Leafing through these reports, I keep thinking "OMG Mildred has to see this", so have a few impressions. First of all, this envoy is distinctly lower on the hacking order than all the previous envoys, unsuprisingly, since Braunschweig/Brunswick is another principality in the HRE, not a completely sovereign nation like Denmark or England. Even Saxony is different, due to being also the Kingdom of Poland at the time. So S. is either ultra cautious or really not so much in loop as the others, thought I at first (until getting to Katte's execution). There's no report on any friction between Fritz and FW until January 1730, and then it's very cryptic and only identifiable by footnote with the editor saying this is probably a hint of that. S. is the envoy equivalent of the kind of (old fashioned, not today's) conservative tabloid that writes cute family stories about the Royals and would never, or hardly ever, report anything nasty. So we hear what little Heinrich, age 4, gave SD as a birthday present (a china tea pot - I take it this was selected for him by someone else), or how the wetnurse for baby Ferdinand was selected (which I did find interesting), but nothing at all about FW shouting at his son (and oldest daughter), let alone manhandling or publically humiliating him. As late as August 18th, S. only knows Katte was arrested "for corresponding with a person of high rank".
Then, after Fritz' arrest is really really public, he keeps reporting rumors that he's about to be forgiven by Dad just the next few days, in September that Katte managed to clear himself almost totally and is facing just a few years of arrest, max. Wilhelmine is consistently reported sick for the remainder of 1730, that's the explanation S. keeps giving for why no one is allowed to see her anymore. She's in a bad state of health. Home arrest, what home arrest? On October 14th, he's noticed the messengers being sent from Wusterhausen to Köpenick (where the war tribunal was held) and back and optimistically concludes FW wants to reopen the palace at Köpenick as Fritz' new residence and forgiveness is really really imminent now. He also has heard that the tribunal wanted to deliver an ultra strict sentence on Katte, but FW, being the merciful King he is, has intervened and provided mercy and will soon declare Katte's pardon.
Just when I was ready to conclude he just doesn't have luck with his spies and paid informants, I check out the November entries, and lo, not only does S. provide a pretty accurate report of the execution, complete with dialogue between Fritz and Katte, but he also, near the end of November (25th) in another entry, has read the three letters Katte wrote (to the King, to his father and to his grandfather) in copies. (He still insists on lightside FW, saying that the King read Katte's letter only two days ago but bitterly regrets it and swears he'd totally have pardoned Katte if he had read it first.) (He also says Hans Heinrich has offered his resignation, and so has Katte's superior Natzmer, but that FW refused to accept it and on the contrary that the Katte family is in for some favors.) And then in December we get back to rumors of Fritz' imminent return to parental favor and neighbourhood, i.e. evidently false intelligence. So how come his intel on the execution is suddenly dead on? S., you are a man of mystery. Here's what he writes, and you know the scene so well that I give you Rokoko German:
Berlin, den 11. November 1730. Nach dem jüngst gemeldetermaßen, der Lieut. v. Katte gestern vor 8 Tagen, unter einer Escorte von 30 Mann Gens d'Armes in Begleitung des Ritt-Meisters v. Aßeburg und des Gens d'Armerie Feld Predigers nach der 10 Meil von hier entlegenen Veste Cüstrin gebracht und daselbst den 3. Tag darauf, am vergangenen Sonntage, abgeliefert worden; hat der, auf Königl. Befehl, dahin voraus gegangene Geh. Rath pp. Gerbet, in Gegenwart des gleichfalls aldar schon an gelangt gewesenen Obristen v. Derschau und anderer dazu bestimmter Officiern, demselben abermahls das Todesurtheil vorlesen und auf den folgenden Tag, dessen die Execution ankündigen müßen. Der Feld Prediger hat demnach die Devotion mit ihm continuiret, da andern Morgens der Condemnatus bald nach 7 Uhr im Schloße sich auf einen daselbst angefahrenen Sand-Haufen, gleich gegen des Cron-Prinzen Fenster über, eingefunden und wie Se. Königl. Hoheit ihn darauf angeredet. Mons. Katte! ich bitte euch vergebet mir, wann Ich euch zu leyde gethan und Ursache an euern Tode bin; und er sich dagegen hinwieder ganz constant in Antwort vernehmen laßen: Ihro Hoheit haben nicht Ursache um Vergebung zu bitten, weil Sie mir nichts zu wieder gethan und ich selbst meines Todes Ursache bin. Er darauf mit Gebet sich zu Gott gewandt, so folglich sich selbst die Augen verbunden und also in gleicher Constance des Henckers Schwerd Schlag abgewartet, der dann auch so glücklich gelungen, daß mit einem Hieb der Kopf vom Cörper abgesondert worden; welchem necht man dem Leichnam mit dem ausgebreiteten schwarzen Tuch bedecket und also bis 2 Uhr Nachmittags zum Schau liegen laßen; da man selben in einen Sarg geleget und die bestellte 12 Bürger des Orts selbigen so folglich zur Beerdigung auf den Kirchhof getragen; mit welcher Tragedie dann in so weit dieser Actus geendet, und wird gesagt: daß, wann der König dieses decollierten Lieutnants Verbrechen nach der rigoeur hätte bestrafen lassen wollen und nicht consideration für die viele vornehme Verwandten Se. Maj. selben mit einerweit eclatanteren Todes-Strafe belegen können.
