All about MACHICOLATIONS! the coolest castle defensive feature

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A detailed look at one of the coolest defensive features of historical medieval castles, machicolations, addressing many questions that arise form studying them, such as if you could fall through one?
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[@Simulaare]

Our dnd champaign DM: You reach the tower. Me: Does it have machicolations? DM: Does it have what? Me: "Shows picture of machicolations" DM:... No. Anyway, the tower looks abandoned... Me: That's because it doesn't have machicolations.

[@amehak1922]

Nerd lol

[@nymalous3428]

AT Dog This made me laugh! :)

[@83Ironside]

@@amehak1922 I think 'nerd' was confirmed by 'our dnd campaign'...

[@sillypuppy5940]

Even my garden shed has them. And a dragon.

[@cattraknoff]

@@sillypuppy5940 You never know when you'll need to defend your gardening tools from hordes of savages.

[@DanteYewToob]

There's a firearms/sniper saying "you shoot _through_ a window, never _from_ a window." Meaning, you don't stick your gun/arrow through the window and fire, you stand back and shoot from behind the window _through_ it. Not only does this disguise you, because you don't see a gun sticking out of a window, but it also provides ample coverage and allows you to pick your shots and fire more accurately because you can take your time. If you stand inside a window/merlon gap, chances are you'll be spotted and shot before you get your shot off. Just a good simple explanation of how crenelations, cover, and windows are used in combat with one simple phrase. "Shoot _through_ a window, never _from_ a window."

[@3nd04]

cool

[@brianlewolfhunt]

"There are times when they don't need it." Saddest Shad comment ever.

[@marcopohl4875]

shaddest comment ever?

[@tylermech66]

@@marcopohl4875 you are a terrible person, I love you

[@Error-eb9gv]

@@marcopohl4875 Some say you can hear the Shadmentations to this day.

[@Zyscheriah]

@@marcopohl4875 honestly i read it twice to confirm if it really was shaddest. Then got disappointed it was not shaddest.

[@simonpeter5032]

I’d think that they would just be a deterrent.. soldiers would notice and wouldn’t even get near the base because of them..

[@GeneralPet]

you can appreciate machicolations if you've played Mound and Blade: Warband. They are so convenient when the besiegers hug the castle walls and you can easily shoot them while covering against their archers

[@iiiiii8522]

Except the vision is extremely poor compared to real life.

[@Cryogenius333]

You know whats wild? 12 years of playing WArband and I've never seen a Machicolation. Where are these fantastic contraptions?

[@GeneralPet]

@@Cryogenius333 some multiplayer castle maps made by other people have overhangs with gaps on the floor

[@Cryogenius333]

@@GeneralPet awww so mod castles lol. I play the base game and a couple conversions and I've never seen them

[@GeneralPet]

@@Cryogenius333 it's not mods, just custom castles made with vanilla assets. You can just join a server and it downloads all it needs

[@antoinelambert938]

Shad's sour spot: the best designed castles do not need/have machicoulis because they got the terrain rigth.

[@hoop6988]

Bob the guy@ how can I disagree?😏

[@miguelmialichi6367]

*ITS OVER ANAKIN I HAVE THE HIGH GROUND*

[@thomasjames7568]

@@miguelmialichi6367 THE HIGH GROUND WAS A BLUFF! Obi Wan killed Darth Maul AND General Grievous immediately after dangling from a place.

[@miguelmialichi6367]

@@thomasjames7568 There is a difference Obi wan is space jesus

[@henrypaleveda7760]

you could have the right terrain and have machicolations. That would further improve defensive ability

[@andym8241]

What if you fell through? Brilliant Wilhelm scream opportunity!

[@johndilton4539]

AAAAWWWW OOOOO!

[@johan.ohgren]

I'd call it a bad day at work...

[@Guranga93]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4avZqpvZsmtmNE

[@christiankalk4668]

Wilhelm scream, AND you land on the enemy. Win-win.

[@truewalter4193]

Tis but a scratch!

[@rodneyhowells4293]

Helms Deep didn't have machicolations. Imagine how many of those beautifully presented elves in designer mail could have survived if they did?

[@saltytattie833]

That guy with the torch would have been fucked

[@konrad1073]

There was no elves at helms deep in the book🤭

[@KurtisC93]

Don't worry about them. When an elf dies, they just respawn in the Undying Lands. It's all good. ;)

[@generalgrievous2202]

@@KurtisC93 no they go to the halls of mandos

[@omnitroph1501]

That was all in the movies, and therefore irrelevant. The books, to my knowledge, do not specify, and therefore we can safely assume, from the reported efficacy of the defenses and probable utility of machicolations in that situation, that Helm's Deep, in the books, did have machicolations.

[@General12th]

If you can't find any castles in Australia, maybe it's high time you build your own!

[@darthnihilusthebestsith]

You got that one right and now he's building it

[@henrypaleveda7760]

he's been doing it though.

[@macekane]

Hmm, yep. I think we found a time traveller.

