were 'dying' in the battles exactly how they did in history. But even more, I think you're the only one who caught the fact that each of them also 'asked' for that scenario to happen (Alex getting a drink, Fred needs a chair, etc) in their own verses. Awesome! Other than Knox Hill I think you're one of the few that catch almost all the historical references (and even some I didn't know despite the fact that I've listen to these probably 50+ times over the years).
Yeah, the Land Rover part was in reference that Alexander travelled through the lands and conquering, but didn't consolidate. Also thanks to him keeping the succession vague ("the worthiest shall succeed me", iirc).
I really enjoy your ERB breakdowns n the way you just tell a story and add the perfect comedic personality with it I always love watching your reactions 🙌🏽🔥😊
I've always thought Ivan won. Honestly, I think his verse was the best structured and most direct. While no one aspect of it really stands out to me, it also has a distinct lack of weaknesses. He was also the only one that didn't get distracted bragging about himself. Every time he mentioned himself, it was a setup for a diss. In comparison, it just makes all the others look like shit talkers.
Perhaps the most readily recognizable anecdote related to Catherine centers on a horse. But the actual story of the monarch's death is far simpler: On November 16, 1796, the 67-year-old empress suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. She died the next day, leaving her estranged son, Paul I, as Russia's next ruler. May 15, 2020
You need to rewind and check Catherine's garrote. LOL So many people miss it, and you even paused on the image and missed it. Loved your reaction to this! Personally, I feel Alexander was the best in this one.
so i learned by watching a Russian react to this that in Russia the word Terrible actually Means Great so Ivan the terrible actually translates to Ivan the Great....this whole rap battle is about the greats battling against each other.
I love your reacts. All the video, I was like 'is he gonna get that ref' ? And you had em !! Crazy. It would even begin to piss me off, like leave some refs for the rest of us lol
Sir, I would like to thank you for this wonderful video. I have subscribe a while ago, having seen your RATM videos. You offered actual reactions and dissection rather than what most "reactors" do (watch the video, and then say "i liked it"). Recently though you were getting a bit more ... "normal". This, however, is the reason why i am on this channel. The analysis, the lessons of history, etc. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Fredrick said something that got glossed over, maybe too obvious? He said "Russias 'f-ed' up and I wonder why with your Tundra & Taigas & Bears, oh my." That's got a few things going. 1) as pointed out in the video he's probably inferring that it's messed up because of leaders like Ivan. 2) tundra and taiga are icy climates, they make up a significant portion of Russia (kind of calling Russia a frozen hell hole). 3) There are Grizzly bears in Russia, in fact the bear is like a symbol for Russia (not unlike our Bald Eagle), he's making fun of the bear. 4) it's an obvious reference to Wizard of Oz (lions and tigers and bears oh my) so I think he's comparing Russia to the land of Oz, which is also a messed up place. I thought that line a pretty good Russian own.
Your reaction to when "Fred" died is just perfect xD . In general, I greatly enjoyed your reaction to the entire battle. This one really lived up to the "History" in Epic Rap Battles of History. A very, _very_ fun rap battle indeed.
Pella was the ancient capital of Macedonia. It’s currently located in an area of Greece called Central Macedonia, not the country of North Macedonia (former known as just Macedonia)
14:50 twelve bars? There were more than twelve lines in his part…unless bar meant something else when he said it…whenever I watched other people watching these they always called a line a bar
Pompey was killed the moment he stepped onto the shore, but then they cut off his head and sent it to Julius Caesar, since he was fighting Pompey at the time. Caesar was furious, since he’d been hoping to mend things with Pompey and form another alliance
Catherine the Great did not die due to a horse. On November 16, 1796, the 67-year-old empress suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. She died the next day, leaving her estranged son, Paul I, as Russia's next ruler.
I think the reason why I couldn't give this battle overall to Alexander, even if I did have him over Ivan, was because he spent too many bars flexing, and not enough going after Ivan. Catherine came out ahead of Ivan, and she came for his throat, so I gave it to her.
Same. I think it would have helped if hadn't paused as much during that part (I know that's his thing, but Frederick's lines come and go so quickly here).
Ok, now I feel like I need you to do a video watching Knox Hill's reaction/breakdown of this ERB. Assuming you haven't already seen it, you should watch it whether you react to it or not. Somehow you both managed to catch a ton of references and yet still managed to mostly find different parts to break down further. Between this video and Knox's you could have a whole history course that would be far beyond what the average American knows.
