Ha. Yeah, no. I mean, there's certainly evidence FW was pissed off at the lack of imperial support re: Jülich and Berg, but I don't recall any prophecies of avenging sons in the books I've read.
Just ran across it in my reading of Lavisse (p. 95), with no citation. Much like the "The new king bids you all go to hell" quote. So if it's invented, at least it's not MacDonogh who invented it.
Okay, Lavisse gives it in German, and so I've googled that phrase, and it goes back at least to 1835, Friedrich Wilhelm I., König von Preussen, Friedrich Christoph Förster. Many people like to quote it, but he's the earliest I'm finding.
Oh, look, Förster believes in citations. <3 May 2, 1736. Journal secret, p. 138. Secret diary of whom?
Seckendorf!
*tracks down Seckendorf's journal, omg we need this for so many reasons*
Yep, there it is. "Disant en montrant le prince royal, 'Voicy quelqu'un que me vengera un jour.'" He seems to be upset about the MT/FS marriage. Which makes sense, given the date.
Well, guess what's going in the Fritzian library? :D
He alternates between French and German in the diary, if you want to skim the German entries for gems.
Especially what is in the Testament is a stern warning to his successors that wars of aggression are of the Evil.
I don't consider this necessarily mutually exclusive with FW wanting to get back territory that he feels his ancestors shouldn't have given up. Humans in general and politicians especially are really good at saying that unjust wars are bad, and then coming up with rationalizations for how their own wars are totally just. I'm not saying FW did this with Silesia, but I'm saying he could have. I would need to see evidence that he did, though, before believing that he had a particular interest in Silesia the way he did other territories to which he felt he had a claim. But I won't be surprised if we someday run across a source for MacDonogh's statement that FW was displeased about the Great Elector (?) giving up the claim somewhere, just not in the 1722 Political Testament. Especially if half of what Lavisse is telling me about FW's politics is true.
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Re: MacDonogh Reread I
Date: 2020-01-31 08:01 pm (UTC)Ha. Yeah, no. I mean, there's certainly evidence FW was pissed off at the lack of imperial support re: Jülich and Berg, but I don't recall any prophecies of avenging sons in the books I've read.
Just ran across it in my reading of Lavisse (p. 95), with no citation. Much like the "The new king bids you all go to hell" quote. So if it's invented, at least it's not MacDonogh who invented it.
Okay, Lavisse gives it in German, and so I've googled that phrase, and it goes back at least to 1835, Friedrich Wilhelm I., König von Preussen, Friedrich Christoph Förster. Many people like to quote it, but he's the earliest I'm finding.
Oh, look, Förster believes in citations. <3 May 2, 1736. Journal secret, p. 138. Secret diary of whom?
Seckendorf!
*tracks down Seckendorf's journal, omg we need this for so many reasons*
Yep, there it is. "Disant en montrant le prince royal, 'Voicy quelqu'un que me vengera un jour.'" He seems to be upset about the MT/FS marriage. Which makes sense, given the date.
Well, guess what's going in the Fritzian library? :D
He alternates between French and German in the diary, if you want to skim the German entries for gems.
Especially what is in the Testament is a stern warning to his successors that wars of aggression are of the Evil.
I don't consider this necessarily mutually exclusive with FW wanting to get back territory that he feels his ancestors shouldn't have given up. Humans in general and politicians especially are really good at saying that unjust wars are bad, and then coming up with rationalizations for how their own wars are totally just. I'm not saying FW did this with Silesia, but I'm saying he could have. I would need to see evidence that he did, though, before believing that he had a particular interest in Silesia the way he did other territories to which he felt he had a claim. But I won't be surprised if we someday run across a source for MacDonogh's statement that FW was displeased about the Great Elector (?) giving up the claim somewhere, just not in the 1722 Political Testament. Especially if half of what Lavisse is telling me about FW's politics is true.