[@TrueStrike]

This comment aged like fine wine.

[@darthbuzz1]

He had a few million laying around and has bought land and is going to build 3 castles. Lets hope they don't take as long as the one in France.

[@bigman7856]

Your baby’s first words: “Ma-ma-ma-“ “the baby is trying to say mama!” “Ma-ma-MACHICOLATIOOOOOOOOOONNNNNSSS!”

[@TrangDB9]

That was definitely baby Shad 😂

[@jadonweaver2196]

MACHICOLATIONS

[@Blaz1ngFury]

@@jadonweaver2196 u tried

[@jadonweaver2196]

@@Blaz1ngFury what?

[@3nd04]

​@@jadonweaver2196 unfortunately, we will never know.

[@dravendfr]

*Before video* What are Machicolations? *After video* WHY WOULD A CASTLE FORGO SWEET, SWEET MACHICOLATIONS?!

[@gibbous_silver]

Beep

[@Iritis-]

"The readings are off the chart... 20,000? Even Master Yoda doesn't have a machicolation count that high."

[@Cowgirlcadet]

Damn straight. Yoda didn't have no damn machiciolations at all. That's how come Darth Sidious was able to kill all the Jedi at the Jedi Temple. 'Cause they didn't have no MACHICIOLATIONS!!

[@DZ-1987]

Before he can worry about high machicolation's, he should worry about his own height. Just saying, its not all that fun being short. Not that i know how it feels, I've been tall all me life. First grade, nearly towered a teacher, 8th grade, people started to mistake me as a 30 year old due to my mustache.

[@kyaleerayen1615]

@@Cowgirlcadet it is a known fact that even darth sidious viewed the use of pommles as vastly inhumane, and thus refused to use them in his campaign against the jedi. it is also a well documented fact that once during the board meeting in which they discussed whether or not to build the death star, one of his archetects suggested that instead of making the deathstar he instead make a space faring tower with machicolations that fired pommels. sideous and vader were both horrified and promptly put the evil man to death. ... true story. :P

[@Cowgirlcadet]

😋

[@JasonHoningford]

Yoda doesn't need that many, he keeps falling thru them duh!

[@shadow8928]

instead of rocks, one could also drop refuse, dirty water and poop from the machiculations. It's a dirty tactic and it could affect the enemy's morale along with being wet and more prone to infection.

[@zeekeno823]

"dirty tactic" I see what you did there.

[@SonsOfLorgar]

And vulnerable to remote ignition... if hot pitch or suet was dropped followed by glowing embers

[@johndilton4539]

Or you could drop chunks of disease ridden dead animals down, a medieval biological warfare.

[@BudCharlesUnderVlogs]

Your mother was a hams-

[@johndilton4539]

@A Fucking Leaf hahaha genius!

[@SonsOfLorgar]

I'm thinking the step before the machiculations also lends itself as a wheel-stop for a wheel barrow... eg. Roll the loaded wheel barrow up to the step and just dump the rocks into it. Or a cauldron of boiling oil, water or pitch...

[@Gormathius]

SonsOfLorgar proof that even Shad isn’t able to catch *every single* comment. If he saw this, he would’ve hearted it for sure. It’s just such a perfect INTERPRETATIOOOOON!

[@Lionheart38361]

Very good point. I'm going to put my idea here too, maybe your comment will get more attention that way: The raised edge of the machicolation could also reduce the chance of arrow fire reaching the defender, and it doesn't reduce the defender's range a lot. Example: imgur.com/a/hVEi9tF (and yes, I "stole" shad's picture xD). It's quite interesting to see that a very good idea can stil be improved by small additions.

[@johnmackelvey]

@@Gormathius I absolutely read "INTERPRETATIOOOOON!" in Shads voice.

[@Gormathius]

John MacKelvey I was actually gonna say it normally at first, but then I noticed certain similiarities in the syllables.

[@joshuamirabal3617]

Yikes. No thank you. I’ll stay away from the castle wall thank you very much.

[@hexa3389]

Shadiversity with a huge library as background: *Sponsors Audible and says that it's his favourite* The library of the background: "am I a joke to you?"

[@tomf3150]

User Name Whatch these books closely.

[@kusiami8213]

As someone with a very large personal library, I have come to really enjoy and even prefer audio books. Allows me to do other things, like drive, while absorbing the book - which they tend to frown upon if you do so while reading traditionally.

[@fakecubed]

@@kusiami8213 Yeah, sadly, I do not have as much time to just sit somewhere and read for long periods. I still buy many physical books, but I now tend to also get an audiobook copy (or borrow them for free from my local library-many libraries offer these) to listen to.

[@Crystan]

I suddenly have an urge to build a castle with machicolations in Minecraft. Siege my castle? No no no, good sir.

