Liselotte (another not enthusiastic Protestant-to-Catholic convert) about attending mass at Versailles: It may be a great honour to sit next to the King in church, but I would gladly relinquish it because His Majesty won't let me sleep. AS soon as I doze off, he nudges me with his elbow and wakes me up again, so that I am neither wholly asleep nor wholly awake. It gives me a headache.
Liselotte about August having become King of Poland: That the Elector of Saxony could not be satisfied with being an Elector only goes to show what I have long observed, that no one can be really happy in this world and everyone foolishily sets about throwing away his happiness, for this Elector would have been a thousand times happier if he had gone on enjoying a quiet and peaceful life as Elector of Saxony instead of becoming King of such a factious and volatile nataion, o fwhich he will never be the absolute Lord and Master but will only ever be king in name only and not in reality
(indeed.)
Charles: There is no doubt that his decision to depose Augustus is the great lunacy of Charles XII's life, corresponding to Napoleon's Spanish hallucination. It condemned him to a Sisyphean struggle whose scope he could hardly have imagined. When the news finally filtered back to Russia, Peter was understandably delighted. His hands were now free, at least for a slong as Charles was stuck in the Polish morass. Had he the gift of prophecy he might wel have anticipated the words recorded by Winston Churchill when he learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour: 'I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved.'
Charles has Patkul the Livonian executed so gruesomely even the executor (who never had to perform a wheel and quarter type of execution before) can't stand it:
(...)Patkul was tied to the wheel. The executioner then began his gruesome task, using a sledgehammer. AS it fell for the first time, Patkul screamed 'Jesus! Jesus! Have mercy on me!" Every bone in his body was then broken, including his spine. Hagen recorded that the clumsiness of the inexperienced executioner meant that the agony was prolonged. It only ended when Patkul pleaded 'Cut my head off! Cut my head off! (Kopf ab! Kopf ab!) Perhaps sickened by what he was having to do, the executioner deviated from Charles' script and boliged, although it took four attempts before the head was severed. A frustrated Charles promptly cashiered him. (...) It is some measure of Ragnild Hatton's determination always to present her hero in the best possible light that her only reference comes in a terse footnote: 'Patkul was executed in September 1707. That is not the way to present what became one of the most notorious quasi-judical atrocities of the eighteeenth century, rivalled only by the equally ghastly end of Louis XV's would be assassin Damiens in 1757. Voltaire's verdict on Patkul's demise was 'there is no civilian in all Eurpoe, nay even the vilest slave ,but must feel the whole horror of this barbarous injustice.'
Charles loses the Swedish Empire partly by not realising he should have paid attention to the navy:
Many were the causes of his daownful, but top of the list must stand his obtuse failure to recognize the importance of the navy. His thalassophobia would have been less damaging if it had not been countered by the equally passionate thalassohilia of his great enemy, Tsar Peter.
(I never heard the term "thalassophilia" before, but yeah, Peter sure did love the sea. And sea trade. And having an open harbor.)
The commercial hotspot of Poland wasn't Warsaw but the free city of Danzig (Gdansk):
The latter was by far the most important, indeed it was the most populous and prosperous city of the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. That its budget was twenty times that of the Polish state in the first half of the seventeenth century testifies both to its own strength and the weakness of its host. Its population of around 40,000 was almost double that of Warsaw. But Danzig was Polish only in a limited sense, for its inhabitants were predominantly German by language and Lutheran by religion.
Augustus and Poland aren't even consulted when Peter makes finally officially peace with Sweden when the Great Northern War ends:
After this fiasco, Augustus II and the Poles went their separate ways, he promoting the interests of the House of Wettin, the szlachta, lulled by a false sense of security, eating, drinking, makijng merry and cultivating their garden of anarchy, ignorance and religious intolerance. (...) Poland was turning into a wayside inn open for unwanted and non-paying guests.
Lastly: the battles are described in detail, but this, Mildred, you'll have to look up on your own.
AS soon as I doze off, he nudges me with his elbow and wakes me up again, so that I am neither wholly asleep nor wholly awake.
Aww, that's my girl Liselotte!
only goes to show what I have long observed, that no one can be really happy in this world and everyone foolishily sets about throwing away his happiness
Heh. Liselotte is so wise.
