But especially W and T, since T isn't supposed to have had access to W!
I have some new speculation about that. Pöllnitz' manuscript might have been languishing in the drawer when T wrote in Paris, but as Fritz' reader, he could have easily had access to it earlier, and could have made a copy. After all, Pöllnitz had already published several other books, including his earlier memoirs, and his papers would have been of interest to T if he did some research while in Prussia. (Espeically since P was famous for having spicy stories, see also his bestseller "La Saxe Galante".) And as we said on an earlier occasion, P was the go to guy for any of the Hohenzollern siblings for stories and anecdotes, so it would make sense for Wilhelmine to have consulted him while writing her memoirs.
Alternatively: a lot of the artists and intellectuals who'd been living with Wilhelmine and her husband in Bayreuth went to Fritz' court in the mid 60s when the Margrave died and crazy Uncle Christian inherited the lot, sacking all the artists and scholars. Any of them could have told T, who also arrived in Prussia in the mid 60s, that W had written her memoirs if any of them knew. I mean, it's news to Heinrich and FW2 later that she did, but that doesn't mean it was news to everyone. If you were a writer with interest in Fritz, and heard in confidence that his sister had written secret memoirs, wouldnl't you want to hunt that manuscript down? (And not told your boss, who'd wanted it for himself.)
Though I think it's more likely Pöllnitz was the Ur-source for W and T.
As for V and C, I agree they most likely got an account from Fritz and rewrote it from memory years later, which accounts for all the mistakes, plus in V's case embellished it with FW present etc. for reasons of drama.
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Re: Katte Textual Criticism: Discussion (REPLY HERE)
Date: 2020-01-04 02:20 pm (UTC)I have some new speculation about that. Pöllnitz' manuscript might have been languishing in the drawer when T wrote in Paris, but as Fritz' reader, he could have easily had access to it earlier, and could have made a copy. After all, Pöllnitz had already published several other books, including his earlier memoirs, and his papers would have been of interest to T if he did some research while in Prussia. (Espeically since P was famous for having spicy stories, see also his bestseller "La Saxe Galante".) And as we said on an earlier occasion, P was the go to guy for any of the Hohenzollern siblings for stories and anecdotes, so it would make sense for Wilhelmine to have consulted him while writing her memoirs.
Alternatively: a lot of the artists and intellectuals who'd been living with Wilhelmine and her husband in Bayreuth went to Fritz' court in the mid 60s when the Margrave died and crazy Uncle Christian inherited the lot, sacking all the artists and scholars. Any of them could have told T, who also arrived in Prussia in the mid 60s, that W had written her memoirs if any of them knew. I mean, it's news to Heinrich and FW2 later that she did, but that doesn't mean it was news to everyone. If you were a writer with interest in Fritz, and heard in confidence that his sister had written secret memoirs, wouldnl't you want to hunt that manuscript down? (And not told your boss, who'd wanted it for himself.)
Though I think it's more likely Pöllnitz was the Ur-source for W and T.
As for V and C, I agree they most likely got an account from Fritz and rewrote it from memory years later, which accounts for all the mistakes, plus in V's case embellished it with FW present etc. for reasons of drama.