Historian Reaction // Epic Rap Battles of History (Alexander the Great - Ivan the Terrible)
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- Опубліковано 18 лют 2021
- See the original video here - • Alexander the Great vs...
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Not sure why I said NOVOgrod...It was Novgorod.
I used to make that mistake all the time, but in my defense, we do add the extra 'o' in my language. Novogrod just rolls off the tongue better than Novgorod.
It sounded more like "Novigrad". Played Witcher recently? :)
In Polish version of Witcher they say Novigrad so it might be connected (react to witcher trailers for some more fantasy stuff *wink* *wink*)
. :)
Hello
His music’s pretty good actually
“IS THAT FREDERICK THE GREAT?!”
Absolutely loved your reaction to his appearance. My favorite part!
especially when quite a few other people went "Who is that guy?" And one i saw even went: "I don't have any idea what's going on? Is he British?" (Despite "What about a flute busting Prussian?")
@@undertakernumberone1 Kinda sad to see that people dont know Frederick The Great, especially as a western person he is someone you simply have to know.
@@EddieMorphling the general public is actually so clueless about history in general, im dutch and i think half of my friends minimum wont even know that prussia existed
@@griffins5655 Oh i agree with what ur saying and what ur doing is great, i'm not so surprised by people not knowing him, moreso people in general have no clue how the world map looked pre 1939 (because from then everyone suddenly cares about history)
@@EddieMorphling I know man, I'm a history teacher and he's my favourite character in history along with Catherine the Great. I see them as the people that succesfully applied enlightenment ideas in countries where the probability was very slim.
Fredrick the Great did play flute. He actually wrote quite a bit of music.
Oh yea? If you know Fredrick the Greats music so well then name every song by him
@@MrMitchbow dude calm down
@@yadiercosme1168 Issa joke bro
@@MrMitchbow why would you say something so stupid like that?
@@sohums.6107 first time on the internet?
Friedrich der Große was actual famous for being really good at playing the flute. He even wrote music, so no, that wasn't the hint to his sexuality... That was the line "oblique attack tactics ain't entirely straight" that is the play on his sexuality
Don't forget the bit about bit about paying a guy to cut out his eyes if he had to look at Ivan's face every night.
@@Crazael Also a hint and a nice shot, imo
Oblique attack tactics what part of his battle strategy. The "Oblique Order" was a misdirection flanking technique that directly resulted in Prussia winning on the battlefield.
@@nightwingaven69 Yes, which is why it's a play. It means the misdirection not being exactly straight-forward, while also referring to his sexuality supossedly not being "exactly straight"
@@nightwingaven69 yeah, but the "ain't exactly straight" is a double entendre
I think Catherine took the first one. Her closing line ("Empress to Tsar 8, bitch. Checkmate") is like 4 layers deep. I think it may be the single deepest line in any ERB.
1. Catherine was the 8th Tsar to rule the Russian Empire.
2. "Empress to Tsar 8" would be the Russian equivalent of saying "Queen to King 8" in chess, and the 8th rank would be the opposing king's starting space. So she's literally announcing taking the opposing king's place.
3. Her beating Ivan in a chess game finishes off the theme in the whole video of each character dying the way they did in life (Alexander poisoned, Frederick in his chair, Pompey before he could talk (to Ptolemy in real life, or to the audience here), and Ivan playing chess). Only Catherine's death method, since it was a lie, doesn't come true.
4. She way she pronounces "Tsar 8, bitch," it comes out sounding a lot like "Tsarevich." So rather than addressing Ivan with the respect due the 1st Tsar, she calls him "son of the tsar." Plus, her whole vibe when she says it suggests she's using it less like a honorific and more like a diminutive... like, Run along and play now, little Tsarevich; Mommy's busy running the empire! 🤣
Some of these ERBs have some very deep lines. Thank you for saying all this!
but she droped the white queen so did she chekmate herself?
