Minor nitpick: according to the biographies I read for my Yuletide story, Catherine did, in fact, like to light her fireplace herself in the morning. Though she did get woken up by her servants, six o'clock sharp every morning (via knocking), no matter the festivities in the night.
Fair! Now that you remind me of this, I do remember you telling us this. But 1) your corpse not being found until later in the morning/day because you didn't get up on your own is more of a modern phenomenon than one you'd expect from a monarch with servants, 2) I knew that Fritz specifically was woken up by his servants, so slight plot hole there that can only be handwaved by claiming that Glasow lied.
Seriously though, why did Fritz have it in for Gramps?
Current theory? That I came up with last night and was planning to share, then found that you had come up with several similar theories? ;) (Although not this precise one.)
My theory is that Fritz spent his entire childhood being told, and with everyone else being told, that because he liked the same things Grandpa liked, he would turn into the Worst King Ever. Then he turned out to be a king who likes the same things Grandpa liked! But because he also imprinted on Dad's values of 1) army, 2) money, 3) work, he feels very very defensive about spending money on palaces and artists and such, and has to make sure everyone knows that HE is not going to run HIS country into the ground, HE is the BEST KING EVER, and he proves this by agreeing that Gramps was THE WORST. "We are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT," he says. "See, Dad? Are you proud of me now? Well done, son? Maybe?"
But that doesn't mean there weren't also other elements. People often have more than one motive for whatever they're doing or thinking. I'm skeptical about your number 2, but 1 and 3 seem quite likely. I particularly like 3: frustrated venting that he can't express toward his father (Mixed feelings in this century? Not toward family you don't! Foreign intellectuals named Voltaire are fair game. :P) seems quite plausible.
Fasting: My point here was that you don't eat chocolate while fasting. No meat, yes, and it's true that fish, cheese, milk etc. are all okay, but chocolate during lent is a no go.
Really? I know that individuals who like chocolate often choose to give it up, in the same way some people give up television for Lent, but I wasn't aware that canon law had anything to say about chocolate, and I can't find any mention of it in my googling. Canon law (Catholic--other denominations are sometimes stricter) seems to define abstinence as abstaining from meat (seafood and other animal products okay), and fasting as not eating more than one meal and a couple snacks a day. Both in early modern and modern times. In the second half of the twentieth century, the Church reduced the number of days on which you're expected to abstain from meat during Lent (and allowed bishops to tweak the rules for their own flock), but I find no reference to chocolate before or after that change. It's an individual choice as far as I know.
Re: Schöning: Old Fritz: Not Your Dream Boss (Unless You're Dog)
Fair! Now that you remind me of this, I do remember you telling us this. But 1) your corpse not being found until later in the morning/day because you didn't get up on your own is more of a modern phenomenon than one you'd expect from a monarch with servants, 2) I knew that Fritz specifically was woken up by his servants, so slight plot hole there that can only be handwaved by claiming that Glasow lied.
Seriously though, why did Fritz have it in for Gramps?
Current theory? That I came up with last night and was planning to share, then found that you had come up with several similar theories? ;) (Although not this precise one.)
My theory is that Fritz spent his entire childhood being told, and with everyone else being told, that because he liked the same things Grandpa liked, he would turn into the Worst King Ever. Then he turned out to be a king who likes the same things Grandpa liked! But because he also imprinted on Dad's values of 1) army, 2) money, 3) work, he feels very very defensive about spending money on palaces and artists and such, and has to make sure everyone knows that HE is not going to run HIS country into the ground, HE is the BEST KING EVER, and he proves this by agreeing that Gramps was THE WORST. "We are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT," he says. "See, Dad? Are you proud of me now? Well done, son? Maybe?"
But that doesn't mean there weren't also other elements. People often have more than one motive for whatever they're doing or thinking. I'm skeptical about your number 2, but 1 and 3 seem quite likely. I particularly like 3: frustrated venting that he can't express toward his father (Mixed feelings in this century? Not toward family you don't! Foreign intellectuals named Voltaire are fair game. :P) seems quite plausible.
Fasting: My point here was that you don't eat chocolate while fasting. No meat, yes, and it's true that fish, cheese, milk etc. are all okay, but chocolate during lent is a no go.
Really? I know that individuals who like chocolate often choose to give it up, in the same way some people give up television for Lent, but I wasn't aware that canon law had anything to say about chocolate, and I can't find any mention of it in my googling. Canon law (Catholic--other denominations are sometimes stricter) seems to define abstinence as abstaining from meat (seafood and other animal products okay), and fasting as not eating more than one meal and a couple snacks a day. Both in early modern and modern times. In the second half of the twentieth century, the Church reduced the number of days on which you're expected to abstain from meat during Lent (and allowed bishops to tweak the rules for their own flock), but I find no reference to chocolate before or after that change. It's an individual choice as far as I know.
But I'm open to counterevidence!