If someone sat a giant ball of string down in front of me that was knotted, twisted and tangled down to its center and told me I'd rule the world if I separated the two ends I'd do exactly what Alex did. ...and then get pranked by never ruling Asia 🤣
"Empress to Tsar 8" could also be taken as queen to king 8 which could be a checkmate
Nice, I didn't catch that xD
It also spells out Tsarevitch which is like a crown prince but means "little Tsar" so it's also a insult.
Also a callback to "Don't call me queen, I'm far more great" because while a Queen is majestic, and the word Empress inspires thoughts of glory.
Wow great catch
Also I think Ivan was the 8th Grand Prince of Moscow?
7:30 Fun fact: Vodka and water both come from the same Proto-Indo-European root word (*wed). Vodka basically means "little water."
Also little water is called "vodochka, vodichka"
basically in Russian the words "water" and "vodka" are different by the one letter: voda - vodka
the horse story was pushed by her political rivals after her death and her dying on the toilet was confirmed by her attendant who found her
She didn't die on the toilet. She had a stroke on the toilet, but died the next day, in her room.
Propaganda is eternal. Plus it has all the puritanical earmarks to make the story travel (deviant sexual behaviour, punished by accidental and humiliating death... this is the kind of thing that makes urban legends soar.)
don't forget that especially the male aristocrats didn't like that she was sleeping outside of her marriage although men were doing it regularly at the time. So they took that about her and escalated it towards beastiality to make it even more atrocious. Then again the attendant confirming something else could also be propaganda to keep the line of succession untouched from what she was doing. Even though I don't think she would die from the horse falling on her (why would you lift it up anyways?)
@@6666Imperator The horse story originated in France, though. It is 100% known to be false.
Didn't a similar thing happen to Marie Antoinette? Like, she never actually said "Let them eat cake", but her political rivals and detractors said she did posthumously. There is, as I recall correctly, absolutely ZERO evidence that Marie Antoinette ever said that.
I really enjoy learning stuff when you react to things.
I am also impressed with his wealth of knowledge! I'm bingeing his content the last few days
The pan-hellenist from Pella hella pissed is such a good line damn
You caught on that Fredrick and Pompey (and then Ivan) died in the battle the same way they did in real life...but so did Alexander. While in Babylon, Alexander became ill after a prolonged banquet and drinking bout, and on June 13, 323, he died at age 33. There was much speculation about the cause of death, and the most popular theories claim that he either contracted malaria or typhoid fever...or that he was poisoned. After a drinking bout.
And Catherine is absolutely denying the horse story (by calling it a pile of shit, in essence saying the story about her and the horse is bullshit lies).
My favorite part of this battle is that Ivan was able to kill Alexander and Frederick because he offered them the way they died but because he got it wrong with Catherine she was able to defeat him (with the chess reference alluding to his death). Really well written.
My least favorite part of this battle is how many reactors are proud that they know the horse story, usually in a "ha, ha, she f**d a horse" way. Even if they barely know a single thing about the rest of the battle, they still know that one. It just goes to show that if you make the lie juicy enough it will get repeated and believed well after it has been discredited.
Well said.
And it’s really easy to infer. But agreed.
You forgot about Pompeij the Great being stabbed and beheaded right after he embarked a ship (which Catherine does).
Frederick died on his own, without assistance from Ivan, hence why he saved the rubles on the garotte wire.
Nothing spreads faster than gossip.
Tsar/czar comes from “Caesar”, just like the German title “Kaiser”, since “Caesar” has become synonymous with “emperor” thanks to Caesar Augustus (not Julius Caesar as some people think).
Many nations over time have claimed the title of “the next Rome”, hence the references
True story. Olso from Octavius Caesar Augustus the first emperor (nephew and adopted child of Gaius Iulius Caesar) for the romans was "Augustus" the exact term of "emperor", while "Caesar" was another name they took when they became "Augustus".
See, this is an interesting factoid. Plenty of comments point out the chess bars, like they even _need_ to be pointed out, but this is far more interesting and lesser known.
@@AloneKaze The title of cause derives from Gaius Iulius Caesar - why would you think Octavian assumed the name Caesar? Octavian took it because it was the name of G. I. Caesar, who was his great uncle (and eventualyy been dubbed godlike).
