1.) It's in his letters to Fritz' governors, and yes, you say, "obviously, but where exactly" - don't know by heart, but would advise to check out either Eva Ziebura's books or Christian von Krockow, because I seem to recall they both quote from those FW letters as an example of how his paternal mind worked. (No, I can't check myself right now.)
2.) Shaving: If you're FW or most 18th century noblemen, I'd say "shaving" is included in cleaning your face. I mean, I could be wrong, but this was not a beard friendly era, the occasional moustache not withstanding, and FW was a hygiene partisan who hated Fritz looking sloppy. My instinct is to assume that lackey did shave him.
Candle: Lehndorff tells the story when he visits Küstrin, I think, as he's heard it (i.e. as a urban legend by then). However, Fritz when he writes to Wilhelmine when they're discussing ghosts mentions reading late into the night in candle light and hearing something that turned out to be a rat. Also, while Fritz wasn't allowed to read anything he actually enjoyed, he was allowed and encouraged to read the bible. For which you need artificial light, especially in winter time.
3.) Not in trouble exactly (at least not that Roberts mentions), but young future G3, otherwise a good student, did not like learning Latin and said so. (Or rather wrote so in his notebook, I think.) Of course, he's a generation removed, and it might be worth checking whether there's anything from G2's or Fritz of Wales' school days available. Two generations above Fritz, there is Grandpa F1 who was humiliated by his teacher Danckelmann, having to write "Fritz will always remain an ass" in Latin and German as an exercise and/or punishment for not being good enough in Latin, I have the exact quote in my write up on the F1 biographies at Rheinsberg.
It's in his letters to Fritz' governors, and yes, you say, "obviously, but where exactly"
Well, yes. :)
I will check, thank you. Ziebura is not always great about citing sources precisely, though, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I haven't found it in the primary source collections I've been looking through, though I haven't checked them all.
2.) Shaving: If you're FW or most 18th century noblemen, I'd say "shaving" is included in cleaning your face. I mean, I could be wrong, but this was not a beard friendly era, the occasional moustache not withstanding, and FW was a hygiene partisan who hated Fritz looking sloppy. My instinct is to assume that lackey did shave him.
True, but...4 minutes max! FW was also super into religion, but when Fritz wanted to attend communion, FW said no, he had to wait. So I'm not 100% sure.
Candle: Lehndorff tells the story when he visits Küstrin, I think, as he's heard it (i.e. as a urban legend by then). However, Fritz when he writes to Wilhelmine when they're discussing ghosts mentions reading late into the night in candle light and hearing something that turned out to be a rat. Also, while Fritz wasn't allowed to read anything he actually enjoyed, he was allowed and encouraged to read the bible. For which you need artificial light, especially in winter time.
I agree he had artificial light, precisely because of the rats at Küstrin story! My question is: was having a candle at 9 pm actually forbidden? To the point where Captain Graurock would have needed to find a loophole to leave him a lit candle after lights-out time? I'm not seeing an order to that effect, so I'm wondering if that story was urban legend already by 1740, as opposed to König getting a more or less accurate version that goes back to Graurock himself.
Two generations above Fritz, there is Grandpa F1 who was humiliated by his teacher Danckelmann, having to write "Fritz will always remain an ass" in Latin and German as an exercise and/or punishment for not being good enough in Latin, I have the exact quote in my write up on the F1 biographies at Rheinsberg.
Good one, thank you! It's two generations earlier, but the culture is similar enough, and F1 related to Fritz closely enough, that it makes sense to include.
I agree he had artificial light, precisely because of the rats at Küstrin story! My question is: was having a candle at 9 pm actually forbidden? To the point where Captain Graurock would have needed to find a loophole to leave him a lit candle after lights-out time? I'm not seeing an order to that effect, so I'm wondering if that story was urban legend already by 1740, as opposed to König getting a more or less accurate version that goes back to Graurock himself.
I had forgotten this story was in Stratemann already, in October 1730! I kind of wonder if there's something about candles in FW's instructions that I either didn't find, or that Preuss isn't telling us.
2.) Shaving: If you're FW or most 18th century noblemen, I'd say "shaving" is included in cleaning your face. I mean, I could be wrong, but this was not a beard friendly era, the occasional moustache not withstanding, and FW was a hygiene partisan who hated Fritz looking sloppy. My instinct is to assume that lackey did shave him.
I have a possible theory to reconcile your excellent points with the fact that FW only allowed 4 minutes max per day to attend to hygiene matters: we're only talking about 6 weeks, Fritz was only 18, and the age at which men need to shave varies widely. And the internet is telling me that some fair-haired men can get away with not shaving much, if at all, until they're 20.
