Frederick the Great discussion post 13

[cahn]

mildred_of_midgard once said, every day is like Christmas in this fandom! It's true!

rheinsberg

Comments

Re: Fredersdorf: Prime Suspect? (or: By Jove, I've found it!)

[cahn]

you can bet that if Voltaire would have heard gossip of either variation re: a temporary Fritz/Fredersdorf fallout back in the day (i.e. either "Fritz was going to sack him for a handsome subaltern, UNTIL" or "Fritz was going to put him back into the army, UNTIL), he'd have included it in either the pamphlet or the memoirs

Ha! Good point.

Re: Fredersdorf: Prime Suspect? (or: By Jove, I've found it!)

[selenak]

Conclusion: Voltaire can't have heard either story during his three years in Prussia, so the Georgii story most likely died down early on due to lack of feeding material (i.e. Fredersdorf securely in power at Fritz' side, no alternate candidate spotted through the 40s), and the "put him back in the army" story was something Tyrconnel & Latouche heard once but which wasn't a popular rumor (that would have reached Voltaire) because people went "yeah, no" at the unlikelihood and showed no interest.