I leave em no death, and in eight bars, I'll explain that craze, huh It's nothin' nobody can warn me, huh I don't wanna ride on no Torrent, huh You know the three fingers sent me, huh It's no flask that you can sell me, huh Morgott and Godfrey know I'm a selfish lord, yeah the crown is heavy, huh I pray they find real death, if not, I'm the new Lord of Frenzy
Godfrey's helmet has THREE braids, the two in the front, and the (slightly longer/chunkier) one in the back (though it's hard to tell from just looking at the frontal image of the helm), which is exactly how young Radahn wore his braids, because he was emulating Godfrey. However, once Godfrey grafts the lion, Serosh (the beast regent) onto his back, his braid is now covered (thus replaced) by the lion's large flowing mane, which is how Radahn Prime wears his hair, mimicking the flowing lion's mane that protrudes from Godfrey's back. Although, we also see that same imagery once Miquella holds onto Radahn from behind (mimicking how Serosh is to Godfrey), including the large flowing mane-like hair that both Godfrey and Radahn wear like a cape. But yeah, definitely seems like no matter what Radahn does, it ALWAYS seems to mimic Godfrey in a form of idolization, or maybe fate...
Oooo.... You're making me wonder now... If Radahn emulated to Godfrey to that extent and Miquella decided Radahn would be the best bet for him, as Marika decided on Godfrey and that's the origin of the Tarnished... Makes me wonder if Miquella and Radahn would have sprouted an updated version of the Tarnished. Really awesome input thank you so much!!
@@kitetalesRadahn's Redmanes are the equivalent to Godfrey's Tarnished warriors and Crucible Knights, I suppose. Maybe they would have similarly been banished by Miquella if his age had come to pass.
@@kitetales "Like mother, like son." Apparently, this somehow translates to both Marika and Miquella being "size queens", thus why they have VERY similar preferences in men ;D Guess the golden apple didn't fall far from the golden tree after all 😆
@@kitetalesanother overlooked connection is how PC Radahn's second phase seems like an inversion of Godfrey's One of them frees himself of the piggyback spirit that holds him back, while the other gets embraced by one in the middle of releasing his true power/anger I like to think that being the consort to a god is a nice way of saying they are their pet warlord lol
I'm of the mind that the braids are meant to evoke the Crucible's natural spiraling columns. The Zamor's braids could be linked back to that as well era as well--the icy storms they summon certainly remind me of the same sort of divine storms that the Hornsent summon. We also know the Zamor were ancient enemies of the Fire Giants and there is evidence enough that the Hornsent, too, were enemies of the Fire Giants. We know that The Golden Order incorporated many of the traditions and images of those conquered. So it would make sense that Godfrey would have strong braided imagery, as he championed the Crucible Knights. Miquella would eventually incorporate this braided helix imagery into his Haligtree crest and the design of the Unalloyed Needle. It's unclear if it is intentional, but the helix design is present on the Sword of Ice and Flame, the Godslayer Greatsword, D's Inseparable Sword, and, of course, the Sacred Relic Sword. While the helix has a clear association to us with DNA and, therefore, life, we can see that it also is able to wed unlike elements such as Silver and Gold, Ice and Flame, etc. It can be difficult, however, to parse if this is an intentional affect of design over something that simply looks cool.
It being so prevalent throughout the world makes me believe its very intentional. If the Crucible is the root of all life in the Lands Between then it makes sense that the braided imagery shows up everywhere. Even in different cultures. It permeates the very reality of the world of Elden Ring.
YES!!! This is the kind of input I need! I think you're totally right in the double helix being a symbol of divinity. Even the whole thought about plaiting separate strands of hair into one piece, it's very much what the Hornsent did. Also did the Hornsent also war with the Fire Giants?!
