Introduction Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz was a traveler and writer. He was born in 1692 and died in 1775. He grew up in Berlin, traveled around Europe until 1735, then served at the Prussian court until he died. He knew the royal family quite well, but he was not present at Küstrin on November 6, 1730, nor directly involved in any of the events.
The passage pertaining to Katte's execution is taken from Mémoires pour servir a l'histoire des quatres derniers souverains de la maison de Branderibourg, pp. 246-247. The book was published posthumously, in 1791. Until then, it had languished in a library, perhaps under the assumption that it was merely a manuscript copy of his already published memoirs. I used the Google books version. Translation mine.
Text La sentence fut envoyée à Berlin. Katt en entendit la lecture sans effroi. Je suis résigné, dit-il, aux décrets de la providence & de la volonté du roi; je n’ai point commis de mauvaise action, et si je meurs c'est pour une belle cause. Il écrivit cependant au roi, & lui demanda sa grâce. Tous ses parens, à le tête desquels étoient son aïeul le maréchal de Wartensleben & son père qui etoit lieutenant général, la demandèrent aussi avec la dernière instance; mais le roi demeurra inflexible. Le major Schenck des gendarmes eut ordre de conduire Katt à la citadelle de Kustrin. Il y arriva à neuf heures du matin, & il lui fut permis pendant tout le jour de s'entretenir avec des ecclésiastiques. Il parut entièrement résigné, & donna de grandes marques de repentance de ses désordres passés; il resta toute la nuit en prières. On avoit élevé un échafaud dans la place de la citadelle au niveau de la chambre du prince royal, dont on avoit abattu & élargi les fenêtres, pour qu'on pût aller de plein pied sur l'échafaud, qui étoit couvert de drap noir. Tout cela avoit été fait aux yeux du prince royal, & il n'avoit pas douté que ces tristes apprêts ne fussent pour lui. Il y fut confirmé le lendemain au matin, en voyant entrer dans sa chambre Loepel, commandant de la citadelle. Mais cet officier ne le laissa pas long-temps dans l'erreur. Il lui dit que le roi vouloit qu'il assistât à l'exécution de Katt, que alloit avoir la tête tranchée. Le prince s'approcha d'une des fenêtres. Peu de temps après Katt parut en habit brun; car ayant été dégradé, il n'osoit point porter d'uniforme. Le prince en le voyant demanda qu'on suspendit l'exécution, & qu'on lui permit d'écrire au roi; qu'il renonceroit solennellement à la succession au trône, pourvu qu'on lui accordât la grâce de son ami. Mais ses pleurs, ses prierès, ses cris ne furent point écoutes: l'arrêt étoit prononcé; il devoit être exécuté. Quand Katt fut assez proche, le prince lui cria qu'il étoit bien malheureux d'etre cause de sa mort. Il ajouta ces mots: Plût à Dieu que je fusse à votre place! Ah! Monseigneur, répondit Katt d'une voix ferme, si j’avois mille vies, je les donnerois pour vous. Il se mit ensuite à genoux. Un de ses domestiques voulut lui bander les yeux. Il n'est pas nécessaire, dit-il. Il leva les yeux, & dit: Mon Dieu, je remets mon ame entre vos mains. Le prince royal ne put point soutenir ce spectacle: il tomba en foiblesse: on le porta sur son lit, où il revint à lui. Mais il étoit si accablé, qu'il ne put se lever. Le corps de Katt demeura tout le jour sur l'échafaud à la vue du prince.
Translation The sentence was conveyed to Berlin. Katte listened to it read without fear. "I am resigned," he said, "to the decrees of Providence and the will of the king; I have not committed any evil action, and if I die, it is for a beautiful cause." He wrote, nevertheless, to the king, and begged for mercy. All his relatives, at the head of which were his grandfather the field marshal von Wartensleben and his father, who was a lieutenant general, also wrote as a last resort; but the King remained unmoved. Major Schenck of the Gens d'armes was ordered to lead Katte to the fortress of Küstrin. He arrived there at 9 in the morning, and he was permitted to spend the day interacting with clergymen. He appeared entirely resigned, and gave great indications of his repentance of his disorderly passions; he spent the whole night in prayer. As scaffold had been erected in the citadel at the same level as the room of the Crown Prince, in which the windows had been broken down and enlarged, so that the scaffold could be plainly seen, which was covered in a black cloth. All this was done in the view of the Crown Prince, and he had no doubt that these depressing sights were intended for him. He was more certain the next morning, when he saw Loepel, commandant of the fortress, enter his room. But this officer did not let him remain in error long. He told him that the king wanted him to assist at the execution of Katte, who was to have his head cut off. The prince approached one of the windows. A little later, Katte appeared wearing a brown coat; because he had been cashiered, he wasn't allowed to wear his uniform. Seeing him, the prince begged for the execution to be suspended, and to be allowed to write to the King; saying that he would solemnly renounce his succession to the throne, if only his friend was granted mercy. But his tears, his prayers, his cries were not heard: the sentence was pronounced; he was to be executed. When Katte was somewhat near, the prince called to him that he was extremely unhappy to be the cause of his death. He added these words: "Would to God that I were in your place!" "Ah! Your Royal Highness," responded Katte in a strong voice, "if I had a thousand lives, I would give them up for you." Then he knelt. On of the servants wanted to bind his eyes. "That is not necessary," he said. He raised his eyes and said, "My God, into your hands I surrender my spirit." The Crown Prince could not endure this sight: he fell into a faint: he was carried to his bed, where he recovered his senses. But he was so overwhelmed that he could not get up. The body of Katte remained all day on the scaffold in the sight of the prince.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Katte Textual Criticism: Pöllnitz (DO NOT REPLY)
Date: 2020-01-04 11:57 am (UTC)Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz was a traveler and writer. He was born in 1692 and died in 1775. He grew up in Berlin, traveled around Europe until 1735, then served at the Prussian court until he died. He knew the royal family quite well, but he was not present at Küstrin on November 6, 1730, nor directly involved in any of the events.
