Shadow of the Erdtree Names Explained

[@Er404ChannelNotFound]

What I love about Enir-Ilim especially is the fact this connection to mesopotamian societies from the cradle of civilization is reinforced by the fact that it references the Tower of Babylon. The tower reaching upwards towards the Gods is especially handy in understanding how the separation of people and the aspects of the crucible mirrors that of the separation of language ascribed to the Tower of Babylon.

[@timwinterhalter5233]

*Babel

[@Er404ChannelNotFound]

@@timwinterhalter5233 I suppose the common noun in English is "Tower of Babel" but Babel in Arabic is translated to Babylon anyway so as an Iraqi myself I just use them interchangeably in English lol.

[@timwinterhalter5233]

@@Er404ChannelNotFound that's incredibly understandable and I do get it, something to know is that while Christianity isn't as active as it used to be in the West there's still a residual difference between common and biblical terminology... especially for more rural and religious populations where that's their primary document beyond common speech This was more true before the internet of course. But most Americans would recognize the hanging gardens of Babylon and the tower of Babel as separate things before considering the cognate, unless they're unusually bright/religious/linguistically inclined Thanks tho I did really appreciate the comment. It's sick there's fromsoft fans around the world

[@EriksLore]

There's a moral to that story too- don't get delusions of grandeur and overreach towards God. Good advice Miquella should have followed...

[@tristanneal9552]

Some of this shit is HUGE. People are sleeping on this channel. Subbed.

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

Jolán is another Hungarian name like Marika, Margit, István and Elemér. Not particularly common nowadays. I had a great-aunt by this name and several women further back in my maternal line also bore it.

[@glowindark64]

Very cool. Do you know what it means?

[@EriksLore]

@@glowindark64 Jolan/Yolanda comes from the Greek for violets (as in the flower- Iolanthe). I couldn't find any real life examples of someone called Iolanda and someone named Anna in close connection like the spirit ashes, but if I come across anything I'll flag it up.

[@core-nix1885]

Marika is from the Arabic "Malika" (queen) which is also an anagram of "Kalima" (word); if one transcribes Miquella as Mikala, it's also an anagram of Kalima. Margit is a reference to René Magritte.

[@EriksLore]

@@core-nix1885 True! Although Marika is also a name in its own right- a form of Maria. I know a Marika irl, maybe she's heard her name more as a result of ER 😅

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

@@core-nix1885 Marika is a Hungarian nickname for Mária and Margit is the Hungarian version of Margaret.

[@passerinity]

Underrated asf

[@EriksLore]

Tell me about it...

[@volfravn]

This is pure gold and will hopefully be of tremendous help to other loretubers.

[@falgalhutkinsmarzcal3962]

Metyr seems like a pun to me, too, because "Met-" is the Greek prefix for "beyond" (much like the Staff of the Great Beyond we get from Metyr) and "Tyr" is the god who lost his hand to Fenrir while the other gods chained the wolf into tentative submission to prevent Ragnorak (or established Order over Beast blood, aka, the Crucible).

[@caelaa]

There's also a probability that it's a pun on "meteor", given it literally crashes to earth from the cosmos

[@Graysett]

And on top of the above, Meter like measuring. She's under the measuring hand cathedral, and Ymir's whole thing is figuring out and defining the the fingers and the GW. I'm pretty sure it's also referencing Martyr, as in she's a martyr'd hand (or maybe the hand of the martyr, who would likely have to be Marika in this case). This one name is like 5 different linguistic jokes, lmao.

[@falgalhutkinsmarzcal3962]

@@Graysett Hand Astronomy is an ancient practice whereby Sumerians, Egyptians, and Romans measured the stars and other celestial bodies using their fingers. Goldmask uses his finger to make calculations in the game, too.

[@johannesschutz780]

met- only comes before stems beginning with a vowel, your proposed etymology would lead to metatyr

[@Graysett]

@@johannesschutz780 I wouldn't know, but I 100% think that Miyazaki would see the similarity and factor that into picking the name. If there's one thing consuming so much japanese media has taught me it's that they absolutely LOVE their (forced) puns and wordplay.

[@Art_de_Ari]

As someone who used to practice Zoroastrianism (my family still does), I would love a video based on the frenzied flame and its inspirations more! Mostly because this is the first time I've personally heard/seen anyone talking about the connection between the two. But the Midra/Mithras thing is quite interesting, I'd genuinely love to see more!

