It's not weird. Watching happy things should make you feel happy. Being able to witness people achieve a life long dream is a thrill let alone helping them achieve it.
Same, I have a 13th century castle in my town and have been visiting it frequently my whole life so I cant imagine how it feels to see these for the first time when knowing so much about them
This series actually fills a gap in UA-cam. There's plenty of castle media, but most of it is done in a very formal, historian, documentary style. This is the only channel I know of which is doing it in a more raw, content creator, fun youtuber style.
theres a nice youtuber called lady of the mercians who does similar style videos, but far less information than shads video. more of a short and fast overview than the in-depth stuff here.
"Would love just a whole series of you visiting castles and forts and just commenting on them." you may just be in luck, because I would assume that that's just what we have coming.
@@xarior1633 Next time in Yorkshire, look for Scarborough Castle! Whitby, nearby, doesn't has a castle, but there's a very old Abbey, right next to a nice youth hostel!
There’s a “castle” in Dorset called Maiden Castle. But it’s not actually a medieval castle at all, in fact it was actually an English pagan fortification on top of a hill and is said to hold back the Roman legions for a long time. The top of the hill was large enough for small farming and housing. There’s also large trench routes dug into the hill that would funnel the Roman soldiers into a bottleneck. It was eventually conquered and after the rise of Christianity it was still used and housed a church and all sorts. Now it’s mostly just a big grass hill but the trenches are still obviously and trying to run over them is exhausting enough without wearing armour whilst pagans throw rocks at you! There have been generated digital reconstruction of what it might have looked like both during the age of Christ and during its pagan days.
I'd imagine the trenches would be even more difficult to traverse when in proper repair. They'd probably be deeper and wider as they have naturally probably filled in some overtime. Hill forts are really cool, by the way.
It's not 'English' as the English as a population did not exist until the Anglo-Saxon period. Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hillfort. It's 'British' and was probably constructed by the Celtic-speaking Durotriges.
I dont think I've ever been more excited for a series of deep dives into Britannia's Castles!! Your presentations are always so wholesome. I reckon this series is gonna become some of your most golden and treasured content!! 🏞🏰🌄
im from northern England but moved to AUS 17 years ago and the only thing i miss the the cold weather and the castles everywhere. Been a fan for years now keep up the good work
I always feel a hint of sadness looking at architecture like these. Clearly at one time, the castle was a sight to behold in its prime. Now it's just an empty husk long abandoned.
Well, every item of technology, including military, has its day. Gunpowder and peace did for castles. Then again, perhaps better than having the Victorians "restore" them.
There are some specific ruins that I would have loved to have seen whole, such as Tintagel, but we have quite a few intact castles and cathedrals in the UK. If you're here, you don't have to travel far to see one of these structures in all its glory, so there's no need to feel sad.
Would love to see Shad having a look around Carlisle and the surrounding area, and Hadrians Wall in general. Vindulanda is well worth a visit; it’s an active archeological dig site of a Roman fort and the attached village, and it’s brilliant. They have managed to find wooden message tablets from the time where you can see the writing of actual Romans. There’s also many examples of castles and fortifications from the whole stretch of British history scattered all over the place, often adapted into modern structures and farm buildings.
Indeed. Verulanium (St Albans) is also well worth a look while Shad's in the London area despite primarily being an abbey: St Albans isn't that far outside Greater London to be inconvenient, & it's one of Britain's primary & thoroughly explored Roman sites
So cool to finally see you visiting castles in real life, and you’ve started with my home country too 🏴. I’m really looking forward to your Caerphilly castle video! Some suggestions for castles and other medieval sites in your area- * * *Raglan castle would be epic! Really good machicolations! And a very cool but oddly placed keep. * Castell Coch- near Cardiff, more modern but in medieval style. * Tintern abbey (not a castle but still medieval and awesome) * cosmeston medieval village near Cardiff- epic!!! * St Fagans museum- full of historical buildings * Cardiff Castle, Llandaff Cathedral , Monmouth fortified bridge and Caerleon (Roman town) would be great suggestions too. These are just a few great suggestions relatively close in South Wales. Edit: Raglan would be a really good Castle for you to visit because it’s beautiful, big, had lots of high quality machicolations!!!!! And it was the last medieval castle to be built in Wales.
As someone from the uk Im so glad you get to see some castles in the uk I’ve seen them all my life and loved it every time it’s not only just plain cool but a snapshot into history, the way people lived, the things they valued and genius they had. If you sit and appreciate it for a moment you can realy get a sense that your family and mine lived this time, it makes me feel connected to my ancestry and give me something that makes me proud to be from the uk a feeling rarely get under its current management. Anyway glad your here and glad you get to see this stuff. Also German castles are awesome
Watching a hard working man achieve some of his dreams in inspiring, hart warming, and beautiful. Love to see you succeed and glad to help in my small way. I'll keep praying for good weather while you travel. "Don't care much after you leave" And say high to the NERDROTIC Team while your there.
Hats off to you my man, it's great to hear such a well educated yet down to earth talk on our great castles. I grew up near several castles in North Wales and spent many holidays down near Newport (between Chepstow and Cardiff) so I know these well and somewhat take them for granted - you're helping breathe new life into one of our cultural highlights showing that they're much more than just stone ruins held onto to attract tourists. Definitely looking forward to seeing the rest of your UK castle tour.
In terms of castle design, a really cool thing that Shad could look into is the staggeringly superflous grandeur of Hyrule Castle, specifically from _Breath of The Wild._ As you might expect of a fantasy fortiffication, this thing really pulls out all the stops, but because you can only explore it 100 years after it's destruction, it feels weridly like visiting a modern castle ruin and has all the recognizible structures. Lots of research went into making this thing feel like a real castle without necessarily being accurate, and I think that would be really interesting to discuss. It would be amusing just to contemplate would it would take for such a thing to have actually existed. It's got a huge moat, multiple gatehouses, a baily holding the town, multiple tiers of cliffs with staggered entryways perched on narrow slopes leading up to a keep that looks more like a cathedral with dozens of towers connected by flying buttressess surronging a complex of spires. Basically, you have a curtain wall, another curtain wall, a gatehouse acting as a keep blocking the pathe further up the meandering slope. Another gatehouse acting as as another keep, then a final fortified church that honestly doesn't look all that resiliant to attack, but it's parctically perched on the peak of a mountain inside a lake anyway. But it doesn't stop there; there's not only dungeons but mines and a secret bay concealed withing the moat which grants access to the outside for sorties. A library, and a n extra tower just for Zelda and her studies.
