Interesting that Henry Fielding uses the phrase "King of Prussia" in 1749 in Tom Jones: the Kings in Prussia were not to claim the title King of Prussia until 1772. Indeed, the point of the Crown Treaty of 1700 was that the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia Friedrich III Hohenzollern sought recognition that he was by the Treaty of Bromberg sovereign—i.e., not a vassal of the King of Poland—over those parts of Prussia he controlled, and definitely not freed from vassalage for his German-Imperial to the Emperor Leopold I Habsburg. "King of Prussia" introduces some ambiguity there. And in 1749 either Henry Fielding or Aunt Western is unaware of this distinction between "in" and "of", which was important enough for Leopold I Habsburg to have made it a red line in his negotiations with Friedrich III Hohenzollern to get the Margravate of Brandenburg's troops on his side in the War of the Spanish Succession:
Henry Fielding: The History of Tom Jones https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6593/6593-h/6593-h.htm#link2H_4_0003: '“Indeed, Miss Western,” cries the lady, “I shall not bear this usage; you have learnt of your father this manner of treating me; he hath taught you to give me the lie. He hath totally ruined you by this false system of education; and, please heaven, he shall have the comfort of its fruits; for once more I declare to you, that to-morrow morning I will carry you back. I will withdraw all my forces from the field, and remain henceforth, like the wise king of Prussia, in a state of perfect neutrality. You are both too wise to be regulated by my measures; so prepare yourself, for to-morrow morning you shall evacuate this house”...
#noted #2019-12-08
