Did you ever take a look at the translated-into-German English envoy reports about the escape attempt?
I did now. Also the previous reports, because context is everything. Speaking of context: Raumer dedicated the entire volume to young Queen Victoria, and in his description and quotes form the various British envoy reports, goes on at some length what a shame it was that the English marriage project didn't work out, because Fritz as regent of Hannover as Crown Prince, married to Amalie, Fritz able to visit England and to travel would have been even more fabulous than he already was, and Hannover/England/Prussia OT3, instead of the shameful situation like now, when Hannover is excluded from the German Customs Union due to the (just about to separate) British connection, but I believe in you, Victoria! No Brexit! (Sorry, I couldn't esist.)
Anyway: the reports Raumer quotes go from Fritz & Wilhelmine as children onwards. For the years 1729/30, they are by Charles Hotham and Guy Dickens, respectively, and Guy Dickens, bless, actually names his sources a lot. These are mainly: SD herself (sending a note even after the news of the Fritz escape first has reached her), Frau von Kamecke (the very one who intervened when FW had a go at Wilhelmine), General Ginckel (who was called to FW and got a bellow full of "the Brits are behind everything!" bile), and "der Königin Kaplan", "the Queen's chaplain", who meets Dickens in disguise in late November and December to update him. Morever, Dickens must have had someone (not named) in the FW administration, because not only does he correctly name the title of the respective Fritz and Catte tribunals, he's also informed that Katte in his first written confession, i.e. the Species Facti, has "proven" that he tried to foil Fritz the entire time and thus in Dickens' opinion could clear himself from all wrongdoing safe knowing about Fritz' intention and not reporting it. Dickens is also extra relieved that Katte cleared the English (read: him) from being behind it all, because in an earlier report, after Katte's arrest, he's worried Katte might be pressured to say, and would say to save himself with FW, that it's all the Brits' fault. Later, Dickens is correctly informed that FW got a judgment from the tribunal twice he didn't agree with until he personally overrode it.
Dickens also mentions several conversations with Löwenörn/Löwenöhr, so that's another (shared) pool of knowledge. His dispatch about Katte's execution is dated November 11th and is on page 546.
The Commander of the fortress made the orders of King known to the Prince, to wit, that Katte would be brought here to be executed in his presence, and that he had to step towards the window in order to watch the entire procedure. Protesting was of no help to the Prince as he'd also been given to understand that if he didn't do so voluntarily, he would be forced to by evil treatment. When the Prince stepped towards the window, Katte was already at the spot of execution. As soon as he saw the later, he cried bitterly and called: "Mon cher Katte je vous demande bien pardon do vous avoir entrainé dans ce malheur!" Katt replied with very great calm: "Monseigneur, il n'ye pas de quoi!"
Katte then was ordered to kneel, and while he pushed with one hand his cap over his eyes and with the other threw a last kiss at the Crown Prince, his head was cut off. The Prince cried out and fainted. To make the scene complete, the body was left outside the prince's windows from eight in the morning, when he was beheaded, to 2 pm. Then the citizens of the town were allowed to take him away and bury him.
Raumer also says in the same dispatch Dickens expresses the opinion that all words and deeds of FW make it clear that he's determined to destroy his son (Raumer here gives us the English word "destroy" in addition to the German "zerstören"), and that all the envoys of various nations believe the only thing holding him back a little is his fear to have the Emperor against him. This is alll the more remarkable since Dickens is no fan of the Austrians. Grumbkow & Seckendorff are his main enemies at court, just as with every British ambassador.
More interesting trivia: in an October report, Dickens says he's got word from SD where she begs brother George to formally propose for his son to Wilhelmine, since she hasn't seen her daughter since the big showdown nor knows whether she'll ever see her again, that FW has said to SD he'll lock Wilhelmine away for the rest of her life, and that an official proposal/ fiancee of Prince of Wales status might be the only thing to save her daughter from this.
