18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 34

[cahn]

And including Emperor Joseph II!

from Derek Beales: Joseph II, Volume 2: Against the World, 1780 - 1790:

Joseph's alleged comment to Mozart about the Entführung, "Too many notes", has been taken as evidence of his ignorance. But he probably said something like, "Too beautiful for our ears, and monstrous many notes." It is always necessary to bear in mind, when appraising the emperor's remarks, his peculiar brand of humor or sarcasm. He was usually getting at someone. And he did not use the royal "we". The ears in question were those of the Viennese audience, whom he was mocking for their limited appreciation of Mozart's elaborate music.

(though not gonna lie, I think it is a LOT of notes)

Comments

Re: AITA, Special Stuart Edition

[selenak]

re: James I.'s daughter Elizabeth: see also here. He really did not just refuse to help her and her husband but forbade them to enter the country once they were penniless exiles. Now a case can be made that James did the smart thing by keeping England out of the terrible bloody mess that was the 30 Years War (though when it started, no one expected it to last this long!), but the thing is, he had contributed to the situation arising in the first place. He'd been fine with accepting the German Protestant princes electing him as head of the Protestant defense league, and that he married his daughter - one of the most sought after princesses of the age - not to another monarch or son of a monarch, but to a German noble like Friedrich of the Palatinate, whose one distinction of rank was that he was one of the seven Princes Elector of the HRE and of the Protestant Princes Elector, the leading one, was seen as a clear signal England would support Friedrich and the other German Protestant princes in any impending clash with the Catholic Habsburg Emperors. It was a big reason why the Bohemians voted for Friedrich as their new King - they thought he'd come with the English army as backup.

Re: AITA, Special Stuart Edition

[luzula]

I can see not committing militarily (wasn't he big on not getting involved in wars in general?) but forbidding them to come back when they're penniless exiles, wow. /o\

Thanks for the background info showing that it's always more complicated...