Ulfric Stormcloak | Hero or Rebel?
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- Опубликовано: 5 июл 2024
- I increased the volume of parts of the video that I thought needed it the most. The original video is still up, so you can think of this as a remastered version of sorts. Not perfect by any means, but I'm working with the tools I have available to me. I hope this is easier to listen to. I'll leave a few links here for everyone to follow through on.
This video took me about two weeks to make. There are a few things that I know that I left out, but editing them in would be kind of a pain at this point so I'll mention them here. I forgot to name the Markarth Incident as... well, as the Markarth Incident, but that is in fact what Ulfric's reclamation of the Reach is referred to. Subsequently, Ulfric was given the moniker of The Bear of Markarth, which parallels his father Hoag's title of The Bear of Eastmarch.
There are tons of NPCs that have opinion's on Ulfric. Skyrim is a big game. I tried to find the one's that were most relevant to the discussion at hand. If you have any dialogue lines or written lore that contradicts something that I said in the video, please let me know.
Credit to Kawashima on
DeviantArt for this map that I borrowed: www.deviantart.com/kawashima/...
Credit to user CursedBeasts on
Weasly for the Madanach art that I borrowed: www.weasyl.com/~cursedbeasts/...
A very cool reddit post I found talking about Arius: / a_different_perspectiv...
Ulfric's Lore Page on UESP (Feel free to check and see if I did my homework correctly): en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ulfric_...
If you've got any comments, please let me know down below.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:38 The Son of Skyrim
4:40 Off to War
10:04 The Bear of Markarth
17:35 The Jarl of Windhelm
23:56 High Kings, Questionable Ethics, Civil War
34:23 Legends Card and Wrap Up
37:50 Rambling A Bit 
Игры
I increased the volume of parts of the video that I thought needed it the most. The original video is still up, so you can think of this as a remastered version of sorts. Not perfect by any means, but I'm working with the tools I have available to me. I hope this is easier to listen to. I'll leave a few links here for everyone to follow through on.
Original Video: ruclips.net/video/VFTRBGcu4Ro/видео.html
Ulfric Tie-In Deck: ruclips.net/video/HxwB4ahKTRU/видео.html
Much better! 👌
It's so nice to see a video on Ulfric that's unbiased 🖤
Thank you! I tried to be as unbiased as possible in the video.
I played Skyrim, but never interacted with civil war. I was more involved with the guild system. You know where you once became a novice in a guild, the guildmaster starts rethinking his life choices.
The Civil War, gameplay wise, is very undercooked. It could've been much more.
@theemerdareloth that's putting it lightly. It felt very lackluster to me
I do also genuinely feel that Ulfric feels like an incredibly tragic character at times, I like genuinely like the ambiguity & a lot of the things you can learn about him.
the fact that there is a population of Altmer who live in Windhelm without suffering any abuse should tell you everything about what a Stormcloak victory would look like.
Despite their tumultuous history, the majority of Nords seem very accepting of the Mer in general. Sure, they can be pretty tactless in their words, but they value hard work and honesty and once they get past the propaganda they've been given about the elves, they realise their values mostly align.
I've never thought, "Skyrim for the Nords!" meant only the Nords, more that it is their home and they will live in it as they see fit.
in my opinion Ulfric is not a guy who will stay in a tent and make a strategy on map to attack or ambush someone. I think he is a guy who will lead his men, he will be the head of his troops and he swings his sword on a battlefield rather than staying in Windhelm and makes orders for his generals.
I must congratulate you on having made one of the most politically unbiased videos on the subject 😅
Really cool to see this kind of video from a primarily TESL content creator too. Would love to see more of this content in the future.
Definitely a hero
Profile Picture checks out haha
@@theemerdareloth yeah lol, I love the legends card art for him, just a shame he's a bit tricky to build a deck around for him
Can I actually note that if Brynjolf becomes Jarl he also does not allow the argonians in out of their own safety & this seems to be the same for Ulfric? With hostilty's between the Argonian's, Dunmer & Nords & Argonians being an incredibly tiny minority? I can believe the hesitation.
