Post by Republik Österreich on Dec 27, 2010 23:07:42 GMT -5
RODERICH EDELSTEIN
"Bella gerant alii, tu, felix Austria, nube!"
Wars may be led by others, but you, happy Austria, marry!
"Bella gerant alii, tu, felix Austria, nube!"
Wars may be led by others, but you, happy Austria, marry!
Bittida en morgon innan solen upprann
Bergatrollet friade till fager ungersven
Bergatrollet friade till fager ungersven
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Country: Hapsburg Monarchy Austria
Human name: Roderich Edelstein
Apparent age: 22
Gender: Male
Appearance: As a rule, Roderich will almost always present himself with immaculately formal clothing, sometimes more than necessary. It is a habit that is now deeply ingrained into his very self. His physical appearance can be described as elegant and stately at best, or plain and flat at others. He is not unattractive, and he uses this to his very advantage. He has raven black hair that has the habit of being an uncontrollable mop in the mornings (but it can be made to submit with the use of his brush and maybe a little hair gel), except for one particularly stubborn curl, Mariazell. Roderich loathes it when people touches his hair.
His skin, a shade of pale far too pasty to be healthy, is the result of spending many hours indoors. He doesn't mind the alabaster shade, if only it wouldn't burn so easily in the sun. His hands are exceptionally large, with thin and spidery fingers protruding from a bony wrist.
Hon hade en falskeliger tunga
Herr Mannelig herr Mannelig trolofven i mig för det jag bjuder så gerna
Herr Mannelig herr Mannelig trolofven i mig för det jag bjuder så gerna
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Strengths:
- Music - he is a talented pianist, a proficient violinist and has tried his hand in many different instruments, all with surprising levels of competency.
- Strategic - How else could he have bought Austria to it’s influential prominence it held? (And once again holds, now that it is 1500 and the Empire is slowly driving towards its’ culmination).
- Erudite – Literate and eloquent, Roderich prides himself as an intellect
- Emotional endurance – He doesn’t easier bow to pressure and is able to perfectly function in times of great adversity.
- Frugality – Not necessarily a strength
- Control
Fears:
- Losing himself completely – to delusion, to lack of self identity; to being German instead of Austrian He fears the unified German state greatly.
- Weakness; his own maladroit hand at war and politics.
- That he will someday fall in love. And that that somebody torn and wrenched from his grasp. Again.
- Injuring his fingers
Weaknesses:
- Endurance and physicality – He is neither strong nor agile. Never having been a fit to be a warrior, he preferred marrying into power rather shedding any of his people’s blood. It is ironic that he (indirectly or not) sparked off the most bloody two wars in history.
- Pride – Sometimes, he notes, pride is all he has. Other times, it can be his downfall.
- Possessive – Over his belongings, he loathes it when people touch them. He may also be a tad overbearing.
- Elitist – He wants (and probably will) believe he is better than you.
- Delusional – Can harbor delusions of grandeur, but these days it’s more a delusion that he can keep himself together
- Anger – His temper runs on a short fuse.
Personality:
Stuffy, aristocratic, dignified, proud, pretentious, high-browed, lost, weak, torn. Roderich could never let go of the past. He has found his place amongst the musical and the intellectual, but it was his past glories that truly shined, that truly made for what Austria believes in. What Roderich stands for.
Music. Music is integral to Roderich. It's meant more to him than what other's can perceive, more than the ostensible pleasure it brought, it is, and was, his only coping mechanism as his borders bled and his empire crashed. He feels there is an inherent beauty that he, and he alone can comprehend. It isn't the appreciation of music, which he hopes he can distil in everyone who plays audience to his concerts, it had become something more. Something intangibly sweet and enduring. Not even with the ugly monstrosity that was militarianism could the serenading tunes of a sonata, or the majesty of a symphony be stomped out. But Music wasn't enough.
Roderich is soft spoken; preferring to let his music convey his emotions rather than articulate them. For language, language was impersonal. Just as marriage was supposed to be. Roderich is known for keeping his heart at bay, because there is no need for romance or passion for economic and political ties.
