Mont Saint Michel: The Unconquered Fortress of God?

[@geographicstravel]

Eric's Links: Eric is featured in Grimdark Magazine this month! GdM's catalogue page for the issue is here: www.grimdarkmagazine.com/product/grimdark-magazine-39/ Subscriptions available here: www.patreon.com/GrimdarkMagazine Free Cosmic Horror Ebook: dl.bookfunnel.com/1cw07o2uyb Storyrant: www.youtube.com/@@storyrant

[@ignitionfrn2223]

4:00 - Chapter 1 - A holy tourist attraction 6:25 - Chapter 2 - The fortress of god 8:45 - Chapter 3 - Changing times 10:55 - Chapter 4 - A new era 13:30 - Chapter 5 - Loving something to death 16:00 - Chapter 6 - Saving the mount 18:25 - Chapter 7 - Mount saint michel today 21:15 - Conclusion

[@resileaf9501]

Another great video! Thank you for narrating, and I hope Ben enjoyed his vacation there lol

[@Name-kd5jj]

I love how the French just ignore half the letters in words. Mont Saint Michel? No no, Mon San Michel.

[@giovannirodriguesdasilva646]

English does the same thing, especially with the last letters of words

[@j.a.weishaupt1748]

É urr ear an Engish man tak?

[@Name-kd5jj]

@@j.a.weishaupt1748 English people don't speak proper English though. Weird considering they invented the language.

[@heliedecastanet1882]

@@giovannirodriguesdasilva646 You are totally right. It is something that French and English have in common 🙂 The most surprising being that many English speakers don't even notice it.

[@meaganl124]

I went just over a month ago! Excited to learn something new from this one 🎊

[@rishikeshwagh]

Is it as good as it looks in the pics?

[@meaganl124]

@@rishikeshwagh it was! It really is 90% the abbey and like 10% the expensive street of tourist shops and bars though so don’t expect too much in the way of stuff to do

[@rishikeshwagh]

@@meaganl124 Lucky you

[@jeffbertjeffbertson4805]

I like Eric, keep it up 👍🏼

[@geographicstravel]

Thanks! Will do!

[@kaltaron1284]

We have another unconquered fortress near where I live: Königstein Fortress. There's too reasons for that. 1) It's next to impossible to impossible to assault as it pretty much covers the entirety of a 240 m high (relative to the close river Elbe) rock plateau. 2) It had little strategic value as the Saxon army was always defeated elsewhere so it just served as a refuge and treasure vault during war. It was also a famous prison.

[@resileaf9501]

Castles have pretty universally been used as prisons as well. It's very convenient to hold political prisonners as it's just as hard to infiltrate as it is to escape.

[@kaltaron1284]

@@resileaf9501 True. This one has the reputation because the only one who ever escaped was a French general during WWII.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content eric! Thanks For this ❤❤❤

[@Bob-in1bc]

I haven't watched this channel for a while due to youtube not showing the videos but when did the hosts change from Simon to Eric and why ??????? But what ever the reason is/was I like this guy.

[@johnssmith4005]

Minas Tirith 😍

[@pioneercynthia1]

Bravo! Your pronunciation was wonderful! ❤

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

The inspiration for driftmark in House of the Dragon

[@artbyjennyray]

Nice Ghostbusters reference!

[@HEALORDER]

i went in 2012 as a school trip! we stayed in saint - malo which is such a cozy town, then climbed mont saint - michel. it was so beautiful

[@chrisr3570]

I'm surprised there's no mention of St Michael's Mount in Cornwall, the twin of this site. Whilst I appreciate the script was not about the site in general but a specific aspect, it does still surprise me

[@mangatitiful]

Me too Chris - from NZ! Maybe later it will happen. I've ancestry from the region. 😇

[@rami_ungar_writer]

I visited Mont St. Michel ten years ago. I hope someday I can visit again. It's absolutely beautiful.

[@robinanderson8211]

I was there in 1980. It was very cool. This vide0 was very informative.

[@Mr2Reviews]

"Space Cowboy" Cowboy Bebop reference?

[@geographicstravel]

Yes. It's one of the greatest science fiction anime ever made.

[@bethmarriott9292]

If you hadn't included the Monty Python reference i would have cried because it was all that popped into my head 😅

[@geographicstravel]

I'm so glad people still get Monty Python references. :D

[@medusagorgo5146]

We visited here a couple of years ago, I was stationed in Germany and we went from Bremerhaven all the the way down the coast of Europe and eventually made it there. Such a beautiful place.

