The Tragic Diary of Europe's Last Court Dwarf
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
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Extracts taken from:
Boruwłaski, Joseph: Memoirs Of Count Boruwłaski: Containing A Sketch Of His Travels, With An Account Of His Reception At The Different Courts Of Europe, Andrews, Durham, 1820
Edited and Image Curation by Manuel Rubio - check out his amazing channel: @ArtandContext
Narrated and Script Edited by David Kelly
Music from Epidemic Sound and Artlist
Thumbnail Art by Ettore Mazza
"They bestow upon me the most tender caresses; they use me as a child. How can I hazard, in such circumstances, a declaration at which they will only laugh?"
This broke my heart. How lonely he must've been.
Which made it weird hearing him describe the inuits as "diminutive savages" whose "strength could be easily managed".....though that was certainly the level of general discourse when it came to other races in the 18th century, you'd think somebody in his unique position and facing regular adversity would be more sensitive.
@@yellowblanka6058uhh, no you wouldnt. thoe ones at a "lower tier" (for lack of a better term) always shit on those beneath themselves.
@@Aarroneous69 Eh, speak for yourself, that's down to individual personalities. I've knwon plenty of "lower tier" people who didn't denigrate those beneath them...because they're not dicks and have empathy for their fellow human beings. If anything, I've seen more "higher tier" people publicly saying very offensive things about people of lower economic classes/different races etc.
@@Aarroneous69Only those who fall victim to the duality of "us and them", having been conditioned to take on this type of worldview by the divide and conquer tactics applied so ubiquitously by the ruling class the world over, choose to "shit on those beneath themselves". This is the cause of the abundance of syncophants that unwittingly serve only to help those at the top stay there, believing the false notion that this type of behavior is the way to climb the social ladder.
@@yellowblanka6058 It isn't really about his being sensitive or not. He was simply being honest about the way he saw them. Nowadays, in a time where we've seen every kind of person and been taught to think of all people as basically the same, it's easy to look back on people from the past as "insensitive" but imagine what it would be like if you discovered a group of people who were completely different than anything you've ever seen. You would certainly think them strange, and say so if society allowed.
Apparently he lived to *97* which is impressive for anybody, and incredible for a little person.
Not really
@@GuessMyName234???
@@GuessMyName234yes really
@@Mustacheman17 a couple of umpa lumpas from Willy Wonker lived to a good age
For Lilliputians yes for dwarfs no. Lilliputians often have health issues, dwarfs just stop growing, just like giants can't stop growing. And little people well they're just small under 1.50 or 5 foot in my country.
Another amazing insight to the past and humanity. A grown intelligent man trapped in a body that frustrates him but still makes a interesting life and records it for future wisdom.
I can't carry a school boy pocket knife in my pocket because of the 'cultural phenomenon' going on in London.
My axe...
THEY TOOK MY AXE!!!
I'm reminded of something I experienced recently. I had a conversation with a woman who was born debilitated and in a wheelchair. She can barely move and her talk is somewhat difficult to understand. She said "everyone thinks I'm stupid but I'm not, I was born into this body." This fucked me up. It happened 3 weeks ago and it's still on my mind.
“trapped”
@@charlest5604Exercise your compassion that is good also for yourself.
@@MichaTheLight
No, I treat her like I do everyone else which is something she appreciates. When our conversations are done I walk away, when she says something I disagree with I politely say something, and I don't talk down to her. Actually, she just thanked me 2 days ago for being one of the few people in her life that doesn't pity her.
He wrote so beautifully. *"... ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow."* -Maester Aemon
That was Lord Varys who said that.
Imagine being a commoner and seeing this dude
Ah yes such is Napoleon
Man. You guys think history is movies. That phrase isnt original. Its been used before.
@@TruthorfibNapolean was average height. He demanded a large horse to see battlefield and issue commands.
