1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Vie Wilson. This episode 4 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: was a suggestion by Greg, who is a listener but 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,119 Speaker 1: also a friend of the show. If you've been to 6 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: any of our live shows and you've seen volunteers from 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: headcount dot org they're registering voters or offering election info, 8 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 1: those volunteers are there thanks in no small part to Greg. 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: He works with headcount dot org UH and helps get 10 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: volunteers assigned to different places. He is also just a 11 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:41,519 Speaker 1: super fun and lovely person and I love to hang 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: out with him when I'm in New York and I 13 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: miss him. So when he sent along this suggestion, I 14 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: immediately wanted to do it, So thank you, Greg. Uh. 15 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:50,880 Speaker 1: This is a topic that I suspect is well known 16 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: in numerous countries in Europe, particularly of course Denmark, where 17 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: most of it takes place. UH. That happens at a 18 00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: time when it was still Denmark, Norway. We're just going 19 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: shortened to Denmark for the sake of of convenience. UM. 20 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: And this one is kind of a wild ride because 21 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 1: it has medicine, a mad royal ambition, and an affair 22 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: with a queen. So heads up that there is also 23 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: some talk of a sexual nature, and we do talk 24 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: about mental illness a good bit. So we are covering 25 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: Denmark's king, Christian the Seventh, who ruled in the eighteenth century, 26 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:27,199 Speaker 1: and the physician who finagled a surprising amount of power 27 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: through his relationship with the king, and that is Johann 28 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: Friedrich Struncy, who basically ruled the country. But to talk 29 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: about struancy, we first have to go back several decades 30 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: to talk about the history of Denmark and give context 31 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: to how a doctor at this period of time could 32 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: gain so much power. In fifteen thirty six Denmark underwent 33 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: a reformation. It made the conversion from Catholic to Protestant, 34 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: and this one's carried out pretty gradually. Under the new 35 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: or going to national structure, services were no longer performed 36 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: in Latin. Instead they were performed in Danish. And in 37 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: moving away from Catholicism and the papacy, the king of 38 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: Denmark was considered to be the protector of the church. 39 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: In this duty, it fell to the king to also 40 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: select seven bishops. Yeah, this was kind of responsible for 41 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: running the country. We've talked a lot about how religious 42 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: organizations and governmental procedure often very linked at this phase 43 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 1: of our history. Yes, sometimes essentially the same thing. Yes, 44 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: So this move away from Catholicism also meant that lands 45 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: and property in Denmark that had been part of the 46 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: Catholic Church's holdings were owned by the crown after the Reformation. 47 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,079 Speaker 1: So this was a very beneficial arrangement for the monarchy 48 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: and the nobles during this time. The crown didn't just 49 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: automatically pass down through family lines the way you might 50 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: think with a monarchy. The king was elected and the 51 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: merchant last gained more power in this setup, particularly at 52 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: the local level. They pretty frequently became part of the 53 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: governance of their local municipalities. But while the nobles and 54 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: the merchants saw significant improvement in their fortunes through all 55 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: of this, the lowest classes in Denmark really saw a 56 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 1: decline in their quality of life. Yeah, we'll talk more 57 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: about that whole uh royalty and how the crown passes 58 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: down in just a sec But initially in this arrangement, 59 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: Denmark as a power was strengthened, but over time, due 60 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: to a series of military conflicts that went poorly. That 61 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: strength ebbed. In fifteen sixty three, King Frederick the Second 62 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: initiated a war with Sweden which lasted seven years, and 63 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: when the dust had settled, the objective had not been achieved. 64 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: Denmark had not taken control of Sweden, and it was 65 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: in serious debt from trying to do so. Frederick the 66 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: second successor was his son, Christian the Fourth, and Christian 67 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: the Fourth made some strides in improving the finances and 68 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: the power base of his kingdom of Denmark and Norway. 69 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: As all of this was happening, the Thirty Years War 70 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: was beginning. We covered this on the episode that we 71 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: did on the Defenistrations of Prague, and as we mentioned 72 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: in that episode, it started out mainly a matter of 73 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:22,679 Speaker 1: religious conflict, but as the war continued on, the bigger 74 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: issue of the conflict became the control of Europe, and 75 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: under Christian the fourth rule, Denmark joined this conflict in 76 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: progress that an effort to claim some of that control. 77 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: This really was catastrophic, though loss after loss led the 78 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: king to ultimately signing a treaty with the Holy Roman 79 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 1: Empire in sixteen fifty seven. Denmark once again was in conflict, 80 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: this time again with Sweden, in a series of attacks 81 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: and treaties that seemed to get just progressively worse for Denmark. 82 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: By sixteen fifty nine, all of the country was occupied 83 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: by Swedish force is with the exception of Copenhagen. That 84 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: city had only been held thanks to the intervention of 85 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: Dutch allies. When Frederick the third, the son of Christian 86 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: the Fourth, signed the Treaty of Copenhagen in sixteen sixty, 87 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,840 Speaker 1: Denmark seeded large chunks of its kingdom. This left the 88 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: country in a really precarious situation, both externally and internally. 