A point about siege ladders

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In the movies, climbing a ladder to attack a castle is shown a suicidally dangerous. Was it? How did they actually use ladders in assaults on fortified places?
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Credits:
Walls of Rome image
By user:Lalupa - Own work, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Krak des Chevaliers image
By Gianfranco Gazzetti / GAR, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Walls of Byzantium image
By en:User:Bigdaddy1204 - Photograph taken in June 2006 in Istanbul by en:User:Bigdaddy1204. All credits go
to him., CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Apollodorus of Damascus image
By Gun Powder Ma - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Trajan's column image
By Attributed to Apollodorus of Damascus - Conrad Cichorius: "Die Reliefs der Traianssäule",
Zweiter Tafelband: "Die Reliefs des Zweiten Dakischen Krieges", Tafeln 58-113, Verlag von Georg
Reimer, Berlin 1900, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Chinese scaling ladder image
By cncs - 摄于陕西西安长乐门城楼 photographed at City wall of Xi'an by Cncs, CC BY-SA 4.0,
commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Merlons image
By Luis Rogelio HM - Avila Capital - 084, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Chimera image
National Archaeological Museum / CC BY-SA (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Opening title music by David Gildas
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Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
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[@whyyousobudu]

At school "oh no, not another boring 45 minute history lesson" Later that day- "oh boy! 52 minutes on the history of ladders! What a treat!" Difference - the teacher

[@Eidolon2003]

In a traditional school setting this would be less exciting, but still more exciting than normal history class lol

[@cerebralm]

History MUST be taught by people with the gift of story telling. It's not about dates and facts and figures, it's about STORIES.

[@fripplicious7466]

@@cerebralm unfortunately that's not what the exam boards think

[@alexwoloshyn9222]

I think it has more to do with how much you have to pay attention, what the stakes are if you miss information, and how much you're exposed. 8 hours of Beige daddy 5 days a week plus studying would get taxing

[@alexwoloshyn9222]

basically don't be too quick to diss your teachers

[@dazhibernian]

Ladders are ok. They've got their ups & downs.

[@timlangley7169]

I laughed harder than I should have

[@RoboBoddicker]

that rung a laugh out of me

[@daslynnter9841]

I completely agree between ropes and ladders ill always prefer the latter.

[@hosmerhomeboy]

this comment section is really stepping up its pun game.

[@grovemeister04]

oh my

[@bradeki2997]

"My memory's not perfectly reliable." -guy who can rattle on for an hour with correct dates, pronunciations, facts, and figures. Yeah, I wish my memory was that unreliable.

[@muizzmustafa4438]

Same

[@CraftQueenJr]

He has notes

[@theleetworldbest]

This throws me an perspective on my own speechcraft. I have similar skills of talking on topic of expertise, even if I've just read on it, for hours with dates, details, rtc

[@turtleninjai]

@@CraftQueenJr i feel like we need a what we see what he sees meming of this comment, because that seems to be a wall of notes

[@Luduin]

"a point..." goes on for 1hour

[@barrisonplayz4937]

Now I can't stop thinking about specifically bred anti-siege attack bees, whose existence depends on a very bored guard

[@johnladuke6475]

Selected for their aggressive tendencies and rapid breeding, and the guards wear bee-striped livery.

[@maxmccullough8548]

@@johnladuke6475 yeah it's like a portuguese or venitian duke who keeps crap tons of imported africanized bees, on top of his fortifications, size some clay hives to be used as onager ammunition too.

[@andrewt4456]

Like any biological weapon, the issue in its deployment is ensuring its specificity in targeting the enemy alone...

[@TrainerCTZ]

The castle covered in strange full netting. Exits points on the wall for billions of bees to be released from......

[@gentlemanzackp6591]

^^^^ there was a story on some french chateau where there was apiary right against some wall, and monastery was nested relatively alongside wall trees wildflowers in the area. one morning the guard was making ruckus up above on catwalk (wood board extension along stone path) accidently dropped one of the honey nest which was glued underneath the wood planks. it unleashed hell. however how humorous it was the guards fled inside the tower and shut the doors. pulled wool blanket over arrow silts. wedged it with tankards, food plates and random stuff they found at arm length. went downstairs, between corridors, and alerted others not to go to this certain tower and/or catwalk. it took about 2 days for the bees to settle down. Beekeepers urged guards to torch very dry burlap sacks and walk all over the tower. The guards did whilst beekeepers came and harmlessly gathered queens and rehomed inside wooden boxes. That was around 1390s France.

[@BenjaminEmm]

“A point about siege ladders”... 52 Minutes... Is it Christmas already?

[@Patchaddictedpolymath]

My thoughts exactly

[@carlislenightingale8853]

One single point takes 52 minutes to get across :p lovely

[@jeroenimus7528]

Was wondering something similar. That's a LONG ladder to climb. ;)

[@ddddddd5425]

same

[@jaykay5369]

Stole the exact words from my mouth! 😃👌

[@spudicous]

"Ladders" 52 minutes Never change Loyd

[@Blackkey034]

Jackindabox LADDERS

[@aenorist2431]

I assume his one point is "they make you go up, but wobbly"?

[@Flight_of_Icarus]

I am watching a video by a man who themes his channel on the color beige talk about ladders, and I am absolutely enraptured. I don't know what this says about me as a person but here we are.

[@MarkVrem]

Was bout 2 say.. Let me go get my 2 gallon jug of Orange Juice. for this one.

[@-suiluj-]

Lloyd isn’t it?

[@rextheroyalist6389]

I can imagine people gathering around Lindy in pubs like Socrates for thirty minutes at a time as he talks about the uses of game fowl in the preindustrial world

[@voornaam3191]

What's the use of being a royalist, when you live in a rock solid monarchy already? My King is an airliner pilot! "This is your King speaking, welcome to the KLM flight to London Gatwick. I wish you a peasant fight."