@@kitetales “A smaller imitation of the furnace golem's visage. Material used for crafting items. Exceedingly rare to find. A stone mask surrounded by curled horns, depicting the fell god of fire that haunts the sagas of the hornsent.” -Furnace Visage I’m not sure it ever says the hornsent went to war with them, but this implies that they weren’t on great terms. It is interesting, though, that the “mother of Crucibles” mentioned in the Talisman of All Crucible was rumored to have sprouted on giants
@@varsoonhks3211 I’ll also add the fingerslayer blade (which in hindsight doesn’t seem that special after Metyr) to the list of spiral weapons. In addition, most of the aoe healing/buffing spells have a spiral rise up around the caster. It seems the the hornsent were right about the divinity of the spiral. As for the braids, I’d also agree there, although I’d imagine the braids of Radahn and Godrick were modeled after Godfrey, Godfrey’s may have been modeled after Marika’s when he took up the title of Elden Lord, and then Marika’s (as well as Radagon’s) were the ones whose braids were a symbol of the spiral. I think it’s also important to note the spiral pattern Placidusax’s heads are in when we find him in Farum Azula
In medieval times, keeping your hair loose was considered immodest, or even an indicator of witchcraft. Thus, most women wore their hair in braids, which only got longer, more intricate, and more ornate the higher their station was.. so a woman's braids weren't just a symbol of civility but also of social status. I think this is also meant to be the case in Elden Ring, with the royals/demigods having the largest and most intricate braids of all. Ranni, too, has her hair loose--the mark of a witch, in the medieval era. Braids also represent a joining, the weaving of separate strands together into a whole, so it might tie into the concept of "Order" some as well.
Another hair-related thought I had is that when each the twins Malenia and Miquella ascend to divinity, their hair goes crazy. Malenia's hair turns into wings that spout dead butterflies, and miquella's hair becomes radahns cape. Feels like a biblical Samson hair=power thing
OMG, the idea that Marika may have been the first god to have the dual nature, because she was sainted in the Jar. That could be why her children are sometimes born with dual natures as well, but also why we don't see any of dual natures from previous gods. This might be why Marika's lineage is the way it is.
You could say they all have dual natures through the lens of alchemy, which are represented by red/male/sun and white/female/moon. Messmer having the red and white serpents. Melina having the gloam/twilight that signifies a time of day with both sun and moon. Malenia embodying the scarlet rot that represents death and rebirth according to Gowry (or you could say she has the pinkish hue that mixes red and white). Miquella having the two selves, male and female.
Yes! And Miquella's plait is so intricate, a more elegant/refined version of the dual braids. If it's a sign of divinity that might be a clue that he was the closest/most ideal to it?!
Very interesting! I think Radahn’s braid is meant to be fashioned similarly to Godfrey’s, since it has the same two framing braids and the larger back braid. The lion on his helm is also meant to represent Serosh, so there is definitely precedent for the imitation. Godrick also tries to imitate Godfrey’s two braids, but since he is frail and seems to be losing hair it doesn’t nearly seem as regal. As for the Zamor, it’s very possible that their braids were also fashioned after Godfrey’s when the fought together against the giants, but all this raises the question of where Godfrey’s style came from. This is just a theory, but I think it’s possible it represent the divine whole of Radagon/Marika, since Marika has the two side braids, and Radagon has the larger back braid. This is hard to substantiate, since their connected nature wasn’t known by anyone, but it’s certainly possible!
Dunno if I dropped this theory on one of your videos but The Shamans being called Shrine Maidens in Japanese confirms (imo) that Marika is the Spirit Tuner that Hewg is indebted to and that Roderika is either a numen or numen descendant. We know that the Shamans were all women, gifted in the spiritual arts and, if they were all kin of Marika, likely blue eyed blonde haired beautiful women. That sort of image to the uninitiated might very well seem like divinity, which would explain why the Hornsent were drawn to them and their "flesh" and then we look at Roderika. Blonde hair, blue eyes that have the same hue of a Spirit Tuner Hewg knew long ago (whom I believe to also be the person he's speaking of when he says "the sheer terror of her" (reference to the bloody crusade/betrayal)) that he's indebted to for rescuing him from being jarred.