Given S. earlier reports all those imminent pardons, the turnaround to "FW totally could have made it worse!" (i.e. FW's own argument) is especially startling. And the fact that it all checks out - the dialogue exchange, the sandheap, Katte binding his own eyes.
In the same November 25th entry where S. mentions the three letters and having read copies, he also provides us with this priceless anecdote about, wait for it, young AW confronting FW with Katte:
Sonsten wird pargiret: daß der zweyte Königl. Prinz jüngster Tagen beim Exercieren, da ein Officier ihm die Handgriffe bey bringen sollen, ganz ermüdet worden und nicht mehr damit fortfahren wollen; wie nun des Königs Majt. zu Ihm gelaget, wenn Du nicht exerciren willst, so sollst Du auch kein port d'epée mehr tragen; worauf der Prinz geantwortet: mein lieber Papa! das will ich wohl gleich wieder geben; wie der König darauf repliciret: Wilhelm! so kanst Du auch kein Officier sein; hätte der Prinz erwidert; da frage ich nichts nach, mein lieber Papa läßet ja einen Officiers die Köpfe abhauen. Was nun hiermit weiter vorgefallen, übergehet man billig mit Stillschweigen; inzwischen habe der König geargwohnet: daß gegen den Prinzen jemand dergleichen Reden geführet haben müßte; weswegen Er etwas hart angelaßen, solches zu bekennen; Er hat aber keinen genannt; indessen soll der Kriegs Rath Lindener als Informator, deswegen ein scharfes Bad haben ausstehen müßen.
English translation, because I need you to understand this if google doesn't deliver: It's also told that the second royal prince the other day during drilling grew exhausted when an officer was supposed to teach him all the right grips, and hadn't wanted to continue; then the King came to him, he told him, if you don't want to drill anymore, you'll have to return your sword, to which the Prince replied: Dear Papa! I want to return it at once! and the King answered: Wilhelm! Then you can't be an officer! To which the Prince supposedly returned, I don't care for it, my dear Papa orders his officers' heads to be cut off. What then happened should rather be covered with silence; by now the King suspects someone has been talking in front of the Prince with such speeches, and he's approached him somewhat harshly to confess to this; but (AW) did not provide anyone's name; but still, the Councillor Lindener as the likely informant has been in hot waters because of this.
Edited 2020-09-30 15:46 (UTC)
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Leafing through these reports, I keep thinking "OMG Mildred has to see this"
Lol, I checked my email this morning right before I had two consecutive meetings, and when I got to this line and saw the length of the write-up, I had to stop, because otherwise I wasn't going to be able to focus on work. :P
Just from flipping through the pdf before handing it over, I saw that Stratemann looked like he had potentially interesting stuff on the royal family, and of course the 1728-1733 dates meant that I knew I didn't have to ask you to tell me about the parts that you knew would be Relevant to My Interests (TM). ;)
But now I have read this, and wooooow.
First I have to say, you go, eight-year-old AW! You tell your dad off!
What then happened should rather be covered with silence
Um. I hope this doesn't but fear that it does mean that AW got a beating. :(
Also, Brunswick envoy guy, we count on you for Rococo frankness! Silence is for Victorians. :P
But yeah, poor AW. He had to intercede for a long fellow, then FW did that "I'm going to cut off your fingers" joke that it took AW a minute to decide was a joke, and now Katte. :/
Ihro Hoheit haben nicht Ursache um Vergebung zu bitten, weil Sie mir nichts zu wieder gethan und ich selbst meines Todes Ursache bin.
