Ludwig, the Holy Blade: the First Hunter of the Healing Church
Ludwig was the first Church hunter, the man who started the Healing Church workshop and the hero Yharnam's Holy Blades descend from. In The Old Hunters he is Ludwig the Accursed, a horse-like beast in a pit of corpses, until he finds his sword again. Here is what the game states.
Ludwig was the first hunter of the Healing Church. The Church workshop began with him, his name lives on in the Holy Blade and Ludwig's Rifle, and the hunters known as Holy Blades call themselves heirs to his will. In The Old Hunters he is found in the Nightmare as Ludwig the Accursed, a monstrous beast, until he picks up the Holy Moonlight Sword and remembers who he was. (Bloodborne; Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Who was Ludwig?#
The Sword Hunter Badge says it plainly: "Ludwig was the first of many Healing Church hunters to come, many of whom were clerics. As it was, clerics transformed into the most hideous beasts." (Bloodborne)
Ludwig's Holy Blade, the standard Church hunter weapon, says the silver sword was employed by Ludwig and that "the Healing church workshop began with Ludwig, and departed from old Gehrman's technique to provide hunters with the means to fight more terrifying beasts, and perhaps things still worse". Ludwig's Rifle notes design changes suggesting the Church expected much larger inhuman beasts. (Bloodborne)
Gehrman confirms it from the other side. The Healing Church and its Blood Ministers, he says, were once guardians of the hunters "in the times of the hunter... Ludwig". (Bloodborne)
The Holy Blades#
The Radiant Sword Hunter Badge says the radiant sword marks the heirs to the will of Ludwig. These hunters, "also known as Holy Blades", are what remains of an ancient line of heroes from an early age of honour and chivalry. (Bloodborne)
The Holy Moonlight Sword and the Guidance rune#
Ludwig's real weapon was something else. The Holy Moonlight Sword is "an arcane sword discovered long ago by Ludwig". When blue moonlight dances around it and it channels the abyssal cosmos, it throws a wave of shadowy light. The description says it is synonymous with Ludwig, but few have ever seen it, and whatever guidance it offers seems to be "of a very private, elusive sort". (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
The Guidance rune was found with it. When Ludwig closed his eyes, it says, he saw darkness or nothingness, and there he found tiny beings of light. He was certain these dancing sprites offered "guidance", and they emptied him of his fears, at least in the middle of a hunt. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Ludwig in the Hunter's Nightmare#
In The Old Hunters, a living corpse in the Underground Corpse Pile cries out that Ludwig the Accursed is coming. The beast that appears is huge and horse-like. Halfway through the fight he finds his sword and stands: "Aah, you were at my side, all along. My true mentor... My guiding moonlight..." From then on he is named Ludwig, the Holy Blade. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
The fight itself is covered in the bosses guide, and the timeline places Ludwig among the Church's early days.
His severed head can then speak. He asks if the player has seen the thread of light, "just a hair, a fleeting thing", that he clung to while steeped in blood and beasts. He never wanted to know what it really was. If the player wears Church attire, he asks instead whether his Church hunters were "the honourable Spartans I hoped they would be". (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
- Answer yes, and he is relieved that he did not suffer "such denigration" for nothing, and dies seeing the moonlight. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
- Answer no, and he decides he was "a beast-possessed degenerate", as his detractors claimed, and cries out at the endless nightmare. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Simon the Harrowed stands over him afterwards and calls him a tragic figure who "died with his ideals untarnished", a true hero. If Simon is the one who finishes Ludwig, he hands over the Holy Moonlight Sword, "the blinding thread that led, and misled, that consummate hero". (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
What fans read into Ludwig#
- The sword and its "guidance" are often read as a link to a Great One or the cosmos, which would make Ludwig's heroism something steered from outside. The game hints at this, calling the light both guide and misguide, but never names its source. (Bloodborne; Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
- Many players think Ludwig is in the Hunter's Nightmare because he joined the hunt at the Fishing Hamlet. Simon says the Nightmare sprouted from the hunters' misdeeds, but Ludwig is never named there. Going blood-drunk is enough, by the game's own rules, to be taken. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
- The Hunter Chief Emblem belonged to a captain of the Church hunters long ago. Some assume this was Ludwig; the item doesn't name him. (Bloodborne)
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Ludwig in Bloodborne?
- Ludwig was the first hunter of the Healing Church. The Church's workshop began with him, and the Holy Blades are heirs to his will. He appears in The Old Hunters as a boss, Ludwig the Accursed and Ludwig the Holy Blade.
- What should you tell Ludwig?
- If you wear Church attire, his head asks if his Church hunters were the honourable Spartans he hoped. Say yes and he thanks you and dies in peace, seeing the moonlight. Say no and he concludes he was the beast-possessed degenerate his detractors claimed.
- What is the Holy Moonlight Sword?
- An arcane sword Ludwig discovered long ago, which channels the abyssal cosmos. Ludwig calls it his "true mentor" and "guiding moonlight". It is found with Ludwig's head after the fight, or Simon hands it over if he finishes Ludwig off.
- Why did Ludwig become a beast?
- The game doesn't say exactly. The Sword Hunter Badge says many Church hunters were clerics, and clerics turned into the most hideous beasts.
Sources
- GameBloodborne, FromSoftware, 2015
- GameBloodborne: The Old Hunters, FromSoftware, 2015 (expansion)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Every Bloodborne Boss and Its Lore, Explained
Every boss in Bloodborne, The Old Hunters and the Chalice Dungeons, with who or what each one was and why the hunter has to fight it. Each entry keeps what the game states apart from what players infer.
