Shadow over Lordran - Dark Souls Lore: Gwyndolin 

Bit of a stab in the dark, but you know when Gwyndolin says that the tomb shouldn't be violated by the "feet of men"? Maybe he has a lower half made up of snakes because he sees himself as too impure and not good enough to guard his father's tomb/set foot in it. As for being a symbol of the undead? I think he's trying again to show his affinity with abominations and the "hideous". Perhaps to show himself as an example to the chosen undead of what his Father stood against, in humility and self-punishment. Also maybe as a reminder to himself. He may have an affinity to darkness and the undead, he's aware of it and despises it. He hid the firekeepers face just like he hid himself and Anor Londo's darkness.

My theory is that Gwyndolin is the main vocalist of his own boss theme

I think Gwyndolin is one of the most epic characters in dark souls

Why is Gwyndolin the god of the moon? Because she's not a very good son. *badum tsss*

It's so frustrating to see how he ended in DS3, it's one of those things that I wish I could change so hard, he didn't deserve to end like that

Am I the only one who wants to hug Gwyndolin? All that shit he went through...

6:19 dat binoculars doe..

Not sure why everyone is so surprised that Gwyndolin has boobs. If you had to look like a girl, you'd obviously put some padding there. For some reason everybody seems to assume they're actually real.

There's one thing I have to wonder. Gwyndolin lived among his illusions for a long time. Could he have started to believe in his own illusions?

'Tis fun how "Dark Sun" sounds very close to "Dark Son", once he's indeed the black sheep of the family.

The only problem with Gwyndolin is that you never get the option to marry him and rule over Lordran together, the fact that the only time you actually get to see him face to face triggers his boss battle is a crime against nature, such a waste of a good waifu.

However, if you kill Gwyndolin the illusion of Anor Londo and Gwynevere still remain. You would have thought that Gwyndolin would be required to maintain it.

what if gwyndolin just did what Gywnivere told him to, through an illusion she told him to create? just a thought

I belive that when Gwyn left to link the first flame, Gwyndolin was just a child and still too young to incorporate his image into Anor Londo. I also believe that when he says "godmother" he isn't just saying it metaphorically; I believe he was left in the care of Gwynevere. In older times godparents were one of the most important relatives and had an major role on their godchildren lives, not to mention that they have the responsability of taking care of said child, should anything happen to their parents; in this case, Gwyn. I believe this explains Gwyndolin's adoration of his sister, and that could also explain why he was raised as a woman. As to why he is reclused? I think he believes that is his role to sustain Anor Londo's image, should any of the Lords decide to return, Gwynevere in particular. He could believe that making the chosen undead link the fire, would allow his father to come back, and that should return Anor Londo to it's former glory. Let's assume for this matter that he lived in seclussion his intere life, and knows little of what is going on outside. All in all, I see Gwyndolin as a tragic figure (much like everyone on dark souls universe), one who never got to meet his father personally, abandoned by his Godmother, and left alone to tend for a dying city with the foolish hope that one day everything will be as once was.

There was some really fantastic stuff in there. More than once I said "hhhmmm" whilst twisting my beard and taking-in very interesting, new perspectives that I had not thought of. That Moonlight Butterfly side-by-side with Gwyndolin was awesome. Overall it was a very tight and cohesive layout to display what is essentially a very hard story to tell due to all the illusions and trickery surround both Gwyndolin and Frampt. This feels like it's turning into a weekly saying from me but... BEST VIDEO YET!

Despite being a video dedicated entirely to Gwyndolin's story, there sure aren't many people here discussing his fate in DS 3. And let me just say it freaking SUCKS. Gwyndolin had no real conclusion to whatever arc he had going on as far as I can tell, and the way it ends is just awful.

I always assumed there were no statues was because Gwyndolin preferred to operate in the shadows (following the night/moon motif) and I feel like it would be a bit obtuse of him to build statues of someone trying to be a shadow.

*MAJOR SPOILER ABOUT DARK SOULS 3* It's crazy that Anor Londo comes back in Dark Souls 3. I was shocked when I read some of the item descriptions from Aldritch's items. He devoured Gywndolin turning into him.

Hey guys, Is there any chance that Gwyndolin is not a son of Gwyn? I mean, he looks pale white, he has moon affinity, the lower half of his body composed of snakes, symbol of imperfect dragon, and why would Gwyn the lord of sunlight hate him so, I think he might be a son of Seath the Scaless and Gwyn's wife, her sin gave birth to Gwyndolin and Crossbreed Priscilla, so she was removed from history, her image erased and .... well, that sort....

