"The 18th Century. The Joys of the Myth." Topic

One of the joys of the 18th century is the Myth. The best way to explain the myth is the old slander against the age (identical to the age of the Condottieri in the Renaissance) that "The generals maneuvered more than they fought." Of course it's a myth and there were as brutal and bloody battles in the 18th century as any. But the slander has itself glorified the myth and to those of us who think that a perfectly admirable way to handle such a nasty business as war, it has endured and thrived. Unlike it's next door neighbor the Napoleonic period, it seems to engender no passionate adulation or excoriation of it's leaders. Besides Frederick or Marlborough, one does not expect too much from the aristocratic leadership of the armies and war can proceed on a more genteel and restrained rate, even though it really didn't. Certainly it was bloody but not to the extent of the Grand Guignol of the 17th century or the murderousness of the 20th. This is because it was only moderately afflicted if at all by the passions of religion on the one hand and nationalism on the other.

Second, in the bein of the Imagi-Nation, one can also subsume much of the actual unpleasantness in the quaint and charming minuets of the age of Lace, and the "politesse" of society.

For the player of an Imaginary country, it's designer and author, one goes from pleasantry to pleasantry as one dreams up in ones mind, new "arabesques" of plot and Romance. The secret is that we really don't care if it's historically accurate, and we don't I think really wish accuracy and historical verity. I think we all wish to be bamboozled.

Nothing is more sublime than thinking up a new scenario for an impossible pecadillio or adventure for Princess Trixie, the Prince of Zweibak, King Faustus the Great or the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Gorgonzola, and how we're going to trap them in it and then get them out of it.

It provides an endless fountain of amusement and pleasure I think does not exist in other genres.

Impoverished Paris Street Merchant- Rats, rats for sale. Get your rats. Good for rat stew, rat soup, rat pies, or the ever-popular ratatouille.

Other Street Merchant- Nothing, I have absolutely nothing for sale!

There are a number of myths, from several different points of view.

Myth #4: Powdeted wigs and beauty spots make you fight better.

Interesting point Otto – easy to paint a picture with a Romanticist brush when dealing with the 18th C. Of course, I don't think my Scots-Irish ancestors were as fond of the time :-)

I too find the "Lace Wars" period to be a great setting for Imaginations. Great setting for a Dumas-like adventure. Not as gritty as the HYW / WOTR setting I use for a Game of Thrones – but then I don't have to kill off all of my main characters, either.

I think your point of being between religion and nationalism holds somewhat true, but certainly it starts to fall apart in my estimation as we look at something like the '45 and the full rise of Prussia in the SYW. Still, not as nasty as the TYW / ECW or the full-blooded, mass army wars starting with the Napoleonic Age.

It was an Age of Reason, when enlightened Princes understood that they did not benefit from conquering a province if they destroyed their prize in the conquest. So war was limited. Armies lived by commanding contributions rather than by widespread pillaging, and mayors collected and presented the contributions so as not to be pillaged. Sieges ended honorably when the defenders recognized defeat, and were not pressed to final storms and massacres and sacks. A soldier in one army was much like a soldier in another army; after you defeated a foe, it was best to spare his life in order to recruit him to your own service.

And there were places where the rules of Reason did not apply. The Scottish Highlands. The Pennsylvania frontier. Haiti. Belgrade.

It's myth. I guess that it was less bad for civilians than the 30 Years War or the Napoleonic period, but it was still bloody. I believe that some of the bloodiest battles in terms of casualty percentages happened during the Seven Years War. There was an article about this quite a few years ago; not sure if it was in the Courier or the Seven Years War Association Journal. I don't have the data close to hand, but I believe that Zorndorf was one of the bloodier battles on record, with the Prussians suffering over 30% casualties and the Russians around 40%. That is an amazingly high figure, compared to Antietam/Sharpsburg, where the Federal forces sustained about 16% losses and the Confederates 27%.

regards,
Hesse-Darmstadt

Zippy – the Highlands of Scotland and the frontier of Pennsylvania – let's just say that represents my dad's family :-)

No comment, though, about lack of reason.

I guess my imagine worlds are rather brutal. Due to anti-Semitism and slavery there is large town across the river from the capital of the Batavia Republic (think monarchy and limited representative government) where large numbers of Jews and runaway slaves live. There is one Jewish andv one black battalion in the Haarlem Regiment, plus a mixed Grenadier battalion.

"its", not "it's"! If you're pretending to any connexion with the 18th century, it's a good idea to have a go at emulating its literacy.

Forsooth and be Damned you impudent Paper Skull, them is not "Myths" you impudent Shabbaroon.