Britons: AoE2 vs History

How accurate the Britons in AOE2? In this video I'll provide an overview of Anglo-Saxon and English history, and then speculate on the inspiration for the Britons' civ bonuses and tech tree.
Thanks to TheCommentX and Dr. Andrew Lamb for helping with the research and fact checking.
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Patreon: / spiritofthelaw
Background music from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com
Game: Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition, with Forgotten Empires, African Kingdoms, Rise the Rajas, and Last Khans expansions

[@tvremote9394]

"would you be interested in a trade agreement with en-" oh sorry, wrong game

[@5astelija75]

I beg your pardon? I suppose I must

[@evvec1490]

Wait where this from? Heard it before

[@lorddervish212quinterosara6]

@@evvec1490 kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3app6ZrhbaGjbs

[@cdcdrr]

Netherlands: Would you be interested in a trade agreement with Holland? England: I dare you to attack! Come at me, bro! And that is how the Anglo-Dutch wars started.

[@freespiritedd]

"By the grace of God, your days are numbered."

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa69]

refusing to accept surrender because he wanted to test out his new big legos... lmao

[@carlpult5235]

It really is both horrible and relatable.

[@gustavosanches3454]

Honestly, imagine you spent the past year besieging a stubborn castle and building the biggest trebuchet ever built and when its finally done they surrender? Seriously, anyone would still test it out of spite.

[@GuardianTactician]

Ah yes, the Britons. The only civilization with 100% accuracy in trebuchets but not archers.

[@shaneholmgren4007]

Archer accuracy in aoe is flawed. Thumb ring should improve accuracy, not make it perfect

[@Shenaldrac]

Well yes, it's much easier to hit a building than a person.

[@ZKP314]

But then you'd have a problem similar to the Gungans from Galactic Battlegrounds: extremely accurate long ranged troopers that can potentially outrange...pretty much everything under the sun.

[@flikwolf4444]

can you imagine how horrible britons would be if they get thumbring + 12 range.

[@jankelar6714]

@@Shenaldrac warwolf treb has 100% accuracy when hitting people as well

[@wyattrivers700]

The real reason William invaded England was to get a new title. 'The Conqueror' sounds much more impressive than 'the Bastard'.

[@GepardenK]

idk what he was complaining about. As far as French kings go 'the bastard' is pretty mild for a title

[@renzoraschioni7954]

I guess the first time at school other children called him that way, he didn't do nothing, and this is the result

[@AzureDragon100]

@@GepardenK Yeah, but 'the Conqueror' absolutely slaps, think of the bragging rights

[@azahel542]

@@GepardenK The fat, the bald, the mad. PR was definitely not a thing in French nobility.

[@thecommander7552]

I've read that even after the conquest, he held it up as a badge of honour, signing official documents as William the Bastard specifically to spite people who used it to insult him.

[@Aristillus1]

Interestingly, though, in the spanish version of the game, the Britons are "Ingleses", literally "English".

[@Nadie-mb4vw]

In fact they were also called english in DE. Around April-May patch their name was changed to britons

[@Aristillus1]

@@Nadie-mb4vw oh, I didn't know that, since my PC is not good enough to run the DE version 😭😭😭

[@FaithfulOfBrigantia]

In fact, considering the "Celts" already represent the Scots, Welsh and Cornish, might as well rename the Britons to English.

[@Ol_Guv]

@@Nadie-mb4vwnot true in the english version

[@Randleray]

Well fun fact, the german version has the name "Briten" which translates directly to "Brits" or "british".

[@maxmustsleep]

12:07 You can tell that the coat of arms on the left is from the 12th century since the resolution is much lower.

[@Pear_chan]

I would like to add that the animals depicted on the English coat of arms are in fact Lions, but Leopard is the name given to the heraldic motif of a Lion depicted stood/laid horizontally.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

Leopard meaning "passing lion", "passing" as is "on 4 legs". So still a lion.

[@samueltunnicliffe7012]

Sure but... "3 Leopards on the Shirt" doesn't play so well

[@Sir_Walrus]

@Mark's WorkshopI remember stuff about how a leopard at the time wasn't what we know as a leopard today. it was supposed to be a hybrid between a lion and a mythical creature called a pard.