[@garrulousgoldmask]

Fantastic video! That's a great point about Rahu and Hindu astrology-there were some fascinating references to jyotisha in the base gane with the primeval current. And with what we now know about Metyr, that could lead to some major lore revelations... I also like how Moonrithyll means "moon moon," which is very fitting for Rellana of the Twin Moons. Again, great work-I'm eager to see what else you have in store!

[@EriksLore]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I have a few shorter SotE videos lined up while the interest is high, but I'm working away on a longer project on FromSoft cosmologies in general. That is, how the in-game universes function, what exactly the Gods are within it etc It's a shame we didn't get a bit more from SotE, but we work with what we have!

[@KingBurgers]

@@EriksLore There's also Garuda, the divine bird and eater of snakes who brother is the charioteer of the sun. And of course Rahu's divine eclipse and the concept of an immortal who is split into two parts, kinda like Godwyn, etc. There's also a discus and other chakram weapons that imply Hindu influences and so on. The "story" of the game I truly believe is designed to be incomprehensible in totality, so using the game to learn more about actual real world things is much more rewarding imo

[@nightscout9979]

IIRC, Moonrithyll's name is actually different in the Japanese text and was changed to be an Irithyll reference for the English text.

[@EriksLore]

@@nightscout9979 I shall check that and report back!

[@andrsl1]

Randomly got this video recommended, and WOW, your channel has so much amazing stuff, I'm surprised to see so little views and subscribers. Everyday I open up my youtube front page and its filled with low effort ''elden ring lore videos'' that are so poorly written, no research, batshit insane ''theories'' and are just trying to capitalize on the dlc hype to grow a youtube channel. Definitely will be checking more of your stuff, amazing work !!

[@fedefyr]

On scadu: i have a theory its playing on "skade". Since erd and hallig are scandinavian words, scadu leans towards skade, which means "damage" or "wound", and the tree is bleeding its sap

[@unknown_unseen]

I can't express how glad am I to have found your channel. This video is a treasure and should have thousands of views, but instead it's countless and incorrect re-readings of item descriptions and sensationalized echo chamber implications. The linguistic context you bring up here is so important and it adds so much to the overall picture, thank you for your work man!

[@EriksLore]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it and hopefully more people discover the channel

[@DavidStavis]

This is awesome!!! I want to get this video in front of as many Elden Ring lore people as possible

[@nightscout9979]

Regarding Belurat, there's a town in India named Belur that's the site of the historic Chennakeshava Temple. There's also a place called Belur Math that features imagery from various faiths as a show of unity. Rauh has additional aspects to consider, as Rauh can be a variant of the German word "Rauch", meaning "smoke", perhaps highlighting a tie to the golems implied to have been made by the Rauh civilization. There might also be a connection to the Fire Giants, whose Forge is supported by a structure made with Rauh's architecture. Additionally, because of overlap between L and R in Japanese, along with an overlap between H and F, the area could be named Lauf, an old Norse word for "leaf." As for Enir-Ilim, an 1862 book, The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames by Clifford Stanley Sims, says that "Enir" means "chieftain" and was used by the Picts. Perhaps Enir-Ilim could also mean "Chieftain of the Gods", as though to assert that the tower connects to the strongest outer god or otherwise creates a god strong enough to reign over all other gods in the respective era. The etymology of character, item, and place names in From Software games can be fascinating, so thank you for this video!

[@ianwilliams2632]

Given the semitic relationship to ancient things in the DLC, Rauh seems much more inspired by Ruach, the Hebrew word for breath or spirit. Almost everything in the area is about spirits and wind, two related concepts in semitic cultures. Enir comes close to Chieftan, it means Lord or High Priest (like Monsignor) in Akkadian. I think the point is that Enir-Ilim means "Lord of God", and it was meant to be the place of ascension for those seeking divinity. It literally embodies what Miquella & Radahn are doing there. Marika's usage was a seduction and a betrayal because she seems to have ascended alone and chose a lord later. Ansbach is one of my favourites. I like to assume it comes from the Ansbach Dragoons, a famous Prussian regiment of loyal mounted & dismounted cavalry. They were involved in many exploits for their dukes & kings.

[@tn7403]

This was really cool, subbing!