I love how the lore is soo deep, that something as simple as a braid cannot be dismissed as just decoration and that EVERYTHING has been done with purpose and meaning!
For the sake of contributing to the conversation; Tholliers armor has 3 braids on it. Surly the 3 braids come from St Trina, who shares the with Miquella. I think it’s worth noting Trina herself did not seem to posses any braids and her hair fell loosely. Maybe signifying she’s at her end. It seems like Marika, Radahn, and Miquella all having 3 braids could potentially signify becoming a god/elden lord or possibly some kind of evolution in being.
Yeah makes you wonder if before Marika removed destined death from the elden ring were the scadu tree and erdtree intertwined and that's where all the spiral/crucible imagery comes from.
Nanaya has braid like cloths, making it look like she has golden braids (she actually has black hair), with the infatuation the hornset had with spirals there's no way braids are not super important
Hi, Kite! I'm new here. I'm getting a link to storms here kinda... maybe not the braid necessarily, but Godfrey's stomps link him to the Mountaintops through Hoarfrost Stomp and then Dancing Lions too. Not to mention he's linked to the storm through his descendant, Nepheli Loux. Then there are the Zamor, who have an ice storm and the Divine beasts are also affiliated with storms. Marika and Radahn are the outliers. It might be underwhelming, but I think the braids symbolize the "divine." The caduceus hair style :)
From the Furnace Visage we can learn: “A stone mask surrounded by curled horns, depicting the fell god of fire that haunts the sagas of the hornsent.” When we Lamenter's Gaol we actually can find one of those sages. Thanks to Zullie the Witch we know that the lamenter is a male and when we look closely at him we notice that: -he has red hair on his beard -he has a fell god of fire face on his back -the horns pierce his eyes making him blind This last bit is very interesting because blindness seems to be a prerequisite to finding many of the outer gods. Similar things happened to prophets from the lands between who wore a blindfold and also saw flame. Similar thing happened to the thorn sorcerers who saw the bloodstar after their eyes were gouged out by thorns. Similar thing happened to Shabriri… etc. I believe that the Lamenter is at Lamenter's Gaol because the hornsent wanted to merge him with a shaman and I also believe that Radagon was also one such hornsent sage who was selected because he was deemed defunct after seeing the fell god. That would explain where Radagon comes from and why does he have red hair. Similarly this would explain where the fire that burns inside Mesmer and Melina comes from.
@@kitetales my bad, I just saw a bunch of other comments saying the same thing lol 🫣 but here is also an interesting point of research; I’m from the Choctaw tribe, and even tho Lakota I think are more known for this-we as natives are not allowed to cut our hair. Why so many natives have long braids. We consider the hair sacred, containing your memories and life experiences not only for yourself but your ancestors-your mothers, grandmothers, so on. The only time we DO cut it off used to be for MOURNING, out of respect and closure. You should check it out, it’s honestly the first thing I thought of when I found Marika’s 😭
8:48 I gotta disagree about Godfrey being a Hornsent warrior. Those folks have horns which Godfrey does not. However, I did notice a similarity between Godfrey's armor and the Highland Warrior armor (they look like they were made by the same culture, though different). The Highland Warriors were known for fighting bears with their bear hands. This bear fighting style seems to be replicated through the Beast Claws weapon type. Ya know what else looks like the Beast Claws fighting style, Hourah Loux's attacks. Hourah Loux even unleashes a roar similar to the Bear Communion spell but the bear head doesn't appear. When we look at the Glorified armor (Highland Warrior torso armor(Glorified Set)) it states the Red is meant to signify those who fought bears. When Godfrey is transitioning to Hourah Loux, after removing his armor and Serosh, he drags his nails across his skin drawing blood and covering himself in Red before declaring you now face Hourah Loux. This is why Godfrey is so freakishly strong, the man grew up fighting bears and Runebears bear handed. So that is my theory on Godfrey. (Also warriors wearing braids is a very old school tradition in the real world. Braided hair is more manageable on the battlefield and less likely to get in your face while fighting. You either cut it or braid it.)