[@rextheroyalist6389]

@@voornaam3191 it has two uses. 1. I support the furtherance and/or establishment of monarchy elsewhere than Great Britain 2. I am in active support of the monarchy I live under (even if the MONARCH herself hasn't been perfect)

[@Star-pl1xs]

@@rextheroyalist6389 😬😬😬😬

[@sctumminello]

I entirely would just sit there nursing a pint listening to Lindy eludicate on some fascinating if obscure topic.

[@chrismac2234]

Id destroy him. I'm a professional soldier. There are many myths in his videos. Good fun though

[@Irishfrasa]

Imagine climbing a siege ladder and the guy on the wall just yells out "ya like jazz?" Before beaning you in the dome with a beehive

[@DanAndHoe]

That would be a nightmare.

[@blueberry1c2]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

[@JohnDoe-ny5nq]

Almost an hour on ladders, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[@garymingy8671]

Send him wine / an vodka , I bet he gets booted out of local bars - " no no shut him up /0ut ! " ..mope - walk- fogs roil - the slap o wet concrete - "L A D D E R S ! "

[@G00N3YC4NG]

@@garymingy8671 I'd be the one buying him drinks right up until the point he was kicked out!

[@Kiss76specialK]

I imagine a top 10 points on ladders would be at least 10 hours long...

[@zee7705]

I was going to say .an hour on latter's that sounds about right but you beat me to it

[@josefkun7466]

What about hour and half?

[@jasoncp3257]

I love how this is a 50 minute rant about Ladders

[@eldr4362]

I'm ready

[@masongenke5439]

“A point” about ladders.

[@mathiasortegav867]

And beehives

[@aprilporter7908]

You think that's funny, we're watching it!

[@jasoncp3257]

@@TheRhysj5 no, that's why I love it.

[@sharpie443]

As someone who has nearly died a number of times I can say I have never screamed. I don't think most people would. It's just not a realistic reaction. I've fallen out of a tree stand and my reaction was to say nothing because I was to busy trying to stop myself. I know a guy who fell while repelling out of a black hawk. You don't have time to scream. People don't even always scream when they get shot. It would be way more brutal if a director showed a guy trying to figure out what to do as the ladder starts to go back and slowly panicking as the inevitable happens.

[@Jackomantaco]

I come from Australia its the same when someone gets grabbed by a crocodile no screaming apparently

[@sharpie443]

@@Jackomantaco I've seen a guy nearly get his arm cut off. He didn't scream. Just went into shock.

[@marcosphillips4232]

Lots of grunts and such though

[@grizzlygrizzle]

@@marcosphillips4232 -- For my near-death or injury experiences, it has generally been a muttered, "Oh f-ck." Often, the "Oh" was omitted. And "grunting and such" seems to have been my go-to response for extreme pain, such as having a doctor fish around under my kneecap with a huge needle sucking out debris from a torn cartilage (decades ago). And a kidney stone. And a spinal disc rupture. And so on. No screams though. It takes too much energy to scream. And you have to take a deep breath first. I don't trust screamers. Screaming seems too deliberately histrionic and attention-seeking.

[@pseudonym745]

hubbub u

[@jacobdonnely2608]

"I think it's far more compelling showing large number of people's trying not to die, and contending in a rational way." I think this is part of what makes 1964's Zulu such a fantastic film.

[@ShieldAre]

Spartans: *Build a double wall during a siege* Julius Caesar: Write that down, write that down!

[@Hebdomad7]

yo dawg, I heard you like sieges...

[@robert23456789]

always good to take note's from history wish we still did that lol

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Vercingetorix must’ve been real disappointed by that. I must say, I do feel sorry for him.

[@riccardos2955]

@CipiRipi00 I am pretty sure Ceasar had knowledge about Greek History. Greece was allready integrated in to the Roman Empire to that time and he was the highest religious figure in Rome. If he knew about that Battle and used the same tactics is debatable. Kinda funny if two army's found the same approach for the same problems without knowing from each other isnt it?

[@maxvivian8642]

@CipiRipi00 either way weather he knew or not does it change anything? Is it really least impressive that he was studied enough in war to know past battles and then know when, how and the right way to implement it.

[@Fade2GrayOG]

Shad: Do you want to be in my short film? Lloyd: Sure, I'm free. By the way, you've been mispronouncing machicolations. Shad: I've rewritten your part. You're now French.

[@TealWolf26]

I thought you called them mah-kick-olations because you kicked at the enemy trying to climb up. 🙃

[@loddude5706]

'Merde!'

[@MrMaxBoivin]

@@TealWolf26 You're not far from the truth. They're called "match[e]-col-ation" because you "mache" (beat) the "col" (neck) of those climbing up. It's a soft "ch".

[@njarlblack1467]

@@MrMaxBoivin I think matche comes from the french "macher" what means mash in english. Neck masher sounds sufficiently metal.

[@linkbond08]

@@njarlblack1467 metal content approved by metalhead.

[@bodkinrappallum6137]

Lindy is my favorite scholar on youtube. He can literally ramble for an hour about one topic, complain about his unreliable memory while also quoting and crediting specific chapters of a book and properly remembering dates, the exact details of things, and all the while still delivering an informative and gripping lecture. Freakin awesome, love your work! Please never stop!

[@theinacircleoftheancientpu492]

A point on beehives, if you drop it early enough as they start to place ladders, it could be a rather disturbing experience to have an angry swarm around you.

[@banesnoN7]

"Hot sand could be really irritating ..." Anakin Skywalker approves.

[@PhillipAmthor]

To be fair anakin never walked on the sky

[@susanmaggiora4800]

banesnoN7 And coarse!

[@kendo5862]

And it gets everywhere! 🤬

[@EtzEchad]

"I'm warning you that it does make you sound a little bit French." Important safety tip.

[@edgarbanuelos6472]

It could save your life.

[@johnlloyddy7016]

So basically, Ford is saying that their similarly named SUV model can climb over castle walls.

[@humboldthammer]

Born French -- at least the name has survived in America since 1683. As my Father always said, "A little French goes a long way."