Personally I thought Frederick's delivery was great. He was certainly my favorite. (Catherine won though)
I'm with you, Frederick's section is one of my favorite moments in all of ERB
@aloevera7835 ???????
agreed this battle has my top verses
Recently discovered you because of ERB. And dang, dude, you're taking me to school. I've watched these rap battles many times for a decade and only now do I see I only got around 10 percent of the references. Really appreciate your bar breakdowns, it gives me a newfound appreciation for the lyrical work they put into these.
Absolutely, he's making me like them even more, and they've clearly gotten better and better with every season and putting so many things into these bars.
Yeah he’s the most knowledgeable reactor I’ve seen. Other than the Luke skywalker vs Harry Potter battle. That made me sad with how very little he knew
He is very good, but I’ve found I have to watch him and all of Knox hills breakdowns to actually get all the references haha Sometimes he takes the lines too seriously and misses some obvious references others don’t. he said he has some issue like whats up with zuckerberg in that battle which is probably the reason. Everyone other than these two don’t seem to break anything down at all, due to lack of any knowledge on the characters.
He was wrong on the "Alexander never set foot in Asia" claim though. Persia and Pakistan are both in Asia.
I discovered him from his journey through System Of A Down, but i enjoy his ERB stuff the most
"I weep. It's all so easy." Definitely a line that I have to thank Hans Gruber from Die Hard for, referencing the line "For when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer."
"Never gonna get" always overrides my brain and I start hearing En Vogue.
Never gonna get it, my love!
Alexander's delivery was amazing, definitely took 2nd in my book. Catherine had the bars, and fantastic voice. Plus the whole not dying bit helped.
Zach Sherwin is the guy who wrote most of that... Also playing Alexander and was Sherlock Holmes and Einstein.
He comes up with most of the dopest bars in ERB... Like, that's who you call when you get stuck.
He was also Ebenezer Scrooge.
I'd love to see an ERB face-off between Zach and Watsky. No doubt it would be insane
Albert Einstein
Wayne Gretzky
Ebenezer Scrooge
Alexander the Great
Walt Disney
Egon Spengler
Stephen King
John Wick
Voltaire
Doc Brown
Sherlock Holmes
And has writing credits on over half the battles.
Did I miss anything?
@@victore8342 ever seen Edgar Allan Poe vs stephen king?
@@cm4n63 Second half of Doc Brown VS Doctor Who, too. Though honestly I want to see them VS each other as themselves like Peter and Lloyd have done a couple times. The man who spits bars like a minigun VS the bullet factory himself, the guy who writes those bars. Have them bring their AAA games against each other.
Bucephalus was Alexanders horse. From what I remember, he wasn't wild but he had never been "tamed" and was well known for being untamable, until Alexander made an attempt and realized that the horse was afraid of his own shadow, so he turned the horse towards the sun and thus was able to tame it. Also, the actor who plays Alexander is Zach Sherwin, who has been in quite a few ERBs and does his own writing. He's a rapper and has his own channel. You should check him out, as he's quite talented with flow and wordplay and the stuff of his that I've listened to has world play themes to them. Like not using specific letters in an entire song.
I knew I recognized him! Comments didn't let me down
Vasilyevich was Ivan’s patronymic, which is a derivation of one’s father’s name. In Slavic countries, one’s full name typically consists of one’s name, patronymic, and surname. When referring to someone in a polite or respectful manner, you would use the form “name + patronymic” and omit the surname. Close friends can refer to one another just by their patronymic as a kind of nickname.
Other cultures use patronymics as well. In some cases, they morphed into surnames (e.g. Johnson, O’Malley, McShane). Iceland still uses patronymics (with masculine ending in “-son” and feminine in “-dottir”), since they don’t have surnames. It’s also why Thor in MCU refers to himself as Thor Odinson. Odinson isn’t his surname, it’s his patronymic (Thor, son of Odin).
I think in Arabic they use “ibn” to denote the same thing, since it also means “son of”
Ibn or Ben depending on the dialect. I think Spanish and Portugese people also use patronimics the same way Russians do.
ERB... Is the epitome of "Understanding The Assignment" They do their Homework. Learning through BARS
18:47
It was actually even pettier; it was customary for ladies of the court to wear six petticoats under their dresses but because it was a warm day in Moscow (as weird as that phrase sounds) she opted to only wear three.
The irony here is that Ivan was the one using the Alexandrian Method. They can't beat you in a rap battle if they're dead.
