Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/02/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Ruling elites bankrupting the state in the pursuit of even more grandiose frippery is not new - one of the primary reasons that the Roman Empire collapsed is the import of luxury goods (silk, spices,etc) from the East reached such a crescendo that it literally bankrupted the empire, and the inevitable debasement of the currency was the final nail in the coffin! Cheers Jayanand On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 4:39 PM, Douglas Sharp <douglas.sharp at gmx.de> wrote: > The castles on the Rhine are mostly the real thing - knights in armour and > all that - none of your renaissance "My architect can put more twiddly bits > on it than yours" kind of stuff with white & gold-leaf furniture, > ridiculous > ormolu clocks and badly silvered mirrors. > > Ludwig of Bavaria nearly bankrupted the state with his love of fairytale > castles - it is rumoured that this was the real reason for him drowning, > not > suicide. > > It all boils down to the difference between defending yourself with walls > and weapons or with a barrage of wealth - I prefer the former style of > castle, > like this one: > > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/DMS/UK/Dales/Swaledale/Richmond_Sunset.jpg.html > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/DMS/UK/Dales/Swaledale/Richmond_Castle_Keep.jpg.html > > Never besieged, never a bow drawn nor a cannon fired in anger, but it > certainly let people know who the boss was. > > Cheers > Douglas > >