[@humboldthammer]

@@johnlloyddy7016 No. It means "Over the Top." And it's Cadillac.

[@alangriffin8146]

“So, thank you, Polybius.” This is so darned refreshing. And I concur, thank you, Polybius.

[@benshell8662]

Man I'd really like to see someone handle a 35 foot ladder with arrows, rocks and boiling water raining down around you. I work construction and handle longish ladders all the time, and it's hard enough to set up the taller ones without fear for your life added in

[@The_ZeroLine]

Yeah, I think he way underestimates how hard it is to climb a ladder with projectiles coming at you let lone in armor and unwieldy weapons.

[@DustinM83]

"If you want to, go ahead and be my guest. But I'm just warning you, it does makes you sound a little bit French" - Is the most British thing ever said by anyone, ever.

[@zachary4670]

With “I bet they attacked at tea-time on a weekend, the CADS!” being a close second

[@jackmack1061]

3rd, 'Napoleon was a right git.'

[@subtleknife1073]

I imagine the "to me, to you"-reference wouldn't have meant a lot to most non-Brits. *chuckles quietly*

[@grizzlygrizzle]

From what I've heard in history-of-language circles, Medieval Latin was moving toward pronouncing the letter "c" in the soft manner rather than the hard "c" of classical Latin. That may have affected the pronunciation of "ch."

[@jackmack1061]

@@grizzlygrizzle assuming that is correct, does that mean cavae canem was pronounced savae sanem?

[@professorrubickmagusgrandi7909]

Me, About to get in a fight: "Be careful, we don't want to escalade this" Other guy:"Wait do you mean Escelate" Me:*Swings a ladder at him*

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

Looks like he *puts on sunglasses* won't be climbing back up. *YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!*

[@5353Jumper]

Jackie Chan is famous for his escalade kung fu techniques.

[@ivebeenbamboozled9210]

😁

[@clockworkkirlia7475]

Fancy jump-kicks are for people who don't carry stepladders. Also useful in the grapple!

[@LELANTOS11]

@@clockworkkirlia7475 yeah they're quite effective in wwe

[@ronjones-6977]

He reminds me of my favorite history teacher. She could talk for hours and you'd just be enraptured. I didn't always retain all the facts, but it made me WANT to learn more about the subject. Mission accomplished. Good teachers are rare jewels.

[@CoolestKidOnTheShortBus]

A 30ft wall would be quite effective to combat 30ft ladders considering a ladder loses length depending on the angle. A 30ft ladder would be perfect for a 30ft wall if you wanted to climb it while it was straight up and down.

[@generalgrievous2055]

Engineer: Sir we can build massive catapults and siege weapons taller than the sun! What do you request? General: *L A D D E R engineer: Years of academy training wasted

[@daslynnter9841]

Engineer: sir are you sure? We can make a trebuchet, or maybe use some of them new cannons! Maybe tunnel under them collapsing the wall and if not then we can go through the tunnel and.... General: rope ladder, with little hooks at the end, and two guys holding it down.

[@captainchaos3053]

General: I'm the leader I'll decide.

[@Harabeck]

I mean, if you had more men than time, seems like the ladders would be much quicker.

[@generalgrievous2055]

@@Harabeck more men equals more people to push siege to equipment, breaching a wall with only a few ladders and a few thousand men is going to be a bad idea, so I think ladders are more useful for skirmishers trying to annoy archers and kill the first wave of defense so the initial attack can face less resistance, or better yet for lightly armored infantry troops to lead a counter-attack and flank those men fighting your main breaching squad.

[@nottoday3817]

@@generalgrievous2055 Well, the point is, if, for example, you push a massive siege tower (assuming there are no moats and stuff like that and the terrain allows for it) you don't want for the defenders to wait for you in front of it, spear and bow in hand. So you need a few guys to strike in more position. And the last thing you want on ladders is lightly armored guys. You want the heavies on them because they can resist being pelted by arrows and other missile.

[@abesapien9930]

I love the irony of the title, as it should more accurately read: "A Voluminous Inquiry into Siege Ladders"

[@northwesttravels7234]

Escalades are used by Karens to run "them" over.

[@gideonmele1556]

That’s Lloyd for you

[@RabbiHerschel]

@@northwesttravels7234 based Karens.

[@johnfowler8330]

When I was in training as a rookie firefighter decades ago, we used a “pole ladder“. An extension ladder with two poles, one on each side attached high up on the ladder, which could be pivoted outward and forward to support the ladder . While heavy, this ladder could be set up by four men, two at the base and one on each pole. This in effect made a freestanding ladder that could be adjusted for placement as necessary. Perhaps technology carried on from ancient and medieval times?

[@alexanderkupke920]

That would actually not be a bad design for a siege ladder. you can approch the wall with the ladder flat and don´t have to flip it over to lean it against the wall, which I imagine is almost impossible to handle depending on the length of ladder, but simply could push up the top along the wall while others push the bottom closer at the same time. I also wonder about how heavy those would be. a few years ago I had a roofer take a look with a ladder leaning against the gutter. The problem was that with the gutter being about 8 meters up, the ladder remaines far from straigth with anyone standing on it. actually the upper third turned almost vertical. This one was made of aluminium, but I doubt wood wouldn´t do the same.

[@mrfrenzy.]

I was also a firefighter. In my country we call this an extension ladder. It can be carried and deployed by two men. After standing it up on the "poles" you pull ropes to extend three separate parts of the ladder up, then you tilt it to the wall. It can reach 14 meters high and does not go flat.

[@weatherman667]

One thing we learned working on Fighting In Built Up Areas is that you always want the ladder's top to press against the wall just below the level of where you are climbing to. It makes it a lot easier to get off the other end, but also makes it a lot harder for defenders to do anything directly to the ladder. Ladders are also normally held at the bottom.

[@puskajussi37]

That escaladed quickly

[@lindybeige]

Ba-dum-tish!

[@dakriss85]

I was looking for this comment and the internet did not disappoint me. Well done.