Yeah I think there is a connection to the Highlands as well!! Haven’t looked into it too much but such a great observation that red is his battle color. Thanks for that!!
If you go to Windmill Village, you’ll notice the dancers have 1 braid cut off, and the 1 long braid in the back, and the 1 (their right) braid still hanging over their shoulder. Very similar to Young Radahn, but like Marika as well with 1 being cutoff.
*The braids of Young Radahn is almost similar with Godrey ( and replace his beard braid with in a hair braid behind is head ). As a fanboy of him, its seems just lika an idol mimicry.*
The Knights of Zamor are all masked warriors and their frost stomp and ice storm attacks are VERY similar to the ice powers of the Divine Beast Warriors. Even there weapons are similar in nature. The Zamor swords are designed to resemble a freezing wind in order to channel ice magic while the Horned Warrior swords are covered in horns to channel Horn Calling magic. Two groups of masked warriors that use their swords as a medium for storm magic.
The knights were also Sorcerers as the Zamor Ice Storm spell shows along with the how they wear Leg Wraps which is commonly seen on other sorcerer sets in game, few interesting things to point out is they use there breath clearly for a few of there ice attacks along with strangely have grey rough looking skin as well scales on there armor as a waist guard, this leads me to believe they worshipped or were the knights too the Ice Dragons that ruled the Mountaintops before the Fire Giants took over probably a splinter faction too the horned warriors that found teaching and power through the dragons
And the Zamor have been enemies of the Giants since ancient times. The sagas of the Hornsent are "haunted" by a Fell God of Fire, to such a point that Marika's murder machines invoke its image just to strike extra fear into their hearts.
This is also likely why there are dragons known as the “Devourer of Sorcerers” cause you see the ancient Astrologers clearly took the side of the Fire Giants while the people of Zamor didn’t this may also be why Cold Sorcery is considered heretical also it’s not far fetched to believe the ice dragons taught the people of zamor sorceries as we see Adula and the other Glintstone Dragons cast them
The braids theme is also present in enir ilim, after the first site of grace there's on the way to the chunky inquisitor, there are some sort of curtains fashoned in a braid design. So the braid could be a symbol of duality and remembrance of the spira design Plus, i totally agree with the marika is a saint theory otherwise, why the hornsent are said to be "betrayed" by her. Even her rune's design is present in enir ilim and the inquisitors wield it. She's definately a saint who ascended and turned her back to the hornsent once chosen by the fingers, maybe the body she "defiles" in the trailer is hers, her radagon side making her a dual beign: radago is physical while she's spiritual
That’s true! I’d be a little disappointed I admit if that’s all it was because that was information we already learned from Radahn’s first armor set. I need something new to work with! 😩
Really like the idea of Marika being the successful saint of the hornsent living jar experiments. Makes sense of why the hornsent would view this all as a betrayal. She was probably biding time to get her revenge, while the hornsent viewed her as a saint. Her body at the end of the game even resembles a cracked/broken jar.
Oooh that is such a good observation about her broken body at the end!! Yes! The Saint that betrayed them. They created a god, and she got revenge for it.
10/10 Love the idea about marika being a perfected pickle,I was grappling between that and another theory and I'm still struggling to pick one to go with 😂 Gotta love a game so rich in lore than raids can send you down that tier of rabbit hole. Loved the whole thing ❤❤❤
I feel so silly now noticing the braids. I commented on jacks recent vid but you too please do a video on the gloam eyed queen black incantations and catalyst looking like metyrs face. The prints are her 4 fingers!
Excellent observations! I think we’ve barely scratched the surface of the implications of the DLC, people haven’t cross-correlated all the subtle details like this yet
The dancers in Dominula have the same hair as Marika!!! One large braid in the back, and one on the right side of the face, it even looks like the left braid was cut off!