89 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: And internally everything changed as a result. So, leading up 90 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: to sixteen sixty, Denmark's crown had been passed down through 91 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: this elective monarchy, and normally the person elected was the 92 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: eldest son of the deceased monarch. But as we said, 93 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 1: it wasn't this automatic thing, and this was sort of 94 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: a way to maintain the balance of power because in 95 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: accepting the duties, the newly elected monarch would sign a 96 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: coronation charter and that included stipulations that outlined the monarch's 97 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,359 Speaker 1: responsibilities and the limitations of their power. Yeah, so instead 98 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: of just like toda, you now run the country. It's like, well, 99 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: you can run the country, but we have to have 100 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: a contract in place first, which I do sort of 101 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 1: like in theory. But in the wake of that series 102 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: of costly wars, the blame fell on the nobility. So 103 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: the short version of what happened next is that King 104 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: Frederick the Third's counselors put forth a proposal that would 105 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: establish a hereditary monarchy and would strip away many of 106 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: the advantages that the nobility had enjoyed up to that point. 107 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: This moved the governing structure away from that idea of 108 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:31,960 Speaker 1: you elect me and we're entering a contract where we 109 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,360 Speaker 1: both have responsibilities, to one where the monarch had absolute power. 110 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: While the monarchy at this point was determined through the bloodline, 111 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: power elsewhere came from wealth rather than lineage. As various 112 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: departments were formed to oversee things like war and the treasury, 113 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: the leaders of those institutions became wealthy landowners, whether they 114 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:58,159 Speaker 1: were part of the nobility or not. Additionally, the crown 115 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: started selling some land to in money to pay off 116 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: all those war debts, and the landowners who had purchased 117 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 1: those parcels gained more power as a consequence, taxes went 118 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: up to further shore up the government finances. In seventeen 119 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: sixty six, the monarch who inherited the throne of Denmark 120 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: was Christian the seventh. His father had been Frederick the Fifth, 121 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: and when he died and Christian became king, the new 122 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 1: ruler was just sixteen. Later that same year, then seventeen 123 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: year old Christian, because he passed a birthday, married Caroline 124 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: Matilda of Great Britain that was his cousin. She was 125 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: just fifteen at the time. She was also incidentally King 126 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: George the third sister. There's been a lot of discussion 127 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 1: of Christian the seventh mental health and the two d 128 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: and fifty years since he ruled. It's been theorized that 129 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 1: he may have had schizophrenia. He had probably been traumatized 130 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: by a tutor in his formative years. That tutor beat him, 131 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: among other things, to the point that he never really 132 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: recovered his mental health afterward. It's also possible that he 133 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: had porphyria that definitely ran on his mother's English side 134 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: of the family. It possibly was present in his father's 135 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: side as well, so there was a lot going on 136 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 1: that would have contributed to his overall physical and mental health. Yes, 137 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: so if you know that King George had some mental 138 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: health issues, those were because he had porphyria um so 139 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: we definitely know it was in the bloodline and Christian 140 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: the seventh. Behavior was marked also by a significant degree 141 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: of debauchery. He was known to drink heavily. He was 142 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: a frequent visitor to Copenhagen's Brothels. His demeanor is consistently 143 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: characterized in the kindest terms as deeply unstable. But the 144 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:50,439 Speaker 1: establishment of an absolute monarchy in Denmark had never provided 145 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: any clauses, and there was no parliament that might have 146 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: offered a way to unseat a mentally ill monarch. Enter 147 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: Johan's Truancy, and we're going to talk ab Struancy's early 148 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: life and how he became part of the king's circle, 149 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: after we first pause for a little sponsor break. Johann 150 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: Friedrich Struancy was born on August fifth, seventeen thirty seven 151 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: in Hala, Prussia now Germany, and he was the third 152 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: of seven siblings. His father was Adam Struancy, a theologian 153 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,679 Speaker 1: and a teacher. His mother, Maria Dorothea Carl, was from 154 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: a well positioned family. Johan's grandfather on his mother's side 155 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: was a physician who had served as King Christian the 156 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: sixth personal doctor, as well as the monarch's son and successor, 157 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: King Frederick the fifth. When Johan was fifteen, he enrolled 158 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: at the University of Halle, where he studied for a 159 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: degree as a doctor. He did that for the next 160 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: five years, graduating in December of seventeen fifty seven. And 161 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:57,199 Speaker 1: the remaining years of the seventeen fifties he was employed 162 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: as the town physician in Altona, Denmark, which is now 163 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: part of Germany. If you're familiar with the timeline of 164 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: smallpox vaccination that we've discussed on the show before, he 165 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: may be thinking that he got his medical credentials during 166 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,559 Speaker 1: a time when very elation was becoming more widely adopted, 167 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: and that's correct. He really championed vary elation when he 168 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 1: was a young physician. He also worked to generally improve 169 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 1: hygienic practices in his community as a means to improve 170 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,840 