Brunwulf doesn't let them in because many Nords mistrust them because they share Ulfric's mindset.
@@dutchpatriot17Tell that to Suvaris Atheron who starves them off in her journal. Or to that argonian who hates you when you aren’t one of them. Everyone in Windhelm is responsible for this situation, not just the Nords.
@@teyrncousland7152Suvaris Atheron has nothing to do with it.
Also, yeah, 15 yeara of mistreatment can make people bitter. Shocking....
Asset (intelligence)
There are different categories of assets, including people who:
- Do not even know they are being used (so called "useful idiots": A useful idiot or useful fool is a pejorative description of a person, suggesting that the person thinks they are fighting for a cause without fully comprehending the consequences of their actions, and who does not realize they are being cynically manipulated by the cause's leaders or by other political players.)
one problem i have is you attributing the conditions of the dark elves to Ulfric. they entered the city some 180-190 years prior to the game more than a full century before Ulfric himself was born. they were given the snow quarter as it was called then as an enclave, and allowed to establish their own customs and guards. Morrowind was also granted the Island of Solsthiem for further refugees. There is no lore about when the Argonians on the docks arrived. in short the worst he can be accused of is maintaining a poor status-quo.
you also exclude the fact that a Dunmer owns a Farm outside the city and calls the other Dunmer too proud to integrate. A pair of High Elves own the Stable, a high elf runs the apothecary, and a High elf Merchant also declares the dunmer to be too proud. If ulfric had any cause to hate elves, it would be high elves, and yet they are all successful.
there are also dialogue references in Markarth that cast doubt on the veracity of "The bear of Markarth" Most of the alleged crimes committed in the city are attributed to "The Jarl" by Braig and Thonar's journal. Ulfric was not a Jarl at that time as his father was still alive. Nepos the nose states "We drove the Nords out of the Reach in a great uprising. Then Ulfric and his men came. Those of us who didn't run were executed, except for myself, my king, and a handful of others."
this does not say ulfric committed the crimes, merely that he and his men came and drove them out. though they may have been complicit in there enforcment.
As for Jarl Hrolfdir he was allegedly killed "negotiating" with forsworn "when that was still possible."
His son and the sitting Jarl says this when asked about the civil war. "It all started here. This rebellion. When the Empire lost the Reach during the Great War, we became desperate. We promised a group of Nord militia free worship in exchange for their help retaking the Hold. Then the Elves found out about it. We were forced to arrest all of them."
so The Jarl and his men agreed to Ulfric's terms, Ulfric succeeded, and then they stabbed him in the back at the first opportunity.
Okay, I'm sure this isn't the response you were looking for, but there's a lot to address here.
I said he is unbothered by the way they live and he does nothing to help them. He treats them like second class citizens, and I honestly don't think you can deny that. Ulfric denying guard patrols to a section of his citizens is a great example. "The filth flows downhill" is another example. [20:39]
In The United States during the segregation era, this was called de facto racism, as there were no official laws abiding racism, but it was allowed and somewhat expected of Caucasian citizens to treat African American citizens as lesser. So too with the Nords in Windhelm and the Dunmer.
You're forgetting too that the Altmer citizens chose to live in Windhelm. All of the Dunmer are refugees. They presumably didn't have much of anything when they left and they've had to create whole new lives. Dunmer can live to be very old, so I would assume that many of them have been living in the city since the Red Year and haven't been able to attain upward mobility on the social ladder to be able to move out of the city since they are confined to live in a singular quarter. Regardless of what Jarl was in charge, confining the Dunmer to a singular section of the city is beyond fucked up. I know it was gifted to them in the first place, but not allowing them to move out of there is cruel. And don't mention the farmer and the merchant. The merchant is allowed to sell his wears and then he goes home. The farmer is, still, not allowed inside the city.
