I increased the volume of parts of the video that I thought needed it the most. The original video is still up, so you can think of this as a remastered version of sorts. Not perfect by any means, but I'm working with the tools I have available to me. I hope this is easier to listen to. I'll leave a few links here for everyone to follow through on. Original Video: ua-cam.com/video/VFTRBGcu4Ro/v-deo.html Ulfric Tie-In Deck: ua-cam.com/video/HxwB4ahKTRU/v-deo.html
One note about the Grey Quarter and Docks of Windhelm that I’ve heard: while it’s true that there’s some fairly significant racism among the Nords directly ruled by Ulfric, it’s not like the local Dunmer population is exactly reaching across the aisle. The Player is fully capable of joining the Stormcloaks as a Dunmer, and a freaking _Altmer_ was able to ingratiate herself enough to become a somewhat successful merchant. The Nords of Windhelm are racist, but if you put in the work and prove yourself to them, they’ll accept your presence (if begrudgingly). And all we personally witness the Dunmer of the Grey Quarter do is complain. I’ll grant that Ulfric could spare some thought to his capital city as a whole, but I understand that he has to focus on the war to make sure he doesn’t get all his troops killed. As for the Docks, there’s no good explanation as to why. I’ve heard that a good way to fix this problem is to use the history between Dunmer and Argonians as the reason why. The Dunmer came first, and letting the Argonians mingle would be flirting with a potential riot between the two populations (it wasn’t so long ago that the Dunmer would enslave the Argonians, among other species).
I think he is both honestly, yes 100% a rebel. But he was fighting for the ideals and traditions of the Empire, The Great War was completely pointless, but I don't think that the Empire had much of a choice. It was going to happen either way.
The conversation at the start of the game between Elenwen & Tulius involved Elenwen trying to call off the execution. But Tulius refused to which she started threatening consequences & stuff. But he was apparently ignoring her demands to proceed with the execution
@@firenze6478that fairly common, to behead the leader last, usually this happened in history as a final punishment before you die, to see your comrades die before you. and to be fair no one would have expected a dragon straight out of myth to come out the sky. as for the pc i mean its just unfortunate timing, is the pc truly an innocent bystander? im pretty sure we illegally cross the boarder to skyrim and get caught up in this mess
I played Skyrim, but never interacted with civil war. I was more involved with the guild system. You know where you once became a novice in a guild, the guildmaster starts rethinking his life choices.
I do also genuinely feel that Ulfric feels like an incredibly tragic character at times, I like genuinely like the ambiguity & a lot of the things you can learn about him.
in my opinion Ulfric is not a guy who will stay in a tent and make a strategy on map to attack or ambush someone. I think he is a guy who will lead his men, he will be the head of his troops and he swings his sword on a battlefield rather than staying in Windhelm and makes orders for his generals.
Honestly, if the Imperial faction didn't start the game trying to decapitate me, I would have probably sided with them. The game really pushes you to sympathize with the Stormcloaks from the get go by literally having the Imperial faction try to kill you.
I must congratulate you on having made one of the most politically unbiased videos on the subject 😅 Really cool to see this kind of video from a primarily TESL content creator too. Would love to see more of this content in the future.
one problem i have is you attributing the conditions of the dark elves to Ulfric. they entered the city some 180-190 years prior to the game more than a full century before Ulfric himself was born. they were given the snow quarter as it was called then as an enclave, and allowed to establish their own customs and guards. Morrowind was also granted the Island of Solsthiem for further refugees. There is no lore about when the Argonians on the docks arrived. in short the worst he can be accused of is maintaining a poor status-quo. you also exclude the fact that a Dunmer owns a Farm outside the city and calls the other Dunmer too proud to integrate. A pair of High Elves own the Stable, a high elf runs the apothecary, and a High elf Merchant also declares the dunmer to be too proud. If ulfric had any cause to hate elves, it would be high elves, and yet they are all successful. there are also dialogue references in Markarth that cast doubt on the veracity of "The bear of Markarth" Most of the alleged crimes committed in the city are attributed to "The Jarl" by Braig and Thonar's journal. Ulfric was not a Jarl at that time as his father was still alive. Nepos the nose states "We drove the Nords out of the Reach in a great uprising. Then Ulfric and his men came. Those of us who didn't run were executed, except for myself, my king, and a handful of others." this does not say ulfric committed the crimes, merely that he and his men came and drove them out. though they may have been complicit in there enforcment. As for Jarl Hrolfdir he was allegedly killed "negotiating" with forsworn "when that was still possible." His son and the sitting Jarl says this when asked about the civil war. "It all started here. This rebellion. When the Empire lost the Reach during the Great War, we became desperate. We promised a group of Nord militia free worship in exchange for their help retaking the Hold. Then the Elves found out about it. We were forced to arrest all of them." so The Jarl and his men agreed to Ulfric's terms, Ulfric succeeded, and then they stabbed him in the back at the first opportunity.
Okay, I'm sure this isn't the response you were looking for, but there's a lot to address here. I said he is unbothered by the way they live and he does nothing to help them. He treats them like second class citizens, and I honestly don't think you can deny that. Ulfric denying guard patrols to a section of his citizens is a great example. "The filth flows downhill" is another example. [20:39] In The United States during the segregation era, this was called de facto racism, as there were no official laws abiding racism, but it was allowed and somewhat expected of Caucasian citizens to treat African American citizens as lesser. So too with the Nords in Windhelm and the Dunmer. You're forgetting too that the Altmer citizens chose to live in Windhelm. All of the Dunmer are refugees. They presumably didn't have much of anything when they left and they've had to create whole new lives. Dunmer can live to be very old, so I would assume that many of them have been living in the city since the Red Year and haven't been able to attain upward mobility on the social ladder to be able to move out of the city since they are confined to live in a singular quarter. Regardless of what Jarl was in charge, confining the Dunmer to a singular section of the city is beyond fucked up. I know it was gifted to them in the first place, but not allowing them to move out of there is cruel. And don't mention the farmer and the merchant. The merchant is allowed to sell his wears and then he goes home. The farmer is, still, not allowed inside the city. Also, you're claiming that the other Dunmer aside from the farmer are too proud to "integrate?" Well, how are they even supposed to integrate when they are not allowed to leave the Gray Quarter? I also, just as a heads up, would not use the word integrate. The farmer NPC I believe you're talking about is named Faryl Atheron and he's 1.) in the video and 2.) he never uses that word and 3.) he does not own a farm outside the city. There are two farms: Brandy-Mug and Hollyfrost. He works for Bulfrida Brandy-Mug. Regardless, the Dunmer traditions in Windhelm are present in only the appearance of a conerclub and some flags. This is like saying that an Indian-American family cannot open an Indian themed restaraunt and fly flags. These people are Dunmer, and not Nords, and that they should be allowed the human right to be proud of their culture. Other completely horrible things that happen to the Dunmer in Windhelm: The way those two men treat that Dunmer woman upon entering is inexcusable, and the number of comments I have seen defending this treatment is just bizarre to me. Here we have the use of a slur against Dunmer, "Grayskin," [19:14] and the threat of what sounds like breaking and entering followed by either physical or sexual (or both) abuse [19:23]. Really listen to the language the second Nord, Rolff Stone-Fist, uses. It's very creepy. Brunwulf Free-Winter also claims that Ulfric does not trust "what he calls, outsiders" [19:35]. "The Gray Quarter's not much to look at now, but it wasn't always so bad" [20:04]. "Forgotten alley" [20:35]. These two quotes imply a decline in recent years. Ulfric has been the Jarl for 18 years, more than enough time to allow things to fall into disarray. Futhermore, I understand that the Red Year happened almost 200 years before Skyrim, but again, there are zero ways to advance in a society that won't let you live outside of a slum. I feel like you're turning a blind eye to the other Dunmeri quotes and the facts about the city. Also, Nepos the Nose's quote: "We drove the Nords out of the Reach in a great uprising. Then Ulfric and his men came. Those of us who didn't run were executed, except for myself, my king, and a handful of others." This totally implies that Ulfric and his milita were the one who did the killing. Reachmen kicked the Nords out --> Ulfric and his men came --> People who didn't leave were executed. But, even still, I did say to take "The Bear of Markarth" and "'Madmen' of the Reach" with a grain of salt. The Jarl obviously did not want to stab Ulfric in the back but what was he supposed to do? Start the Second Great War over Markarth? Stabbing him in the back is a tough way to put it. It was necessary to avoid an all out war.
@@theemerdareloth No, Beyln Hlaalu. he owns a farm. Hlaalu farm. and employs an elderly nord woman. did the nords just give him a farm? or did he perhaps earn enough to purchase it? As you say dark elves can live for centuries, he might well have been employed there as a laborer before his employee was even born. if they are the only ones living in the quarter and the quarter has gone to shit, how is it the fault of those not living in the quarter? they were given the land and buildings therein, and they were given the right to assemble their own guard force, they seemingly haven't taken it. it is *their* quarter to do with as they please. if they had formed a guard and it had been disbanded by Ulfric you might have some grounds there. so far as we know it is just decay due to two centuries of lack of maintenance. are those two drunks Ulfric? is he supposed to personally leave the palace where he is strategizing a war to go beat their asses like i do when i walk in the gate? he never personally demonstrates any indication of racism, certainly less than the norm for his culture. Galmar is racist as fuck, but Ulfric can only be considered racist in that he has not changed the system for the better. nor does Brunwulf Free-winter i might add, with his excuse being that it would upset the local racists. As for Nepos, Ulfric and his men came... in service to Jarl Hrolfdir. there is no instance outside of the book attributing the warcrimes to Ulfric, and indeed, it would be rather convenient if the *Imperial* Jarl that stabs Ulfric in the back who ordered said crimes had his image cleaned by the official imperial account and "was simply a poor man helpless to stop the rampaging racist in his city." Ulfric isn't particularly racist. he is focusing his attention elsewhere.
@MFenix206 Ahh, sorry, I wasn't thinking of Hlaalu farm, my bad. Regardless, I don't agree with the way you view this at all. I'll just say one thing. Ulfric is the Jarl of Windhelm. The Gray Quarter is not a sovereign nation. It is in Windhelm. The Dunmer are in Windhelm are citizens of Windhelm, and therefore, Ulfric is their Jarl. It is his duty as a jarl to look out for his citizens. If the city you lived in stopped having police officers patrol your streets and started rolling waste down into your neighborhood, do you think it would be easy to recover from that? And when you ask the mayor of your city to take a look, he ignores you, and turns a blind eye to your troubles. I really have nothing more to say about this.
