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my fav story is about a swedish guy who made up 100 kings but everyone believed him. wrote a cast on this but it vanished somehow 😡
“Magnus covered 3,800 years of Swedish history, from Noah's grandson Magog to the current King Gustav I. Surprisingly, Gustav liked this book by the opposition Catholic theologian and named his sons Karl and Erik after historical figures. After Gustav's death, they ruled as Erik XIV and Karl IX.
The catch? Magnus either envied other dynasties or had rich imagination, as he invented all Swedish history before 1000 AD, including ~110 kings, with five Eriks and six Karls. He attributed great feats to some, incredible reforms to others, and portrayed one king, Gustagus (a subtle hint at ruling Gustav I), as a depraved abuser. Magnus didn't limit his creativity, and fact-checking hadn't been invented yet.
Deception wasn't discovered immediately, and when the scale of mystification was realized, it was too late. Today Sweden is ruled by Karl XVI, who is only the 10th Karl.” 0 reply
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