Yet another slight variant on the last words! The new part is "I myself am the cause of my death." This is consistent with "Not Fritz's fault, but also not FW's fault, definitely God punishing me for my ambitions." [ETA: To be fair, he didn't actually say "punish", he went for something a little less self-critical. What he said, as I recall, was that God was using him as a tool in his grand divine plan to illustrate the vanity of human ambitions, which is theologically different.]
I'm still with cahn that Hans Heinrich is trying to forgive FW, not Fritz. :P
So how come his intel on the execution is suddenly dead on? S., you are a man of mystery.
My theory is that the Danish ambassador, von Johnn, who wrote *his* envoy report on November 11, and who evidently leaked the letters and an eyewitness description to Cologne, so that EVERYONE could know about it, was going, "You know what he did? You know what that bastard did?" to his fellow envoys. November 11 to November 25 is two weeks for Stratemann to have gotten the info, directly or indirectly, from the guy who wanted everyone to know what FW did.
Okay, so my German reading list just got a little longer. :P Thank you for this!
ETA: OH WAIT. I just realized that November 25 is when you said S reads the letters; November 11 is the date of the Katte execution entry. WELL THEN. Seckendorff's and Dickens' envoy reports also date to November 11, per Koser. I have to conclude at this point that all the envoys found out that day, or the day before. And I'm starting to suspect some of them were talking to each other.
Oh, that's right, Lavisse says Sauveterre obviously based his execution report on Dickens', because he didn't have good intel of his own. (Sauveterre was Rottembourg's secretary, who took over for Rottembourg after he left, and was apparently much less proactive than his former boss.) So if Dickens is talking to Sauveterre and the latter is basing his report on the former's, and Stratemann's is very similar to von Johnn's and *suddenly* S has very detailed info and access to letters where before he had nothing...I'm going with: Katte's execution was a shocking event that got everyone gossiping, and people shared notes.
Moreover, the Danish envoys were, from what I've seen, unhappy with FW and vice versa during 1730 for a number of reasons (including the usual FW recruiting in their territory reason). Since von Johnn's eyewitness report is nearly verbatim the same as the Cologne pamphlet, even more so than Stratemann's, I'm in agreement with Koser that Johnn is the most likely leaker, and since Løvenørn is suspected of tipping off Katte, I can't imagine Johnn would hesitate to share this info, which was, after all, meant to be public. *And* I'm speculating that Johnn might actually have been annoyed with FW's fanboy and wanted to try to clear some of the stars out of his eyes. :P
Stratemann's strategy, in contrast, got three children of his duke married to three children of FW, including the two most politically important ones, so...I guess that paid off. :P
Btw, I was googling Løvenørn just to get the characters that aren't on my keyboard, because I'm oddly lazy about random technical things :P, and I saw that he died in February 1740. That makes even more sense of why Fritz in 1739 is asking Fouqué, who's about to join Danish service, if he has any news on Løvenørn. I wonder if Fritz heard he was sick. In any case, as I've pointed out, Fritz didn't see Løvenørn after 1730 that I know of, and to still be asking after him in 1739 speaks of some fondness.
We know you tried, Løvenørn.
(If I don't get a lot of German done today, detective work is why. ;) )
Son of ETA: Let's not forget that Johnn and the pamphlet he leaked have the only variant of Katte's last words (so far) to mention FW, i.e., "If I had ten lives, I would give them all to reconcile Your Royal Highness with your lord father the King." Johnn: not a fan!
English translation, because I need you to understand this if google doesn't deliver:
I applaud your priorities, and also the sense of urgency you managed to convey in the word "need." :D I extremely needed to understand that, so thank you very much for the translation.
- There were lots of rumors in 1729 that Fritz would be allowed to travel to France and Italy, but nothing came out of it.
- there's a lot about the squashed desertion/rebellion among the Long Fellows in early 1730 and the various gruesome executions; Stratemann being the Pollyanna of envoys, he says later when reporting on SD's bad state during the last months of her pregnancy (remember, that family scene where Wilhelmine gets forgiven by FW etc) that clearly, the Queen is distressed because she was so worried about her husband and son being in danger from those evil conspirators
- actual comment from Fritz on this incident: It is said that the Crown Prince confessed to his confidant, literally: If it was up to me, I'd open all the gates at Potsdam and would announce: now all the scoundrels can go wherever they please and run, honest men could stay, and would be rewarded according to their merits and behavior in the future.