@@theemerdareloth You have a fiar point about them being Ulfric's responsibility. they are also their *own* responsibility. empathy is a virtue, but unguided by analysis is easily manipulated. I have a great deal of empathy for Suvaris Atheron. she takes shit from Rolf and Agrenor (two drunks) for being a dunmer during the day, and takes shit from Ambarys Rendar (a business owner and pillar of the local dunmer community) during the night for working for nords. On contrast I have little for Ambarys Rendar, who also has this to say about nord women being murdered. "None of that matters to me. Until someone takes a Dunmer, I let Windhelm deal with its own problems." "Apparently some Nord women were murdered. Not sure why I should care." So a couple drunks of no repute harass the dunmer indiscriminately, and the reputable dunmer harass the dunmer who are willing to try and drag themselves out of the enclave the dunmer are just as bad as the nords, the only difference is who has the power in this dynamic. perhaps both are condemnable and not just one group? perhaps the situation can't be fixed until both change?
@@theemerdareloth The situation of the Dunmer is lamentable, but so is kind of the situation for everyone in Windhelm. Things seem really bad at the moment, I think Ulfric definitely deserves some blame, it was his FATHER that ran Windhelm before him. He's been through a lot, I think relatively he's a lot less racist than many nord's & I think he needs to do more for his subjects. I think genuinely if he wins the Civil War that conditions will improve & he will help the grey quarter. I think as well the legends card of Ulfric that implies he wins the war presents him as somewhat noble as well. I think that Ulfric will likely canonically win the war personally as well, with all the themes of decay & the lack of detail on the Mede dynasty, everything seems genuinely like the empire will fall.
@@dutchpatriot17 honestly don't remember any names at this point, it's been several years but many of them always either snort at you or call you n'wah, it is effected by your personality value but I don't think that's all there is to it because I've raised the personality skill and not gotten better treatment. Argonians and Kajhiit seem to always have positive disposition with Nords in Morrowind, as far as I can tell.
@@jamesgrenier8856 The point that I was getting at is that the Dunmer of Windhelm are cosmopolitan and in support of Imperial culture. Those were the abolitionists in Morrowind. The pro-Hlaalu Dunmer. The Twin Lamps Dunmer. They believe in hard work and fair treatment, rather than the Dunmer who oppose anyone and are always bitter, like the Camonna Tong, or the Redoran. Windhelm's Dunmer are treated unfairly, and that treatment has no justification. They're asking for guard patrols, for a Jarl who listens to their plights, and for their streets to be clean. They're not asking for golden thrones, they're not asking for a position at court, they want the bare minimum of civil society.
I feel like Ulfric is one of many characters who seem to have a lot going on and potential for an amazing story to tell, but are just let down by the piss poor writing at Bethesda.
Can I actually note that if Brynjolf becomes Jarl he also does not allow the argonians in out of their own safety & this seems to be the same for Ulfric? With hostilty's between the Argonian's, Dunmer & Nords & Argonians being an incredibly tiny minority? I can believe the hesitation.
@@dutchpatriot17Tell that to Suvaris Atheron who starves them off in her journal. Or to that argonian who hates you when you aren’t one of them. Everyone in Windhelm is responsible for this situation, not just the Nords.
@@dutchpatriot17true the dunmer enslaved the argonians for generations, and the argonians have spent a long time slaughtering them in return. I can't imagine any possible issues having refugees from the dunmer homeland and masses of migrant argonian labourers freely mixing in the alleys of Windhelm.
@@michaeldayman682 1. Morrowind outlawed slavery a decade before the Red Year. 2. Slavery was already on the wane in Morrowind since 3E 427. 3. Slavery was already uncommon in the territories of the Hlaalu and Redoran. 4. The pro-Empire Dunmer in Morrowind were opposed to slavery. 5. The Hlaalu and Dres are explicitly stated to have released their beastfolk slaves. 6. The Dunmer of Windhelm are largely pro-Empire, again, a feat typically seen among those who also oppose slavery. 7. There is zero evidence that the Dunmer in Windhelm were ever involved in slavery. 8. If slavery and such were the cause, the decree would have been written much sooner, rather than all the way in 4E 186 (or later). Riften has no such decree despite comparable numbers of Dunmer. 9. The Dunmer are never listed as the reason why the Argonians are barred from the city. Your racist stereotypes are not counterarguments.
I will say, all things considered, aside from politics, motivations and choices. Ulfric being a racist is for me the most bland of insults once can label on him. Like..... One needs to take bit a single look at the History of Tamriel, and notice that everyone is. Nords hate elves since ancient times (and for good reasons) The current Altmer want to anihilate or enslave all humans and treat Bosmer and Khajit who supposedly are part of their new Aldmeri dominion, as nothing more than servants. Dunmer have millenia of Slavery, Argonians hate all oursiders (also for good reasons) Bretons have a history of hating orcs (everyone seems against orcs honestly) and fight each other just as much as they fight Hillmen and orcs. The Redguards Hate the elves (also for good reason) and have been killing each other for generations too depending on their affiliation. And so on. Its really a looooong history of everyone hating everyone xd
That's true, but what really gets me with Ulfric is the directness of it. As the Jarl of Windhelm, he has a responsibility to his citizens, and dumping garbage into the Gray Quarter and not providing guard patrols to people really irritates me on a personal level. Yes, all Elder Scrolls races have some beef with another, but it's broad strokes. On a personal level, all races can coexist. Look at any guild throughout the series. There are multiple members of different races working together under a common cause. Ulfric had a responsibility to uphold as a leader, is my main point.
@@theemerdareloth Well its what slavers get, jokes aside. Any Mer that expects to be treated fairly in Windhelm, city of Ysgrammor THE Nord that went on a genocidal revenge campaign against the snow elves.....Well shit. Could aklso have gone to Ravenrock, at least thats a dunmer held city. I really cannot hold any simpathy for the Dunmer if I am honest. If they could they would probably take the Argonians at the dock captured and sold them back off in Morrowind. I will say sure, Ulfric could have acted differently.....But why? What in all his life somehow indicates that he would hiold any other regard for elves than all his ancestors? If anything the Great war would only have amplified his hatred for elves. Yes as a leader he has responsibility to his people. But that comes down to what you consider your people. A "Skyrim belongs to the Nords" guy will hardly care for the elves. Its a wonder alone he never kicked the elves out of the city from the get go.
@@sindrimyr5351 Bruh your entire line of arguing is based on racism. Also, the Dunmer outright state their lives got worse when Ulfric became Jarl, so no. Ulfric definitely played a role there.
@@dutchpatriot17 who would have thought a rebellion and war time makes things tougher for people. Again I find this good. A world so filled with racism, and Millenia of hatred don't just dissapear over night. If anything, the last Great war has reminded every human on Tamriel that the elves are out to end them. All I am saying is, yes Ulfric is a racist...But he doesn't stand out as one. Compared to Dunmer least of all XD
@@sindrimyr5351There's "tougher" and there is mistreatment. A guardforce that does not listen to their plights, and a Jarl who ignores their problems because he has nothing but disdain for them. There is nothing indicating nor implying Windhelm's Dunmer were mistreated before Ulfric became Jarl. Also "elves" don't want to end them. The Thalmor do. There is zero justification for the mistreatment of the Dunmer.
@@LiftandCoa First of all, the Thalmor wanted the civil war to continue in stalemate, not conclude with victory for either side. The Dragonborn bringing that about goes against their plans, so Ulfric is not a Thalmor puppet. Secondly, Hammerfell is doing just fine without the Empire, managing to expel the elves from within their own borders. There's no reason why Skyrim couldn't do the same, especially with the Dragonborn on their side. Thirdly, Ulfric knows very well who the real enemy is. After capturing Solitude, he immediately wants to switch gears to rebuilding Skyrim in order to fight the Thalmor. Defeating Tullius is just the first step in his goal of defying the demands that they made of the empire with the Concordat.
Dude you do you’re weakening humanity right? Like if a United human empire couldn’t deafest the Thalmer what can three human states do? We’re all weaker now, for example Skyrim relies on food imports from Cyrodiil meaning in the event of Skyrim independence, Skyrim will enter a famine a few months after the Ulfric becomes high king. Speaking of Ulfric you do understand that he’s brainwashed by the Thalmer right? It’s actually the main reason why this rebellion began in the first place, who’s to say that in the event of Skyrim independence and Ulfric crowning himself high king that when the elf’s decide to enslave humanity Ulfric ‘coincidentally’ suffers an aneurysm or goes missing? We have no idea what else they might have done to his mind. I saw your comment about hammerfel btw, that’s not an accurate prediction. Hammerfel was a minor front the Thalmer were more interested in the capital than they were about the redgaurds and so only sent not even a third of there forces. Skyrim on the other hand could easily be faced against the Thalmer entirely, after all who’s to say they have to enslave all of humanity at once? Why not first start with what’s left of the empire and then move on to the smaller weaker states? It’s not like they can help each other given how the logistics would be almost impossible given there distance and may not even want to help each other either given all there issues.
People read into the "asset" thing too much. He is described as such SOLELY because of his civil war involvement, which is bleeding humanity dry of resources and men, obviously a good thing for the Thalmor (who are on very thin ice after the concordate btw, it was not a decisive victory and the Thalmor are taking a page out of Sun Tzu's book and trying to appear strong when they were struggling almost as much as the Empire) The Stormcloak victory in Skyrim is a lethal blow to the Dominion, who will undoubtedly be hunted down alongside their spies (good luck hiding in a land that views all non-nords with suspicion). Redguards kicking out the elves in the west, Nords crushing them in the North, who knows what other provinces could be inspired to fight back instead of "biding their time" like the empire supposedly is? (Btw thr Thalmor want the heat to stay low to avoid another fight)
Asset (intelligence) There are different categories of assets, including people who: - Do not even know they are being used (so called "useful idiots": A useful idiot or useful fool is a pejorative description of a person, suggesting that the person thinks they are fighting for a cause without fully comprehending the consequences of their actions, and who does not realize they are being cynically manipulated by the cause's leaders or by other political players.)
Ever since I was a little kid playing Skyrim I always loved the stormcloaks, mainly because of the rebel aspect and the well written characters. Ulfric, galmar, and Ralof!
