seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from Indonesia
seen from Indonesia
seen from Germany
seen from Indonesia
seen from Indonesia
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from China
seen from Russia
seen from Russia
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from Senegal
seen from Germany
Okay, guessing game! Why did I sort them this way, what do they each have in common? :D
Bardili: First Travelogue XVII
1703. Febr. In Abwesenheit Ihro Königl. Maj. welche sich damahlen zu Oranienburg befanden, bekamen und machten die Printzen Visiten von und bey dasigen Ministers und fremder Herrschafften Gesandten. Nach deren Retour aber machten Sie Cour bey Hof, und wurden so wohl von Ihro Königl. Maj. als Ihro Hoheit dem Cron-Printzen gar wohl aufgenommen. Nach diesem giengen Sie auf Lützenburg, und besuchten die Fürstin von Hohenzollern. Nachdem man nun die Gemüther dieses Hofes nach Nothdurfft geprüffet, befanden die Printzen nicht für gut, länger da zu verblieben, sondern machten sich fertig zur Abreyse, um das jenige, warum sie von Hause ausgereyset, auszuführen, nemlich der ältere Printz nacher Holland, um sein dasiges Regiment, so im Holländischen Sold stund, anzutretten, der andere aber nacher Pohlen, um unter Ihrer Königl. Maj. von Schweden glücklich- und großmächtiger Anführung sich in den Waffen zu üben, mithin durch einen so raren Helden zu einem hohen General zu qualificiren, zu welchem Ende sich beyde Herren Brüder trenneten, und ein Jeder unter weniger Begleitung ihre Reyse fortsetzte.
1703. Febr.
In the absence of His Royal Majesty who was at the time staying in Oranienburg, the Princes made and received visits with and from the ministers there and foreign principalities' ambassadors. After his return they paid their respects at Court and were quite well recevied by His Royal Majesty as well as His Highness the Crown Prince. After this they went to Lützenburg, and visited the Princess of Hohenzollern. After one had now examined the minds of this Court as necessary, one didn’t think it good to stay there any longer, but prepared for departure, to execute what they had left home for, namely the older Prince towards Holland to report for his regiment there, as it was in Dutch pay, the other one however towards Poland to exercise himself under His Royal Majesty of Sweden's fortunate and mighty leadership with the arms, thus qualify himself as a high general through such a rare hero, for this purpose the two brothers parted and each one continued their journey with fewer company.
Wir lassen auch diesen in seiner Reyse nach Holland, und folgen in unserer Erzehlung allein dem Mittleren Printzen, als auf welchen unsere Haupt-Absicht gerichtet ist, in der Reyse nacher Pohlen nach.
We will leave this one with his journey to Holland, and follow in our account the Middle Prince alone, as our main intent is focused on him, on his journey to Poland.
first part - previous part - next part foreword first travelogue
Round 1: Wilhelm II vs Friedrich I
Wilhelm II
Friedrich I
Wilhelm II (r. 1888-1918)
The Last Kaiser
Well, as you all know, our esteemed Kaiser has had a few bumps along the road of his reign. Most notable was, of course, the sacking of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, which made waves all across Europe. So far, the Iron Chancellor's successors have possessed none of the realpolitik skills needed to govern the country and this "dropping of the pilot" will surely be seen as one of Wilhelm II's greatest failures.
His Majesty has greatly expanded our navy, including the Nassau class of battleship, our response to the British Dreadnought. While some have railed against this expensive arms race with the British, His Majesty assures us that Germany must establish itself on the seas to be taken seriously. One cannot help but wonder if His Majesty's increasingly frantic search for "a place in the sun" has any connection to his upbringing.
His abrasive personality has led to Germany's isolation from former allies Russia and Britain, which places Germany in a precarious geopolitical situation should war in Europe break out. (Note: Don't be ridiculous -T)
Friedrich I (r. 1688-1714)
First King in Prussia
Persuaded the Pope to elevate the duchy of Brandenburg-Prussia to a kingdom, creating the Kingdom of Prussia. Were it not for him, our great state would have never existed. Unfortunately he was unable to claim the title "King of Prussia" due to some ridiculous dispute with the Poles.
A patron of education, he created the Prussian Academy of Arts and the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences. The later was shut down under his son due to monetary constraints, but was later reopened and reorganized until Friedrich der Große.