I don't know what nation you're in, but remember, there's castles in MANY places around the world. UK and other places in Europe may have many of the most iconic and easily recognisable, but there's plenty more than those.
@@DIREWOLFx75 Alas, I am an American. I think there might be a castle along one of the highways to Arkansas, but that's pretty much all I can think of.
So nice to see your passion really shine through being able to perform one of your dreams. Keep up the good work in education and debate on medieval topics.
Croeso i Gymru, Shad! If you find yourself in West Wales please visit Dinefwr Castle. It's a Welsh-built castle and a former home for the ruling dynasty of Wales (for a while). A stunning example and part o y triongl aur (the golden triangle) which includes 2 more nearby castles - the idyllically located Carreg Cennen and the enigmatic ruin of Dryslwyn. Seeing you live out one of your dreams, and starting this journey in my homeland is not only very moving, but also quite wonderful to see a sincere joy expressed in doing what you do. Diolch o galon
Time ago, I was exploring public transportation to Carreg Cennen, but found none. It seems, one has to take a taxi, from the train station. The same with the three castles: Skimfrit, White and Grossmont! 😢
I love having you tour us through the castles of Britain thank you! It is a pity that youtube has shut your out reach for your videos, God willing your views will go back up. I will pray for you and your livelyhood.
More of this 'Storytime with Shad' content, please. Fantastic vid Shad, and it's awesome to see you finally getting to visit such incredible historic sites.
Fun fact: after the battle at Tewksbury, Edward IV sent Roger Vaughan to deal with the Lancastrian Jasper Tudor. Instead, Jasper captured Vaughan, and had him beheaded at Chepstow Castle. Seems Vaughan had been the man to decide to behead Jasper's father Owen, after the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, ten years before. Jasper never sought or could have been pardoned. And he could never have trusted a pardon by Edward IV. Thanks, Shad, for all your work.
Young Henry was almost certainly with him, as they were ultimately that year heading for Brittany. Very cool that you live there! I miss the UK. I haven't been there since Dec. 1978. I was fairly close to Keynsham then. I walked the Cotswold Way, starting at Bath in October '78. Met a lot of wonderful people, saw beautiful villages and scenery. If I lived in Keynsham, I would be using my metal detector every weekend! Cheers!
It's great you have finally been able to see the castles in person. The history squad did a fantastic tour of this place, and that's another great video to watch.
Can’t wait to see your reaction to Caerphilly Castle and it’s three-walled defence. It’s wonderful to watch someone’s genuine and infectious enthusiasm for British History. It’s also refreshing to hear someone from another nation who values their British ancestry.
A month definitely isn't going to be long enough 🙂 Love this return to castle content! I could watch Shad talk about every castle in the UK and Ireland, and then do the continent... that should keep you busy for the next twenty years or so!
This castle is such a good example of the continuous development of castles over time. It makes me interested in how castle development can be effected by the staging of the building of a castle. I could use these ideas in a fantasy novel.
To be fair, the expanded defenses around the castle make it a stronger defensive position, just not the most optimized position. The outer walls are great for projecting force over the cliff faces, which seems to be their main purpose. Without the outer curtain walls, someone could climb up the cliffs relatively sheltered from shooting and then attack the keep, but with the expanded walls and towers, scaling the cliff face would be extremely difficult.
Yes, I think the original advantages of its position, as described by Shad, still stand, even with the additional later walls. It stands within a middle Bailey, which is isolated on the east by a massively defended lower Bailey, through an internal gatehouse, and on the west by a narrow Barbican, again connected to the middle Bailey by an internal gatehouse reached by quite steep internal slopes. I think the only place you could really set up siege equipment to breach those walls is by that lower Bailey, and then you're faced by the internal middle Bailey walls even before you reach the tower itself. It all looks pretty impregnable to me
Well and also, what was sitting on that other outside side of the Great Tower from the river, which is now a small copse of trees and a road. How much has that landscape changed? Perhaps that area wasn't that attackable despite the seeming exposure of the keep by being attached directly to the curtain wall there. For Example, Shad mentions in one of his other videos on this same location that people don't like the rear bailey because it allows direct access to the Great Tower. But that rear bailey wall goes right up to a small cliff face that requires bridging which would make it harder to get equipment through and up to attack the keep on that side. Which makes for less need for multiple fortification points from that direction. The second additional rear bailey seemed to have 3 portcullis in it's gate, but is a lot more accessible, to get through that and then potentially have to get your equipment up a few meters to even try to attack the keep is not desirable. This place is built in stages so that affects part of it's design but I also think further additions also took into account it's unique position in a way that general castle building protocol just does not take into account. I think not only are we missing part of the picture for the structure of this place when it was fully functional, but that this castle had knowledge of it's flaws and used them to it's advantage. Mutiple strength and holdout points, difficulty to get siege weapons into place in several places through terrain and defensive fortification, attack and defense capability turned not only outward but inward. I think this place was potentially more formidable than it gets credit for.
@@granola661 100% facts right there for all you need is a love for it and understanding of it and having the pride to stand up for historical facts and calling people out for their misconceptions of some and that is what Shad is.
There are a few Norman castles in Ireland, built about 100 years after Chepstow. Carrickfergus Castle is probably the biggest still standing in Ireland. Highly recommend a visit, it’s a beautiful castle.
I always liked your videos on medieval architecture, and it's nice to see you getting to visit these bad boys in person. Edit: get yourself to York if you can, the roman city walls are still standing in many parts and there are medieval/early modern guildhouses you can visit, as well as a lot of ollllld buildings being used as shops and whatnot.
amazing thanks Shad. Very informative and just for me as I am also heading to the UK in 3 weeks time from Melbourne and looking forward to the castles and other ruins as well.