I think your educational background in history shows in your videos and gives them sort of a polish, not found in some other Skyrim lore videos, well done.😊
Ulfric Stormcloak | The Bear of Markarth, Torygg's Usurper, Thalmor Puppet, and Grey Beard Heretic. Ulfric is ambitious, too ambitious. The only reason why the Thalmor is in Skyrim is because of the Bear of Markarth incident, we don't know what they did to him when he was imprisoned by the Thalmor in the Great War before the Concordat but they definitely had to have messed with his mind somehow. Shoot they could have anticipated the Concordat and were playing things to their advantage by directing Ulfric against the Concordat itself. Everything he does seems to benefit the Thalmor. Torygg would have gone with him had Ulfric just spoke that they needed independence from the Empire, Ulfric doesn't care much for tradition considering that he trampled upon the values of the Grey Beards and of the Jarls. Ulfric's words are empty while his actions show everything.
in-game dialogue from the shopkeeper and solitude says that torygg just one of the party and entertain his wife who loves the Thalmor, that he wasn’t a good king, and all he did is talk about how great the Empire is. Yeah, sure. he definitely would’ve declared independence from the empire, considering all of this. even if he did, what is he gonna do against the Empire and the thalmor considering he’s an inexperienced boy. true, ulfric left the greybeards… because the high elves were killing everyone. also, Ulfric calls for a Moot after the war. he doesn’t name himself king, so don’t lie
31:19 The juxtaposition of how most Stormcloak supporters frame the Torygg-Ulfric duel as fair combat and the fact that Roggvir was executed in terms of “you helped a man get away with murder” I think really lends to the fact that the Empire, despite being a ruling body of Skyrim for a near unfathomable amount of time, has had its hand now finally forced in diminishing the presence of Nordic culture BECAUSE of these wars. Maybe. I know there’s also the fact that the OG Nordic Gods fell into obscurity but that was simply a matter of religious syncretism and not forced religious persecution iirc. Very interesting take on Ulfric Stormcloak. Good video 👍
I honestly have a hard time picking which side of the civil war I personally support because it’s not my world and I as a player am entirely dis attached to the struggles of said world. I think both sides make very good points just as many blind spots in their arguments. Plus my preference usually depends on what my current charters views are, After all it is a role playing.
Hey, just found this channel. I completely exhausted content from another channel lol so I found this one. I love that this channel seems to take these lore conversations seriously instead of constantly making jokes or pushing false information that seems common in the TES community. Anyways, I know this video is a at least a year old but after digging DEEP into all aspects of the Skyrim Civil War, this is my view.... Basically, I'll side with the Empire. I personally like the Stormcloaks more though. I believe that what the Stormcloaks are fighting for is right and justified 110%. However, I feel that the Empire would bring greater stability to the region (the province of Skyrim). I can appreciate both sides and see the justification in both sides.
I read the book Dunmer of Skyrim and it really makes it seem that hate the Nords have for the Dunmer isn’t one sided. Hell one Dunmer says that he hope the serial killer in windhelm should keep killing Nords and that he would only dislike said killer if he attacked a Dunmer.
When I was younger, I quite disliked Ulfric, however, as I become older, I understand his reasoning more. Still disagree with him and think he is out for power, but he wants that power to change the world for the better as he understands it.
I know we can only go off of what info we have, but I would be skeptical of whatever Sybille Stentor says. We see from the Potema quest that she's comfortable lying to the court, putting Skyrim in danger of a resurrected arch necromancer. She's clearly a vampire who feeds on prisoners in the Castle Dour dungeons. She might cast shade on those lesser vampires she sends you out to kill, but how much of that is cover for herself.
@@tynytian She also contradicts herself. In one line of dialogue she says that if Ulfric had asked, Torygg might have declared independence from the Empire, but she also says that Torygg wasn't ready to let the Empire fall apart.
i belive Ulfric whoal heartely belives in his cause and is a honerable man, however he is wrong, short sighted, and the instigator for the Civil War, if Ulfric did not Instigate then there would be no struggle and the nords could worship Talos even if the official stance was that it is banned
According to UESP this is what Tullius and Elenwen talk about in the beginning Elenwen: "General Tullius, stop! By the authority of the Thalmor, I'm taking custody of these prisoners." Tullius: "Ambassador Elenwen. I guessed that you wouldn't want to miss an execution."' Tullius: "Do you know my guest, Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm, once a candidate to Skyrim's throne, traitor of the Empire?" Tullius: "If you want Ulfric alive, you'll have to take him by force!" Elenwen: "You're making a terrible mistake..." Tullius: "I will put an end to this rebellion here and now, rightfully in my position as Legion General." Elenwen: "Your Emperor will hear of this. By the terms of the White-Gold Concordat, I operate with full Imperial authority!" Tullius: "All right, let's go."
Ulfric is the ultimate posing of the question Skyrim poses to the player. "Is the survival of your culture, your way of life, and your people more valuable than the safety and security of others?" and for Ulfric that answer is yes. Skyrim is a game that got to release before the huge influx of modern politics and ethics into fantasy games and worlds, Ulfric is maybe not a Nord Supremacist but he's certainly not a fan of Non-Nords being in Skyrim. The Empire that once allowed the Nordic culture and people to thrive has now betrayed them, in his eyes, at every possible turn. It's a wonderfully privileged world we live in where most of us who play these games will never feel like our people and culture are at risk, and I think that's what makes Ulfric so fascinating. Discussing Ulfric becmoes uncomfortable with people, because it leads to the question "If I understand and believe his actions are justified, I will be branded as someone who is racist" and that thought alone makes so many people refuse to even consider the Stormcloak ideas. Ulfric asks the Nords a very simple question, will you let your culture, family, and nation die, or will you stand up against the forces that have handed your home to someone else's rule, even if the world hates you for it?
While I’ve come around to the idea that the Empire of this franchise isn’t necessarily evil, I do still feel for the Stormcloaks; moreso for Ulfric. I feel like Ulfric always knew what he wanted, but never knew how to achieve it; and by the time he killed High King Torygg, it was too late to back out. Now he’s caught in a Catch 22. He’s on this path now. If he commits, all the killing that’s already happened would have been worth something, but at the cost of becoming just as bad as the Thalmor. Or he gives up immediately and every life he’s taken is in vain, but the Thalmor are harmed in the process. There’s no good answer here.
I loved how bethesda wrote ulfric. A well written character like ulfric is always a plus in games but dude was a tryhard. (I know this sounds bias but listen) -he was taught the way of the voice by the greybeards. As TLB we learn that the way of the voice is very pacifist. The fact that he uses to overkill torygg(he couldve won easily even without the shout) was a huge disrespect to TWO nord tradition. All these sweaty disrepecting to the tradition he still got surrendered and got caught in his HOMELAND By a foreign general whos just arrived. So to me he was a cringe tryhard. Bro used sweaty hacks and still surrendered when cornered. Edit:spelling
I think a lot of people use him to express their hatred of the stormcloaks Personally I don't hate him, I just think he's an unwilling pawn in the Thalmor's schemes
I think the stormcloaks may be rebels but all they want is independence and to rule themselves and that is what makes them heroes they fight for what they believe in and that's why they're heroes
If you really think about it ulfric stormcloak suffered quite a lot he was promised the freedom to worship Talos he ended up jailed he had to write his father's eulogy out of a prison all this man wants is Independence to rule his country no wonder why he finally burst into anger and tears
I can say two things: Ulfric is one the dumbest video game characters ive ever met. Doesnt understand what a peace treaty is (or how they work) nor that you sabotage yourself trying to kill the only friend you have in the ACTUAL fight against the actual enemy. Which already whooped both your buttocks. Im sure the smartest idea is attacking the wrong people for that. Its trying to beat the messenger.
He's very short sighted and thinks small. He's not thinking about the empire as a whole, his quote about not bleeding for an empire that doesn't bleed for Skyrim, more likely just as many imperials died in the great war as any. And he's uneducated and likely easily manipulated. Thalmor considered him an asset probably because they implanted a mole amongst him that influenced his decision to declare war against the empire and further destabilize the region.
Great vid, I always thought that he was an honorable man so once he agreed to the gag he had to keep it on for honors sake, my opinion. Take care 😎 🤘 🍻
So I think the video was great, this is definitely a good first foray into video essays. Though I do have to disagree with some of the analysis of Ulfric Stormcloak. Ulfric is a bad leader. He is a charismatic leader, but ultimately he is a very poor military commander, governor, and statesman. And we can see this easily and readily when we hold him up against his counterpart in General Tullius. For one, anyone getting captured 3 times is a bad look, I know that two of those times aren't necessarily anything he could have prevented other than by not doing the things he did that led up to his capture, but nonetheless its a bad look. However the third time shows that he was outgeneraled easily by General Tullius within the Imperial Generals first few months in Skyrim, this already sets it up that when it comes to Generalship, Ulfric is massively outclassed as Tullius pulled off his ambush with a token force and minimal casualties on both sides. I know that for the playable part of the civil war they both have the same gameplan but that is most certainly laziness on the side of Bethesda. When we see Ulfric in Windhelm for the first time and many other times, we see him doubting himself, which isn't on its own bad, but it shows Galmar basically gassing him up, hell it could even come to the point of just glazing his ego. It shows that he is unsure of himself and requires someone else to build him up to take decisive action. But it also shows something that I think people often overlook, that Ulfric has a very fragile ego. Like we talk about him being an egomaniac and people argue against this saying he believes in what he says, and I do agree with that. But his ego is very fragile which is why he requires constant building up by Galmar and the others around him, and I think that if Ulfric were to be genuinely criticized he would shatter on impact. Contrast this with General Tullius. General Tullius is gruff, doesn't understand Nords or their culture, and is kind of an asshole. All of these things are true. But he displays many signs of healthy military leadership, I will be leaning on my experience here, having served for 5 years in the Army, but if I were to pick a leader that I was going to follow, I would pick Tullius. Every time. Ulfric will get far more men killed to accomplish his goals than any good he will ever do for Skyrim. We see Tullius fighting a war with limited manpower and resources, and being successful at it. We see him arguing with his Officers Staff, Rikke, constantly, but he concedes to her opinions and knowledge almost every time even when he himself doesn't necessarily agree. He bristles at criticism, but he accepts it and moves forward. Is he kind of a prick? Yeah, but hes a General, hes here to win a war, hes not here to hold your hand. He sees the big picture for what it truly is. Now dont think that I am bashing Ulfric just to bash him, while I disagree with his general nationalist sentiments because in my opinion either the realms of man reunite and fight the Dominion together, or they get conquered separately, even if they form an alliance it will not have the strength or cohesion that the united Empire did. Even the Redguard who people mistakenly assume held the Thalmor off on their own did not. When the Redguard refused to accept the territory concessions of the White-Gold the Emperor declared the Legions stationed in Hammerfell to be Invalid. Think about what that means, he didn't recall them, he said they were no longer part of the Imperial Legions. Meaning they could stay and fight alongside the Redguard and while there isn't any further proof of this being the case, I don't see why they wouldn't. Ulfric claims the Empire didn't fight or bleed for Skyrim, but it did. It was southern Cyrodiil that took the brunt of the Thalmor onslaught and the Empire mounted a heroic defense against an enemy who had incredibly unfair advantages, if we take Legends as canon. The Empire did not in any meaningful way enforce the Talos ban and was biding its time. Ulfric is shortsighted, he cannot see past his own nose, let alone the whole tapestry and all of its moving parts, where the Empire is playing the long game. The people playing the long game will be the ones who win in the end, those who only see the short game will inevitably lose. We see Ulfric maltreating the Dunmer in his own city, which is really dumb because if Skyrim became independent Morrowind would make a good ally, they have no love for the dominion. Ulfric nationalist rhetoric will alienate alot of people who sympathize with him and the Nords of Skyrim and would be more than willing to help. Not to mention Windhelm is a shithole. He has massive racial tensions brewing on his streets and he does nothing about it. A serial killer roaming and the response from the guards is flaccid at best. Rumors of a kid summoning the Dark Brotherhood and not even an investigation. Windhelm is due to fall apart at any given second and all he is concerned about is winning his war and becoming High King. How can I expect him to run a country, when he can barely run a city? I sympathize with Ulfric. His life is tragic and traumatic. He was captured, tortured, beaten, gaslit into believing he caused the loss of the Imperial City. Then through his own actions he caused the Thalmor to have Justification to launch inquisitions within Skyrim and to punish and torture Talos worshippers who were being left in peace by the Empire. Then was captured again, tortured, humiliated, and his father died. He's a great warrior, but he is a battered and broken man who is blaming everyone else for the consequences of his own actions.