[@EriksLore]

@@tn7403 Thank you! Glad you enjoyed

[@LaughTalePainting]

Excellent channel, glad to have found you bro!

[@Graysett]

I wasn't expecting to get an explanation on why Rahu was the villain's name in Custom Robo from this, but boy am I glad to finally have that mystery put to rest.

[@mikeyjofalviton5046]

This whole video got a big ol’ subscribe from me dude! More like this, break down every part and I’ll watch hours

[@DonDisainer]

love this videos!! make the one about the franzied flame!

[@viperleviathan9021]

I’m so glad I had this video recommended to me, I’m about to binge your entire series on Elden Ring while I farm albinaurics. This stuff is absolutely fascinating to me. How do you even begin to look for some of these connections??

[@friendlymadman1733]

I've thaught for a while now that the cosmology and mythology of myazaki's games is partially insiperd by slavic mythology, which survives only in the form of fragmented scraps. This would explain death's connection to water, as, at least in some forms of slavic myths, they were heavily connected to eachother. In the version im most familiar with, one of the most important gods, named weles, was indeed a god of water, while also ruling over the land of the dead, like hades. Weles was also imprisoned in the roots of the tree of life, making him a possible inspiration for godwyn.

[@agucci]

Wow, suddenly I love linguistics so much! ❤

[@arthurleonepimenta2266]

on another note, AWESOME video, man. Thank you!

[@EriksLore]

Thank you!

[@core-nix1885]

Another pun in Rennala is Reine-nala, the French word for Queen. Comparable to Victoria Wren (a reference to Queen Victoria) in Thomas Pynchon's "V." Irithyll is also a play on "ethereal"

[@nickpottermusic]

Interesting! I always assumed that Miyr was just an anagram of Ymir, and so I was trying to figure out if the other finger ruins were an anagram or clue! The finger lore in the DLC just makes me absolutely lose my mind. It’s great.

[@EriksLore]

I think there's almost certainly an element of truth to that, although it feels right to me that there'd at least notionally be a good explanation. I suspect both factored in the creative process here. Btw, as a music channel, you'll like my organ cover of the ER theme!

[@LiloDemon]

It's an awesome and incredible video, man. Congrats. I always knew the Character's names do not come from nowhere I wasn't able to search for them.

[@EriksLore]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I also have a video on the dragons' names- you'll probably enjoy that one too

[@TheBlaringBlue]

S Tier info in this video - thank you!

[@xhinoteque]

This was soooo enlightening for the lore. Thank u very much good sir

[@EriksLore]

Thank you!

[@HoldMeForever]

Well done 👏👏 What a great video, well done again 👏👏

[@aureldumont]

This is such a good video...even if you recorded the audio in the least acoustically-dampened room you could find 🤣 srsly tho, loving your content. Very insightful! I'll be watching for uploads from you.

[@ravenseah2368]

Very interesting esp the Rahu inspiration.

[@ThatDangDad]

This video whips, my guy

[@EriksLore]

Thank you!

[@zer0zes]

please do go more into the flame of frenzy's links to zoroastrianism, the historical and mythological context of the dlc is fascinating

[@kanekitchen]

Thanks for putting this together

[@AbyssWhispers]

I like how Moonrithyll's name just means moon moon 🌝

[@madmonk1661]

The bull design on the Stone Coffins looks just like the old column tops from the ruins of the Persian Empire

[@arthurleonepimenta2266]

The word Belurat reminds me of the zigurats and i think Belurat's architecture is highly sugestive of this reference

[@EriksLore]

I did explore that idea, since Belu is Akkadian for Lord, but I checked with someone who teaches comparitive Semitic languages and Belurat isn't a word you can legitimately get according to Akkadian grammar. That doesn't necessarily mean that isn't in fact how they came up with it, just that I can't say for sure that this is a real word. But I will be looking specifically at Enir-Ilim, Mesopotamian religion, Ziggurats and the Gate of Divinity in a follow-up video.

[@armandaneshjoo]

Best video idea ever

[@mysterin5061]

This suggestion on YT f**ked me up because we share the same name 😂😂 I will follow and watch later

[@Boboimolol]

Please do a video going deeper into the frenzy flame stuff

[@core-nix1885]

There are also links to St. Catherine in Dark Souls. The wheel-cross skeletons can be compared to the breaking wheel she was martyred upon. Catarina and Velka can link to Ekaterina Velikaya, Catherine the Great.

