Frederick the Great discussion post 12

[cahn]

Every time I am amazed and enchanted that this is still going on! Truly DW is the Earthly Paradise!

All the good stuff continues to be archived at rheinsberg :)

Comments

Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1776

[selenak]

Took part diligently in Hans Hermann's escapades?

Yes.

Unpublished Lehndorff retirement journal: Lehndorff gets all these anecdotes from Ludolf and du Rosey's surviving kid, who takes after his mom and thus bonds with Lehndorff. The anecdotes languish in the Saxon archives to this day, waiting to be read. :P

LOL. I hope so, for otherwise we're reduced to hoping for time travel body switch with Fontane again. :) Don't forget, though, Lehndorff would have been entirely capable of asking that kid: Ah, but did your Dad know the real hero of 1730, Peter Keith?

Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1776

[mildred_of_midgard]

Don't forget, though, Lehndorff would have been entirely capable of asking that kid: Ah, but did your Dad know the real hero of 1730, Peter Keith?

LOL. I would LOVE Keith anecdotes, but I would advise against saying "real hero" to a von Katte. :P Body switch with Fontane it is!

Kattes

[mildred_of_midgard]

Speaking of Kattes (as I usually am), a new development to which selenak alerted me, was that this painting has been confirmed by Martin von Katte to be of Hans Hermann and his half-sister Elisabeth Katharina. But what struck me was that Martin captioned it as set in the gardens at Wust (the family seat of Hans Heinrich's line).

Now, I could be wrong, but even if Hans Heinrich is currently stationed outside of Wust, which he usually is, it probably would be difficult to have outdoor concerts in the gardens in this small village of Wust and get your portrait painted if you were trying to keep your flute-playing secret from your father, the lord of Wust.

Which means, I think it's reasonable to conclude Hans Heinrich knew about his son's flute playing and was, at the very least, okay with it. Now that I know that Grandpa Wartensleben was the old-school Baroque guy who was responsible for most of Hans Hermann's raising, he may have bankrolled the university attendance and Grand Tour, so that doesn't necessarily reflect on Hans Hermann one way or the other. But if two of Hans Heinrich's children, one of whom isn't even descended from Hans Hermann's maternal grandfather Wartensleben, are getting painted in Hans Heinrich territory, that suggests to me that Roes is probably way off the mark in making Hans Heinrich opposed to flute-playing in Zeithain. I mean, aside from the question of whether it's narratively a good idea to work out your own issues with your father by giving every character a Bad Dad.

Re: Kattes

[selenak]

I'm with you. Hans Heinrich was cool with his children (male and female) playing musical instruments - like basically EVERY ARISTOCRATIC FATHER EXCEPT FW in the whole era! (Sheesh, Roes, channel your issues differently.)

Re: Kattes

[mildred_of_midgard]

RIGHT? That was practically how you advertised your membership in the upper classes, by showing *some* interest in the arts, whether it was patronizing or participating or at least consuming. FW was just a lone Spartan out of his time and place.

Sheesh, Roes, channel your issues differently.

+1

so that doesn't necessarily reflect on Hans Hermann

I meant to say Hans Heinrich. Curse the unoriginality of 18th century nobles!