There is no doubt that his decision to depose Augustus is the great lunacy of Charles XII's life, corresponding to Napoleon's Spanish hallucination. It condemned him to a Sisyphean struggle whose scope he could hardly have imagined. When the news finally filtered back to Russia, Peter was understandably delighted.
Hee, this is a fun passage.
one of the most notorious quasi-judical atrocities of the eighteeenth century
Liselotte (another not enthusiastic Protestant-to-Catholic convert) about attending mass at Versailles: It may be a great honour to sit next to the King in church, but I would gladly relinquish it because His Majesty won't let me sleep. AS soon as I doze off, he nudges me with his elbow and wakes me up again, so that I am neither wholly asleep nor wholly awake. It gives me a headache.
Lol, Liselotte!
It is some measure of Ragnild Hatton's determination always to present her hero in the best possible light that her only reference comes in a terse footnote: 'Patkul was executed in September 1707
Oh, yeah, having read Hatton, I can confirm that she is a fangirl. Most biographers are, you know. I find balanced, warts-and-all treatments rare.
That is not the way to present what became one of the most notorious quasi-judical atrocities of the eighteeenth century, rivalled only by the equally ghastly end of Louis XV's would be assassin Damiens in 1757. Voltaire's verdict on Patkul's demise was 'there is no civilian in all Eurpoe, nay even the vilest slave ,but must feel the whole horror of this barbarous injustice.'
And let us not forget that Patkul's execution inspired young Manteuffel to write a "Down with absolute monarchy!" diatribe.
(I never heard the term "thalassophilia" before, but yeah, Peter sure did love the sea. And sea trade. And having an open harbor.)
He did. I think if he hadn't been a monarch, he would have joined the navy.
The commercial hotspot of Poland wasn't Warsaw but the free city of Danzig (Gdansk):
The latter was by far the most important
Indeed, and remember that during the first Polish partition, Fritz fights hard to get it, but fails, mostly because the other powers of Europe don't want Prussia getting that much of an advantage. But when Lehndorff visits it, he's miffed that the inhabitants of Danzig don't want to be Prussian. (Prussia will later acquire it in the second partition, 1793, after Fritz is dead.)
Lastly: the battles are described in detail, but this, Mildred, you'll have to look up on your own.
And I shall! In the meantime, heartfelt thanks for satisfying my curiosity in your usual extremely speedy manner. <3
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Tim Blanning: Augustus the Strong: A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco: Quotes
Date: 2025-01-04 03:22 pm (UTC)Liselotte about August having become King of Poland: That the Elector of Saxony could not be satisfied with being an Elector only goes to show what I have long observed, that no one can be really happy in this world and everyone foolishily sets about throwing away his happiness, for this Elector would have been a thousand times happier if he had gone on enjoying a quiet and peaceful life as Elector of Saxony instead of becoming King of such a factious and volatile nataion, o fwhich he will never be the absolute Lord and Master but will only ever be king in name only and not in reality
(indeed.)
Charles: There is no doubt that his decision to depose Augustus is the great lunacy of Charles XII's life, corresponding to Napoleon's Spanish hallucination. It condemned him to a Sisyphean struggle whose scope he could hardly have imagined. When the news finally filtered back to Russia, Peter was understandably delighted. His hands were now free, at least for a slong as Charles was stuck in the Polish morass. Had he the gift of prophecy he might wel have anticipated the words recorded by Winston Churchill when he learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour: 'I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved.'
Charles has Patkul the Livonian executed so gruesomely even the executor (who never had to perform a wheel and quarter type of execution before) can't stand it:
(...)Patkul was tied to the wheel. The executioner then began his gruesome task, using a sledgehammer. AS it fell for the first time, Patkul screamed 'Jesus! Jesus! Have mercy on me!" Every bone in his body was then broken, including his spine. Hagen recorded that the clumsiness of the inexperienced executioner meant that the agony was prolonged. It only ended when Patkul pleaded 'Cut my head off! Cut my head off! (Kopf ab! Kopf ab!) Perhaps sickened by what he was having to do, the executioner deviated from Charles' script and boliged, although it took four attempts before the head was severed. A frustrated Charles promptly cashiered him. (...) It is some measure of Ragnild Hatton's determination always to present her hero in the best possible light that her only reference comes in a terse footnote: 'Patkul was executed in September 1707. That is not the way to present what became one of the most notorious quasi-judical atrocities of the eighteeenth century, rivalled only by the equally ghastly end of Louis XV's would be assassin Damiens in 1757. Voltaire's verdict on Patkul's demise was 'there is no civilian in all Eurpoe, nay even the vilest slave ,but must feel the whole horror of this barbarous injustice.'