There is one additional thing about Windhelm and why Argonians and Dunmer are living in different parts of it... Shortly after the Red Year, a massive Argonian invasion happened in Morrowind, with them losing many cities, including their Capitol of Mournhold. So, not only is there aggressive tendencies between Nords and Dunmer, but also between the Dunmer and Argonians. To the point that actual civil unrest could absolutely be an issue if they lived in the same parts of the city. That said, I do lean towards what the only Altmer in the city has about the Dunmer and living in the Gray Quarter. As you, as a Dunmer or Argonian, can not only join the Stormcloaks, but also buy Hjerim (despite there supposedly being a law about Argonians not being allowed to live in the city walls), and while you could chalk this up to an excuse/exempt because of gameplay, the dialogue Galmar has if you're not a Nord does suggest that those racist authors are possibly more outliers than the actual rule. It's largely a shame they don't discredit said authors; likely don't care to read or have the time to read those books.
@@theemerdareloth Less of those Dunmer are refugees from Morrowind is my only thought. There's also the fact the Riften Jarl is honestly one of the worst ones in Skyrim, as despite being called "Law-Giver", she barely does anything to deal with the lawlessness in her hold, so if there is racial tensions in her city, there's a high chance she's done little to do about it. Remember, the cities we do experience in the game are much, much, much smaller than what they actually are in lore, so there's very likely things we don't see.
@@Practitioner_of_Diogeneshe Dunmer in Riften are refugees same as those in Windhelm. Ulfric's mistreatment of the Dunmer and Argonians has no excuse and has nothing to do with the Red Year. As for Galmar, he literally mistrusts anyone who isn't an Imperial or Nord born in Skyrim. He sends us off to kill an ice wraith and expects us to fail. We are also only able to purchase Hjerim if we're Ulfric's bootlicker - Ulfric's the only Jarl to award Thanehood based on civil war participation.
@@dutchpatriot17But the Dunmer of Riften have intergrated unlike in Windhelm and you can’t blame Ulfric for this because they have been living for 2 centuries.
Ulfric os straight up a Thalmor agent and ive killed him everytime. Squashing the rebellion and unifying the empire is the first step to rebuildong them empire. As well as killing the the emporer and paving the way for the proper bloodline to reclaim the throne with the amulet of kings.
You say in this video you can't imagine a man who was captured and tortured by the aldmeri dominion wouldn't do their bidding. If they turned him, that's exactly what he would do. You break a man you can control the man.
@JustFeral except we know his not doing there bidding because he's actually trying to win. The people who hate ulfric love to reference the thalmor documents but those same documents say that ulfric absolutely should not be allowed win and that only a stale mate is acceptable
"I fight for their wives and children, whose name they whispered in their dying breathe" okay? Why is sofia still homeless in Windhelm then? Forgot about her? Or just dont care that her dad died for you and she needs to sell flowers to survive?
my dragonborn acheiving chim and gaining memories of the nerevarine and all the times he was called an N'wah by the very people he helped save from daddy dagoth. DB-this is what you swits deserves
I think though his cause may be honorable (debatable) hes definitely got some sort of hero complex. He’s dangerous and not the best for Skyrim. Lets says he wins when the Dominion comes back and starts trying to conquer hammerfell and Cyrodiil will Ulfric go to the aid of these. I really doubt it i think hes much more likely to sit back and watch trying to see what scraps he can get
The Empire was in bad shape and needed a peace treaty, but so was the Aldmeri Dominion. The fact that they were willing to come to the negotiation table proves it. Once the empire regained control of the imperial city, Titus Meade had all the momentum and had the Dominion on the back foot. He then decided not to actually negotiate but instead to give in to all the demands the Dominion stated before the wars started, making thousands of deaths completely pointless. He gave up Hammerfell to the Dominon sacrificing the Reguards for a temporary peace with thr High Elves The Redguards showed how week the Domion was when they, alone, kicked the Dominion out of all of Hammerfell shorty after. And finaly, Titus Meade is allowing a foreign government to police, imprison , and exectute imperial citizens. Ulfric saw all of this and decied that it was best for Skyrim to wade the storm alone rather than stay on the sinking ship that is the Empire.
General Tullius wantet to bring Ulfric into the Imperial City to the Emperor. Elenween were only in Helgen to save and free Ulfric. Elenween treathens even Tullius. Tullius sinoly Tell here to shut up and that sge can stay watching how Ulfric gets executet. You can actually hear that in game with a mod that restores cut content. Some imperial soy must have informed hin that the thalmor knew that they have captured Ulfric. Surely because of that Tullius decided to let Ulfric execute right now and there in Helgen.
Honestly knowing how the Dominion views Ulfric cemented my support of the imperials, because the Dominion wants humanity divided and weakened, and a free Skyrim would be too chaotic to help anyone but the Thalmor (via further destabilizing the realms of men, and arguably Morrowind)
Hey, I have a tullius’ conscription deck that I think you would absolutely love. I honestly think you can get to legend with it, it has a bit of RNG also to keep it exciting! Is there some way I can share it
I agree with Ulfric full heartedly, but Ulfric winning the civil war is exactly what the Thalmor want, so I side with the Empire. My hatred for Altmer is greater than my sympathy for Ulfric. Edit: I've since changed my mind on this. I see the reasoning behind siding with the Stormcloaks now.
@@KamikaziSpud Yes, they want the civil war to last as long as possible, but if it were to end, they would definitely want Ulfric to win because there'd be one less province that the Empire would have at their disposal in a second great war.
@hrafnagu9243 the thalmor dossier literally says that the storm cloaks can never be allowed to win Because they know that If skyrim seceeds then the empire will just use them as an independent ally like they did with the redguards
Skyrim is for the Nords and the name Stormcloak is fire to say the least especially his name being that and he actually knows to use the Thu'um and learning the Way of the Voice which is a bit prophetic to say the least. I have been on his side since Day one as I always felt it was the right thing to do and I like Ralof more than Hadvar
I just want to add something that was left out of the video. Ulfric used a thum in a duel, he could not have done it. Thums are taught by the greybeards as a way to worship the gods, they are only allowed to be used in combat (by their nordic culture) in times of great need (AKA the great war), Ulfric using the shout in a combat showcases his hypocrisy regarding the nordic culture since he wants everyone to be bind by it except himself. I belive that's why the deceased high king questions Ulfric's honor in sovengard.
@@jam34786 Why, nothing will have changed, it will still show he was a Thalmor asset, and in the intel world asset means an agent. His 'rebellion' was clearly masterminded by the Thalmor, no one but them benefits from it.
@ronwilson9815 incorrect interpretation of asset. Ulfric is not a Thalmor agent. Those terms are not equivalent. Thalmor are definitely the biggest beneficiaries from a destabilized Skyrim, though.
Ah yes, another "not-a-lore-channel" snowly becomming a lore channel 🙉 Rly enjoyed this vid and your other lore videos, honestly I didnt even know there was an elder scrolls card game lol. The art is phenominal though
I read the book Dunmer of Skyrim and it really makes it seem that hate the Nords have for the Dunmer isn’t one sided. Hell one Dunmer says that he hope the serial killer in windhelm should keep killing Nords and that he would only dislike said killer if he attacked a Dunmer.
I increased the volume of parts of the video that I thought needed it the most. The original video is still up, so you can think of this as a remastered version of sorts. Not perfect by any means, but I'm working with the tools I have available to me. I hope this is easier to listen to. I'll leave a few links here for everyone to follow through on.
Original Video: ua-cam.com/video/VFTRBGcu4Ro/v-deo.html
Ulfric Tie-In Deck: ua-cam.com/video/HxwB4ahKTRU/v-deo.html
Much better! 👌
One note about the Grey Quarter and Docks of Windhelm that I’ve heard: while it’s true that there’s some fairly significant racism among the Nords directly ruled by Ulfric, it’s not like the local Dunmer population is exactly reaching across the aisle.
The Player is fully capable of joining the Stormcloaks as a Dunmer, and a freaking _Altmer_ was able to ingratiate herself enough to become a somewhat successful merchant. The Nords of Windhelm are racist, but if you put in the work and prove yourself to them, they’ll accept your presence (if begrudgingly). And all we personally witness the Dunmer of the Grey Quarter do is complain. I’ll grant that Ulfric could spare some thought to his capital city as a whole, but I understand that he has to focus on the war to make sure he doesn’t get all his troops killed.
As for the Docks, there’s no good explanation as to why. I’ve heard that a good way to fix this problem is to use the history between Dunmer and Argonians as the reason why. The Dunmer came first, and letting the Argonians mingle would be flirting with a potential riot between the two populations (it wasn’t so long ago that the Dunmer would enslave the Argonians, among other species).
I think he is both honestly, yes 100% a rebel. But he was fighting for the ideals and traditions of the Empire, The Great War was completely pointless, but I don't think that the Empire had much of a choice. It was going to happen either way.
I love that you approach elder scrolls lore with the seriousness of a historian, it really scratches the elder scrolls obsession itch in my brain
The conversation at the start of the game between Elenwen & Tulius involved Elenwen trying to call off the execution. But Tulius refused to which she started threatening consequences & stuff. But he was apparently ignoring her demands to proceed with the execution
Gigachad Tulliud fr
@@nonso3396 weird they couldn’t ignore demands of talos worship in skyrim tho
Cuz they was kinda forced lol
@@nonso3396 yet did an innocent bystander and a random Stormcloak first
@@firenze6478that fairly common, to behead the leader last, usually this happened in history as a final punishment before you die, to see your comrades die before you. and to be fair no one would have expected a dragon straight out of myth to come out the sky. as for the pc i mean its just unfortunate timing, is the pc truly an innocent bystander? im pretty sure we illegally cross the boarder to skyrim and get caught up in this mess
I played Skyrim, but never interacted with civil war. I was more involved with the guild system. You know where you once became a novice in a guild, the guildmaster starts rethinking his life choices.
