Elder Scrolls Races: Real Life Counterparts

[@hunterrichards2326]

I can't believe these people built their whole cultures around elder scrolls games. That's incredible.

[@inerlotechnologies4908]

Nice pfp

[@wtr3059]

*Wipes tear* That's the most American response I could ever have imagined Yes I know it's a joke

[@danielflanard8274]

@@wtr3059 A joke that you sucked all of the life out of

[@cozmosworld4304]

I know! Such commitment

[@doubledownpleasegosubtotte4274]

Arrows

[@realkingofantarctica]

Snow Elves are most closely related to Discord Mods because they both stay in their basements until they aren't capable of real human interaction.

[@Jishy2415]

wait, but pat is a discord mod

[@feywildheart2878]

There are discord mods that were blinded by moonshine and went batshit?

[@Oskar_464]

@@feywildheart2878 probably

[@LeftoverPat]

As a Discord mod i can confirm

[@just_ethanj02]

Lmfao

[@dukez8618]

Every elf can become a "high" elf with a little bit of skooma.

[@dannyxcrowe]

I was looking for that comment lol.

[@beneflaco]

Nice.

[@ammagon4519]

I swear this sounds like an ingame joke

[@BelleroseQC]

If it is not Altmer, it is trash.

[@aaronrickard4675]

😂😂😂

[@richardwolf7696]

It’s ironic how the Argonians could represent the Natives of the Americas. Yet they are immune to all diseases

[@danielisaac7586]

Look up the Hispanic paradox. It's a long mystery that Mexicans in America even though having worse access to medical care, education, transportation, and worse access to foods they out live the richest people in America that be Asian men and women and White Non Hispanic men and women. It's something studied for a long time and it can't be explained by the salmon theory (only healthy Mexicans migrate) since the paradox also tracks in their own country. Poor people in Mexico are indigenous, the rich ones are descendents of the Spanish ruling class but the paradox still shows up, the native mexicand live longer snd withstand more diseases and injuries then their white counterparts in their own countries. Its fascinating to read about it they also found the same paradox in Bolivia as well with natives there who are in their late 60s having the same cardiovascular fitness of athletes in their 20s in America. Some have claimed that it's due to their community society that they care for the weak, others have said it's genetics due to both Bolivias and Mexicans having origins in extremely high altitudes therefore making their blood age slower then the rest of humans since they found the same thing in people from tibet but only true Tibetans had those types of characteristics in their blood. Look it up it's pretty crazy stuff to research

[@kevinprzy4539]

@@danielisaac7586 there's been a lot of discoveries recently disproving the Hispanic paradox in 2022 they found Latinos have a higher, not lower, prevalence of cardiovascular disease than non-Hispanic white people just to name one.

[@thefalsekingslayer3717]

Oof

[@GHOST_CROATIA]

​@@danielisaac7586Maybe they have better health bc of "natural selection". most of the natives died from disease but those that were resistant survived and therefore their decendants would be more resistant too.

[@DiocletianLarius]

@@danielisaac7586 It could be something to do with their cultural lifestyles? As you said, people in the States may not care for their "cardiovascular" health as well as people from Perú who climb mountains to go to school. And btw Latins/Hispanic aren't a different race, lmao, I get that America see it that way but Latins could be blacks, natives, whites, or a mix of all. You can't really make a theory about them like if it was something of their "blood" or "race" because they are as mixed as the average Americans. I understand that with "Hispanics" you mean the stereotypical janitor Carlitos with Mexica/Native and Spanish ancestors, but those people aren't that different than people with British and Dakota/black ancestors. Being "mixed" don't turn you into a new human race. It always amaze me how Americans manage to be so racist and segregationists over dumb things💀

[@JaneTheDark]

I swear as a French, the first time I played Skyrim I fucking laughed at how I could play a heroic-fantasy lizard humanoid or a fucking Breton.

[@Elijah-Bailey]

@@sushirollthug It's the same word we use in French, "les Bretons" that come from "Bretagne" so when a French player read Bréton (in French) for the first time he just read "Breton" and don't think that's fantastic, since it's very real

[@sushirollthug]

@@Elijah-Bailey the joke flew way over your head or are you fucking with me?

[@bennygoat]

@@sushirollthug whenever I got to Brittany they seem like a fantasty people, such a beautiful embracement of their Celtic roots!

[@antiochus87]

@@bennygoat You've been to Brittany? With a little help from skooma I'm guessing. Everyone knows it's not a real place, just like Belgium.

[@alegria1813]

Same lmao. The idea of Bretons and no other French people being a fantasy race is funny but actually makes sense. You know Broceliande, and their many myths.

[@findout-YGO]

One thing all races have in common is that they can become incredible stealth archers

[@mr_poopyheadpro2806]

LMAO

[@engagingbus7991]

Bro, I tried to be a mage warrior Nord, but somehow, my stealth and archery is through the roof in Skyrim. Help.

[@findout-YGO]

@@engagingbus7991 it all starts when you think: "hmm this bound bow spell is really cool, what if I crouch while using it?"

[@engagingbus7991]

@@findout-YGO It always starts because of that cave bear for me at the start if the game. Damn cave bear hitting my dopamine level

[@HiAgainTheNameIsStillAyle]

You guys needs help? Vokriinator (ABSOLUTELY NOT VOKRIINATOR BLACK), Combat Gameplay Overhaul (use the grip feature, you won't regret it, truste me) and some new types of weapons mods, probably animated armory This will make you want to Actually still be a stealth archer.... Huh

[@jaredhennessy9146]

Fun fact about the "Crazy Horse" name. It actually more accurately translates to "They Are Even Afraid of His Horse" but native americans at the time had trouble translating that meaning for european americans.

[@LeftoverPat]

interesting!

[@noway5266]

>European Americans You mean Americans? The concept of the United States of America wasn't invented until we came along. Technically, we are the native Americans. Your "native" Americans are just amerindians.

[@ibrahimmustafa2481]

@@noway5266 STFU you racist son of a.....

[@WastePlace]

@@noway5266 not how it works. They’re technically the first American immigrants(as in the first people to call it america and inhabit it with that name) but they’re not native Americans

[@noway5266]

@@WastePlace That's definitely not how that works. There was no established society of the land to immigrate to. We settled in open lands (for the most part) and established our own. We cannot be labeled as "immigrants" we are pioneers and settlers. Stop spreading misinformation

[@gabriellavedier9650]

One thing missed in the Imperials section is that, as of Skyrim, they're in the middle of an evolution in linguistics and culture. Old Cyrodilic peoples had much more traditional Roman names. In Skyrim you still see that with Tullius and Titus, but other, more common, folk have more Italian names. It's the slow cultural evolution from the Romans to what are now seen as Italians.

[@AGwest1]

It's a shame how "medieval" and "high fantasy" they made Cyrodiil. Pretty sure Kirkbride wanted to make them quite unique and alien like Morrowind, but I think it was deemed too sci-fi.

[@joshlin50ja]

This is quite the stretch. I’ve skimmed a list of all Imperial names in the TES series and I didn’t see a single modern italian sounding name. I don’t get the cultural evolution you talk about either, having played the games. “Slow evolution from romans to what are now seen as italians” makes very little sense. Are modern italians still Romans, but just “seen” differently? Roman names changed between the 6th and 7th century as the empire faded away which is not happening in the games. You certainly wouldn’t see it in the short time frame in which Skyrim’s plot takes place. Your point is certainly not missing from this video either as it’s frankly a rather poor thought.

[@gabriellavedier9650]

@@joshlin50ja You really love the smell of your own farts, generic default avatar guy. You could have said all that without being a pretentious git and smug jerk. That you didn't shows, you don't actually care, you just want to be a troll and, I don't know, Reddit is closed today or something. You also wanted to be intentionally obtuse. Modern Romans are directly descended of the classical ones. The language altered all over the peninsula and culture went with it, as it did in other parts of the Empire. No Latin speaker suddenly had a child that spoke Italian. There were strange transitional periods where you got partial changes. And lastly, Vittoria is sure a weird way to say Victoria. A double T in the name. How very evolutionary.

[@bobdollaz3391]

Tony Soprano just entered the chat

[@wildfire9280]

@@AGwest1 They’re gonna turn Black Marsh into High Rock, aren’t they?

[@Linguineo]

Nords: I bet you'd never guess who we are.

