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| The Swan King by Christopher McIntosh |
My earlier research portrayed him in a comical light, a
jester with humorous antics, but this book had me pitying Ludwig. The story
starts, like most biographies, with his childhood. Here we find a child
neglected by his parents and passed off to various tutors. He was a pampered
prince but this is no reason to write off this treatment. As anyone is contact
with children knows, a stable household goes a long way in overall well-being,
and Ludwig’s household was far from stable. At 18 his father died, and he found
himself in charge of kingdom on the cusp of war.
Ludwig appears to have been painfully shy, not an ideal
quality for a statesman. He was also sexually repressed. Most historians agree
he had homosexual tendencies, and due to attitudes of the time, Ludwig spent
his entire life trying to suppress these urges. His personal diary reads of
repeated attempts to be “good”, the subsequent failures, and his promises and
oaths to never stray from the path again. It’s heart-wrenching to read these
endeavors and know that he considers his soul imperiled.
When his shyness advanced to a degree where he no longer wanted
to be around fellow aristocrats, he withdrew to his buildings. Ludwig’s lack of
interest in state affairs led to his government declaring him insane and unfit
to rule—even though the diagnosing physician had not examined Ludwig in person.
Recent research into Ludwig’s madness has suggested that he
may have had a form of syphilis since childhood—like his brother Otto, also
confined due to his insanity. Others have suggested that Ludwig suffered from
the lasting effects of meningitis, or that madness ran into his family. While
this all could be true, the Bavarian government manipulated the system to
remove him from the throne. Following this deposal is Ludwig’s mysterious death.
Both Ludwig and his physician, Dr. Gudden, were found dead
in Lake Starnberg, but recent reviews of the autopsies indicate only the doctor
had drowned. There is speculation that Ludwig was trying to escape from his confinement
and the doctor dosed him during the argument. Did the fight led to Dr. Gudden
drowning and Ludwig dying from an overdose of a sedative? We will never know
for sure, but this is one of the many theories advanced about their mysterious
deaths. This book changed my perspective of the fabled King, and taught me his
life was not always enviable.