[@attemptedunkindness3632]

@@dakriss85 Don't condescend.

[@Arcanefungus]

@@attemptedunkindness3632 we have to finally ascend above that

[@citycrusher9308]

@@lindybeige Hello, an associate of mine has made a debunk video concerning your ''why men are expendable'' kzbin.info/www/bejne/ml6bkHSImLWVeNU

[@raycearcher5794]

BROKE: Build a wall around the city you're besieging. WOKE: Build another wall around yourselves AND the city you're besieging, so other enemies have to besiege YOU. BESPOKE: Plaster all your walls so they look nice because war is no excuse for sloppiness.

[@evankearney4865]

Just discovered this channel, and as a person with ADD I just watched this whole video with hyper focus. Wow, an hour on ladders, and it was the most interesting hour talk about ladders ever. I hit the bell button, nobody has the privilege of sending me notifications, but now you do ❤️

[@crazytrain7114]

You NEED to watch his video on tennis!! Absolutly fascinating, Beige is also quite an actor.

[@kronoscamron7412]

he is entertaining for sure

[@Darkurge666]

Same here. Although long time fan by now!

[@The_ZeroLine]

As someone with ADD, I find ADD to do the opposite of what people think. When it’s something I am interested in, I can pay attention for literally more than 10+ hours straight. It’s just boring stuff that I find myself unable to force myself to keep paying attention to.

[@ostlandr]

The "supports" on the ladder at 47:12 can also be used to very quickly raise the ladder. Used to call them "Pompier ladders" in the fire service. One person "foots" the ladder to keep the base from sliding, and several on each of the poles can heave it up into position in one movement rather than slowly walking it up.

[@rorystockley5969]

'Pompier' is the French word for fireman, so I guess the name is pretty straightforward

[@TestSubject-vv1kn]

Friend : "Hey, you've been watching that video for quite a while now. What's it about? Me : Uh........ *Ladders*

[@felixmervamee7834]

No, no, it's called "30 steps to victory". Gotta sell it a little.

[@Jebu911]

If you put it boringly like that but in reality its a video about storming the battlements of a castle.

[@hiimryan2388]

@@felixmervamee7834 nah mate its more like the slope formula equation

[@spook407]

friend: .....are you planning to climb something? me: .....a castle......

[@jek__]

And like, not even modern ladders made of fancy materials with interlocking parts that can accomplish all sorts of tasks, just plain wooden ladders lol

[@cengiztaner4754]

Lindybeige is probably the only person I'd listen to who talks about ladders for an hour

[@user-zj4qi3rr6p]

+1

[@drewinsur7321]

24:55 bro i think he missed the point that raven thing: when the enemies put the ladder on your wall some body run there with a rope and tie it to that mofoka and YEEET those bitch.

[@chrisedwards3866]

His video on the scholar's craddle was wonderful too.

[@-suiluj-]

In german there is a thing called „Eskaladierwand“, it’s a wall you have to climb over in military training.

[@krautandsalo]

Seit wann ist das bitte der Name? Bei uns war die Wand auf der HiBa einfach nur die Wand. Die Hälfte der Rekruten wäre ohnehin zu dumm gewesen, das auszusprechen.

[@pseudonym745]

@@krautandsalo Seit wann bitte ist die umgangssprachliche Bezeichnung gleich der der ursprünglichen (also der "richtigen /schönen/guten und wahren... " )...? Und die Rekruten sollen ja auch nur drüberklettern und nicht "eskalare" durchkonjugieren...😄

[@krautandsalo]

@@pseudonym745 Vllt. Ist das laut zDV der richtige Name. Gehört habe ich den kein einziges Mal.

[@robynn144]

I have my own "point about ladders". At 1:05 Loyd mentions that: "Ladders do have a limitation...in the ancient world anyway" (1:05). I had a ladder slide away beneath me, and I fell 3 meters. Result: Open fracture of my leg. Saw my own bone! I'm alright now. It took two operations, and a year and a half to heal. In the "Modern World". In the Ancient World I had probably been dead as a door nail - from infections. So, I ASSURE you that modern ladders still have their limitations. Always make sure that ladder stands firm and take care when you "escalade" everyone!

[@Puleczech]

43:20 The fact he scoured all his harddrives first and THEN the internet, clearly reveals that he has direct access to an offline medieval 𝖂𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖕𝖆𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆.

[@yoyo-lf3ld]

Which-apedia

[@notknifeykestrel3104]

Witch-ipedia

[@AccidentalNinja]

Maybe Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae?

[@siyacer]

Bichipaedia

[@amichiganboiwhosereallazy1544]

Eyyyyy ch spoken like c

[@daslynnter9841]

Id like to imagine one knight started beekeeping as a hobby and everyone else was constantly complaining anytime they had to take over watching the tower. Of course thatd be one of the first objects thrown during an attack.

[@daslynnter9841]

@G L.C meanwhile all the other knights high fiving in the background

[@johndavidlockie1444]

It would be the first object thrown whether there was an attack or not

[@ninjireal]

0:44 Fun fact: During WWI, Belgium was defending against Germany. Belgium had some of the greatest forts in the world. But the Germans were starting to lose hope on a specific fort. “Well what are we supposed to do now? Knock on the door?” Someone said. One of the commanders present replied “Well, why not?”. The man drove up to the fort in his car, and knocked on the door. A peephole opened. “Do you surrender?” The commander said. And that’s how the Germans captured a fort by asking nicely.

[@samueldimmock694]

So they actually surrendered?

[@epicsage16]

I never knew I’d be interested in “the level of bee-hivery” used to defend castles, but Lloyd could talk to us about pretty much anything for an hour and it would be entertaining after he’s done some research about a subject.

[@The_ZeroLine]

I was shocked when “bee-hivery” wasn’t in one of the top comments.

[@justingrimshaw4815]

I’m already looking forward to “a follow up to ladders”

[@Curathol]

And you just know, it's gonna be 47 minutes at least ...

