You've heard of the Defenestration of Prague; now let me tell you of the Defenestration of Berlin! In 1702, 14-year-old FW threw his chamberlain out a window at Charlottenburg. Horowski does not say what floor this took place on. Fortunately, the guy only broke an arm.
To his credit, FW immediately realized he had gone too far, and begged the guy not to tell on him. Horowski speculates that this experience helped FW develop even the modicum of self-control that he'd lacked before.
G2, count yourself lucky you only got beaten up by a much younger kid! (I've actually forgotten what ages we determined they were when this happened. Dammit.)
(The Defenestration of Prague, if you haven't heard of it, was an event in 1618 that helped kick off the Thirty Years' War. I am weak on the Thirty Years' War and will let selenak elaborate if she wants to.)
(I've actually forgotten what ages we determined they were when this happened. Dammit.)
I vaguely recall something of five years or thereabouts, but I could be wrong. Anyway, the fact that G2 decades later had to be talked out of challenging FW to personal combat seems to indicate he never got over the humiliation. (I still think it's a great crack fic premise to let that duel happen. Half serious question: whom is Fritz rooting for? On the one hand, given Wilhelmine's classification of the Pannwitz episode as direly needed comic relief, he might yearn for someone to take Dad down a peg. Or several. Otoh, Dad is also the King whom he'll succeed, and Fritz is status conscious, plus he's well done, son guy.
Defenestration of Prague: there were several, but the most famous one was the second one, about which more in the wiki article, because it's not my area of expertise. (I know a bit more about the later stages of the 7 Years War.) Oh, yeah, some genetic cross connections: the guy the Protestants who do the defenestrating to the Catholics chose as King of Bohemia in defiance of the Habsburg Emperor is the son-in-law of James I. Stuart, married to Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen. (So called because her reign didn't last much longer than a winter. You don't fuck with the Habsburgs in that era, Bohemians.) And Elizabeth's daughter is none other than Sophie (later of Hannover), the Hannover matriarch who is the ancestor of all the subsequent German monarchs of England, starting with her son G1, and of course of all the Hohenzollern monarchs after FW through the marriage of her daughter Sophie Charlotte with FW.
:D I had indeed heard of the Defenestration of Prague, but I had no idea what the context was. (As is, I guess, par for the course with most things I know about history.)
I knew of *the* Defenestration of Prague, of course, but if I had known at the time that there was more than one, I would have made a lot more jokes about windows when I was there!
But also, the lesser known defenestration of Charlottenburg! (That could be worked into the movie on Besser's life, he was around at the time. :D)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Defenestration
Date: 2021-01-31 02:23 pm (UTC)To his credit, FW immediately realized he had gone too far, and begged the guy not to tell on him. Horowski speculates that this experience helped FW develop even the modicum of self-control that he'd lacked before.
G2, count yourself lucky you only got beaten up
by a much younger kid! (I've actually forgotten what ages we determined they were when this happened. Dammit.)(The Defenestration of Prague, if you haven't heard of it, was an event in 1618 that helped kick off the Thirty Years' War. I am weak on the Thirty Years' War and will let
Re: Defenestration
Date: 2021-01-31 04:30 pm (UTC)I vaguely recall something of five years or thereabouts, but I could be wrong. Anyway, the fact that G2 decades later had to be talked out of challenging FW to personal combat seems to indicate he never got over the humiliation. (I still think it's a great crack fic premise to let that duel happen. Half serious question: whom is Fritz rooting for? On the one hand, given Wilhelmine's classification of the Pannwitz episode as direly needed comic relief, he might yearn for someone to take Dad down a peg. Or several. Otoh, Dad is also the King whom he'll succeed, and Fritz is status conscious, plus he's well done, son guy.
Defenestration of Prague: there were several, but the most famous one was the second one, about which more in the wiki article, because it's not my area of expertise. (I know a bit more about the later stages of the 7 Years War.) Oh, yeah, some genetic cross connections: the guy the Protestants who do the defenestrating to the Catholics chose as King of Bohemia in defiance of the Habsburg Emperor is the son-in-law of James I. Stuart, married to Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen. (So called because her reign didn't last much longer than a winter. You don't fuck with the Habsburgs in that era, Bohemians.) And Elizabeth's daughter is none other than Sophie (later of Hannover), the Hannover matriarch who is the ancestor of all the subsequent German monarchs of England, starting with her son G1, and of course of all the Hohenzollern monarchs after FW through the marriage of her daughter Sophie Charlotte with FW.
Re: Defenestration
Date: 2021-02-12 05:29 am (UTC)Re: Defenestration
Date: 2021-02-12 07:01 pm (UTC)But also, the lesser known defenestration of Charlottenburg! (That could be worked into the movie on Besser's life, he was around at the time. :D)