The diaries kept by Ludwig II are a piece of the history surrounding the king that strike a lot ot attention. You turned them into an important part of the manga by placing the key to the diaries around Hornig's neck. The manga never shows Ludwig and Hornig actually writing in the diary or even features the actual writings but, these diaries were a piece of the lives of the two that remained linked forever. They are also the most revealing key leading into the mind of the fairy tale king. They reveal a man who was tormented by the growing insanity he could feel like a curse in his family, the sadness that being king caused in him, and the shame he felt at times at having male lovers. Pieces of the diary have moments at which he refuses to be with Hornig just because he has decided to. Still, at other times he professes immense love for Hornig and for his life. Personally, the diaries reveal the dual struggle that must have constantly been occurring in the head of the king, his confrontation with love, life, himself, and God.For me, the diaries are a certain key to Ludwig II's soul. Some of the entries are signed by both of the writers by using the first letters of their names, R and L. Yet, this signature might even represent the sort of love life that Hornig and his majesty might have lived, one in which they had to hide themselves. Hide even their signatures and the professions of their love. It must have been painful to have to constantly suppress the feelings they felt. When ever I look at the signature they created, the L and the R entwined incredibly into each other, I cannot help but wonder about the kind of emotions caused by a life of hiding and almost negating love.
I find Ludwig II's diaries very interesting, but not just because they are historical and detail his life. They make me melancholic and happy at the same time. I do not understand that feeling, but Ludwig II causes it in me. I marvel at the ingenious idea of sharing a diary with a friend, and I even marvel at the fact that the king kept a diary. Such acts are the stuff of stories, not real life, no? They show the deep levels of the friendship and love that both young men shared, and they made You's manga come to life. They drew me close to the real Bavarian king as nothing ever could. Fortunately, I could have a few copies sent to me from Bavaria by a very dear friend. I just had to at least own a copy of the real diary, and I am thankful that I do. I am also grateful for the translations I received. Of course, the diaries were translated by a historian from the Bavarian of Ludwig II's time into German and then translated to English, so my translations must have lost a lot of the original emotions the king put down on paper. Still, they are priceless to me. From the copies, I could see the king's signature which you can see here. In this scan from the diary, you can see his majesty's signature in the centre as well as two other signatures that feature the L and R Hornig and Ludwig used to sign as one. You can also see Hornig's signature in smaller letters after Ludwig's.
From the diaries, I could also see his Majesty's handwriting, seen in the scan from one of the diary entries. Please click on the picture so you may see the king's writing better. I think that even if he was writing in a private place, the king still kept an impeccable handwriting. It looks so fancy. It is the kind of handwriting I had imagined he owned. Still, it was the words he wrote what I found most rewarding. Even though I've take the liberty of writing a short fictional story in which I mirrored the king's diary, I like the actual, historical diary and present a copy of one of the entrees here with reverence and respect to the author and to those Bavarians who own copies of the diary. The words his majesty wrote made me cry when I read them and still cause emotions to stir, which make me admire him even more.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this. I certainly am not a scholar or a historian. I'm just an English teacher and a writer. For me emotions always come first and the imagination runs free. I thank my friend Nie for the copies of the diary pieces and the translations. Again, I repeat that it is with love and wondrous admiration for his majesty that I reproduce these. I mog di, König Ludwig II. Für Immer. |