[@TheSirBrainbug]

@@Sir_Walrus I heard it just means bearded lion, latin "leo bardus", because you see it in profile

[@SpiritOfTheLaw]

@Mark's Workshop - Be careful of falling into the trap of thinking that a fact reported by a disreputable source is automatically wrong. It's a version of the ad hominem fallacy. Wikipedia has a good article on the topic of "Leopards" in heraldry and specifically lists the Coat of Arms of England as an example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_(heraldry) The short version is that in heraldry a "leopard" is a lion in a particular pose. Good on the Daily Star writer for knowing that.

[@NinjaAgnostic]

>lack of english nobel families >no bloodlines I see your pun.

[@eldarhighelfhealermiriella7653]

Yeah the Hanover english family were quite famous for..."that" lol

[@christopherg2347]

@@eldarhighelfhealermiriella7653 They were famous for Habsburging it? Or did they went full Ptolomey?

[@eldarhighelfhealermiriella7653]

@@christopherg2347 Both. Specially August Hannover who was in love with his sister and every nigth he pay in gold to merchants to bring a "special" tea herb to his mannor in secret.

[@tuskedwings7453]

hey guys, spirit of the lore here

[@magnusbruce4051]

The village next to mine (which is about 200m from the Welsh border) has a very old church in it. As per the law, men used to have to train archery in the marshes right on the border but beforehand they'd sharpen their arrows on the only available stone building, which happened to be the church. The local rock is a fairly crumbly sandstone, so over time, sharpening the arrows left grooves in the walls. You can still see these grooves today all around the church at about thigh height.

[@WhatIsSanity]

Amazing bit of history there.

[@magnusbruce4051]

@@WhatIsSanity Yeah, it's a really neat link to the past and how people lived. I've never seen these grooves in any of the (many!) churches I've visited over the years. I would be surprised if it's totally unique, but it does seem to be uncommon so I figured it'd be worth sharing here. Although something nearby which is unique, or almost, are the multi-level streets in the nearby city (Chester). You have shops on both sides of the street as normal, but then above them you have walkways with more shops, effectively doubling the number of shop fronts that exist in the city centre. As far as I know the only other example of this is in Switzerland, but it's much smaller and only on one side of the street, and the bottom level doesn't have any shops.

[@WhatIsSanity]

@@magnusbruce4051 Oh that's strange to me. I live in Perth Western Australia, and I only see second stories for shops in large shopping centres. Our streets and shops just keep spreading outwards not upwards because we have so much space. Well until we don't. There isn't any ancient history for me to observe here, it's all been destroyed for 100s of kilometres around. However It's especially interesting for me to hear about your local history because my Mothers whole family came from Wales.

[@egrekhnev6115]

In Agincourt scenario the only building player is able to build are palisade walls. It's likely it have been done to give player an option to mimic real life tactic of the battle, assuming that palisades represents wooden stakes. And, oh, that Shakespeare quote! Brilliant

[@Yumao420]

There should be a version of palisades that causes damage when attached in melee

[@VineFynn]

It also lets you repair your rams, handy if you want to be able to win the scenario

[@Hainaut183]

Wow, I didn't realize there was actually a legitimate explanation for the Britons having such a horrible Stable.

[@LinkMarioSamus]

I know, I swear the English used heavy cavalry in the Crusades at least!

[@jerd2947]

I feel like Yeomen adding to towers does make some sense. British are trained with longbows -> more range from archer. In real life those archers would also be firing from towers, so I think it works.

[@Volcano4981]

Spot on. If anything, an *archer* related unique tech also affecting towers makes more sense than the Koreans' extra range bonus to me that purely exists just because. Or all of the tower and Castle related things with Teutons in general. Although if there's any historical justification with those too, I don't know.

[@hanzzel6086]

​@Volcano4981 The Tuetons castle/tower bonuses do make some sense, as they built huge numbers of fortifications pretty much everywhere they went. Including the largest (proper) castle ever constructed (although that is slightly outside of AoE2's time period).

