Historical Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 44

[cahn]

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.)

Comments

Re: I FOUND PETER'S MEMOIRS

[mildred_of_midgard]

Would you remember the year you fled the country, running for your life, though? Any other event I would understand, like going to Lisbon, but that one surprises me!

Like if he just thought he'd been stationed in Wesel for 18 months instead of 6, that I would understand. Or maybe even if it was 1729 and he remembered it as 1730, which is a round number. But no, he thinks the great escape was 1729.

This is evidence he doesn't talk about it much with other people, I have to conclude. Which makes sense, he's extremely defensive about it in the memoirs, as you'll see once I'm done transcribing. I already suspected he didn't want to talk about it. But now I have evidence, because anyone he talked to would have said 1730--it wasn't just an event in his private life, it was international news!

Btw, amount of transcription done today: zero. I had plans, but possible middle-aged shippiness takes priority!