@@hamasakenthat’s a reference to the fact that Ivan started the battle, and in chess the white player moves first
In fact, she wasn't tsar. Peter the great abolished the title. She was the 8th emperess.
Yes, Catherine was Prussian. But once she entered Russian court life, she fell in love with the country and its people and always considered herself a Russian at heart. (Extra Credit has a wonderful video series on Catherine and how she became Empress. Worth the watch.)
Plus she converted to the orthodox church for the marriage with peter and before the marriage even started learning russian to be more popular
I guess she is Russian in the same way that Stalin is Russian, since he was born in Georgia but became one of the most prominent Russian leaders.
In modern Russian, there are two words to mean “Russian”. “Roossky” means “of Russian ethnicity” and “Rossiyanin” means “Russian citizen”. It’s an important distinction given all the ethnic groups in Russia
@@Hive__ Peter wasn’t Russian either. He was also German. After his aunt took power in a coup, she brought Peter in from one of the German principalities to be her heir. He didn’t even speak Russian much and was a huge fan of Frederick the Great (this made him super-unpopular later on). His desire to be Prussian vs Catherine’s desire to be Russian. Guess who was more liked?
@@artembentsionov and all that was pretty much calculated by her. She made a coup of her own against Peter
The line Fredrich the great made about "tear out my eyes" is a reference to Ivan the terrible tearing out the eyes of an architect after he built St Basils cathedral in Red Square so he would never again build something so beautiful.
bruh
Dang, why?
@@Autumnlight91 Ivan was a tad selfish to say the least
@@jasongarfitt1147 The part about “I’d pay a guy” is the part referencing the fact he was gay.
@@Autumnlight91he wasn’t Ivan the TERRIBLE for nothing
“No he died in a chair!”😂 😂 love how he’s just reacting to it like it’s a movie or something
I think Tolkien wins on the sole fact that the man actually finished his damn series. I'm gonna die before Winds of Winter comes out.
Amen to that!
He won because he actually had substance to his lines, Martin had nothing of any value in his. Just like his books. All hype, zero substance.
All his lines do is showcase what he really is. A perverted old soap opera writer that likes to spend ages writing about pointless characters, just so he can kill them off to screw with his edgelord fans. He writes everything from a first person perspective to trick the reader into identifying and caring about them, without actually having to flesh any of them out and make them proper characters.
More likely that HE will die before it comes out. He's not exactly in peak physical condition.
actually, Tolkien DIDN'T finish his work. He died before reworking the Orcs origins, he didn't finish the Silmarilion. It was released only after Christopher Tolkien compiled the stuff, but that isn't actually finished.
Just like Von Clausewitz' On War.
@@RyanAcidhedzMurphy Jesus which character's death offended you that much? I don't understand your hate boner for A Song of Ice and Fire.
What substance does Tolkien have exactly? His books are pretty generic
(But still good) fantasy.
ASOIAF's world feels more lived in and gritty while Tolkien's feels like I am reading mythology. LOTR is painfully predictable and it's symbolism obvious.
ASOIAF is more thrilling and makes it clear that no character is safe.
"without actually having to flesh any of them out and make them proper characters".
I'm sorry what?
ASOIAF is full of fleshed out developed characters.
The first person perspective helps the reader to understand that character more.
That Frederick the Great part is one of the greatest ERB moments ever IMO.
Pompey was so good that he rapped so fast that we couldn’t hear it
I agree
@@theunsmartasian1087 Pompéi rapped so fast it blew up his head
About the Gordion Knot.
It was told that whoever could loose the ends from the knot would conquer Asia. But the knot was so tight that no one could unravel it. Until Alexander had the idea to cut the knot in two. That's why he was able to untie the tightest knot and conquer Asia.
was about to comment this
Same here
Yep same story
Fun Fact: There's a Dutch saying derived from this translated to "cutting the knot in half" (de knoop doorhakken), which means making a (hard) decision.
he did not conquer most of Asia. He didn't conquer India China and Russia. All he did was conquer a few weaker countries.