[@JW-qd3ol]

3:18 Just don't misspell "Cnut the Great", kids

[@G_Flash84625]

=D

[@HolyKhaaaaan]

I cnutted

[@sharilshahed6106]

Canute it is

[@SidheKnight]

Why? What would happen if I ever were to mispell Cunt the Great? I think people would still be able to recognize the name, right? Not that I need to worry, I nevre mispel thinngs.

[@HolyKhaaaaan]

@@sharilshahed6106 At that point... Can Newt?

[@metroidman3893]

The Middle ages are the most criminally overlooked times in terms of how interesting all the migration and merging of cultures that occurred with the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

[@apokos8871]

you could say this Age of history is left in the Dark?

[@metroidman3893]

@@apokos8871 *YYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH*

[@jehovasabettor9080]

How accurate the Britons in AOE2? About 80%, 'cause they lack thumb ring. Didn't you do a video on that already?

[@UnfamiliarPlace]

@@strot9493 -whoosh- :)

[@gylaggal3896]

I thing the dev remove the thumb ring tech to balance the game. Longbowman would likely to become an op unique units if it available

[@HistoricalWeapons]

longbowmen never used the thumb ring lol

[@squatlebherz4434]

The Battle of Crecy was probably an even better example of the dominance of the English Longbow

[@AtheAetheling]

Yeah but Agincourt is more famous somehow. Probably because the army was sick and tired, and the Shakespeare play.

[@priamossz1419]

would like to see Magyars vs history.

[@utkugulgec5508]

in Turkish we say Macaristan(meaning Magyar-Land) to Hungary. But in game there are Huns and Magyars. I wonder if two is related

[@no1ofconsequence936]

@@utkugulgec5508 , I once looked up who the Magyars were, and found out that they were one of the people groups who would go on to make up Hungary. Additionally, the Polish Winged Hussar was modeled on the Hungarian hussar, and that's why the Magyars' Huszars look like Winged Hussars.

[@renzoraschioni7954]

@@utkugulgec5508 according to many theories, the Huns were a turkic population from eastern siberia, which migrated to Europe, so I think there are no relations between Hungarians and Huns

[@TheChimples]

@@utkugulgec5508 It's difficult to know exactly what happened in the period between when the Huns disappeared (ca. 450 AD) and when the Magyars first came onto the scene (ca 850 AD) but in Hungarian legend, there are claims that suggest a link between Huns & Magyars. Many historians tend to dismiss the claim but that's mostly due to a lack of evidence. What really happened is open for anyone to guess. Personally I think it's perfectly reasonable to assume links. We already know that steppe civilizations were perfectly open to interbreeding with one another. It was the way of the steppe. When one tribe took control, they rolled up many other tribes into their warmachine. The most classic and perhaps most recent example of this were the Mongols. Very multi-ethnic including Tatars, Kazakhs, Bashkirs and many others. Magyars when they first arrived also were quite multi-ethnic having with them Turkic tribes as well as a Persian tribe. So I think it's perfectly reasonable to assume that the Huns were also similarly multi-ethnic and multi-lingual. In fact even germanic Goths eventually joined the Huns. My point is that if an early version of the Magyars existed in the steppes of Asia around the time that the Huns moved west, it's possible the Magyars were rolled up into the Hun warmachine. Some of those early Magyars may have settled in Europe (the Szekely people in Romania claim Hun ancestry). Or some may have gone back to Asia only to return 400 years later forming their own powerbase. You may think, where is the evidence? Well we have 2 clues. 1. the Hungarian legends that claim Hun links and the Szekely people (who speak Hungarian) who claim Hun ancestry. 2. the Magyar language itself. The languages that are closest to Magyar today are the Khanti and Mansi languages. If you look at the Khanti and Mansi people and take out the Russian influence, they're a predominantly Asian people who look quite similar to Siberians or Mongols. But we know from archeological DNA analysis that the early Magyars (ca 900 AD) already looked mostly like they look today...ie generally European. How is that possible? If the Magyars left the Khanti-Mansi homeland only a few hundred years prior to arriving in Europe, can their look change so quickly and so drastically? My guess is they left their Khanti-Mansi homeland far earlier than originally thought...maybe even in the BC's. This would have given them time to mix genetically with Turkic, Persian and caucasian people of Western Asia but also would have given them a chance to be present when the Hun warmachine rolled westward...