Catherine the great beheading pompey was a double, playing on what happened to him in Egypt and playing off Catherine staging a coup d'etat against her husband to become the tsar of Russia. Also the chess bars go back to Alexander's bars on how Ivan died
Thanks!
I would love to see you watch "history of the entire world, i guess" - by Bill Wurtz If you have not seen it before. Thank you for all the great reactions. This is one of my favorite ERBs I am glad you got to it
Peter the Great was Tsar 8 (even though he wasn't the 8th Tsar, more like the 14th). "Empress to Tsar 8" was stated as a chess move, ending in a checkmate.
Man I luv the knowledge and things I learn about these web rap battles I've known the words to for years but not all the references. Keep up the great work. You got a new follower.
your reaction to Pompey "the Great" was exactly the same as mine, that makes me happy
People say alexander was insightful with his Gordian knot comment but, as a fellow greek, with the same name and same hair, i can tell you that his method was something that anyone with curly hair would know :p
Aha you’re right
Peter The Great was NOT Catherine’s husband. He was her husband’s grandfather. Her husband was Peter III who was also German.
I mean...he corrects that immediately after he says that.
Only watched ur "normal" music reactions and just now came around to ur ERB reactions, I noticed it before but these ones just show it off perfectly, ur history knowledge is insane sir!
This is the greatest channel ive ever found. Him breaking down every line is not only hilarious but also informational
Ivan: "I hear you enjoy the saddle!"
MrLboyd: *sharp intake of breath*
XD
(In reality, Catherine died of a stroke while eating breakfast. The doctor's records were pretty clear. The horse story was made up by her political enemies to smear her.)
8:38 It was actually called Asia to the Greeks and the Romans. Directly east of Greece was Asia Minor, and Asia Superior was directly east of that. I have no idea why Europeans just continued to call everything else east "Asia" the further they got, but the name was created to describe modern-day Turkey and then Iran/Syria...etc..
Surprised you missed the "tear out my eyes" reference. Ivan the Terrible commissioned St. Basil's Cathedral (shown behind Ivan in the video). Allegedly he asked the architect if he could ever create something so beautiful again. When the architect answered yes, he believed he could, Ivan (again allegedly) had the architect's eyes gouged out so he couldn't create anything as beautiful again.
Fredrick won this for me. Based on the energetic and unique delivery.
they all did amazing
…Evidently Mr Boyd did not appreciate Old Fritz’s unique delivery…
Supposedly Ivan had the eyes of the architect who designed St Basils REMOVED. So that he could never build something more beautiful than St Basils. So frederick would have payed ivan to do that if he had to look at him all the time.
In Czech Republic we have a similar legend about Hanuš, he built Orloj (look it up Its beautiful) and ministers in Prague decided to remove his eyes with 1000 degree knife, so he couldnt build another
@@stkop1186 What is with Cyrillic countries removing peoples eyes over art. Seems like a trend
@@timbrwolf1121 Yep, not gonna become an architect here lol
This is hands down my favorite battle. The usage of history and the bars are just too good
This is one of my favorite ERBs specifically because Catherine is just THAT GREAT.
YES
It should be noted that Terrible is an inexact way to translate Ivan’s nickname. The word Grozny means “terrible” but also means “awesome in its might”, like a thunderstorm
I love your ERB reactions. Makes me feel like I'm in school again, but with a dope substitute teacher.
When Catherine's actor busts out with "I''m the boss bitch," that melody always catches me.
I never fail to learn things when I watch your reactions. Thanks for that.
Oblique attack tactics line was a double. Oblique was a marching tactic where the army would March straight forward but at a signal the army would diagonal to a certain point of the enemy line. In basic training during drill and ceremony we had to learn it.
A triple actually- kind of.
Since oblique literally MEANS “at an angle”, anything that is oblique by definition will not be exactly straight.
Favorite part of your reactions is the amount of knowledge you retain across so many subjects. Bravo Sir. 👏
Again, maybe too obvious but Katherine's line about 'I keep 'em chomping at the bit' is playing with the horse reference but also an idiom. Chomping at the bit means eager and excited (like a riled up horse). Referencing the horse and the multiple guys she's said to have been with, saying she excites all the guys.
I've watched multiple reactions to this video and am surprised how every single reaction fails to notice how Catherine uses the garrote wire that Ivan discards to remove Pompey.
Is it the SAME garrote wire?