Although he was militarily opposed to the French, he did incorporate a lot of French culture into his court in an imitation of Louis XIV.
Interview with a Ghost, or: Royal Ghost Hunters
Left to right: ghost hunters Karl Ludwig I. Elector Palatine (1617–1680), his daughter Liselotte von der Pfalz, Duchess of Orleáns (1652–1722), and Friedrich Wilhelm I., King in Prussia (1688–1740).
Since it’s Halloween, I thought I should make a themed post! And what better topic to choose than ghosts? But more often than not, these restless souls wandering between the worlds, preferably at night, are of an entirely earthly origin— especially when bedsheets are involved.
Haunted more by a family history of trouble and turmoil than actual ghosts, let’s look at three Stuart descendants and their brush with the allegedly supernatural:
Karl Ludwig, Elector Palatine and the Ghost of Chain Alley
This first story of a successful ghost hunt concerns Karl Ludwig, Elector Palatine, and was passed from Liselotte von der Pfalz to her much younger half-sister Luise on 22 February 1721.
Zu Heidelberg, ehe Ihr geboren, wurd ein groß Geschrei von einem Gespenst, so alle Nacht mit feurigen Augen und großem Geplärr durch die Kettengaß ging. Ihro Gnaden, der Kurfürst, unser Herr Vater, ließ dem Gespenst aufpassen und fangen; da ertappte man drei oder vier Studenten, so Franzosen waren. — Einer, so Beauregard hieß und des Generals Balthasar Schwager war, der war das Kalb, und die andern, ich glaube Monsieur Dangeaus Bruder, Coursillon, so jetzt Abbé ist, halfen zu der Musik. Wenn man die Gespenster genau examiniert, kommt als so was heraus.
From: Künzel, C. [Ed.], Die Briefe der Liselotte. Liselotte von der Pfalz, Herzogin von Orleans, München 1923, p. 442.
Translation:
[…] At Heidelberg, ere you were born, there was great upheaval on account of a ghost, which would go through the Kettengasse [literal translation: Chain Alley] each night with fiery eyes and a great clamour. His Grace the Elector our father had the ghost waylaid and captured; they caught four students, who were Frenchmen. – One of them by the name of Beauregard was the brother-in-law of General Balthasar, was the calf and the others, I believe the brother of Monsieur Dangeau, Coursillon, who is an abbé [abbot] now [among them], helped make the music. If only you examine ghosts closely, that’s what you’ll uncover.
The location of the Kettengasse in Heidelberg, via Google Maps. Conspicuously close to university buildings, it probably was not hard to guess that the ghost was a student hoax.
The Ghost of the Poisoned Princess: Liselotte Investigates
Henrietta Anne (1644–1670), first wife of Philippe, Duke of Orléans in a posthumous portrait by Peter Lely, and rather fittingly dressed in a white gown.
As can be seen from the story relayed to her half-sister, her father's no-nonsensical attitude set the tone for Liselotte’s own approach to ghostly apparitions— some stories, such as the ghost wandering the conspicuously aptly named Kettengasse, just seem too good to be true.
