The rise and fall of Lord Godfrey | Elden Ring Lore

In this video we will go over the entire life of Godfrey, the first Elden Lord.
from his secret origins as a highlander and a champion of the hornsent to the loyal warlord of queen Marika and up to his death on our hands in the rise and fall of Lord Godfrey.
#eldenring #shadowoftheerdtree #eldenringlore

[@philipguerrero11]

The erdtree stopped giving sap cus there was no more death. No sap without death.

[@Thrasher-92]

Exactly...the SAP stop cause the sealed death interrupted the normal course of the life...thats why the items says "the bounty was but a mere moment, such ia the course of the life" The cycle of life, death and rebirth was broken, order was introduced in the chaotic life, and this, reduced the primordial power of the crucible, age when godfrey reign

[@G4meplus]

Great interpretation as well.

[@agxryt]

This makes me think of all life returning to the erdtree... Perhaps that life is turned to sap, to create gods. Almost like... Flesh, melded together...

[@Mattin_Satteo]

I can't understand how your videos are not up in the Lore Olympus with Vaaty, Crunchy, Smaughtown, Ratatoskr, miss Chalice, Kosm etc... This one was so fu**ing good...

[@tarnished-ml3fr3jq8w]

Right?! Especially seemingly English isn't his first language, and yet his narratives and well-reasoned arguments are more coherently, succinctly laid out than 99% of ER lore content creators. Huge kudos and gratitude for this guy's vids 👏

[@Mattin_Satteo]

@@tarnished-ml3fr3jq8w I only know a few good as he is with explaining lore... But many don't make almost any video rn... There is an Italian guy, Sabaku no Maiku, who does plenty of videos and is known in italy as the OG Lore Enjoyer, and even him is not as productive as the Alchemist. GG indeed, my fellow tarnished!

[@maruc14]

Seriously, a lot of new insight. Keep em' coming.

[@G4meplus]

Thanks a lot my friend, it's incredibly appreciated. Making lore videos was always something I wanted to do and the important part for me is providing value for the community, I am almost at 4k subscribers which is amazing that all of those people enjoy my videos and trust me. Don't get me wrong achieving the amount of success that someone like Vaati and smoughtown have would be mind blowing for me but, tbh those creators are incredibly talented, I am yet to achieve their level of mastery over the Lore and video making skills. Hopefully I am on the right track though.

[@Mattin_Satteo]

@@G4meplus I totally get it, I also am always thinking of making videos about some games and their lore... And even if you already make really amazing videos I am sure you have the right spirit to keep improving and getting even better! P.S. You really have some of the most complete and deep theories in the lore community, so don't underestimate yourself!

[@proudlarry8225]

The existence of lion beastmen likely predates the sacred beasts of Enir Ilim but Godfrey is DEFINITELY "the seduction". The Hornsent absolutely hated the idea of their perfect saint Marika recruiting the highland warriors and betraying their plans for her.

[@Thrasher-92]

The seduction is the vengeance that two fingers could grant marika when they gave her support to be the next god of the coming age (erdtree) marika and the numen were oppressed, so, marika in the finger ruins take the bell, the two fingers gave her support and she used this to convince the hornsent that she was the chosen to lead them to the divinty they wanted...and the betray, its from two fingers to marika... They prommised her glory, power, vengeance, but never said the cost... Divinity its a prison, its a Cage Marika was a slave of the g.o during all her life Thats why when her faith fades, she started the crusade

[@shinyhydreigon7257]

The question remains. What is the Sap of the Erdtree? The Erdtree produces 3 things: fallen leaves, which are a sign of decay, light, which is the guidance of grace, and sap. The Erdtree is likely just the Greatree, with the Marika's golden rays of light adorning it, to create the Erdtree we see now. The Greatree's primary function is to act as a conduit for the dead to "return" to it. It seems that this function remains in the Age of the Erdtree. But what does this mean? It makes sense how people can return to the Erdtree through Erdtree burial, but how are they then reborn? We don't see people falling out of the Erdtree. Unless the Sap of the Erdtree IS the very same people who have returned back to it. Greatjar Warrior Alexander's whole journey is about starting out as an empty vessel, and collecting the corpses of fallen champions, and combining them within himself. "Lend me strength, O warriors within! Let us become one champion, together!" I think this mirrors the Erdtree, and Godfrey exactly. Hell we even summon Alexander for Fire Giant. Erdtree burial collects the dead, and produces sap, which is akin to Alexander's Innards. Strength that is bestowed upon those deemed worthy. It is no wonder Godfrey is the leader of the Tarnished, I think he was literally been carrying around fallen champions within himself. Interestingly, this might change how we look at his kin such as Nepheli Loux. When he is banished from TLB, he clearly keeps Serosh, yet reverts back to Hoarah Loux. What does this mean for the champions we carried within him? I think it is very possible they, now free of the Erdtree's reign, are able to be reborn naturally, and become people again like Nepheli Loux.