[@briancooley8777]

They are also Slavic and Scottish in certain ways tho too not just Scandinavian

[@briancooley8777]

Ludvig Liwenborg ok then. you win

[@Linguineo]

Oh cool

[@user-xs1is9yd5o]

"Skyrim (Europe) belongs to the nords (whites)!"

[@zacharyb7638]

@@briancooley8777 scottish, I can see...but slavic...not really.

[@zachvance2735]

I just went down a rabbit hole of lizard breasts and came out the other end learning about linguistics and history. Thank you.

[@xtremecringe5708]

Same

[@MunkEMann]

I just watched those exact videos as well lmao

[@THAMNOS]

Lol exactly the same

[@DA-xe7fg]

Tizard littys

[@SROairsoft]

Ok first, this is the best f***ing comment ever and second, same.

[@decrisseur9060]

As a Breton in real life I have always played as a Breton lmao

[@deivisony]

Your name sounds french Bernard

[@decrisseur9060]

@@deivisony Bretons are from France

[@zoloftdependant5246]

@@decrisseur9060 this makes me laugh

[@lancevancebaby4987]

AHAHA COOL UN FRANCAIS COMME MOI

[@deivisony]

@@decrisseur9060 Wait. What about the brittish? Aren't they from Grã Bretanha?

[@basedpliskin]

Me: “I wonder why I always loved the Khaijit so much? They’re just so cool and speak to me!” Also me: *is Persian*

[@hevin_kart]

Same with me but I’m gypsy lol

[@joeywild2011]

I’m Arab, Palestinian to be exact, and also love the Khajiit haha

[@Shin_Akumi]

I always thought khajiit was Eurasian, russian-esque. Like a Mongol or Turkic. Caravans, accent, outfits, "skooma/vodka" lol

[@hirdbarding3399]

@@Shin_Akumi if you paint dark elf in white you will get post ussr russian - lying and hypocritical, living in depressing country where "gods of old aka communism" losing power, and his country is a raw material appendage for empire, and nobles (oligarchs) having money from that, while population live poor in high crime and eat, hm, scuttle. And in same time they are still willing to enslave everyone around. As russians, dunmer males are viwed as criminals and agressive racists, and women as ahem, workers of ancient profession. Also carpets on every wall, and a central mountain, as a lair of Dagoth Ur, probably could be called Ural in analogy to other complexes aroun - Veminal, Ordrosal etc.

[@sdd264]

In Russian translation, Khajiit is written as Kajit. Replace the first and last letter, and you're getting another Iranian nation lol

[@KaiserNicer]

The Khajiit and Romani connection doesn’t just stop in language similarity. Both groups have a reputation of being thiefs and both groups are known for their nomadic life styles.

[@balgaadrian4046]

You're right. Playing this gaüe for the first time as a european in a country with a huge gypy population, I immediately made the connection.

[@Countdooku97]

and everybody hates them

[@Tsigano]

Romani are genetically and linguistically originally from Rajasthan in northwest India. We see Indian influences on Elsweyr and also the Khajiit names.

[@Tsigano]

@Holy Moly They are mixed with European. Many still even look totally Indian. As for Indians doing white collar, jobs... What utter nonsense. They do all collar jobs. I know many as taxi drivers, many including the wives work picking vegetables on farms, many work in factories. Many as tradesmen, many own small shops. Indian occupations in the west are totally diverse. As can be Romani occupations

[@bennygoat]

@@Grimstool sadly a lot of their culture involves having to end up in prison for reputation and having entire sections of family in prison, doing crime is a part of their culture which goes back to when medieval Europeans rejected their Indian nomadic trader ancestors so they had to resort to a culture of swindling (palm reading tents at old fairs), lots of people hate their mentality of crime for sadly very legit reasons, my dad kept having his farm equipment stolen since they target isolated communities a lot to make their ends meet it's especially hard when their nomadic life is harder to justify, with Europe being increasingly industrialised we've had to start giving them playgrounds and parking-areas to keep their horses and carriages, destroying the land before moving on to the next area, they destroyed the land and property when they moved to my village and we had to give them our football field to live on we get angry that they don't take part in our communities due to their crime history/stigma, but also reject them from our communities so they do more crime, it's a toxic cycle with no easy solution

[@MondomondoTime]

No one expects the Thalmor Inquisition

[@rezandrarizkyirianto-1933]

Elenwen: Justiciar Rulindil! Bring out...THE COMFY CHAIR!

[@Darthwgamer]

Thats the point sergeant.

[@naplzt4k]

the high elves are most like hasidic jews

[@konnosx1213]

@@naplzt4k How tho? the thalmor are pretty much fantasy nazis

[@arwahsapi]

[Diabolical laughter]

[@GophersVids]

This video is utterly brilliant and completely fascinating! And yes, for the record, I want a full Elsweyr video :)

[@woollychaps]

Gopher brought me here!

[@LeftoverPat]

Wow! I just so happen to be in the middle of watching your Outer Worlds LP, thank you for the comment :) Thanks to yourself for being endlessly wonderful to watch!

[@nagihangot6133]

@@LeftoverPat Actually, the Altmeri society is heavily based off of Iranian Zoroastrian culture, and its rejection of the oppressive daevas for the benevolent Ahuras. They were also supremacist and exclusive [still are, I am one] both racially and culturally, when they encountered human-sacrificing daeva-worshippers such as the Semitic peoples of the desert like the Babylonians, or Greek bi/homo-sexual, child-phile, slavers (slavery didn't exist in Iranian owned/colonised lands). Also, the Zoroastrian concept of perfection in totality within all existence, or "Asha", where evil is utterly extinguished is also similar to the Kirkbridian 'High Elven reach for the stars' of de-constructing existence to (re)-attain immortality. Also, the Magi - priests of Zoroastrianism - charted the constellation for millennia to find Jesus Christ.

[@Jibbzz]

I was! Though.... The Age of Mythology music really made it.

[@brynmcc7541]

Didnt expect to see the dark lord here

[@ysmns9472]

Respect for not just going with the common memes/stereotypes of these races, good video!

[@Deej210]

Also a thing for the Nords: In the bard's college, the first quest has you get king Olaf's verse to add to the Poetic Edda. Here on Earth, Poetic Edda is the compilation of poems of the old norse mythos that was arranged by Christian scribes around the 1300s

[@brialapoint2608]

Bah elder scrolls isnt related to this planet. If it were christians wouldve bewn wiped out for being filthy talos worshippers

[@Dusticulous]

The Poetic Edda is also one of the books Norse Reconstructed Paganism is based on. It's a good read.

[@Shin_Akumi]

Makes sense, as the Nords are anglicised thru Tiber septim. As we think of cyrodill as Rome and Roman Emperors always had a band of Norse elite soldiers. I can see the Nords and imperials having a similar relationship to their real life counterparts. Even bruma could be considered daneslaw in England. A Nordic town in northern cyrodill on the border.

[@tommeakin1732]

It blows my mind that people are so confident about pagan "norse" mythology when it turns out that everything people can actually point to as "norse" (because it isn't spoken about elsewhere) is on *really* shaky ground considering it was written hundreds of years after conversion, by active Christians. A lot of the stuff people point to as legit evidence is even from like the 18th century in iceland. And because of this late evidence, beliefs common to the entire Germanic world have been entirely granted to Scandinavia in common culture, when it turns out (I found this out super recently), the evidence points to many gods and symbols getting to Scandinavia through peoples like the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Ironically, the things we can be most confident about are the things that are also mentioned in the rest of the Germanic world - yet of course it's all credited back to the ubermensch, pure scandinavians.... No, I'm not salty at all after going in deep on the migration era-to-early medieval Germanic world's history :^)

[@Section8Warrior]

​@@tommeakin1732the ubermensch pure scandinavians... is this related to the famous party in Germany during 30s and 40s

[@1whospeaks]

When I first played Skyrim and met Redguards, I immediately recognised the sounds of their names, and the strong cultural similarities to home and places close to it. Didn't understand a single name or word they uttered but they managed to get the sounds so on point. GG Bethesda.

[@АлександрДараган-з8ц]

Curved swords might have something to do with this as well )

[@plasmapanasonic4741]

I just laughed. Is they are black...

[@johnnydeagal4400]

what@@plasmapanasonic4741

[@wildfire9280]

⁠@@plasmapanasonic4741 does Bruno mars is gay?