While not directly involved in the ghost hunt itself, Liselotte, a no-nonsensical person who did not believe in organised religion at large and superstition in particular, remained unphased when a ghostly apparition quickly identified as the wronged and restless soul of her husband’s first wife Henrietta Anne of England started to appear on occasion in a specific spot in the gardens of her residence, Saint Cloud palace. Liselotte, while occasionally chiming in on the rumours that Henrietta Anne may have been poisoned by the Chevalier de Lorraine, her husband’s favourite and her personal arch-nemesis, would have nothing of it and even interviewed the ghost in person:
Es gieng vor vielen Jahren ein Geschrey zu St. Cloud, daß feue Madame Geist im Garten bei einem Brunnen gienge, wo sie sich in der größten Hitze aufgehalten, den der Ort ist sehr kühl. Als des Marêchal de Clerembeaut Lakey Abends wie die Sonne untergegangen war, an dem Brunnen gieng Wasser zu schöpfen, sahe er etwas weisses an dem Brunnen sitzen ohne Figur, das stehet gegen ihm auf, und wird noch einmal so groß; der arme Lakey erschrack und lief weg, wie er aber weiter kam, sagte er: er hätte Madame gesehen, wurde tod krank und starb, der aber damals Capitaine du Chateau war, und wohl denken konnte, daß man dahinter stecken müste, gieng etliche Tage nachher auch zu dem Brunnen, und wie er das Gespenst gehen sahe, drohete er dem Gespenst 100 Prügel zu geben, wofern es nicht sagte, wer es wäre. Das Gespenst sagte: ah! Monsieur de Lastera, ne me faites point de mal, je suis la pauvre Philippinette. Diese war ein alt Weib aus dem Dorfe von 77 Jahren, die keinen Zahn mehr im Maule hatte und böse Augen, einen feuerroten Bord darum, ein groß Maul, eine große Nase; Summa se war abscheulich. Man wollte sie in ein Gefängnis führen, ich bat aber für sie. Sie kam mir zu danken; ich sagte: quelle rage Vous tient de faire l’esprit au lieu de Vous aller coucher? Sie fieng an zu lachen und sagte: je ne puis avoir regret à ce que j’ai fait; à mon âge on dort peu. Il faut bien avoir quelque petite chose pour reveiller l’esprit. Tout ce que j’ai fait dans ma jeunesse ne m’a tant rejouï, que de faire l’ésprit. J’étois bien sure, que ceux qui n’auroient pas peur de mon drap bla[n]c, auroient peur de mon visage. Ceux qui avoient peur, faisoient tant de grimaces, que j’en mourrois de rire. Ce Plaisir nocturne me payoit de la peine d’avoir porté la hotte toute la journée. Den 17ten Novembr. 1716.
From: Veltenheim, August F. von [Ed.], Anekdoten vom Französischen Hofe vorzüglich aus den Zeiten Ludewigs des XIV. und des Duc Regent: aus Briefen der Madame d'Orleans Charlotte Elisabeth, Herzog Philipp I. von Orleans Witwe Welchen noch ein Versuch über die Masque de Fer beigefügt ist, Strassbourg 1789, p. 291 f.
Translation:
Many years ago at St. Cloud, there was a rumour that the ghost of the late Madame [Henrietta Maria of England, first wife of Philippe d’Orléans] was pacing beside a well where she had dwelt in the greatest heat, because this place is exceedingly cool. When a lackey of the Marshal de Clerembeaut went to the well one evening to draw water, he saw something white and shapeless sit beside the well, which, facing him, rose and doubled in size; the poor lackey was startled and ran away, and as he got away, said that he had seen Madame, [then] fell fatally ill and died. But the person who was Capitaine du chateau [steward of the palace] at the time, having decided that one should ascertain what was behind all this, afterwards went to the well for several days as well, and upon seeing the ghost, threatened them with 100 lashes if they would not tell him who they were. The ghost said: “Ah! Monsieur de Lastera, do me no harm, I am the poor Philippinette.” She was an old woman from the village who was 77 years old and had not a tooth left in her mouth and bloodshot eyes with red circles around them with a big mouth and a big nose and was therefore, all things considered, hideous. They wanted to take her to prison, but I interceded on her behalf. She came to thank me; I said: “What came over you to try and be funny instead of going to sleep?” She started to laugh and said: “I cannot regret what I have done; at my age, one sleeps little. One has to have a little something to raise one’s spirits. Everything that I have done in my youth has not delighted me as much as playing the spirit. I was quite certain that those who would not be afraid of my white sheet would be afraid of my face. Those who were afraid made such grimaces that I was dying of laughter. This nocturnal pleasure repaid me for the strain of having carried the hood all day.” 17 November 1716.
It's quite telling that she's punning on the phrase faire de l'ésprit, i.e. trying to be witty or funny (with ésprit also meaning spirit). Clearly, she was more amused than annoyed by Philippinette's prank, which stands in stark contrast to the next ghost hunter:
Friedrich Wilhelm I. in Prussia vs. 3 (!) White Ladies
Skipping a few generations down the family tree to the grandson of Liselotte’s favourite aunt Sophie von Hannover, for Friedrich Wilhelm, father of Frederick the Great, King in Prussia, the ghostly appearance of a woman in white announcing his father’s death in 1713 was less accidental than expected. Since generations, it was rumoured that the apparition of the ghostly figure known as the White Lady announced the death of a member of the Hohenzollern family. To name but some of the most prominent recent deaths in the family, the White Lady was rumoured to have been spotted just before the death of his grandmother Louise Henriette of Orange in 1667, grandfather Elector Friedrich Wilhelm in 1688 and their infant son Wilhelm Heinrich in 1649.