As to Norman era, the percentage of castles fitting the standard motte and bailey as seen in text books, is surprisingly few. A good one is Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. Many have two baileys such as Windsor, or, like Lincoln and Lewes that have two Mottes. One motte built and then the Normans thinking, "Actually we can do better" and they build another next door. Then you have the use of previous roman defence walls such as Pevensey that used to be a small island in the middle of marshland, hence no big straight roman walls. Plus there are others that use the lay of the land, like Edinburgh on an extinct volcano. In addition, you have to think of supply. Chepstow is a key one for supply issues and the vital aspect to keeping Chepstow would have been supply from the River Wye. Supplying Chepstow by land, you have the massive River Severn to get round and then the River Wye. So looking at it purely from the ground, it would be easy to bottleneck and besiege Chepstow. That is where the importance of the river and supplies comes in. After all that, you also have the half done castles. Tonbridge in Kent was built around 1066 onwards, has a bailey and it has a mound, but no Motte!! All you will find at the top of the mound is a well and relatively tiny defences. The main structure at that castle is the gatehouse. Artists over the years have design some quite grandiose mottes for Tonbridge, but in reality there was very little there. Maybe, just enough to defend the well. Alas, we all have to be careful of the fanciful imaginations of historians put on the spot. For standard Roman style, Burgh Castle near Norwich in East Anglia is a lovely example. Be careful though as there is a later brick built Caister castle not far away. Also Framlingham Castle is a wonderful example. Funnily "Caister" translates to castle, so it is literally called castle castle. Just like "Ouse" and "Avon" is river, so River Ouse is river river and River Avon is river river. Corfe, which I think you plan on visiting in Dorset is a good example of a "slighted" castle, blown up during the civil war.
I always wondered why Lincoln had a different layout to "conventional" castles (I went to school within a stone's throw from the North wall) I also find it quite interesting that Lincoln Crown Court still operates from within the walls.
Nothing in the real world is ever as perfect as the book suggest. But the design rational that leads to the 'standard text book' castle/fortification of each period is visible in the real world structures, just altered to fit the geography, budget or as in this case because its a structure that had many phases of construction over prolonged periods the changing requirements.
@@stephen9894 That is interesting. I enjoy the design of them. So this guys videos came up on my feed and they are great. Will have a look at Lincoln, thanks.
Shad, these architectural videos are just awesome. I remember watching one of yours where you were explaining about cathedrals in Australia. Great video. I hope you get to visit other medieval structures there in Britain as well alongside with the castles. There isn't much detailed information about those buildings on the internet, specially concerning more of the individual particularies and circunstances that make each specific structure having its own characteristics and composition which helps to explain many things we otherwise wouldn't be able to get with the more general information. Kind regards!
You'd be a great tour guide and the information here is great, you're pointing out details that nobody locally has ever done. I live in Chepstow and for residents 'its just a castle' for the most part.
As a Newport chap born and bred i am loving seeing these videos. I suppose I've always taken it somewhat for granted the wonders on my doorstep. Ive gone past them daily for 30 odd years and always look. Keep it up Shad. There so much more for you to see.
I love me a good Norman keep. I enjoyed visiting Peveril Castle. Very small but very cool defensible location, and keep and defensive wall still mostly intact. And can also visit the Devils Arse while you're there in Castleton...of all places.
@@ladyofhay The UKs biggest cave entrance to Peak Cavern directly underneath Peveril Castle. It has a fascinating history and is now used for live events
Roman, eh? There's a massive Roman city running almost from Chepstow to Newport! I think it's only recently we figured out it was all part of the same thing, or perhaps it's sort of suburbs of one settlement. Lots of Roman ruins around Caerwent and Caerleon. The Roman baths in Caerleon are now a museum, there's an amphitheatre and barracks you can fully explore just over the road, too.
I'd love more videos dedicated to analysis and history of specific real world castles like this and like those of fictional castles from earlier on the channel !!
I did a course on the Normans, about their castles, where they built them, how they built them, and what their purpose, and your videos just complement what I learnt. The cathedrals also had their purpose too, and not just religious ones. William I basically brought over Norman culture to England and the impact it had is still felt today. History is just fascinating stuff.
I think this is interesting to me, for my friends and I came across the same problem when building a base in 7 Days to Die. The original layout had the strongest structure in the back left corner, so we built from there and had to add more walls surrounding that corner - and eventually that corner ended up being the center of the base.
We are going to have Shad in the UK videos filling our feed for months and that is a very good thing indeed. All the castles he gets to visit should have their tour guides lined up behind the camera listening to every word he says. Given how paranoid the UK is about pointy sharp cutty/pokey/stabby things, I wonder how he's managing to stroll around rocking a broadsword?
The UK is a strange place - lots of paranoia and daftness about the concealable knife etc from the law makers, so they can be seen to be doing something... But if you have a 'legitimate reason' you can wander around with a sword and many varieties of knife that would otherwise be illegal, and most likely you won't even get much in the way of funny looks...
OK, that works here in OZ but I didn't know how well it would work there in public given the paranoia the powers that be have whipped up over knives.@@foldionepapyrus3441
@@Trisjack20 Technically without good reason that would probably still be considered a weapon you can't carry under UK law. Despite it being LARP especially the blunt steel rather than foam kind. In the same way you can't carry a cricket bat - but 'good reason' is a pretty broad net. For which what Shad is doing should be fine I think. Edit: realised I'd really badly mangled the grammar, hopefully this makes more sense.
@@foldionepapyrus3441 Agreed and like with a lot of our laws it really requires someone to take exception and make a report for anything to happen. I for example have walked through town wielding cricket bat and baseball bat and never had anyone so much as blink in my direction much less a bobby. I would absolutely expect foam or rubber even blunt metal swords are hard to get through airports even in your main luggage. I know because I wanted to bring one home from Switzerland and they made a right fuss about it, even though it was no more sharp than a school railing.
With all the people walking behind you as you're discussing the castle, I have to wonder if you managed to collect a crowd while recording and gave them an unofficial castle tour.
Shads in Wales ya'll! Home of the castle.... Shad.. I recommend Carmarthen Castle.. And Castle Coch both very different.. Cardiff Castle is a no brainer everyone needs to visit the capital.
We need more castle video like those :) been waiting for years to see Shad doing that hahaha, thanks for all these years of amazing content and so happy for you to realize your dream Shad.
Great analysis! I love that you look at how and when parts of the castle and fortifications were built to explain their position. Its such a writerly thing to do to put yourself in their place and think 'why this and that' and 'what would i do in different situations' and honestly it adds so much life to your commentaries because its as much about the people building and using the structures as the structures themselves. It makes them so much more lively when you picture it that way and I love it!