The passage pertaining to Katte's execution is taken from Mémoires pour servir a l'histoire des quatres derniers souverains de la maison de Branderibourg, pp. 246-247. The book was published posthumously, in 1791. Until then, it had languished in a library, perhaps under the assumption that it was merely a manuscript copy of his already published memoirs. I used the Google books version. Translation mine.
Text
La sentence fut envoyée à Berlin. Katt en entendit la lecture sans effroi. Je suis résigné, dit-il, aux décrets de la providence & de la volonté du roi; je n’ai point commis de mauvaise action, et si je meurs c'est pour une belle cause. Il écrivit cependant au roi, & lui demanda sa grâce. Tous ses parens, à le tête desquels étoient son aïeul le maréchal de Wartensleben & son père qui etoit lieutenant général, la demandèrent aussi avec la dernière instance; mais le roi demeurra inflexible. Le major Schenck des gendarmes eut ordre de conduire Katt à la citadelle de Kustrin. Il y arriva à neuf heures du matin, & il lui fut permis pendant tout le jour de s'entretenir avec des ecclésiastiques. Il parut entièrement résigné, & donna de grandes marques de repentance de ses désordres passés; il resta toute la nuit en prières. On avoit élevé un échafaud dans la place de la citadelle au niveau de la chambre du prince royal, dont on avoit abattu & élargi les fenêtres, pour qu'on pût aller de plein pied sur l'échafaud, qui étoit couvert de drap noir. Tout cela avoit été fait aux yeux du prince royal, & il n'avoit pas douté que ces tristes apprêts ne fussent pour lui. Il y fut confirmé le lendemain au matin, en voyant entrer dans sa chambre Loepel, commandant de la citadelle. Mais cet officier ne le laissa pas long-temps dans l'erreur. Il lui dit que le roi vouloit qu'il assistât à l'exécution de Katt, que alloit avoir la tête tranchée. Le prince s'approcha d'une des fenêtres. Peu de temps après Katt parut en habit brun; car ayant été dégradé, il n'osoit point porter d'uniforme. Le prince en le voyant demanda qu'on suspendit l'exécution, & qu'on lui permit d'écrire au roi; qu'il renonceroit solennellement à la succession au trône, pourvu qu'on lui accordât la grâce de son ami. Mais ses pleurs, ses prierès, ses cris ne furent point écoutes: l'arrêt étoit prononcé; il devoit être exécuté. Quand Katt fut assez proche, le prince lui cria qu'il étoit bien malheureux d'etre cause de sa mort. Il ajouta ces mots: Plût à Dieu que je fusse à votre place! Ah! Monseigneur, répondit Katt d'une voix ferme, si j’avois mille vies, je les donnerois pour vous. Il se mit ensuite à genoux. Un de ses domestiques voulut lui bander les yeux. Il n'est pas nécessaire, dit-il. Il leva les yeux, & dit: Mon Dieu, je remets mon ame entre vos mains. Le prince royal ne put point soutenir ce spectacle: il tomba en foiblesse: on le porta sur son lit, où il revint à lui. Mais il étoit si accablé, qu'il ne put se lever. Le corps de Katt demeura tout le jour sur l'échafaud à la vue du prince.
Translation
The sentence was conveyed to Berlin. Katte listened to it read without fear. "I am resigned," he said, "to the decrees of Providence and the will of the king; I have not committed any evil action, and if I die, it is for a beautiful cause." He wrote, nevertheless, to the king, and begged for mercy. All his relatives, at the head of which were his grandfather the field marshal von Wartensleben and his father, who was a lieutenant general, also wrote as a last resort; but the King remained unmoved. Major Schenck of the Gens d'armes was ordered to lead Katte to the fortress of Küstrin. He arrived there at 9 in the morning, and he was permitted to spend the day interacting with clergymen. He appeared entirely resigned, and gave great indications of his repentance of his disorderly passions; he spent the whole night in prayer. As scaffold had been erected in the citadel at the same level as the room of the Crown Prince, in which the windows had been broken down and enlarged, so that the scaffold could be plainly seen, which was covered in a black cloth. All this was done in the view of the Crown Prince, and he had no doubt that these depressing sights were intended for him. He was more certain the next morning, when he saw Loepel, commandant of the fortress, enter his room. But this officer did not let him remain in error long. He told him that the king wanted him to assist at the execution of Katte, who was to have his head cut off. The prince approached one of the windows. A little later, Katte appeared wearing a brown coat; because he had been cashiered, he wasn't allowed to wear his uniform. Seeing him, the prince begged for the execution to be suspended, and to be allowed to write to the King; saying that he would solemnly renounce his succession to the throne, if only his friend was granted mercy. But his tears, his prayers, his cries were not heard: the sentence was pronounced; he was to be executed. When Katte was somewhat near, the prince called to him that he was extremely unhappy to be the cause of his death. He added these words: "Would to God that I were in your place!" "Ah! Your Royal Highness," responded Katte in a strong voice, "if I had a thousand lives, I would give them up for you." Then he knelt. On of the servants wanted to bind his eyes. "That is not necessary," he said. He raised his eyes and said, "My God, into your hands I surrender my spirit." The Crown Prince could not endure this sight: he fell into a faint: he was carried to his bed, where he recovered his senses. But he was so overwhelmed that he could not get up. The body of Katte remained all day on the scaffold in the sight of the prince.