The ghost known as the White Lady was long rumoured to have been the unhappy ghost of a woman called Kunigunde von Orlamünde, a 14th century widowed noblewoman who was said to have fallen in love with a much younger man and member of the Hohenzollern family, Albrecht der Schöne [Albrecht the Beautiful]. Albrecht, or so the story goes, wanted to marry her, but faced fierce opposition from his parents, prompting him to say that four eyes stood in the way of their happiness. Kunigunde, misinterpreting her lover’s words, proceeded to murder her two children from her first marriage, thinking they were the two pairs of eyes Albrecht had alluded to. Having murdered her children, the penitent, lovestruck Kunigunde supposedly attached herself permanently to Albrecht’s family after her death. Research done in the 19th century however reveals that Kunigunde was childless, and that her only relationship with Albrecht was one of business, having bought land from him on which she built Himmelthron abbey, as whose abbess she died in 1382.
Another possible inspiration for the White Lady, particularly when seen in the Stadtschloss in Berlin, was Anna von Sydow, mistress of Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg (1505–1571), who died unhappily after having been incarcerated by her lover’s son and successor, to whom she is said to have appeared in her ghostly form to announce his approaching passing.
Epitaph of Kunigunde von Orlamünde as abbess of Himmelthron and a portrait said to depict Anna von Sydow, two women whose names are tethered to the myth of the White Lady of the Hohenzollern family.
Whether there is one definitive inspiration for the White Lady or not, the apparition visiting Friedrich I. on his deathbed was however of an altogether worldlier nature; this White Lady’s name was Sophie Luise zu Mecklenburg-Schwerin— and Friedrich’s third wife.
Friedrich I., King in Prussia.
For some time prior to Friedrich’s death, Sophie Luise’s mental health had deteriorated to such a degree that the Queen was considered insane by contemporaries. What had initially begun with a journey to finding personal religious fulfilment in Pietism and fights with Friedrich over which (Protestant, naturally) denomination was the ‘right’ one, developed into depression and at last, periods of aberration and complete disconnect from the world around her, prompting Friedrich to seek at least spatial separation from her.
One night in the months leading up to his death, Friedrich awoke in his chamber in the Stadtschloss to find a woman with loose hair dressed in nothing but her white, bloodied nightclothes standing over him, and addressing him with reproaches. The King, naturally frightened and thinking the White Lady herself had come to take him away screamed, alerting his household. The attendants thus alarmed and rushing to the scene quickly identified the intruder as none other but the Queen, who had escaped from her quarters. Wholly unaware of what she had done when asked about the incident later, Sophie Luise had broken a glass door on the way to her husband’s quarters and cut herself on the shards, causing the blood stains on her clothing.
Sophie Luise von Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen in Prussia (1685–1735).
No longer tenable at the Prussian court after this episode, Sophie Luise, presumably by the authority of the Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, was sent back to Mecklenburg to live with her mother mere weeks before her husband died; but Sophie Luise’s departure did not mean that Friedrich Wilhelm had put an end to the White Lady for good.
Reports are somewhat murky, but there appear to have been several other, less tragically accidental and decidedly more mean-spirited White Ladies in 1713 Berlin following the death of Friedrich I., which prompted the newly-minted Friedrich Wilhelm I. to act and, hopefully once and for all, banish the White Lady to the realm of legends.
Two men were put into the stocks and (accounts vary here) possibly whipped, one of them a young kitchen hand and the other a soldier. Either they were two genuine pranksters caught red-handed (or rather, white-gowned) in the streets of Berlin, or Friedrich Wilhelm had the men selected at random to make an example of two people he considered expendable to deter any would-be White Ladies.
Whatever the new King’s motivations, there are no reports of the ‘real’ White Lady having visited Friedrich Wilhelm at his own death in 1740; so it worked— at least for a while. By the end of the century, the White Lady was back with the Hohenzollern family and according to legend, even took it upon herself to chill the bones of Napoleon when he visited Bayreuth Palace, associated with the Hohenzollerns, in 1812.