[@ao1778]

That's weird. I don't remember any Redguards named Tyrone, Jamiquarius, or Shaniquanabanana 🤔

[@arwahsapi]

+ "Who are the Bretons?" - "We all are. We are the Bretons and I am you king." + "Didn't know we had a king..."

[@thebilesan]

I didn't vote for you

[@akunformalitas]

@@thebilesan You don't vote for kings

[@iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis]

@Sarah Collins Strange women, laying in ponds, distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!

[@miaouew]

@@iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis I love you

[@rustyshackle8000]

The entire story of Daggerfall summarized

[@lordcrunchy4821]

Since you brought up the parallels between the Dwemer and Sumerians, I would love to see a continuation of this video on the lost races of Tamriel like the Falmer and Nedes and maybe even the Akaviri races. I’ve always wondered what cultures Bethesda modeled Sky Haven Temple after

[@panterauntera77771]

The Nedes aren't a lost folk. They became Bretons and Cyrods.

[@GrandSupremeDaddyo]

Akavir is most definitely based on the far East. It is supposedly full of monkeys, tigers and dragons. The armor and weapons of the Blades are Akaviri and are clearly Samurai. The architecture of Sky Haven is also Japanese.

[@Jason_living_in_hell]

@@panterauntera77771 nedes could resemble neanderthals

[@Eleazarus16]

Up. And I think the Nedes are like Celts (in High Rock) and Ancient Italics (in Crocodil), if I'm not mistaken, some authors in antiquity said that the ancient Celtic and Italic people have the same origin. The new ESO lore about druids realy help

[@James-mi5qt]

Shrek Race is my new head canon.

[@kiencancap]

@Magos Nihilus that was actually from Jacksfilm's Fixing your Twitter bios vid.

[@wisemankugelmemicus1701]

But but Shrek isn't a poop elf

[@zhalosupercell2486]

@@wisemankugelmemicus1701 knowing the context behind poop elf makes it even worse

[@dubuyajay9964]

Elder Scrolls have layers...

[@colegilliam2379]

“Lifts her tail” 👀

[@BrB0424]

The Lusty Argonian Maid ;)

[@WarriorPNG]

@@BrB0424 i was reading the book out to my friends once and it was quite funny

[@Enkarashaddam]

She can make a mean loaf of bread if you catch my drift 😅

[@crusty_]

She polished my spear real good

[@matthewryan2060]

Slur

[@marchantofcabbage3517]

wow the quality is outstanding

[@TwistOfTransistor]

I LOOOVE how a lot of pictures in this video has their source mentioned. It just make it a lot more interesting, educative and useful, besides helping the owner to get known among other people. I am subscribing right now. And thank you for considering that so important detail.

[@LeftoverPat]

Always!! yes I agree, there is a multi-pronged enjoyment for that, makes things feel that extra bit nerdier 8-)

[@melonhead.]

The age of mythology soundtrack still slaps to this day

[@Lumpiq786]

Prostagma?

[@HoHhoch]

@@Lumpiq786 Vulome

[@javiermercado1996]

Étimi

[@youliahadzhidimova5260]

How do you say "I was looking for this comment" in fake ancient greek?

[@PiccoloComputer]

Fireftìs, metalèvs

[@son.pindorama]

That's the "cleanest", most interesting, complete and entertaining video I've watched on the subject. It ended all too soon. Thanks! Quality research.

[@LeftoverPat]

Thank you!

[@foolisnoteighteenyet]

@@LeftoverPat I was expecting more controversy with a topic like this

[@AnarkiarenErregina]

The Bretons are Celtic in real life to. As someone who’s studying Breizh I find it interesting because the reachmen remind me a lot of the independence movements in Brittany. It’s very interesting. Amazing video. Kentoc’h mervel eget bezan saotret! Bevet Breizh!

[@HailWoden18]

Britons too, who the Bretons descend from (they came from the British Isles) as obvious in the name. Welsh and Cornish people are Britons, they speak P Celtic, Brittonic languages. Whereas Irish and Scottish people are Q Celtic or Goidelic. Though many Scottish are of Pictish, a P Celtic people descent.

[@Jason_living_in_hell]

The nords of the reach r basically anglo Saxons and the reachmen r the Native celtic Britons

[@lordpickle65]

Another thing i like and notice about TES Bretons and High Rock is their portrayal as a "what if" of irl Celts had they werent conquered by the romans and had the time to develop their own urban civilization and architecture.

[@ChristmasLore]

Are you french Breton or english Breton? I did study old French at university, and that language basically evolved into (many things), but mainly modern Breton.

[@Lingist081]

@@Jason_living_in_hellYeah basically

[@stuglife5514]

I unironically love the TES Orks. I like how they aren’t mindless vicious canibalistic killing machines like they’re so often stereotyped. Always give an old Ork an honorable death too.

[@larrypotter2243]

Orc. Not Ork. Tolkien estate will get your ass.

[@katzarkul]

@@larrypotter2243 it seems you haven't heard of the Warhammer universe.

[@larrypotter2243]

@@katzarkul I probably mistook it for Uruk. Though I don't give much of a shit to be honest.

[@darmocat]

I played TES before I played D&D. All my D&D half orcs are bascially TES Orcs. Love TES Orcs.

[@Aeg0r]

@Lady Jaina Proudmoore actually any slavic

[@kassandraofodyssey6475]

Skyrim is also fairly Celtic too. For example, Morthal's symbol is Celtic, a triskelion, resembling three bent legs.

[@LeftoverPat]

very true

[@jackmorriss9547]

well the northmen were a germanic tribe and so were the celts, descendant from the same area

[@PNJB_R]

@@jackmorriss9547 Celts weren't germanic, they were seperate culture but often lived nearby eachother. There were even Celts in Spain.

[@jackmorriss9547]

@@PNJB_R they were Germanic, English is more related to germanic languages

[@PNJB_R]

@@jackmorriss9547 Nope, you can literally search it up, they come from a similar branch but are distinctly two different cultures.

[@InsidiousOne]

Morrowind worldbuilding: we're going to take the elements from Assyrians, Babylonians, Japan, India, Crowley and Star Wars and make an educated historian and religion researcher write our lore. Skyrim worldbuilding: DO VIKINGS

[@GunGun-cf3ss]

I mean... Vikings are pretty rad

[@akbas58]

+ Turks/Mongols

[@powerist209]

To be fair, Skyrim did Egyptians too. Like ancient Nords practicing embalming.

[@ikad5229]

@@powerist209 Embalming is not only a thing of Egypt. The other guy has listed culturrs that did it too.

[@Hare_deLune]

Partly Vikings, yeah, but if you watch The Making of Skyrim, Todd Howard says that he told them "I want Conan".

[@farrukhcage]

As a Tajik, I always picked Khajiit while playing Skyrim because it sounded similar to the name of my nationality. But playing further I stated to notice how the way they talk, their accent in English and Russian dub, and their native language is so similar to the the same things in my culture. Whenever somebody talked about Elsweyr, I used to imagine something like Persia in Samanid or Sassanid times.

[@alexbattaglia8297]

As someone who loves both history and the Elder Scrolls, this is an amazing video, I'm glad this was recommended to me and I'll definetely be checking out your other videos

[@LeftoverPat]

Thank you for your comments!

[@alexbattaglia8297]

@@LeftoverPat Thank you for the content you make!

[@nordboer5684]

@@LeftoverPat Great video! Though I feel you went too quickly over Nords and Imperials. For example, Nords are primarily Scandinavians, but also Germanic tribes from Roman times. I wish you touched on the allegories between the Stormcloaks vs Imperials to the Germanic tribes vs Rome 2000 years ago. Certain Nibenese also have a part Japanese theme to them owing to their Akaviri heritage. The ancient Nordic ruins also have an ancient Egyptian theme to them, with the sarcophogous's and mummies, which is a blend of Nordic and Egyptian. Also as some other people have said, it would be interesting if you touched on non-playable races, such as the Dwemer being partly influenced by Babylon, the Akaviri being East-Asian nations and mythology inspired etc. The Maormer is probably based on the Maori imo. No idea about the Ayleids and Snow Elves.