[@nickkohlmann]

Well depending on the castle you will need dozens of defenders to make them actually useful

[@Theron101]

I actually did this

[@Zayats_MW]

I do this in every castle

[@kacperhubenko3767]

I thought about them being necessary since castles in Minecraft are not practically useful in any way since getting through any amount wall is a matter of several seconds with iron or better pickaxe, so they aren't any problem for other gamers, and there is no reason to build them against monsters, since simple fence would do the job, but if you play enought on server with other people and get rich enough to build some height of wall with obsidian which is fairly undestructible, then you would use machicolations not only for shotting bow, but they would be absolutely great for throwing blocks of dynamite, since they fall down when ignited.

[@keiyakins]

@@kacperhubenko3767 the only problem is you pretty much HAVE to build out of either stone brick or wooden planks, due to the limited availability of stairs and slabs. I wanna put functional fortifications on my castles built with a more aesthetic block pallette too! (Right now I'm toying with mushroom stem and prismarine accents - kind of inspired by the color pallette of Hyrule Castle in A Link To The Past.)

[@Revenante_of_Asylum]

SPECCULAAAAATIIIIOOOOOOOOONNNS about MACCHICOLAAAAATIIIIOOOOOOONNNS!

[@SpamMeGooglification]

Very very disappointed that Shad didn't say that Audible was LEGENDARRRRRRRYYYYYYYY

[@WhooptyDoo]

lol pretty much sums it up kzbin.info/www/bejne/o52vhX6Pgd-Xm6M

[@tikkidaddy]

Lol😂

[@pyrobeastalpha1823]

I heard/read that in shads voice

[@Tequilla449]

That sounds like a power metal song.

[@joshualim1339]

*breathes in* *_M A C H I C O L A T I O N S_*

[@eidolor]

I heard that restless spirits of architects, tacticians and soldiers are appeased and vindicated with each holler

[@MrFigorama]

I've never been so satisfied by graphics before. There was an illustration for everything! I'm very impressed.

[@stevenotch7324]

In italian these are called “Caditoie” wich literally means “something you can fall trough”

[@DRYeisleysCreations]

"Yeoman, how did you break your leg on that wall?" "By falling through the MACHICOLATIONS!"

[@salifford]

YEEEES!!! MACHICOLATIOOOONSA the video every shadiversity fan has waited for. thank you shad my life is complete

[@Djorgal]

Machicolations are fine but what about dragons?

[@cherrydragon3120]

Yeah! Or the kiteshield!

[@PrincessStabbityPLS]

I'm so surprised there's never been one! I was planning on scouring the old vids for one about MA-CHI-CO-LATIOOOOOONS-AH!!!!11 because I wanted to be in on the joke >.< So if there wasn't a dedicated video, when did the meme start? When 200 years from now cyberarchaeologists excavate the remains of Shad's channel, where will they find the first mention of machicolations?

[@salifford]

gasp!@@Djorgal

[@Titanic_Tuna]

MACHICOLATIONSSSSSSAAAAA!!! ARE GREAT AND ALL...... BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DRAGOOOOOOONNSSSSSS???!!!!

[@johndilton4539]

Balista (giant crossbow siege weapon i think) the shit out of that dragon.

[@rafaelferes4362]

I think if dragons were a thing the walls would have ceilings hehehe

[@2reinrein]

@@rafaelferes4362 depends on how often dragons attack, not that walls work well against something that flies.

[@PhilBagels]

If it's a fantasy world with dragons, then wizards would do very well to develop an anti-gravity spell, and put machicolations facing upwards so you could bombard an attacking dragon.

[@dmyt58]

If there would be dragons, everyone would just build underground castles or use caves. Nothing works better against fire then 30m of rock and dirt

[@cliffclark2285]

That was me who asked about the step up Shad, it was at Blarney Castle in Ireland. If I can find the pictures I'll resend then to you

[@doctorevil7352]

Very well exp'ained. Attention to information ,detail and lengthy answers are ,contrary to popular belief ,very important to at least those of us who are seekers of knowledge .

[@PasswordMaster12308]

Australians need castles to defend themselves from the emus! Surprisingly, emus have yet to master the skill of flight, or Australia is screwed!

[@ameliasiren2585]

That’s why we have dropbears

[@DarkSol16]

@@ameliasiren2585 We should weaponise the drop bears to drop on the emus after we got our castles with machicolations up.

[@ameliasiren2585]

Solum hell yeah those damn emus won’t ever know what hit them

[@darthbuzz1]

Are there emus in Australia? I thought they live in Africa. I would have thought kangaroos would fit the bill better.

[@ameliasiren2585]

darthbuzz bloody oof their’s emus over here in Australia

[@juanlira9406]

"What if you fall through?" Well, it would probably hurt

[@DZ-1987]

Head first, yes, but what if ye foot got snagged and some git trinkled an arrow up your foot? The combination of words is intentional for comedic purposes. Please continue with your life.

[@YTANDY100]

@ Juan Xidk if you werent all broken up youd be able to engage the enemy in hand combat :-)

[@DZ-1987]

Shhh. Comedic purposes.

[@calramius1427]

@@DZ-1987 I think you find out an efficient way to steal arrows from the enemy XD

[@pierreo33]

@@DZ-1987 Loooooooooooose?