Reports of the White Lady continue into the 20th century; she was last sighted on 31 January 1945 in Berlin, three days before the Stadtschloss was reduced to rubble under allied bombardments. Perhaps, with the rightfully controversial reconstruction of the Stadtschloss (not to speak of the museum housed within, but I digress) over the last few years, she will return, her old haunting-grounds having been restored?
Photo of the north-eastern front of the Stadtschloss in the 1920s.
Photo of the north-eastern front of the Stadtschloss of September 2022, by Frank Schulenburg.
At present, it does not look like it. When Prinz Ferfried von Hohenzollern died about a month ago, there were no reports of the White Lady having made an appearance. But who knows? Perhaps on a dark autumnal night, as the street lanterns cast a sparse glimmer over the river Spree, and not a light shines from the windows of the new Stadtschloss, you might be (un-)lucky enough to spy her...?
...But always remember that if you do, you're most likely to have encountered a modern-day Philippinette.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
Friedrich I, erster und herrschend König von Middenland und Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart. This artwork was reposted to include both an improved and expanded version of the lore of this specific character and faction in my medieval fantasy setting. Born Friedrich Von Rotbart and nicknamed “Der Eroberer von Middenland” or “Der Alte Kriegsvogel” after his involvement in The Midlands Crusade by his contemporaries, Friedrich I was crowned and anointed as the first “König von Middenland” in the wake of “The Midlands Crusade” as officially declared and prosecuted by his older brother Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart, Bishop-Prince of Elchingen and Archpatriarchal Legate to The Midlands Crusade. Friedrich Von Rotbart was originally a minor aristocrat and the commanding officer of a mercenary company known as “The Band of The Hawk” or “Die Bande Des Falke” from the “Northern” or “Austere” hemisphere of The Empire of Mankind before his involvement in The Midlands at the express invitation of his older brother as Bishop-Prince of Elchingen and The Bishop of Romulus’ official, church sanctioned representative in The Midlands Crusade. The main objective of The Midlands Crusade, as officially declared and prosecuted by Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart, was to retake the lands of The Former Kingdom of The Midlands under The Late House Bartholemew before the extinction of their dynasty and the subsequent collapse of their kingdom over a century ago. Since the extinction of The Late House Bartholemew and the resulting collapse of The Former Kingdom of The Midlands, the hut shamans from the great forest of Erdøk had exploited the social and political turmoil and unrest that resulted from the power vacuum formed by the collapse of The Kingdom of The Midlands to successfully convert the native “Albic” population to the shamanistic beliefs as practiced by the native inhabitants in the great forest of Erdøk east of The Empire of Mankind Proper. The gradual and overwhelmingly popular conversion of The Former Kingdom of The Midlands led to the further collapse of the rule of the great houses of feudal aristocracy, who had squabbled over the disputed succession of The Late House Bartholemew following the extinction of their dynasty, as well as the spiritual authority of The Conservative Church of The New Gods in the region, who, in an equally desperate and futile attempt, strove to maintain any resemblance of law and order in The Midlands following the extinction of House Bartholemew and the brutal infighting between the great houses of feudal aristocracy that resulted in it's wake. The shamanistic beliefs and practices of Erdøk appealed especially to the disenfranchised hearts and minds of the peasants and commoners of The Midlands, who were encouraged by the hut shamans spreading the word of their faith in the region to rise up in open rebellion against the rule of the feudal aristocracy, and to sack and raze all churches and monasteries erected in the name of “false prophets and gods.” The gradual collapse of aristocratic sovereignty and the spiritual authority of The Conservative Church of The New Gods in The Midlands became synonymous with the decline of economic, industrial, and cultural life in the region. With once proud cities lying depopulated and in ruins while vegetation from the reclamation of the forests of Erdøk consumed the remains of once mighty castles, lavish country estates, towering cathedral churches, and venerable, pristine monasteries razed and sacked by the peasant uprisings in the name of Erdøk. The Midlands Crusade as officially declared and prosecuted by Bishop Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart on behalf of Archpatriarch Vexillarius IV had attracted the attention of aristocrats and commoners alike from both the “Austere” and “Frivolous” hemispheres of The Empire of Mankind, who saw the new crusade not only as a chance to redeem their souls in the vindication of holy war, but as an opportunity to carve out lands and estates for themselves and their families in the process. Friedrich Von Rotbart as commanding officer of Die Bande Des Falke would have been content to live off of his employment as