The Civil War, gameplay wise, is very undercooked. It could've been much more.
@theemerdareloth that's putting it lightly. It felt very lackluster to me
It's very code intensive and suffered from a lot of cut content
Dude do the civil war quest
@@balabannicolai1293 FOR THE NORDS. REVOLUTION BABY stormcloaks ftw
I do also genuinely feel that Ulfric feels like an incredibly tragic character at times, I like genuinely like the ambiguity & a lot of the things you can learn about him.
in my opinion Ulfric is not a guy who will stay in a tent and make a strategy on map to attack or ambush someone. I think he is a guy who will lead his men, he will be the head of his troops and he swings his sword on a battlefield rather than staying in Windhelm and makes orders for his generals.
Honestly, if the Imperial faction didn't start the game trying to decapitate me, I would have probably sided with them. The game really pushes you to sympathize with the Stormcloaks from the get go by literally having the Imperial faction try to kill you.
So true. I sided with the Stormcloaks on my first playthrough, but then I played Oblivion
It's so nice to see a video on Ulfric that's unbiased 🖤
Thank you! I tried to be as unbiased as possible in the video.
I must congratulate you on having made one of the most politically unbiased videos on the subject 😅
Really cool to see this kind of video from a primarily TESL content creator too. Would love to see more of this content in the future.
Definitely a hero
Profile Picture checks out haha
@@theemerdareloth yeah lol, I love the legends card art for him, just a shame he's a bit tricky to build a deck around for him
one problem i have is you attributing the conditions of the dark elves to Ulfric. they entered the city some 180-190 years prior to the game more than a full century before Ulfric himself was born. they were given the snow quarter as it was called then as an enclave, and allowed to establish their own customs and guards. Morrowind was also granted the Island of Solsthiem for further refugees. There is no lore about when the Argonians on the docks arrived. in short the worst he can be accused of is maintaining a poor status-quo.
you also exclude the fact that a Dunmer owns a Farm outside the city and calls the other Dunmer too proud to integrate. A pair of High Elves own the Stable, a high elf runs the apothecary, and a High elf Merchant also declares the dunmer to be too proud. If ulfric had any cause to hate elves, it would be high elves, and yet they are all successful.
there are also dialogue references in Markarth that cast doubt on the veracity of "The bear of Markarth" Most of the alleged crimes committed in the city are attributed to "The Jarl" by Braig and Thonar's journal. Ulfric was not a Jarl at that time as his father was still alive. Nepos the nose states "We drove the Nords out of the Reach in a great uprising. Then Ulfric and his men came. Those of us who didn't run were executed, except for myself, my king, and a handful of others."
this does not say ulfric committed the crimes, merely that he and his men came and drove them out. though they may have been complicit in there enforcment.
As for Jarl Hrolfdir he was allegedly killed "negotiating" with forsworn "when that was still possible."
His son and the sitting Jarl says this when asked about the civil war. "It all started here. This rebellion. When the Empire lost the Reach during the Great War, we became desperate. We promised a group of Nord militia free worship in exchange for their help retaking the Hold. Then the Elves found out about it. We were forced to arrest all of them."
so The Jarl and his men agreed to Ulfric's terms, Ulfric succeeded, and then they stabbed him in the back at the first opportunity.
Okay, I'm sure this isn't the response you were looking for, but there's a lot to address here.
I said he is unbothered by the way they live and he does nothing to help them. He treats them like second class citizens, and I honestly don't think you can deny that. Ulfric denying guard patrols to a section of his citizens is a great example. "The filth flows downhill" is another example. [20:39]
In The United States during the segregation era, this was called de facto racism, as there were no official laws abiding racism, but it was allowed and somewhat expected of Caucasian citizens to treat African American citizens as lesser. So too with the Nords in Windhelm and the Dunmer.
You're forgetting too that the Altmer citizens chose to live in Windhelm. All of the Dunmer are refugees. They presumably didn't have much of anything when they left and they've had to create whole new lives. Dunmer can live to be very old, so I would assume that many of them have been living in the city since the Red Year and haven't been able to attain upward mobility on the social ladder to be able to move out of the city since they are confined to live in a singular quarter. Regardless of what Jarl was in charge, confining the Dunmer to a singular section of the city is beyond fucked up. I know it was gifted to them in the first place, but not allowing them to move out of there is cruel. And don't mention the farmer and the merchant. The merchant is allowed to sell his wears and then he goes home. The farmer is, still, not allowed inside the city.
Also, you're claiming that the other Dunmer aside from the farmer are too proud to "integrate?" Well, how are they even supposed to integrate when they are not allowed to leave the Gray Quarter? I also, just as a heads up, would not use the word integrate.
The farmer NPC I believe you're talking about is named Faryl Atheron and he's 1.) in the video and 2.) he never uses that word and 3.) he does not own a farm outside the city. There are two farms: Brandy-Mug and Hollyfrost. He works for Bulfrida Brandy-Mug. Regardless, the Dunmer traditions in Windhelm are present in only the appearance of a conerclub and some flags. This is like saying that an Indian-American family cannot open an Indian themed restaraunt and fly flags. These people are Dunmer, and not Nords, and that they should be allowed the human right to be proud of their culture.
Other completely horrible things that happen to the Dunmer in Windhelm:
The way those two men treat that Dunmer woman upon entering is inexcusable, and the number of comments I have seen defending this treatment is just bizarre to me. Here we have the use of a slur against Dunmer, "Grayskin," [19:14] and the threat of what sounds like breaking and entering followed by either physical or sexual (or both) abuse [19:23]. Really listen to the language the second Nord, Rolff Stone-Fist, uses. It's very creepy.
Brunwulf Free-Winter also claims that Ulfric does not trust "what he calls, outsiders" [19:35].
"The Gray Quarter's not much to look at now, but it wasn't always so bad" [20:04]. "Forgotten alley" [20:35]. These two quotes imply a decline in recent years. Ulfric has been the Jarl for 18 years, more than enough time to allow things to fall into disarray.
Futhermore, I understand that the Red Year happened almost 200 years before Skyrim, but again, there are zero ways to advance in a society that won't let you live outside of a slum.
I feel like you're turning a blind eye to the other Dunmeri quotes and the facts about the city.
Also, Nepos the Nose's quote: "We drove the Nords out of the Reach in a great uprising. Then Ulfric and his men came. Those of us who didn't run were executed, except for myself, my king, and a handful of others." This totally implies that Ulfric and his milita were the one who did the killing. Reachmen kicked the Nords out --> Ulfric and his men came --> People who didn't leave were executed. But, even still, I did say to take "The Bear of Markarth" and "'Madmen' of the Reach" with a grain of salt.
The Jarl obviously did not want to stab Ulfric in the back but what was he supposed to do? Start the Second Great War over Markarth? Stabbing him in the back is a tough way to put it. It was necessary to avoid an all out war.
@@theemerdareloth No, Beyln Hlaalu. he owns a farm. Hlaalu farm. and employs an elderly nord woman. did the nords just give him a farm? or did he perhaps earn enough to purchase it? As you say dark elves can live for centuries, he might well have been employed there as a laborer before his employee was even born.
if they are the only ones living in the quarter and the quarter has gone to shit, how is it the fault of those not living in the quarter? they were given the land and buildings therein, and they were given the right to assemble their own guard force, they seemingly haven't taken it. it is *their* quarter to do with as they please. if they had formed a guard and it had been disbanded by Ulfric you might have some grounds there. so far as we know it is just decay due to two centuries of lack of maintenance.
are those two drunks Ulfric? is he supposed to personally leave the palace where he is strategizing a war to go beat their asses like i do when i walk in the gate? he never personally demonstrates any indication of racism, certainly less than the norm for his culture. Galmar is racist as fuck, but Ulfric can only be considered racist in that he has not changed the system for the better. nor does Brunwulf Free-winter i might add, with his excuse being that it would upset the local racists.
As for Nepos, Ulfric and his men came... in service to Jarl Hrolfdir. there is no instance outside of the book attributing the warcrimes to Ulfric, and indeed, it would be rather convenient if the *Imperial* Jarl that stabs Ulfric in the back who ordered said crimes had his image cleaned by the official imperial account and "was simply a poor man helpless to stop the rampaging racist in his city."
Ulfric isn't particularly racist. he is focusing his attention elsewhere.
@MFenix206 Ahh, sorry, I wasn't thinking of Hlaalu farm, my bad. Regardless, I don't agree with the way you view this at all. I'll just say one thing.
Ulfric is the Jarl of Windhelm. The Gray Quarter is not a sovereign nation. It is in Windhelm. The Dunmer are in Windhelm are citizens of Windhelm, and therefore, Ulfric is their Jarl. It is his duty as a jarl to look out for his citizens. If the city you lived in stopped having police officers patrol your streets and started rolling waste down into your neighborhood, do you think it would be easy to recover from that? And when you ask the mayor of your city to take a look, he ignores you, and turns a blind eye to your troubles.
I really have nothing more to say about this.
@@theemerdareloth You have a fiar point about them being Ulfric's responsibility. they are also their *own* responsibility.
empathy is a virtue, but unguided by analysis is easily manipulated.
I have a great deal of empathy for Suvaris Atheron. she takes shit from Rolf and Agrenor (two drunks) for being a dunmer during the day, and takes shit from Ambarys Rendar (a business owner and pillar of the local dunmer community) during the night for working for nords.
On contrast I have little for Ambarys Rendar, who also has this to say about nord women being murdered.
"None of that matters to me. Until someone takes a Dunmer, I let Windhelm deal with its own problems."
"Apparently some Nord women were murdered. Not sure why I should care."
So a couple drunks of no repute harass the dunmer indiscriminately, and the reputable dunmer harass the dunmer who are willing to try and drag themselves out of the enclave
the dunmer are just as bad as the nords, the only difference is who has the power in this dynamic. perhaps both are condemnable and not just one group? perhaps the situation can't be fixed until both change?
@@theemerdareloth The situation of the Dunmer is lamentable, but so is kind of the situation for everyone in Windhelm. Things seem really bad at the moment, I think Ulfric definitely deserves some blame, it was his FATHER that ran Windhelm before him. He's been through a lot, I think relatively he's a lot less racist than many nord's & I think he needs to do more for his subjects.