Eder vill jag gifva ett förgyllande svärd
Och strida huru I strida vill. Stridsplatsen skolen i väl vinna
Och strida huru I strida vill. Stridsplatsen skolen i väl vinna
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Family: The Germanics, Germany, Prussia, Germania, Liechtenstein along with Switzerland, Hungary and England. During the height of the Hapsburg Empire, Netherlands, Luxembourg, South Italy were all included.
Friends: See above. Prussia excluded on principle.
Enemies: Prussia is his oldest and most frustrating adversary. Roderich will claim that they never really made it up to each other, not even with the Anschluss. Especially not with the anschluss. France is also more often an enemy than ally.HISTORY:
[ PREPARE FOR BARRAGE OF TEXT ]
|| Etymology ||
Austria, the English word for the proper name of Austria is derived from the latinisation of Österreich. This word was first recorded as Ostarrîchi, in 966 and Ostarrîchi in 998. Ostarrîchi is the linguistic ancestor of Austria's modern German name. This, in turn, is in all probability a translation from the Latin, Marcha Orientalis, which in modern German is commonly referred to as Ostmark.
|| Early History ||
The area of today’s Austria, that is the fertile Danube Valley and the Alpine valleys, were already settled in the Paleolithic Age (until approx. 8000 BC). Around 400 BC, Celtic peoples from Western Europe settled in the eastern Alps. A Celtic state, Noricum, developed around the region's ironworks in the second century BC. From the 7th century BC onwards one of the main regions of Celtic occupation was in modern-day Austria, centered around Hallstatt, a large prehistoric salt-mining area. The Hallstatt period, 750 - c.450 BC, is named after this region.
The Romans arrived 200 BC and by 15 BC they dominated the entire area. The most important Roman settlement in Austria was Carnuntum (capital of the Roman province of Pannonia in today’s Lower Austria) which became the center of the Roman fortifications along the Danube.
|| March of Austria The Babenburgs ||
After the defeat of the Hungarians by Emperor Otto the Great in the Battle of Lechfeld (955), new Marches were established in what is today Austria. The one known as the marchia orientalis was to become the core territory of Austria and was given to Leopold of Babenberg in 976 after the revolt of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria.
The following centuries were characterized first by the settlement of the country, when forests were cleared and towns and monasteries were founded. In 1156 the Privilegium Minus elevated Austria to the status of a duchy. In 1192, the Babenbergs also acquired the Duchy of Styria through the Georgenberg Pact. At that time, the Babenberg Dukes came to be one of the most influential ruling families in the region, peaking in the reign of Leopold VI (1198–1230).
However, with the slaughter of his son Frederick II in 1246, the line went extinct, which resulted in the interregnum, a period of several decades during which the status of the country was disputed. Otakar II Přemysl of Bohemia effectively controlled the duchies of Austria, Styria and Carinthia. His reign came to an end with his defeat in the battle of Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen at the hand of Rudolf of Habsburg in 1278.
|| Habsburg Austria ||
The Habsburgs
Some 100 years later Rudolf I emerged with the crown, beginning six centuries of Habsburg rule in Austria. The centerpiece of their realm was the Imperial Palace in Vienna, today accommodating several museums (Treasury, Sisi Museum) providing a good overview of the Habsburgs.
The Habsburgs increased their influence and power through strategic alliances ratified by marriages. Owing to premature deaths and/or childless marriages within the Burgundian and Spanish dynasties into which his grandfather, Maximilian I (1493-1519), and his father had married, Emperor Charles V (1519-56) inherited not only the Hereditary Lands but also the Franche-Comté and the Netherlands (both of which were French fiefs) and Spain and its empire in the Americas.
Turkish Wars
The Turkish threat, which included unsuccessful sieges of Vienna in 1529 and in 1683, prompted Poland, Venice, and Russia to join the Habsburg Empire in repelling the Turks. In the late 1690s, command of the imperial forces was entrusted to Prince Eugene of Savoy. Under his leadership, Habsburg forces won control of all but a small portion of Hungary by 1699.