Fredrick's beat was absolute fire.
Yes Frederick the Great actually played the flute :D For the part about his sexuality he never admitted it but it was definitely a wide spread rumour at his court supported by the fact that he supposedly never consumated the marriage with his wife and thus also never had any children.
Yeah well there's plenty of circumstancial evidence that its most certainly a fact that he was gay. He commissioned artwork with homoerotic themes, he made a necklace or pendant with male lovers, his father accused him of being a sodomite, and he always loved having young men with him
of course Pompey won he came out ahead 😉
George R.R. Martin may have spat Ice & Fire but J.R.R. Tolkien went There & Back Again 😊
Criminally underrated! Well done.
I love how they referenced Frederick's sexuality with the line "Oblique attack tactics 'aint exactly straight"
Friedrich der Große is amongst my favorite people history has to offer. Dude went like "Hmmm, I've got sandy hills and coniferous forests, perfect conditions to create a new world power." and just went ahead and did it.
I know its not exactly "historical" but watch the Zeus vs Thor one lots of actual mythology references and its all done in lego stop animation like the lego movies ;p
Plenty of actual history in that too, turns into a Greek vs Viking sort of deal.
"I will drop you like Greece's GDP"
- Thor
The myth of the Gordian knot, I believe, has to do with a very complex knot that no one could untie. The saying went that anyone who could do that would be king of the city. Alexander conquered the city and then just cut the knot in half with his sword. The idea is of using a simpler, perhaps brutish solution to a complex problem
The battle of "The Greats vs. The Terrible" is kinda hard to pick a decisive winner....but Tolkein SLAMS Martin into the ground.
"Ask Led Zeppelin!" Led Zeppelin has made a number of songs based on the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and other works by Tolkein.
Rush also made a song based on Rivendale
What do you mean "hard to pick a decisive winner"? Old Fritz won by miles.
There’s a feeling I get when I look to the West… ;)
The great part about ERB is that it gets people interested in history. They give you just enough information to make you want to find out more on your own. Even if it's just a quick google search.
actually the legend said that whoever could unravel the knot would rule all Asia. And Alexander literally went and slashed it with his sword. but great reaction. do more of these please
Last time I was this early Alexander hadn't conquered persia yet
Internet wouldn't be invented for atleast 70 more years tho
@@moncystuff6089nah I think it was atleast 50 not 70
The chanting in the background of Frederick the great is "Old Fritz", which is the English equivalent of his German nickname "Der alte Fritz". He got this nickname because of his long time as ruler and generally down to earth attitude that can also be seen in his title first servant of the state. In addition to that it seperates him from all the other Frederick the seconds.
When you’re having a bad day but see the homie upload, you know it’s gonna get better. Keep up the amazing content!
The stark difference between Tolkien being in one of the most gruesome battles in WWI and Martin being a conscientious objector for Vietnam is one the most hilarious and poignant parts of their battle.
The Gordion Knot was a literal knot of rope which supposedly could only be undone by the person who was destined to rule the world, or something, similar to the sword in the stone with Arthur, and according to the legend when Alexander visited the knot, he drew his sword and slashed it in half, thus fulfilling the legend.. in his own particulsr way.
Glad you had the opportunity to check out the "Battle of the Greats" finally. I'm sure we figured that it would be a fun surprise and had lots of historical content. Can't wait to see your next ERB reaction!
Fredrick the great did actually play the flute. He even composed his own music.
Catherine the Great was born in what was then known as the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, now northern Poland. The city is Szczecin. And her birth family was the House of Ascania. I think they decided to skip all that and went with the fact that she ruled Russia as part of the Romanov family.
your reaction to frederick was AMAZING HAHA. im not usually into erb reactions who pause super often and break it down line by line, but i am SO entertained with your reactions and breakdowns; it feels like im back in a real history class and its absolutely amazing to learn these things :] thank u
I know you said it's not exactly historical, but J. R. R. Tolkien is basically the father of the Fantasy genre as we know it, and George R. R. Martin is pretty much singularly responsible for the Renaissance we're seeing now days. I think as time moves on both of them will be viewed as significant historical literary figures, much like Dante or Dickens.