[@aerqophs1546]

never played a single elder scrolls game, still watched the whole thing

[@LeftoverPat]

this is a huge compliment! i tested this video on a non-TES fan before release and very happy this vid works regardless

[@manolomartinez5033]

Same, it got me interested in ESO tho

[@hollowhoagie6441]

@@manolomartinez5033 every clip of ESO gets me interested into ESO until I remember playing it and finding to be a fairly boring mmo like WoW

[@Araviss-sis]

@@hollowhoagie6441 try single player titles then :) I got hooked up on oblivion as a teen and still am playing its and skyrim (morrowind is sadly too old for me). Aand I share similar sentiment towards ESO. Its just missing something for me

[@hollowhoagie6441]

@@Araviss-sis oh I do enjoy the single player elder Scrolls games

[@PhantomSavage]

Wow... the Mesoamerican influence among Argonians somehow never cliched with me despite have a studied interest in Native and Meso American history... but now that I realize that connection, another interesting thing to add; Quetzalcoatl ("feathered serpent" or "plumed serpent") is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerican culture. In Mesoamerican myth Quetzalcoatl is also a mythical culture hero from whom almost all mesoamerican peoples claim descent.... so its not far fetched to believe that the Argonians probably, in this case literally, come from a similar deity that founded (or created) the Black Marsh.

[@wisemankugelmemicus1701]

If I recall, they were created from the Hist Trees.

[@Eddie-dt9fg]

Wow! Hombre de cultura 👍☺

[@Vexin980]

Well I mean they came from eldritch trees that somehow survived the destruction of the last world and migrated to this version of Tamriel. But sure, feathered serpent... close enough, right?

[@Vexin980]

@yin yang That sounds like absolute bullshit, as the only thing I can find connecting Quetzalcoatl and the Emerald Tablet comes from a religious website that sounds absolutely fucking insane. If these two things are related, I would not trust anything in that book.

[@r.j.lombardi111]

I also find the part of Argonians that has a small connection to old Hungarians of the Pannonian valley

[@doomslayer9077]

As a native iraqi it's really interesting how the dunmer and dwemer people are spiritual successors to my ancestors the elders scrolls universe is truly a celebration of the real world's cultures and history with an awesome lore

[@al-batal]

As a Moroccan I love dunmer and Dwemer so much I share your opinion

[@jacquestube]

Oh really do the Dwemer rape and murder women

[@xrz3000]

Your ancestors are persians. The Mesopotamians are long dead.

[@skull7877]

As a Syrian i thought i was the only arab interested in the elder scrolls universe and lore 🇸🇾❤🇮🇶❤🇲🇦❤🇵🇸

[@bane4318]

As an Assyrian I was surprised to hear the Dark Elves are similar. But after showing your reasons why, I have to agree.

[@a.v.j5664]

@KratosLoquendero2009 no

[@mcrenn5350]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_people

[@Lolpy.]

@KratosLoquendero2009 The ancient Assyrians that held that empire, yes. However, there are still ethnic Assyrians today.

[@scleless1342]

As an Atlantean I was positively flooded with questions when I heard about these surviving Assyrian's. I thought to tell my brethren but quickly realized they would think I am simply Deluge-ional...

[@Portulak007]

@@Lolpy. Kinda sounds like Italian people calling themself Roman because they are ethnic Romans. It doesnt work that way lol.

[@pyroshilov8474]

"the Forsworn are the IRA" welp....another entry to the iceberg!

[@CommanderM117]

Iit soo stupid it funny imagine the Foreworn singing this kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqusqWRjmNqMqpo&ab_channel=SoundofWar

[@lolasdm6959]

Celtic moment

[@jackryan2612]

Idk about the IRA but they have an obvious basis in the "wood kern", irish warriors displaced from their homes during the Ulster Plantation and forced to live in the woods, raiding and harrasing foreign invaders of their lands

[@jpf7942]

I swear I'm going to plant a Cart bomb on this prick for racial profiling 😂😂😂

[@RebelSandGaming]

I got banned from a elder scrolls forum for suggesting that idea

[@BazingaBangaBingo]

I took an anthropology class because it was one of the only classes offered in English while I studied abroad back in college. Then I learned that anthropology was an actual major. I wondered "WTF do you actually DO with this major?" I finally understand; apparently the answer is make the best youtube videos.

[@dilgrit1598]

archaeology is also a subset of anthropology, so thats one job. Museum curators also often have anthropology degrees. And finally, those videos you see of people that go deep into the Amazon to meet local tribes, those are also anthropologists.

[@jr8260]

Anthropology is the shit

[@99dfresh]

I was not expecting this level of professionalism in a youtube video like this

[@aandrei99]

Comparing the forsworn to the IRA is probably the most inventive thing i heard in a while and it s insane how you managed to give sense to that comparison. Amazing video!

[@Darkside-tr3sx]

I think Akavir is definitely inspired by Far East Asian countries like China, Korea, Japan, and even Indonesia, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia. Their lore is fascinating. Yokuda sunk as per the lore I guess.

[@solitudeguard6261]

Skyrim is for the Nords! Literally Lol

[@theghost632]

Skyrim is for the Maormer.

[@RoastGorilla439]

Milk drinker

[@kjaldir1089]

All Nirn for the Hist.

[@g4fly4ever8]

Skyrim is for the Snow Elves

[@kjaldir1089]

@@g4fly4ever8 For the Hist, they were first.

[@DiocletianLarius]

9:00 Germanic things aside, the Nords also strike me as Celts, at least in some elements and history: Skyrim is one of the core "provinces" of the Empire from where the Imperials recruit troops and extract resources, kinda like the Roman provinces of Hispania or Gallia, and there's also an obvious parallelism between general Tullius trying to crush Ulfric's rebels and general Julius (Caesar) trying to crush Vercingetorix's rebellion in Gaul. 19:05 Like Rome, the Imperials also have some sort of Greek/Hellenic feeling, the helms from the Imperial guards in Oblivion remind me of the Corinthian helmet.

[@DinoMan_6]

As an Argonian they seem pretty white to me.

[@Lingist081]

The Bretons are the Celts

[@martinschmelzle4864]

I never noticed Colovia having Eastern European influences... But "Kvatch" and "Skingrad" do sound unmistakably slavic. Now the whole "Dracula's Castle" thing in Skingrad makes sense. They probably wanted to go more in-depth with that, but decided it would be too much work. Man I wished they would've distinquished the two regions more in Oblivion. I mean, imagine eating Pierogi in Oblivion

[@InquisitorThomas]

Quick Correction: Oda Nobunaga didn’t take away swords after his predecessor was assassinated, Oda Nobunaga was the predecessor that was assassinated. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the person that removed swords from everyone that wasn’t a samurai.

[@gunstarheroine5173]

I cannot describe how much I genuinely enjoyed and appreciated this video. So much thoughtful and informed commentary, presented in an extremely accessible and engaging way. I completely agreed with a lot of your choices, but the language comparisons were new to me and I found them fascinating. A hearty and enthusiastic sub from me.

[@LeftoverPat]

Thank you! What a wonderful comment

[@thatdudesaber]

the age of mythology ost in the background really made this an amazing watch for me, perfect mix of good elder scrolls lore and nostalgia ❤️

[@LeftoverPat]

I'm glad! I always worry that music can get distracting if you remember it from a game, I'm happy it added to it fo ryou

[@roman11777]

As someone who absolutely adores the Redguards and considers them my favorite race period in TES, I was slightly disappointed you didn't mention the fact that they're originally from a previous timeline/universe that they traveled from by walking sideways through time, and that sword singers could literally split atoms with their voice (which is how Yokuda sank - it was literally destroyed in an atomic war). But I guess that was outside the scope of the video (can't really think of any real-world culture THAT would correspond to). Amazing video!

[@Top_Hat_Walrus]

Yokuda is very japanese inspired. Yokuda was destroyed by nukes. *HMMMMM*

[@g4fly4ever8]

@@Top_Hat_Walrus I see what bethesda did there

[@augustussantos]

What? Damn, that's fascinating. Do you have any suggestions where I might start looking to learn more about this?

[@paladinplayer]

Walking sideways through time...? What the actual fuck

[@arempy5836]

That kalpa travel thing is not official, just a fan theory. I agree that there is some strange time travel going on with them but I think it's in the current kalpa.