Love this stuff Shad. You're like the fun, enthusiastic history teacher that genuinely enjoys what he does, and his enthusiasm is just utterly infectious. So happy for you, man! Can't wait to see more!
I love that you're actually there doing these castle explanations instead of just showing videos of other people's drones or artwork made a thousand plus years ago. You should make a trip to Germany next and do those castles too! Need another million subscribers so you can afford it! Let's go!
Thank you Shad! And greetings from the U.S.A. I couldn’t ask for a better person to be a Tour guide & teacher. The best teachers are always passionate about what their teaching. I hope you are enjoying your working vacation, or as you probably call it a Holiday. I hope the rest of your trip is better than you could’ve imagined. Best wishes to you and your family and to the rest of the Shadiversity family. Thanks mate. ✌️🇺🇸🇦🇺
Fun fact - it is legal in Shrewsbury to shoot a Welshman if he is seen within the city walls on a Sunday, using bow and arrow.. Unrepealed law going back to 1200 and something.
No such thing as a sword licence in Britain, they're perfectly legal to own. To carry one in public though you would have to demonstrate "good reason".
I work in Chepstow but I have yet to actually visit this site! Really interesting to see how it's evolution created the odd layout. Not far from Chepstow Castle is another great site, Tintern Abby. Not a castle but still of potential interest to people interested in medieval architecture.
I would guess the stone was most likely pilfered from the Roman Fortress at Caerleon, Isca Augusta, just down the road from Chepstow. Anyway, I hope you are enjoying your time in King Arthur territory, that’s the part of Wales he was from. King Arthur of Gwent and Morgannwg (Glywysing), Arthrwys ap Meurig, Meurig being the Uther Pendragon, an epithet and military title. Uthyr meaning Terrible as in someone who Terrified and Pendragon being Pen (Head) Dragon (Leader) the commander in chief, the generalissimo, the chief leader.
This is my favorite sort of content from Shadiversity. I suppose it is more of a lecture, but I could watch dozens of these videos a day. I’m interested to hear more about Chepstow, and what sort of events took place around it.
It's genuinely great to hear Shad talk about castles again! I'm happy he's getting to live a dream of his, it's super inspirational for me to work harder!
Thank you! Beautiful aerial views! Chepstow Castle once belonged to the legendary William Marshal, whose life was fascinating! He started as a knight, then became a Baron under King John, and finally, he was asked to be the Regent after the King passed away! He expelled the French invaders then and won the battle, fought around Lincoln Castle!
I still can't wait until Shad sees his very first machiculation in the wild
To be fair, he's out there with a sword (larp or not) and no one has even looked at him. Maybe everyone is crazy.
MACHICULATIOOOOOOONNNNSSSAHHHHHH!!!!!
@@Zylo1111 eh, it's clear he's making a video about the castle, it isn't all that strange that someone doing such a thing would be in costume.
He’ll likely make Baby #80 right then and there with his wife.
*Australian man gets arrested for scaring tourists by yelling MACHICOLATIONS! from castle walls.*
Seeing you see castles IRL for the first time makes me feel weirdly happy.
It's not weird. Watching happy things should make you feel happy. Being able to witness people achieve a life long dream is a thrill let alone helping them achieve it.
I wish he filmed a sword fight on top of the castle
Key word being weird
Same
Same, I have a 13th century castle in my town and have been visiting it frequently my whole life so I cant imagine how it feels to see these for the first time when knowing so much about them
This series actually fills a gap in UA-cam.
There's plenty of castle media, but most of it is done in a very formal, historian, documentary style. This is the only channel I know of which is doing it in a more raw, content creator, fun youtuber style.
theres a nice youtuber called lady of the mercians who does similar style videos, but far less information than shads video. more of a short and fast overview than the in-depth stuff here.
Exactly what I think as well, this is a fantastic way to teach us.
God I love these Castle videos.
Would love just a whole series of you visiting castles and forts and just commenting on them.
me too
"Would love just a whole series of you visiting castles and forts and just commenting on them."
you may just be in luck, because I would assume that that's just what we have coming.
@@xarior1633 Next time in Yorkshire, look for Scarborough Castle! Whitby, nearby, doesn't has a castle, but there's a very old Abbey, right next to a nice youth hostel!
I agree, this video about Chepstow Castle is wonderful! I hope, Shad makes more like this!
Would be the best series on youtube honestly. Just these short vlogs are so good!!!
So happy for you Shad! Thanks for taking the chance to shed a bit of educational light during your Quest for Castles.
There’s a “castle” in Dorset called Maiden Castle. But it’s not actually a medieval castle at all, in fact it was actually an English pagan fortification on top of a hill and is said to hold back the Roman legions for a long time. The top of the hill was large enough for small farming and housing. There’s also large trench routes dug into the hill that would funnel the Roman soldiers into a bottleneck. It was eventually conquered and after the rise of Christianity it was still used and housed a church and all sorts. Now it’s mostly just a big grass hill but the trenches are still obviously and trying to run over them is exhausting enough without wearing armour whilst pagans throw rocks at you! There have been generated digital reconstruction of what it might have looked like both during the age of Christ and during its pagan days.
Hill forts are a joy all of their own. Funniest thing, I can actually sense when I'm near one - go figure.
I'd imagine the trenches would be even more difficult to traverse when in proper repair. They'd probably be deeper and wider as they have naturally probably filled in some overtime.
Hill forts are really cool, by the way.
Maiden hill fort is a great place to visit as well. Good shout.
It's not 'English' as the English as a population did not exist until the Anglo-Saxon period. Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hillfort. It's 'British' and was probably constructed by the Celtic-speaking Durotriges.
@@simonmoorcroft1417 sorry, but please look up the word pedant.
I dont think I've ever been more excited for a series of deep dives into Britannia's Castles!!
Your presentations are always so wholesome.
I reckon this series is gonna become some of your most golden and treasured content!! 🏞🏰🌄
im from northern England but moved to AUS 17 years ago and the only thing i miss the the cold weather and the castles everywhere. Been a fan for years now keep up the good work
I always feel a hint of sadness looking at architecture like these. Clearly at one time, the castle was a sight to behold in its prime. Now it's just an empty husk long abandoned.
"My name is Ozymandias. Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair".