[@jayfolen8911]

"I have an army." "We have Macchicolations."

[@florian8599]

Pardon me. It's "We have MACCHICOLATIONNNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSS!"

[@that1guy947]

Jay Folen and I have a siege tower

[@anthonykneipiii4562]

And I have an axe!

[@xandorian8242]

and we throw pommels down them

[@samadrid6321]

Oh yeah, we have a dragon!

[@Kargoneth]

I actually respect the fact that you use, and have used, the products of your sponsors.

[@MumboJ]

Ok fine, you've convinced me to add machicolations to every castle in my D&D campaigns. Happy?

[@JohnnyVa7]

As an architect I have really grown fond of this channel. The way you describe and understand everything spacially-related in depth, makes me really watch the whole of your videos with my eyes and ears fully focused! Definitelly Subbed!

[@Pedantic_Brit]

Shad lets loose his battle cry... And the world trembles. MACHICOLATIOOOOOONNNS

[@night2501]

The step thing, could also have been a way to manage rainwater, to avoid having it fall down through the machiculations to the wall surface maybe

[@schmitty5461]

Why would that be a problem?

[@b1laxson]

Agree. That was my first thought too, water. The mach. is on the outside seen by the countryside. Water stains there would reduce the glorious appaerance of the castle and the water would affect the whitewash. Less water on the shiny side reduces cost in keeping up grandeur.

[@seraphina985]

That would make a lot of sense they certainly had better techniques that could be used to manage rainwater than just simply letting it run down the stonework, examples would include such as using wood or lead lined pipes or stone spouts to control and direct the water safely away from the walls. Not only can flowing water erode the stone but regularly damp stonework will suffer additional degradation as the damp will encourage the growth of moss that can degrade the stone and also get into cracks which is particularly problematic in regions that drop bellow freezing regularly at night in the winter months as freeze thaw cycles in cracks will result in significantly more rapid crack growth.

[@nottoday3817]

@@b1laxson Actually, reduces erosion, which is more important than grandeur

[@glowingorb645]

One of the most expected videos. Everyone here loves that glorious spaces called ... Machicolatiooooooooooooooooooons !!!!!

[@aiden5343]

I wish someone loved me as much as this man loves machicolations

[@ssik9460]

No

[@LockheedC-130HerculesOfficial]

No

[@MrsInAbox]

I purposefully saved watching this vid until I didn't need headphones in

[@nothisispatrick4644]

"Ofcourse Im french why do you think I have this outrageous accent you silly king!?" "What is a french castle doing in the middle of britain?" *"Mind your business"*

[@AgentTasmania]

No this is patrick That very much is his business though

[@h0lx]

@@AgentTasmania whoosh.gif

[@Riot076]

"IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! WE DEMAND ENTRANCE TO THIS SACRED CASTLE!"

[@hemidas]

@@Riot076 No chance, English bed wetting types. I burst my pimples at you and call your door opening request a silly thin. You tiny brained wipers of other people's bottoms.

[@shortfuse875]

*You mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!!*

[@nasserfirelordarts6574]

Who else uses headphones /headsets/ earphones or whatever they are to be called when listening to the mighty Machicolations battle cry

[@tommeakin1732]

I turned the volume right up with my headphones on

[@DarthNoox]

I did, full volume... worth it!

[@boswcheydoesart1314]

Me cause the only internet access I have is at my local library...

[@merendell]

I tend to yank them out when he starts his windup

[@erfinblech527]

Me cause i live in mexico and its very noisy

[@burner27]

I was watching The Dragon Prince on Netflix and they had head height merlons on the crenellations and functional machiciolations. I screamed, "MACHICIOLATIONS!" My wife, mom and sisters looked at me like I had two heads. My two year old said, "Mashicaton!" Raising her right.

[@DJWeapon8]

Shad should do a mini review of the castle from The Dragon Prince.

[@subratadhar7698]

yup!!! You are rising your lil princess right. One day both of you will scream "MACHICUOLATIONS!!!!" together without worrying what other are thinking.

[@cheesse9yearsand]

no u

[@deussalt8108]

That show is amazing. I love all the nods to the show Merlin.

[@ProjectGridless]

I was watching that last night and was impressed with the bailey/courtyard design, straight out of Kingdom Come Deliverance. :)

[@utrak]

Drinking game video found. Difficulty: lethal

[@daltonseymour2605]

The “raised step” design is used today. I work in construction, and any walk way over 6 feet high has to have what we call a toe board around the edge. It helps keep you from accidentally stepping off the edge, and if you drop something, it won’t slide off the edge and fall.

[@robertdevito5001]

"They may take our lives... but they will never take our machicolaaationsssss!" "The machicolation is technically the hole" Well, that takes on a whole new meaning, doesn't it?

[@thundergozon6439]

Well...