(This reminds me of a famous King Fritz speech just before Leuthen.)
- Stratemann in general reports incidents with members of the army and the staff; in 1728, an unlucky page forgot FW's overcoat and it rained. That guy got beaten. In 1730, one Potsdam Giant committed suicide in the room where the tobacco parliament was held (obviously not while it was in session) by hanging himself, because he had been publically humiliated by his superior officer, and FW was incensed and ordered his body being dragged through the streets and thrown on the dungheap; the guy was born in Tyrol and a Catholic, says our envoy, which makes me conclude he must have been kidnapped.
- in l729, rumor has it the recalled Suhm has ended up at the Fortress Königstein (I've been there, remember the photos), and Stratemann observes philosophically that if true, this would not be surprising, since Suhm was "a creature of Minister Flemming" and when there's a change of minister people often fall; now, Flemming was August's most important minister and majorly responsible of Countess' Cosel's downfall back in the day as he hated her and intrigued against her; the incoming new prime minister was the famous Count Brühl, whose houses Fritz will licence for plunder and whose wife he'll clash with in the 7 Years War
- Dr. Willers, according to Stratemann the guy who taught both Wilhelmine and Fritz in English in preparation for their marriages, is sent away (with honors) from Potsdam in February 1730
- considerate husband FW, when his wife is sick, tells her, sounding a lot like his son later: She should get rid of Dr. Stahlen, he (FW) wanted to be her Medicus; she should not drink so much coffee and drink nothing but hot soup instead, then her illness would pass. The Queen promised to do this and asked for the hot soup; and the following day, her condition improved.
- as reported by Wilhelmine in her memoirs, there's a message from Fritz of Wales swearing his (sight unseen) love for her and that she's the only one for him; both she and Fritz are supposed to stay in England for a year after their marriages and then Fritz gets to travel (again, according to what S has heard about the conditions for the ENglish marriages in 1730)
- Charles Hotham Sr. has a very FW experience: When the King had lunched eight days ago with the English envoy du Bourgue, there was a lot of hard drinking; and since his Majesty emptied a cup toasting the King of England's health directed at the Chevalier Hotham, the envoy demanded an equally large cup and asked for permission to toast his Majesty's health as well; which he put to the test, but holdling and emptying this put even his coworkers on week feet, but he still managed to keep his countenance; though at last his legs could not carry him anymore, and he had to be carried to his coach.
- from our loyal correspondance from Brunswick, more idyllic Hohenzollern family scenes, as the birth of Ferdinand is used by people to petition the King while offering their congratulations: Many petitions are being given to the Queen on this occasion, one of which I want to mention; for the youngest princess, Amalie, had been given by her nurse a memorandum in which she recommended and asked for her husband, who'd been a wine trader and whose trade had been ruined, to be hired by the royal cellar; ; but since the Princess Amalie couldn't quite read out the petition, the Princess Ulrike took it into her hands and adressed the King thusly: My dear Papa! I, too, come in order to ask for a huge favor. Amalie's nurse doesn't have any bread and asks for her husband to be given a lowly emmployment. Princess Amalie, also present, throws herself on the ground before the King and sadly says: "Oh yes! Dear Papa! Bread, bread for my nurse! which the King replies thusly: Don't bother me like this, you shall be granted all and your nurse shall have bread.
- post catastrophe: Löwenör (Strateman's spelling of the name) is in disgrace: The Danish envoy v. Löwenöhr, whom the King used to like always, has not been allowed to come before the King's grace anymore since he supposedly knew of a design il favoured by the King, and didn't report it. Now he lives basically incognito and it is believed he'll soon return again to his sick sovereign.
- Stratemann reports the story of the soldier who lights the candle again for Fritz after extinguishing it according to FW's order in that month of November when he suddenly has all the goods
- in the same entry as he reports the return of Major von Schach from Küstrin, S has heard a rumor about Peter Keith: It is also said: that Lieutenant v. Keit, who'd made himself invisible in Wesel in the month of August and withdrew to Holland and furtherly to England, has become a naturalized citzen there and has been equipped by his Great-British Majesty with a company. I guess this man congratulates himself heartily that he has escaped from a great anger in this country and now finds himself in such happy circumstances.
- There were lots of rumors in 1729 that Fritz would be allowed to travel to France and Italy, but nothing came out of it.