a mercenary captain in The Empire of Mankind Proper, were it not for his hereditary ties to The Archpatriarchal Legate of The Midlands Crusade, as well as his brother’s explicit offer to use his political and religious authority as Legate to have his younger brother crowned and anointed king in return for his participation in the crusade. Both Friedrich Von Rotbart and his Band of The Hawk joined The Midlands Crusade as minor belligerents, despite having both fought and served with distinction as a pike-and-shotte infantry regiment in many of the great battles fought against the tree worshipping heathens of Erdøk, thus subsequently winning both the respect and commendation of both their fellow crusaders and the church authorities involved in the crusade. Following the climactic battle of the “Godswoods” that drew The Midlands Crusade to a stunning conclusion in favour of the crusaders, Bishop Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart as Archpatriarchal Legate had consecrated the site of the former Godswoods as the official seat of the basilica of the Archbisphoric of Marienburg, where Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart would reign as first Bishop-Patriarch for the new “Königreich Middenland” and crown and anoint it’s first king with The Archpatriarch’s blessing. As promised by his older brother in return for his express involvement in The Midlands Crusade, Friedrich Von Rotbart was crowned and anointed as “Friedrich I, erster und herrschend König von Middenland” and " Gründungschef von Hohenrotbart” as the founding head of the new kingdom’s first ruling dynasty since the extinction of House Bartholemew well over a century ago. While the church authorities unanimously supported Friedrich I as the first and reigning König von Middenland, thanks in full to the prestige, authority, and influence of his brother as first and reigning Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg, Friedrich I’s coronation as King of Middenland was initially received reluctantly, and with icy anticipation, by the newly established great houses of feudal aristocracy, or “junkers,” in the region, who generally saw his coronation and anointment as King of Middenland as questionable due to his minor aristocratic birth, as well as his professional background as a mercenary captain to pike-and-shotte infantry, as opposed to aristocratic heavy cavalry as the traditionally most prestigious form of military service. He gradually and eventually purchased the loyalty and compliance of the junker aristocracy by awarding them the most arable lands and estates in the kingdom that did not already belong to The Conservative Church of The New Gods in return for their maintenance of secular law and order in the provincial, “royal” law courts as officially established by Friedrich I, as well as their obligatory military service and those of their feudal, private, aristocratic levies in times of war. Under the leadership of his brother, The Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg, The Conservative Church of The New Gods worked with Friedrich I in joint partnership over the rulership and administration of Das Königreich Middenland. Bishops, abbots, and cardinals formed an integral part of the administration and state bureaucracy of the new Königreich Middenland, and facilitated the mass conversion of the native inhabitants of Middenland in return for the right to collect “tithes,” or religious taxes generated in return holding their religious services for the faithful, as well as “benefices,” or rents generated from the income of tenants living on either the rural or urban property of The Conservative Church of The New Gods. Friedrich I’s most enduring policy as the first and reigning König von Middenland is essentially encouraging the mass immigration and resettlement of colonists and settlers from his native “Northern” or “Austere” cultural hemisphere of The Empire of Mankind Proper, as a means of both bolstering his attempts to tame the wild, uncultivated, and savage lands of his new Königreich Middenland into compliance with his sovereign rule using the spiritual, cultural, and moral authority and influence of The Conservative Church of The New Gods, as well as revitalizing the decimated population, economy, and industrial base of The Kingdom of Middenland following the mass genocides that took place during, and in the wake of The Midlands Crusade. Friedrich I as first and reigning König von Middenland has also encouraged the cultural and ethnic assimilation of the native “Albic” population of Middenland by encouraging intermarriage with male colonists and settlers from the northern hemisphere of The Empire of Mankind using dowries officially sponsored by The Conservative Church of The New Gods, as well as encouraging the spread of both the oral and written Northern Imperial language and culture through the religious services and church schools sponsored by the ethnic Northern Imperial clergy as part of his general policy of cementing both his sovereign rule and authority, as well as the spiritual, cultural, and moral authority of The Conservative Church of The New Gods in the region, all the while easing the cultural tensions and differences between the Northern Imperial colonists and settlers with the Albic natives. One “unique,” if not outright “brilliant” military policy pursued