[@justingrimshaw4815]

Curathol one can only hope

[@Desron58]

To cover what wasn't covered in the 1st almost hour long video.

[@expelledangel]

Seriously, I'm not saying anything new here but I will reiterate: Lloyd is the only person who can get me interested in ladders enough to listen to him speak about them for almost an hour.

[@ianleavitt8333]

Had to listen to an OSHA lecture on ladders for almost 2... this is thrilling after that

[@LELANTOS11]

Frankly I easily could've gone another hour of ladder talk

[@mamba101]

At 3AM no less

[@Zraknul]

@@ianleavitt8333 are you forwarding them his contact information?

[@ianleavitt8333]

@@Zraknul i should!

[@onetdev]

The true love that radiates from this guy towards what he's talking about. Like I've been watching him for like 4 hours now, I started with only a 3 minutes long video. I have to call my boss that I can't go to work until I watch all of the videos from Lindybeige. Amazing.

top of the castle wall is a formidable place to keep bees, due to all kinds of non siege related reasons. when you find yourself under attack, those hives are probably in your way defending the castle and all... that might made beehives a more common projectile in medieval siege warfare.

[@Dinotechnician]

“Call off the attack...there are some bees” Yeah, that sounds like a thing I’d say

[@karoljones7455]

Hell yeah, I ain't getting stung

[@christophe5954]

Lindy has clearly not had 30 000 to 50 000 thousand angry bees trying to sting him, some castles stopped whole attacks with a few beehives. (I remember one in France which had beehives engraved over the gates to commemorate an attack on their city that was repulsed by bees.)

[@adampalamara]

Naked and the dead

[@stretchedmetaphor3238]

@@christophe5954 do you happen to remember the name of the bee castle? I'd love to read more about it and searches weren't yielding anything

[@angelortiz4815]

Would be very effective if everyone is allergic to bees

[@SamGlaze]

Only Lindy could make “a point” last more than 50 minutes, and that’s why we’re subscribed

[@prince-solomon]

Yeah, not for his countless frankophob remarks... that people seem to have no problem with. He´s just joking. Over and over and over again... sure. How many jokes exactly until humor becomes xenophobia? I need an exact number. With Lindy, it´s gonna be a high one. I like Lindy, but he´s like an older uncle that is very knowledgable but keeps making racist remarks that everyone is just pretending not to hear... or they´re just jokes...

[@aweliano]

​@@prince-solomon What wrong with racism?

[@jayhill2193]

@@prince-solomon That's why everyone makes jokes about you, you take these joke way too serious and that makes them all the better.

[@aweliano]

@Zacchary Francis AREVALO am I?

[@Aqueox]

@@aweliano Idk. Everyone knows we're all different. Why not acknowledge that?

[@ianscott3697]

Check out kzbin.info, he talks about the same things

[@philiplaurell1163]

Thank you so much (from Sweden) for stepping outside your comfort zone of feet, thumbs, barrels, kegs, palm, stadium, slug, bucket, Farehheit, acres, miles, and other obsolete measures the rest of the world is blissfully ignorant about. Sarcasm aside, I truly appreciate it, although I resent the French connotation, lol.

[@selske23]

"A point about siege ladders" One singular 52 minute lasting point. Carry on Mr. Beige, wouldn't want it any other way.

[@krixpop]

will there be a "part two" ?

[@miu6530]

I played the video at 2x the speed

[@miu6530]

@Katarina Bleu ???

[@VictorianTimeTraveler]

Boiling water: no big deal Hot sand: whatever Lyme: Eeerr I'll just keep my eyes shut Beehive: *No Not the Bees! Not the Bees!*

[@christophe5954]

Lindy has clearly not had 30 000 to 50 000 thousand angry bees trying to sting him, some castles stopped whole attacks with a few beehives. (I remember one in France which had beehives engraved over the gates to commemorate an attack on their city that was repulsed by bees.)

[@antthegord9411]

@@christophe5954 thirty thousand to fifty thousand thousand? lol that does sound absolutely godawful though, I could see how it would be effective. same as spiked pits, same as boiling liquids, etc. besieging castles during medieval times must've been a nightmare.

[@MJFallout]

Double Whammy: Bees sauteed in hot oil!

[@refinedbrass]

just imagine like 40-50 bees on the inside of your armor under your padding

[@humboldthammer]

@@refinedbrass Now I understand why the guy jumped off the ladder backwards and sideways. Been there -- done that. It took me a long time to learn to control my fear of bees.

[@ashleysmith3106]

Fun Fact - Medieval castles in England had alcoves in their walls called "Bee Boles" where the beehives or "skeps" were kept. Generally skeps were made of coiled grass or straw. Easily carried to the top of castle walls !

[@ojs9068]

“Woah, that was a long tangent wasn’t it?” Can’t believe Lloyd only said that once during a 50 minute video on ladders.

[@feedfancier]

"Caesar defeated the Britons because he attacked at teatime on the weekend. " Is that an Asterix reference?

[@nathandickie860]

By Jove.

[@AmryL]

Quite!

[@stevemac6707]

Well we all know those Romans were crazy...

[@MrAstrojensen]

Shocking. They're not gentlemen.

[@samiraperi467]

Technically it was the hot water time. Asterix introduced tea.

[@bumpercoach]

simple -- "are you scared of heights?" assigned to sapping "are you scared of enclosure?" assigned to escalade "scared of falling and cave-in?" assigned to frontal assault

[@glenpope4955]

Afraid of dying? archer and artillery

[@kellynolen498]

@@glenpope4955 lol no all men are afraid of dying only cowards can't beat that fear

[@glenpope4955]

@@kellynolen498 yeah well considering the time we are talking about archers were considered cowards. Imagine the same for the artillery

[@kellynolen498]

@@glenpope4955 I wonder about the historical training of archers and artillery realistically they wouldn't be weak strong arms to to pull back the bow strings or strong in general to transport the artillery either in pieces or towed plus someone smart enough to put it back together if they move it in pieces

[@SnowMexicann]

@@glenpope4955 Im sure the soldiers love archers and artillery lmao what are you on abt. They provide so much firepower and support for the sieging troops and the artillery also get used to breach the castle walls.

