cahn | Historical Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 44

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Not only are these posts still going, there is now (more) original research going on in them deciphering and translating letters in archives that apparently no one has bothered to look at before?? (Which has now conclusively exonerated Fritz's valet/chamberlain Fredersdorf from the charge that he was dismissed because of financial irregularities and died shortly thereafter "ashamed of his lost honor," as Wikipedia would have it. I'M JUST SAYING.)

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From:

mildred_of_midgard

Huh, that's weird, because it's not just one letter from 1722-1726, it's 5 of them.

But nothing from 1728--but the catalogue isn't comprehensive, as we found with the Gröben letters that weren't in the catalogue.

Anyway, maybe the 1722-1726 letters turned up after Preuss's time?

But speaking of weird dates, 1754 or 1755 Fritz/Peter, amirite? Fritz must have been *lonely*. Btw, I know I keep saying 1753-1755, but if Wilhelmine was there in October 1753 and he kept going back and forth between Berlin and Potsdam, my tentative dating is narrowed to 1754 or 1755.

Oh, interesting, he writes to Wilhelmine in October 1, 1755, "I am now going to lead a solitary life until Christmas, when, in spite of myself, I have to stay in Berlin." Which we know from Rödenbeck he did, but he seems already sure he's not coming back until mid-December at that point, whereas with Peter he's not sure yet. Of course, things might have come up in October or early November making Fritz wonder if he would have to return sooner than he wanted.

I'm still voting for autumn 1754, though, just because Wilhelmine is in Italy and he's worried she's not coming back. And he's probably still more raw from 1753 (Voltaire, Fredersdorf's marriage, Algarotti's Frexit)...and he probably hasn't even met Glasow yet! :P

Edited Date: 2023-06-23 09:12 pm (UTC)

From:

selenak

While we're speculating: maybe an encounter with the well travelled Peter that's less formal than their previouis ones as monarch and subject and allows for some confidential conversation inspires Fritz at this point to FINALLY make a successful trip abroad to the Netherlands? (Which will be with Glasow, in 1755.) I mean, that's as close to holidaying as he ever got as a King, and he did it anonymously, no less, and in the country where he and Peter and Katte had been planning to meet up.