Also, you're claiming that the other Dunmer aside from the farmer are too proud to "integrate?" Well, how are they even supposed to integrate when they are not allowed to leave the Gray Quarter? I also, just as a heads up, would not use the word integrate.
The farmer NPC I believe you're talking about is named Faryl Atheron and he's 1.) in the video and 2.) he never uses that word and 3.) he does not own a farm outside the city. There are two farms: Brandy-Mug and Hollyfrost. He works for Bulfrida Brandy-Mug. Regardless, the Dunmer traditions in Windhelm are present in only the appearance of a conerclub and some flags. This is like saying that an Indian-American family cannot open an Indian themed restaraunt and fly flags. These people are Dunmer, and not Nords, and that they should be allowed the human right to be proud of their culture.
Other completely horrible things that happen to the Dunmer in Windhelm:
The way those two men treat that Dunmer woman upon entering is inexcusable, and the number of comments I have seen defending this treatment is just bizarre to me. Here we have the use of a slur against Dunmer, "Grayskin," [19:14] and the threat of what sounds like breaking and entering followed by either physical or sexual (or both) abuse [19:23]. Really listen to the language the second Nord, Rolff Stone-Fist, uses. It's very creepy.
Brunwulf Free-Winter also claims that Ulfric does not trust "what he calls, outsiders" [19:35].
"The Gray Quarter's not much to look at now, but it wasn't always so bad" [20:04]. "Forgotten alley" [20:35]. These two quotes imply a decline in recent years. Ulfric has been the Jarl for 18 years, more than enough time to allow things to fall into disarray.
Futhermore, I understand that the Red Year happened almost 200 years before Skyrim, but again, there are zero ways to advance in a society that won't let you live outside of a slum.
I feel like you're turning a blind eye to the other Dunmeri quotes and the facts about the city.
Also, Nepos the Nose's quote: "We drove the Nords out of the Reach in a great uprising. Then Ulfric and his men came. Those of us who didn't run were executed, except for myself, my king, and a handful of others." This totally implies that Ulfric and his milita were the one who did the killing. Reachmen kicked the Nords out --> Ulfric and his men came --> People who didn't leave were executed. But, even still, I did say to take "The Bear of Markarth" and "'Madmen' of the Reach" with a grain of salt.
The Jarl obviously did not want to stab Ulfric in the back but what was he supposed to do? Start the Second Great War over Markarth? Stabbing him in the back is a tough way to put it. It was necessary to avoid an all out war.
@@theemerdareloth No, Beyln Hlaalu. he owns a farm. Hlaalu farm. and employs an elderly nord woman. did the nords just give him a farm? or did he perhaps earn enough to purchase it? As you say dark elves can live for centuries, he might well have been employed there as a laborer before his employee was even born.
if they are the only ones living in the quarter and the quarter has gone to shit, how is it the fault of those not living in the quarter? they were given the land and buildings therein, and they were given the right to assemble their own guard force, they seemingly haven't taken it. it is *their* quarter to do with as they please. if they had formed a guard and it had been disbanded by Ulfric you might have some grounds there. so far as we know it is just decay due to two centuries of lack of maintenance.
are those two drunks Ulfric? is he supposed to personally leave the palace where he is strategizing a war to go beat their asses like i do when i walk in the gate? he never personally demonstrates any indication of racism, certainly less than the norm for his culture. Galmar is racist as fuck, but Ulfric can only be considered racist in that he has not changed the system for the better. nor does Brunwulf Free-winter i might add, with his excuse being that it would upset the local racists.
As for Nepos, Ulfric and his men came... in service to Jarl Hrolfdir. there is no instance outside of the book attributing the warcrimes to Ulfric, and indeed, it would be rather convenient if the *Imperial* Jarl that stabs Ulfric in the back who ordered said crimes had his image cleaned by the official imperial account and "was simply a poor man helpless to stop the rampaging racist in his city."