[@snikeduden2850]

Tbh, all these measures to ensure the ladder remained stable sort of indicate that the fear of falling from the ladder was very much real (whether solely psychological or not). Also, as someone else mentioned, the vast prevalence of drawn out sieges suggests that scaling the walls was considered extremely risky.

[@bilindalaw-morley161]

I envy this guy so much for his passion, he just lights up my screen, totally absorbs me for fifty or so minutes (but who's counting) and leaves me gobsmacked, blinking and almost breathless. Thank you Mr Beige. It's a year later, you've given me a lot of brain fodder during this time of plague, I really am grateful for the opportunity to find you.

[@Cheesus-Sliced]

he's like the medieval history version of technology connections lol. Both channels are brilliant.

[@florianlipp5452]

Fun fact: the most important festival in Geneva is the "Escalade". It's a celebration of the citizens of Geneva repulsing a surprise escalade by Savoy troops in 1602. According to legend, the escalade was repulsed by pouring hot vegetable soup on the invaders. The escalade is not celebrated by eating soup, though. Rather, the good people of Geneva do it the swiss way and eat chocolate shaped like a soup cauldron.

[@stevencooper4422]

That must have been the last soup they ever had...

[@TwistedAlphonso1]

"I put the Lamborghini doors on the escalade."

[@alandowning1320]

I'm surprised Lindybeige did not mention this. "Ainsi périssent les énemies de la république!" the children cry as they smash open the chocolate cauldrons to get at the marzipan vegetables inside. Mère Royaume was the name of the woman cooking soup on the battlements when the Savoyards attacked by night.

[@clockworkkirlia7475]

Fun fact indeed! Alas, if only it had been tea. The jokes write themselves.

[@PhilJonesIII]

That was a very risky thing to do; Savoy gets seriously cold in Winter. The hot soup provision might have encouraged them to come back.

[@omariscovoador7486]

Machicolations: *get mentioned* Shadiversity: *happy noises*

[@Iliya117]

MAACHICOLATIONS !!1

[@whysrumgone]

For two minutes before he realizes he's getting called just a little bit French, which as we all know is the height of insult.

[@armandomassimini3023]

Someone needs to send this to Shad

[@Quartan284]

Currently at 14:30 and immedeatly... - thought of machicolations - went looking for this comment

[@damianmares5338]

@@whysrumgone well, from my part, being a bit french is waaaay better than being even slightly british , so yeah, call me french all ya want *laughs in metre*

[@esk5646]

The first image that always comes to mind when I think of ladder-based sieges is the Battle of Helms Deep where the Uruk hai have those big hook launcher things and then using some pulley system or something, I’m not very well versed in the field of physics, the ladder gets pulled up

[@smokey466g9]

Love these videos, love the length the detail and the randomness/ unexpected interestingness of them

[@Rankerquat]

Me, a forward thinking rival duke: "boye I sure love measuring the walls arounde this castle using bothe the shadowe and stringe methods" Some Guard: "Heye what are you doinge here with that stringe? Awaye Withe Thee!" Me: "Hahe! I am butte one man! Art thou reallye going to waste thine limited resourcese to rebuke me?" The same guard, nervously considering his three arrows, two rocks, and the bag of lime he had to bring from home: _"Ie Saide Awaye Withe thee-e!"_

[@77thTrombone]

The guard grymly noted his buddye had forsooth neglected to bring the tower beehyve....

[@lupesimon123]

You know it's gonna be good when the title is just "ladders" and it's 52 minutes long

[@natkingcol909]

Only 52 minutes??? He's slacking off a bit in his old age...

[@Catastropheshe]

Long ladder 😆

[@thomashill5768]

I always thought collapsable battlements would have worked well for the defenders. Heavy wooden ones on a hinge that can be dropped instantly when the defenders start to get overwhelmed. Anyone on a ladder trying to get over the wall would be confronted with a 30ft drop the other side. The battlements could swing back up into place once the threat gave up or moved elsewhere...

[@arnoldfossman1701]

Hmmmm... I came here looking for someone commenting on those swinging "sideways rams" and I find your comment. While it's not the same as your idea I had a thought about those ram things and decided to share it here. Why not have ropes and weights on the battlements that could quickly attache the free end of the rope to a merlon then after stretching the rope out in one direction push the weight over the merlon at that end. That would allow the weight to swing and hopefully clear any ladders present from most or all the wall in the area between where you release the weight and most of the distance on the other side of the attachment location. The rope shouldn't be much more than half of wall height and the weight should be close to what one man can handle up a small ramp.

[@thesaurus9226]

@@arnoldfossman1701 You could have the counterweights in the towers nearby and as an added bonus, drop them on attackers as they try to climb. Then simply cut the rope holding the weight and away the log swings. You'd probably want to have several sets of ropes, one connecting everything between the towers and more for the counterweights on each side. You'd also want spare ropes and counterweights available. I'm thinking two equal permanent counterweights on each tower to hold the log in position with larger attachable counterweights to pull it left and right.

[@jimaanders7527]

Thank you for the highly detailed bit about ladders. I used to think they were suicidal (in the movies). Now I see they were quite practical. Good show.

[@shadiversity]

I was summoned here by machicolations and feel more French for some reason. This video is peak Lindybeige and I love it!

[@commanderhindsight1633]

MACHICOLATIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONS!!!!!!!

[@gerardvila4685]

French "machicoulis" with the "ch" pronounced "sh". Given that most of these guys were speaking some form of French (they were actually called Franks by their enemies), it's the most likely pronunciation IMHO. None of them spoke Greek after all. Edit: Archers could have shot through machicolations I think, not just from towers. And there were sometimes projecting wooden structures that performed the same function.