[@utkugulgec5508]

@@TheChimples thats a very good explanation, thanks

[@oakley22610]

A 5 year old me would have love this video. Luckily a 22 year old me loves it just as much, great job SOTL!

[@MicrosoftNestleTea]

My favorite part of the AoE2 interpretation of the British is how they have roving armies of just Longbowmen tearing down walls with just their arrows. Just like how they were in the Medieval ages.

[@PianoDome]

How can AoE2 be such a great game: complex to play, very well balanced, and still representing history. This has to be appreciated almost as much as Spirits videos!

[@raynightshade8317]

Could you do Persians next? they are a really intresting having influences from the Sassanids and Safavid

[@renzoraschioni7954]

I agree on Persians for next video of these

[@randomsapiens499]

Persian or saracen would be great, i want to know more about these mideastern civ. too

[@TSC_Miles]

Being an historian myself, I've very much enjoyed your video, which covers very important points of Britain's history, and accurately. Lovely.

[@luisenriquemercadorojas2536]

Hey Law! Spirit of the Guys here.

[@berotti1]

To add to the historicity of the TC discount - Spirit mentions that the borough system ended with William's conquest, and while this is the case it was not the definitive end that he seems to imply. In fact Henry II, just 100 years later, granted hundreds of towns royal charters, effectively reintroducing this system and (arguably) marking the genesis of our modern parliamentary democracy. So in this context a purely feudal system was only around for a tiny period of English history, especially compared to other European polities. On gunpowder - the kings of England certainly employed cannons in the hundred years war, but most of these would have been operated by mercenaries. In terms of hand cannons, the prevalence of the longbow meant that England was a late adopter - as late as 1511, every man under the age of 60 was still required by law to practice regularly, and under such circumstances there was just less need for the kind of pike and shot developments seen on mainland Europe (Goth huskarls not being around at this time). Cannon galleons and bombard towers would have been a nice nod to the Mary Rose and the various 16th century castles that dot the Kentish coastline, though.

[@AtheAetheling]

Slight correction on the Welsh inventing the longbow as used in the game. The weapon used in the hundred years war and as depicted in the game is actually known as the English Longbow, being stronger and somewhat taller than earlier Welsh designs which were not designed to be used en masse but were often for the purpose of ambush or skirmish. Of course, most bowmen of the period came from the English Midlands and the Welsh valleys regardless of the type used so perhaps it's a moot point. The Welsh probably introduced it as a concept of course. There is argument on this point, but I would say they did. Hobilars were very often Welsh though, out of interest.

[@skacetan]

I had read somewhere (probably wikipedia) that although the Brits were very good archers, the French were eventually better crossbowmen at the end of the 100 year war. Is that true? It is counter intuitive when you look at AoE2 where crossbowmen and arbalests are natural evolutions of the normal archer, and they are buffed the same way by the Britons’ bonus, while the Franks don’t even have the arbalest.

[@AtheAetheling]

@Robert Rowe Absolutely. Hobilars were by and large Welshmen, and a goodly proportion of the bowmen as well as we said, sometimes up to 50 percent depending on the battle in question. I come from Cheshire, which is an English county on the border with Wales and also famous for its bowmen during this period, so it's been a bit of local history I've always been immersed in!

[@AtheAetheling]

@@skacetan Not in a literal sense, but perhaps in an economic sense; Training a longbowman took at least ten years, often more. Whereas a crossbowman could be relatively quickly trained and replaced on the lines, and the crossbow is overall an 'easier' weapon to become proficient with. The French didn't actually put a great deal of stock in the concept of bowmanship, whereas the English and Welsh had an entire culture built aound it. They tried once or twice to create a few bowmen corps, but these ultimately came to nothing and they largely preferred the crossbow. So whilst the English and Welsh were undisputedly better Bowmen, the French were just able to field more, more quickly, and that does make a difference. As Spirit says, the weakness of the Longbow was in catching the bowmen unawares, which the French managed to do a couple of times, notably at Patay. And with the British population being so much smaller, each battle they lost, even if it was a small one, was a devastating blow. The French had a higher population to pull from as well as a more efficient taxation system meaning their armies could be replaced quicker after losses like Crecy and Agincourt. Patay, although a relatively small battle in the grand scheme of things, was a blow to the Brits because each bowman was as precious as gold. The French also came up with an efficient and deadly method of utilising artillery near the end of the war as well; perhaps this is what you read, in a more literal sense. French cannons became superb at breaking up longbow formations near the end of the war.