[@hethwilliams2810]

I think you mean a "hole" new meaning, eh? ;)

[@Dirtbag-Hyena]

Yea. And you dont have to stand close to the hole to use it. As long as you can reach & good with your "weapon",youre good to go😉 No??🙄 Ok....Ill leave now😶🙁

[@jaimetheone9150]

It is imposible to take a hole

[@jaimetheone9150]

@dirtydanzig2 By my dad lol, She's in a hole now tho.😭

[@-Zevin-]

I am going to be sooooooooooooo upset if Medieval Total War 3 doesn't have functional MACHICOLATIONS!

[@SkelNeldory]

Prepare to be upset.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@@SkelNeldory modders always find a way

[@Szpareq]

Joke is on you, there will never be Medieval 3

[@絵空事-o4e]

Congratulations on the sponsorship and great video as always.

[@joshrathbun1616]

I remember being subbed not too long ago with about 160,000 other people. I saw 663,000 subs and my jaw dropped. So great to see a real solid youtuber with great content get the support they need. Love you and your videos Shad, happy for you and keep up the good work!

[@asbestosfibers1325]

I ALWAYS skip ahead when people start an ad read.... I watched your entire audible as read. Very good sir.

[@LaloMartins]

MACHICOLATIONS! I already gave it a 👍 before even starting the video

[@macchxero]

Same here! Yay!

[@lordmctheobalt]

The perfect video doesn't exi.... Edit: Also M A C H I C O L A T I O O O O O O O N Z A A

[@bikerboy3k]

Fucking nerd

[@CaptainFirespitter]

It’s truly a testament to the intelligence of the people who are behind all these creations, regardless how old they are, who were able to carefully work out how all these features would work out for what they were creating. (most of the time.) I know people that don’t think history and the people of the past are all that important or impressive, a couple of them even seeing them as inferior and worse than modern day civilisation. Yet it’s these same people who’d helped shape things and the world to what it is today. Hell, just the fact that even in the Stone Age period, people already had a fundamental and incredible understanding of how everything worked, Corbeling (think that’s how it’s spelled, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.) being one of those ancient construction techniques. It’s truly amazing to see where we came from and how similar people were to us even in different time periods. Just my random thoughts and ramblings on history! 😁

[@deathtdow]

Without the relativistic aspect to that statement you would be much closer to the truth. The people of the past indeed weren't stupid or particularly less intelligent than we are today. We are where we are at due to the accumulation of hundreds or (for some things) even thousands of years human effort. However, it is fair to say modern western society is objectively superior to any others past or present. In the entirety of human history.

[@CaptainFirespitter]

DeathTDOW sorry if I butchered my statement slightly. 😅

[@g.h7657]

Ancient civilizations literally knew the speed of light and many other impossible stuff based on what we are taught. We are actually primitive post disaster people compared to our advanced ancestors who had unlimited energy and weren't slaves to the govt. His-story is a lie

[@TimSlee1]

Architecture was prettier back then. Change my mind.

[@DaddyMouse]

@@TimSlee1 Is about to try to change his mind but then sees a minecraft video with gross cobblestone cubes and decides to not say anything

[@kawadashogo8258]

I only just discovered your channel a few days ago, I've been watching through several of your videos, I think I've watched about a dozen so far. I had never heard of machicolations before I saw your channel, but now I know I'll remember them the rest of my life. :P MACHICOLATIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONS!

[@theextremeviking]

"I am *WAAY* OCD for that!" Man, I can sense your strong presence of your soul. You are a good man. Very interesting to learn about castles.

[@thereareantsbehindyoureyes7529]

Man shad, you've grown. Last video I saw from you was about castles at 30-60k. Glad to see you this popular

[@Cryfails]

MAAACCCHICOOOOLATIONNNNNSSSSAAAA! I turned my headset volume to the max when you yelled MACHICOLATIONS!!!

[@thepebbleinstitute7702]

Imagine being Shad’s Wife. Every few weeks you just hear this random yell.

[@Error-eb9gv]

@@thepebbleinstitute7702 he should put it on a family Crest or something.

[@blitsriderfield4099]

Just because you don't need them, doesn't mean you can't have them. They look awesome, intimidating, and provide extra defence.

[@GunarBastos]

They can also serve as a countermeasure not for an invading army, but a small infiltration party. Those guys could sneak up to the base of the castle even with a clear view and bridge to deter a larger invasion force.

[@JasperJanssen]

They’re also super expensive, and overspending on your weapons of war means you get fewer of them. Just like a 60 million dollar main battle tank is better than an 80 million dollar main battle tank if all else is equal, a 60 thousand livre castle is better than an 80 thousand livre castle. Hence why you’ll see the “all the machicoli all the time” castles primarily on representation-first castles. The Royal residences, the Ring Of Stone castles, that sort of thing. The defense-first castles will use them where needed.

[@PMMillard]

@@JasperJanssen Private Henson, Why do you have a browning M2 Machine gun set up at the latrine and not the wall? "so I can shoot while taking a shit, SIR!"

