18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 32

[cahn]

:) Still talking about Charles XII of Sweden / the Great Northern War and the Stuarts and the Jacobites, among other things!

Comments

Re: Real and AU Medici

[mildred_of_midgard]

Well - unless the duchy being at stake motivates him.

True! That is one difference. Heinrich might have sucked it up for the good of the family.

I was wondering, in the event he doesn't, or can't, what he would do about the heir. Gian Gastone let the powers of Europe decide, but Heinrich isn't a pushover.

Ippolito de' Medici definitely got poisoned, and the poisoner (after severe interrogation, which, yes, included torture) said he did it on behalf of Alessandro

Right, yes, that one!

Catherine de' Medici probably didn't do any of the poisonings pop history laid at her feet

Exactly!

This isn't to say that Catherine was above assassinations.

Well, quite. I was amused by Marguerite-Louise being afraid of poisoning, and her daughter-in-law Anna Maria Franziska (Gian Gastone's wife) using poisoning as an excuse not to go to Florence! (At least allegedly, I haven't read her bio yet to see what's actually well attested.)

then there's the case of Bianca Capello and Francesco de' Medici

Did not know about that one, thank you! I need to brush up on my early Medici dukes, I somehow skipped them entirely. (Florence up through the early 16th century many years ago, then Florence starting with Cosimo III more recently.)