[@saphojuiced6243]

@@AtheAetheling Interesting tidbits and in good prose. Thank you.

[@parthaprotimbarua603]

Longbowman: the snipers of medieval age

[@Mike-oz4cv]

Not really. It was less about accuracy and more about shooting extremely strong bows which could pierce armor. So they are more like tank destroyers.

[@revelence9128]

@@Mike-oz4cv Even that isn't very likely, while possible, quite often when its tested warbows fail to puncture plate even at relatively close range. It seems it would have been far better at harassing cavalry and would have been devastating against lightly armored levies. Generally when they won against well armored armies on the field it was only with severe tactical and terrain advantages

[@Mike-oz4cv]

@@revelence9128 But why have such strong bows then? A bow with half the strength would still be totally sufficient to kill an unarmored human or horse over quite some distance. Just look at hunting bows. Maybe it’s all about forcing the enemy to wear armor (with all its disadvantages) in the first place.

[@revelence9128]

@@Mike-oz4cv because you need that poundage to even have a chance to get through the armor, its not a great chance but it is still there, and even if it doesnt kill them, the percussive force alone isnt negligible, a few good shots on someone, while still probably able to stand and fight, is probably pretty shaken up and possibly lightly injured, better than fresh opponent. And yeah range is a factor, they were able to greatly outrange most other archers and crossbows. Which would give them much more freedom of movement and where they could deploy. So they dont NEED to get through the armor to have value.

[@Fregler]

No mention of the fact that the "Warwolf" broke when they fired it the first time?

[@enricogolini5376]

source?

[@leopoldkoppen9081]

Fun fact, while the most common name for the people living stems from the Angles (=English), the Irish term for them is actually derived from the Saxons (= smth. like 'Sexish' if your were to translate it)

[@dirkauditore8413]

I didn't quite get what you said

[@greatcornholio]

Last time I was this early the Britons were unable to build heavy scorps

[@pajakinthebox8928]

Independant of AoE, you have a great way with history. Damn dude you could do an hour long history of the british isles and i would be captivated.

[@MajorTomFisher]

The AoE2 vs History playlist is now one of my favorites to listen to on the weekends while working, this is the perfect format for me to learn a little bit of history while drawing or gaming.

[@zacksalmon8010]

Do the Japanese vs history

[@mferguder11]

sure he will

[@JuampaXXI]

"History of japan I guess." , You're welcome

[@CrnaStrela]

weebs gonna cream for that

[@cangooz2240]

He already did that

[@CrnaStrela]

@@cangooz2240 that's Kyoto campaign only.

[@Muenni]

Living on an island without having naval superiority is just asking to be invaded.

[@austinwirtz2434]

They did have naval superiority over the French going into the 100 years war after winning the battle of Sluys but yeah in earlier times they were hopelessly open to invasion

[@nanoboso3656]

You should see the story of Louis VIII of France that almost invaded England in the 12th century against It's quite interesting

[@Muenni]

@@nanoboso3656 If only the pope had seen Henry VIII coming ;)

[@sauravtripathi4128]

Wow, the detail and sound effects are awesome!! ❤️

[@soumyakanta4450]

Subscriber and ur fan since you did the first civ overview of Japanese the most underrated civ. Proud to realize ur channel grown up so much.

[@Tom-pk4gl]

Another great video and awesome to see how you can give such a good overview of history in such a small timeframe

[@AgeofNoob]

As always, great content SOTL. Love these historical videos!

[@theblackantonio]

Dayummmm, that's some major effort you put in for this video!