[@musicsheep9816]

I was hoping you'd also go into detail about extinct/Nonplayable races as well such as the Akaviri people, the Kothringi, Ayleids, dwarves, snow elves, and the imga since they all have rather extensive depictions of their culture or design

[@SludgyRhino7883]

Akaviri: snek people Kothringi: metal people Aylieds: elves who got spanked by some crusader dude Dwarves: people who were obsessed with metal Snow elves: blind people from New Jersey Imga: I have no idea

[@koraegi]

Except the lore can't get it straight whether or not the akaviri are beast people or humans Sometimes they look like snek, monke, etc Sometimes they're just humans with animal features being used non literally MAKE UP YOUR MIND BETHESDA

[@musicsheep9816]

@@koraegiThe snakes are a different species that often went to war with akaviri and ate them. The monkeys were also a different species.

[@kirbskitchen5535]

@@koraegi there’s multiple races from akavir

[@koraegi]

@@kirbskitchen5535 I'm aware

[@AgustinBertini]

This is every history major/gamer's dream. Thank you

[@BEExPyro]

So much learning... I have much I need to research now... all the references that I knew, I was like “yeah that sounds right”... but then you just keep throwing all this knowledge at me... ... oh man, you know more than me... this video is inspiring...

[@LeftoverPat]

Love to hear this was useful to you! There is always more to learn...

[@doot4452]

As an Indonesian, i'm so happy with this video, especially for Elsweyr architecture as a reference for Padang people's house.

[@LeftoverPat]

this makes me happy

[@doot4452]

@isaL Half Malay half Java, not Chinese

[@doot4452]

@isaL Muhamad RizaL Tau gw, tapi dari struktur wajah saya, hampir gk ada sama sekali cinanya, murni jawa.

[@doot4452]

@isaL Muhamad RizaL tau gw, darah ada, cuman struktur wajahnya aja yg beda jauh banget dari orang asia timur.

[@doot4452]

@isaL Muhamad RizaL anggap aja kayak bretonian, ada darah manusia dan mer (altmer) bedanya cuman di bagian struktur wajah walaupun punya darah altmer

[@videobeetle8]

I’d say that Bosmer have stronger Celtic ties than they do to the Iroquois. Not only do their names often sound wildly Celtic, but their archery skills match up moreso with English longbowmen, their intense animism and worship of nature mirrors the practices that we know of from Celtic druids with their groves, and they even have their own version of the Celtic Otherworld.

[@WretchedRedoran]

Totally! And not only that, but if you look at the artwork of Brian Froud (the main artist for The Dark Crystal), such as in the book "Faeries" you can see quite a few similarities between his depictions of the Fae and the Bosmer from Elder Scrolls, leading me to assume that his works were an inspiration for the Bosmer

[@NoeLPZC]

@@WretchedRedoran Brian Froud is the man.

[@WretchedRedoran]

@@NoeLPZC Damn right he is!

[@treeaboo]

Also worth noting that the 'English Longbowman' was originally the 'Welsh Longbowman', the English adopting it after being on the receiving end of its power during Norman England's conquest of Wales. Wales of course still maintaining a large part of its Celtic culture that England has now lost.

[@matasaga9715]

The English aren’t Celtic.

[@Λυκάων]

Its worth mentioning that the Sindarin were just a subgroup of Tolkien's Elves that never went to Valinor. To me Elder Scrolls High Elves are basically the equivalent of the Noldor Elves from Tolkien's work. Master architects, great smiths, loremasters, and warriors with lots of pride and superiority. The Thalmor faction is reminiscent of the Sons of Feanor who went far enough to commit kinslaying just to achieve what they wanted (the Thalmor were also known for killing innocent Bosmer brethren and fooling the Khajiit with the moon disappearance.)

[@fosterbennington6405]

Feanor did nothing wrong

[@antiochus87]

I think you can't compare the Thalmor to Feanor. True, his sons were the most fanatical version of the Noldor, but they weren't anything like the apocalyptic elf nazis that tbe Thalmor are. Otherwise I agree with the High Elves, Noldor comparison.

[@masonkimsey7931]

i’d like to see a video on reachmen and the forsworn, they are some of my favorite groups in Elder scrolls. always got upset there weren’t many quest lines where you got to converse and interact with them

[@ryanmay1298]

This video was magic. The amount of effort and work put in to bring the real world counterparts to Tamriel was astounding, absolutely astounding. Thank you!

[@NitroBlaze-nz1bi]

You deserve waaaaaaaaay more than just a thousand subscribers!!!

[@LeftoverPat]

Well thank you!

[@yourfriendlyneighbourhoodl6206]

Faaaaaaaaaaaacts, his constilations vidoe is fnckiug amazballs, i'm just about to go and watch it again actually

[@Potato-pn8sg]

Khajiit has cards, if you know Gwent...

[@JudgeHolden2003]

**nods**

[@skylertremblay3395]

Looks like rain...

[@DioBrando-nb7yz]

Wind is howling

[@purpleey]

How do you like that silver!

[@nyxhellwyrm7405]

Damn, storms brewing

[@shanerose5348]

This absolutely deserves the view count. Very enjoyable and well done.

[@WikkeSchrandt]

Don't forget that, beside a lot of northern European inspiration, Nords are also heavily influenced by the Kievan Rus and Baltic and Slavic culture in general. The armor style of, for example, the guard (Stormcloak) or Dawnguard armor is very similar to the Rus style. Vilkas' name means "wolf" in Lithuanian, Kodlak is derived from Vlkodlak (meaning "werewolf" in many Slavic languages), and (though not necessarily a lore thing) many people voice acting Nords come from Slavic countries (like how Ulfric's VA is from the Czech Republic).

[@stalins_comically_large_spoon]

Also, the Rus’ were Scandinavians prior to their assimilation into Slavic culture. Edit: you can also kind of draw a resemblance between the Nords abandoning their traditional gods to worship the Divines as similar to the Christianization of Scandinavia or Kievan Rus’ (funnily enough, when the leaders of Kievan Rus’ decided to abandon Slavic paganism to pick a religion, they considered Islam, but settled on Christianity solely because Christianity let them drink alcohol.) But it’s kind of a stretch…

[@etherealsoul9386]

I dont think the armor is that similar. Its still very fantasy. The Dawnguard armor is closest to a coat of plates and the guard armor appears to be mostly leather scale, which we have no evidence for

[@luvslogistics1725]

Farkas is wolf in Hungarian

[@zeoalexo]

Hadvar's va is swedish, as is Esbern's

[@WikkeSchrandt]

@@zeoalexo Yup, but Esbern's the only NPC in the game who actually sounds Scandinavian. His VA is also a really cool guy. Hadvar, Ralof and all the other Nords don't sound anything lile Scandinavians, though. I actually saw a post recently where some guy complimented some of the VAs who worked on Skyrim, saying he loved their accents, and being surprised at how well they spoke English. He didn't realise their accents were fictional, and the VAs in question were all Americans lol

[@nickname8619]

about the dark elves: "ur" means city in old mesopotamian, and "tel" is a semetic word for a plain of land that heightened up as a result of building settlements there over and over again throughout generations, creating a higher altitude. besides that, i think the biggest thing you missed about the dunmer and ashlander religious myth is the obvious abrahamic influence; the prophet veloth literally leading a religious exodus of the aldmer that followed the "good daedra" in an ancestor-worshipping polytheistic society, which is a weird blend of pre-abrahamic and post-abrahamic status of religion in the middle east; then you have these chimer fight the dwemer for many generations due to religious disagreements, and the dwemer can basically be summarized as godless, well as much as you can be in the elder scrolls. they literally disappear later. then you have the new tribunal replace the old tribunal. i think this parallels how the concept of a religious trinity was used in christianity and such, to reform religions into different forms and meanings according to new power structures like the concept of a trinity experienced in the roman empire which then became typical catholicism,. besides that, you have nerevar being this complete messiah, dying and being reborn to change everything for the better, you have islamic influence relating to the sunni-shiite split this way because the ashlanders believe totally different things about this messiah and the new gods. i think something even more akin to the abrahamic myth is that nerevar himself is born a king that unites the fragile tribes by the grace of azura and then they drive out a foreign invader, the nords. btw, azura's symbol is literally the moon and star. at this point, it gets a little more interesting, i'll just jump back to in-game morrowind, which i believe parallels the situation of the jewish people at the time of roman occupation, after herod's death. divisiveness, civil war with violent extremists, messianism - promises of deliverance, foreign roman-style empire settles foreigners and interferes with the culture after a subjugation war, and the nerevarine can be summarized as a christ-like figure throughout the game on top of all that. and what happens once the prophecy is fulfilled? total disaster and diaspora in skyrim. not only diaspora, the dunmer suffer total animosity and imagined as a merchant class sleeping on a mountain of gold, and they live in a ghetto. the comparison can even be made that the nords, northern europeans, subjected the jewish diaspora the same treatment. the parallels run a little deeper surely, but too little to consider here. hope this puts some things into perspective

[@aturefrati7407]

Brilliant comment

[@wikipediafollower]

You hear about elves, space elves, cyber elves in fiction, but Biblical Jew elves? Damn

[@renzoraschioni7954]

Your paralellism between Nords ("northern europeans") discriminating Dumers (based on a real-life semitic counterparts), and real life events we all know, is very interesting. But I'd consider it a coincidence. Afterall, ghettos and discrimination appeared in every culture in the world in every historical period, and the Nords in Whindelm don't go beyond this (they have not the will to exterminate a people surely). And let's remember the king of Skyrim accepted the Dunmer fleeing from Morrowind, in an act of humanity, and donated Solstheim to the Dunmers after the Red year.