[@Coast2CoastFlyin]

So glad you mentioned this. What IS the sap indeed. It seems like, since it ran gold anyways, to be maybe not a good thing? It is what bestows Grace, which we can literally see in one's eyes. We learn this isn't a magical aesthetic change, but an actual, physiological change to the eyes. We know that Grace in the eyes serves, among other possibilities, the purpose of blinding or obfuscating the truth from one's vision. Possibly allows Marika to determine what your eyes do and don't see, which admittedly would perfectly explain how the land of shadow works, if it's in fact true that it's still physically all part of the lands between but simply impossible to see or interact with (what we see dictates our reality. Out of sight, out of mind). Possibly lends more credence to the oft dismissed theory that the Erdtree as we see it is an illusion that only those blessed with Grace can see.

[@shinyhydreigon7257]

@@Coast2CoastFlyin I was of the belief that it was more or less confirmed that the Erdtree is only visible to those with Grace. I believe there is a spirit NPC who says something like where is the Erdtree, when it is literally right in front of him. I don't think Sap bestows grace at all. I've heard people come to that idea based off of the description of the Crimson/Cerulean Flasks, yet that dosn't make sense. Grace is bestowed upon us before we even get the flasks so that dosn't make sense. Hmm, considering we get the flasks just after 1st meeting Melina, would that not mean that she gave them to us?

[@Coast2CoastFlyin]

As for the Erdtree rebirth cycle and stuff, I'm admittedly not sure. The DLC honestly just made that whole issue even more confusing for me, especially in Elir-Ilim where we find different yet still familiar golden trees. Then there's Marika's little golden tree, the original Erdtree as seen in early iconography previously theorized as depicting the Great Tree by Tarnished Archeologist and others. In typical From fashion we get a huge piece of evidence that explains something we previously had no way of knowing, but instead of clarifying anything it just added more questions. One thing I will say though is that sap is the means by which Grace was bestowed, and Grace is the means by which Marika exerts her control over TLB. By controlling what we see, she controls our reality. To what end, I cannot say, but I'd try to cut back on slurping down those tear flasks. Whatever it is exactly we're drinking, it can't be good for us

[@martingonzalez3629]

The three lives Daenerys sacrificed for her dragons were Khal Drogo, The Witch that cursed him, and her unborn son. That last one is a bit of a parallel to Godwyn mayhaps? Obviously Godwyn lived a whole life, but both mothers sacrificed their sons lives.

[@Titan_Ult]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="574">9:34</a> You put "the first Elden Lord" which isn't part of the item description. Cool video but I don't think Serosh was a ruler of the Hornsent or Enim Elir. For one Serosh has no horns unlike the the Lion Dancers or the Lion Guardians, which wear shackles. Serosh was most likely from Farum Azula, considering the Beastclaw Greathammer: "A greathammer with a striking end modeled to resemble five beastly claws. The black nails protruding from golden fur are said to represent Serosh, Lord of Beasts, who went on to become King Godfrey's regent." We get this from Gurranq, and it's important to note the "five beastly claws," which relates to the Cinquedea: "The design celebrates a beast's five fingers, symbolic of the intelligence once granted upon their kind." Serosh was most likely a Beastman from Farum Azula, who was granted intelligence by the Ancient Dragons. There is more to this but you get the idea.

[@G4meplus]

The elden lord isn't part of the description yes I copied the text effect and forgot to remove that sentence, apologies. About Serosh, I never said he was the ruler of Enir-Elim they just viewed him as one of the most divine. The entire case of divine beasts and divine invocation is based on the "kami" from shinto belief where if a creature live a really long time or become the most powerful in his race he ascends to Divinity, I will probably make a video explaining this. So what i meant here was that Serosh was one of those beasts that became divine, actually the title itself would give him outmost divinity according to shinto, he was the lord of beasts. His homeland or kingdom wouldn't matter with the hornsent regarding worshipping him, he may have been from Farum Azula yes. The last point about the lion dancers, those are representation of the divine beasts they aren't the real ones, it's a custom made and wore by the sculpted keepers who call upon the divine beats power so it would be really logical that they made the custom and the statues to have horns, it's not necessarily it's the truth.