under the reign of Friedrich I, and perhaps one born out of his inherent distrust for the new junker aristocracy who were initially reluctant to acknowledge his coronation and anointment as King of Middenland, is the creation of “die schwarzen reiterren” or “the black riders.” Die Schwarzen Reiterren were organized into military units of elite, secular, martial fraternities knowns as “die brüderschaften” or “brotherhoods.” Each “brüderschaft” operated under the direct command and supervision of a “großmeister” or “grandmaster,“ who were personally appointed for life from members of Middenland’s great houses of feudal aristocracy, or “junkers,” to serve the sovereign interests of The Kings of Middenland over the private interests of any feudal, aristocratic lord. “Die Großmeisterren“ or "the grandmasters” could be immediately stripped of their rank and office should they show any signs of insubordination to The Kings of Middenland or their official, state sanctioned representatives, while also being expected to forfeit any previously held landed titles, estates, and incomes upon their official appointment as großmeister. To assure the loyalty and unconditional service of the various brüderschaften of schwarzen reiterren, both the livelihoods and upkeep costs of die schwarzen reiterren were funded directly out of the state treasury generated by both The Kingdom of Middenland’s crownlands and any tariffs imposed on both the king's charter companies and the local trade gilds, as well as income from the tithes generated by the religious services of, and donations to The Conservative Church of The New Gods as part of their joint partnership with The Kings of Middenland in the direct rulership and administration over the kingdom. Both die schwarzen reiterren and their großmeisterren were made visually distinct from the household knights in service to the great houses of junker aristocracy with their iconic, signature, black armour, adorned with skull fetishes and gilded ornamentations to distinguish their rank and seniority within the various units of brüderschaften. It was through the creation of die schwarzen reiterren, that Friedrich I managed to assure the loyalties of the junker nobility by compelling the second sons of junker families into military service as elite, heavily armoured cavalrymen in die brüderschaften of die shwarzen reiterren, while obligating members of the great houses of junker aristocracy into lifetime appointments as großmeisterren of die brüderschaften. Later in his reign, following the passing away of Friedrich Albrecht Von Rotbart as the first Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg, Archpatriarch Vexillarius IV as 299th and reigning Bishop of Romulus and Current Head of The Conservative Church of The New Gods invested in Wolfgang Amadeus Von Holswig-Shlestien, Bishop-Prince of Griffenheim in The Empire of Mankind Proper, as his late brother’s successor as Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg. The Archpatriarch’s candidate for Bishop-Patriarch to Das Königreich von Middenland proved seemingly antithetical to both the secular, royal interests of the Hohenrotbart dynasty in particular and the national, state interests of The Kingdom of Middenland at large, stating that “The Midlands Crusade was waged exclusively in the name of The Canon Pantheon of The New Gods, not in the name of the selfish and conceited interests of prospective monarchs and aristocrats, and it was through their sheer grace that the crusade had concluded in overwhelming triumph for the forces of The Conservative Church.” Triggered by the apparent conflict of interest between The King of Middenland and this new Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg and his followers, Friedrich I as first and reigning König von Middenland and founding head of Hohenrotbart had decreed state legislation to become the first hereditary, dynastic ruler in both the history and the entirety of “The Civilized World” to officially convert to the religious reforms of Karl Von Luxembourg, a doctor of theology based in The University of Wörtzburch, as well as the leading and titular figure behind the general, sweeping, and international reformation of The “Conservative” Church of The New Gods, on behalf of both his household and subjects. It was through this legislative decree of his official conversion to “The Luxembourgian Reforms,” that Friedrich I had assumed supreme authority over matters of religion, and in the process made himself the effective and virtual Head of The Church of The New Gods in Das Königreich Middenland, thus taking full control over the investiture of new bishops and abbots within The Kingdom of Middenland, including investiture over the office of Bishop-Patriarch of Marienburg as originally established by his late older brother during the conclusion of The Midlands Crusade, all the while promoting the growth of mass literacy through the proliferation of The Holy Canons of The New Gods and other religious literature and pamphlets printed in the vernacular, Northern Imperial language using printers, missionaries, and church schools sympathetic to the religious reforms of Karl Von Luxembourg. As part of his general and sweeping policy of his assumption of supreme authority over matters of religion in Middenland, Friedrich I simultaneously decreed state legislation as the