How this hasnt been made into a movie is really baffling, it has drama, music, a love story and at least for me, moves you to think about someone elses strange relatable world. (Comon Peter D. make a movie)
Some woke Hollywood company would not hire a white little person they’d insist the part be played by a 6’ tall transgendered person of color. Besides, even Peter would think it beneath him.
Yes, a movie would be Awesone. Peter, of course, would be great casting. 👌
OR a new role opportunity for an actor!
Oh, I'd be so into that film! Most of these accounts would make great films, I feel!
It's interesting to get his perspective. At times he doesn't seem to consider average sized humans (for lack of a better term) the same people as him, mostly because at times he isn't treated as human by them.
For lack of a better term? I think averaged-sized human is as on point as you'll get...
I was actually expecting this to be a lot darker. Kind of a feel good story tbh.
Well except for the hanged cat...
@hobokyle7504 back in those days animal's were actually tried and sentenced (to hanging for example( for crimes as if they were humans. Notice he said the cat "murdered " the canaries.
Th...they tried to throw him in a fire 😮
@@clayhackney3514 Yeah, and I thought it was going to get way worse.
@@hobokyle7504Back then, nobles still openly hunted and murdered the peasantry, as evidenced by the well documented events of Bathory, the Irish branch of the Hellfire Club, et cetra.
This was such an emotional rollercoaster. I kneel for this short king.
He was tall enough to ride the rollercoaster of life 👍🏽
been a short man my self , I find this story really interesting and surprisingly cheerful.
there's a moment in your life of when you reach acceptance, starting to love yourself for what you are and been proud who you end up been,
the only regret I have is that I ddint see that in my younger years.
and btw, when I die I want this guy to narrate my life too XD
Short or dwarf ?
He was a really gifted writer!
Manlet
be careful around fire places..
My late husband was 5’ 4”. I adored him. He was a very confident man and he was never bothered by his height. I was 3 inches taller than him.
I randomly found this but I'm quite blown away by how well-written this is. It's a writing style with such high level of sophistication, so engaging, the way he narrates itself is so interesting. I don't even remember reading many other books where the writing style (especially first POV) would be so good.
Hello!
Oh boy! You're in for a real treat!
They are all very well written.
🙂
It’s too bad they passed that law in 2001 that no-one is allowed to absorb or retain anything they learned in English class in school anymore, and now everyone is required to write like a baby who was raised by a tablet haha
I am equally impressed with the writing style and wonder how this gentleman was afforded the education to write so well.
I’m actually studying this style of speech for my works, as well as Shakespearean prose and the breed of actors it inspired (also a dying breed). Always nice to see more of such material.
Funny enough the inspiration for this wasn’t anything of quality but the character Alberich from the game “Ring”, who… is not nearly as dignified or well spoken as this guy.
@@equinox7656bro he lived his entire life among literal emperors and kings. obtaining education was probably the easiest part of his life
This man actually had a very nice life, by 18th century standards.
He lived to 97. That's long even by modern standards.
He speaks with such humility and eloquence. He could scarcely have any idea what admiration his adventures would inspire. He traveled Europe, spoke many languages, and conferred with the elite
The narration is a performance in itself, truly a demonstration of an actor's craft. The enjoyment i derived from this beautifully illustrated memoir is up there with the best audio books and radio plays I've listened to over my life. Phenomenal 👏👏👏
Yes. It's a form of performance art !
A very educated and well-spoken man who happened to have a genetic illness. This was pretty inspiring to hear.
He was 98 when he died. That's incredible
Man being short aint an illness. You tall freak of nature😂🍻
@Hlord-be4xx he was 98. That was very good for the 18th century. Almost no one lived that long studies have also shown the shorter bodies of lower rates of cancer and age-related illnesses. So on average shorter people live way longer
@Hlord-be4xxa genetic anomaly, not an illness.
@Hlord-be4xx he lived to be pretty old. The anomaly may have been a cause for joss illnesses, but being a dwarf is not an illness
He knew not how far women might be lead by curiosity? Now that’s a man who visited Poland and France.
I can't decide if that was clever or not.
Is this some passport bro comment?
