The essay is coming along bit by bit. I'm nearly done with the first draft (just getting the facts down), and then I have to revise. But now I have some new facts to get down! So the first draft isn't quite as close to being done as it was 5 minutes ago. ;)
[The big hold-up has been having to work at 4:30 am for my day job for a couple weeks, which has wrecked my sleep schedule like you would not believe.]
("Incidentally, on the 12th, Lieutnant von Keit, who moved from Wesel to Engelland a few years ago, came back from Engelland, which HM, because he was not called, is said to have received ungraciously.")
This is awesome because I have been precisely looking for this date! All I had was a month. If contemporaries have heard of his return by the 14th, then we can assume that at least he returned in the first half of the month, not the latter half.
there's at least a chance that Fritz and Peter did indeed meet on the 15th/16th (i.e. the earliest date possible). Fritz then leaves for Rheinsberg on the 19th, still suffering from fever.
Indeed, and what's interesting to me is that there are already rumors of him not being in royal favor (which would continue to be a topic of discussion until at least 1753). Even if the reason is wrong, it does lead me to believe that either Peter, the people around him, or both were expecting a much warmer welcome than he got. It's possible they did have an in-person and/or written conflict immediately upon Peter's arrival.
:(
Last Peter reference is on October 28: "Herr v. Kait sei Stallmeister geworden." (Which is the kind of career news Schultzer reports all the time. No mention of a commission in the Prussian military, though, which is something he would have noted I think.)
Also awesome to have a date for this!
the Saxon King was NOT in fact assassinated in Warschau. :P To be fair, both of them say that nobody really knows and confirmation is missing.
Hee! I know I saw ambassador reports (in Volz's Spiegel, I think) speculating on Fritz withdrawing with his ministers after the Emperor's death, and secondary sources I've read have said that Berlin was like a beehive buzzing with rumors. This is the context in which Fritz is supposed to have had this exchange with someone who wanted to know what was going to happen:
Fritz: "Can you keep a secret?"
Other person: "Oh, yes, Your Majesty!"
Fritz: "Well, so can I!"
:DD
(I think that turned out to be from one of the unsourced anecdote collections written in 1786-1790, though? I remember being disappointed that it may not have been authentic, because it's one of my favorites.)
This is all wonderful information, thank you! I need to get my German better so I can read all these sources you keep turning up and make my own contributions!
Also, salon people, do keep asking me how the Peter Keith essay is coming along! (Ditto the Fredersdorf-Pfeiffer one.) It really helps!
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Re: News from 1740
Date: 2021-11-20 02:22 pm (UTC)The essay is coming along bit by bit. I'm nearly done with the first draft (just getting the facts down), and then I have to revise. But now I have some new facts to get down! So the first draft isn't quite as close to being done as it was 5 minutes ago. ;)
[The big hold-up has been having to work at 4:30 am for my day job for a couple weeks, which has wrecked my sleep schedule like you would not believe.]
("Incidentally, on the 12th, Lieutnant von Keit, who moved from Wesel to Engelland a few years ago, came back from Engelland, which HM, because he was not called, is said to have received ungraciously.")
This is awesome because I have been precisely looking for this date! All I had was a month. If contemporaries have heard of his return by the 14th, then we can assume that at least he returned in the first half of the month, not the latter half.
there's at least a chance that Fritz and Peter did indeed meet on the 15th/16th (i.e. the earliest date possible). Fritz then leaves for Rheinsberg on the 19th, still suffering from fever.
Indeed, and what's interesting to me is that there are already rumors of him not being in royal favor (which would continue to be a topic of discussion until at least 1753). Even if the reason is wrong, it does lead me to believe that either Peter, the people around him, or both were expecting a much warmer welcome than he got. It's possible they did have an in-person and/or written conflict immediately upon Peter's arrival.
:(
Last Peter reference is on October 28: "Herr v. Kait sei Stallmeister geworden." (Which is the kind of career news Schultzer reports all the time. No mention of a commission in the Prussian military, though, which is something he would have noted I think.)
Also awesome to have a date for this!
the Saxon King was NOT in fact assassinated in Warschau. :P To be fair, both of them say that nobody really knows and confirmation is missing.
Hee! I know I saw ambassador reports (in Volz's Spiegel, I think) speculating on Fritz withdrawing with his ministers after the Emperor's death, and secondary sources I've read have said that Berlin was like a beehive buzzing with rumors. This is the context in which Fritz is supposed to have had this exchange with someone who wanted to know what was going to happen:
Fritz: "Can you keep a secret?"
Other person: "Oh, yes, Your Majesty!"
Fritz: "Well, so can I!"
:DD
(I think that turned out to be from one of the unsourced anecdote collections written in 1786-1790, though? I remember being disappointed that it may not have been authentic, because it's one of my favorites.)
This is all wonderful information, thank you! I need to get my German better so I can read all these sources you keep turning up and make my own contributions!
Also, salon people, do keep asking me how the Peter Keith essay is coming along! (Ditto the Fredersdorf-Pfeiffer one.) It really helps!