#in context this is a good thing! they were testing to see if I have rheumatoid arthritis

[minetteskvareninova]

OH YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE-

Okay, so if we zoom in only on the girlies. Maria Theresa of course would be the first and foremost because she's a fucking icon, hands down. One of the most important monarchs in Austrian, Hungarian, Czech etc. and of course SLOVAK history. She ruled the Habsburg monarchy for 40 years and did so many important things that I can't even give you a brief summary.

Stephanie of Belgium was a FASCINATING personality, I've only read an abridged version of her memoirs, but seeing things from her perspective was a Journey. Of course, my true blorbo is her first husband, but honestly in terms of sympathies, I feel more for her than for him. #justiceforstephanie Plus the fact that she made a better life for herself, found true love and junk after his death warms my heart.

Anne of Austria. An absolute icon who facilitated the height of absolutism (a mixed blessing to be sure, but nonetheless) by keeping France from falling apart before Louis XIV. ever came to power. Also had just... The most fascinating life, married at 13 to a notorious prude, their marriage was notoriously volatile, she participated in a bajilion conspiracies against him, then they made up for the last time and had two kids when they were in their 40s, soon thereafter he died and she had to keep France from falling apart, all the while flirting with a sexy cardinal. What can I say, I read the Slovak translation of Herrinnen des Louvre at 15 and it permanently altered my brain chemistry.

Margeurite "Margot" de Valois. Another absolutely fascinating life story of a clever woman navigating politics, plus was cancelled during her lifetime for just the dumbest reasons. If anything, her many love affairs and constant switching of sides make her even more iconic!

Fulvia, married to both Clodius Pulcher and Marcus Antonius and like a good Roman wife did her best to match their freak. One of the prime dramatis personae of the transition between Roman republic and empire and, frankly, the most underrated one. Also other Roman women, like Agrippina the Younger and of course the great Theodora of the Nika rebellion and regency for Justinian I. during his illness fame, @hurremsultanns will tell you why she's awesome.

And OF COURSE. Of course. The 18th century Romanov empresses. Were they correct? Mostly no. Were they likeable? With the exception of Catherine the Great, also mostly no (no, really, you WOULD want to hang out with her, if for no other reason than because you might run into Ekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova). But were they iconic? Yes, absolutely, 100%.

But for real tho... In my opinion, the real test of your blorbos isn't even their choice, it's your ability to put them in a historical context. Like if you know not only tidbits from their life, but also to assess how they fit into or deviate from the norms of their era and how important they are in a broader context, then you're pretty much golden no matter what basic bitch you choose.

History is not just Marie Antoinette, it's more

I don't know about you, but there is a certain community of people in history that is starting to annoy me… I call them the "history girls" I don't know if you see but they are the girls who are only interested in Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, Empress Sissi (and sometimes the Romanov sisters) it disappoints me because I have the impression that they only know that about history, what is too bad is that these historical figures are interesting I'm not saying the opposite but everyone knows them, you tell a French person to name a historical figure he necessarily says Marie Antoinette and the same for the others, history is not that, history is thousands of characters who have marked life, I prefer characters that no one knows than characters about whom there are already a slew of books and films, I prefer to talk to people whose historical figure they don't know at all, it's much more interesting and it allows better know the history precisely…personally my favorite historical figure is Marshal Michel Ney who knows him apart from those who are interested in the Napoleonic era and specialists? no one…so who are your favorite historical figures that no one knows and who are more interesting than Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn and Empress Sissi?