React to Eastern vs Western philosophy rap battle
6:02
Frederick the great definitely played the flute and even composed his own pieces.
Tolkien also fashes the ASL symbol for R during the "stole my R.R." line.
Which kind of makes his hand look like a pirate hook, in line with lyric.
6:05 Yes! Fredrick the Great did play the flute, the King was fluent in the flute and was considered a musician creating 4 symphonies and at least 80 sonatas, and was with other famous philosophers and musicians, one of which being Voltaire and another in this picture being C.P.E Bach. The picture depicting it is titled, "Flute Concert at Sanssouci".
When Fedrick says "I wouldn't pay a guy to tear out my eyes" is a reference to Ivan clawing out the architects eyes, that built the St basils catherdral so he couldn't build anything more beautiful than it.
Tolkien did study Icelandic and the lore. He even had an Icelandic babysitter in the 30´s. As an Icelander I see the Icelandic influence in both the Dwarves and the Rohirrim.
Please check Ceasar vs Shaka Zulu (Star Wars reference in Rome history?) and Zeus vs Thor.
Frederick: "So bring me my chair~
VTG: "NO, HE DIED IN THE CHAIR!"
Me: *[Smoking my toy bubble pipe]* "Ah, a man of culture and sophistication, I see."
04:15 He didn't untie it, he CUT it and declared himself ruler of all Asia.
A fact I love about Tolkien is that he wrote languages and then felt that languages needed meaning and due to that decided to write his books, of course he already wrote stories but nothing remotely on this scale. It's a fun little fact.
Definitely a win for Tolkien, probably my favorite ERBH.
What?
6:09 possibly both. Frederick the Great was pretty keen on the arts, as well as le wangs.
The pose at 6:11 is from a Jethro Tull album cover.
It’s interesting how you talk about Tolkien being typical fantasy so it’s easy to predict what will happen but that’s only because he established many cliches we know so well today. At the time it wouldn’t have been like that at all
This guy could have predicted entire GoT if he knew also that history. "No! Dont go to the red wedding Rob!" X) you got a new sub.
I'm still scarred from that scene. Robb was my favorite character.
Old Fritz not only played the flute, he wrote music too
I don't want to question a historian, but I thought the point about the gordion knot was that Alexander didn't solve it, he just walked up to it and cut it in half, thereby "solving it". I thought was like an example of how he thought outside of the box which made him so unique.
You're right to question me, and you are absolutely right on what Alexander is said to have done!
This was my favorite reaction you’ve done to ERB. I didn’t know much about Fredrick the Great but now I’m excited to learn more! Keep it up man!
Please do a reaction to Eastern philosophers vs Western philosophers ERB.
Have seen this numerous times and never got the reference with the fluet before, there's soo many references packed into these.
Have to agree on Frederick the Great and Tolkien although Ivan was a close second. Did not think I would like these, but I do:)
it's "The Greats" vs "The Terrible" that's the theme of this song
tolkien may have used his last few lines to riff of the titles to his books, but hey...he spat pure truth. :)
15:06 Deep cut. Martin has said that he does his writing on a relatively ancient DOS computer with no network connection.
I wonder if anyone has fallen for this yet
This was how all of the Greats actually died
except Alexander. It is agreed upon by almost every historian with evidence that he most likely died from Malaria or another harsh disease. Granted, being poisoned with strychnine over time would have hindered his immune system greatly. Since strychnine was the most available poison of that time, it could make sense...but he did not die from being poisoned.
Frederick the Great beat was lit.
You made it to my favorite ERB of all time! Well done, so nice to see a historian reacting to the video:)
Yes, she was Prussian but got Russian enough to become Great.