Lol it's true the world over
Thank you for always shining light on experiences of people not often acknowledged!
I would have loved being a court dwarf, better that then being a farm dwarf
@@halomaster9640or a tossed salad
Yeah especially the dairy farm variety, rough life
@@scottcantdance804 utterly difficult life pulling those teets
They're called gnomes
@@deathsheadknight2137dwarves do not like to be tossed
Hanging a cat for murder is a real-life Monty Python sketch.
Yeah I laught imagine it.
this was fantastic. hearing his perspective nearly brought me to tears. these stories you guys find are awesome in their totality. keep on sharing them please :)
What an absolutely fascinating little man with a huge heart
I can't believe (and frankly, I'm a bit ashamed) that:
1. I neglected to watch this video right when it came out.
2. I haven't heard about this man before!
What an amazing account! And, if I'm not mistaken, it's the first source written by a Polish author to appear on this channel. Thank you for making this video. Though, I am a bit sad and angry about the cat.
PS. Regarding some problems with the pronunciation of Polish names; there's a great video "How to read in Czech and Polish?" on the channel Authentic Linguistics. It might be helpful for you in the furure.
Fascinating story. His honest writing and experience are sad and yet not overly emotional. Beautiful. Thank you.
Why hasn't this been made into a movie yet?
There’s a great little book (no pun intended) written about this fellow. It’s out of print but I found a few copies on Amazon and eBay. It’s called “In search of the little count” by Simon Webb. It’s about 55 pages
Any Wub Cubs?
WOOOOOO
Been enjoying your channel. You find unique view points that often get written out of history. History is written by the winners. So you often do not hear the other side of the story that often gets removed, forgotten or ignored.
I like that he ended up married with kids, and it seems like generally he had a pretty good life all things considered.
I always enjoy a new video from Voices of the Past, and they didn't disappoint this time also .
What a great mind and a great man! He portrayed his life so beautifully, a very talented and profound writer
Oh my heart breaks for the cruelty he experienced. I’m not Little, but I am autistic. And I understand a good bit of what he talks about.
Me Too... Blessings And Truth For All.
This was such an amazing experiance to watch this video... I can't put it in words but there was such an amazing feeling of reminiscence in this story... Beautiful.
What a wonderful production and reading about this man’s journey
Your voice should be the voice of every audio book ever produced. 😁
Hanged his cat for being a cat? Guess he wasn’t too bright after all.
I am glad that this dwarf found love and was wise enough to choose Ivelina over the decadent court life. The world is really cruel to puny people. The modern world is especially cruel, because the paths to finding love are overwhelmingly dominated by online services, with shallow formulas where women simply enter arbitrary height requirement criteria into their match-making filters.
"You must be 7'8 for me to reply."
You can be small but you must be mighty either in wit or brawn stay stoic kings
lookin for love there is just a wiest of time , go outside and meet real ppl
if you are fishing in the beach sand you'll only catch crabs (or worms)
comment giving off ‘r/niceguys’ vibes…
@@AwesometownUSAYup.
What for a colorful and beautifull language he uses a truly gifted orator and great men.
I'am almost double his size and can just give respect and admiration.
12:58 I was straight up expecting that to segue into a second Curiosity plug.
I could listen to this story forever. What happened to his wife and kids
I've been trying to find that out. I think they moved to Durham, England with him but not read anything concrete yet.
@@gwynevans6440 According to his Polish wikipedia article, his wife Izalina Barbontan accompanied him during the first 10 years of his second round of travelling (1780 to about 1790), but then grew tired of that and moved back to Poland together with their young daughters, whereas he spent the rest of his life in England.
@@chevalierdupapillon Oh I see. Thanks for the info.
What a wonderful, witty fellow! I think he would be fantastic to talk to. So sorry he was treated that way.
Incredibly well written, fascinating.
Just mind blowing history, perfect movie material.
I would love a court dwarf. We should bring court dwarves back.
Hopefully wee-man lives that long I love that guy so funny and cool. I always appreciate people that can make fun of themselves and take being made fun of, as long as it comes from a good place anyway.