[@agustin__]

I just did some rewatching of this series, i hope you continue with some new civs or scenarios in campaign mode. They are a pretty good content to decompress the brain and thoughts from the math and numbers

[@MissionPast]

Fantastic video! Great research and history, well edited and put together! Really good

[@erhembayarbanzragch379]

As the Vikings, we hate late game longbowmen

[@thefootballer777]

as a late game longbowmen, I hate siege rams

[@ark_knight]

As an ocean, I welcome all.

[@yohanbeck8172]

As a Celt I laugh in Siege onager

[@no1ofconsequence936]

Spirit: "Wool was an important export to Britain." Me, having not two hours ago played Viking Conquest where I sold wool from Britain in Europe for a high profit: "You don't say?"

[@Tonixman]

Loving these historical videos!

[@garrettmichael468]

Love this! Have always wondered the historical accuracy of the campaigns

[@HungLe-fz5wy]

Please do more of these. You are amazing!!!!

[@calinpop97]

I love the concept of this video! Please keep it up!

[@user-vn1qo6bn2k]

Great job dude this was rly entertaining !!!

[@ajrobbins368]

This video is so thorough! Thank you.

[@Gui101do]

This is an awesome series, keep it going!

[@davidharris3728]

You simplified English history very well. I used to get so confused reading about their history. Saxons, Angles, Welsh, Picts, Romans, Danes, Wessex, Mercia, Normans, England, Britain, Great Britain, UK, on and on...

[@dirkauditore8413]

I'm still confused. SO basicly the angles and saxons merged and formed the english?

[@Korvinian4601]

@@dirkauditore8413 it’s a hodge podge for sure. I’d argue when the Normans invaded the English identity was formed

[@giuliomasiero4686]

I love this series, you're really great at doing this, too bad it has so few views, I'd love to see one video per civ, and also it would be really awesome if the other campaigns were reviewed like you used to do years ago

[@RoAdKil7]

Love this series :D ( like all your stuff ) keep it up man!

[@synkaan2167]

I just noted 2 little mistakes at the end : - 12:03 The Plantagenet's coat of arms changed several times in the 12th century but Henry II (first Plantagenet to rule England in 1154) never had the coat of arms you can see in AoE II. In fact Richard the Lionheart son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine is supposed to be the first who used this coat of arm (after the crusade it seems). - 12:15 All the great Aquitaine was part of the Plantagenet's empire since 1152 and the wedding of Henry and Eleanor ( upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/France_1154_Eng.jpg ), while Henry only got England 2 years later (before 1154 the king was Stephen of Blois) so this explanation about the coat of arms makes no sense anyway. The west of what we now call France was the heart of the Plantagenet's empire (in fact Richard the Lionheart didn't even speak a word of English and only went in England to raise taxes for the crusade ^^) most of the population of this empire was in France (a well populated area so the boom bonus can fit) If I had to give a more fitting name for this civ in AoE II it would be the Angevin Empire I guess but then the campaign doesn't match ^^ Nice video though =)

[@TheDemonOfSemen]

Spirit Of the Law... It's been awhile since I've seen you in my recommendations. Welcome back old friend.

[@DannyJ4t]

Really enjoy these history videos

[@Thanatos833]

I love this series, AoK:TC played a big role in making me interested in history as a kid. I hope you do one for each civilisation eventually.

[@ThatSnowman]

great vidio Spirit love the serie keep it up

[@jmchst]

Neat both in terms of the historical content and production values!

[@obi89]

I work in Aachen and never noticed that the ingame cathedral was inspired by the one here xD

[@facundomartinezeraso8680]

excellent video! you should make and entire serie like this

[@GummieI]

well it is not the first of this kind of video he made, so pretty sure that is the intention in the long run

[@facundomartinezeraso8680]

@@GummieI Great! i will look for the others, thanxs

[@parthaprotimbarua603]

I love these mathematical+historical analysis vids of aoe2

[@PheatonMC]

Love the video! I'm a fan of history and a fan of AoE which makes this perfect to watch, very enjoyable!

[@danielhindawi5780]

Damn this is so interesting and fun to watch. Can we have more of this series history vs AoE2?

[@AlexDWing]

I love these videos. Awesome.

[@kylebutler9865]

Loves these. Thanks man!