first and reigning König von Middenland and founding head of Hohenrotbart, as well as clerical legislation as “The Supreme Head of The Church of The New Gods in Middenland,“ to decriminalize both the possession and the vernacular translation of The Holy Canons of The New Gods, thus officially opening both the reading and the strict interpretation of the holy scriptures of The New Gods to all social classes outside the clergy and aristocracy. In terms of his foreign policy as the first and reigning König von Middenland, Friedrich I had successfully forged a matrilineal alliance with The Kingdom of Albion through the marriage of his youngest daughter Prinzessen Chloe Von Rotbart to Robert III, 40th and late King of Albion and former head of House Lyonheart, as part of a defensive pact made with The Kingdom of Albion against whatever pretensions and ambitions Le Royaume d’Aquitaine under the rule of Les Rois de Maison Williamson may possess. Through the dynastic union forged between Prinzessen Chloe Von Rotbart and Robert III, 40th and late King of Albion, Friedrich I would become the maternal grandfather to both Edmund IV, 41st and reigning King of Albion and current head of House Lyonheart and Princess Kaitlin Lyonheart, Duchess of Kingswood. With his eldest daughter reigning as Queen Mother of Albion. In terms of it's historical and cultural inspiration, “Das Königreich Middenland“ in my medieval fantasy world is loosely modelled after medieval and early renaissance Prussia under The Monastic State of The Teutonic Knights, as well as The Duchy of Prussia during the 16th and 17th centuries. With Friedrich I’s official conversion to Karl Von Luxembourg’s reforms on behalf of his household and his subjects being highly analogous to the secularization of “The Monastic State of The Teutonic Knights,” or “Deutschordenstaat,” to The Lutheran, East Prussian Duchy during the early 16th century.
Karl Emil von Brandenburg (1655-1674)
Friedrich von Brandenburg (Friedrich III/I) (1657-1713)
The yacht Liburnica, ca.1701 by Anonymous
This is an early-18th-century engraving of the Prussian royal yacht Liburnica. The inscription suggests she may be arriving at Szczecin. Her ornate and beautiful stern decoration is prominently displayed in this starboard quarter view. Flags, carrying the crowned Prussian eagle with the sword and sceptre, stream out from her rigging, a fanfare sounds from her stern and a cannon fires in celebration from the shore. Her decks are thronged with figures in wigs, many of whom are under an awning that stretches from the stern to the main mast. The Latin inscription beneath the engraving reads: ‘Liburnica, 82 feet long, 23 feet wide, armed with 22 bronze cannon, fitted out with nautical equipment of every kind and the most magnificent embellishments, decorated with stern ornaments and other ornaments as well, and rightly magnificent in the name of the First King of Prussia, which Frederick the Most Majestic King of Prussia, founder of his kingdom, ordered to be built to a pattern approved by himself in Belgium, and, the open sea left behind, brought up the Sueven River so that he might use her for proud display and so that he might benefit by the representation and pleasure of maritime navigation among the delights of the Marchian sky.’ The March or Electorate of Brandenburg became the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 when the Elector Frederick III crowned himself King Frederick I, the first King of Prussia referred to in the engraving. The River Oder, also referred to, flows north to the Baltic Sea through what, until 1701, was the March of Brandenburg. Date made 18th century
People of Germany: Frederick Barbarossa (middle), flanked by 2 of his children, King Henry VI (left) and Duke Frederick VI (right). Friedrich I (1122–1190), aka Frederick Barbarossa, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death. He was elected King of Germany in 1152, became King of Italy in 1155, and was crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV. Two years later, the term sacrum ("holy") first appeared in a document in connection with his Empire. He was later crowned King of Burgundy (1178), and named Barbarossa (“red beard”, German: Kaiser Rotbart) by the northern Italian cities which he attempted to rule. Before his imperial election, he was by inheritance Duke of Swabia (1147–1152, as Frederick III). He was the son of Duke Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and Judith, daughter of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, from the rival House of Welf. He therefore descended from the 2 leading families in Germany, making him an acceptable choice for the Empire's prince-electors. Historians consider him among the Holy Roman Empire's greatest emperors as he combined qualities that made him appear almost superhuman to his contemporaries: his longevity, his ambition, his extraordinary skills at organization, his battlefield acumen, and his political perspicuity. Among his contributions to Central European society and culture include the reestablishment of the Corpus Juris Civilis (Roman rule of law), which counterbalanced the papal power that dominated the German states since the conclusion of the Investiture Controversy. He died in 1190 in Asia Minor while leading an army in the Third Crusade. Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