This is the first time where SD's obsession with the British marriage project actually comes across as not the sole motivation. Bearing in mind that her own mother (and George's) mother was locked away for life, such a threat would not have sounded like mere rethoric to her. Wilhelmine hadn't yet agreed to the Bayreuth marriage, so I do buy that love and concern for her daughter was as big a factor here at least as the usual "I must get a daughter of mine to live the life I'd have wanted".
In the December 2nd report, Dickens says FW had ordered that anyone writing about the Fritz and Katte tale loses their right hand. (And that would be why that pamphlet was printed in Cologne.)
The December 9th report includes the Queen's chaplain brings news to Dickens from SD, containing these gems, featuring FW foiled by theologians and being fan of Katte, I kid you not: The love and friendship which the Prince and his sister have felt from earliest youth for each other makes them both equally hateful to the King. Just a few days ago, the King consulted eight theologians (four Lutherans and four Calvinists) as to whether a father didn't have the right to marry his daughter to whomever he pleases? Only one, the preacher of the garnison church, was of this opinion. All others declared strictly against it. The King now shows much sympathy and compassion for Katte's death. He says: He was a promising young man whose death must have been painful for his entire family. These conversations, he ends every time by asking everyone present whether not the Prince, as the cause of Katte's death, has very much to answer for.
And that's really interesting, because the envoy who had that convo with Katte is long gone from Prussia! So I wonder about the transmission route from him to Fritz. Did it go via Johnn? Wilhelmine? Someone else? Directly somehow? Was Fritz filling in the "on account of some girl" and it wasn't supplied by the Danish envoy at all? There are just so many possibilities!
Indeed. If Fritz hasn't made it up for whatever reason while talking to Mitchell, I do wonder about SD as yet another possible source. The envoy she was in constant contact with was the British one, granted, but Dickens and Löwenörn talked, so news might have travelled this way, and I could see SD, especially after what FW is quoted saying re: Katte, wanting Fritz to know that Katte's remaining in Berlin had not been his fault but "some girl"'s.
Are we still limited to written evidence, though? Or does Lehndorff give us insights into who was and wasn't "tu"-ing each other in speech? (I know it's hard with our translation being at one remove from the original French.) I.e. is it possible that people who "vous"ed each other in writing might have "tu"ed each other in speech under specific circumstances? It's really hard to get data on non-written behaviors...
It is. The sole reason why I know Heinrich uses du towards Amalie in the argument is that Lehndorff quotes both Amalie's and Heinrich's phrases in the original German, so noted by Schmidt-Lötzen by footnote (and also because the spelling suddenly changes from early 20th century standard spelling to 18th century free for all). Volz' translation and edition of the Fritz/Wilhelmine correspondance has them using "du" all the way, and so does the audio version (which confused me when I started to read Trier with all the vous), with Volz admitting that it has been adjusted for the reader of Volz and the listener of our day because a close brother and sister writing "Sie" would sound really odd for non-historians. Modern biographers like Ziebura go back to the Vous = Sie translation. (Krockow, interestingly enough, has Heinrich and Fritz write "Sie" but Ferdinand and Heinrich write "Du", which I could believe, but I'm now sceptical until I see the originals. Since Lehndorff of course never was alone with Fritz and Wilhelmine, he can't tell us whether they said du to each other in verbal conversation.
If I were writing fiction in German about them, I would do the following re: modes of adress between the siblings:
Fritz and Wilhelmine, AW and Heinrich, Heinrich and Ferdinand: du in personal interaction, especially if no one else is present. Sie during state occasions and in writing.
Fritz and Heinrich, once Heinrich is an adult: Sie, except when Fritz is losing his temper, then he switches to Du, just like Dad with him.
Fritz & his other sisters: mutual Sie, even during fond occasions.
Heinrich and Wilhelmine, Charlotte, Ulrike: Mutual Sie.
Ulrike and AW: du in private, Sie in public.
Heinrich and Amalie (i.e. the sister closest in age to him): Du in personal interaction with no one else or only family members/ a small circle present, Sie on state occasions, and vice versa.
But that's just to get across the respective relationships across to the readers, not based on more than the one Lehndorff report.