[@Titan_Ult]

@@G4meplus I don't believe longevity is the focal point of Divine Invocation. It seems that Divine Invocation is about raising your spirituality, and this is achieved through dancing and fighting. This is why the Lion Dance was turned towards martial ends when Messmer attacked, combat is so important to the Hornsent that it becomes a form of dance to them. Raising your spirituality involves emotional upheaval, and the emotion the Hornsent and Godfrey are concerned with is rage. This is why the higher-ranked Horned Warriors gain stronger storm powers, as the storm mirrors their rage: "Divine beasts are messengers of the heavens, and their rage mirrors the tumult of the skies, of which storms are the pinnacle." And becasue of the Horsents connection to the Crucible their spirituality comes with tangled horns, which Serosh doesn't have. I think the most reasonable thing to say is Serosh is from Farum Azula and was a Lord in Farum Azula.

[@nbmoleminer5051]

What I still can't wrap my head around is why he would straight up kill his friend instead of just removing him from his back was it not possible to do so without killing Serosh or something?

[@ripvanwinkle3432]

He had to take every measure to make sure his power level was over9000.

[@ripvanwinkle3432]

And it still wasn't enough for my club.

[@darkmage4648]

Hourah Loux is a savage, it is his nature. He doesnt care about Serosh

[@ripvanwinkle3432]

@@darkmage4648 he was still Godfrey and had Serosh to tame his savagery. It was a conscious decision and thanked him for his service as an advisor. He needed to up his power level to win.

[@G4meplus]

In the intro cinematic we see Godfrey alongside corporal form Serosh crucified and dead. It seems Serosh did indeed fight alongside Godfrey in his corporal form but, it wasn't enough. from that perspective I can see why Godfrey chose to kill Serosh this time to gain more power, yes i believe he absorbed Serosh and my evidence is the "beast claw weapon description" yet i didn't want to put that part in the video because it might be a little confusing. The beast claw weapon seems related to the beast claw greathammer (the weapon which tells us Serosh was lord of the beasts) the beast claw weapon reads as follows. "Weapon in the form of a carnivorous beast's vicious claws. Used to perform bestial slashing attacks uncanny to humankind. An imitation of the esoteric technique of the horned warriors. Those who carry this weapon wield it as though they have been possessed by a savage beast." The weapon tells us that the user fights with it as if he was possessed by a savage beast and that this is technique is an imitation of the horned warriors technique. I believe that's exactly what Godfrey did when he killed Serosh, he absorbed Serosh and used his power, "possessed by a savage beast" here makes a ton of sense.

[@Coast2CoastFlyin]