Charles loses the Swedish Empire partly by not realising he should have paid attention to the navy:
Many were the causes of his daownful, but top of the list must stand his obtuse failure to recognize the importance of the navy. His thalassophobia would have been less damaging if it had not been countered by the equally passionate thalassohilia of his great enemy, Tsar Peter.
(I never heard the term "thalassophilia" before, but yeah, Peter sure did love the sea. And sea trade. And having an open harbor.)
The commercial hotspot of Poland wasn't Warsaw but the free city of Danzig (Gdansk):
The latter was by far the most important, indeed it was the most populous and prosperous city of the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. That its budget was twenty times that of the Polish state in the first half of the seventeenth century testifies both to its own strength and the weakness of its host. Its population of around 40,000 was almost double that of Warsaw. But Danzig was Polish only in a limited sense, for its inhabitants were predominantly German by language and Lutheran by religion.
Augustus and Poland aren't even consulted when Peter makes finally officially peace with Sweden when the Great Northern War ends:
After this fiasco, Augustus II and the Poles went their separate ways, he promoting the interests of the House of Wettin, the szlachta, lulled by a false sense of security, eating, drinking, makijng merry and cultivating their garden of anarchy, ignorance and religious intolerance. (...) Poland was turning into a wayside inn open for unwanted and non-paying guests.
Lastly: the battles are described in detail, but this, Mildred, you'll have to look up on your own.
Re: Tim Blanning: Augustus the Strong: A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco: Quotes
Date: 2025-01-05 06:30 am (UTC)Aww, that's my girl Liselotte!
only goes to show what I have long observed, that no one can be really happy in this world and everyone foolishily sets about throwing away his happiness
Heh. Liselotte is so wise.
There is no doubt that his decision to depose Augustus is the great lunacy of Charles XII's life, corresponding to Napoleon's Spanish hallucination. It condemned him to a Sisyphean struggle whose scope he could hardly have imagined. When the news finally filtered back to Russia, Peter was understandably delighted.
Hee, this is a fun passage.
one of the most notorious quasi-judical atrocities of the eighteeenth century
:(
Re: Tim Blanning: Augustus the Strong: A Study in Artistic Greatness and Political Fiasco: Quotes
Date: 2025-01-06 12:55 pm (UTC)Lol, Liselotte!
It is some measure of Ragnild Hatton's determination always to present her hero in the best possible light that her only reference comes in a terse footnote: 'Patkul was executed in September 1707
Oh, yeah, having read Hatton, I can confirm that she is a fangirl. Most biographers are, you know. I find balanced, warts-and-all treatments rare.
That is not the way to present what became one of the most notorious quasi-judical atrocities of the eighteeenth century, rivalled only by the equally ghastly end of Louis XV's would be assassin Damiens in 1757. Voltaire's verdict on Patkul's demise was 'there is no civilian in all Eurpoe, nay even the vilest slave ,but must feel the whole horror of this barbarous injustice.'
And let us not forget that Patkul's execution inspired young Manteuffel to write a "Down with absolute monarchy!" diatribe.
(I never heard the term "thalassophilia" before, but yeah, Peter sure did love the sea. And sea trade. And having an open harbor.)
He did. I think if he hadn't been a monarch, he would have joined the navy.
The commercial hotspot of Poland wasn't Warsaw but the free city of Danzig (Gdansk):
The latter was by far the most important
Indeed, and remember that during the first Polish partition, Fritz fights hard to get it, but fails, mostly because the other powers of Europe don't want Prussia getting that much of an advantage. But when Lehndorff visits it, he's miffed that the inhabitants of Danzig don't want to be Prussian. (Prussia will later acquire it in the second partition, 1793, after Fritz is dead.)
Lastly: the battles are described in detail, but this, Mildred, you'll have to look up on your own.
And I shall! In the meantime, heartfelt thanks for satisfying my curiosity in your usual extremely speedy manner. <3