[@amabitsapiens]

This is so thorough! Shad's is one of the only channels where you can count on getting such a comprehensive rundown in KZbin format.

[@davidc9441]

I have absolutely no idea how I ended up watching this but it was really interesting. Thanks. Ive learnt something today that I would never in a million years have thought I was going to learn today. Life is great.

[@peterblood50]

What always amazes me about medieval stone construction, and machicolations are a perfect example, is how they could calculate the amount of weight the corbels could support. And that's not to mention all the other calculations that would have to go into building a 30 foot high stone wall with battlements etc. which includes making it strong enough to be battered relentlessly and maintain it's integrity. The architects of that period were mind boggling in the amount of knowledge they possessed in order to not only make these amazing structures but to have built them so that many have survived to the present day. Thanks you for your awesome presentation on what is obviously your favorite subject. ( My weakness is for the "Wooden Walls" that protected Britiain, and the great floating castles of the Royal Navys' Ships of the Line.)

[@L0stEngineer]

From an engineer's perspective, it takes detailed analysis and research to optimize to the "good enough" point. If you want to drastically overshoot and build your design to last for centuries (like castles and the DC-3 apparently) then good ol trial and error is an amazing analysis methodology.

[@brigidtheirish]

@@L0stEngineer Or you could go with the Roman approach of 'if ten pounds of cement is good, a hundred pounds must be better.' I suspect their tendency to over-engineer *everything* stems from having such an unwieldy numbering system.

[@L0stEngineer]

@@brigidtheirish I would give your comment XCVII likes if I could.

[@timweiner7990]

I've seen Audible promoted on so many videos, but hearing Shad's endorsement is the first time I've legitimately considered it. Good choice, audible.

[@caulkins69]

Audible uses DRM and a proprietary codec. I won't do business with a company that disrespects its customers that way.

[@hyperlogos]

He spent enough time hawking it that this video could have had a second subject

[@porckchopz5680]

Damn, I wish I could build my own castle in Mount and Blade, design it, and just watch Shadiversity Videos to make it the best castle.

[@Jokuvaanjee]

You can mod M&B

[@porckchopz5680]

Hasa92 I’m not good at it lol

[@Jokuvaanjee]

@@porckchopz5680 Neither am I but I've heard that it's one of the easiest games to create mod's for.

[@LumenP1023]

Minecraft.

[@MikaeruDaiTenshi]

@@Jokuvaanjee I guess that depends on the mods you're thinking of. Something like "building your own castle, as well as create it's design beforehand" would be pretty hard, since you not only need to model/render/texture everything, you also need to know how to programm it.

[@YerBoiTex]

“Some of you can probably to see castles!” Me: (Sad Texan Noises)

[@spiritualbeetle3904]

How about (sad western hemisphere noises). We all got the short stick here

[@workingmothercatlover6699]

No castles in Utah either. At least, none that I know of. Just castle inspired buildings, like a house i pass on my way to work.

[@davidlarson242]

I recently made a revit family of crenelations with machiculations for use as a training tool. This video made it a lot easier to get the parts correct.

[@TheCherryTrader]

Audible sponsorship! A milestone for every youtuber.

[@cherrydragon3120]

Any sponsorship is. It means you can actualy start making some money to live a life. Also, these sponsors know very well that youtubers are great advertisers. People watch them regardless AND often don't skip the 30 second ad. Like we always do with youtube ads Also.... i just saw your profile name... are you my master O:

[@TheCherryTrader]

@@cherrydragon3120 come on the shadiversity discord server and find out :D

[@MatthewCobalt]

Congrats on the Audible sponsorship. From how I see you, you really are the type of person who listens to Audio books. All I hope is that there are some books where people scream "MACHICOLATIONZ!!!!" for 5 seconds straight.

[@Beatles2077]

Shad is my hero for teaching me the beauty of MACHICOLATIONS(!). I cannot saying it without yelling now XD

[@davidroddini1512]

I was delighted to see this deep dive ON machicolations. Don’t think I would be so glad to see a deep dive through one.

[@SculptyWorks]

Awesome video, Shad! Your passion for all things castle really comes through! :)

[@RDCTD]

I literally subscribed then refreshed and a new video was uploaded

[@nikirki25]

Perhaps, today we think about being close to the arrow slits, because we think of how to better use a gun, not an arrow. If we see a slit to shoot through, our brain doesn't start figuring out ways of how to make the arrow pass through that slit, it just thinks, put a barrel of a machine gun into the slit and shoot targets.

[@gareththompson2708]

Of course even modern soldiers are trained to shoot from back into the room so that the barrel of their rifle isn't poking out of the window (that is one thing that might give away your position).

[@jameskazd9951]

ah yes, i love sticking my gun in slits and shooting

[@rickregina5053]

@@18947ful its a little difficult to grab the barrel of a machine gun, which after a few minutes of continuous gunfure, would be at about 200+ degrees.

[@18947ful]

@@rickregina5053 First you'll have mostly Standard issue assault guns. And for that you have gloves. Also: when you fire for that long you have to Change the Barrel. ;) Otherwise you Just Ruin it.