Speaker 1: the health of everyone, and as a public doctor, Strudency 171 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: was called upon to treat all kinds of ailments, including 172 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: mental illness, and he had some fairly important insights in 173 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,680 Speaker 1: that aspect of his work. For one, He thought that 174 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: mental illness should be studied more thoroughly, specifically to look 175 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: for physical causes. That may not sound pretticarly groundbreaking, but 176 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: this was a time when often if people were deemed 177 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: to be mentally ill, they were kind of just locked away, 178 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 1: Whereas he was like, can we figure out what the 179 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: problem actually is? His thinking as a physician was that 180 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: if you could identify a physical cause, you could potentially 181 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: treated and thus treat the mental illness. He came to 182 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: recognize things like head injuries and ingestion of various substances, 183 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: some of which were used medicinally, were often the cause 184 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: of what had frequently been written off simply as insanity 185 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,320 Speaker 1: at the time. During his time as a doctor, he 186 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: became acquainted with a number of Danish nobles, and it 187 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: was through these connections that he met and became the 188 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: traveling doctor to the king. This was a guardian role 189 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:31,320 Speaker 1: of sorts for Christian the seventh, and he got that 190 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: role in seventeen sixty eight. At this point, the monarch 191 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: was obviously exhibiting instability, and he was supposed to undertake 192 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 1: a tour of several European countries as a matter of diplomacy. 193 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 1: There was also a hope that that change of scenery 194 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:51,480 Speaker 1: might help his mental state. The itinerary included Germany, Holland, 195 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: England and France, and having a physician such as Struancy 196 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:58,760 Speaker 1: on hand who could offer the king care that would 197 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,160 Speaker 1: enable him to make this everyone at least hoped, and 198 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: this offered Struancy a case study in his work in 199 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: some mental illness. Uh. This is also interesting because you'll 200 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 1: sometimes read that like, no one was willing to admit 201 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,360 Speaker 1: that there was something really wrong with the king, and 202 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: Struancy was kind of the first person going, do you 203 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:20,599 Speaker 1: understand there's actually something wrong here? He's not just eccentric. 204 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 1: But throughout their travels, Struancy took care of the King 205 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: and offered him companionship, and over time he became a 206 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: trusted ally, so much so that when Christian the Seventh 207 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: returned to Denmark in early seventeen sixty nine, Struancy returned 208 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: with him and he was appointed the king's personal doctor. 209 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,320 Speaker 1: Struancy was able to manage the king's shifting moods and 210 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: his unpredictability in a way that no one else had 211 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,320 Speaker 1: been able to. So initially, this arrangement was welcomed by 212 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,960 Speaker 1: pretty much everyone who dealt with Christian the Seventh. But 213 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,400 Speaker 1: Struancy took this post for all of the opportunity it offered, 214 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: and then some as you'll hear shortly, but he also 215 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:01,439 Speaker 1: was providing both physical and mental care for Christian the Seventh. 216 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,960 Speaker 1: Struancy noted that the king had delusions, but he also 217 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 1: observed that they weren't fixed. There was a lot of 218 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: variety and shifting among these delusions. The king was often 219 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 1: very agitated. Sometimes he would speak in gibberish or laugh 220 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,960 Speaker 1: at inappropriate times, but the doctor also recognized that trying 221 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 1: to stop Christian the seventh from any of these behaviors 222 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:27,720 Speaker 1: just seemed to intensify them. There were also periods where 223 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: the king was lucid and could recognize and understand the 224 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,319 Speaker 1: nature of the delusions that he had, but he also 225 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:39,840 Speaker 1: never disbelieved those delusions. Eventually, there was, with the agreement 226 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: of the Queen and the king's closest advisers, a seven 227 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: point plan drawn up to try to cure Christian of 228 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 1: his delusions and keep him from various habits that were 229 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:53,200 Speaker 1: deemed inappropriate. This plan included things like making Christian the 230 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:56,839 Speaker 1: Seventh always feel like everyone was dedicated to his happiness, 231 00:13:57,200 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 1: he was a bit paranoid that otherwise was the case, 232 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,600 Speaker 1: and treating him in private settings just like anyone else 233 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 1: rather than the nation's ruler. There was always someone on 234 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: hand to play cards or otherwise entertain the king, and 235 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: he was given written notes on affairs of state, which 236 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:17,319 Speaker 1: he preferred to verbal briefings. And while this system did 237 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: seem to work for a while, eventually it stopped working 238 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: and Christian became angry at everyone involved. However, Struancy's guests 239 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: into what was causing Christian the Seventh's delusions and his 240 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: other issues, I was probably a little shortsighted. He believed 241 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: that the problem stemmed from the king's frequent masturbation, and 242 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 1: his writing about this issue is pretty delicate. He sort 243 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 1: of talks around it. He refers to it with phrases 244 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 1: like a habit one can guess without naming it. Other 245 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:52,000 Speaker 1: accounts from the time helped to form a more certain 246 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: sense of what was going on, with one of the 247 00:14:54,200 --> 00:15:00,160 Speaker 1: court counselors referring to the king's quote debauched solitaire. While 248 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 1: these accounts of the king's behavior often used to paint 249 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 1: the monarch as being really pleasura driven, Struancy just found 250 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: the whole situation to be a lot more