Gwyndolin and Lothric have the same voice actor

Anyone have that moment when they thought Gwyndolin was kinda hot...then...ya know?

Just to let everyone know, Gwyn’s oldest son of the Nameless King from Dark Souls III and his actual name is Faraam.

''amazing trap ahead''

Out of all the stories from darksouls 1 and 2 gwyndolin will always be my favourite.

Gwyndolin - walking, talking Daddy Issue.

>tfw I cant see my trapfu personally without angering him

Lol i like when he killed gwynevere, he had the binoculars in the hotkey... You know what he was looking at.

"Frail and often stepped on" Reminds me of myself -_-

From all creators of Dark Souls Lore videos, you are clearly my favorite. Your videos are well structured, always close to ingame facts as well as item descriptions and provide interesting ideas to think about every time. Thank you.

Are you going to update Gwindolin's lore since Dark Souls III, by chance? Poor, poor Gwindolin...:(

Gwyndolin is my favorite Dark Souls character.

When I finally get to Anor Londo, I am going to feel so bad for Gwyndolin that perhaps I will spare him entirely.

Great vid. Gwyndolin is the key character to all the events of Dark Souls in my opinion. There is a reason Gwyndolin stayed behind when all other deity's fled or were banished like Velka. Gwyndolin wrested control of Velka's covenant and his sisters's to aid his ambitions. He is the architect of the Chosen Undead's journey through Lordran. Gwyndolin created the legend of the Chosen Undead to find a powerful undead to link the flame and continue the Age of Fire thus proving the other deity's wrong for abandoning Lordran and proving that he deserved their respect all along. In order to accomplish this, the Chosen Undead only has to eliminate all remaining powerful Lords, the source of further demons, the insane and dangerous Seeth, and numerous other demons and potential threats to Gwyndolin's reign. Basically, every powerful being in Lordran except Gwyndolin is on the kill list in order to successfully reach the Kiln and ultimately the Chosen Undead will then kill him/herself removing the final threat. Gwyndolin probably hates and loves his father and intends to prove his worth by renewing the Age of Fire under Gwyndolin's unopposed rule thereby exceeding his father who lost to the demons and the Abyss. Only when the Chosen Undead meets Kaathe can things get complicated. I think the story begins and ends with Gwyndolin.

God damn. Dark Souls has some of the most in-depth, expansive, and intriguing lore I've ever seen in a video game. You could spend hours upon hours researching this shit as if it's a college class. Major props to the developers!!

Dude.. I had totally never realised that the music was the same for both fights until now! Feel like such a rem for missing that, but it was awesome you pointed that out so thank you. Great vid, as per.

Maybe Gwyndolin turned himself into a girl through spooky voodoo and then him and Seath used there tentacles to make sweet moonlight love ( moonlight greatsword suggest Seaths affinity to the moon) which in the end made Priscilla?

The serpents coming out of Gwyndolin "symbolize menstruation" according to the designer of Gwyndolin.

I am so curious about the Gwyndolin's snake tale thing. Now that you mention it, you can collect souvenirs of reprisal from the painted world

Gwynevere and Gwyndolin, proof that Gwyn was inept at naming children.