[@rickregina5053]

@@18947ful In a defensive position of that nature, there will be at least two SAWs. Secondly, a SAW weighs about 20 pounds. Moveable, but not by much. Thirdly, there is a barrel lock on the barrel change handle, making it impossible to simply twist and pull out. Lastly, standard issue gloves will not protect you from the temperature of a machine gun barrel after several minutes of firing.

[@thecrippledgod2789]

i just fell between the M A C H I C O L A T I O N S

[@techwizpc4484]

You're in Australia. Hmm. Drop bears + Machicolations sounds really deadly.

[@dylanlochan9612]

Or gigantic huntsman spiders

[@stephenmemelord2303]

Those poor bears! EDIT: I thought you meant large bears. Now that I see what you mean by drop bears... THOSE POOR SOLDIERS.

[@Gigastro]

I never expected to say this but Shad, your videos made my Minecraft experience much better. Nothing is capable of getting through my gatehouses now Thank you

[@LordZachael]

There are times when Machicolations are not needed... (Weeps manly tears right along with Shad) Practically speaking that maybe so but I say to thee, when has that ever stopped we over zealous builders from making the most awesome, stupendous, LEGENDARY designs? Never! :D Friends might say to me "You don't need all those extra defenses, you have too many already!" I say "Preposterous you can NEVER have too many defenses! The more gatehouses and murder holes the better! The more walls and barriers the better! Even over castle moats where enemies will almost never be right up to the wall without boats, I say place the MACHICOLATIONS everywhere! Be prepared to defend all sides of the castle always! Friends I must follow my natural OCD building instincts, along with our glorious King Shadiversity's example!" Embrace your Designs... And... Whatever happens... Protect your Castle's Honor! Do this and you shall always be able to tell everyone both friend and foe of your Castle... You get a Machicolation, you get a Machicolation, EVERYONE GETS A MACHICOLATION!!!!!!!! :D Epic video once again Shad! Dreams and Honor to you! To the man that we Soldiers, Knights, and Lords pledge our fealty to... Hail Shadiversity, King of Castles, Swords, Dragons, and of course M A C H I C O L A T I O O O N S S S S Z Z A A A ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

[@8vantor8]

yes just yes

[@havoc3742]

You need those Machicolations over the water for when the Mermen attack

[@Gormathius]

Lord Zachael I can 100% honestly say I’ve actually built a castle with machicolations over a lava moat. You could argue it’s in the off-chance the moat gets filled in, but the honest truth is that I just wanted the wall to be uniform.

[@peacefulinvasion684]

@@Gormathius well maybe they can fly over lava. Or you could be dealing with fire immunity. If they infiltrate your castle you can just shove them through the whole. Either way maticulations just look cool.

[@nottoday3817]

@@havoc3742 Actually you need Machicolations over water because large armies can spend time bringing in dirt and throwing it in your moat. Or they could use ships to sap through your walls (I think this happend in Tyre with Alexander the Great)

[@HenryKobyla1407]

Dare To Game sent Me. Great video, never have i been so interested in a small feature of architecture before viewing this video.

[@metaltom2003]

Staying ahead of the annual quota for machicolation videos I see. Great content as always!!

[@beledra4051]

Finally, I found the translation for machicolations in Spanish. Its "matacán" wich is kind of funny, it means "dog killer" (matar= to kill, can= dog)

[@ebowden1168]

That translates to kill the dog because the Mata would be formed from an Usted command in the past pret.

[@ezrac704]

Perro is dog

[@JoeButler02]

I've never seen this channel before. Came up in my feed. Seemed interesting, started watching. Pretty damn excited to see my favourite book series sitting on the shelf behind you!!! The wheel of time series is amazing!!

[@MrWeezy312]

Yeah can't image theres too many medieval castles in Australia or any for that matter hope an extended vacation to visit some in your future

[@billysinge8977]

Building a gothic castle in Minecraft, this notification was just in time. Also, 1st! Thanks Shad!

[@MacGuy3135]

*Accidentally stayed up until 3AM yesterday trying to get the matriculations right on mine.* I agree. Useful video, I now realise I can just use the wooden cover for the holes.

[@michaelt6413]

Careful, one turns into 7.

[@michaelt6413]

@@MacGuy3135 I bet the trap doors would be good

[@cherrydragon3120]

Intresting

[@HSuper_Lee]

I've spent some time figuring out how to build functional mochicolations in Minecraft. I'd recommend using a stair and then an upside down stair. It creates a hole that does let you fire an arrow down to the base of the wall. Aka. a functional mochicolations.

[@widgren87]

I am honestly surprised it took you this long to do an in depth video on machicolations :-) And now I feel bad that I can't maintain focus on audio-books as I tend to tune them out... Otherwise I would have used Audible years ago when Lindybeige first started endorsing them. Also I must admit I am curios but what is your favourite fictional Keep/Castle/Fortress? Mine is Dross Delnoch in David Gemmels Chronicles of Drenai. Anyway I wish you and yours the best of luck.