[@Batesy20]

Both Mont Saint Michel and St Michael's Mount on the opposite side of the channel in Cornwall are special places. I've been fortunate enough to visit both. They're both spectacular.

[@K8E666]

Been there loads of times whilst on holiday in France 🇫🇷 Being from Wales we had the salt marsh lamb and it’s definitely worth having. We visited in the late 80’s and 90’s so I’ve never seen the bridge, I remember the car parks and the causeway. They were eyesores and from the footage the footbridge looks much better. I’m sure the scientists and environmentalists are right and the irreversible damage was done by the causeway over 100+ years, ensuring that the island will once more become a part of the mainland in the future. I’m sure it won’t lose its charm whatever the outcome.

[@NigelDMarvin]

I visited Mont Saint Michel in 2015, I enjoyed the history and the location of it. I am glad to learn more about it.

[@bomfunk77]

I've been a couple of times, there is something really special here

[@darkwarriormaster9644]

I recall writing a poem about this cathedral for a college class. I specifically choose Mont Saint-Michel after seeing photos online. That omelette you brought up? Now I want one too: doesn’t help that I’m on a diet and on a fasting day at the time of writing this.

[@keithwalmsley1830]

I've never been to it but it does look a fantastic, mystical place by virtue of it's topography I suspect, much like Glastonbury in England. Keep up the good work my friend.

[@MannyD90]

Built this while playing Civ 6 yesterday, this is excellent timing

[@jimmyzbike]

I see hints of interesting things on your shelves. We might need an tour

[@anthonyfrench3169]

Thanks for this one! In my English class they had a video about France(the class was also a way to expose my students to other cultures. ) and I was always curious about it.

[@thehomeschoolinglibrarian]

This is definitely on my bucket list.

[@murrayscott9546]

Although not particularly religious, visiting spots considered holy - no matter the faith - makes wonder at the devotion that made such places possible. Thanks.

[@EuTrabalhoParaSagres510]

20:21 that abbey looks exactly like the one from Kingdom Come: Deliverance, in Sassau. Which is modelled exactly as the real one which stands today.

[@theswiv]

I am not sure the issue is Angel or Demon. It's the voices telling you to do things that's the issue

[@jessgunn6639]

Salt yes but lamb needs lemon and mint! Mmmm!

[@martinmaynard141]

Very interesting but when you say you are "old" how do you measure that? I'm now 62 and think I could make it to the top!

[@geographicstravel]

I measure it by how hurt I get by turning my neck the wrong way in the morning.

[@mattyt1961]

@@geographicstravel then I am ancient

[@maddiethomas5892]

We recorded a music video there! It's SO cool!

[@eddenoy321]

Always worth a visit if you have the time and inclination for it. But it is really out of the way.

[@szczurrat2402]

I went there on an American Memorial Day Normandy Tour. Unbelievably spectacular. Why it's not considered a wonder of the world, I don't know. I'd love to live there! Don't know how often spots open up for employment/living there, but I'd work for free as long as I got to spend my days there. I can survive off of the crepe scraps and free coffee.

[@dreckman69]

I've been here, there's a really good whisky bar whose owner makes his own whisky. I recommend to all whisky lovers visiting

[@stueymon]

I saw this when I was a kid on holiday in France

[@BruceBoyde]

Somewhat embarrassingly, I kinda knew this existed due to Civ VI, but didn't actually know the history. Super interesting

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thanks.

[@agcons]

I've been saying for years that if one has salt, one has solved 99% of the seasoning problem. I agree that salt-grazing would make the lamb too delicious for words.

[@wolfboythecreator1614]

i went in 2022 it was so cool

[@NawDawgTheRazor]

Eric is so handsome 😩

[@geographicstravel]

If only I didn't love snacks so much.

[@NawDawgTheRazor]

@@geographicstravel ain’t nothing wrong with that.

[@Bob-in1bc]

Really $44 USD for eggs no thank (£40 Euros)

[@Bob-in1bc]

I rounded up it's $43.54 USD

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

Mont-Saint-Michel is a World Wonder in Civilization VI. Mont-Saint-Michel is featured in Onimusha 3: Demon Siege in which the abbey is overrun by demons in both 16th and 21st centuries and subsequently destroyed. A fictionalized version of the island, Beaumont-Saint-Denis, serves as the location for Sniper Elite 5's third mission. The castle is also the inspiration for the site of the climatic final battle in the air combat video game The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, in which it is an abandoned enemy fortress with still-operational anti-air turrets; it also inspired Dark Souls' New Londo Ruins.