I think genuinely if he wins the Civil War that conditions will improve & he will help the grey quarter. I think as well the legends card of Ulfric that implies he wins the war presents him as somewhat noble as well. I think that Ulfric will likely canonically win the war personally as well, with all the themes of decay & the lack of detail on the Mede dynasty, everything seems genuinely like the empire will fall.
Having played Morrowind as a Nord, I can confirm that the Dunmer in Windhelm deserve worse
As someone who plays a Breton in Daggerfall, I can only confirm that we are racist to ourselves.
I guess Bretons truly are based on the French 😂
At least they're having the Olympics!
Tell me the names of the Dunmer in TES V that you have encountered in TES III.
@@dutchpatriot17 honestly don't remember any names at this point, it's been several years but many of them always either snort at you or call you n'wah, it is effected by your personality value but I don't think that's all there is to it because I've raised the personality skill and not gotten better treatment. Argonians and Kajhiit seem to always have positive disposition with Nords in Morrowind, as far as I can tell.
@@jamesgrenier8856 The point that I was getting at is that the Dunmer of Windhelm are cosmopolitan and in support of Imperial culture.
Those were the abolitionists in Morrowind. The pro-Hlaalu Dunmer. The Twin Lamps Dunmer. They believe in hard work and fair treatment, rather than the Dunmer who oppose anyone and are always bitter, like the Camonna Tong, or the Redoran.
Windhelm's Dunmer are treated unfairly, and that treatment has no justification. They're asking for guard patrols, for a Jarl who listens to their plights, and for their streets to be clean. They're not asking for golden thrones, they're not asking for a position at court, they want the bare minimum of civil society.
I feel like Ulfric is one of many characters who seem to have a lot going on and potential for an amazing story to tell, but are just let down by the piss poor writing at Bethesda.
Can I actually note that if Brynjolf becomes Jarl he also does not allow the argonians in out of their own safety & this seems to be the same for Ulfric? With hostilty's between the Argonian's, Dunmer & Nords & Argonians being an incredibly tiny minority? I can believe the hesitation.
Brunwulf doesn't let them in because many Nords mistrust them because they share Ulfric's mindset.
@@dutchpatriot17Tell that to Suvaris Atheron who starves them off in her journal. Or to that argonian who hates you when you aren’t one of them. Everyone in Windhelm is responsible for this situation, not just the Nords.
@@teyrncousland7152Suvaris Atheron has nothing to do with it.
Also, yeah, 15 yeara of mistreatment can make people bitter. Shocking....
@@dutchpatriot17true the dunmer enslaved the argonians for generations, and the argonians have spent a long time slaughtering them in return.
I can't imagine any possible issues having refugees from the dunmer homeland and masses of migrant argonian labourers freely mixing in the alleys of Windhelm.
@@michaeldayman682 1. Morrowind outlawed slavery a decade before the Red Year.
2. Slavery was already on the wane in Morrowind since 3E 427.
3. Slavery was already uncommon in the territories of the Hlaalu and Redoran.
4. The pro-Empire Dunmer in Morrowind were opposed to slavery.
5. The Hlaalu and Dres are explicitly stated to have released their beastfolk slaves.
6. The Dunmer of Windhelm are largely pro-Empire, again, a feat typically seen among those who also oppose slavery.
7. There is zero evidence that the Dunmer in Windhelm were ever involved in slavery.
8. If slavery and such were the cause, the decree would have been written much sooner, rather than all the way in 4E 186 (or later). Riften has no such decree despite comparable numbers of Dunmer.
9. The Dunmer are never listed as the reason why the Argonians are barred from the city.
Your racist stereotypes are not counterarguments.
I will say, all things considered, aside from politics, motivations and choices. Ulfric being a racist is for me the most bland of insults once can label on him. Like..... One needs to take bit a single look at the History of Tamriel, and notice that everyone is.
Nords hate elves since ancient times (and for good reasons) The current Altmer want to anihilate or enslave all humans and treat Bosmer and Khajit who supposedly are part of their new Aldmeri dominion, as nothing more than servants. Dunmer have millenia of Slavery, Argonians hate all oursiders (also for good reasons) Bretons have a history of hating orcs (everyone seems against orcs honestly) and fight each other just as much as they fight Hillmen and orcs. The Redguards Hate the elves (also for good reason) and have been killing each other for generations too depending on their affiliation. And so on.
Its really a looooong history of everyone hating everyone xd
That's true, but what really gets me with Ulfric is the directness of it. As the Jarl of Windhelm, he has a responsibility to his citizens, and dumping garbage into the Gray Quarter and not providing guard patrols to people really irritates me on a personal level. Yes, all Elder Scrolls races have some beef with another, but it's broad strokes. On a personal level, all races can coexist. Look at any guild throughout the series. There are multiple members of different races working together under a common cause.
Ulfric had a responsibility to uphold as a leader, is my main point.
@@theemerdareloth Well its what slavers get, jokes aside. Any Mer that expects to be treated fairly in Windhelm, city of Ysgrammor THE Nord that went on a genocidal revenge campaign against the snow elves.....Well shit. Could aklso have gone to Ravenrock, at least thats a dunmer held city. I really cannot hold any simpathy for the Dunmer if I am honest. If they could they would probably take the Argonians at the dock captured and sold them back off in Morrowind.
I will say sure, Ulfric could have acted differently.....But why? What in all his life somehow indicates that he would hiold any other regard for elves than all his ancestors? If anything the Great war would only have amplified his hatred for elves.
Yes as a leader he has responsibility to his people. But that comes down to what you consider your people. A "Skyrim belongs to the Nords" guy will hardly care for the elves. Its a wonder alone he never kicked the elves out of the city from the get go.
@@sindrimyr5351 Bruh your entire line of arguing is based on racism.
Also, the Dunmer outright state their lives got worse when Ulfric became Jarl, so no. Ulfric definitely played a role there.
@@dutchpatriot17 who would have thought a rebellion and war time makes things tougher for people.
Again I find this good. A world so filled with racism, and Millenia of hatred don't just dissapear over night. If anything, the last Great war has reminded every human on Tamriel that the elves are out to end them. All I am saying is, yes Ulfric is a racist...But he doesn't stand out as one. Compared to Dunmer least of all XD
@@sindrimyr5351There's "tougher" and there is mistreatment. A guardforce that does not listen to their plights, and a Jarl who ignores their problems because he has nothing but disdain for them.
There is nothing indicating nor implying Windhelm's Dunmer were mistreated before Ulfric became Jarl.
Also "elves" don't want to end them. The Thalmor do.
There is zero justification for the mistreatment of the Dunmer.
Cool video, Ulfric is a cool dude. Cheers to having a free and Nordic Skyrim.
Talos guide you👍
Cheers to getting overrun by the Thalmor who want exactly that
@@LiftandCoa First of all, the Thalmor wanted the civil war to continue in stalemate, not conclude with victory for either side. The Dragonborn bringing that about goes against their plans, so Ulfric is not a Thalmor puppet.
Secondly, Hammerfell is doing just fine without the Empire, managing to expel the elves from within their own borders. There's no reason why Skyrim couldn't do the same, especially with the Dragonborn on their side.
Thirdly, Ulfric knows very well who the real enemy is. After capturing Solitude, he immediately wants to switch gears to rebuilding Skyrim in order to fight the Thalmor. Defeating Tullius is just the first step in his goal of defying the demands that they made of the empire with the Concordat.
@@LiftandCoa Thalmor gonna meet the spirit of Ysgramor and get smashed apart.
Talos guide you my man.
Dude you do you’re weakening humanity right? Like if a United human empire couldn’t deafest the Thalmer what can three human states do?
We’re all weaker now, for example Skyrim relies on food imports from Cyrodiil meaning in the event of Skyrim independence, Skyrim will enter a famine a few months after the Ulfric becomes high king.
Speaking of Ulfric you do understand that he’s brainwashed by the Thalmer right? It’s actually the main reason why this rebellion began in the first place, who’s to say that in the event of Skyrim independence and Ulfric crowning himself high king that when the elf’s decide to enslave humanity Ulfric ‘coincidentally’ suffers an aneurysm or goes missing? We have no idea what else they might have done to his mind.
I saw your comment about hammerfel btw, that’s not an accurate prediction. Hammerfel was a minor front the Thalmer were more interested in the capital than they were about the redgaurds and so only sent not even a third of there forces. Skyrim on the other hand could easily be faced against the Thalmer entirely, after all who’s to say they have to enslave all of humanity at once? Why not first start with what’s left of the empire and then move on to the smaller weaker states? It’s not like they can help each other given how the logistics would be almost impossible given there distance and may not even want to help each other either given all there issues.
People read into the "asset" thing too much. He is described as such SOLELY because of his civil war involvement, which is bleeding humanity dry of resources and men, obviously a good thing for the Thalmor (who are on very thin ice after the concordate btw, it was not a decisive victory and the Thalmor are taking a page out of Sun Tzu's book and trying to appear strong when they were struggling almost as much as the Empire)
The Stormcloak victory in Skyrim is a lethal blow to the Dominion, who will undoubtedly be hunted down alongside their spies (good luck hiding in a land that views all non-nords with suspicion). Redguards kicking out the elves in the west, Nords crushing them in the North, who knows what other provinces could be inspired to fight back instead of "biding their time" like the empire supposedly is? (Btw thr Thalmor want the heat to stay low to avoid another fight)
Asset (intelligence)
There are different categories of assets, including people who:
- Do not even know they are being used (so called "useful idiots": A useful idiot or useful fool is a pejorative description of a person, suggesting that the person thinks they are fighting for a cause without fully comprehending the consequences of their actions, and who does not realize they are being cynically manipulated by the cause's leaders or by other political players.)
Ever since I was a little kid playing Skyrim I always loved the stormcloaks, mainly because of the rebel aspect and the well written characters. Ulfric, galmar, and Ralof!
You channel has been a nice discovery, I will have to complete your catalog now.
I'll miss my beloved TES:L, from closed beta to closure.
I think your educational background in history shows in your videos and gives them sort of a polish, not found in some other Skyrim lore videos, well done.😊
Ulfric Stormcloak | The Bear of Markarth, Torygg's Usurper, Thalmor Puppet, and Grey Beard Heretic.
Ulfric is ambitious, too ambitious. The only reason why the Thalmor is in Skyrim is because of the Bear of Markarth incident, we don't know what they did to him when he was imprisoned by the Thalmor in the Great War before the Concordat but they definitely had to have messed with his mind somehow. Shoot they could have anticipated the Concordat and were playing things to their advantage by directing Ulfric against the Concordat itself. Everything he does seems to benefit the Thalmor. Torygg would have gone with him had Ulfric just spoke that they needed independence from the Empire, Ulfric doesn't care much for tradition considering that he trampled upon the values of the Grey Beards and of the Jarls. Ulfric's words are empty while his actions show everything.