Per Lavisse, these discussions apparently went far enough that in February 1730, the French government officially said, "We'd love to have you visit," which has been taken to mean that they were offering him asylum during his escape attempt, but what they really meant was, "If FW gives you permission."
(This reminds me of a famous King Fritz speech just before Leuthen.)
It does! But even with the Fritz method you only get a one-time deal; desertion at other times is Not On.
in 1728, an unlucky page forgot FW's overcoat and it rained. That guy got beaten.
Oops. I hope it wasn't my favorite FW page!
In 1730, one Potsdam Giant committed suicide in the room where the tobacco parliament was held (obviously not while it was in session) by hanging himself, because he had been publically humiliated by his superior officer
ZOMG. Also, agree he was kidnapped.
in l729, rumor has it the recalled Suhm
Interesting! I just looked up the date of this envoy, and it's October 15, 1729. My other sources have him continuing to be official envoy until January 1730, with a co-envoy from mid-September 1729 on.
Dr. Willers, according to Stratemann the guy who taught both Wilhelmine and Fritz in English
Ooh, English lessons for Fritz. I've always wondered how much English he actually knew. He had no problem spouting off about what an inferior language it was, but Fritz's specialty was always uninformed opinions. And even beyond FW's refusal to let him become properly educated (in contrast to Wilhelmine), Fritz doesn't seem to have been linguistically gifted.
since the Princess Amalie couldn't quite read out the petition, the Princess Ulrike took it into her hands and adressed the King thusly:
Awww! Go Ulrike. Those two do get the cute stories together. cahn, Amalie would have been 6, and Ulrike about to turn 10.
Löwenör (Strateman's spelling of the name)
He's so hard to Google because there are like 6 spellings of his name!
- Stratemann reports the story of the soldier who lights the candle again for Fritz after extinguishing it according to FW's order in that month of November when he suddenly has all the goods
Ooh! That is the earliest and only contemporary account of that we have. So it was definitely predates the Fouqué visit in the following year, and since our only evidence for Fouqué letting Fritz use his candles past lights-out is Fouqué's grandson, I wonder if this story got passed down orally and changed a little to give him credit. Of course, the officer extinguishing Fritz's candle may well have just decided to leave Fouqué's candle lit on that occasion and not relight Fritz's, but it wouldn't have been necessary. Even in the cell, Fritz later reports to Wilhelmine that he was reading with a lamp, and that was before Katte's death (at least so we've deduced).
Though I have to wonder...if Stratemann knows about this candle-lighting at this early date, does FW know about this? Does he (try to) put a stop to it?
has become a naturalized citzen there and has been equipped by his Great-British Majesty with a company.
I don't know about the company, but the rest checks out.
I guess this man congratulates himself heartily that he has escaped from a great anger in this country and now finds himself in such happy circumstances.
I guess so! Though he's still nervous enough to withdraw to Dublin.
The tall guys thing always makes me laugh when it's about how weird FW is, but not when it's about, well, the tall guys :(
When the King had lunched eight days ago with the English envoy du Bourgue, there was a lot of hard drinking; and since his Majesty emptied a cup toasting the King of England's health directed at the Chevalier Hotham, the envoy demanded an equally large cup and asked for permission to toast his Majesty's health as well; which he put to the test, but holdling and emptying this put even his coworkers on week feet, but he still managed to keep his countenance; though at last his legs could not carry him anymore, and he had to be carried to his coach.
Heh! Man, FW.
Okay, I liked that story about Ulrike and Amalie :P :)
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
I knew you'd like the AW story. :) But yes, I'm afraid this might not have ended too well for little AW, favourite or not. All the more impressive he didn't give up his source regardless.
Speaking of sources: according to the preface, Stratemann hung out with Seckendorf a lot, which makes sense because at this point Braunschweig and Habsburg interests were still aligned (and remember, MT's mother the Empress was a born EC von Braunschweig-Bevern). So he could have the intel from Johnn, but he could also have it from Seckendorf. Though why Seckendorf should suddenly provide him with the real goods in this particular month, and not before, I don't know, so it might be the Danes after all. (If he risked hanging out with in disgrace Løvenørn.)
One more thing about the preface: editor Richard Wolff here and in the footnotes complains about the "harsh and unloving" way Wilhelmine writes about her parents, and how the picture she paints of them is surely proven wrong by all these heartwarming stories about indulgent father FW....