I'd think it'd go great if you can add some final text (like any aftermath, related stories etc) after the ending of the voiceover, and over the background music. Great video as always!
His frustration of being treated as a child, especially with regards to sex, should be very relatable to anyone even today who is differently abled
i.e. anyone under 6 foot?
/s
Try being normally able and totally unpopular with the ladies. Dwarfs have more fun.
i can see some inspirations that GRR Martin migh have used.
I didn't want this to end, ngl.
Incredibly fascinating and moving. What a story
The bit about his interaction with fellow dwarf Bebe wS super interesting !
Small in stature, but the tallest in every other way, rising above everyone.
a dime among pennies
Cope
Very moved by this. He had a lot of dignity.
This book needs to be made into a film series. Someone needs to get Peter Dinklage involved. He is strongly involved in the film production industry, nd could get this made and he would be able to proficiently supervise it is don’t correctly without exaggeration.
The verbal articulation of these people from the past make me feel so dumb.
So glad he documented these stories. It was an eternal lesson, however, that being dehumanized for the way you were born does not prevent you from dehumanizing others. His description of Arctic natives was a bummer.
this is my favorite video from this channel so far and i love this channel
AN UPRIGHT MAN
stands Tall
and stands out.
This guy was a Real Man.
The scope of this channel always impresses me, you must be one of the most well read people on planet Earth!
This kid sounds super intelligent and mature, this is going to be rough to listen to. He's going to understand every nuance of every cruel thing said and done to him.
I'm glad it ended well, but I wish he had found real love. I hope in his retirement he found decent friends and a comfortable way of living, he sounds like an exceptional man.
It's interesting how often times he describes himself and others like him as their own species different from others. I'm sure the way he was viewed only re-enforced this belief
The King was foul for degrading Bebe and pitting him and Juju against each other. That was cruel. Poor Bebe…
Considering how well written this seems to be i'm sure he would have been a fantastic actor or playwright if his time allowed him to. I think this is great material for a movie, sadly it would be too expensive and risky
Yeah it probably wouldnt be easy to make/recreate/rent the sites of royal courts to match the budget/expectations.
R.i.p bébé
I can't ignore the irony of someone struggling with the nature of being human yet living a life almost like that of a pet hanging his own pet cat for the crime of being a carnivore.
The Wikipedia for court dwarf is very fascinating, so I knew I had to watch this vid
MF HUNG a cat?! Wtf..
It would be nice if such eloquence could be found in this day and age. Indeed, the world still affords a strong inducement to people to better their circumstances by acting like a knave. Hmm. What ever became of this man's wife and child, I wonder.
I wondered too. Seems like they were abandoned.
@@mariagordanier3404 Yeah...
You’re talking about a writing from a man imbedded in the upper classes. The average person did not speak like this.
@@baneofbanes I know. Even so, that way of writing could be found. Let's let the upper classes of these days write (if they can produce more than a tweet) and see what they create. Would you like to compare?
@@Rationalific yah it’s really not something I give a shit about. Using words like “knave” believe it or not is not indicative of intelligence.
Funny how the nicest group of people to him were considered “savages” in his mind. Even when giving them a compliment it was backhanded.
This guy is brilliant.
This needs to be a movie.
He HUNG the Cat!? A tad dramatic id say
You are a very good TH-camr.
Best thing I've seen on the TH-cam for sometime
That was an excellent video. Thank you so much.
I think Tyrion is based a lot on Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec!
But this was a very interesting watch!
Is it? That’s sad… I was in Durham from 2005 through 2008. It was always just a cute building we’d walk past… I believe the doors were barred up but there was never any vandalism at that time.
Absolutely Wonderful Account of A Life Unmarred By Uncontrollable Circumstance
This was amazing. I put it on and my fella(who is NOT into stuff like this) was fascinated😂👏
Living the life of privilege yet imprisoned by those same people who provided the privileged life.