Love this video. I had already theorized myself that Godfrey was of the Hornsent culture, although I came to that conclusion through a very different path: the beast claws. In the cutscene where Godfrey kills Serosh and absorbs his essence, there's a brief moment where serosh's claws are superimposed over Godfrey's hands. Looking at the beast claws, they look nearly identical to these superimposed claws, and Godfrey fights in a very similar manner as the claw moveset. Another clue linking the Messmer soldiers to Godfrey is their use of a stomp attack. Stomps are a pretty unique attack, and they are exclusively used by enemies linked to Godfrey (more on this in a moment) and are a default skill on a single weapon type: axes. Stomp attacks are a skill used against us by Crucible Knights, the loyal warriors of Godfrey himself. The other enemies to use this tactic in some capacity are the misbegotten, which also wield axes and cleavers, along with being explicitly tied to the Crucible. The Leontine misbegotten are also heavily associated with Radagon....who also utilizes stomping prominently in his attacks. The mystery of just who exactly IS Radagon continue to deepen after playing the DLC, despite many of the questions surrounding him being answered. But the idea that he was a factor in the lore going back to the events we learn about in the DLC, to the Hornsent, and to Marika's ascension to godhood, is looking more and more likely. Perhaps, with more lore videos like this, we will find the answer to his origin hidden in the game. Or at least enough clues that we can piece together to draw our own conclusions, if there isn't enough evidence for a definitive theory. While I don't disagree with any of the main arguments being made here, I do have some questions. Or at least one question: what happened to Godfrey and Serosh's horns? While everything pointed to Godfrey being a high status individual amongst the Hornsent, given that Marika chose him specifically to marry, I never actually made that conclusion. Not that it didn't make sense, but because Godfrey (and Serosh for that matter) lack a specific trait of the upper echelons of Hornsent culture: horns. Despite his clear and numerous ties to the Crucible, Godfrey doesn't have any horns. Interestingly neither does Serosh, despite every other lion/lion-like creature in the game having some kind of horn growths. Godfrey's twin sons being born not only as Hornsent, but as uniquely and abundantly blessed by the Crucible, in addition to all the other evidence, is enough to confidently state his origins as an important figure in Hornsent culture (certainly noble, likely even Royal). With that said, what about Godwyn? We don't ever get to see what he looked like before his assassination; instead we get a few brief glimpses of his corpse from a limited angle, followed by what now appears to be putrescence writhing underneath his skin and leaking out of his eyes, as well as an artists rendering of the night of black knives, a depiction which on close examination again raises more questions than answers. Was he born free of the curse of his father's heritage? Or is the blatant absence of any depiction of Godwyn as he was in life a major clue we spent over 2 years ignoring because it was inconvenient to our preconceived ideas about what the DLC would/should be about? We learn that Grace, and the sap of the Erdtree, are linked concepts, if not one and the same. They are also framed in a way that raises some red flags, but without quite knowing why. There's just a vague sense of unease surrounding grace and the sap, like there's more to them than we have been told, but despite those details being withheld, the implication remains that something feels very off. Godwyn shares this same vague sense of apprehension, of there being something about him we don't know that if we did know would totally and irrevocably change our perception of him

[@kellanaldous7092]

Well done, this is much better evidenced by game lore than most of the speculation ive seen since SotE dropped.

[@mariodiaz2449]

There's some cut content regarding miquella and Messmer that I think actually supports the crusade timeline. Originally, Messmer would say something like "Thou art tarnished...Miquella spoke of thee" (paraphrasing) To me this line being cut actually supports the theory that Godfrey's banishment was the trigger to the crusade. If they had kept the line then the crusade would have started before Godfrey's banishment since clearly Messmer did not know about the tarnished. But now that it's gone, this implies Messmer was already aware of what a tarnished is, thus, the long march had to have happened before the veiling of the shadow lands. As a follow up theory, I think the presence of the impalers catacombs in the weeping peninsula might point to the long march being forced by spear point. There is evidence of this with the rusted anchor description too. There was one left behind ship, I think the last tarnished ship got cold feet and attempted to remain only to be taken out by Messmer the Impalers forces, with the dead from his army being entombed in the impalers catacombs

[@mariodiaz2449]

TLDR there's a cut line in Messmers dialogue that supports the timeline and it was Messmers army that hounded the tarnished from the lands between

[@ripvanwinkle3432]

Miquella is there in the shadowland, so if that was in there. I would interpret it as him stopping by telling this is what our mother/father did.

[@twiceonnce6757]

tbh at this point i consider as canon lore whatever this guy says, like I CAN'T SEE ANY MISSING POINTS THIS VIDEO IS SO GOOD

[@G4meplus]

Super glad you enjoyed my friend, thanks you ❤️

[@Twinkiey]

When you brought up the storm lord I genuinely gasped

[@Billyboy597]

Nice video. I get caught up with the divine invocation of the hornsent versus dragon communion. What i mean is the consumption of "spirit" versus "flesh." Hornsent continually summon the spirits of their defeated enemies and gained increased powered. But, with dragon communion, the individual has to literally eat a heart of flesh or stone everytime for increased power. Idk, cannibalism is a theme throughout Dark Souls and Bloodborne, so I think I'm partly trained to look for cannibalism in these games 😂. But, I get "Soylent Green" vibes from the Lord's Bestowal talisman. You could compare "sap" to "blood" and that Godfrey has pause at this new flesh consumption ritual.

[@mariodiaz2449]

This makes me think of the raw meat dumpling. Implied to be human flesh, it both heals you and poisons you.

[@Billyboy597]

@mariodiaz2449 Nice point. I forgot about that item. There is the Revenger's Shack where we find all the raw meat dumplings, as part of the frenzy flame quest, where the maiden eats eye balls

[@Trimondius]

Beautiful theory that ties up alot of loose ends,I had my suspicions eversince I played the dlc that Godfrey was one of the reasons why Marika gained so much influence amongst the hornsent.That and the lesser theory that she somehow was the only successful jar saint which granted her power and her alter ego Radagon.The talisman you mention,Lords Bestowal,is also found in Messmers Shadow Keep,which means Godfrey was aware and even interacted with Messmer.