complicated. While 251 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: the doctor did try to dissuade his royal patient from 252 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 1: this habit, that, like his other dissuasion attempts, did not 253 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 1: really work, Struancy made the king take cold baths that 254 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 1: didn't really help very much either. Struancy did not believe 255 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: that pleasure actually had anything to do with Christian the 256 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: sevens proclivities, writing quote, this is what ruins and weekends, 257 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,160 Speaker 1: not only his body, but also his mind, which is 258 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:38,320 Speaker 1: being suppressed by it. And as he experiences depression, apprehension, anxieties, 259 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 1: his imagination seeks an external reason and cause him to 260 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: find everything unpleasant, disgusting and intolerable, and thus the source 261 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: of the coolness discussed and even hatred that he's so 262 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 1: easily engenders towards people who approach him most frequently. I 263 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: have never observed an inclination towards or a taste for 264 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 1: sensual pleasures in the King. The habit that causes his 265 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 1: unhappiness does not exert great attraction for him. He indulges 266 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: it out of boredom and with sang foix. According to 267 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: his own assurances, things which usually yield pleasure hardly touch 268 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 1: him and even displease him. So keep in mind with 269 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 1: all this that eighteenth century Europe had some ideas about 270 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 1: sex and masturbation, they were not remotely sex positive. It 271 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: wasn't as though Struancy made this connection between the king's 272 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: behavior and mental illness in a vacuum. Influential medical texts 273 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 1: of the time asserted this connection between mental illness and 274 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: masturbation as well. There's evidence that Struancy and the other 275 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 1: doctors at court were really familiar with those texts. Struency 276 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,800 Speaker 1: was not entirely alone in caring for the king. His colleagues. 277 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: Justus von Berger, who was the court physician, was often 278 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: consulted regarding what the best course of action would be. Yeah, 279 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: Struency had the most immediate you know, has on care 280 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,520 Speaker 1: with the king. But he was talking to other doctors 281 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: about the situation. So, like I said, he's not like 282 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,800 Speaker 1: the only person who went I think this is the problem. Later, 283 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 1: Struancy wrote of the king quote, I became aware of 284 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,680 Speaker 1: much peculiarity in his mind and character, a great guardedness 285 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,919 Speaker 1: and even contempt of all those who are around him, 286 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: and in particular a great deal of dissatisfaction with his situation. 287 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: He harbored exaggerated ideas about various subjects, which he cherished 288 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: to such a degree that he would become angry if 289 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,359 Speaker 1: anyone contradicted him or just expressed some doubt. He hoped 290 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:39,679 Speaker 1: to find the means with which he could indulge in 291 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:44,960 Speaker 1: all kinds of debauchery without regretting any bad consequences. In brief, 292 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,159 Speaker 1: he harbored several other thoughts, no less extravagant, which I 293 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: shall refrain from repeating, in order not to become too diffuse. 294 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,720 Speaker 1: If I took the effort to demonstrate the fallacy and 295 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: even absurdity of all this, his Majesty answered me that 296 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:01,199 Speaker 1: he was rather convinced of the veracity of these ideas, 297 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: but that people hid it from him, and that I 298 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 1: could enlighten him about them if I wished. He felt 299 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:09,199 Speaker 1: that the world was completely different from how it was 300 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 1: presented to him, and that he knew secrets and mysteries 301 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,639 Speaker 1: about which he did not dare talk to me. Being 302 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,439 Speaker 1: the Royal Doctor was only the first office that the 303 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 1: King gave to Struancy. Next he was made reader to 304 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:27,120 Speaker 1: Their Majesty's and then honorary member of the State Council. 305 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: Next he became Maitre de riquets, the Master of Requests, 306 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,359 Speaker 1: that are, Master of petitions. That was just after the 307 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: King had dissolved the Council of State. Then he became 308 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:42,879 Speaker 1: Cabinet Secretary. This is a significant series of titles for 309 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 1: a doctor from another country to have acquired in a 310 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: very short period of time. He was given all of 311 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:54,399 Speaker 1: these titles over about a year. Struency's elevation culminated and 312 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 1: being named Privy Cabinet Minister on July fourteenth, seventeen seventy one. 313 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,480 Speaker 1: But well before that, the doctor had also become romantically 314 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: involved with Queen Caroline Matilda. The two began their relationship 315 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 1: in February seventeen seventy, roughly a year after Struancy arrived 316 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 1: at court. Also in seventeen seventy, he made a bold 317 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,879 Speaker 1: move in a bid for power. Uh he did away, 318 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: as we said, just a moment ago, with the Council 319 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,480 Speaker 1: of State and the Governorship of Norway. These were all 320 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,440 Speaker 1: signed off on by the King. But it was Struancy 321 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:30,439 Speaker 1: pulling the strings. He was systematically removing any obstacles that 322 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:34,320 Speaker 1: would keep him from doing exactly as he pleased. Caroline 323 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: Matilda had already provided an heir to Christian the seventh 324 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 1: that was their son, Frederick, who would eventually become Frederick 325 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: the sixth. But when she gave birth to another child 326 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: in July of seventeen seventy one, that was a daughter 327 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,920 Speaker 1: named Louise Augusta, it was likely and really assumed by 328 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 1: most of the parties that courts, that Johann Struancy was 329 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:59,439 Speaker 1: really the father. On the day of Louise Augusta's baptism, Struancy, 330 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:03,200 