In the dangerous world of Dark Souls, you’ll find yourself dead in no time without a decent
suit of armor...actually you’ll probably find yourself dead either way, but at least
with the armor you’ll have a fighting chance. You might be surprised to learn that some
of Dark Souls’ most memorable designs may actually be derived from a few different pieces
of historical armor and weaponry. Kirk, the Knight of Thorns, is known for his signature
spiky armor, but oddly enough, this design is thought by some to be based on an actual
armor design from the 19th century. This terrifying looking suit of metal was used by the Serbians
for bear hunting; well, more accurately, “bear-bating”, as it is highly unlikely that hunters were
actually able to run very quickly or stealthily in the armor. This isn’t the only influence
on the design of Kirk, though perhaps that’s a story for another day. Another example is
the helmet of Ornstein, the Dragon Slayer, as you can see, it bears a resemblance to
this 15th century Italian helmet, which can currently be seen in the Metropolitan Museum
of Art. Speaking of helmets, there’s none more distinctive than the one worn by Domhnall
of Zena, what you probably didn’t know is that it is eerily similar to the horned helmet
given to Henry the 8th by Maximilian the First, the Holy Roman Emperor, which is thought to
have been used for royal celebrations and parades. According to historians, the helmet
was actually just part of a complete set of armor, but the rest of it appears to have
been lost to time. The only real information we have about the
sword named The Server is that it is a “curved greatsword used in a mysterious ancient rite.”,
this description also fits a sword in real life that looks extremely similar to it called
the Ram-Dao, which was used in the ritual sacrifice of animals, and maybe even humans,
in ancient Nepal. That’s not the only sword to have real-world roots; Dark Souls 2’s
Sir Alonne, carries a unique blade, which happens to be a classic example of a Zanbato
sword, a fictional style of weaponry commonly seen in anime and manga. This refers to the
art style of drawing the sword much larger than any real-world blade. The concept is
thought to be taken from medieval Chinese longswords, used for slaying horses in battle.
Those are just a few small examples of the real-world inspiration for the weapons and
armor found in the Dark Souls universe. Now let’s talk locations. The interesting look
of the Doors of Pharros is thought by some to be inspired by Fingal’s Cave, which can
be found in Scotland. The Lost City of Izalith’s architecture can be seen in Cambodia’s ancient
“City of Temples” Angkor Wat, a historic Hindu (and later Buddhist) complex that was
larger than any European cathedral and remains a popular tourist destination to this day.
Another well-known location, the New Lando Ruins are said by the developers to be based
on Mont Saint Michel, an island off the coast of Normandy, France. The island houses a fortress
that famously fought off numerous attacks from the English during the Hundred Years’
War, becoming a symbol of French pride and, according to many historians, inspiring Joan
of Arc as well. The name “Sen’s Fortress” actually has
a few possible real-world references in it’s name, one theory is that it is named after
William of Sens, a 12th century French architect known for his Gothic style, and one of the
first cathedral architects that historians know by name. Another theory takes a much
more simple approach; noting that in Japanese, “Sen” means “thousand”, so in a fortress
filled to the rafters with traps set to kill you at a moment’s notice, the name could
just refer to the idea that it is a fortress with a thousand traps.
As many of you know, one of the most interesting sites you can come across in Dark Souls is
the Crystal Cave; what you might not know is that there is a pretty amazing Cave of
Crystals in the real world as well, found in northern Mexico. If you don’t believe
us, feel free to go there yourself, but don’t blame us when you end up running into Seath
the Scaleless. Last, but certainly not least, there’s the Milan Cathedral, which the Dark
Souls developers have confirmed served as the inspiration for the iconic Anor Londo.
Speaking about visiting the cathedral, Game Designer Masanori Waragai said “I recall
looking up at the buttresses and imagining how amazing it would feel to walk on them...
it really inspires your adventurous side.” Thankfully for Dark Souls players everywhere,
the development team at From Software managed to make that dream a reality.
You thought you knew Dark Souls, but hopefully you’ve learned just a thing or two more.
Do you know of any other historical or literary references we didn’t cover here? Share them
in the comment section below and we might include it in a future episode. If you like
Hidden History don’t forget to ‘Like’ and ‘Subscribe’ for more.