@@johnlucas2838 I get a lot of Ulfric fan boys in my comments on this one so I'm glad to see this comment haha.
in-game dialogue from the shopkeeper and solitude says that torygg just one of the party and entertain his wife who loves the Thalmor, that he wasn’t a good king, and all he did is talk about how great the Empire is.
Yeah, sure. he definitely would’ve declared independence from the empire, considering all of this.
even if he did, what is he gonna do against the Empire and the thalmor considering he’s an inexperienced boy.
true, ulfric left the greybeards… because the high elves were killing everyone. also, Ulfric calls for a Moot after the war. he doesn’t name himself king, so don’t lie
I know this was posted a year ago but this was a great video, I hope to see more!
31:19 The juxtaposition of how most Stormcloak supporters frame the Torygg-Ulfric duel as fair combat and the fact that Roggvir was executed in terms of “you helped a man get away with murder” I think really lends to the fact that the Empire, despite being a ruling body of Skyrim for a near unfathomable amount of time, has had its hand now finally forced in diminishing the presence of Nordic culture BECAUSE of these wars. Maybe. I know there’s also the fact that the OG Nordic Gods fell into obscurity but that was simply a matter of religious syncretism and not forced religious persecution iirc.
Very interesting take on Ulfric Stormcloak. Good video 👍
I honestly have a hard time picking which side of the civil war I personally support because it’s not my world and I as a player am entirely dis attached to the struggles of said world. I think both sides make very good points just as many blind spots in their arguments. Plus my preference usually depends on what my current charters views are, After all it is a role playing.
That intro was epic
Hey, just found this channel. I completely exhausted content from another channel lol so I found this one. I love that this channel seems to take these lore conversations seriously instead of constantly making jokes or pushing false information that seems common in the TES community.
Anyways, I know this video is a at least a year old but after digging DEEP into all aspects of the Skyrim Civil War, this is my view....
Basically, I'll side with the Empire. I personally like the Stormcloaks more though. I believe that what the Stormcloaks are fighting for is right and justified 110%. However, I feel that the Empire would bring greater stability to the region (the province of Skyrim). I can appreciate both sides and see the justification in both sides.
I read the book Dunmer of Skyrim and it really makes it seem that hate the Nords have for the Dunmer isn’t one sided. Hell one Dunmer says that he hope the serial killer in windhelm should keep killing Nords and that he would only dislike said killer if he attacked a Dunmer.
When I was younger, I quite disliked Ulfric, however, as I become older, I understand his reasoning more. Still disagree with him and think he is out for power, but he wants that power to change the world for the better as he understands it.
I know we can only go off of what info we have, but I would be skeptical of whatever Sybille Stentor says. We see from the Potema quest that she's comfortable lying to the court, putting Skyrim in danger of a resurrected arch necromancer. She's clearly a vampire who feeds on prisoners in the Castle Dour dungeons. She might cast shade on those lesser vampires she sends you out to kill, but how much of that is cover for herself.
@@tynytian She also contradicts herself. In one line of dialogue she says that if Ulfric had asked, Torygg might have declared independence from the Empire, but she also says that Torygg wasn't ready to let the Empire fall apart.
i belive Ulfric whoal heartely belives in his cause and is a honerable man, however he is wrong, short sighted, and the instigator for the Civil War, if Ulfric did not Instigate then there would be no struggle and the nords could worship Talos even if the official stance was that it is banned
According to UESP this is what Tullius and Elenwen talk about in the beginning
Elenwen: "General Tullius, stop! By the authority of the Thalmor, I'm taking custody of these prisoners."
Tullius: "Ambassador Elenwen. I guessed that you wouldn't want to miss an execution."'
Tullius: "Do you know my guest, Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm, once a candidate to Skyrim's throne, traitor of the Empire?"
Tullius: "If you want Ulfric alive, you'll have to take him by force!"
Elenwen: "You're making a terrible mistake..."
Tullius: "I will put an end to this rebellion here and now, rightfully in my position as Legion General."
Elenwen: "Your Emperor will hear of this. By the terms of the White-Gold Concordat, I operate with full Imperial authority!"
Tullius: "All right, let's go."
Ulfric is the ultimate posing of the question Skyrim poses to the player. "Is the survival of your culture, your way of life, and your people more valuable than the safety and security of others?" and for Ulfric that answer is yes. Skyrim is a game that got to release before the huge influx of modern politics and ethics into fantasy games and worlds, Ulfric is maybe not a Nord Supremacist but he's certainly not a fan of Non-Nords being in Skyrim. The Empire that once allowed the Nordic culture and people to thrive has now betrayed them, in his eyes, at every possible turn. It's a wonderfully privileged world we live in where most of us who play these games will never feel like our people and culture are at risk, and I think that's what makes Ulfric so fascinating. Discussing Ulfric becmoes uncomfortable with people, because it leads to the question "If I understand and believe his actions are justified, I will be branded as someone who is racist" and that thought alone makes so many people refuse to even consider the Stormcloak ideas. Ulfric asks the Nords a very simple question, will you let your culture, family, and nation die, or will you stand up against the forces that have handed your home to someone else's rule, even if the world hates you for it?
While I’ve come around to the idea that the Empire of this franchise isn’t necessarily evil, I do still feel for the Stormcloaks; moreso for Ulfric.
I feel like Ulfric always knew what he wanted, but never knew how to achieve it; and by the time he killed High King Torygg, it was too late to back out. Now he’s caught in a Catch 22. He’s on this path now. If he commits, all the killing that’s already happened would have been worth something, but at the cost of becoming just as bad as the Thalmor. Or he gives up immediately and every life he’s taken is in vain, but the Thalmor are harmed in the process. There’s no good answer here.
Great video! More of this content would be great!
I loved how bethesda wrote ulfric. A well written character like ulfric is always a plus in games but dude was a tryhard. (I know this sounds bias but listen)
-he was taught the way of the voice by the greybeards. As TLB we learn that the way of the voice is very pacifist. The fact that he uses to overkill torygg(he couldve won easily even without the shout) was a huge disrespect to TWO nord tradition.
All these sweaty disrepecting to the tradition he still got surrendered and got caught in his HOMELAND By a foreign general whos just arrived.
So to me he was a cringe tryhard. Bro used sweaty hacks and still surrendered when cornered.
Edit:spelling
I love ulfric, I don’t get why so many people hate him.
His voice is really annoying
I think a lot of people use him to express their hatred of the stormcloaks
Personally I don't hate him, I just think he's an unwilling pawn in the Thalmor's schemes
I think the stormcloaks may be rebels but all they want is independence and to rule themselves and that is what makes them heroes they fight for what they believe in and that's why they're heroes
14:55 Literally sounds like Ulfric got on the mic.
Thank you!
If you really think about it ulfric stormcloak suffered quite a lot he was promised the freedom to worship Talos he ended up jailed he had to write his father's eulogy out of a prison all this man wants is Independence to rule his country no wonder why he finally burst into anger and tears
I can say two things:
Ulfric is one the dumbest video game characters ive ever met.
Doesnt understand what a peace treaty is (or how they work) nor that you sabotage yourself trying to kill the only friend you have in the ACTUAL fight against the actual enemy. Which already whooped both your buttocks. Im sure the smartest idea is attacking the wrong people for that. Its trying to beat the messenger.
He's very short sighted and thinks small. He's not thinking about the empire as a whole, his quote about not bleeding for an empire that doesn't bleed for Skyrim, more likely just as many imperials died in the great war as any. And he's uneducated and likely easily manipulated. Thalmor considered him an asset probably because they implanted a mole amongst him that influenced his decision to declare war against the empire and further destabilize the region.
Hero. He fights for Skyrim’s independence from two foreign superpowers.
And won't give independence to the reach
@@thomastakesatollforthedark2231 Why would he give independence to daedra worshipping cannibals?
Great vid, I always thought that he was an honorable man so once he agreed to the gag he had to keep it on for honors sake, my opinion. Take care 😎 🤘 🍻
The video was awesome thank you.
Love your channel, can you do more versus arena video please? If you want
I'd be down to. I've meant to do more, I just haven't gotten around to it! Also, I want you to know that I read your comment in Gustavo's voice
@@theemerdareloth AHAHAHAHA
You're up to the standards of Los Pollos Hermanos
Great video!
Thank you!
So I think the video was great, this is definitely a good first foray into video essays.
Though I do have to disagree with some of the analysis of Ulfric Stormcloak.
Ulfric is a bad leader. He is a charismatic leader, but ultimately he is a very poor military commander, governor, and statesman. And we can see this easily and readily when we hold him up against his counterpart in General Tullius.
For one, anyone getting captured 3 times is a bad look, I know that two of those times aren't necessarily anything he could have prevented other than by not doing the things he did that led up to his capture, but nonetheless its a bad look. However the third time shows that he was outgeneraled easily by General Tullius within the Imperial Generals first few months in Skyrim, this already sets it up that when it comes to Generalship, Ulfric is massively outclassed as Tullius pulled off his ambush with a token force and minimal casualties on both sides. I know that for the playable part of the civil war they both have the same gameplan but that is most certainly laziness on the side of Bethesda.
When we see Ulfric in Windhelm for the first time and many other times, we see him doubting himself, which isn't on its own bad, but it shows Galmar basically gassing him up, hell it could even come to the point of just glazing his ego. It shows that he is unsure of himself and requires someone else to build him up to take decisive action. But it also shows something that I think people often overlook, that Ulfric has a very fragile ego. Like we talk about him being an egomaniac and people argue against this saying he believes in what he says, and I do agree with that. But his ego is very fragile which is why he requires constant building up by Galmar and the others around him, and I think that if Ulfric were to be genuinely criticized he would shatter on impact.
Contrast this with General Tullius. General Tullius is gruff, doesn't understand Nords or their culture, and is kind of an asshole. All of these things are true. But he displays many signs of healthy military leadership, I will be leaning on my experience here, having served for 5 years in the Army, but if I were to pick a leader that I was going to follow, I would pick Tullius. Every time. Ulfric will get far more men killed to accomplish his goals than any good he will ever do for Skyrim. We see Tullius fighting a war with limited manpower and resources, and being successful at it. We see him arguing with his Officers Staff, Rikke, constantly, but he concedes to her opinions and knowledge almost every time even when he himself doesn't necessarily agree. He bristles at criticism, but he accepts it and moves forward. Is he kind of a prick? Yeah, but hes a General, hes here to win a war, hes not here to hold your hand. He sees the big picture for what it truly is.