I always kind of assumed she brought her own.
Great work on your review, but Catherine the Great was autopsied and they discovered she'd had a stroke and died. Keep up the good content, man.
Catherine was born in Stettin, Prussia which is now Poland.
I honestly thought Pompey won that one, his delivery was amazing.
What i love about your reactions is, you explain the shittiest situations and facts in the most formal and most noble language i could ever find
Literally, saying "extinguishing" instead of KILLING
LOL
You've got to be the best reactor on UA-cam, you catch all the bars and teach us new concepts while you react. God tier reaction 🙌
the _ic ending in slavic names means "heir of" or "child of" so vasilyevich means "child of vasily". similar to the _son or _dottir ending in norse names.
They quoted chess in that last verse, Empress to Tsar is (Queen to King) "Checkmate". Just thought I'd clear that up.
You were in the ball park about Pompey. He fled to Egypt to get away from Julius Caesar, he was beheaded by a group who thought that killing him would impress Caesar. And he was about to give a speech when the assassination happened. So he was beheaded just before he was to start his verse.
As you're obviously a history buff you should react to history of the entire world I guess by bill wurtz
That is a fantastically underrated video . So quirky and fun .
Oversimplified videos are also a must for any history buff. A new video was released less than a week ago, about the glorious Pig War
The Gordian knot was philosophical idea at the time. The complex knot represented all the intertwined kingdoms of Asia. If you could untangle it you could rule it. His solution, brute force. Doesn't seem far fetched.
I love the fact that you're one of the few to realize that each were 'dying' in the battles exactly how they did in history. But even more, I think you're the only one who caught the fact that each of them also 'asked' for that scenario to happen (Alex getting a drink, Fred needs a chair, etc) in their own verses. Awesome! Other than Knox Hill I think you're one of the few that catch almost all the historical references (and even some I didn't know despite the fact that I've listen to these probably 50+ times over the years).
Yeah, the Land Rover part was in reference that Alexander travelled through the lands and conquering, but didn't consolidate.
Also thanks to him keeping the succession vague ("the worthiest shall succeed me", iirc).
I really enjoy your ERB breakdowns n the way you just tell a story and add the perfect comedic personality with it I always love watching your reactions 🙌🏽🔥😊
Restrain your equines! We have Alexander's horse and Catherine's horse, meanwhile Richard III can't find one to save his life.
I've always thought Ivan won. Honestly, I think his verse was the best structured and most direct. While no one aspect of it really stands out to me, it also has a distinct lack of weaknesses. He was also the only one that didn't get distracted bragging about himself. Every time he mentioned himself, it was a setup for a diss. In comparison, it just makes all the others look like shit talkers.
The horse story was actually that she lost her virginity to a horse. She died from a stroke on the floor of her room in her palace.
Empress to Tsar 8, b*itch also sounds like Tsarevitch which is like a crown prince but means "little Tsar" so it's also a insult.
Perhaps the most readily recognizable anecdote related to Catherine centers on a horse. But the actual story of the monarch's death is far simpler: On November 16, 1796, the 67-year-old empress suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. She died the next day, leaving her estranged son, Paul I, as Russia's next ruler. May 15, 2020
You need to rewind and check Catherine's garrote. LOL So many people miss it, and you even paused on the image and missed it. Loved your reaction to this! Personally, I feel Alexander was the best in this one.
Zach Sherwin (Alexander the Great) makes several appearances in ERB productions. He always comes hard.
He also participates in writing
15:44 that face😂😂😂😂😂 "huh? What? That was easy…" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Holy shit when you called Pompey. You're really in your element - I wish there were a million of these still to go.
i could listen to this dude talk about history all day. the way hes so interested in it really shows and engages me to learn more.
so i learned by watching a Russian react to this that in Russia the word Terrible actually Means Great so Ivan the terrible actually translates to Ivan the Great....this whole rap battle is about the greats battling against each other.
This is what our history teachers expected from us lmfao
on the real tho great vid hella entertaining and actually cool stuff to learn
You and Knox Hill are the two I go to most often form song breakdowns, and I love your reactions and insights.
I love your reacts. All the video, I was like 'is he gonna get that ref' ? And you had em !! Crazy. It would even begin to piss me off, like leave some refs for the rest of us lol
Sir,
I would like to thank you for this wonderful video. I have subscribe a while ago, having seen your RATM videos. You offered actual reactions and dissection rather than what most "reactors" do (watch the video, and then say "i liked it"). Recently though you were getting a bit more ... "normal". This, however, is the reason why i am on this channel. The analysis, the lessons of history, etc.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Fredrick said something that got glossed over, maybe too obvious?
