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: 2025-01-06 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