11:30 so you imply that the concept of the Hornsent's "sainthood" was successful with Marika, and that the amalgamation of other beings in a jar with her produced her ability to be Radagon aka "sainthood"?
@@D3athL1vin that’s what I’m leaning toward! I think she might have been, to quote Obi Wan Kanobi, “the chosen one.” She is like the ultimate mixed race being; the Hornsent put everything in those jars. Beast, bird, man, creature of every sort. You can see that on the Greatjar mantle. And I think that’s why all of her offspring had so many varying characteristics.
Very interesting, I find one of the hardest part of piecing together events is the time line in Elden Ring. I am of the theory that the Crusade happened rather early on in Marika’s reign, but then there is the problem of just how long was Marika’s reign? A long bloody time, we have all these wars of conquest that didn’t happen with the snap of her fingers. We have Messmer playing the older brother to Radahn while he mastered gravitational magic. You have the war with Caria coming to a close with Radagon marrying Rennala and then having three children all grown and famed for their chosen professions. Rykard and Ranni becoming bitter with their places in the respective world or the stifling control of the order… all of this takes time. We know Radahn grew up on stories of Godfrey and idolized him, but it doesn’t sound like they ever met. So Godfrey would have had to been banished before Radahn was old enough to have travel to see him and also before Radagon was called on to be Marika’s consort. Rykard seems to be the oldest, Ranni is bitter but gives off little sister vibes, but Radahn might actually be the youngest because he is the most loyal to the Golden Order… And then there is Godfrey and his Crucible Knights… my theory is that after Godfrey is banished Marika sends Messmer to Crusade against the Hornsent. Which would also make sense if he had sympathies that may have made him less than willing to commit genocide against the people of the crucible. There was also time for grudging respect or cultural bleed between the people of the Crucible and the people of the Erdtree which suggests a good amount of time to pass before the genocide started. And then we have the beheaded children of Marika and? Why were they killed and when and by whom? My bet would be Maliketh he had to have been active at some point to be feared as a killer of demigods but when? Godwyn was the first of the demigod’s to die, a while later the Shattering and subsequent wars happened, but how long between Godwyn’s death and Marika shattering the Elden Ring? And why the dead children of Marika in wondering Mausoleums? Every time I think I have something nailed down something else comes along and puts that idea on its ear.
because the game is about dualities and dichotomies, perhaps the two braids that flank the face signify a culture of life and death...and Marika removing one braid at the shaman village where the minor erdtree is growing and the melina incantation is found, might signify her prayer/wish to the shaman grand mother for no more death... which she has suffered in a huge manner...her whole village was wiped out. when order and the elden ring takes her shape and she ascends to godhood, she does in fact remove the rune of death. a braid is a coil, and the removal of such might be a removal of the concept of a mortal coil. or something. (i am coming at this from the assumption that Marika and the GEQ were once one and the defeat is symbolic of her defeating the purpose of a title she had)
"In some regions of China, traditional culture related the wearing of pigtails to a girl's marital status. A young, unmarried, Chinese girl would often wear two buns, or bundles of hair on either side of the head to display her availability to prospective husbands. This style of pigtails is sometimes referred to as "ox horns." However, when this girl would marry, the two pigtails, or buns, would be replaced with just one, thus indicating her marriage." -Wikipedia I think that plays into the consort/ relationship side of things.
YES!! That is a great observation, Godfrey may have just been another reminder and it would fit with when I think she returned there. Thank you for that awesome theory!!
My belief is that Godfrey and the Tarnished alike simply represent a different age. Godfrey is a champion who has taken on a divine beast spirit in Sarosh and who allied himself with the Crucible Knights. Once all was conquered and Radagon wished to usher in a new order, Godfrey was too emblematic of a past that needed to be swept beneath the rug. However, Marika also knew that Godfrey and the Tarnished would be the only warriors capable enough of ushering in the age that would follow The Shattering. So, in a way, yes, they were exiled, though I feel it was not done with resentment--but simply as insurance should The Shattering come to pass. In truth, allowing Godfrey to take a band of warriors away from the Lands Between so that they may go fight to their hearts' content comes off as a kind of freedom we never see Marika entrust anyone else with.