Well, every item of technology, including military, has its day. Gunpowder and peace did for castles. Then again, perhaps better than having the Victorians "restore" them.
There are some specific ruins that I would have loved to have seen whole, such as Tintagel, but we have quite a few intact castles and cathedrals in the UK. If you're here, you don't have to travel far to see one of these structures in all its glory, so there's no need to feel sad.
you've got to hand it to them though; they made a structure that still stands several hundred years past the builders' lives.
Same here. I found the shot at 10:22 really interesting, a strange mix of modernism so close to the ancient architecture
Would love to see Shad having a look around Carlisle and the surrounding area, and Hadrians Wall in general. Vindulanda is well worth a visit; it’s an active archeological dig site of a Roman fort and the attached village, and it’s brilliant. They have managed to find wooden message tablets from the time where you can see the writing of actual Romans. There’s also many examples of castles and fortifications from the whole stretch of British history scattered all over the place, often adapted into modern structures and farm buildings.
Indeed. Verulanium (St Albans) is also well worth a look while Shad's in the London area despite primarily being an abbey: St Albans isn't that far outside Greater London to be inconvenient, & it's one of Britain's primary & thoroughly explored Roman sites
So cool to finally see you visiting castles in real life, and you’ve started with my home country too 🏴. I’m really looking forward to your Caerphilly castle video!
Some suggestions for castles and other medieval sites in your area- * * *Raglan castle would be epic! Really good machicolations! And a very cool but oddly placed keep.
* Castell Coch- near Cardiff, more modern but in medieval style.
* Tintern abbey (not a castle but still medieval and awesome)
* cosmeston medieval village near Cardiff- epic!!!
* St Fagans museum- full of historical buildings
* Cardiff Castle, Llandaff Cathedral
, Monmouth fortified bridge and Caerleon (Roman town) would be great suggestions too.
These are just a few great suggestions relatively close in South Wales.
Edit: Raglan would be a really good Castle for you to visit because it’s beautiful, big, had lots of high quality machicolations!!!!! And it was the last medieval castle to be built in Wales.
I'm happy to see Shad back in his full element, talking about castles, their designs, and how they work.
As someone from the uk Im so glad you get to see some castles in the uk I’ve seen them all my life and loved it every time it’s not only just plain cool but a snapshot into history, the way people lived, the things they valued and genius they had. If you sit and appreciate it for a moment you can realy get a sense that your family and mine lived this time, it makes me feel connected to my ancestry and give me something that makes me proud to be from the uk a feeling rarely get under its current management. Anyway glad your here and glad you get to see this stuff. Also German castles are awesome
Watching a hard working man achieve some of his dreams in inspiring, hart warming, and beautiful. Love to see you succeed and glad to help in my small way. I'll keep praying for good weather while you travel. "Don't care much after you leave" And say high to the NERDROTIC Team while your there.
Hats off to you my man, it's great to hear such a well educated yet down to earth talk on our great castles. I grew up near several castles in North Wales and spent many holidays down near Newport (between Chepstow and Cardiff) so I know these well and somewhat take them for granted - you're helping breathe new life into one of our cultural highlights showing that they're much more than just stone ruins held onto to attract tourists.
Definitely looking forward to seeing the rest of your UK castle tour.
Shad, I'm glad to see you in your element and happy as a clam! Your vids are really interesting to watch.
In terms of castle design, a really cool thing that Shad could look into is the staggeringly superflous grandeur of Hyrule Castle, specifically from _Breath of The Wild._
As you might expect of a fantasy fortiffication, this thing really pulls out all the stops, but because you can only explore it 100 years after it's destruction, it feels weridly like visiting a modern castle ruin and has all the recognizible structures. Lots of research went into making this thing feel like a real castle without necessarily being accurate, and I think that would be really interesting to discuss. It would be amusing just to contemplate would it would take for such a thing to have actually existed. It's got a huge moat, multiple gatehouses, a baily holding the town, multiple tiers of cliffs with staggered entryways perched on narrow slopes leading up to a keep that looks more like a cathedral with dozens of towers connected by flying buttressess surronging a complex of spires.
Basically, you have a curtain wall, another curtain wall, a gatehouse acting as a keep blocking the pathe further up the meandering slope. Another gatehouse acting as as another keep, then a final fortified church that honestly doesn't look all that resiliant to attack, but it's parctically perched on the peak of a mountain inside a lake anyway. But it doesn't stop there; there's not only dungeons but mines and a secret bay concealed withing the moat which grants access to the outside for sorties. A library, and a n extra tower just for Zelda and her studies.
What I would give to be on a castle-exploring trip of the UK...
Absolutely amazing, Shad. I can't wait to see the next episode!
It only cost a few grand.🥲
I don't know what nation you're in, but remember, there's castles in MANY places around the world.
UK and other places in Europe may have many of the most iconic and easily recognisable, but there's plenty more than those.
@@DIREWOLFx75 Alas, I am an American. I think there might be a castle along one of the highways to Arkansas, but that's pretty much all I can think of.
@@DIREWOLFx75 Nobody cares about some third world shitholes and their mud huts
@@nextcaesargaming5469That sucks. Just cough up the 3k 😅
Shad, I am so thrilled that you got to go here and witness such a huge part of your passion and identity in person, immersed in the history!
So nice to see your passion really shine through being able to perform one of your dreams. Keep up the good work in education and debate on medieval topics.
Never thought you'd go to Chepstow! I went there super recently, it's very near where I live. Surreal
Croeso i Gymru, Shad! If you find yourself in West Wales please visit Dinefwr Castle. It's a Welsh-built castle and a former home for the ruling dynasty of Wales (for a while). A stunning example and part o y triongl aur (the golden triangle) which includes 2 more nearby castles - the idyllically located Carreg Cennen and the enigmatic ruin of Dryslwyn. Seeing you live out one of your dreams, and starting this journey in my homeland is not only very moving, but also quite wonderful to see a sincere joy expressed in doing what you do. Diolch o galon
Time ago, I was exploring public transportation to Carreg Cennen, but found none. It seems, one has to take a taxi, from the train station. The same with the three castles: Skimfrit, White and Grossmont! 😢
I love having you tour us through the castles of Britain thank you! It is a pity that youtube has shut your out reach for your videos, God willing your views will go back up. I will pray for you and your livelyhood.