Re: Katte - Species Facti 2
I did now. Also the previous reports, because context is everything. Speaking of context: Raumer dedicated the entire volume to young Queen Victoria, and in his description and quotes form the various British envoy reports, goes on at some length what a shame it was that the English marriage project didn't work out, because Fritz as regent of Hannover as Crown Prince, married to Amalie, Fritz able to visit England and to travel would have been even more fabulous than he already was, and Hannover/England/Prussia OT3, instead of the shameful situation like now, when Hannover is excluded from the German Customs Union due to the (just about to separate) British connection, but I believe in you, Victoria! No Brexit! (Sorry, I couldn't esist.)
Anyway: the reports Raumer quotes go from Fritz & Wilhelmine as children onwards. For the years 1729/30, they are by Charles Hotham and Guy Dickens, respectively, and Guy Dickens, bless, actually names his sources a lot. These are mainly: SD herself (sending a note even after the news of the Fritz escape first has reached her), Frau von Kamecke (the very one who intervened when FW had a go at Wilhelmine), General Ginckel (who was called to FW and got a bellow full of "the Brits are behind everything!" bile), and "der Königin Kaplan", "the Queen's chaplain", who meets Dickens in disguise in late November and December to update him. Morever, Dickens must have had someone (not named) in the FW administration, because not only does he correctly name the title of the respective Fritz and Catte tribunals, he's also informed that Katte in his first written confession, i.e. the Species Facti, has "proven" that he tried to foil Fritz the entire time and thus in Dickens' opinion could clear himself from all wrongdoing safe knowing about Fritz' intention and not reporting it. Dickens is also extra relieved that Katte cleared the English (read: him) from being behind it all, because in an earlier report, after Katte's arrest, he's worried Katte might be pressured to say, and would say to save himself with FW, that it's all the Brits' fault. Later, Dickens is correctly informed that FW got a judgment from the tribunal twice he didn't agree with until he personally overrode it.
Dickens also mentions several conversations with Löwenörn/Löwenöhr, so that's another (shared) pool of knowledge. His dispatch about Katte's execution is dated November 11th and is on page 546.
The Commander of the fortress made the orders of King known to the Prince, to wit, that Katte would be brought here to be executed in his presence, and that he had to step towards the window in order to watch the entire procedure. Protesting was of no help to the Prince as he'd also been given to understand that if he didn't do so voluntarily, he would be forced to by evil treatment. When the Prince stepped towards the window, Katte was already at the spot of execution. As soon as he saw the later, he cried bitterly and called: "Mon cher Katte je vous demande bien pardon do vous avoir entrainé dans ce malheur!" Katt replied with very great calm: "Monseigneur, il n'ye pas de quoi!"
Katte then was ordered to kneel, and while he pushed with one hand his cap over his eyes and with the other threw a last kiss at the Crown Prince, his head was cut off. The Prince cried out and fainted. To make the scene complete, the body was left outside the prince's windows from eight in the morning, when he was beheaded, to 2 pm. Then the citizens of the town were allowed to take him away and bury him.
Raumer also says in the same dispatch Dickens expresses the opinion that all words and deeds of FW make it clear that he's determined to destroy his son (Raumer here gives us the English word "destroy" in addition to the German "zerstören"), and that all the envoys of various nations believe the only thing holding him back a little is his fear to have the Emperor against him. This is alll the more remarkable since Dickens is no fan of the Austrians. Grumbkow & Seckendorff are his main enemies at court, just as with every British ambassador.
More interesting trivia: in an October report, Dickens says he's got word from SD where she begs brother George to formally propose for his son to Wilhelmine, since she hasn't seen her daughter since the big showdown nor knows whether she'll ever see her again, that FW has said to SD he'll lock Wilhelmine away for the rest of her life, and that an official proposal/ fiancee of Prince of Wales status might be the only thing to save her daughter from this.