I think that the 2 braids that the warriors and marika wear were used to represent the spiral, intertwining life and death. Marika cut off the side of death to represent her desire for only life
The act of sewing/weaving has huge importance in the world of Elden ring. Like Radagon’s stitching, miquella’s needles, and the fact that runes in the story trailers look like threads. I’m sure that when someone makes a new order they physically weave the Elden ring into a new shape. Even the spiral which was at the core of hornsent society and faith is made by interlocking strands, much like hair does in a braid
I view the dual braids and just braids in general as symbolic of someone or something with close ties to divinity/godhood/the crucible or a combining of elements. The Spiral/Double Helix motif is depicted throughout the game but in SOTE its very specifically evocative of the divine in Hornsent culture. We know that the Crucible is the "root" of all life in the Lands Between. The Braid hairstyle showing up in different cultures could be a sign of that underlying truth of the world. With the Zamor, we know that they sided with Marika against the Fire Giants which would explain why they would braid their hair; to evoke their devotion to Marika, the Goddess to which they pledged fealty. Regarding Radahn. His hair could have been braided when he was raised to lordship by/with Miquella's ascension to Godhood. Now something VERY interesting about Godfrey/Hourax Loux. In the fight he starts out with the Two Braids as Godfrey Elden Lord. But when the phase 2 cutscene plays and he has ripped Serosh from himself he only has ONE braid on his head(the left side of his face). Its almost as if removing Serosh pulled him a bit further away from the divine being he was before.
i was convinced that radagon was born when marika ascended to godhood as his background. when you mentioned about him being another being and the whole jar thing, it just blew my mind. Subscribed.
Thank you so much!! That's a theory that I think I'm really settling into. Radagon was meddled with Marika into one being, thus "Radagon is Marika," Marika was the amalgamation of every living beast, bird, creature, humanoid the Hornsent put into those jars. Marika split Radagon from her after crossing the Divine Gate, maybe wanting to divest herself of those red, Crucible qualities, until she later learned that she couldn't destroy the Elden Ring unless she was complete again with him.
I don't know if Godrick was mentioned here but I think he had braids. Which would make sense as he was desperately practicing their art of grafting. He was the inheritor of the Hornsent's practices, and the Hornsent ended up being the constructors of the god ascending spiral (it kinda like a braid?) the game culminates to. Godfrey also was grafted his lion but it was to weaken him, probably Marika's sick sense of humor and spite.
There're lots of cool hairslyles and headwears in ER and there's interesting thing about Greathood item: it's modeled after traditional cape women wore at Azorean Islands. It's high arc was supported with whalebone.
This seems way too important to overlook: “Ragged black cloth overlaid with braided cord. Attire of a vengeance-seeking hornsent. The braided cord ties together the vow of the revenger with the victims' grudges. It must never come undone. Enhances both watchful spirits and the vengeful spirits summoned by horned bairns.” -Braided Cord Robe (the Hornsent’s armor)
So if Marika's statues have the braid in the Land of Shadows but not in the Lands Between then that means Marika likely offered her braid after the Unsung War but before obscuring the Land of Shadow and becoming the Queen Eternal of the Lands Between. Perhaps it was at this time that Marika cast the Minor Erdtree incantation, sprouted the purely Gold Minor Erdtree in the Shaman Village and perhaps created the Erdtree of the Age of Plenty and obscured the Land of Shadows at that time with the Sealing Tree you burn with Messmer's Kindling? Which is in the shape of the second tree winding around the straight, bleeding tree part of the Scadutree. All thoughts that your fascinating video made spring up lol looking forward to more!