Baroque Period
With the end of the Turkish threat, the arts and culture experienced a surge. Splendid edifices such as Schloss Schönbrunn (World Cultural Heritage) or the Salzburger Dom were built; architects like Johann Fischer v. Erlach, Lukas v. Hildebrandt, Jakob Prandtauer, Daniel Gran, Paul Troger, Franz Anton Maulbertsch created exceptional monuments. Under the rule of Empress Maria Theresia (1717-1780) the Habsburg holdings were reformed and united. Following Maria Theresa's death in 1780, her son Joseph II, one of the so-called enlightened monarchs, continued the reforms along the lines pursued by his mother.
|| Biedermeier to Jugendstil ||
The French revolution in 1789 and the rise of Napoleon, who secured French possession of many Austrian territories, proved to be a major threat to the Habsburgs. During the Congress of Vienna (1814/15), held with the purpose of redrawing the continent's political map after Napolen’s defeat, Austrian Chancellor Metternich tried to reconsolidate Austrian power. In 1848 the French philosophy of middle-class revolution reached Austria, but the rebellion was promptly squashed, and Emperor Franz I and Metternich responded by cutting down civil liberties and introducing a strict censorship. As a result the people retreated to their houses, concentrated on the domestic and the non-political; social life came to a halt. The second part of the Biedermeier period was marked by a growing urbanization and industrialization that lead to a new urban middle class. People started to meet again, and the arts were cherished. Artists of this time include painters like Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller and Friedrich Gauermann, the composer Franz Schubert, and the poets Adalbert Stifter, Ferdinand Raimund and Franz Grillparzer.
In the end the Emperor Franz I was eventually pressured to abdicate in favor of his nephew Emperor Franz Joseph I, whose 68-year reign was one of Austria’s longest. Together with his wife Elisabeth, the legendary "Sisi", he shaped the image of the Austrian imperial rule. Under his rule Vienna became of the Europe’s most important metropolises and the center of a multinational state extending from Hungary to North Italy and deep into southern Europe.
Johann Strauß, the King of Waltz, was celebrated all over the world for his wonderful musical compositions. Sigmund Freud was the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. Around 1900 the Vienna Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) peaked during which forward-looking artists and designers seceded from the mainstream salon exhibitions, to exhibit on their own in more congenial surroundings. Noted Jugendstil artists include the painters Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, and the architects Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos. A walk along the Vienna Ringstraße boulevard with its splendid buildings, a visit to the Sisi or Sigmund Freud Museum or the Österreichischen Galerie Belvedere provide a good overview of this epoch.
|| 20th CENTURY ||
Brimming with ethnic tensions and locked into a rigid system of alliances from the 19th century wars, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was a catastrophe waiting to happen. This, along with the democracy and socialism that threatened to overwhelm the hereditary principle only exacerbated the situation in Europe. The necessary spark was the assassination of the Austrian archduke and heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 in Sarajevo. On July 23, Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum designed to be rejected. The key demands were that Serbia suppress anti-Habsburg activities, organizations, and propaganda and that Habsburg officials be permitted to join in the Serbian investigation of the assassination. Serbia responded negatively but appeared conciliatory. Nonetheless, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28 without further consultations with Germany.
Despite its partnership with Austria-Hungary and Germany in the Triple Alliance, Italy was not bound by that treaty to join the war, and it declared its neutrality. Germany pressed Austria-Hungary unsuccessfully to cede to Italy Austrian territories it desired, in order to win Italian support. Unfortunately, because the Triple Entente powers readily promised transfer of the territories in the event of victory, Italy entered the war on their side in April 1915.
Although German and Austro-Hungarian military victories in the east during the spring of 1915 overcame the military disasters that Austria-Hungary experienced early in the war, the empire's internal economic situation steadily grew more precarious. Austria-Hungary was not prepared for a long and costly war. The death of Emperor Franz Joseph on November 21, 1916, deprived Austria-Hungary of his symbolic unifying presence. His twenty-nine-year-old grand-nephew Karl (r. 1916-18) was unprepared for his role as emperor. But by this time, the future of the monarchy no longer depended on what the emperor did; rather, its fate hinged on the outcome of the war.