More of this 'Storytime with Shad' content, please. Fantastic vid Shad, and it's awesome to see you finally getting to visit such incredible historic sites.
Fun fact: after the battle at Tewksbury, Edward IV sent Roger Vaughan to deal with the Lancastrian Jasper Tudor. Instead, Jasper captured Vaughan, and had him beheaded at Chepstow Castle. Seems Vaughan had been the man to decide to behead Jasper's father Owen, after the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, ten years before. Jasper never sought or could have been pardoned. And he could never have trusted a pardon by Edward IV. Thanks, Shad, for all your work.
Jasper Tudor - important character - Henry 7 right hand man - buried in my home town Keynsham
Young Henry was almost certainly with him, as they were ultimately that year heading for Brittany. Very cool that you live there! I miss the UK. I haven't been there since Dec. 1978. I was fairly close to Keynsham then. I walked the Cotswold Way, starting at Bath in October '78. Met a lot of wonderful people, saw beautiful villages and scenery. If I lived in Keynsham, I would be using my metal detector every weekend! Cheers!
It's great you have finally been able to see the castles in person. The history squad did a fantastic tour of this place, and that's another great video to watch.
The unbridled youthful invigoration flowing through Shad seeing these castles make me smile.
Can’t wait to see your reaction to Caerphilly Castle and it’s three-walled defence. It’s wonderful to watch someone’s genuine and infectious enthusiasm for British History. It’s also refreshing to hear someone from another nation who values their British ancestry.
Caerphilly definitely shouldn't be missed, even if Shad went straight to North Wales next.
A month definitely isn't going to be long enough 🙂
Love this return to castle content! I could watch Shad talk about every castle in the UK and Ireland, and then do the continent... that should keep you busy for the next twenty years or so!
This castle is such a good example of the continuous development of castles over time. It makes me interested in how castle development can be effected by the staging of the building of a castle. I could use these ideas in a fantasy novel.
This is what I love about living in the UK, we have such a rich history with so much to learn.
Shad going around the world discussing and showcasing fortifications and castles would be a great series.
Keep giving videos like this, explaining the history and why of the castles, love it. Glad you are living your dream.
it's more amazing that this video feels better than documentaries that explore castles
Love that Shad is so passionate about seeing castles "in the wild". Enjoy the journey, Shad and Lady!
To be fair, the expanded defenses around the castle make it a stronger defensive position, just not the most optimized position. The outer walls are great for projecting force over the cliff faces, which seems to be their main purpose. Without the outer curtain walls, someone could climb up the cliffs relatively sheltered from shooting and then attack the keep, but with the expanded walls and towers, scaling the cliff face would be extremely difficult.
Yes, I think the original advantages of its position, as described by Shad, still stand, even with the additional later walls. It stands within a middle Bailey, which is isolated on the east by a massively defended lower Bailey, through an internal gatehouse, and on the west by a narrow Barbican, again connected to the middle Bailey by an internal gatehouse reached by quite steep internal slopes. I think the only place you could really set up siege equipment to breach those walls is by that lower Bailey, and then you're faced by the internal middle Bailey walls even before you reach the tower itself. It all looks pretty impregnable to me
Well and also, what was sitting on that other outside side of the Great Tower from the river, which is now a small copse of trees and a road. How much has that landscape changed? Perhaps that area wasn't that attackable despite the seeming exposure of the keep by being attached directly to the curtain wall there.
For Example, Shad mentions in one of his other videos on this same location that people don't like the rear bailey because it allows direct access to the Great Tower. But that rear bailey wall goes right up to a small cliff face that requires bridging which would make it harder to get equipment through and up to attack the keep on that side. Which makes for less need for multiple fortification points from that direction. The second additional rear bailey seemed to have 3 portcullis in it's gate, but is a lot more accessible, to get through that and then potentially have to get your equipment up a few meters to even try to attack the keep is not desirable.
This place is built in stages so that affects part of it's design but I also think further additions also took into account it's unique position in a way that general castle building protocol just does not take into account. I think not only are we missing part of the picture for the structure of this place when it was fully functional, but that this castle had knowledge of it's flaws and used them to it's advantage. Mutiple strength and holdout points, difficulty to get siege weapons into place in several places through terrain and defensive fortification, attack and defense capability turned not only outward but inward. I think this place was potentially more formidable than it gets credit for.
Shad's enthusiasm is infectious. He's like an avuncular university professor gleefully taking the students through history.
Shad is basically a historian when it comes to medieval castles.
You dont need a university degree to be a historian
@@granola661 100% facts right there for all you need is a love for it and understanding of it and having the pride to stand up for historical facts and calling people out for their misconceptions of some and that is what Shad is.
@@granola661 ...but it helps.
@@memkiii Barely
Seeing Shad with these castles is so awesome, I really love this for him.
There are a few Norman castles in Ireland, built about 100 years after Chepstow. Carrickfergus Castle is probably the biggest still standing in Ireland. Highly recommend a visit, it’s a beautiful castle.
Yes, Carrifergus is great, so is Trim castle! Twenty minutes from Dublin! Lol
Can't wait for the next video. Gosh, I've missed these types of vids and this is Shadiversity 2.0 because you're actually there.
I always liked your videos on medieval architecture, and it's nice to see you getting to visit these bad boys in person.
Edit: get yourself to York if you can, the roman city walls are still standing in many parts and there are medieval/early modern guildhouses you can visit, as well as a lot of ollllld buildings being used as shops and whatnot.
I love this series. Not just because I enjoy the content and education but also it's so nice to see shad finally living out s dream of his.
This is the content I've missed! More castles, please!
I really hope you go to Caernarfon! And you need to see MACHICOLATIONS!
amazing thanks Shad. Very informative and just for me as I am also heading to the UK in 3 weeks time from Melbourne and looking forward to the castles and other ruins as well.
I hope you have a great time here
Considerably good production in an outdoors setting; well done Shad! Great content too 😀
I again am excited that you are there and doing a historical account of this castle. This makes my day!