In other words, Fritz may have been at a stage in his life when he wasn't shaving more than once a month anyway, meaning FW may have not had to account for that when dictating the daily regimen.
And you could see how shaving not being part of the regimen could then evolve into rumors about the prisoner's beard growing wildly (coupled with the trope of the wildly bearded prisoner).
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Citation questions
Date: 2025-02-11 04:40 pm (UTC)2.) Shaving: If you're FW or most 18th century noblemen, I'd say "shaving" is included in cleaning your face. I mean, I could be wrong, but this was not a beard friendly era, the occasional moustache not withstanding, and FW was a hygiene partisan who hated Fritz looking sloppy. My instinct is to assume that lackey did shave him.
Candle: Lehndorff tells the story when he visits Küstrin, I think, as he's heard it (i.e. as a urban legend by then). However, Fritz when he writes to Wilhelmine when they're discussing ghosts mentions reading late into the night in candle light and hearing something that turned out to be a rat. Also, while Fritz wasn't allowed to read anything he actually enjoyed, he was allowed and encouraged to read the bible. For which you need artificial light, especially in winter time.
3.) Not in trouble exactly (at least not that Roberts mentions), but young future G3, otherwise a good student, did not like learning Latin and said so. (Or rather wrote so in his notebook, I think.) Of course, he's a generation removed, and it might be worth checking whether there's anything from G2's or Fritz of Wales' school days available.
Two generations above Fritz, there is Grandpa F1 who was humiliated by his teacher Danckelmann, having to write "Fritz will always remain an ass" in Latin and German as an exercise and/or punishment for not being good enough in Latin, I have the exact quote in my write up on the F1 biographies at Rheinsberg.
Re: Citation questions
Date: 2025-02-11 04:51 pm (UTC)Well, yes. :)
I will check, thank you. Ziebura is not always great about citing sources precisely, though, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I haven't found it in the primary source collections I've been looking through, though I haven't checked them all.
2.) Shaving: If you're FW or most 18th century noblemen, I'd say "shaving" is included in cleaning your face. I mean, I could be wrong, but this was not a beard friendly era, the occasional moustache not withstanding, and FW was a hygiene partisan who hated Fritz looking sloppy. My instinct is to assume that lackey did shave him.
True, but...4 minutes max! FW was also super into religion, but when Fritz wanted to attend communion, FW said no, he had to wait. So I'm not 100% sure.
Candle: Lehndorff tells the story when he visits Küstrin, I think, as he's heard it (i.e. as a urban legend by then). However, Fritz when he writes to Wilhelmine when they're discussing ghosts mentions reading late into the night in candle light and hearing something that turned out to be a rat. Also, while Fritz wasn't allowed to read anything he actually enjoyed, he was allowed and encouraged to read the bible. For which you need artificial light, especially in winter time.
I agree he had artificial light, precisely because of the rats at Küstrin story! My question is: was having a candle at 9 pm actually forbidden? To the point where Captain Graurock would have needed to find a loophole to leave him a lit candle after lights-out time? I'm not seeing an order to that effect, so I'm wondering if that story was urban legend already by 1740, as opposed to König getting a more or less accurate version that goes back to Graurock himself.
Two generations above Fritz, there is Grandpa F1 who was humiliated by his teacher Danckelmann, having to write "Fritz will always remain an ass" in Latin and German as an exercise and/or punishment for not being good enough in Latin, I have the exact quote in my write up on the F1 biographies at Rheinsberg.
Good one, thank you! It's two generations earlier, but the culture is similar enough, and F1 related to Fritz closely enough, that it makes sense to include.
Re: Citation questions
Date: 2025-02-16 10:46 pm (UTC)I had forgotten this story was in Stratemann already, in October 1730! I kind of wonder if there's something about candles in FW's instructions that I either didn't find, or that Preuss isn't telling us.
Re: Citation questions
Date: 2025-03-27 11:59 am (UTC)I have a possible theory to reconcile your excellent points with the fact that FW only allowed 4 minutes max per day to attend to hygiene matters: we're only talking about 6 weeks, Fritz was only 18, and the age at which men need to shave varies widely. And the internet is telling me that some fair-haired men can get away with not shaving much, if at all, until they're 20.
In other words, Fritz may have been at a stage in his life when he wasn't shaving more than once a month anyway, meaning FW may have not had to account for that when dictating the daily regimen.
And you could see how shaving not being part of the regimen could then evolve into rumors about the prisoner's beard growing wildly (coupled with the trope of the wildly bearded prisoner).