This would make an extraordinary true to life film
they killed his cat???? nah
Does anyone know the name of the painting at 13:10? It looks like a Rembrandt, but still has that Rococo-like softness and color more fitting for this era.
We have modern day versions of this on social media
thanks for bringing this story to us!
So did he never go back to his wife or did she move to england?
Apparently she accompanied him during the first 10 years of his second round of travelling, but then grew tired of that and moved back to Poland together with their young daughters.
So when will you get a podcast on spotify?
Amazing, thank you
Some people shouldn't have pets
This is so interesting and heart breaking, joyous and awful at the same time
this absolute gigachad ended up living 98 years
Wtf is wrong with these nobles hanging a cat for eating a bird
That such people had little freedom of movement even when normal in size must be a hardship we barely understand. If we find ourselves in a place where we cannot find what we desire, we move. A court dwarf must move but few get to move as freely as Josef did.
In our age, the primordial dwarfs who starred in the wizard of Oz, despite being subject to the same curiosity of other people, had the comfort of eachother and many marriages were made of that great coming together of primordial dwarves.
That many married normal sized people must also be true. Had Josef been born just a bit later, he might have had a more normal life, but he would not have had so many adventures I guess. He seems to lament his fame on account of his size. One uses the gifts he is given.
I do find one aspect of his character a bit shocking, but we are perhaps more tolerant of cats as housepets now.
That he hanged his cat for eating the canaries is a bit of a shock. He must not have bonded with it at all and couldn't have been a lover of animals. But perhaps the cats violence on the canaries instigated a fear in him that the cat who.is of a comparable size, might do him similar violence as he did the canaries. Still though...who doesn't know domestic cats hunt birds? It's what they do is dispatch small prey like rats and birds.they were probably domesticated originally for that purpose by farmers. I don't think any domestic animal was ever domesticated simply to be a companion as modern cats and dogs are now kept. They almost certainly had a useful purpose.
I find that he hanged the cat very sad and it shows an almost clinical cruelty in Josef himself.
If the birds were so dear to him, why keep that cat at all? Ive never known a bird lover to keep a cat. Or any creature other than birds really.
I once knew an old lady as a child who occasionally looked after me. She had many birds. So many that it became impossible to hear oneself think when they got agitated for any reason. She kept them about her living room like a veritable menagerie of squawking whistling birds of all sorts but mostly budgies and parrots and a few large birds good at mimicking including one that said "Lovely" relentlessly.
I hated them all and was glad when my parents quickly found a replacement when the woman's hidden cruelty became known to them. Bird people I have ever distrusted after her.
She was outraged I guess that one of her mimicking birds picked up the words "Shut Up!" From me. She had been outside doing something one day I imagine looking for birds ro gawk at, when her God awful collection of filthy birds started shaking relentlessly. I being very young hated the noise and covered my ears shouting "ShutUp" as loud as I could. I knew it was bad to say that but I couldn't think of anything else I could say loudly that might quiet them down.
Needless to say when we were later sitting in the living room watching the TV. One of the damned things squawked.."Shutup! " loudly over and over.
She became enraged and tanned my hide quite unfairly as I couldn't have known the animal would pick it up so quickly from that one hearing.
When she told my father later why she had whipped me, I think she was actually surprised to find he was not at all sympathetic. He said a few things far less appropriate for her birds than shut up and that was the last I saw of the interesting but in the end mundane, bird lady.
Wonderful story!
Odd twist there at the end...
What an inspiration
Great video, thank you
Super cool 😎👍
27:50 “and then I hung my own cat for murdering a couple birds. Anyways…”
When you read Humiecka as Humieyaka, I thought to myself "wait, what?" Was she Japanese???
Oh! New VotP!
Oh...
Why you gotta bring me down, yo?
Sadly there are still people like those he talks about…people who don’t see those different from them due to illness or appearance as fully human and who are quite cruel. It’s ironic that he saw the indigenous people as savages, though certainly what he’d been taught.
Very sad. Hope he found peace and love in afterlife in heaven