I loved this reaction. Ivan vs the Greats is my favorite ERB video, and the fact that you got all the historical references is amazing. Small addition, the Gordian Knot was an actual knot tied in a greek city, and the legend was that whoever untied it would end up ruling the world. Legend says that when Alexander came to the city, and they presented him with the knot, he unveiled his sword and sliced it in half. He obviously would later become the ruler of the greatest empire that ever existed at that time.
yeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh frederick played the flute he was a geniuos at it actually! - there is an absolutly beautiful painting of him and his entourage in the german national gallery in Berlin cheers
in addition yes he was quite ope about his homosexuality not unusual at the time in upper class central europe but his father - the solier king hatet it and actually had his lover executed before his own eyes - both of them tried to run away before
10:53 clearly you've never read the Silmarillion
13:32 that aged well
Two of my favourite rap battles in one video! Thanks for the great reaction! Keep it up!
I love these epic rap battles of history you do, I’m always excited to learn about history in this way, please continue this series
"pompey was in a triumvirate with julius caesar and... was it crasus? i cant remember" - entire first triumvirate summed up.
A few small notes:
- In the myths the Oracle of Delphi foretold that only the one who would be able to untie the Gordian Knot could ever conquer Asia... but in the legend Alexander did not really untie it, instead he sliced it in half with his sword... and went on to conquer Asia ^^.
- Frederick did indeed play the flute and he was rather good if you want to trust the reports of the time.
- Him being gay is hard to prove, it's likely that he was at least bi, but there is no proof that it is true, just circumstantial evidence... so it's still a point of debate.
- Catherine was originally from Prussia but in her early years in Russia she made sure to learn the language, to convert to the Russian Orthodox Church and adept Russian customs... so ironically she was widely regarded as more Russian than her husband (who openly admired Frederick the Great and also descended from a German noble house) when she overthrew his rule.
In the legend, Alexander the Great did NOT untie the Gordian Knot - he cut through it with his sword.
I'd been waiting for you to do this forever!
or generally someone who'd be able to catch how great this battle is (this is the very peak of ERB if you ask me, in every way, costumes, acting {especially Peet} references, concept) I was not disappointed
Can't believe I found you so late but you better believe I'm going to binge every single one of your reactions to ERBoH! I love the way you pause frequently to really break down each iconic line and reference every nuance of that persons life that is brought up. Watched a couple of historians reacting to these but your thorough breakdowns and giddiness over hearing the lines and understanding them almost immediately is just genius content. Looking forward to the rest!
Fredrick the Great walking in, destroying his opponent, and then leaving. Seems historically accurate.
4:19 one little correction,he didnt solve the gordain knot,rather he pulled put his sword and cut it in half. Great content btw,really enjoy watching these videos
I absolutely love your reactions to eveything. Both the surpises to the People chosen and the historical references. Makes this awesome!
"But now you got the Panhellenist from Pella hella pissed
Stepping up's foolish as well as useless
Little Vasilyevich, let me spell out the list"
Favorite part.
J.R.R. Tolkien didn't write "Typical Fantasy," per se. Typical fantasy would generally involve having a character travel to a new world, learn something moral and then come back to their own world. Like Alice in wonderland or Narnia. The problem was that these stories read too much like fables, cause we and the people knew that the character would come back, and they would come back fine, if not better. But Tolkien created a world that felt real, and within it the danger and stakes felt real. Were action would have serious and far reaching consequences. Further more, he also changed the formula by having other character who were as important or more important than the protagonist. This didn't make it feel like the world was solely hinging on just one person. Like Samwise Gamgee who Tolkien himself considered to be the hero, instead of Frodo. This is just info...it is not meant as any kind of criticism, just FYI.
Not only did he play the flute, he composed some really good flute concertos
When Catherine the Great ends her second verse, she says Checkmate! Referring to the way Ivan died playing chess. And when J.R.R. Tolkien makes the Jab about stealing his RR, he makes the Sign Language Symbol for R, I think that is a reference to his fascination with languages, and his knowledge about them.
