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95 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
95 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
Title: Lohengrin
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Date: 2021-07-29
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Tags: Opera, Franks, Magyars, Mongols
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Category: Opera
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Have you heard of [Lohengrin](https://open.spotify.com/album/3NtcDdgDLlnptu72CWBxWM){target="_blank"}?
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It is a German Opera written and composed by
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[Richard Wagner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner){target="_blank"}
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in 1850. I happen to think that German Opera is more
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entertaining than Italian Opera, but enough about me.
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### King Ludwig II
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Which brings me to
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[King Ludwig II of Bavaria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_II_of_Bavaria){target="_blank"}.
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If I understand correctly,
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King Ludwig was very fond of Lohengrin, and built
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[Neuschwanstein Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle){target="_blank"}
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as a private world for himself where he could live alone in a fantasy
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inspired by the
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*[Knight of the Swan Legend](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_of_the_Swan){target="_blank"}*,
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on which Lohengrin is based.
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But don't judge King Ludwig II too harshly: he was after all a cigar connoisseur,
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drove a smoking-hot golden carriage, and Neuschwanstein Castle is
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an excellent place to take selfies. You really should visit the
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[Marstallmuseum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marstallmuseum){target="_blank"}
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at [Nymphenburg Palace in Munich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphenburg_Palace){target="_blank"} and see the
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[golden carriage](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Dress_Coach_of_King_Ludwig_II.jpg){target="_blank"}.
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Needless to say, Lohengrin is quite different from the
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[Strauss Operas](https://open.spotify.com/album/2g12QZ0wXFoyOyDo8nUUsM){target="_blank"}
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that your great-great-great Grandmother used to listen to on
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her smartphone in the bathtub.
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### Lohengrin
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So what happens in Lohengrin?
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[King Henry the Fowler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_the_Fowler){target="_blank"}
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fights the [Magyars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarians){target="_blank"}.
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This means we have to talk about the Magyars, King Henry's Son
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[King Otto I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor){target="_blank"},
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the [Battle of Augsburg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lechfeld){target="_blank"}
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which is sometimes called the Battle of Lechfeld,
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and the [Mongols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongols){target="_blank"}!
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### Magyars
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Ok, the Magyars are descended from a nomadic-steppe-people who settled on
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the [Hungarian Plain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hungarian_Plain){target="_blank"},
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which is sometimes called the Carpathian Plain.
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Unfortunately for them, the Hungarian Plain was not quite vast
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enough to support a prosperous nomadic lifestyle. And so for some hundreds
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of years, the Magyars raided and pillaged all over Europe. It should be noted that
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Hungary considers 1896 to be the 1000th anniversary of the Magyars entering the Carpathian Plain,
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and in that year many memorials, monuments, and museums were
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[built in Budapest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Budapest#19th_century){target="_blank"}.
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As stated above, the Magyars came into conflict with King Henry the Fowler
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who was the King of
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[East Frankia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Francia){target="_blank"}.
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East Frankia evolved from the Eastern Parts of the
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[Carolingian Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_Empire)
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that was originally put together by
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[Charlemagne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne){target="_blank"}.
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Indeed, there is today a region of Bavaria called
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[Franconia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franconia){target="_blank"}, which has
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[excellent regional passenger trains](https://www.vgn.de/en/tickets/all-day-ticket-plus/){target="_blank"}
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connecting innumerable picturesque little cities and towns
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which are perfect for taking [selfies](https://photos.app.goo.gl/odqMdaJvpB528WaQ8){target="_blank"}
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and [drinking the local bier](https://photos.app.goo.gl/vLCGa7c8xAqEJ15D8){target="_blank"}.
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But I digress.
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### Battle of Lechfeld
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The Magyars were finally defeated by King Henry the Fowler's son King Otto I
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near Augsburg in 955, [Augsburg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg){target="_blank"}
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being an ancient city in Bavaria that goes all
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the way back to the Roman Empire.
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King Otto I of East Frankia was the greatest King since Charlemagne, and the
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Battle of Lechfeld was equal in importance to the
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[Battle of Hastings in 1066](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings){target="_blank"},
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in the context of European History, but deeper analysis of that is above my
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pay grade. (This is a free blog post)
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### Recommended
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Anyway, the Magyars gave up their raiding, became Christianized, and adopted
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a more agrarian lifestyle on the Hungarian Plain where they founded the Nation
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of Hungary around the year 1000. In the 13th Century, the Mongols invaded Hungary,
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[but were never able to advance beyond Hungary into Western Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Mongol_invasion_of_Hungary){target="_blank"}.
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For more riveting entertainment about the Mongols, I recommend Dan Carlin's Hardcore
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History Podcast, in particular the subseries *Wrath of The Khans*.
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Thanks for reading, I'm fresh out of cigars.
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