Ulfric isn't particularly racist. he is focusing his attention elsewhere.
@MFenix206 Ahh, sorry, I wasn't thinking of Hlaalu farm, my bad. Regardless, I don't agree with the way you view this at all. I'll just say one thing.
Ulfric is the Jarl of Windhelm. The Gray Quarter is not a sovereign nation. It is in Windhelm. The Dunmer are in Windhelm are citizens of Windhelm, and therefore, Ulfric is their Jarl. It is his duty as a jarl to look out for his citizens. If the city you lived in stopped having police officers patrol your streets and started rolling waste down into your neighborhood, do you think it would be easy to recover from that? And when you ask the mayor of your city to take a look, he ignores you, and turns a blind eye to your troubles.
I really have nothing more to say about this.
@@theemerdareloth You have a fiar point about them being Ulfric's responsibility. they are also their *own* responsibility.
empathy is a virtue, but unguided by analysis is easily manipulated.
I have a great deal of empathy for Suvaris Atheron. she takes shit from Rolf and Agrenor (two drunks) for being a dunmer during the day, and takes shit from Ambarys Rendar (a business owner and pillar of the local dunmer community) during the night for working for nords.
On contrast I have little for Ambarys Rendar, who also has this to say about nord women being murdered.
"None of that matters to me. Until someone takes a Dunmer, I let Windhelm deal with its own problems."
"Apparently some Nord women were murdered. Not sure why I should care."
So a couple drunks of no repute harass the dunmer indiscriminately, and the reputable dunmer harass the dunmer who are willing to try and drag themselves out of the enclave
the dunmer are just as bad as the nords, the only difference is who has the power in this dynamic. perhaps both are condemnable and not just one group? perhaps the situation can't be fixed until both change?
@@theemerdareloth The situation of the Dunmer is lamentable, but so is kind of the situation for everyone in Windhelm. Things seem really bad at the moment, I think Ulfric definitely deserves some blame, it was his FATHER that ran Windhelm before him. He's been through a lot, I think relatively he's a lot less racist than many nord's & I think he needs to do more for his subjects.
I think genuinely if he wins the Civil War that conditions will improve & he will help the grey quarter. I think as well the legends card of Ulfric that implies he wins the war presents him as somewhat noble as well. I think that Ulfric will likely canonically win the war personally as well, with all the themes of decay & the lack of detail on the Mede dynasty, everything seems genuinely like the empire will fall.
Great vid, I always thought that he was an honorable man so once he agreed to the gag he had to keep it on for honors sake, my opinion. Take care 😎 🤘 🍻
Great video! More of this content would be great!
Love your channel, can you do more versus arena video please? If you want
I'd be down to. I've meant to do more, I just haven't gotten around to it! Also, I want you to know that I read your comment in Gustavo's voice
@@theemerdareloth AHAHAHAHA
You're up to the standards of Los Pollos Hermanos
Hey, I have a tullius’ conscription deck that I think you would absolutely love. I honestly think you can get to legend with it, it has a bit of RNG also to keep it exciting! Is there some way I can share it
Hero. He fights for Skyrim’s independence from two foreign superpowers.
There is one additional thing about Windhelm and why Argonians and Dunmer are living in different parts of it...
Shortly after the Red Year, a massive Argonian invasion happened in Morrowind, with them losing many cities, including their Capitol of Mournhold. So, not only is there aggressive tendencies between Nords and Dunmer, but also between the Dunmer and Argonians. To the point that actual civil unrest could absolutely be an issue if they lived in the same parts of the city.
That said, I do lean towards what the only Altmer in the city has about the Dunmer and living in the Gray Quarter. As you, as a Dunmer or Argonian, can not only join the Stormcloaks, but also buy Hjerim (despite there supposedly being a law about Argonians not being allowed to live in the city walls), and while you could chalk this up to an excuse/exempt because of gameplay, the dialogue Galmar has if you're not a Nord does suggest that those racist authors are possibly more outliers than the actual rule. It's largely a shame they don't discredit said authors; likely don't care to read or have the time to read those books.