This is the first time where SD's obsession with the British marriage project actually comes across as not the sole motivation. Bearing in mind that her own mother (and George's) mother was locked away for life, such a threat would not have sounded like mere rethoric to her. Wilhelmine hadn't yet agreed to the Bayreuth marriage, so I do buy that love and concern for her daughter was as big a factor here at least as the usual "I must get a daughter of mine to live the life I'd have wanted".
In the December 2nd report, Dickens says FW had ordered that anyone writing about the Fritz and Katte tale loses their right hand. (And that would be why that pamphlet was printed in Cologne.)
The December 9th report includes the Queen's chaplain brings news to Dickens from SD, containing these gems, featuring FW foiled by theologians and being fan of Katte, I kid you not: The love and friendship which the Prince and his sister have felt from earliest youth for each other makes them both equally hateful to the King. Just a few days ago, the King consulted eight theologians (four Lutherans and four Calvinists) as to whether a father didn't have the right to marry his daughter to whomever he pleases? Only one, the preacher of the garnison church, was of this opinion. All others declared strictly against it. The King now shows much sympathy and compassion for Katte's death. He says: He was a promising young man whose death must have been painful for his entire family. These conversations, he ends every time by asking everyone present whether not the Prince, as the cause of Katte's death, has very much to answer for.
And that's really interesting, because the envoy who had that convo with Katte is long gone from Prussia! So I wonder about the transmission route from him to Fritz. Did it go via Johnn? Wilhelmine? Someone else? Directly somehow? Was Fritz filling in the "on account of some girl" and it wasn't supplied by the Danish envoy at all? There are just so many possibilities!
Indeed. If Fritz hasn't made it up for whatever reason while talking to Mitchell, I do wonder about SD as yet another possible source. The envoy she was in constant contact with was the British one, granted, but Dickens and Löwenörn talked, so news might have travelled this way, and I could see SD, especially after what FW is quoted saying re: Katte, wanting Fritz to know that Katte's remaining in Berlin had not been his fault but "some girl"'s.
Are we still limited to written evidence, though? Or does Lehndorff give us insights into who was and wasn't "tu"-ing each other in speech? (I know it's hard with our translation being at one remove from the original French.) I.e. is it possible that people who "vous"ed each other in writing might have "tu"ed each other in speech under specific circumstances? It's really hard to get data on non-written behaviors...
It is. The sole reason why I know Heinrich uses du towards Amalie in the argument is that Lehndorff quotes both Amalie's and Heinrich's phrases in the original German, so noted by Schmidt-Lötzen by footnote (and also because the spelling suddenly changes from early 20th century standard spelling to 18th century free for all). Volz' translation and edition of the Fritz/Wilhelmine correspondance has them using "du" all the way, and so does the audio version (which confused me when I started to read Trier with all the vous), with Volz admitting that it has been adjusted for the reader of Volz and the listener of our day because a close brother and sister writing "Sie" would sound really odd for non-historians. Modern biographers like Ziebura go back to the Vous = Sie translation. (Krockow, interestingly enough, has Heinrich and Fritz write "Sie" but Ferdinand and Heinrich write "Du", which I could believe, but I'm now sceptical until I see the originals. Since Lehndorff of course never was alone with Fritz and Wilhelmine, he can't tell us whether they said du to each other in verbal conversation.
If I were writing fiction in German about them, I would do the following re: modes of adress between the siblings:
Fritz and Wilhelmine, AW and Heinrich, Heinrich and Ferdinand: du in personal interaction, especially if no one else is present. Sie during state occasions and in writing.
Fritz and Heinrich, once Heinrich is an adult: Sie, except when Fritz is losing his temper, then he switches to Du, just like Dad with him.
Fritz & his other sisters: mutual Sie, even during fond occasions.
Heinrich and Wilhelmine, Charlotte, Ulrike: Mutual Sie.
Ulrike and AW: du in private, Sie in public.
Heinrich and Amalie (i.e. the sister closest in age to him): Du in personal interaction with no one else or only family members/ a small circle present, Sie on state occasions, and vice versa.
But that's just to get across the respective relationships across to the readers, not based on more than the one Lehndorff report.