[@andym8241]

Dros Delnoch is my favourite fictional castle too. I love Legend, although Gemmells later writing is technically better, there's something really special about Legend & it remains my favourite book to this day!

[@widgren87]

@@andym8241 It might just be cranky old Druss that makes Legend so great, at least to me :-)

[@grandnoobian2685]

The step-up in front of the machicolation can be used to help tip over heavy cast iron pots when pouring hot materials down the castle wall.

[@Ramseas119]

this is like the Shadiversity version of "end them rightly"

[@barrybend7189]

You're dead by MACHICOLATIONS!

[@sevenproxies4255]

I live close to a castle ruin (the castle was built in the 1300's) Only about a 30 minute drive from my home. Sadly it's not really a castle built with defense in mind, but more of a noblemans manor so it doesn't have many exciting features like crenellations and machicolations on it. :(

[@drmahlek9321]

MACHICOLATIONS!!! That is all.

[@spacemanbruh6024]

The amazing thing is the castles you describe have survived. Longer than most newer buildings we see today. Absolutely awsome

[@satorukuroshiro]

Well, glad to see my main concern answered and referenced in the thumbnail. I never considered the idea of a cover or a step up towards the battlement, but sometimes the simplest thing is the most realistic thing.

[@shadfacts6465]

Shad Facts: Shad has founded a castle restoration charity. They are only able to accept donations in Gold Daggons at the moment though.

[@cherrydragon3120]

I want to donate my spare stash of jewels to fund a castle to protect my main treasures in. As a dragon i need a sturdy place that can withstand thieves.

[@_Mentat]

I'll donate when you take potions.

[@DZ-1987]

I would donate. But Imperial Z's don't exactly count as a global currency. D's though. Nah, they're exclusively DZ Currency. I'm brilliant with currency names, obviously. Well, i heard them Holy Valerans call there currency "Nyeh's" So at least mine sound much more respectable. "Oh, i'd like a sword" "500 nyeh's." "Oh, i'd like a sword" "3 Z's and 2 D's" "But i'm a woman..." "MONEY YOU FOOL! YOU'RE BUYING A SWORD, ARE YOU NOT!?"

[@nickkohlmann]

@@cherrydragon3120 I love this comment.

[@ringthatbell9597]

Hey shad you should do a video on draga. Your videos are amazing and educational and I’ve been using the knowledge I’ve gained by watching your videos to make better defensive bases in video games were u need defensible structures like in 7 days to die and a few other games.

[@jaagupalviste856]

Maybe make a video about bows and crossbows?

[@williamlockhartnelson8873]

Can I just say that as a former SCA member myself I wholly approve of your reading materials.

[@StikZ13]

I will admit that I haven't been watching your videos for a while, but at long last I have returned and HOLY CRAP you have the Wheel of Time books

[@MandalorV7]

Oh I'm sure even some of those defensive machinations were used as a toilet hole. Just think about it, your standing on a wall keeping guard when halfway through your watch you have to go. Also just imagine how horrible it would for any attacker to have pee and poo raining down on them. It's nasty.

[@ShapeshifterOS]

Or the other way around going to the toilet only to get an arrow up your butt as you sit down.

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

Biological warfare at its finest.

[@8vantor8]

@@Gr3nadgr3gory indeed

[@h3nder]

Probably not actually, as you'd not want your walls stained with anything, gotta make it look nice.

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

@@h3nder eh, just pour some boiling oil down after it clean it right off

[@camohawk6703]

anyone else scare their pets joining in on the battle cry?

[@valrond]

It's too bad I'm already subscribed to audible, I'd resubscribe with your link. It is a GREAT place for audiobooks.

[@rDunfee]

God the Mistborn series is so great. Great recommendation

[@chuntguntley8771]

The Battle Roar really did make me excited for the rest. well played.

[@archenema6792]

I knew by the title this was gonna be Shad porn. I waited a whole 8 hours just to see all of your comments.

[@helpmereach690subscribers3]

Shad is a master machicolations spell caster (SHAD NOTICED ME!)

[@gibbous_silver]

Nice

[@fnglert]

Machicolation speculation explorations.

[@revan0890]

Reservations inspirations titillations

[@brianhiles8164]

Fun fact: The Blarney Stone, which all seem to be nominally aware of, even though that is only its common name, is kissed (for its gift of eloquence) by suspending oneself upside-down through a machicolation. One presumably had needed its gift of eloquence, for the apparent inability to have talked one's mates out of doing this on a dare. To see images online, one wonders why more people haven't killed themselves... even after handrails and a net of iron bars had been installed for safety only relatively recently.

[@QoraxAudio]

I once saw a design of machicolations covered by heavy wooden shutters when not in use, with hinges on the crenelations side. When they switched from crenelations to the machicolations, they opened the shutters. The shutters leaned against the crenels, providing additional cover since those shutters were a bit taller than the crenels.