Argonians and Dunmer live together in Riften though.
@@theemerdareloth Less of those Dunmer are refugees from Morrowind is my only thought. There's also the fact the Riften Jarl is honestly one of the worst ones in Skyrim, as despite being called "Law-Giver", she barely does anything to deal with the lawlessness in her hold, so if there is racial tensions in her city, there's a high chance she's done little to do about it.
Remember, the cities we do experience in the game are much, much, much smaller than what they actually are in lore, so there's very likely things we don't see.
@@Practitioner_of_Diogeneshe Dunmer in Riften are refugees same as those in Windhelm. Ulfric's mistreatment of the Dunmer and Argonians has no excuse and has nothing to do with the Red Year.
As for Galmar, he literally mistrusts anyone who isn't an Imperial or Nord born in Skyrim. He sends us off to kill an ice wraith and expects us to fail. We are also only able to purchase Hjerim if we're Ulfric's bootlicker - Ulfric's the only Jarl to award Thanehood based on civil war participation.
@@dutchpatriot17But the Dunmer of Riften have intergrated unlike in Windhelm and you can’t blame Ulfric for this because they have been living for 2 centuries.
@@teyrncousland7152Windhelm's Dunmer have integrated enough. Their situation of.neglect is a relatively recent one.
I will say, all things considered, aside from politics, motivations and choices. Ulfric being a racist is for me the most bland of insults once can label on him. Like..... One needs to take bit a single look at the History of Tamriel, and notice that everyone is.
Nords hate elves since ancient times (and for good reasons) The current Altmer want to anihilate or enslave all humans and treat Bosmer and Khajit who supposedly are part of their new Aldmeri dominion, as nothing more than servants. Dunmer have millenia of Slavery, Argonians hate all oursiders (also for good reasons) Bretons have a history of hating orcs (everyone seems against orcs honestly) and fight each other just as much as they fight Hillmen and orcs. The Redguards Hate the elves (also for good reason) and have been killing each other for generations too depending on their affiliation. And so on.
Its really a looooong history of everyone hating everyone xd
That's true, but what really gets me with Ulfric is the directness of it. As the Jarl of Windhelm, he has a responsibility to his citizens, and dumping garbage into the Gray Quarter and not providing guard patrols to people really irritates me on a personal level. Yes, all Elder Scrolls races have some beef with another, but it's broad strokes. On a personal level, all races can coexist. Look at any guild throughout the series. There are multiple members of different races working together under a common cause.
Ulfric had a responsibility to uphold as a leader, is my main point.
@@theemerdareloth Well its what slavers get, jokes aside. Any Mer that expects to be treated fairly in Windhelm, city of Ysgrammor THE Nord that went on a genocidal revenge campaign against the snow elves.....Well shit. Could aklso have gone to Ravenrock, at least thats a dunmer held city. I really cannot hold any simpathy for the Dunmer if I am honest. If they could they would probably take the Argonians at the dock captured and sold them back off in Morrowind.
I will say sure, Ulfric could have acted differently.....But why? What in all his life somehow indicates that he would hiold any other regard for elves than all his ancestors? If anything the Great war would only have amplified his hatred for elves.
Yes as a leader he has responsibility to his people. But that comes down to what you consider your people. A "Skyrim belongs to the Nords" guy will hardly care for the elves. Its a wonder alone he never kicked the elves out of the city from the get go.
I love ulfric, I don’t get why so many people hate him.
Ah yes, another "not-a-lore-channel" snowly becomming a lore channel 🙉
Rly enjoyed this vid and your other lore videos, honestly I didnt even know there was an elder scrolls card game lol. The art is phenominal though