[@Chris-vz7en]

I'm...somewhat embarrassed to admit that I'm familiar with the this place from a game called Sniper Elite 5. Unfriendly Germans up in there....

[@resileaf9501]

Nothing to be embarrassed about. If anything, be happy that games are expending your historical knowledge!

[@MJ1]

Of God? Men built it, and protected it, not some symbol created to help pacify your fear of death.

[@lachbullen8014]

My best friend is a demon..😆😆

[@nhd6128]

If you're from the US, rent a car & drive to see Saint Mont Michel. It is WELL worth it, and they drive on the same side of the road as us 😂 you can also swing over to the D-Day beaches & US Cemetery on the same day. It was easily my favorite day on at 14 day euro-trip

[@i20coyote85]

Was this place in sniper elite 5? It looks very familiar in that regards

[@mrthomasfritz]

So this is the property of Holy Trinity?

[@rogerpenske2411]

Didn’t this guy play Eddie Munster?

[@geographicstravel]

Did you play Guy Fieri?

[@rogerpenske2411]

@@geographicstravel I’m balding, don’t wear my sunglasses in a way that say says ‘ass hat’, and I’m not marked up like a pirate 🏴‍☠️ (aaaatgh), however, I do know my food and wine.

[@Mrgunsngear]

🇺🇸

[@EuTrabalhoParaSagres510]

⚽

[@francisebbecke2727]

The Archangel Michael seems to be God's bouncer.

[@LocomotiveThought]

This kinda messes up the global warming theory of flooding the coastal low lying areas...

[@saulthechicanootaku]

The Kingdom of Corona?

[@Jumbo344]

Where what’s he’s face.

[@kathleenlovett1958]

It looks like a STAR FORT. They're all across our realm.

[@janetbrandell7422]

Too

[@deandrehoward1261]

Where the fuck is Karl?

[@rudolfst3367]

I have to say I stopped watching after Simon left, I do still listen to these at work. Although, I don't watch 9/10 Simon's videos either anymore, so maybe it's unrelated, lmao

[@loddude5706]

Can you imagine if they sold it to Disney . . . or Trump . . ?! : ) (If M&S bought it, their undies could have rocks on)

[@EuTrabalhoParaSagres510]

WWIII: the Second French Revolution

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Oh... Well, nevermind again.

[@GoatTheGoat]

1:35 This is about global warming? I'm out!

[@yankeecrazy9]

If you’d actually watched the video, you’d see it doesn’t have anything to do with global warming or climate change.

[@GoatTheGoat]

@@yankeecrazy9 The timestamp I referenced certainly is.

[@yankeecrazy9]

@@GoatTheGoat No, it isn’t. In 1879 the French constructed a causeway to Mont-Saint-Michel in order to bring more tourists to it. Over the course of the next 125 years, silt that would have been swept out by the tides was instead accumulating on its banks, which resulted in the accelerated silting up of the entire bay. If allowed to continue, it would have made the Mount a permanent part of the mainland by 2040. So the project to “save” it was replacing the causeway with a bridge and building a damn designed to scour away silt through tidal action. Again, if you’d actually watched the video, the words “global warming” or “climate change” don’t even appear in it, I know this because I’m the one that wrote the script.

[@GoatTheGoat]

@@yankeecrazy9 The script may not use those key phrases. But it is still offensively political because of the forced spin making the subject an anthropomorphic environmental disaster. Next time write a neutral script and allow the viewer decide the merits for themselves.

[@rheinhardtgrafvonthiesenha8185]

Mate if you have another schtick as the cosmic horror whatever the fuck your call yourself, nobody‘s ever heard of it. Just host the show.

[@resileaf9501]

Why are you so angry that Eric has a career outside of this channel lol

[@geographicstravel]

Imagine claiming no one's ever heard of cosmic horror, one of the most influential genres on speculative fiction and film.

[@kupaaiau]

Boo this host

[@Hillbilly973]

Is Simon coming back?

[@resileaf9501]

He's been gone for a year and doesn't want to come back.

[@Canis_Lupus_Rex]

Who cares?

[@chrisr3570]

​@Canis_Lupus_Rex at a guess @hillbilly973 does. Although I've been curious too with the 'interim' hosts.

[@Hillbilly973]

@@resileaf9501 thanks. I appreciate your response.