As to Norman era, the percentage of castles fitting the standard motte and bailey as seen in text books, is surprisingly few. A good one is Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. Many have two baileys such as Windsor, or, like Lincoln and Lewes that have two Mottes. One motte built and then the Normans thinking, "Actually we can do better" and they build another next door. Then you have the use of previous roman defence walls such as Pevensey that used to be a small island in the middle of marshland, hence no big straight roman walls. Plus there are others that use the lay of the land, like Edinburgh on an extinct volcano. In addition, you have to think of supply. Chepstow is a key one for supply issues and the vital aspect to keeping Chepstow would have been supply from the River Wye. Supplying Chepstow by land, you have the massive River Severn to get round and then the River Wye. So looking at it purely from the ground, it would be easy to bottleneck and besiege Chepstow. That is where the importance of the river and supplies comes in.
After all that, you also have the half done castles. Tonbridge in Kent was built around 1066 onwards, has a bailey and it has a mound, but no Motte!! All you will find at the top of the mound is a well and relatively tiny defences. The main structure at that castle is the gatehouse. Artists over the years have design some quite grandiose mottes for Tonbridge, but in reality there was very little there. Maybe, just enough to defend the well. Alas, we all have to be careful of the fanciful imaginations of historians put on the spot.
For standard Roman style, Burgh Castle near Norwich in East Anglia is a lovely example. Be careful though as there is a later brick built Caister castle not far away. Also Framlingham Castle is a wonderful example. Funnily "Caister" translates to castle, so it is literally called castle castle. Just like "Ouse" and "Avon" is river, so River Ouse is river river and River Avon is river river.
Corfe, which I think you plan on visiting in Dorset is a good example of a "slighted" castle, blown up during the civil war.
I was really impressed with Tonbridge Castle, as it was realistically fitted for tourists!
Corfe was destroyed, yet the still standing walls are very impressive! Lol
I always wondered why Lincoln had a different layout to "conventional" castles (I went to school within a stone's throw from the North wall)
I also find it quite interesting that Lincoln Crown Court still operates from within the walls.
Nothing in the real world is ever as perfect as the book suggest. But the design rational that leads to the 'standard text book' castle/fortification of each period is visible in the real world structures, just altered to fit the geography, budget or as in this case because its a structure that had many phases of construction over prolonged periods the changing requirements.
@@stephen9894 That is interesting. I enjoy the design of them. So this guys videos came up on my feed and they are great. Will have a look at Lincoln, thanks.
Shad, these architectural videos are just awesome. I remember watching one of yours where you were explaining about cathedrals in Australia. Great video. I hope you get to visit other medieval structures there in Britain as well alongside with the castles. There isn't much detailed information about those buildings on the internet, specially concerning more of the individual particularies and circunstances that make each specific structure having its own characteristics and composition which helps to explain many things we otherwise wouldn't be able to get with the more general information.
Kind regards!
12:00
Our forefathers weren't stupid. They simply had to make do with what they had at the time. Truly astounding in every sense of the word.
You'd be a great tour guide and the information here is great, you're pointing out details that nobody locally has ever done. I live in Chepstow and for residents 'its just a castle' for the most part.
Also I'm surprised they let you film this. Cadw are generally very 'no filming unless you pay us'.
Something magical about seeing Shad actually at castles 🎉🎉🎉 ❤
As a Newport chap born and bred i am loving seeing these videos. I suppose I've always taken it somewhat for granted the wonders on my doorstep. Ive gone past them daily for 30 odd years and always look.
Keep it up Shad. There so much more for you to see.
Shad is in Wales? Should pop in and say hi to MauLer.
Castle videos are BACK BABY
I love me a good Norman keep. I enjoyed visiting Peveril Castle. Very small but very cool defensible location, and keep and defensive wall still mostly intact. And can also visit the Devils Arse while you're there in Castleton...of all places.
It's so interesting what you're saying! What's the devil's arse?
@@ladyofhay The UKs biggest cave entrance to Peak Cavern directly underneath Peveril Castle. It has a fascinating history and is now used for live events
Don't forget Conisbrough Castle. One of the finest examples of a Norman keep and used in one of Shads thumbnail pictures.
I live very close to Chepstow and it’s very awesome to see Shad visit castles that I’ve vistited all my life
Roman, eh?
There's a massive Roman city running almost from Chepstow to Newport! I think it's only recently we figured out it was all part of the same thing, or perhaps it's sort of suburbs of one settlement.
Lots of Roman ruins around Caerwent and Caerleon. The Roman baths in Caerleon are now a museum, there's an amphitheatre and barracks you can fully explore just over the road, too.
Caerwent is quite interesting. Shad might like that one as there's a Norman motte there too.
I'd love more videos dedicated to analysis and history of specific real world castles like this and like those of fictional castles from earlier on the channel !!
I love these vlog videos. it feels like vintage shad
I did a course on the Normans, about their castles, where they built them, how they built them, and what their purpose, and your videos just complement what I learnt. The cathedrals also had their purpose too, and not just religious ones. William I basically brought over Norman culture to England and the impact it had is still felt today. History is just fascinating stuff.
I think this is interesting to me, for my friends and I came across the same problem when building a base in 7 Days to Die. The original layout had the strongest structure in the back left corner, so we built from there and had to add more walls surrounding that corner - and eventually that corner ended up being the center of the base.
We are going to have Shad in the UK videos filling our feed for months and that is a very good thing indeed. All the castles he gets to visit should have their tour guides lined up behind the camera listening to every word he says.
Given how paranoid the UK is about pointy sharp cutty/pokey/stabby things, I wonder how he's managing to stroll around rocking a broadsword?
The UK is a strange place - lots of paranoia and daftness about the concealable knife etc from the law makers, so they can be seen to be doing something... But if you have a 'legitimate reason' you can wander around with a sword and many varieties of knife that would otherwise be illegal, and most likely you won't even get much in the way of funny looks...
OK, that works here in OZ but I didn't know how well it would work there in public given the paranoia the powers that be have whipped up over knives.@@foldionepapyrus3441
My understanding is it is a LARP sword so he has no problems.
@@Trisjack20 Technically without good reason that would probably still be considered a weapon you can't carry under UK law. Despite it being LARP especially the blunt steel rather than foam kind. In the same way you can't carry a cricket bat - but 'good reason' is a pretty broad net. For which what Shad is doing should be fine I think.
Edit: realised I'd really badly mangled the grammar, hopefully this makes more sense.
@@foldionepapyrus3441 Agreed and like with a lot of our laws it really requires someone to take exception and make a report for anything to happen.
