Historical Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 47

[cahn]

We haven't had a new post since before December 25, so obligatory Yuletide link to this hilarious story of Frederick the Great babysitting his bratty little brother, with bonus Fritz/Fredersdorf!

Comments

Izabela Czartoryska

[aella_irene]

Given the Poniatowsky love-fest going on, I thought I ought to put in a word for Izabela Czartoryska. Following the partition of Poland, Izabela founded the Czartoryski Collection, a set of objects around which a national identity for Poland could be established. It endures today as part of the National Museums of Poland, where the audioguide will tell you that Izabela was a stone cold fox (true) and that Poniatowski betrayed the nation of Poland, and probably kicked every puppy in the country personallu. It also contains various objects brought back from when the Polish broke the siege of Vienna. (One key part of Polish national identity in the nineteenth century was reminding Austria that they did that)

She was the mother of Adam Czartoryski, whose first contribution to Polish independence was attempting to seduce Alexander into liberal ideas, and just plain seducing Alexander's wife, before it turned out that genetics were not on his side, and Alexander's theoretical liberal beliefs did not stand up to actually being Tsar. He later got involved in the 1830 revolution.

Re: Izabela Czartoryska

[selenak]

Figues that PiS would have targetted Poniatowski. Here's hoping the new government lets actual historians work in the museums again.

re: Izabela Czartoryska: she has some short but very intriguing appearances in Horowski's Das Jahrhundert der Könige, so thank you for the additional intel!

Re: Izabela Czartoryska

[aella_irene]

The impression I get from talking to a Polish friend is that Poniatowski the traitor very much predates PiS, and has been the dominant in-Poland narrative since his lifetime. (Not helped by the Czartoryskis, who were sore about him going solo from their alliance that was intended to elect Izabela's husband. They felt, probably wrongly, that Adam Kazimierz could have prevented the partition)

Re: Izabela Czartoryska

[mildred_of_midgard]

Neat, thank you! I have seen her name come up a lot in my reading, but didn't know about the collection.

zabela was a stone cold fox (true) and that Poniatowski betrayed the nation of Poland, and probably kicked every puppy in the country personallu.

Hahaha, poor Poniatowski. (I don't love him, but I feel sorry for him.)

Re: Izabela Czartoryska

[cahn]

Thank you for this! :D

the audioguide will tell you that Izabela was a stone cold fox (true) and that Poniatowski betrayed the nation of Poland, and probably kicked every puppy in the country personallu.

This made me laugh and also check out her portrait! (I know those lie, but still, yeah, at least some evidence for her stone cold fox-ness!) Poor Poniatowski! (Unlike mildred, as you have seen, I am in fact a Poniatowski stan, in addition to feeling sorry for him :) )

Adam Czartoryski, whose first contribution to Polish independence was attempting to seduce Alexander into liberal ideas, and just plain seducing Alexander's wife, before it turned out that genetics were not on his side, and Alexander's theoretical liberal beliefs did not stand up to actually being Tsar.

This also made me laugh; thank you for the educational post!

Re: Izabela Czartoryska

[aella_irene]

The christening of Elizaveta's first daughter can best be described as...awkward, after Paul I loudly said how INTRIGUING it was the baby had such dark eyes, when her parents were so fair.

Re: Izabela Czartoryska

[cahn]

OMG. That's amazing! And, as you say: awkward. (And as always, I am here for the awkward gossipy sensationalism!)

Re: Izabela Czartoryska

[selenak]

Reminder that Paul is one to talk, given his life long obsession to be as much as Peter III as possible because Catherine heavily implied that Paul was not, in fact, Peter's biological son but Saltykov's. And of course Alexander himself according to the German wiki entry on his sister-in-law was rumored to have fathered one of her kids.

...I think the lone happily married Czar and Czarina in several centuries must have been the last ones, Nikolas and Alexandra. Who absolutely sucked as monarchs but were very much in love with each other till the end.