[@JGoffHard]

this should be TAUGHT IN SCHOOL. BY YOU. BY THESE TYPE OF VIDEOS. From a teacher. Well done man, this is so informative and interesting.. you just make it fun and engaging. Please keep them coming!!!

[@martinnqueti8233]

Amazing work, keep it up :)

[@PhilosopherRaptor]

keep um coming ma dude, big fan! ^_^

[@TheChimples]

Very nice video. Good job.

[@genevievew.5837]

this is my favorite type of video of yours :)

[@SephonDK]

I can't wait for more of these!

[@yahyamusseb]

Thank you for posting this video it is a breeze after my two hours torment of watching a video to make a presentation

[@danielpenaranda5888]

There isn't elephants facts on this episode

[@SpiritOfTheLaw]

Definitely a missed opportunity by not mentioning Claudius brought an elephant in the conquest of Britain.

[@ark_knight]

@@SpiritOfTheLaw Well thats almost disappointing. Good thing, the video was really good.

[@DanielC01000100]

this videos are always super interesting

[@A.Warrior7]

amazing video of my favourite civ, please make one of the franks, wonderful job bro

[@flaviaacinaces8682]

spot on good chap, quite the show

[@chrispaynter]

Age of Empires 2 taught me history, you have continued it. Thanks kind sir

[@robertasmarciulionis6076]

Spirit of the law still on his way still explains stuf and still enjoys the game that's ma man keep it up :3

[@jodeer3232]

Great video like always sotl

[@davilg007]

I love these, do more!

[@maritaxi3524]

Love the use of AoE DE footage for the Romans bit

[@zhukov2116]

Awesome video!

[@thorbjrnthaarup6794]

This is awesome. Thanks!

[@planescaped]

I really like these videos.

[@jgoodpaster9725]

I miss the AOE vs History videos. Please bring them back!

[@G_Flash84625]

More videos like this please

[@Hrafnhistorical]

I teach Viking Age history and I thought your summary of early medieval England was exemplary. Concise, astute, and accurate.

[@MrCowKillsAll]

This is the earliest I've ever been for a video.

[@wesleysanders8570]

well researched!

[@nba2kclassicmatchups906]

It is a great work, well done. I'm looking forward to the continuation. By the way, I think the most difficult overview will be on Turks, which is the most underrated civilization in the game.

[@devangnivatkar2649]

I love this series!

[@HeroDark98]

I don't why, but at 5:49 when you say that wool was easier to transport that other raw materials, and you see the ship AI knocking into each other, I just laughed, I found that hilarious for some reason. Loving these videos, keep 'em coming!

[@danbrooks1990]

I always wondered why the British navy wasn't the best/one of the best in the game. In school, we're taught a few things about English history; we hate the French (sort of), we had great archers and a great navy. This was such a brilliant expalanation of the civ, detailing their strength (archers) and weaknesses due to the timeframe the game looks at. Great to see some education being passed on through AoE! Keep up the great work Spirit. Best wishes, from London. :) I'd love to see a history of the Italians. As with the English navy's weakness, I've always wondered why they're good on water maps.

[@SphericalCowPhysics]

Historical date numbers are a little less interesting than mathematical numbers, but I really like this fresh take on your channel, and hope this becomes a running series. Although I know that would be a bit difficult considering this is outside your wheel house. Thanks for the well researched content!

[@TheBenvan66]

This videos should be a bit longer. Enjoyed it too much and thought it was way too compressed. Loved it.

[@erikhanseisenheber]

Weirdly enough, I got that Rise of Empires mobile knockoff ad for this video

[@samueltunnicliffe7012]

Bold choice of pronunciation for Chichester and Salisbury there my man... And also for lions... Lulz aside, I enjoyed it my dude. Keep up the good work

[@MrrMatts]

The dude pronounced them well

[@MikeHesk742]

He mentioned it in another few comments, but "leopards" is a name for lions in a particular pose when it comes to heraldry. It's not logical but it's our culture so we dont have a right to complain hah

[@MrrMatts]

I go past Chichester cathedral daily. Never thought I'd see it mentioned in an AoE2 youtube video

[@MannElite]

Excellent!