I for example have walked through town wielding cricket bat and baseball bat and never had anyone so much as blink in my direction much less a bobby.
I would absolutely expect foam or rubber even blunt metal swords are hard to get through airports even in your main luggage. I know because I wanted to bring one home from Switzerland and they made a right fuss about it, even though it was no more sharp than a school railing.
Ah. I missed hearing Shad talk about castles.
Keep them coming! Hope you get up to Conwy, and the Roman walls at Chester.
of course there were earlier fortifications the saxon burh's were often in stone as time went on plus towns were somtimes walled
Chepstow is a walled town too, shame a lot of it has been destroyed for housing and to put the A48 right through the middle
I just saw a documentary on this very castle... excited to see your take on this.
Castle videos are 100% my favorite!
Love this castle breakdown video format Shad! :)
With all the people walking behind you as you're discussing the castle, I have to wonder if you managed to collect a crowd while recording and gave them an unofficial castle tour.
Dressed more in period than any official tour guide I've seen
Now, this is an interesting video! It's great to see Shad in his element like this!👍
I really enjoy these in person castle videos - keep up the great work, Shad!
This is the type of stuff I want to see on the history Channel
Hope you are enjoying your holiday in the UK. So many castles so little time.
Looks like weather was nice as well
Life in a Medieval Castle by Josegh and Frances Geis is all about Chepstow. Thanks for the video, Shad.
Thanks for the reference. I will check it out! Lol
I really loved this video. The narrative, the shot of the castle, the music, just 10/10. More of this please, Shad!
Shads in Wales ya'll! Home of the castle.... Shad.. I recommend Carmarthen Castle.. And Castle Coch both very different.. Cardiff Castle is a no brainer everyone needs to visit the capital.
We need more castle video like those :) been waiting for years to see Shad doing that hahaha, thanks for all these years of amazing content and so happy for you to realize your dream Shad.
Grandmother lives just up the road from chepstow, been there a few times to see the castle, even did a report on the castle's history for my major.
I went there too! What a special castle that is! Lucky your grandma! Lol
Can you make a series, in which you describe the pros and cons of different individual castles and rate their defensibility?
Great analysis! I love that you look at how and when parts of the castle and fortifications were built to explain their position. Its such a writerly thing to do to put yourself in their place and think 'why this and that' and 'what would i do in different situations' and honestly it adds so much life to your commentaries because its as much about the people building and using the structures as the structures themselves. It makes them so much more lively when you picture it that way and I love it!
For a poorly designed castle, it really fits in the world of Monty Python!
Not far short. They filmed Jabberwocky at this Castle back in 1977 with Micheal Palin.
Love this stuff Shad. You're like the fun, enthusiastic history teacher that genuinely enjoys what he does, and his enthusiasm is just utterly infectious. So happy for you, man! Can't wait to see more!
if your in chepstow you should pop down the road and check out monmouth castle
And Pembroke Castle as well! Lol 😂
I love that you're actually there doing these castle explanations instead of just showing videos of other people's drones or artwork made a thousand plus years ago. You should make a trip to Germany next and do those castles too! Need another million subscribers so you can afford it! Let's go!
Yep, that's Britain, alright.
Look at that sky.
Very cool. Enjoyed the information. I visited Chepstow Castle in mid August. But luckily for me it's only 2hrs away not 24+ hours of travel!
Are you enjoying the UK shad
Definitely watching this one when I get the chance. I love Shad's architectual and castle analysis videos
Just a comment for the algorithm
Thank you Shad! And greetings from the U.S.A. I couldn’t ask for a better person to be a Tour guide & teacher. The best teachers are always passionate about what their teaching. I hope you are enjoying your working vacation, or as you probably call it a Holiday. I hope the rest of your trip is better than you could’ve imagined. Best wishes to you and your family and to the rest of the Shadiversity family. Thanks mate. ✌️🇺🇸🇦🇺
Shad, any issues with people over carrying that sword around in England?
"OY! YOU GOT A LICENCE FOR THAT KNIFE, MATE?"
This is in Wales. Also doubt he's just walking the streets with it lmao
Fun fact - it is legal in Shrewsbury to shoot a Welshman if he is seen within the city walls on a Sunday, using bow and arrow.. Unrepealed law going back to 1200 and something.
Yes definitely can't walk around in public with a sharp steel sword. Maybe it's his larp blade
You MUST visit Scotland and see all the great Castles there. Edinburgh Castle Is legendary
I'm just wondering how he didn't immediately get tackled by arm police standing in a public area without his sword licence haha
I was looking for this comment lol
I live in the UK and people wearing cosplay swords is pretty normal in castles.
No such thing as a sword licence in Britain, they're perfectly legal to own. To carry one in public though you would have to demonstrate "good reason".
I work in Chepstow but I have yet to actually visit this site! Really interesting to see how it's evolution created the odd layout.
Not far from Chepstow Castle is another great site, Tintern Abby. Not a castle but still of potential interest to people interested in medieval architecture.
I live in Chepstow and have visited dozens of time it's definitely worth going to see it every time I go I find new details I didn't see before
I would guess the stone was most likely pilfered from the Roman Fortress at Caerleon, Isca Augusta, just down the road from Chepstow.
Anyway, I hope you are enjoying your time in King Arthur territory, that’s the part of Wales he was from. King Arthur of Gwent and Morgannwg (Glywysing), Arthrwys ap Meurig, Meurig being the Uther Pendragon, an epithet and military title.
Uthyr meaning Terrible as in someone who Terrified and Pendragon being Pen (Head) Dragon (Leader) the commander in chief, the generalissimo, the chief leader.
This is my favorite sort of content from Shadiversity. I suppose it is more of a lecture, but I could watch dozens of these videos a day. I’m interested to hear more about Chepstow, and what sort of events took place around it.
Me too!
I’m really loving these videos! Classic Shadiversity. Just a man teaching us about what he loves.
It's genuinely great to hear Shad talk about castles again! I'm happy he's getting to live a dream of his, it's super inspirational for me to work harder!
Nice seeing Shad being released into his natural habitat.
Thank you! Beautiful aerial views! Chepstow Castle once belonged to the legendary William Marshal, whose life was fascinating! He started as a knight, then became a Baron under King John, and finally, he was asked to be the Regent after the King passed away! He expelled the French invaders then and won the battle, fought around Lincoln Castle!