[@johannesziaether3916]

Oh "tel" sounds like an arabic(semetic descendant) word that actually means a hill

[@Scatmanseth]

One thing you should have mentioned is that the fulfilling of the Nerevarine prophecy is similar to Jesus’ fulfilling of Old Testament prophecy in that they aren’t the saviors that were expected. The Nerevarine was expected to save the Dunmer by casting out the outlanders and return Morrowind to a golden age, But you only save them from Dagoth and in the end what little they have is destroyed. This parallels Jesus’ fulfilling of scripure quite nicely; rather than driving out the Romans He came to save them through a new covenant and soon after the Temple is destroyed and Judea is scattered to the wind just like the Dunmer.

[@LeftoverPat]

*CORRECTIONS:* - TES4 established Bruma to be Nibenese, not Colovian - REACHMEN are NOT lacking in Elven blood. PGE1 explicitly states they have strong Elven ancestry elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/... - though this information did not carry over to PGE3, it's safe to assume some level of Elf blood is a thing. - Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Oda Nobunaga NOT the other way around. Toyotomi enacted the sword hunt. - The "Berber" pictured in the Redguard section is sub-saharan African, NOT Berber as stated. On a lighter note, some have pointed out even more sub-saharan medieval influences in Redguards, such as from the Mali and Songhai. - The Sami people are not just from Finland, but all of northern Scandinavia. - It would have been more accurate to call "Vikings" as "Nords". "As simple as the Nordic people themselves" should have been clearer that I was talking about the TES race, not irl Nords. - @ 14:00 - Sauroman** not Sargon Probably some more things, let me know & I'll edit! Thanks for having so much fun with this video since its release!

[@hlodovvig]

Bretons, in my opinion, are French + English. While their names are mostly French (BUT king Emeric's name is a pure example of a name with Anglo-Saxon suffix -ric (means "ruler". Ælfric, Oeric, Æðelric etc; modern German Reich, English rich), and his dynasty is... Cumberland dynasty), their geography is typically British with its both Celtic and Germanic etymology. High Rock It's an epitome of Angevin Empire. Bretons IRL are the descendants of celtic Britons who crossed the English channel, it'a good name to connect France and England. Reachmen are the IRA xd

[@JesusCheeseburger]

Dark Elves, or at least the Chimer, have some influence from Judaism. The story of Neloth leading his people on an exodus to the promised land for example

[@Daniel-uq1yp]

It was arab influence to Indonesia that caused them to come into contact with islam and gradually adopt it, and then the ottomans arrived later.

[@Daniel-uq1yp]

The skaal resembles sedentary vikings more so than sami nomads/reindeer farmers. I say this as a Norwegian btw.

[@readmore8302]

@@hlodovvig which is what Bretons in real life are. England controlled that area for hundreds of years.

[@insiditious6203]

The elder scrolls r absolutely amazing. It immerses u so deeply in another world with such attention to detail. They made multiple cultures, histories, creation theories, theologies/ religions, languages, and so much more.. and they made them all relate to one another almost flawlessly, and even their inconsistencies can b explained away by a dragon break. Few franchises can say they’ve actually created an alternate reality of sorts

[@epicdudule]

Of curse I want a full Elsweyr video ! That video was just insane and I feel like a want more and more. Respect for the crazy job you just did there

[@OnARolley]

I always seem to come back to this video to brighten my day. The information is fascinating, the editing is superb, and you have such a calming voice to boot. I don't know if you're still planning on doing it, but hearing more about the Khajiiti culture (specifically the Mane) would be incredible.

[@LeftoverPat]

Thank you for this comment

[@nock_5]

You did an amazing job here. The main reason people are still talking about this is because very few races actually fit exactly into one box or another just like you said at the beginning. I always thought it funny that Jiub from Morrowind is almost a copy paste of St. Patrick but living on a small colonized island that regains independence is probably where the similarities to Irish culture ends

[@brandontaylor6677]

You mean how Jiub killed off the cliff racers the same way how St. Patrick drove out the snakes?

[@danielmacpherson8487]

@@brandontaylor6677 Only difference being that the snakes were a symbol for the classic human *wrong religion people must die or leave, preferably both* Jiub however went on a literal genocide of giant dinosaur birds

[@clonecommanderfoggy682]

I'll dispute that last point

[@helghast_7203]

Wow, was not expecting something this detailed. Really enjoyed it! I would love a longer video on elsweyr.

[@LeftoverPat]

Thank you! Were a hypothetical Elsweyr video be extended, what topics in that would you be most excited over?

[@helghast_7203]

@@LeftoverPat I would really enjoy a deeper examination of the Manes and the Khajiit religion. The Culture and influence of the moon also seems really interesting!

[@walnzell9328]

"Bretons come from Northwestern France. In Britanny." Bretons of Cornwall: **Sad Celtic noises**

[@NMahon]

Well those Bretons in Cornwall also came from Britanny

[@walnzell9328]

@@NMahon Oh. I thought it was the other way around.

[@walnzell9328]

@@NMahon Yeah. The Bretons trace their heritage back to Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain. That includes Cornwall. Or did the Bretons go back to Cornwall?

[@nagihangot6133]

@Deo Not driven out. Mixed with them.

[@Kartuvelis]

These are more like britons not bretons

[@Heretic_Jones]

Fun fact: the word “barbarian” originated in early Greece, derived from the term “barbar”, which was meant to represent what foreign languages sounded like to them. The word “barbarian” is technically just an old rude word for “foreigner” or “outsider”.

[@Ch-ew9tm]

I think Barbar literally means “Blabla” or at least I think that’s how they used it

[@iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis]

there's also the Berber people of north africa.

[@jarekwrzosek2048]

I always thought it came from Latin "Barba" which means "Beard".Because Romans back then were clean shaven, anyone from the outside would be known as barbarian, "bearded one".

[@amirekinartail8623]

​@@jarekwrzosek2048that could be a folk etymology kinda like how in English people think the word history comes from "his-story" but it actually comes from the French word histoir which means story

[@GordoBondiola2002]

Barbarian (derogative)

[@Moonraven72]