4 videos in and I have to commend your editing, idk if it’s just all the lore that I missed but being able to see it in detail with the armor/area and how it all correlates is awesome. I was supposed to go to the gym an hour ago but I’m captivated 😂
Okay subscribed, such a soothing voice and obsessive content about elden, my type of channel. Also yeah you def are on to something here with the braids, smells strong like very important lore, I mean every culture in the world has significance revolving around hair styles.
I think Jori, Elder Inquisitor has something to say about where spirals come from. IMO Arches are used everywhere as a symbol of the Elden Beast.He uses a staff full of arches to conjure a spiral that makes divine arcs. Jori's channeling ability is therefore a microcosm of the power of the Greater Will.
13:50 the black swirly hat on the guy on the left kinda looks like Rennala’s crescent moon crown. Also, very happy to have found you channel, this is a very interesting video and looking forward to watching more of your work. Shout out to Jake is a Mimic for leading me here
I also noticed this and couldn't stop thinking about it, so I'm glad to see others' takes on it. As others have pointed out, I think it has something to do with the spiral symbology we see repeated everywhere, especially in the dlc. My take is that two braids represent equal but opposing forces/ideals (life/death, light/dark, etc. you've all seen the ds1 intro, but this can also extend to things like masculinity/femininity). This is also repeated all over Enir-Ilim by solomonic pillars. Existing between two such pillars symbolizes living in perfect balance between those forces, and I believe two equal-length braids is another representation of this. If so, it's possible that one chunky braid represents the prioritization of certain forces and ideals over others, which is exactly what Marika and the Golden Order strive for (life without death, order without chaos). When Marika cuts off one braid, it may be a symbol of her resolve to remove death from the world, in addition to its traditional use as a memorial tribute.
Interesting takes, thank you. I have some things to say from this: 1. I don't think Radahn went to the Land of Shadow in the past. I think it's more likely that Gaius, Rellana, and Messmer were all in the Lands Between, and Marika sent Messmer to the Land of Shadow after realizing that her son had 2 things she (Greater Will, more likely) feared, which is a curse (snek) and vision of flame, and Gaius and Rellana followed Messmer when this happened. 2. Young Radahn's lion helmet is because he looks up to Godfrey, and Godfrey was already with Serosh the lion at the time. Your find of Godfrey's crown having lion shape supports this too. Also, Radahn's group is called Redmane, Red from his pride of red hair from Radagon, and mane from lion's mane. Other parts of old Radahn's armor (his kneepad is the one i remember) also has lion shape on them. 3. This makes me think, does Radahn then, at one point in time, lost trust or belief in Marika's Order? Young Radahn adorned the twin braid AND the big braid at the back, but old Radahn did not, he presumably cut it. However, he still wore the lion-shaped helmet and armor. Did he stopped believing in the Golden Order? Is this why he made his own kingdom in Caelid? Is it because Marika banished Godfrey (hence the lion armor staying but braids gone)? 4. for the trailer saying "seduction and betrayal." I'm not sure about the seduction, but I presume the betrayal is talking about Marika "betraying" the hornsent and achieving godhood on her own. Like you said, is Radagon another person that's supposed to be merged in the jar with Marika? Plus, is the jar the reason why Marika-Radagon children are all cursed, when Marika-Godfrey are not (and we know now Mohg and Morgott are not technically cursed)? So many more questions for me thanks to your video lol.
- Divine Beast helm has several braids too--two in front, one or multiple in the back. - Perhaps there is a connection between the symbolic gesture of Renalla and Marika both giving braids to their loved ones). - I think base-game Radahn hair is just due to going insane and staying in the field after getting rotted (hope that makes sense, homeboy just hasn't showered basically). - Though I think I agree with two vs one braid, perhaps two braids for incantations, one thicc braid for glintstone/sorcery, though I do think there is significance to Godfrey's braid in his beard too. - Thoillier also has braids, so maybe braids are symbolic of expertise in something? Braids are (semi)significant in George RR Martins work too-- Dothraki from G.O.T.