I came to some interesting conclusions myself on Gywndolin. I think Gwyn left to link the fire shortly after Gywndolin was born, that his serpent lower half was a result of the fading flame. The dragons had similar issues when the flame first appeared, thus giving us the primordial serpents and even Seath (serpents are a symbol of rebirth). Gywndolin probably had very little interaction at all with his father and most likely heard about Gywn second hand, which would allow Gywn to assume this idol role for him. When the Way of White excommunicated the Firstborn. I think most of the god left Anor Londo hot his heels to avoid a tumultuous power shift that was brewing between the church and the gods themselves. Being a medieval fantasy land, succession more than likely followed a male line. Gywnevere did not succeed her older brother and more likely left shortly after him, the illusion of her is the only time she is referred to as a Queen in DS1 instead of princess. Gywn's uncle Lloyd was likely established as reagent after playing up his own reputation and considering Gywondolin's birth defect he likely kept him out of sight of most folks, save for a select few. To complete the power grab Llyod tried to play off Gywn's last male heir as a female to break the proper line of succession. From there, he moved the power structure of the Way of White away from Anor Londo to a land where he had more influence, Thoroland, abandoning Gywdolin in Anor Londo. Gywndolin's care takers were likely the first of the Blades of the Darkmoon, knowing the truth of Lloyd's deception and seeing their loyalty to Gywndolin as being more in line with the will of Gywn. Gywndolin would be raised on idolized versions of his father and with some memories of his sister caring for him. If all he has are these early memories of his sister then he would remember always looking up at Gywnevere towering over and thus his illusion of her would reflect how big she appeared to him as a child. Seath stayed in his archives, in doing so it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to ally himself with the Dark Sun. I don't think the Moonlight Butterfly is a sign of the Seath doing experiments on Gywndolin, the lack of Blades of the Darkmoon activity in the archives would imply that. I think the Moonlight Butterfly was probably an attempt at understanding strange magic that was covering Anor Londo, thus creating the butterfly (This means Seath doesn't know about Gywndolin) or that the Butterfly was made as a pet or offering to Gywndolin before Seath slipped into madness. Once the flame was linked by the Chosen Undead. Gywndolin appears to have made a reach for his rightful place in the world. This saw Lloyd being exposed as a fraud. The way of white appears to have split with a portion heading to Carim to continue serving as the Way of White under a different Goddess. The other portion would decide to follow Gywndolin forming the Way of Blue. The Blades of the Darkmoon would assume a role as the elite knights of the Blue Sentinels. Those Gywndolin deemed worthy were considered Knights of the Darkmoon. The problem this posed is one that wouldn't become apparent until much closer to the end. While the Blades of the Darkmoon were elite new knights could not be appointed if Gywndolin was health. Their ranks thinned and those that were left were revealed to have more loyalty to the faith than to their god. The faith had made a pivot without Gywndolin likely without his knowledge. Corrupted members of the Way of White and began to infect and corrupt the Way of Blue and this would see the Dark Sun devoured under the watchful eye of the statues of the two people he revered most his father and sister, in the Cathedral..... Yeeesh (sorry I just thought about how morbid that is)

Gwyndolin is so cute >~

Wow I feel like a complete tool how could I have never noticed the connection between gywndolin and the moonlight butterfly thanks Dave!

Ah~ He has stolen my heart...

Really great episode! Love the edits, sense of humor, and the in-depth knowledge

1:25 No son of mine is gonna be a trap

thats a great work on research and presentation.

A theory of mine as to Gwyndolin's form is that he, like Priscilla, could also be a half-breed of some kind. As the son of Gwyn he was spared from exile in the painted world, yet he is still hidden away and shunned. It would also help explain why he craves the adoration of his father, and why there are no statues of Gwyndolyn. Anyway, just a theory.

If Gwyndolin was responsible for effectively starting the cycle of Undead linking the flame to keep Gwyn's legacy going, perhaps Aldrich's consumption of him in DS3 is a form of revenge? We know that after his resurrection, Aldrich has no interest in taking his throne, instead heading straight for Irithyll and the imprisoned Gwyndolin. Perhaps Aldrich - having linked the flame and now seeing it did nothing but prolong the inevitable - wants to kill Gwyndolin to put an end to his perpetuation of the cycle

Gwyndolin is best waifu.

Excellent lore video man!! I never thought about the painted world maybe being connected to Gwyndolin.

Is there anything in the game that says Gwyndolin was shunned by his family? His father still gave him a piece of his Lord Soul, and Gwyndolin is hiding behind his illusions so he could have easily had his own statue removed so people don't just stumble upon him and potentially ruin his plans, plans far easier to achieve if nobody knows you exist right? Gwyn's first son is an example of how Gwyn shuns a child. But Gwyndolin remains in Anor Londo, dressed in his finery as well as serving as its Lord and sole protector. Plus Gwyn entrusted BOTH his children to Shepard the humans, not just Gwynevere. The way I see it, Gwyndolin was raised as a girl due to cultural reasons, him and his father likely had a good relationship (especially after Gwyn's first son betrayed him), Gwyndolin obviously adores his father and is simply doing everything he can to keep his father's dream going. Please let me know if I missed something, but the way I see it, Gwyndolin's story isn't as 'prepare to cry' as people think and it's just about a very isolated and lonely boy who misses his family, particularly his loving dad and is trying to follow his dad's orders and keep his father's world going.

I wish fromsoft did some more with gwyndolin's story. If you read up on him in the wiki, it's learned that after the evnts of DS 1, Gwyndolin laid claim to the title "king of the gods" and ruled anor londo for a short while. Imagine what it'd be like if gwyndolin wasn't consumed by aldrich.