So, I'm Native American. I agree with these except the Wood Elves specifically, especially with Tolkien in consideration. Wood elves are definitely Celtic inspired, but I'd say they are in general more inspired by many paleolithic Europeans (A bit of Mesolithic obviously). I do understand how you would come to the Iroquois conclusion based on the mourning wars though. But this in general is just slavery with extra steps. Which even Native Americans practiced, everyone did. Many peoples across the world practiced raiding and taking people as hostages. With cases of some of these slaves becoming a part of the tribe or people who took them, through history. I'd imagine the idea stealing people to replace people really isn't unique anywhere, even the act of adopting them to some or full extent. I don't think Tolkien (unless he said so somewhere, and if he did I apologize and would like a source, i'm interested) was inspired by Native Americans at all, and it's just people conflating us with Celtic druids again due to our "naturism". This is also problematic when the elves left middle-earth to the Undying Lands/Grey Heaven across the eastern ocean. At one point North America was once believed to be a land given to Europeans by God. I don't like the idea this "can" suggest. This is made worse by the fact that Middle-Earth is EARTH, at an imagined different time. But to be fair the last fact is supposed to be taken as something fun written by Tolkien. Wood Elves are an extreme version of stone aged people, using stones and bones, really being limited to them, and cannot touch wood or plant life due to the "Green Pact". Their practices are far more European inspired and also lack anything definitively "Native American". Even the Bosmer spiritual practices are more Druid and Tolkien inspired than Native American Medicine Man (Which again is something I know a lot about having been trained under one to one day replace). As for the wood elves savagery, concerning their cannibalism. This can be taken from many isolated peoples from any point in history on earth. I've also encountered people saying even the Reachmen are Native Americans, but again... have similar inspirations to the Wood Elves. The difference between them being, one is more "savage" and "paleo", the other is more "noble" and "spiritual", which is which is honestly up to you. If you want stronger comparisons to Native Americans, have a look at the Silvenar, = Hiawatha (Although anecdotal at best and sounds like the christian attempt to turn Hiawatha into another name for Jesus... which... yeah.... sorry for bringing the last part up) and the similarities between Bosmer shape shifting into monsters + cannibalism = Wendigo. But even in the latter case you can relate to Cu Chulainn's "Warp-Spasms", or even the many stories of humans who shape shift into animals. I'm not bringing up "that" shape changer from Navajo culture, Navajo don't like talking about it to this day (I understand not all are like that though). But I will say that "It" is close enough for me to accept. So in conclusion, I think for the Wood Elves, you did the typical, "Wood Elves are nature lovers THEY MUST BE [Insert_Native_American_Tribe_Here]" I don't fault you or anyone for that though, it's an easy conclusion to come to. I will admit that the devs most likely did the same thing. But from what I can gather from older elder scrolls games, they most likely stuck to Tolkien which I've already made my statement on. (BTW, I subbed love your videos... and yes it was the bewb video) P.S Look at the Wild Elves/Ayleid after the fall of their empire (Which where fleshed out to be another similarly Tolkien inspired Elven Culture in Oblivion). I don't think they are Native Americans at all, but in relation to some legends I've been told. I have had to resist the urge multiple times to write "Fan-Lore" on the subject.

[@MrDorkbot]

>Hiawatha into another name for Jesus I want to know more about this, who is doing it? why are they doing it?

[@Tatwinus]

The Gray havens arent even on the same planet as middle earth. They are on a different plane/in space. Its just that a single thin STRAIGHT(literally, they fly off the planet) path was left for the elves to leave when they were ready. So you can be safe Tolkien did not say the americas was promised to the europeans. And I think most of the wood elf lore is lifted from warhammer tbh.

[@Moonraven72]

​@@Tatwinus I Understand that, I just don't like the idea that his writing CAN be used in such a way, which is an easy thing to do and I felt the need to address it just incase. Also thanks for explaining the Gray Havens (Is that the correct spelling?) I haven't actually read Tolkien's work in years so I'm rusty on that. And I believe the Wood Elf Lore from Warhammer is still inspired by Tolkien's work though? It has to do with Warhammer Fantasies relationship to the Middle-Earth Table Top game back in the day (I'm not sure though). (Edit: Changed a single word, stupid fingers)

[@Moonraven72]

​@@schizitoid53 That's why I mentioned Isolated Forest People, I don't think Brazil is an good answer either, but an interesting consideration. I'm not knowledgeable enough to really argue for or against it when my knowledge on Native Americans doesn't go that far south. But I personally feel (until I read up on the subject) that this would be mostly based on the "savagery" of the Brazilian Natives back in the day and of course the isolated tribes and stories of cannibalism. Which isn't really a solid foundation, cause then I can say Wood Elves are based on the "Sentinelese" People. Unless of course you want to elaborate, which I genuinely want btw. (Edit: My original comment felt dismissive to me so I rewrote it, and I apologize to Edu even if you didn't see the original)

[@Moonraven72]

@@MrDorkbot It really isn't done today, but the damage from the effort is still seen and heard today. It was the Christianization of Native American Legends, Cultures and Religions. An attempt by colonialist governments and the church to convert Native Americans, assimilation. (Edit: Pluralized some words)

[@Mr.Casinova09]

this channel needs more recognition! great video dude!

[@BonnePirate]

Argonians have always been my favorite race, as a mexican and descendant of mayans in yucatan it makes sense why now lol

[@baddieb6091]

Same!! I'm Mestizo ( Idk what my indigenous side comes from ) and I love the race too!

[@Gottaculat]

Well, and they're basically dinosaur people, and who doesn't like dinosaurs?

[@LeftoverPat]

I'm stoked to hear this! Though I hope some day a mesoamerican inspired fantasy race won't be just 'lizard people' (I'm looking at you W40K...)

[@sethleoric2598]

@@LeftoverPat haha

[@ViktorTheMusician]

@Cuhhnelo interestingly in D&Ds Forgotten Realms, the Tabaxi cat-people race more or less is inspired by mesoamericans, coming from a country across the ocean called Maztica, though there are human ethnicities there as well. The Spanish on the other hand are represented by the Tethyrian human ethnicity, but they also represent the French so idk the full consensus. There aren't really countries in the Forgotten Realms so cultures just kind of float around city to city.

[@qliphalpuzzle5453]

“Mongolian without horses” Do you not remember that conversation between a imperial and an Orc during Oblivion

[@ubermenschmexa]

Which one?

[@qliphalpuzzle5453]

@@ubermenschmexa I think it was the conversation by the Imperial City between a male imperial and a female Orc (I think it’s Snak gra Bura). I do know there’s implications she eats horses but for some reason the imperial started making a pretty messed up comment about female orcs and horses.

[@JohnnyCasey]

"I'm Brielus Gawey. And no, we don't sell horses. But we do eat well. The stables are owned by an Orc. And you know... Orcs and horses." *[Select "Imperial City" topic]* "Sure. Some folks here think horses are for riding. Then again, some of us are Orcs. Snak gra-Bura, she prefers eating stew to riding horses."

[@nagihangot6133]

@@qliphalpuzzle5453 Furthermore, Orsimer are not nomadic pastoralists as the Mongolic peoples are; horses made were both their home and method of warfare.

[@qliphalpuzzle5453]

@@nagihangot6133 i know I’m just talking about the odd dialogue

[@sabrasalvia7720]

I’m Mohawk and have always chosen wood elf as my race in TES games, so when you said Iroquois my heart actually stopped. So bizarre awesome video !!

[@ragingcamper3967]

Youre what?

[@andrewkirk2548]

Hmm, I'm mostly Slavic and Scottish but there’s nothing really based on Slavs and Reachmen aren’t a playable race. Guess that explains why I’m always bouncing between races.

[@demonsweatthings8493]

You have a Mohawk? Sick!

[@darkbrandon757]

@@andrewkirk2548 There are some Celtic references in Skyrim. Also, although it is not in the game, the frozen continent of Atmora to the north of Tamriel resembles the Slavic lands.

[@2dollarchickenwings689]

@@darkbrandon757 Celts aren't really slavs though, are they now?

[@necromansy420]

i come back and rewatch all your elder scrolls videos frequently, they relax me it reminds me of being in school

[@LeftoverPat]

one of my favorite comments, thank you

[@theghost632]

Really enjoyed the video! It had loads of information, and it brought up some points that I hadn't even considered!

[@queeniephox]

This was so fascinating and entertaining. The editing is fantastic.

[@LeftoverPat]

thank you :) this was a lot of fun to edit

[@amatsu-ryu4067]

16:50 Just a little correction here (unless if my knowledge of Japanese history is worse than I think it is), Toyotomi Hideyoshi is a better fit here, I believe. Hideyoshi was the one who enacted the Sword Hunt and took all weapons away from the lower classes. He also took power after the death of Oda Nobunaga, who comitted seppuku before he could be assassinated by the traitor Akechi Mitsuhide.

[@youngmoney4693]

I thought this as well

[@FuckGuidelines]

He's not a race. He's a person. A sword person

[@TheInfiniteAmo]

Personally I find the Imperial Province and Imperials in general to be a cool fusion of every version of the Roman Empire - true Roman history, Byzantine politics, and Holy Roman culture and aesthetics.