This is such a dope theory. Godfrey actually had the same two front braid, one chunky back braid style (you can kinda see in the headpiece image but it’s clearer in game). 8:09 I just thought young Radahn wore his red mane that way because he’s a Godfrey stan.
Great stuff Kite. A large chunky braid has also traditionally been a symbol of someone who is Married (free hair, virginal, braided hair married or of marriageable age). So Marika's big braid and Radagon's may just be an indication they are married. So Radahn's big braid may be a suggestion that he's now married to Miquella.
Ranni has braids too. Awesome video 🎉. The braids simbolize the spiral that is the current of the crucible. And the spiral is the DNA in Elden Ring. The evolution to something primitive (crucible) to something adapted to the environment (golden order)
@@kitetales There's an incantation on Enir Ilim where says that the spiral current is the natural form of the power of Crucible. It is a clear inspiration and reference to the helix DNA and the old texts of the Jews and Assyrian tree where is painted as a bird on the top with the crucible as microcosm and a tree with roots saying that microcosms and macrocosms are connected they have the same geometry of life. Thanks for your videos 😘
hey - I noticed something really interesting. The frozen/impaled giants on flame peak have the same front-facing two braids, with one also being shorter than the other.
I don't know if other people mentioned this, but the braids also might relate to the Hornsent's worship of the spiral shape. I've never stylized my hair, so it might be a completely crackpot idea that makes no sense, but itd kinda be a neat little detail
"The young, hot, lion general" Kitetales being the most correct, as always. They could have improved the DLC by 100% if they let us be Radahn's consort instead. They were blessing us with those closeups on him.
My personal theory on hair is that its kinda like Junji Ito Uzumaki thing Because the fingers, Placidusax and the mother of fingers do that "spiral"/intertwined shape, and in junito Uzumaki spirals start to manifest in every aspect of a little village life, and the same goes for the world of elden ring but on a larger scale, because braids and that specific pattern is EVERYWHERE , its manifesting on their art, the world and even in some beings like Placidu. It can also be seen as a shape related to literal DNA, so that shape maybe relates to life itself, from the smallest to the largest beings.
Interesting! The single-braid difference on Radahn could also signal his dual heritage: his mother is Renalla of the single braid, and his father is Marika(/Radagon) of the twin-braid lineage.
if you are interested check out braids and Egyptians. I'm not saying it's based on that, but it's quite interesting to see what meanings braids represented for them. Good video!
The Zamor also use ice storms. With that and the fact that their masks are similar to that of the Curseblades/Tutelary Deities, together with the braid theory, I think it's not a stretch to say they have something to do with the Hornsent
An interesting thing to consider is that the writer, G. R. R. Martin, In the books of game of thrones He uses braids as a way to portray power in Dothraki culture
I think the braids are likely related to the spiral imagery and by extension the crucible. The Spira incantation reads "the spiral is a normalised Crucible current that, one day, will form a column that stretches to the gods", so i assume the braids are somewhat ritualistic to be closer to the divine and with links to the Crucible would make sense that Godfrey would were them.
I mean braids would absolutely be significant to the hornsent it’s weaving your hair into a spiral which is holy to the hornsent. With godfrey being very bestial and how he fights like he’s using beast claws makes total sense that he would come from the land of shadows
1 thing i think you get wrong is the timeline of events. in the past the shadow lands were just par of the lands between. there was no separation it was just part of the land. i also think it got locked away waay later than what we initially expect. could be wrong though.
I have two theories on why Young Radahn has two braids. -Like someone else said, Radahn really looked up to Godfrey (the whole lion motif/him being a warrior) and Godfrey had those braids, too. -When Miquella was recreating Radahn in the form we fight, he probably gave them to him. PCR is basically what I bet Radahn in his prime would be (minus the bloodflame slash he does) The braid, to me, represents on how intertwined everything truly is - and it all started with a woman in a small village.
