Gottorp Fury
The Gottorp Fury (
Many of the stories about their doings were almost certainly exaggerated and are thought to have been spread to discredit the duke. For instance, there is no proof to the story that they chopped the heads off calves, dogs, goats, and sheep, whereafter they were said to have thrown the carcasses through the palace windows. According to this story, the floors in the palace were slippery with blood running down the palace staircases.
Popular discontentment grew with the king's and duke's excesses. One Sunday three pastors in Stockholm churches held sermons with the theme Woe thee, o land, when thy king is a child (Ecclesiastes 10:16). When Frederick returned home in August, Charles ceased his antics and returned to the business of government. He had a relapse when Frederick returned to Stockholm in 1699. During one drunken night a bear was killed when it fell through a window to the palace yard after having been forced to drink wine. Charles was quite drunk, and after this incident vowed never to drink strong alcohol again. He famously kept the vow, with a few exceptions, to the end of his days.
Sources
- ISBN 91-34-50718-3.
References and notes
- ^ Massie writes "six years older", which is an obvious mistake as the duke was born in 1671 and Charles in 1682.