Now dont think that I am bashing Ulfric just to bash him, while I disagree with his general nationalist sentiments because in my opinion either the realms of man reunite and fight the Dominion together, or they get conquered separately, even if they form an alliance it will not have the strength or cohesion that the united Empire did. Even the Redguard who people mistakenly assume held the Thalmor off on their own did not. When the Redguard refused to accept the territory concessions of the White-Gold the Emperor declared the Legions stationed in Hammerfell to be Invalid. Think about what that means, he didn't recall them, he said they were no longer part of the Imperial Legions. Meaning they could stay and fight alongside the Redguard and while there isn't any further proof of this being the case, I don't see why they wouldn't.
Ulfric claims the Empire didn't fight or bleed for Skyrim, but it did. It was southern Cyrodiil that took the brunt of the Thalmor onslaught and the Empire mounted a heroic defense against an enemy who had incredibly unfair advantages, if we take Legends as canon. The Empire did not in any meaningful way enforce the Talos ban and was biding its time. Ulfric is shortsighted, he cannot see past his own nose, let alone the whole tapestry and all of its moving parts, where the Empire is playing the long game. The people playing the long game will be the ones who win in the end, those who only see the short game will inevitably lose.
We see Ulfric maltreating the Dunmer in his own city, which is really dumb because if Skyrim became independent Morrowind would make a good ally, they have no love for the dominion. Ulfric nationalist rhetoric will alienate alot of people who sympathize with him and the Nords of Skyrim and would be more than willing to help. Not to mention Windhelm is a shithole. He has massive racial tensions brewing on his streets and he does nothing about it. A serial killer roaming and the response from the guards is flaccid at best. Rumors of a kid summoning the Dark Brotherhood and not even an investigation. Windhelm is due to fall apart at any given second and all he is concerned about is winning his war and becoming High King. How can I expect him to run a country, when he can barely run a city?
I sympathize with Ulfric. His life is tragic and traumatic. He was captured, tortured, beaten, gaslit into believing he caused the loss of the Imperial City. Then through his own actions he caused the Thalmor to have Justification to launch inquisitions within Skyrim and to punish and torture Talos worshippers who were being left in peace by the Empire. Then was captured again, tortured, humiliated, and his father died. He's a great warrior, but he is a battered and broken man who is blaming everyone else for the consequences of his own actions.
There is one additional thing about Windhelm and why Argonians and Dunmer are living in different parts of it...
Shortly after the Red Year, a massive Argonian invasion happened in Morrowind, with them losing many cities, including their Capitol of Mournhold. So, not only is there aggressive tendencies between Nords and Dunmer, but also between the Dunmer and Argonians. To the point that actual civil unrest could absolutely be an issue if they lived in the same parts of the city.
That said, I do lean towards what the only Altmer in the city has about the Dunmer and living in the Gray Quarter. As you, as a Dunmer or Argonian, can not only join the Stormcloaks, but also buy Hjerim (despite there supposedly being a law about Argonians not being allowed to live in the city walls), and while you could chalk this up to an excuse/exempt because of gameplay, the dialogue Galmar has if you're not a Nord does suggest that those racist authors are possibly more outliers than the actual rule. It's largely a shame they don't discredit said authors; likely don't care to read or have the time to read those books.
Argonians and Dunmer live together in Riften though.
@@theemerdareloth Less of those Dunmer are refugees from Morrowind is my only thought. There's also the fact the Riften Jarl is honestly one of the worst ones in Skyrim, as despite being called "Law-Giver", she barely does anything to deal with the lawlessness in her hold, so if there is racial tensions in her city, there's a high chance she's done little to do about it.
Remember, the cities we do experience in the game are much, much, much smaller than what they actually are in lore, so there's very likely things we don't see.
@@Practitioner_of_Diogeneshe Dunmer in Riften are refugees same as those in Windhelm. Ulfric's mistreatment of the Dunmer and Argonians has no excuse and has nothing to do with the Red Year.
As for Galmar, he literally mistrusts anyone who isn't an Imperial or Nord born in Skyrim. He sends us off to kill an ice wraith and expects us to fail. We are also only able to purchase Hjerim if we're Ulfric's bootlicker - Ulfric's the only Jarl to award Thanehood based on civil war participation.
@@dutchpatriot17But the Dunmer of Riften have intergrated unlike in Windhelm and you can’t blame Ulfric for this because they have been living for 2 centuries.
@@teyrncousland7152Windhelm's Dunmer have integrated enough. Their situation of.neglect is a relatively recent one.
Sometimes it's hard not to sympathize with ulfric storm cloak
Ulfric os straight up a Thalmor agent and ive killed him everytime. Squashing the rebellion and unifying the empire is the first step to rebuildong them empire. As well as killing the the emporer and paving the way for the proper bloodline to reclaim the throne with the amulet of kings.
You say in this video you can't imagine a man who was captured and tortured by the aldmeri dominion wouldn't do their bidding. If they turned him, that's exactly what he would do. You break a man you can control the man.
@JustFeral except we know his not doing there bidding because he's actually trying to win. The people who hate ulfric love to reference the thalmor documents but those same documents say that ulfric absolutely should not be allowed win and that only a stale mate is acceptable
"I fight for their wives and children, whose name they whispered in their dying breathe" okay? Why is sofia still homeless in Windhelm then? Forgot about her? Or just dont care that her dad died for you and she needs to sell flowers to survive?
my dragonborn acheiving chim and gaining memories of the nerevarine and all the times he was called an N'wah by the very people he helped save from daddy dagoth.
DB-this is what you swits deserves
I think though his cause may be honorable (debatable) hes definitely got some sort of hero complex. He’s dangerous and not the best for Skyrim. Lets says he wins when the Dominion comes back and starts trying to conquer hammerfell and Cyrodiil will Ulfric go to the aid of these. I really doubt it i think hes much more likely to sit back and watch trying to see what scraps he can get
He's a ful, but a fun ful
If any of you think the Nords are bad with their racism go play Morrowind, and figure out why they treat the dunmer the way they do.
That's no excuse
Racism is bad period
Degrees exist within it but all racism is wrong
@@TKNelson0169 skyrim for the nords, england for the english.
simple as.
The Empire was in bad shape and needed a peace treaty, but so was the Aldmeri Dominion. The fact that they were willing to come to the negotiation table proves it. Once the empire regained control of the imperial city, Titus Meade had all the momentum and had the Dominion on the back foot.
He then decided not to actually negotiate but instead to give in to all the demands the Dominion stated before the wars started, making thousands of deaths completely pointless. He gave up Hammerfell to the Dominon sacrificing the Reguards for a temporary peace with thr High Elves The Redguards showed how week the Domion was when they, alone, kicked the Dominion out of all of Hammerfell shorty after.
And finaly, Titus Meade is allowing a foreign government to police, imprison , and exectute imperial citizens. Ulfric saw all of this and decied that it was best for Skyrim to wade the storm alone rather than stay on the sinking ship that is the Empire.
He's a Hero. SBttN
General Tullius wantet to bring Ulfric into the Imperial City to the Emperor. Elenween were only in Helgen to save and free Ulfric. Elenween treathens even Tullius. Tullius sinoly Tell here to shut up and that sge can stay watching how Ulfric gets executet. You can actually hear that in game with a mod that restores cut content. Some imperial soy must have informed hin that the thalmor knew that they have captured Ulfric. Surely because of that Tullius decided to let Ulfric execute right now and there in Helgen.
Honestly knowing how the Dominion views Ulfric cemented my support of the imperials, because the Dominion wants humanity divided and weakened, and a free Skyrim would be too chaotic to help anyone but the Thalmor (via further destabilizing the realms of men, and arguably Morrowind)
Hey, I have a tullius’ conscription deck that I think you would absolutely love. I honestly think you can get to legend with it, it has a bit of RNG also to keep it exciting! Is there some way I can share it
Rebel
I agree with Ulfric full heartedly, but Ulfric winning the civil war is exactly what the Thalmor want, so I side with the Empire. My hatred for Altmer is greater than my sympathy for Ulfric.
Edit: I've since changed my mind on this. I see the reasoning behind siding with the Stormcloaks now.
I've got a great mod list to make the civil war quest line better. And then the 2nd great war mod which takes the fight to the elves.
this isn’t true.
the Thalmor want for Skyrim to be in Civil War.
@@KamikaziSpud Yes, they want the civil war to last as long as possible, but if it were to end, they would definitely want Ulfric to win because there'd be one less province that the Empire would have at their disposal in a second great war.
@@mrwabbit9576 I would love to have it, but I play on PS4 unfortunately 😂
@hrafnagu9243 the thalmor dossier literally says that the storm cloaks can never be allowed to win
Because they know that If skyrim seceeds then the empire will just use them as an independent ally like they did with the redguards
Ulfric's stormcloaks remind me of a certain racist political group in the US, so I sided with the empire.
Skyrim is for the Nords and the name Stormcloak is fire to say the least especially his name being that and he actually knows to use the Thu'um and learning the Way of the Voice which is a bit prophetic to say the least.
I have been on his side since Day one as I always felt it was the right thing to do and I like Ralof more than Hadvar
I just want to add something that was left out of the video. Ulfric used a thum in a duel, he could not have done it. Thums are taught by the greybeards as a way to worship the gods, they are only allowed to be used in combat (by their nordic culture) in times of great need (AKA the great war), Ulfric using the shout in a combat showcases his hypocrisy regarding the nordic culture since he wants everyone to be bind by it except himself. I belive that's why the deceased high king questions Ulfric's honor in sovengard.
Make a video without inane editorializing or mentioning your time in college.
Done: ua-cam.com/video/qhMtg5FiaWs/v-deo.htmlsi=iV1u0kp5D8k5_iZE
Neither hero or rebel, traitor in the pay of the Thalmor as anyone who has completed the main quest knows
Yeah, you may want to read those dossiers again.
@@jam34786 Why, nothing will have changed, it will still show he was a Thalmor asset, and in the intel world asset means an agent. His 'rebellion' was clearly masterminded by the Thalmor, no one but them benefits from it.
@ronwilson9815 incorrect interpretation of asset. Ulfric is not a Thalmor agent. Those terms are not equivalent. Thalmor are definitely the biggest beneficiaries from a destabilized Skyrim, though.
@@jam34786 Keep deluding yourself, you probably believe the January 6 traitors are hostages too
@@jam34786 Ulfric used to outright collaborate with the Thalmor.
Ah yes, another "not-a-lore-channel" snowly becomming a lore channel 🙉
Rly enjoyed this vid and your other lore videos, honestly I didnt even know there was an elder scrolls card game lol. The art is phenominal though
I read the book Dunmer of Skyrim and it really makes it seem that hate the Nords have for the Dunmer isn’t one sided. Hell one Dunmer says that he hope the serial killer in windhelm should keep killing Nords and that he would only dislike said killer if he attacked a Dunmer.