Speaker 1: and being the auspices of the king, granted himself another 331 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:07,880 Speaker 1: new title and became Count Construency. He gave the same 332 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:10,840 Speaker 1: tile to his friend at court and the King's companion 333 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: and of old brand. But even before those appointments, he 334 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 1: was making decisions that would normally be the work of 335 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,560 Speaker 1: somebody far far above his station. He was passing laws 336 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:25,639 Speaker 1: for the country in line with his progressive ideals. While 337 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,840 Speaker 1: a lot of these reforms were ultimately good for the country, 338 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,439 Speaker 1: a lot of them were focused on improving the lives 339 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: of the peasantry while taking away things like extravagant allowances 340 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,200 Speaker 1: for nobility. They were of course not welcomed by everyone, 341 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 1: and many government officials felt particularly prickly about the King's 342 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: doctor having managed to wield so much power and in 343 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: a way that pretty negatively impacted their status. We'll talk 344 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 1: about Struency's downfall after we take a quick break for 345 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:56,160 Speaker 1: a word from the sponsors that keep stuff he missed 346 00:20:56,160 --> 00:21:07,399 Speaker 1: in history class going. Andreas Peter Bernstorff, who was a 347 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: state official at the time all of this was going on, 348 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 1: wrote to his uncle about the situation with Christian the 349 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:16,399 Speaker 1: seventh and Struancy. He pondered, what there is to be 350 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: done when quote Huax embassill when one is obliged to 351 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:25,679 Speaker 1: obey a fool king. It was clear that Bernstorff was 352 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: mortified by the power that Struancy had been able to amass, 353 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: and he referred openly to the Doctor as a criminal. 354 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 1: All of that meddling in the government and his relationship 355 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:40,199 Speaker 1: with Queen Caroline Matilda offered Struency's detractors the way to 356 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 1: unseat him. Rumors started to spread that Struancy was not 357 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 1: content with all that he had managed to snatch for himself, 358 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 1: and that he was planning to overthrow the king entirely, 359 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 1: become the king himself and marry the Queen. There had 360 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 1: been another rumor about him even before that, that the 361 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,919 Speaker 1: Doctor was trying to slowly poison the king, claiming that 362 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 1: he was dispensing medicines. As this rumor gained some tractions, 363 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: Struancy's medical supplies were seized and a commission investigated the situation, 364 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 1: but nothing sinister was found. In the last months of 365 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:18,480 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy one and into early seventeen seventy two, Struancy's 366 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: enemies at court really multiplied. On January seventeen, seventeen seventy two, 367 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 1: Christian the seventh stepmother the Queen dowager Julianna Maria, fearful 368 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:33,000 Speaker 1: that the monarchy and the country were in jeopardy, catalyzed 369 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 1: a palace revolution. The night before that there had been 370 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 1: a masked ball, and Julianna Maria, along with accomplices, took 371 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:44,280 Speaker 1: advantage of the exhausted and likely stupefied state of the 372 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:47,399 Speaker 1: king to wake him in the very early morning and 373 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,359 Speaker 1: force him to sign papers that called for the arrest 374 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:55,680 Speaker 1: of both Struancy and Queen Caroline Matilda. Struancy's allies, including 375 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: Intervald Brand, were also arrested. The queen was taken to 376 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 1: crone Or Castle and Helsinger, roughly forty five kilometers away. Incidentally, 377 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,320 Speaker 1: that is indeed the Kronborg Castle that is the setting 378 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:11,119 Speaker 1: of Shakespeare's Hamlet. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 379 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: Two commissions were forms to investigate Struancy's supposed crimes. The 380 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,960 Speaker 1: members of those commissions were definitely biased. They were all 381 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: people who disliked him. They had all been impacted by 382 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:28,879 Speaker 1: his governmental reformations. Their investigations were expedient, and Struancy was 383 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:33,159 Speaker 1: declared guilty of usurpation of the throne and less majest 384 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:36,679 Speaker 1: or offenses against the King. And the trial of Struancy 385 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:41,720 Speaker 1: included the following condemnation in the opening remarks, the King 386 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: has been rendered obnoxious in the eyes of the people, 387 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 1: and the people have been represented to his majesty as 388 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:51,920 Speaker 1: unworthy of their sovereign's affection. No one could approach the King, 389 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: but those who belonged to the junto of those miscreants, who, 390 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 1: under the specious pretense of being the King's friends, were 391 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:04,880 Speaker 1: his greatest enemies. Insolence, audacity, and infamy dared to approach 392 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 1: the throne and stamped the immaculate luster of the royal 393 00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:13,120 Speaker 1: house with indelible reproach. The case against Struancy was largely 394 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: about his being a sneak at an opportunist. The king 395 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,280 Speaker 1: was described in pretty glowing terms, not as somebody who 396 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:22,679 Speaker 1: had any kind of a mental illness, but as somebody 397 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,399 Speaker 1: who had fallen under the bad and weakening influence of 398 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,239 Speaker 1: Struancy and his friends. The affair he was having with 399 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:33,680 Speaker 1: the Queen was not included in any especially direct way, 400 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,640 Speaker 1: but it was definitely mentioned as follows quote. The first 401 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,359 Speaker 1: step he took towards the summit of his ambition is 402 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: an act so daring and dangerous that horror and indignation 403 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: seizes every honest mind at the very idea thereof by 404 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 1: the seduction of innocence, and by resting from his royal master, 405 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:57,439 Speaker 1: the dearest object of his felicity, and while he was 406 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,200 Speaker 1: imprisoned and awaiting his fate, Struancy wrote a detailed description 407 