[@TheHi-NoteFunClub-BeatsByMike]

Closest I could find on Merriam-Webster Metr: uterus or pith Seems relevant.

[@arthurdossantos6826]

Wow those are pretty cool! I love how it all fits.

[@KommissarAlexander]

Great video

[@MoxieWatts]

i would love to hear your thoughts on midra

[@saramations]

Oh wow. This is really cool to know. I was pretty spot on about Enir-illim and what it represented. That's why, in my theory with very little evidence, Ranni was probably betrothed to Godwyn.🌕&🌟

[@Feuerpilger]

Regarding the etymology of Belurat: What about the roots *bhel- a) meaning shine, flash, burn, shining white as in Balder, Beluga, blank, bleach, blush, blitz, flame; b) blow, swell as in bale, bold; c) thrive, bloom as in blade, bleed, blood, flourish, flower plus *red- meaning scrape, scratch, gnaw, as in corrode, erase, raze

[@lepistanuda]

No mention of “The Ruins of Unte”s relationship to “Unta” deity mentioned in the video?

[@EriksLore]

No, the Goddess is Antu, excuse my pronunciation. Unte has the same Japanese spelling as Anthe, who was a daughter of one of the giants in Greek mythology and after whom one of the moons of Saturn is named. But unfortunately none of the other moons are named to make a group and there's no convincing explanation I could find, so I left it out. I'll report back if I do find anything.

[@pheenmachine]

Great work!

[@chef5588]

Oh the Messmer connection makes sense since ER Messmer controls a peculiarly strong allegiance from those around him

[@wjr4700]

The Scadutree Avatar wasnt always black and withered. Its suffering the same fate as the Scadutree. I love that its face is a constelation though. It reminds me of Goldmask's mask.

[@armandaneshjoo]

Can we have a video about Zoroastrian roots of Frenzied Flame?

[@hiddenshadow2105]

Miyr is also an anagramm of Ymir

[@JakkAuburn]

Thank you for this!

[@EriksLore]

My pleasure!

[@bernhardhametner2004]

I like to think another valid interpretation for Belurat could come from the Russian belyu (white) and the Albanian name Urata (Blessing), referring to Enir-Illim, at whose base it was built.

[@omega_sol]

Where would I look up some of these words and translations? Especially Akkadian. I would appreciate if you could point to some useful resources :)

[@EriksLore]

www.assyrianlanguages.org/akkadian/index_en.php is a good general dictionary with comparison to other semitic languages given in the entries, and for verb conjugations www.gilgamesh.ch/bvc/bvc.html?&stem=G&verbpattern=3&verbrootx=par%C4%81sum

[@omega_sol]

@@EriksLore Tysm!

[@TheHi-NoteFunClub-BeatsByMike]

Midra came up bupkis on Meriram-Webster but in the suggested word list was: Midrib: the central vein of a leaf Seems relevant.

[@TheHi-NoteFunClub-BeatsByMike]

P.S. Been doing this for a bunch of names used in multiple FromSoft games the last couple days... And I'm getting the impression they are using that site specifically to choose names/refine name usage - especially when consulting the "Time Traveller's" tool that shows what year the word was first used in print alongside a list of other words also first used in print that particular year - for example: "Rom" didn't yield as many compelling associations as "Ymir", but given Rom was first used in the late 1840's, and a bunch of new words from that year relate (if even just indirectly) to concepts being fleshed out at the time IRL, feeling like they correspond to the artistic reality of what's going on in Bloodborne... I don't know... That website, that tool... It's probably just coincidence, however... Seems relevant.

[@mostafaahmednasr621]

Do you have a version for the locations in the original game, like Leyndel and Elphael

[@EriksLore]

Yes, it should be the video that comes up as recommended at the end of this one, but failing that you can find it by looking through my videos, you can't miss it. There's also one looking at the dragons' names specifically

[@Gochannie0203]

I'm really surprised how fitting thiolliers name is! Thank you for the insight!!🫡💜

[@pauliusbaranauskas7915]

Depending on which cultures you look into, water is absolutely associated with death.

[@mikearoo1234]

Cool video. Im curious as to why "Scadu" and "Shadow" are both used in this game. Is it the same spelling japanese and they wanted shadowkeep to sound more menacing?