After the end of the war in 1918 the first Republic of Austria was established, ending the 640-year old Habsburg dynasty. The young republic suffered massive inflation, unemployment, and near economic collapse. In 1933, the weak coalition government between the Christian-Social and the Social-Democratic parties gave way when Engelbert Dollfuss became Chancellor in 1932 as head of a right-wing coalition government, designed to tackle the problems caused by the Depression.In May 1934 Doffluss declared martial law in order to protect Austria from Hitler. In July Dollfuss was shot and killed by Nazis in an attempted coup.
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria and the country was incorporated into the German Reich ruled by Adolf Hitler. After the end of World War II in 1945, Austria was restored to its 1937 frontiers and occupied by the victorious allies – the USA, the Soviet Union, the UK, and France – for a decade.
The 21st Century
On May 15, 1955, the Austrian State Treaty was ratified, with Austria declaring its permanent neutrality. Thanks to its location near the “Iron Curtain”, Austria soon developed into a nerve center between the West and the East. After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the 1968 Prague Spring Invasion, Austria grants asylum to the refugees. Austria is also host country of many international organizations (UNO, OPEC) as well as host of many important conference and summit meetings. The Iron Curtain fell in 1989/90; in 1995 Austria becomes a member of the European Union.
RP Sample:
Roderich hums in approval. He taps long fingers to the rhythm, closes his eyes for a moment, savouring the silvery melody. Perfect. It was too perfect.
Clang.
His eyes flies open. The child is looking at him, distraught, and bites his bottom lip before bending down to pick up the bow off the marble floor. He looks embarrassed, but Roderich offers only praise.
“Wonderful. That was exemplary technique, Ludwig. Shall we try again?” The boy nods, and steps back into position. “When you’re ready.”
When the bow touches the string, his back snaps straight, rigid, unbending. The music flows; each note is hit with precision, perfection. Roderich hums and stands up, surveying the boy’s posture.
“Langsam, langsam,” he orders.
Ludwig’s flurry of motions slows down; the dance grows soft, tilted, melodious.
“Feurig und mit Empfindung!”
A brief flash of panic sparks in pale blue eyes before the child grits his teeth and attacks the strings, digging the bow in, his tempo accelerating. Roderich winces and quickly halts the boy.
“It is a dance, not a military bombardment,” he chastises, before noticing the slight hunch in the child’s shoulders and those tired, tired eyes. Ludwig tucks the violin under his chin and draws a harsh C sharp before Roderich lays a pale hand onto his smaller, but equally lacquered fingers. Austria’s expression is severe, but his touch is gentle.
“Your brother is expecting you. Perhaps next week we will hone the piece with a duet?”
Ludwig nods in acquiescence. Roderich opens his mouth to speak, then snaps it shut as a vivacious (vicious) bark of a laugh reverberated around the hall.
“Like hell he will,” Gilbert snarls, rounding onto the boy. His fingers curl painfully into the Ludwig’s shoulders, to simultaneously protect and punish. Ludwig doesn’t so much as twitch. Instead he looks impassively on. The impromptu visit will be short; Gilbert never willingly steps into Austria’s house- he has only come to reclaim the boy.
Roderich raises a disdainful eyebrow at him. “Just don’t turn him into a warmonger like you, Preußen.“
“Sådana gåfvor toge jag väl emot”
“Om du vore en kristelig qvinna. Men nu så är du det värsta bergatroll, af Neckens och djävulens stämma
“Om du vore en kristelig qvinna. Men nu så är du det värsta bergatroll, af Neckens och djävulens stämma
[ OOC ]
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Name: OPHELIA, lia, overlord or Old man. Take your pick. Though I would be opposed to “Roderich,” or “Austria.” C:
Age: Possibly overage.
Experience:
copypastacopypasta… I also RP Sweden, Denmark, and Japan, and lot’s more in the past, but these muses are the ones I’m interested in at the moment.
Contact: ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE.
Anything else?:
Just look at all zis fanservice. 8U
Bergatrollet ut på dörren sprang
“Hade jag fått den fager ungersven, så hade jag mistat min plåga.”
“Hade jag fått den fager ungersven, så hade jag mistat min plåga.”
This template was originally created by oli and tampered by Ophelia for Hetalia: True Destiny. Quotes are from the medieval Swedish ballad, "Herr Mannelig."