Also, it makes his hand resemble a pirate hook.
I'm seriously enjoying all of your videos really happy to see your channel growing
Thank you!
6:01 he actually did play the flute, but this is probably a reference to both
Frederick the Great actually played the flute and even composed music pieces for this instrument.
I know this vid is arounf a year old, but id just like to point out that Frederick the great is pulling off a Jethro Tull reference in his intro. The way he stands there with one foot on his knee while playing the flute is a famous pose that is practically Ian Anderson's trademark.
Gotta love Tolkien's final lines where he uses all the three booknames in succession: fellow, shit(fellowship) two towering (two towers) return of the king
These kinds of videos really help me understand certain lines
Frederick the great was a fairly accomplished flutist actually. Threw concerts for himself to perform all the time IIRC
Forgot about this video when you asked subscribers what our favorite video of yours is. For me it's this one, your excitement for each character's appearance is just pure gold!
I found myself addicted to your Channel I love history but the depth you give is amazing
Thanks! Glad to have you here.
Hehe. It was nice of Alexander to give me a shoutout.
Love the videos! Very insightful comments from you and you make the video so watchable. Keep them coming!
Thanks Peter!
I thought it was Alexander just cut through the Gordian knot with his sword to unravel it, whereas everybody else tried to actually untie it and failed.
That's correct.
As you said it's really great how they refer to little interesting details of historical characters they rap about...I often end up spending a lot of time on wikipedia when they do a new battle with historical figures
It's really one of my favourite ERBH
@Vlogging Through History Frederick did play the flute yes and also had one of J.S. Bach's sons (C.P. E. Bach if I'm not mistaken) as one of his musicians in his court during his reign. He also got to meet with J.S. Bach three years before the composer died in 1750 (which was deemed the year where the Baroque period ended) and the meeting lead to J.S. Bach testing out Frederick's fortepianos along with performing on the organ in that area he visited and sparked the interest of writing the famous Musical Offering that you could say helped Bach form the objective of what the Art of Fugue was about.
Vasilyevich is a patronymic. In Slavic naming customs, they have name, patronymic, and surname. Patronymic is a derivation of one’s father’s name. In this case, Ivan was the son of Vasili III. Ivan didn’t really have a surname but he was of the Rurikid dynasty. In one popular Soviet movie, he does say that his surname is “Rurikovich”, but the movie is hardly historically accurate
As student of history on first year (classes will begin this monday) I find it really great to have more experienced historian here to explain background of ERB battles
i really hope to see you watch any of them from season5 forward, even if they have nothing to do with history, you do such a great reaction video
Fredrick the great did play the flute. One of his teachers was Johann Quantz. The writer of the book: on playing the flute. Which is still referenced at times today for flute and recorder players.
5:36 well there it is, a person who actually knows history. took a few years to find one, but you're my new favorite channel :) amazing reaction too
7:16 too oh boy I love this
You have to watch The Origins of WW1 Rap Battle from BBC
What a *great* choice of enemies for Ivan. I'll show myself out.
PS: The Tolkien vs. Martin battle is one of my absolute favourites.
I once encountered GRRM in a hotel corridor at a F&SF convention, before the TV series came out. My question to him: "Why do you hate innkeepers so much?" He just smiled and laughed it off.
JRR was a linguistics expert who built every language spoken in his series, and then tossed it into an entire world. He created the word dwarves. When someone tried to correct him on the spelling of it, stating that the Oxford dictionary says that the plural for dwarf is dwarfs, JRR told the guy, "I know what the Oxford Dictionary says, I wrote parts of it, and I say the plural for dwarf is dwarves".
Well to be fair he said dwarfs was correct but he chose to use dwarves, I think
Even though I've seen this multiple times, it always gets me hyped when he whispers "what about a flute busting Prussian?"
Yessss i requested this too im so happy your doing this have a good day
Great video 👏👏