He said "Russias 'f-ed' up and I wonder why with your Tundra & Taigas & Bears, oh my." That's got a few things going. 1) as pointed out in the video he's probably inferring that it's messed up because of leaders like Ivan. 2) tundra and taiga are icy climates, they make up a significant portion of Russia (kind of calling Russia a frozen hell hole). 3) There are Grizzly bears in Russia, in fact the bear is like a symbol for Russia (not unlike our Bald Eagle), he's making fun of the bear. 4) it's an obvious reference to Wizard of Oz (lions and tigers and bears oh my) so I think he's comparing Russia to the land of Oz, which is also a messed up place. I thought that line a pretty good Russian own.
Not only a great reactor and a professional photographer but pretty damn knowledgeable about history. Bravo.
Your reaction to when "Fred" died is just perfect xD . In general, I greatly enjoyed your reaction to the entire battle. This one really lived up to the "History" in Epic Rap Battles of History. A very, _very_ fun rap battle indeed.
Pella was the ancient capital of Macedonia. It’s currently located in an area of Greece called Central Macedonia, not the country of North Macedonia (former known as just Macedonia)
i always learn things from ERB but i love the way you broke it down bar by bar and i learned so much more
you are the smartest react channel i’ve ever seen bout time somone fills the role keep up the great work
Panhellenist also because he was a Greece fanboy and imposed greek culture on his macedonian populace
14:50 twelve bars? There were more than twelve lines in his part…unless bar meant something else when he said it…whenever I watched other people watching these they always called a line a bar
This is the one I've been waiting for!!
You say, Alexander never entered Asia... well, the whole Persia, which Alexander subdued is on the Asian continent.
❤ I absolutely love how you eloquently can express your thoughts and so succinctly. Its beautiful really.
Vodka is flavorless by definition and in alot of places by law. If it's flavored it's no longer vodka if it's aged it's no longer vodka.
I think you are thinking of Caesar's quote, "veni vidi Vici" which means, "I came, I saw, I conquered".
Soon as I saw you do am ERB I immediately looked to see if you did this one. Glad you did.
Pompey was killed the moment he stepped onto the shore, but then they cut off his head and sent it to Julius Caesar, since he was fighting Pompey at the time. Caesar was furious, since he’d been hoping to mend things with Pompey and form another alliance
Catherine the Great did not die due to a horse. On November 16, 1796, the 67-year-old empress suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. She died the next day, leaving her estranged son, Paul I, as Russia's next ruler.
we had chess bars at the beginning of this battle. Alex flat out said Ivan died playing chess in his rap
I’ve watched this ERB multiple times and still learned things from you!!
Awesome
I think the reason why I couldn't give this battle overall to Alexander, even if I did have him over Ivan, was because he spent too many bars flexing, and not enough going after Ivan. Catherine came out ahead of Ivan, and she came for his throat, so I gave it to her.
Your voice is addicting my dude
its pretty commonly accepted amongst historians that he was gay
For good or ill, I think Catherine the Great earned the right to be called a Russian.
Fredrick the Great was my personal favorite delivery in this specific battle. 😶
Same. I think it would have helped if hadn't paused as much during that part (I know that's his thing, but Frederick's lines come and go so quickly here).
This video of erbh is one of my favorites!!! I love all your videos that I have watched so far. Thank you.=)
History with MrLboyd, the back stories you know with all of these are characters 🧠🧠🦾 Keep it up man!
thought i'd seen all the useful analysis already
welcome!
Ok, now I feel like I need you to do a video watching Knox Hill's reaction/breakdown of this ERB. Assuming you haven't already seen it, you should watch it whether you react to it or not. Somehow you both managed to catch a ton of references and yet still managed to mostly find different parts to break down further. Between this video and Knox's you could have a whole history course that would be far beyond what the average American knows.
Love your knowledge of history to analyse these rap battles. Also enjoy you put emphasis on her ''biggest'' story from the horse.
If someone sat a giant ball of string down in front of me that was knotted, twisted and tangled down to its center and told me I'd rule the world if I separated the two ends I'd do exactly what Alex did. ...and then get pranked by never ruling Asia 🤣