What's historically fascinating is of course how completely accepted this "poor Fritz was to be forced to become Catholic and marry MT, and this is why he fled!" story gets by the Brits (I say the Brits, because I really don't think that was the tale in France, and we know it wasn't in Austria)
I thought this was the story in Protestant Germany and Switzerland, but I looked it up, and I was misremembering. It was the predestination I was thinking of:
Frederick began to receive fan-mail. A suspiciously named Sophie Sappho from Rougement in Switzerland wrote to the prince to tell him he was a martyr, 'a young, pious[!], shining hero … all Europe admires you'. The reference to the prince’s piety may have indicated that Sophie Sappho was a Swiss Calvinist. The Calvinists thought Frederick a hero because he would not give up his faith in predestination. Wolden thought the letter came from Prussia, however, and it naturally gave rise to fears that a party was forming behind the prince.
The [!] is [sic]: that's MacDonogh raising both eyebrows. :D
All the exaggarations/inventions about the conditions at Küstrin for either Fritz or Katte or both don't surprise me, though, Guy-Dickens also heard the tale of beardy, chained Fritz, and he was actually in the country.
Agreed!
No, we haven't heard it, because none of the letters between young SD and FW which Felis first brought to us mention anything like it, and in them FW's jealousy is a major topic. Nor do anyone else's letters.
Okay, good. I didn't remember it, and I *thought* it was the kind of thing I'd remember, but I've forgotten things before. Thank you for confirming this was the fake news I thought it was. And yeah, nobody in Britain (or later in France/Prussia; see Thiebault) had the first idea what FW was about.
the Saxon envoy at the time, our old friend Manteuffel, would have written about it to his boss in Dresden. That was just his kind of gossip to report.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: 1730 in British rumors: Egmont
Date: 2024-11-20 11:39 pm (UTC)I thought this was the story in Protestant Germany and Switzerland, but I looked it up, and I was misremembering. It was the predestination I was thinking of:
Frederick began to receive fan-mail. A suspiciously named Sophie Sappho from Rougement in Switzerland wrote to the prince to tell him he was a martyr, 'a young, pious[!], shining hero … all Europe admires you'. The reference to the prince’s piety may have indicated that Sophie Sappho was a Swiss Calvinist. The Calvinists thought Frederick a hero because he would not give up his faith in predestination. Wolden thought the letter came from Prussia, however, and it naturally gave rise to fears that a party was forming behind the prince.
The [!] is [sic]: that's MacDonogh raising both eyebrows. :D
All the exaggarations/inventions about the conditions at Küstrin for either Fritz or Katte or both don't surprise me, though, Guy-Dickens also heard the tale of beardy, chained Fritz, and he was actually in the country.
Agreed!
No, we haven't heard it, because none of the letters between young SD and FW which Felis first brought to us mention anything like it, and in them FW's jealousy is a major topic. Nor do anyone else's letters.
Okay, good. I didn't remember it, and I *thought* it was the kind of thing I'd remember, but I've forgotten things before. Thank you for confirming this was the fake news I thought it was. And yeah, nobody in Britain (or later in France/Prussia; see Thiebault) had the first idea what FW was about.
the Saxon envoy at the time, our old friend Manteuffel, would have written about it to his boss in Dresden. That was just his kind of gossip to report.
Good point!