This story is sad. I feel bad for our little Gwyndolin

One of my fondest memories of my first ever dark souls playthrough was involving gwyndolin. I had explored (what I thought at the time) all of anor londo, so I grew curious to see what attacking gwynevere would do. And I remember having my eye's widen and a thinking "uh oh" after the cutscene had ended.

I'm sure there is a link between Gwydolins serpent "legs" and the fact that Priscilla is part dragon. I may be going out on a limb here, but there's just gotta be something linking the two.

If someone can address this for me just because I'm curious as to what you think. How is it that you can kill Gwendolin without shooting Gwenivere, and after defeating him Gwenivere is still present in her "chambers"? Any lore relation to Gwendolin's power of illusion or do you think the creators just botched up that small detail?

I wish they'd brought his Moonlight set back in DS3 so I could get that crown. It would complete my custom armour set. Hope the DLC reintroduces it.

ok no offense everyone talks about Gwyn and Gwyndolin and there may not be much about ehr but can we get some of Gwynevere's lore? or Sif?

Here's a thought... what if the Moonlight Butterfly is part of Gwyndolin? Specifically his lower half. Looking at all their similarities in attacks, music and even appearance (Gwyndolin's golden garments and The spinning halo on the butterfly.) the Moonlight Butterfly might have been extracted from Gwyndolin by Seath. The serpents my be a compensation for legs. Though for what reason's Seath might have for doing such things I wouldn't know... probably to see if he can extract life from one being to another, or split a life?

I love these lore videos!! They're so interesting

Another great vid Dave, love every one you've made - just incredible content. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the game's many wonders, you're interps are awesome! What are you most looking forward to in Dark Souls 2?!

The sun that shunned the moon. Hmm... Seems rather poetic.

wait, can I just mention the fact that there is a Flame God? that seems significant...

Grifffitthh!

bro i love this character

So if the sun is Gwyndolin's illusion , could he be blamed for that Solaire goes mad ?

I wonder if Gwyndolin is modeled after Abraxas? Abraxas represents balance, uniting opposites. It makes sense he could be represented in an androgynous way. Abraxas is usually depicted with serpents for legs, too. Edit: Forgot to add, Abraxas is a Gnostic deity, evolved out of Egyptian religion very early A.D.

Who's Gwyns wife or did he pull a breaking bad and make them in a lab

Lesbi-honest. Gwyndolin is the ultimate lady-boy.

Omg, I got the best Dark Souls lore theory based on this. It will take ages to write down, but it explains and makes sense of a lot of the story in Dark Souls. Will get on it soon enough. #pumped

I just want to bring her flowers and chocolates for next valentines. but why accusing me of tresspassing

As of DS3, R.I.P. Gwyndolin.

did you also know that the 3 statues can be also found in the throne room over the princess

in regards to the snake feet.... i think gwyndolin was crossbreed himself. i think his mother is in fact on of the toothy serpents (they are grey as well as his snakes). perhaps gwyn did so to strengthen the bond between him and the serpents ?

By giving up the vessel, Gwyndolin betrays Seath, Nito and whatever is left of the Witch. Without Gwyndolin Vessel there would be no point in bells of awakening nor sens fortress. He is pretty much ending his fathers misery at the expanse of his fathers old allies.

Amazing chest ahead

Thank you for the Gwynevere Illusion, Master Gwyndolin

Don't mean to be a stickler for details here BUT. Guinevere/ Gwyndolin tells you that she wants you to take Gwyns place she says she has been waiting since the day that Gwyn obscured his form or went hollow to save the flame and his kingdom and she beseeches you to take his place i.e. sacrifice yourself. So yes she does tell you that she wants you to sacrifice yourself you just don't realize it when she says it cause you are not armed with the knowledge you gain by reading certain item descriptions.

A big question for me is whether despite his father's disowning him, did the other gods actively chose to leave Gwyndolin in charge of Anor Londo after they left, or if they just didn't care what happened to the place and Gwyndolin filled the power vaccuum. I think it's possible that actually Ornstein was originally left in charge as Gwyn's most trusted knight. However, then Ornstein left sometime after the gods for his own reasons which we still don't really know, eventually resulting, somehow, in the Old Dragonslayer from DS2. I've heard the view in a few places that the Ornstein we fight is an illusion like the sentinels and batwing demons, but Smough is very much real. Then when Ornstein was also gone the city was desperate and leaderness, whether out of ambition or a sense of reluctant duty, Gwyndolin filled the void.

