The Let's Play Archive

Assassin's Creed II

by Geop

Part 2: Episode 02: Buona sera!



Hosted -
Let's History!
Youtube -
Link

Notes -
- I'll be easing up on the lecture-like history stuff in the near future. We kinda got dropped right in to the middle of the setting, and it threw some stuff at us that I really wanted to go over. Same goes for the profile displays; as soon as the first scene ended, we had five or six sitting there, waiting for us. Part of this is just because it's the beginning of the game.

- [Something I forgot to put in the history segment and just couldn't fit in after-the-fact] An extra little thing to note about Plague Doctors: uniforms lined in wax were meant to repel the plague. Aside from wax, there was a different lining used commonly: suet or fat. The intent was to "trap the disease within it", but instead of this nuance panning out to be bogus hocus pocus like some other stuff, it had unintended consequences. Namely, fleas that carried the plague actually loved making their homes in this stuff. So, unfortunately, there is a pretty strong chance that these guys unknowingly helped spread the plague through their actual outfits.

Something else I forgot to mention is a wide brimmed hat was usually part of the wardrobe after the 17th century. Nothing particularly special about it aside from being a normal hat. However, regarding the leather clothing I mentioned: the leggings in particular were similar to waders that a fisherman would wear. The bubonic plague’s initial symptoms were buboes or the skin welts that were pretty slam-dunk indicators of being afflicted. They looked similar to a big blister and would form initially near lymph nodes, meaning the groin, armpits, and neck. The leggings in particular were intended to somehow protect the privates against this. I’ll probably cover the European epidemics in more detail later on if folks are keen on the wordiness.

Cyphoderus posted:

Just a little historical correction (normally I wouldn't bother but this thread is the place for this): I remember you saying in the video that Amerigo Vespucci was the one to discover Brazil; this honor actually belongs to Pedro Álvares Cabral. He came here after receiving a hint from Vasco da Gama, who didn't set foot on the land but presumably had seen signs of land on an earlier expedition.
- Here's the music I used, in the order they're played:

Santa Trinita --
The Plague Doctor --