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: of the king's health, which was used by his defense 408 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 1: in their case. You have heard some excerpts from it already, 409 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 1: but he also wrote quote, I have decided to break 410 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,119 Speaker 1: the silence, convinced that people who will become acquainted with 411 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,520 Speaker 1: this memoir will only make proper use of it, resulting 412 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,080 Speaker 1: in true happiness for the king. It is this record 413 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:22,800 Speaker 1: that most of the medical scholars who debate the cause 414 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,439 Speaker 1: of Christian the seventh mental illness used because it is 415 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:30,439 Speaker 1: very detailed. Struancy wrote of Christian the seventh disdain for 416 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: kindness and affection quote. People who were considered with the 417 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,400 Speaker 1: most contempt and who were treated with indignation, according to him, 418 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 1: were the happiest, and impatiently he awaited the moment when 419 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 1: he could inspire emotions capable of attracting such treatment for him. 420 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 1: This is why he always nurtured a very strong inclination 421 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:56,520 Speaker 1: toward indulging all kinds of debauchery and profligacy, roaming the streets, 422 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: smashing windows, taunting and even murdering the wayfares, visiting the 423 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 1: disreputable houses, fighting with the watchman, associating himself with the 424 00:26:07,119 --> 00:26:11,399 Speaker 1: most notoriously wicked, and carrying out everything that not only 425 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: the most perverse person can imagine. Duels, combats, and even 426 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,719 Speaker 1: battles did not appear to him less necessary to obtain 427 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,439 Speaker 1: his goal, And for some time he imagined that he 428 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:26,160 Speaker 1: had engaged in such things at night, and that several 429 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,639 Speaker 1: times he had killed five, six or more people, but 430 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:33,160 Speaker 1: that afterwards he was given opium to lose the memory 431 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,560 Speaker 1: of it, as he did not yet dare to know 432 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:39,879 Speaker 1: about it. So, according to this, Christian even believed that 433 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:43,919 Speaker 1: he behaved morally worse than he actually did, and that 434 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:48,359 Speaker 1: he was being poisoned to erase his memories of these events. Additionally, 435 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,560 Speaker 1: this disdain for kindness often caused him to abuse the 436 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: people who were trying to serve or care for him. Yeah, 437 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 1: there's a pretty long discussion that Truancy wrote about how 438 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,320 Speaker 1: you know, and a servant was perpetually in danger and 439 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:04,399 Speaker 1: like if the king stumbled and you reached out your 440 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:06,000 Speaker 1: arm to him, you were going to get hit and 441 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:10,840 Speaker 1: possibly worse. Um. The king also engaged in a variety 442 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: of self harming behaviors, according to Struancy, and he believed 443 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:16,679 Speaker 1: that he was not born a prince and that he 444 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:20,680 Speaker 1: had somehow been swapped to take the role. He fantasized 445 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: about being dethroned so that he could be free, and 446 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,199 Speaker 1: he waited for the moment that it was coming, he 447 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:29,520 Speaker 1: believed when his body would transform into marble and make 448 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,679 Speaker 1: him all but invincible. He believed, according to Struancy quote, 449 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 1: that there were six people in the world who had 450 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,160 Speaker 1: been born morally blind, and he viewed things in nature differently, 451 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,280 Speaker 1: or for whom those were changed to impose on them, 452 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:46,760 Speaker 1: and he believed he was one of those six. Struancy 453 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,040 Speaker 1: struggles a bit in this account to try to make 454 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:53,160 Speaker 1: sense of some of the king's delusions. In particular, Christian 455 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,000 Speaker 1: had decided that there was a special group of people 456 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 1: that he called comsat, which just means like that in French. 457 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:04,840 Speaker 1: Struancy never really came to understand exactly what these people were. 458 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 1: He admits that he didn't understand it, saying, quote, it 459 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:10,920 Speaker 1: would be difficult to give a clear idea about it. 460 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,879 Speaker 1: For largely I understood nothing of it, even though I 461 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:18,520 Speaker 1: had very much studied the train of his imagination. It 462 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,200 Speaker 1: seems that the king believed that these people were shape 463 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,840 Speaker 1: shifters and that he could identify them, and Christian was 464 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,879 Speaker 1: ever on the lookout for these people any time he 465 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 1: was in a crowd of any size, and he would 466 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,879 Speaker 1: point them out to Struancy. At the end of his 467 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,199 Speaker 1: lengthy account of his experiences treating the king and the 468 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:40,120 Speaker 1: various things that he suspected might be wrong, Struancy concludes 469 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:42,720 Speaker 1: that he had withheld a lot of this information out 470 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:45,160 Speaker 1: of respect to the monarch, and because the queen did 471 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: not want the extent of the king's problems to be known. 472 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:52,800 Speaker 1: He concluded his account. With my conscience has obliged me 473 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 1: to reveal all that I have just explained. Although I 474 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 1: have not even permitted myself to exonerate myself with regard 475 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:04,120 Speaker 1: to various accusations in the Commission's interrogation, I wish that 476 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: it may generate something good for the King and for 477 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: the state. The facts that I have alleged can be 478 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: verified by all those with whom the King established familiar 479 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 1: ties and by those who approached him. Especially Count Brandt 480 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,720 Speaker 1: in particular, is acquainted with the details of the extravagances 481 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: of the King's imagination over the last six months, during 482 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: which time I have refrained as much as possible from 483 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 1: broaching this matter with his majesty. All of this information 484 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: about the King is from Struancy's perspective, but at the 485 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,480 Speaker 1: same time, most of these details have also been corroborated 486 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: by separate accounts that were written by various members of 487 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: the court over the years. And while this paints a 488 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 1: picture of Struancy trying to help a very troubled monarch, 489 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 1: it was not enough to save him. Struancy was sentenced 490 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 1: to death by beheading, to be followed by being drawn 491 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,760 Speaker 1: and quartered. This was all carried out publicly. Brandt received 492 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,520 Speaker 1: the same death sentence and that took play son April 493 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:05,960 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy two. By all accounts, this execution was particularly brutal. 