I'd let Gwyndolin trap me

I watched a video by Max derrat on Gwyndolin's appearance He symbolises the rebis which is the union of male and female . The rebis is often depicted standing on snakes Heres the video : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G2uFEx1tunQ.html

> literally the cutest character in Dark Souls > finds himself exceptionally repulsive dysphoria is a bitch

Gwyndolin, in my opinion, has those breasts as another illusion, maybe to even fool himself?

I believe it was Gwyndolin's choice to be not seen and to have not statues of him. In DS3 we can see that miracles have images of Gwyn and Gwyndolin together in Anor Londo.

I think this guy spent more time thinking about the lore of Dark Souls than the developers did.

gwyndolin is my favorite character too

Perhaps Gwyndolin is a bastard child, something from the same whomb as his sister Gwynevere but born with a different father and therefor shunned by Gwyn in despice. And from that point even Seath might have a finger to do with it as he was a clever one to abduct the very maids of the Princess of Sunlight herself to make them into monsters within the archives where others must have entered than just Seath.

5:54 welcome

Gwyndolin's fate... Being devoured by Aldrich and we had to end his suffering.

I think gwyndolin is seaths bastard son... It would explain why gwyndolin is the moongod instead of sunlight like gwyn. That's also why gwyn shunned him. He took credit merely so the family wouldn't be dishonered and the boy exiled or killed. Seath is just conveniently connected to the moonlight on top of the serpents for legs thing. Also yorshka is his half sister with no idea as to who which side she's connected to

Oh right. Lest I forget, the painting is actually not above Gwyn's tomb. The bonfire is actually directly under the stairs leading to the castle of Anor Londo. I tested killing Gwyndolin first, and then Gwynevere. The same cutscene still plays, but the voice of Gwyndolin doesn't appear. It's a mostly silent cutscene of Anor Londo going dark.

Something very interesting I heard was that perhaps (as far as I'm aware nothing is ever stated about the topic) Velka is the mother of Gwyn's children. As such, Gwyndolin holds a resentment for his mother (who caused him to be raised as a daughter, and attempted to kill his father, Lord Gwyn) Opinions? This was just a theory I heard that sounded quite interesting.

@davecontrol so I think maybe that gwyndolins snakes legs is corilated with the snake lady statue in the painted world. Either his mother or is him. And this makes sense because sullyvin is also from the painted world who was of high rank in gwyndolins aid until he over threw him to make the profaned flame. I always knew that statue meant something.

Yo Dave have you seen the new trailer? it looks very interesting and the enemies look more like evolved (or perhaps Dark touched) humanoids and beasts rather than demons....which would make sense since the demons came from the Bed of Chaos. It looks like a cross between the Demons Souls enemy designs and the Oolacile Dark touched enemies.

Yay demon souls song in background!

I haven't thought of Frampt betraying Gwyndolin, but rather Gwyndolin wanting to reignite the flame for his own personal gains. Considering that he's the only god present in Anor Londo, would that make Gwyndolin the only ruler across Lordran and the only successor to Gwyn throughout the Age of Flame? I think it's more of a situation of him proving to his father that he can usurp his throne, and possibly create a better society in his own image, which can be supported with his vengeful qualities. That being said, Gwyndolin kind of had it coming with Pontiff Sulyvahn.

"Imminent chest ahead."

Hey i found statue of him in Oolacile but the head is missing

I think Gwyndolin was born with the serpent "legs". Maybe because the First Flame had already started to wane, or maybe because having already had two childs and fragmented his soul amongst his subjets, Gwyn's third son came to be somewhat twisted. Plus it's rather fitting with what we know, serpents are cold-blooded and need the sun's warmth to maintain their temperature. Born with this affinity for the moon (which is only visible to us when the sun shines on it's visible face) as a frail hermaphrodite and reptile-like features, Gwyndolin needs the sun both physically and metaphorically as the son of the Lord of Light but still was deemed to stay in the shadows. My thought is that he must have been still young when everybody departed and he must have taken all the burden on his shoulders, in a manner which seems pretty childlike as he seems to have recreated things as he knew them, making Anor Londo his "playground". He's the dark moon, who longs for the sun's affection but is forever away from it. Still he cherishes that sun, that nostalgia of how things used to be and wants the sun to shine anew by perpetuating the fire.

Bro was hated by everyone,got abandoned,got whooped,stayed chill for like 7k years running his covenant with yorshka,fell sick, sacrificed his safety to stop pontiff from killing his little sister and then almost got eaten alive,feels bad man