[@EriksLore]

That's a good point. I don't think the Japanese versions make any distinctions between modern and early modern vocab, but to me at least the implication is that the Erdtree and Scadutree are old, well-established features of the world whereas the Shadowkeep is, as you say, a new feature designed to inspire fear.

[@zun-viik]

I ❤ Etymology

[@evilfungas]

I think Belurat is also meant to evoke Ziggurat. Another Akadian-Mesopotamian reference.

[@EriksLore]

That's a point I'll be discussing in a video specifically on Enir Ilim. I don't have a dedicated upload day, but within the next couple of weeks

[@zeppie_]

Great video! Another interesting point on the word "scadu" is that it's nearly identical to the Dutch word for shadow, which is "schaduw" Also, the Divine Gate being associated with bedchambers is very interesting. The "gate of god" equivalent in the Lands Between also has a bedchamber close by, namely Marika's bedchamber by the foot of the Erddtree. This also makes me wonder whether, and if so why, a consort is required to ascend to godhood. Miquella needed a consort in the form of Radahn, but Marika didn't seem to have anyone to accompany as a consort in the story trailer. This makes me think that she elected Radagon, all that time ago.

[@EriksLore]

@@zeppie_ It's quite a problem to solve- and indeed the Divine Gate will be the next subject I tackle! Did you play DS3? We take Anri as a spouse for that ending, so we've seen these themes before. I just wish we'd seen a *little* more lore- FromSoft could have shown more than they did without spoiling the whole thing.

[@Adam-TheLiftedKing]

What song is playing at the start?

[@EriksLore]

This is an early music recording of La Follia

[@core-nix1885]

I think "Scadu" can also be taken as scar-dew, when one considers Marika and Radagon's Scarseals as well as the "weeping" peninsula and exudates such as sap and resin. These "weeping scars", I believe, are a metaphor for Karma. Dew is also associated with grass, as with DS3's Filianore, and there is wordplay between grass and grâce (french for grace).

[@michaeljohnston8891]

I remember someone theorizing that the word “Belurat” might be a nod to Baal, the Phoenician equivalent of Zeus. Given the horned warriors affinity for storms, this is quite fitting. It also lines up historically, as Baal was the celestial/storm god worshipped in the Levant before the adherents of Yahweh came to dominate the region

[@glowindark64]

I thought that means the study of ants😢

[@EriksLore]

You're thinking of entomology XD

[@glowindark64]

@@EriksLore oh yes that makes sense

[@tuckddd9]

Wait… this thing is about childbirth low key huh

[@glowindark64]

Like...what even is words??

[@EriksLore]

I wish I knew

[@tasssku4381]

moonrythill was cringeworthy to read the first time around

[@EriksLore]

It was a bit 😅

[@tasssku4381]

@@EriksLore yeah it just comes off as lazy

[@ncuriousmediator9434]

Rene means "rebirth"? Nice, getting Genshin lore from an ER video 😂

[@johannesschutz780]

I don't really see how *meh₂tēr is the same as metyr but okay

[@EriksLore]

That's a decent point. Proto Indo-European is a hypothetical construct, and written in a sort of semi-algebraic form based on what we can assume to have been any given word. In this case, the initial asterisk indicates that this is a reconstructed word and the h2 represents a vocalised sound that we don't know exactly what it was, but it's definitely the same one that fits the pattern of similar and related words. The whole thing is a sort of linguistic equivalent of studying black holes indirectly by their observable influence.

[@glowindark64]

@@EriksLore woah. This sense ss the music in her second phase is sounds of a black hole.

[@johannesschutz780]

@@EriksLore We know quite exactly that *h₂ was a fricative that was pronounced in the back of the mouth, anything between velar and pharyngeal. We know that it had a-coloring features in all Indo-European languages and *eh₂ was realized as /aː/ or an adjacent vowel already in late Proto-Indo-European. The only way to get to en e-sound is through Attic Greek which is several millenia too late.

[@EriksLore]

@@johannesschutz780 I think that sounds more certain than we can reasonably be about a reconstructed language. H2 might have had a lowering effect on the vowel which naturally results in a or u colouring, but at this distance of time we'll just never know.

[@johannesschutz780]

@@EriksLore There is extensive literature about the possible phonetics and the phonological effects of *h2. u-coloring is not a thing.

[@evilfungas]

Great video.