494 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,480 Speaker 1: If you go looking for any pictures, you will see 495 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: the parts of their bodies after they had been dismembered, 496 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 1: were put on display. Uh there's some debate about what 497 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: happened after that. There are some accounts that will say 498 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,320 Speaker 1: that their bodies, what was left of them, were displayed 499 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,080 Speaker 1: for as long as two years until there was nothing 500 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 1: but bone left. And there's a lot there are some 501 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,400 Speaker 1: question marks around exactly where they were buried. Christian the 502 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:35,480 Speaker 1: seventh marriage to Caroline Matilda was annulled, and after a 503 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,560 Speaker 1: bit of back and forth, due to the tension that 504 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,720 Speaker 1: this whole episode created between Denmark and Britain, she was 505 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: deported back to her home country. She died in May 506 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 1: of seventeen seventy five at the age of twenty three. 507 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: Over the period of about thirteen months in which Struancy 508 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:54,760 Speaker 1: effectively acted as ruler of Denmark, he enacted more than 509 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: one thousand cabinet ordinances, and many of these were, in 510 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:03,720 Speaker 1: historical view, very good policy. Or significant improvements, particularly when 511 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 1: it came to human rights. Struancy banned slave trade in 512 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 1: Denmark's colonies. He had eliminated the practice of corvey that 513 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:15,040 Speaker 1: required peasants to work for free for their landowners for 514 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,640 Speaker 1: a certain number of days each year. Those were also 515 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: often brutal. He also allocated land to peasants and overhauled 516 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: the nation's hospital system, and he reformed criminal law with 517 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:30,360 Speaker 1: far less harsh penalties and punishments, so capital punishment kind 518 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 1: of went out the door, and on September four of 519 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,240 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy he enacted the first ordinance in Europe that 520 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 1: created freedom of the press. As for Christian the seventh, 521 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:42,880 Speaker 1: he continued on as king, but it was his stepmother, 522 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: Juliana Maria who really ran things. She rolled back most 523 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:51,600 Speaker 1: of Struency's laws. In seventeen eighty four, Christian's son, Frederick 524 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: the sixth became Prince Regent. Christian lived until March of 525 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 1: eighteen o eight, and he died of either a heart 526 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 1: attack or a stroke, to ending on which source you read. 527 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:04,959 Speaker 1: He lived out his final years in confinement with pretty 528 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:09,120 Speaker 1: rudimentary and often cruel care by people who didn't really 529 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:13,120 Speaker 1: work to alleviate his illness in any way. No, he 530 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:15,320 Speaker 1: was just being kind of contained in controlled at the 531 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,760 Speaker 1: end of his life. And despite the controversial nature of 532 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: his bid for power to enact reform, Struancy's legacy and 533 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:27,000 Speaker 1: particularly his trial and execution, remained controversial in the late 534 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 1: eighteen nineties, and extensive analysis of the case was written 535 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:34,400 Speaker 1: by Danish judge and Lawson. That examination of the facts 536 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,760 Speaker 1: available led Lawson to determine that because the king's mental 537 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:41,800 Speaker 1: health issues were never expressly mentioned in the court proceedings, 538 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 1: the entire argument made in seventeen seventy two that Struancy 539 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 1: had taken advantage of the monarch's condition was flawed. In 540 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:53,560 Speaker 1: perhaps trying to avoid embarrassment by mentioning the king's ailments 541 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 1: and his mental illness issues, it would indicate that any 542 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:00,120 Speaker 1: decisions that he signed off on, whether Struancy initiated them 543 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:03,760 Speaker 1: or not, and including all of the doctor's promotions, would 544 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:06,840 Speaker 1: have been valid, so that judgment of less mass Day 545 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 1: was incorrect. As time had gone on, the ideas that 546 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:14,120 Speaker 1: Struancy was enacting into law have come to be seen 547 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:17,400 Speaker 1: in a pretty positive light. His image has been largely 548 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:21,680 Speaker 1: rehabilitated from that of this opportunistic criminal instead becoming an 549 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:26,600 Speaker 1: enlightened thinker who kind of overstepped his bounds kind of 550 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:34,320 Speaker 1: a law Yeah, that's a mixed bag. Yeah he had 551 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:40,960 Speaker 1: some great ideas, but who yeah, who. I really enjoyed 552 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:44,560 Speaker 1: researching this, although it was a bit tricky because there 553 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:49,760 Speaker 1: aren't a lot of translations of primary sources for that one, 554 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,800 Speaker 1: and so I had to order some very strange reproductions 555 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,240 Speaker 1: of translations that were done like of the court case 556 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:02,360 Speaker 1: and stuff, uh, you know, in the the early twentieth 557 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,520 Speaker 1: century or and so I was definitely paging through a 558 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 1: lot of um texts that had the um the weird 559 00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:14,799 Speaker 1: spellings and the the various letters switcheros. But it's ultimately 560 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:18,680 Speaker 1: super fun. Do you have some listener mail to take 561 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,000 Speaker 1: us out? I have two pieces of listener mail. These 562 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 1: are both about our Ralph McCary episodes. Before we get 563 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:25,760 Speaker 1: to them, I will say, I know not everyone loved 564 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,279 Speaker 1: the three D nous of those episodes. Don't fret. That's 565 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:30,560 Speaker 1: not a permanent change. It was just part of a 566 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:33,920 Speaker 1: network wide kind of project we were many of our 567 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 1: shows were doing that week. UM, so if you didn't 568 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:40,239 Speaker 1: like it, no worries and it's just those episodes. You're good. 569 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:45,280 Speaker 1: Uh So I am first going to read an email 570 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,239 Speaker 1: from our listener, Ann, who writes, Hello, Holly and Tracy. 