Gehrman, the First Hunter: the Old Man Bound to the Hunter's Dream
Gehrman is the old man in the wheelchair who greets you in the Hunter's Dream, and the first hunter of Yharnam. He built the first workshop, trained the first hunters, and at the end of the night offers to free you, or fights you. Here is what the game states and where the theories start.
Simon the Harrowed: the Blindfolded Hunter Who Exposed the Nightmare
Simon is the blindfolded Church hunter who guides the player through The Old Hunters. He wants the Hunter's Nightmare and its secrets dragged into the open, and he pays for it. Here is what he says, what his gear reveals, and how he dies.
The Fishing Hamlet: Bloodborne's Hidden Village and the Hunters' Sin
The Fishing Hamlet is the drowned village at the end of The Old Hunters, where the corpse of the Great One Kos lies on the shore. It is the secret behind the Hunter's Nightmare. Here is what the game shows there, and how players read it.
The Healing Church: the Faith That Gave Yharnam the Blood
The Healing Church is the religion that rules Yharnam in Bloodborne. Scholars from Byrgenwerth founded it on the old blood, built a city of blood ministration around it, and armed hunters to clean up what that blood turned people into. Here is what the game actually says about it, and where the theories begin.
The Nightmare in Bloodborne: Dreams, Nightmares and the Hunters' Curse
Bloodborne's nightmares are dream worlds where Great Ones live and where blood-drunk hunters end up. There is more than one of them: the Hunter's Nightmare, the Nightmare of Mensis, the Nightmare Frontier. Here is what the game states about how they work, and what is fan theory.
Mentioned in13 entries
Bloodborne Lore Summary: the Whole Story in Five Minutes
Bloodborne's lore in a nutshell: the blood, the beasts, the Great Ones and the three endings, in plain words. The first section is spoiler-free for anyone about to play. Everything after it spoils the whole game, with links to the deep pages for each part.
Bloodborne Story Explained: Yharnam, the Old Blood and the Great Ones
The whole Bloodborne story in order, from the blood transfusion that brings your hunter to Yharnam to the three endings in the Hunter's Dream. What the game actually tells you, what fans have pieced together, and where the two part ways.
Bloodborne Timeline: From the Pthumerians to the Night of the Hunt
Bloodborne's history in story order, from the Pthumerian Labyrinth and the scholars of Byrgenwerth to the Healing Church, the Fishing Hamlet and the night your hunter wakes in Yharnam. The game gives no dates, so the order here is built from item descriptions, notes and dialogue, and every place where the order is inferred is marked.
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters Story Explained
The Old Hunters story from start to finish: the Hunter's Nightmare, Ludwig and Laurence, the Research Hall, Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower, the Fishing Hamlet and the curse of Kos. What the expansion states, what fans infer, and how it changes the main game.
Every Bloodborne Boss and Its Lore, Explained
Every boss in Bloodborne, The Old Hunters and the Chalice Dungeons, with who or what each one was and why the hunter has to fight it. Each entry keeps what the game states apart from what players infer.
Gehrman, the First Hunter: the Old Man Bound to the Hunter's Dream
Gehrman is the old man in the wheelchair who greets you in the Hunter's Dream, and the first hunter of Yharnam. He built the first workshop, trained the first hunters, and at the end of the night offers to free you, or fights you. Here is what the game states and where the theories start.
Is Gehrman the First Hunter?
Yes. Bloodborne calls him "Gehrman, the First Hunter", and his weapon and clothes are described as the models every later hunter's gear grew from. There's one wrinkle: Ludwig is called the first hunter of the Healing Church. Here's what the game says.
Kos (or Kosm): the Dead Great One of the Fishing Hamlet
Kos is the Great One whose corpse lies on the beach at the end of The Old Hunters. What was done to her body, and her child, is the sin behind the Hunter's Nightmare. This page sets out what the game says and what players have inferred.
Simon the Harrowed: the Blindfolded Hunter Who Exposed the Nightmare
Simon is the blindfolded Church hunter who guides the player through The Old Hunters. He wants the Hunter's Nightmare and its secrets dragged into the open, and he pays for it. Here is what he says, what his gear reveals, and how he dies.
The Healing Church: the Faith That Gave Yharnam the Blood
The Healing Church is the religion that rules Yharnam in Bloodborne. Scholars from Byrgenwerth founded it on the old blood, built a city of blood ministration around it, and armed hunters to clean up what that blood turned people into. Here is what the game actually says about it, and where the theories begin.
The Nightmare in Bloodborne: Dreams, Nightmares and the Hunters' Curse
Bloodborne's nightmares are dream worlds where Great Ones live and where blood-drunk hunters end up. There is more than one of them: the Hunter's Nightmare, the Nightmare of Mensis, the Nightmare Frontier. Here is what the game states about how they work, and what is fan theory.
Which Bloodborne Character Are You? Take the Quiz
Ten questions about how you hunt, what you fear and where you'd rather spend the night, and we'll match you to one of Yharnam's hunters, scholars and dreamers: Gehrman, Lady Maria, Ludwig, Eileen, Laurence, Micolash, the Doll or Master Willem.
+ 1 more
Get new articles in your inbox
No spam. New lore drops, canon conflicts, and deep dives only when they’re worth reading.
Some links on Lore Fortress are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.