[@barrelbox]

These videos are amazing educational content unironically, literally listen to this with actual attention throughout the entire video and its rather amazing to see on such an unpopular channel

[@Quent5000]

As a real Breton, I was actually really surprised to be able to play a race for a character that really suited me in almost every Elder Scrolls games 😂 Thanks for the video man, I just discovered your channel with this one and you do a great job

[@paulsmith5752]

Plus Bretons are OP :D

[@Quent5000]

@@paulsmith5752 Hehe well we are OP in real life 😎 No but seriously my characters are not OP since I'm playing them like sh*t x)

[@hacherubis1295]

Pareil 😅

[@tarayofsunshine]

This is my favorite video I have ever seen. Thank you. Just thank you for this dive

[@LeftoverPat]

the pleasure is mine

[@TheMongolianMage]

So much deeper than expected for a game lore video. Good effort

[@Ozzianman]

09:30 Worth noting that the Sami are also found in Norway, Sweden and Russia.

[@maxteraform]

I think Norway has more Sami than Finland

[@notmyrealname8282]

I’m not the sharpest guy, so maybe this isn’t saying much, but... this was so well thought out, well explained, and researched. I’m blown away and impressed.

[@googalooboogatron8074]

That green pact thing for the wood elves made me think of the uncontacted tribes in the rain forests

[@LeftoverPat]

definitely feels like another valid resemblance. i wonder how much 'forest people' history TES loremasters look at?

[@justme0910]

The Dunmer will always be my favorite example of how to translate a real life culture (or amalgamation of cultures) into a fantasy setting. Not only are they influenced by cultures that are tragically underrepresented in the genre (I don't need to see the 500th iteration of the Roman Empire or medieval France or pre-industrial Britain, the world is so much bigger than that), they hit the perfect balance between being true to real life and having all the creative embellishments that make sense for a world filled with magic and monsters.

[@rowanl3059]

This has been one of the most refreshing Eldar Scrolls videos thank you 🙏

[@LeftoverPat]

thank you!

[@T3nMiDGET5711]

16:55 Correction Oda Nobunaga was the one who died he was betrayed by someone who worked for him it was actually his predecessor who banned swords for non samurai shortly after uniting japan My Wifi is comically bad so this comment went through hell to get to you

[@WastePlace]

I was about to comment this. I’m pretty sure he meant to say Hideyoshi Toyotomi cuz he’s the one that banned commoners from holding weapons. Very ironic since he was once a commoner himself before becoming shogun of Japan

[@ManFromThere158]

Thank you, this needs more likes

[@thewizardman590]

my homie Toyotomi Hideyoshi

[@gabriela.pierzynski9923]

Succesor not predecessor

[@T3nMiDGET5711]

@@gabriela.pierzynski9923 yeah thanks

[@DBlairMusic]

This video is nice and it needs a longer version. Well done

[@imnogood5016]

As a breton I feel COMPLETE and APPRECIATED :D

[@unifieddynasty]

That's a very interesting and convincing explanation. I think the thing most novel to me is that the Altmer are loosely based on China. My guess was that all the elves had themes stemming from 18th and 19th century Europe: -the Aldmer represent pseudoscientific racial theory, like Atlantis or Hyperborea or the 'Aryans' (intentional comparison of the Altmer idolizing the Aldmer versus the N*zis idolizing the Aryans), -the Altmer represent 'enlightened' Victorian-era imperialism, -the Ayleids and Falmer represent 'archaic' imperialism (replete with 'immoral' behaviour), -the Maormer represent the threat of piracy (especially Barbary corsairs), -the Bosmer represent romanticism (focus on nature and landscapes) and neopaganism (tree-worship, Wild Hunt, etc), -the Dwemer represent rationalism and secularism, -the Orsimer represent the contentions of the Abrahamic faiths (the Malacath/Trinimac Old/New Testament contention, the Jerusalem/Orsinium contention) and the eastern branch of the Indo-Aryans (ancient Scythians, eventually transitioning to the various north Eurasian peoples), -and the Chimer/Dunmer represent orientalism.

[@LeftoverPat]

This is an awesome comment!

[@leelees]

Hyperborea and a protorace that moved from the north is a Atmora, Atmorans and the first of Nedes. Aryan culture is Vedic. there is no hostile racism and Nazism in it

[@leelees]

fascist anti-human ideology of Aldmer Dominion has a lot in common with the Zionists, Chabad, and everyone whose worldview is based on the Torah. But in out world Habad have a bases around the world, they own many corporations and large capitals, among them there are many elite families of alegarchs, but they do not act in military by they own. they use other organisations or create it to achieve their goals. So the Aldmer Dominion might be the 3dReich or the any special services like FBI, KGB, Mossad and other. And the elite representatives of the Aldmer who do not advertise themselves, is a Habad of tamriel

[@snowtfl5617]

I also believe their based on the British empire with their really militaristic approach why also using nations against each other much like the British also their supremacists views and technological advancement which really made me look at my own history differently as I hate the high elves but always tried to look at my British history in a goodlight

[@Passageofsky]

They're Celtic too (look at their swords, and the recognisable overall Golden asthetic) so are all elves unless they're the in the region of Morrowind, so Dark Elves...

[@lazycloud4684]

Subscribed immediately after getting recommended your Argonian video! Awesome stuff, such high quality. Also happy to see Gopher is a fan too! :)

[@LeftoverPat]

me too! thank you :)

[@thepfister7510]

The age of mythology music really makes this video ten times better, and it is much appreciated

[@kjaldir1089]

I feel like there could've been more to say about the Colovians, Orcs and Nords.

[@twiddlerat9920]

Yea, Ive always viewed colovia as kind of scottish influenced

[@kjaldir1089]

@@twiddlerat9920 Colovian Highlands have a sound to it yeah, but then again Skingrad is more Slavic, with Grad meaning Town in Slavic languages, and we had the king Rislav from Skingrad.

[@twiddlerat9920]

@@kjaldir1089 If you look at skyrim, In my opinion there are the 2 accents the imperial soldiers use: Colovian ("Shut up back there") And Nibenese, The rest

[@kjaldir1089]

@@twiddlerat9920 Well but it's not Scottish or Scottish inspired, if you look at TES 3, the Nords were based on the Scottish, and ESO brought some Scottish accents to Western Skyrim.

[@LeftoverPat]

I agree, part of me wishes I spent much more time on them. Initially just felt like "I proved a point" and moved on for time's sake. Little did I know this many people would watch a 29m video on this already.

[@IlhagThePoor]

I always found some resemblance between falmers and russian legends of чудь белоглазая (can be translated as white-eyed weirdoes, no joke). These weirdoes were indigenous peoples of some territories which later became slavic, probably of finish origin. Legends describe them retrieving underground after losing war with slavs, kinda like falmers did after losing to nords. Also white eyes! Probably a coincidence, but interesting fact nonetheless.

[@Simplicius95]

there are similar legends in many countries, maybe histories came from a time that Neanderthals and moderm Humans share the land, or the first invasors of europe expulsed the primitive indigenous into the caves, we got these kind of histories in Spain too

[@TheWolfspirit1991]

Interesting. What if the dwarves are originally neanderthals? I mean both are taller,hairy,and muscular people.

[@skyslasher6267]

im egyptian american and always felt a connection with the redguards, so thats what i always picked, great analysis!

[@wanelane6516]

The time and research you put into this is outstanding. Top notch content!

[@jacquesforet3156]

Impressed, truly, with your knowledge of language, culture and history. Great job, man!

[@austingoodman2177]

I always thought the Altmer mirrored colonial Britain more than China. They have an unrivaled navy that's constantly fighting off pirates, similar to the role of the British navy in Atlantic mercantalism. Their culture seems to be more influenced by British classism, peerage, and etiquette than Chinese filial piety. The Altmer in the games are very individualistic, and a lot of them strike out on their own to become explorers and field researchers (Telenger the Artificer) or to found exclusive academic institutions (Vanus Galerion, Psijic Order). That reminds me a hell of a lot of colonial British exploration and British national academies, respectively. Also, while they're usually isolationist, during the events of ESO the Altmer are trying to win Cyrodiil so they can guide Tamriel in place of the primitive races of man. That sounds a lot like the white man's burden to me.

[@jackwhitehead5233]

Plus, I think if a dev literally says "we based them on the English", it's hard to argue lol

[@TheBayzent]

Their massive Eugenics and fixation on race seem more in tune with American than British culture, but overall, yeah.

[@Scatmanseth]

I wonder if their weird eschatological beliefs about eliminating the Towers to collapse reality back into when they were first gods may be related to old Victorian occultism.

[@RYUtheLION]

They are British ( English mostly ) and also imperial Japanese clearly. Not debatable and is obvious.

[@Angelo-nd4lg]

So yellow elves are chinese?