[@drewinsur7321]

24:55 bro i think he missed the point with that raven thing: when the enemies put the ladder on your wall some body run there with a rope and tie or hook it to that mofoka and YEEET that ladder out. Preferably full of argentinians. Cuz im Brazilian.

[@sabhyde5327]

Chadiversity

[@leomar8577]

Shaaaaad!

[@frankdutton2095]

“You might get a splinter...”, brilliant health and safety assessment during an attack.

[@zacharyelliott7161]

Yes!

[@Arcanefungus]

People died from that back in the day you know. Although, granted, despite potential nonnewtonian physics, a ten meter fall was probably more unhealthy even back then

[@Luddite1]

Absolutely love the way you put things and in a vaguely related comment I think your idea for film makers regarding battle scenes is why I like Brad Pitt’s Achilles in Troy , he doesn’t have spears and such bouncing off him oh no he dodges out of the way and when it comes to fights it’s not long drawn out duels it’s a quick precise strike

[@danielclermont4631]

He is so articulate, and so knowledgeable.I was enthralled,thankyou.

[@D_A42]

Lyod: "[Escalade] is a completely unnecessary word" Cadillac Escalade: "Am i a joke to you?"

[@carlosandleon]

that proves his point

[@felixtheswiss]

Try getting that thing across a wall! ☺

[@kint87]

It's actually just the french word for "climbing", but dont tell Loyd he will be mad

[@MrMaxBoivin]

Lloyd takes two "L", as you can see by the badge behind him.

[@davekennedy6315]

The Escalade is a truly awful car and a joke to anyone bar a few tacky rappers.

[@patricianpenguin]

44:46 'This carries me to the main point I'm going to make' That was said after nearly three quarters of an hour of talking about ladders. Lindy really is amazing.

[@stevenpolkinghorn4747]

Lindy.. I don't think you realize how many times I watch your videos, even if I've seen them before, just because I like your way of explaining things and history. Especially the video about fire arrows. I put it on almost as a background, just to keep me sane at my job.

[@morgang5666]

Lindybeige would definitely be on my list of Military advisors/Siege engineers for when I become an apocalypse warlord.

[@plasmathunderdx]

He kept talking in one long incredibly unbroken sentence moving from topic to topic so no one could interrupt it was quite hypnotic.

[@blacksquirrel4008]

Marcel Proust has entered the chat

[@pineutrino]

@@blacksquirrel4008 Jean-Luc Picard has entered the chat

[@SplendidFellow]

Come cheer up my lads Come cheer up my lads 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all

[@snickle1980]

😂Halfway through reading the sentence in my head, the beat kicked in.

[@zep4814]

"but the medieval world was far before Newton, so maybe physics did not work that way"

[@accidos]

The physics from @lindybeige doesn't seem to be the same as newtons physics. You can't make a falling ladder swing back to the wall by pulling it toward you, neither by pushing it away from you. The center of mass will stay the same and you cant give the entire system an impulse while you are part of the system, thus it will continue falling. The only way could be to change the center of mass towards the wall. This could be by switching sides on the ladder, quickly. Or to give it a thrust momentum by propelling yourself away from the ladder and sacrifice your life for the ladder. Or to use a grappling hook.

[@tukan1652]

for anyone who is looking for this moment - 34:50

[@fwqkaw]

@@accidos Wouldn't switching sides be similar to pulling the escaladder towards you? Just typing aloud.

[@magicspook]

@@tyler1107 Still not possible. If you push yourself forward, you'll pull the ladder back at the same time because of the conservation of angular momentum. One possibility would be to climb further up the ladder while it was still further forward than at a 90 degree angle with the ground. You are effectively transferring the force through the ladder into the ground (out of the system), so you could change the angular momentum of the system that way. That is, if there is any more ladder to go up on (this doesn't work if you're the guy at the very top of course).

[@nemo99nemo83]

@@accidos No wonder they aren't the same physics....if you use feet your result will differ from all standard physics ;)

[@PinguinCrazy]

Amazing, I asked a similar question on reddit's history thread about how engineers would measure walls for building siege equipment and the only answer I got was "by its shadow" which could be correct but sounds much harder than the methods you mentioned. Nice work Lindy!

[@mjbarczyk]

Good ol' Lindybeige video. Long time ago we had a A point about-thingy. Love them the most!

[@haydenbsiegel]

The beehive defense sounds like a tactic from Home Alone.

[@tlw4237]

A beseiged force would sometimes collect together wasps nests and drop them on the brave fools on ladders. Medieval cluster munitions, each containing 5,000 independent homing warheads. Not many people would carry on climbing a ladder while being furiously stung. On occassion besiegers would use artillery to throw wasp/bees nests at the defenders to try and clear the ramparts. Presumably at points the attackers weren’t intending to assault themselves.

[@dersuddeutschesumpf5444]

Look up the battle of the bees. You're welcome

[@itchykami]

"You Gauls give up, or are you thirsty for more?" I don't see an army carrying a beehive into battle, either as defender or attacker, in a way where they don't get stung more than the people they use it on. But maybe there's some ancient bee-pacifying techniques that I am unaware of.

[@haydenbsiegel]

@@itchykami Smoke puts them to sleep. When I was a kid I lived near a bee farm and that is what they did to get at their honey.

[@lowkey6134]

WELCOME MOON AND STAR

[@georgehugh3455]

_"A point about siege ladders"_ - *Another in the increasingly misleading titles of Lindybeige productions*

[@bryankirk3567]

He does that, doesn't he?

[@ItsJustVirgil]

Yeah was about to comment something along the lines of “more like a lecture on siege ladders”, it’s getting out of hand how these titles are compared to actual video runtime.

[@michimatsch5862]

A 5 minute guide to warships.

[@zachary4670]

Is this a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy?

[@jonathanowen9917]

Hehe... Lindy got you with his clickbait titles. 😂

[@markusmencke8059]

Those modular ladders of Apollodorus reminded me of the extendable ladders today. Totally different linkage system, operated by rope sometimes, but... he seems to have been onto something. Another thing, the ladder at 46:38 has spikes at the bottom. If you put those in really deep (or in pre-dug holes), and use wedges, that should help with stability a lot.