...which reminds me: it really shows in all these sources (not just the ones about the Hohenzollern but also the British ones) how much parents dealing out verbal abuse to their children was treated very differently to children talking badly about their parents (or just talking back) - and not just in the 18th century but still in the 20th. Anyway, it doesn't seem to occur to Editor Wolff that one reason why Stratemann focuses to much on reporting cute anecdotes about the smaller kids is that anything he could say about the older ones (other than in euphemisms, like Wilhelmine being sick throughout the second half of 1730) would not sound good. He already had managed to secure the marriage with Charlotte (whose engagement he reports on) for his Duke, and was presumably gunning for Fritz, and if his mail got opened by Prussians, he really did not want to be found spouting criticism of FW, would be my guess.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
But yes, I'm afraid this might not have ended too well for little AW, favourite or not. All the more impressive he didn't give up his source regardless.
That's what I was thinking. Though if he's worried that his source might get their head cut off, maybe that contributed. :/
UGH FW.
Me when FW does something: Ugh, FW.
Me when Fritz does something: Oh, Fritz.
:P
So he could have the intel from Johnn, but he could also have it from Seckendorf. Though why Seckendorf should suddenly provide him with the real goods in this particular month, and not before, I don't know, so it might be the Danes after all.
Good point, it could have been Seckendorff. We have no data on what he knew, because his November 11 report just says that on November 6, Katte's head was cut off below Fritz's window, and Fritz had to watch, and that there's hope that Fritz is about to be freed, because FW is looking for some people (lit. "Cavaliers") to go to him.
Whereas the Johnn report has all the details that make it clear it was from an eyewitness, as does Stratemann.
An important difference between the two is that Johnn (like the pamphlet) has the "if I had ten lives to give," whereas S's is more generic. But that could also reflect bias: Johnn's makes Katte look good and FW look bad, and S's has Katte explicitly blame himself and not just exonerate Fritz (the only report so far to do so). Also, this:
1731 pamphlet presumably based on Johnn: "Mein gnädigster Cron-prinz sie haben nicht Ursach mich um Verzeihung zu bitten" Stratemann: "Ihro Hoheit haben nicht Ursache um Vergebung zu bitten"
But since we don't have Seckendorff's account of the details of the execution, it's really hard to say whether Stratemann's is closer to one or the other.
(If he risked hanging out with in disgrace Løvenørn.)
But if Wikipedia is to be trusted, he wouldn't have had to! Løvenørn was back in Denmark by November. It would have been Johnn passing on the goods.
how much parents dealing out verbal abuse to their children was treated very differently to children talking badly about their parents (or just talking back) - and not just in the 18th century but still in the 20th
Yeah, in Wilhelmine's memoirs, she says there was no excuse for mocking her father behind his back, because no matter what your parents do, children should never forget the respect they owe them. Needless to say, I disagree with the notion that only punching down is morally acceptable, which is very convenient for the people who get to make the rules. ;)
doesn't seem to occur to Editor Wolff that one reason why Stratemann focuses to much on reporting cute anecdotes about the smaller kids is that anything he could say about the older ones (other than in euphemisms, like Wilhelmine being sick throughout the second half of 1730) would not sound good.
Sigh. Of course not.
He already had managed to secure the marriage with Charlotte (whose engagement he reports on) for his Duke, and was presumably gunning for Fritz, and if his mail got opened by Prussians, he really did not want to be found spouting criticism of FW, would be my guess.
Totally agree.
Edited 2020-10-02 22:54 (UTC)
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
To which the Prince supposedly returned, I don't care for it, my dear Papa orders his officers' heads to be cut off.
Wow! Go AW.
Envoys have it ALL! Seriously, if you'd told me early last year that I'd be eagerly jumping out of bed one morning because we just uncovered a new envoy and I want to see if selenak has written up the reports yet...well, because I'm such a nerd, I would have believed you, but I would have been very surprised. :D
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Given S. earlier reports all those imminent pardons, the turnaround to "FW totally could have made it worse!" (i.e. FW's own argument) is especially startling.
I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, but Peter Keith was "hanged in effigy." Hanged. Meaning his picture was put up on the gallows. Meaning if they'd caught him, his extremely unimportant family was evidently not getting *his* sentence commuted to a clean beheading. :/
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
And let's not forget the delights of getting your guts drawn out with glowing pliers, which I seem to recall was one of those things FW said Katte deserved if not for his family.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Mildred, you want to know why I find Fritz more congenial than FW even though they can both be terrible? This kind of thing is why! (Well, also, because Fritz can be charming and FW just can't, at least not in a way I recognize.)