[@johncrondis4563]

Note that Godfreys axe has the same patterning as the Beasts Great Curved Sword. I think there is a very important connection there.

[@thishandleisbacon]

Daenerys hair style sure looks familiar here <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1464">24:24</a>

[@lucaswoods1725]

Miquella, ah haircut

[@THETYMEKK12]

Incredible analysis. Grounded yet creative :D

[@ChristianClown]

Great video!

[@kyleharrison713]

Piece by piece you'll put it together. Then we can review it all and reflect.

[@SeanHoltzman]

Has anyone tried to summon the Stormhawk in the arena with Ornis? 👀🤔 Might need to in another playthrough

[@ButcherGod]

But Godfrey isn't a Hornsent, so how is he tied to the "Seduction" that the Hornsent are upset about? I think you may be reaching here.

[@williamjohnson3474]

It would be interesting if he attained that high standing maybe even that if a lord, and if he chose for Marica to return through the divine gate, that being the seduction I stress of his chosen consort perhaps the gloom eyed queen, there’s not a lot of basis for this, but I think I’d be an interesting idea

[@EmperorMist]

Still waiting for a proper timeline depiction after the dlc lore bombs

[@Thrasher-92]

I think youre theory is good in some points but not lore accurate in others...but its a nice video Im not agree with serosh, godwyn and the seduction But the origin of godfrey its ok, the reason of the crussade its ok too, and the timeline its (mostly) ok But serosh its from farum azula, so godfrey battled first placidusax (hoara loux, not godfrey) Here, the lord of beast serosh, in service of dragonlord, was took, and godfrey born...he decides to act as lord, and serosh begins yo act as his regent Then, the erdtree born and the fire giants war occurs Then, he beat the hawk of the storm, the stormking A crown its warranted with strenght, and placidusaxx was elden lord...so godfrey neeeded to beat the dragonlord to be elden lord, and then, act as a defender of the erdtree, then, bring war yo the world to mantain the erdtree safe Morgott abd mohg are the firstborns of godfrey, not godwyn (Godwyn was born when the primordial energy begins to weakened, thats why he is more human and younger than morgott looks, plus, the sigil of morgott shacles and everything related to morgott abd mohg its from the bounty age and the crucible, and the sigil of the era of godwyn its the normal erdtree, you can see this in the incantation to resist lightning and the leyndell symbol of leyndell knights, instructed by godwyn) Finally, the seduction its ftom the 2 fingers to marika They offer marika power, cause she is and empyrean chosen to start a new age, the erdtree age So they gave her support and marika appears in belurat, as the primissed god of the hornsent, the one who would guide her to the divinity they wanted But divinity its a prision Marika was betrayed, and during all her life, was a slave of the golden order...this, made her lost faith, and then she decides to destroy de erd, the golden order and break the e.r

[@سلمانقتل]

Good video 👍

[@hhowdy]

What happened to the mistranslation video?

[@G4meplus]

It's still there, I had a technical KZbin issue with it so it's unlisted atm. Will bring it back soon though.

[@hhowdy]

@@G4meplus Oh ok

[@tyzombie89]

Man your videos are amazing. Great evidence and i do think it makes sense. My question is, in light of this evidence, where does the Gloam-Eyed Queen fit in?

[@TheBrokenOrder1]

The current most believable theory is that GEQ was Marika's past title, before becoming Marika, the Eternal she was Marika, the gloam eyed queen

[@G4meplus]

Thank you my friend, about the gloam eyed queen I still can't get my head wrapped around it. There are a couple of theories flying around but, I really feel something is missing. Something we are yet to discover.

[@sicilianmammalian]

​@G4meplus the gloam eyed queen is placidusaxes wife, probably the giant dragon dead on the mountain if greyoll is any measure of the females being larger

[@gergelymacsai3776]

Stop, stop, you're making too much sense! :D Also, Godfrey's facital hair and part of hair is braided in a spiral. Just sayin'.

[@michaeldean1924]

You think Horah Loux tamed the Elden beast for marika?

[@buckschneider7973]

Why would Godfrey be the seduction? If there's anyone who's chad enough to be with Marika it'd be Godfrey