[@elipetrou9308]

The spikes are real smart actually

[@OCMOOO]

Now I want a 2 hour lecture on the armor of climbing troops :protection vs physical ability

[@dethwisper]

"How tall should we build our walls sir?" ""Well, ladders can only be 35 ft. long." "So let's build our walls 30 ft. high." "Can't have a battle if the enemy can't get in." "Brilliant idea sir."

[@benja_mint]

maybe the walls were effectively taller than 30ft when you consider a moat or other down-hill slope directly outside of the wall

[@cauchyschwarz3295]

Otherwise climbing the walls would be super difficult. Very much an inconvenience.

[@benja_mint]

@@tripplefives1402 yep a 35ft ladder will only climb a 30ft wall at the angle specified

[@grief6052]

Cant just break the game like that cmon now

[@kennyg1358]

@@cauchyschwarz3295 oops!

[@Jessie_Helms]

*explains how archers would have trouble shooting people down at the bottom of the tower* Wait do I hear Shad screaming? Do you hear Shad screaming? *MACHICOLATIONSSSSSS* [edit: I wrote this like 5 minutes after the video was up, Shad hadn’t commented yet.]

[@bastisonnenkind]

I was thinking that in my head - and I see I am not alone ^^

[@samiraperi467]

Macchiatolattechocolations.

[@Habdabi]

MACHICOLATIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONS!!!!!!!

[@conorjames3533]

I was about to comment this. Glad there are more of us here

[@flamixflame2685]

Just look at the top comment on the vid, it's shad

[@rubyjohn]

52 mins of Lindybeigeness. Beautiful.

[@b0rd3n]

You are VERY interresting and so are the stories of thruth you tell. THANK YOU

[@fieldmarshalgaig9477]

"The ancient world was a long time before newton, maybe physics worked differently back then" Yeh why not

[@panqueque445]

Can we appreciate how his style of videos hasn't changed in the slightest? I swear every time I re watch a video if it wasn't for the image quality changing and the date I wouldn't know when the video was uploaded.

[@konradtalmont-kaminski4357]

And the number of pictures in the background!

[@theswedishdude1]

"i'm just warning you, it does make you sound a little bit french" probably the best way to make someone change the way they speak.

[@bill_and_amanda]

I was a professional window washer and we used piece ladders much like described by the ancient author. Each piece was about 7ft, wider at the bottom, and fit into the piece below. You could stack about 5 pieces safely.

[@mathiasortegav867]

"ladders" 20 min later: "Beehives!"

[@Gapeagle]

Video: ladders Lindy: defenders yeet stuff at attacker

[@thalivenom4972]

it strikes me that boiling wax would be kinda worse then bees.

[@Arcanefungus]

@@thalivenom4972 it wouldnt. Wax has pretty little heat capacity and would cool off fairly quickly. The attacker with a shield climbing the ladder now is an attacker with a wax covered shield. Well done. Bees on the other hand are really nasty when you can get them to attack the people you want to be miserable.

[@scribeslendy595]

>"a point about siege ladders" >52 minutes I'd be terrified to see the length of a "a few thoughts on siege latters"

[@dwaynemadsen964]

Thoughts on the Crow (Raven?) Use it to hook the actual ladders. People are smaller targets and moving! The ladders are larger and stationary! Also heavier, but if you only manage to break the ladder you have effectively defended against its use. Nets with hooks, again, the ladder is a good target, but if you do manage to haul up an enemy, as you mentioned he would quickly be dispatched, and now you have a heavy object to throw back down on his former companions! This is fun, and we've only just reached to bit about the sponsors! Looking forward to the second part!

[@julianlaresch6266]

I love just how much this content is perfectly catered to my interests I'm about to binge a ton of old videos

[@mikeekim6314]

There was never a moment in my life where I thought I would watch a 52 minute video on siege ladders. And yet here I am.

[@thekommandant1062]

I honestly watch these for 50% educational value, and the other 50% just because I absolutely love Lloyd’s personality

[@makaveli2tt]

17:00 I love this channel for the funny, yet graphic language used to tell the stories. Thanks for sharing

[@bumpstockbilly4263]

the fact that your camera shakes when u make a "forceful movement" to embellish a statement is a fun cinematic bonus

[@willselley6693]

I'm self-isolating at university at the moment, everyone in my flat is miserable but I'm having a jolly old time watching a video about SIEGE LADDERS

[@HeyImLucious]

You say that as if siege warfare *isn't* interesting as fawk....

[@humboldthammer]

Gonna take 50 weeks and spend it all in isolation. Until they end this virus with a United nations. Well I called my Congressman, and he said, QUOTE: We tried to save y'all, but you're all gonna croak. Sometimes I wonder, "What am I gonna do?" 'Cause there ain't no cure for the Trump End Times Flu. Escalade . . . from the French for "Over the Top" Cadillac's Flagship SUV

[@Romartus]

You've come to a channel where the presenter always appears to have slept rough before letting the camera rolls.

[@joeyuzwa891]

nice Transilvanian Hunger pofile picture

[@willselley6693]

@@joeyuzwa891 COLD SO COLD

[@DCM_128]

It amazes me, the talent of this man to make literally any subject, no matter what it is or how boring it is, sound interesting.

[@sethbennett617]

True... but not if its french

[@MacBorin]

That’s what I thougt when his last video had me on the edge of my seat and it was only about some cows having a friendly shoving contest in a field.

[@matehavlik4559]

It amazed me years ago, when I started watching his videos. Now it’s expected :)

[@mikeissweet]

From everything I've heard so far and that tangent about the CH pronunciation- I've subbed

[@bakersmileyface]

Gotta say going up a siege ladder would've been terrifying. Imagine having to climb a narrow ladder under fire by arrows and boulders from above while wearing armour knowing that at the top are a group of enemies ready to stab you before you can even draw your weapon.