571 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:50,040 Speaker 1: I've been a fan of stuff you missed in history 572 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:52,680 Speaker 1: class for many years. I started listening at my first 573 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,560 Speaker 1: data entry job back in twelve, and you've been keeping 574 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,600 Speaker 1: me company insane through several data entry jobs, a couple 575 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:01,160 Speaker 1: of road trips to Dragon Con, and my current job 576 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:05,279 Speaker 1: sewing aprons and masks at artifact bags dot com. Check 577 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,719 Speaker 1: us out. We make nice stuff. I've been wanting to 578 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:10,239 Speaker 1: email you for the last year to hopefully provide some 579 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,920 Speaker 1: cheer with cute dog o picks and Star Wars costumes, 580 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:15,279 Speaker 1: but I am a procrastinator. When you did your two 581 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:17,480 Speaker 1: partner on Ralph mcquarie, I figured now is as good 582 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:19,680 Speaker 1: a time as any to send fan mail. I had 583 00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:22,759 Speaker 1: heard of mcquarie before, but never realized how extensive his 584 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,759 Speaker 1: work was, or that his drawings were used as inspiration 585 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:28,320 Speaker 1: for Rebels. A friend of mine and I are working 586 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,840 Speaker 1: on Hara and Asoca costumes from Rebels right now. Actually, anyway, 587 00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:33,520 Speaker 1: I have probably gone on too long, but keep up 588 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 1: the excellent work. You guys are my favorite podcast. Uh, 589 00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:40,000 Speaker 1: that wasn't very long at all, really, and also you 590 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:42,640 Speaker 1: have to send us those pictures because I love me 591 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:46,919 Speaker 1: some Hara and Asoca and uh and sent pictures of 592 00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:50,600 Speaker 1: some Star Wars costumes. There's a great Mandalorian. There is 593 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:54,279 Speaker 1: a great Princess Leiah. And there is a dog that 594 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:56,360 Speaker 1: she should never bring near me because I'll try to 595 00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:58,840 Speaker 1: steal it. Uh. It appears to be a shiba Inu, 596 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:00,719 Speaker 1: which is a breed that I have in love with. 597 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:09,040 Speaker 1: That dog is stinking cute, um adorable, adorable, adorable. We 598 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:12,719 Speaker 1: have another another one that comes with fabulous pictures. This 599 00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:15,319 Speaker 1: is from our listener Ariel or Ariel. I'm sorry if 600 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:18,560 Speaker 1: I pronounce it the wrong way. Who rights? Hello, ladies. 601 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:20,880 Speaker 1: I've enjoyed the stuff you missed in History Class podcast 602 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:22,920 Speaker 1: for years now, and I don't know how, but I 603 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:25,200 Speaker 1: sometimes forget how much of a Star Wars fan Holly 604 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:27,879 Speaker 1: is until the topic is stumbled upon. I've just listened 605 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,520 Speaker 1: to your episodes on Ralph mcquarie and his artistic influence 606 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:32,880 Speaker 1: on Star Wars. My husband and I grew up on 607 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:36,160 Speaker 1: the original trilogy, and, like Holly, remained devoted fans, which 608 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,400 Speaker 1: is why these episodes inspired me to share photos of 609 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:43,239 Speaker 1: our most recent Star Wars themed acquisition. Meet bar Too 610 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:46,360 Speaker 1: D two. Barto D two is a custom built bourbon 611 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,000 Speaker 1: barrel bar that a very good friend who is also 612 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,120 Speaker 1: quite a renaissance man, made for us. I do secretly 613 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:55,360 Speaker 1: hope it makes Holly just a little bit jealous well success, 614 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:59,880 Speaker 1: because that thing is amazing. Um, it's really beautiful like 615 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:02,920 Speaker 1: it has you know, the front has been cut so 616 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 1: that it opens out like a door and reveals the 617 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:11,440 Speaker 1: wonderful assortment of spirits within. But moreover, it has like 618 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:15,640 Speaker 1: a beautiful blue I'm presuming led inside, and it's painted 619 00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:20,000 Speaker 1: in this really charming way. Uh Ariel also sent pictures 620 00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:26,040 Speaker 1: of uh of her creatures, so her hiking partner Nikki, 621 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:30,120 Speaker 1: Sir Sid and Lady Ewen, so her her pupper, and 622 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,280 Speaker 1: cats who pose in the cutest ways I can ever imagine. 623 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:37,120 Speaker 1: Thanks for this an amazing podcast that makes a subject 624 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:40,200 Speaker 1: I thoroughly hated in school so much more enjoyable. UM, 625 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:42,160 Speaker 1: thank you so much for sharing that. I assure you 626 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:44,759 Speaker 1: I am the appropriate levels of jealous of your very 627 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:48,239 Speaker 1: cool bar. Um. My only concern would be that I 628 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:52,799 Speaker 1: would never fit all of my stuff in them. I'm 629 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:56,360 Speaker 1: an accumulator. I cannot help it. So thank you for 630 00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:58,360 Speaker 1: for writing to us, and if you would like to 631 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:00,560 Speaker 1: write to us, you can do so at his podcast 632 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:02,960 Speaker 1: at iHeart radio dot com. You can also find us 633 00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:05,799 Speaker 1: on social media as miss in History and it is 634 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,880 Speaker 1: very easy to subscribe to the podcast on the I 635 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:11,000 Speaker 1: heart radio app, at Apple Podcasts, or wherever it is 636 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:18,080 Speaker 1: you listen. Stuff you Missed in History Class is a 637 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:21,319 Speaker 1: production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I 638 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:24,640 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 639 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:26,760 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.