Frederick the Great and Other 18th-C Characters, Discussion Post 31

[cahn]

And in this post:

-luzula is going to tell us about the Jacobites and the '45!

-I'm going to finish reading Nancy Goldstone's book about Maria Theresia and (some of) her children Maria Christina, Maria Carolina, and Marie Antoinette, In the Shadow of the Empress, and selenak is going to tell us all the things wrong with the last four chapters (spoiler: in the first twenty chapters there have been many, MANY things wrong)!

-mildred_of_midgard is going to tell us about Charles XII of Sweden and the Great Northern War

(seriously, how did I get so lucky to have all these people Telling Me Things, this is AWESOME)

-oh, and also there will be Yuletide signups :D

Comments

Re: The Great Northern War: Overview

[luzula]

So again with "I don't know what the source for this is," but, more than one of my books has said that Charles, when he was younger, told someone that he was absolutely interested in (het) sex, but he was afraid of going near it, because whatever he did, he did ALL THE WAY, and he couldn't afford the distraction while the war was on.

Just going to Swedish Wikipedia here. Here's a quote (run through Google translate), which is attributed to Charles, apparently said in conversation with an Axel Löwen:
"Henry IV married but had too much weakness for his mistresses and was too fleeting for a real love, that I would feel capable of if I once attached myself to anyone. I have decided not to have any connection, as long as I am in the field, to avoid all distraction. All princes who cannot control their passions are not worthy to rule over others. The feeling for beautiful women is no less in me than in you, but I know how to control it."

The reference is to a 2019 book in Swedish (Dybelius, Anders (2019). Möten med personligheten Karl XII), which is in my university library. This Dybelius is at least a historian and not a journalist or something. But Wikipedia of course doesn't tell you what primary sources this book is quoting (something written by this Axel Löwen, I suppose?). If all else fails you, I guess I could go look at the book.

Re: The Great Northern War: Overview

[mildred_of_midgard]

Thanks. I can probably figure it out from the books I have once I have time (tiiiiime! there's never enough tiiiime!), but I'll let you know if I need a hand, thanks!