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Yeah, like Catherine the Great said in her memoirs, he had qualities to respect as a king but none that made him lovable as a human being...
For all that Fritz's terribleness resulted in a great deal more suffering on a large scale (a million is a statistic), he also had positives for me to latch onto. Which is why I'm all "My (problematic) FAVE!" to Fritz and "DIE DIE DIE" to FW, unfair as that may be.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
I did not forget that, but what I misremembered was it that fell under the list of things Grumbkow convinced FW he couldn't legally do. Now that I look it up again, the pliers were totally legal and used (including against Potsdam Giants) once the party was found guilty; it was the use of torture during the interrogation that was illegal. So...I can only conclude that there's a good chance Peter would have been torn apart by red-hot pliers before being hanged.
RUN PETER RUN
You know, it occurred to me a while back that maybe Peter hanging out in a room in Dublin reading books for years without socializing much was only partly because he enjoyed that sort of thing, and partly because he was still worried about being caught. Since that was why he had left London in the first place.
I'm glad that when he came back to London, circa 1734, he considered it safe to hang out in society with intellectuals, and that the stay in Portugal was for the climate and not because only that was far enough away to be out of FW's reach.
ETA: Also. Do you think FW would have made Fritz watch?
Edited 2020-10-05 02:18 (UTC)
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
That depends. Has Katte already been executed? Or would Peter be executed first? Because I think FW would leave it at one example, seeing as Fritz then gets a breakdown and everyone at Küstrin assures FW he's learned his lesson. (So to speak.) I don't think he'd have gone through the trouble of sending Peter to Küstrin if Katte has already died, because he needed to tell himself he was harsh but fair, not gratitiously cruel. Also executing Peter in Berlin as the mutinous/deserting Potsdam Giants at the start of the year had been would serve the purpose of discouraging desertion among the army per se.
If Peter gets captured early on before Katte's execution, otoh, all bets are off. Even FW letting the tribunal's judgment on Katte stand (i.e. a life sentence, amounting to "however long FW lives" sentence), because he could have had a boyfriend executed in front of Fritz without grieving one of his trusted and loyal milistary an (Hans Heinrich) and grieving the only guy from his father's administration he really liked (Grandpa Wartensleben).
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
because he could have had a boyfriend executed in front of Fritz without grieving one of his trusted and loyal milistary an (Hans Heinrich) and grieving the only guy from his father's administration he really liked (Grandpa Wartensleben).
:(
Yet another "break it differently" AU.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Oh nooooo :( Heh, the funny thing is that I wouldn't have minded Peter Keith dying instead of Katte nearly as much if mildred hadn't convinced me through fic that he was really cool :P
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The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Then, after Fritz' arrest is really really public, he keeps reporting rumors that he's about to be forgiven by Dad just the next few days, in September that Katte managed to clear himself almost totally and is facing just a few years of arrest, max. Wilhelmine is consistently reported sick for the remainder of 1730, that's the explanation S. keeps giving for why no one is allowed to see her anymore. She's in a bad state of health. Home arrest, what home arrest? On October 14th, he's noticed the messengers being sent from Wusterhausen to Köpenick (where the war tribunal was held) and back and optimistically concludes FW wants to reopen the palace at Köpenick as Fritz' new residence and forgiveness is really really imminent now. He also has heard that the tribunal wanted to deliver an ultra strict sentence on Katte, but FW, being the merciful King he is, has intervened and provided mercy and will soon declare Katte's pardon.
Just when I was ready to conclude he just doesn't have luck with his spies and paid informants, I check out the November entries, and lo, not only does S. provide a pretty accurate report of the execution, complete with dialogue between Fritz and Katte, but he also, near the end of November (25th) in another entry, has read the three letters Katte wrote (to the King, to his father and to his grandfather) in copies. (He still insists on lightside FW, saying that the King read Katte's letter only two days ago but bitterly regrets it and swears he'd totally have pardoned Katte if he had read it first.) (He also says Hans Heinrich has offered his resignation, and so has Katte's superior Natzmer, but that FW refused to accept it and on the contrary that the Katte family is in for some favors.) And then in December we get back to rumors of Fritz' imminent return to parental favor and neighbourhood, i.e. evidently false intelligence. So how come his intel on the execution is suddenly dead on? S., you are a man of mystery. Here's what he writes, and you know the scene so well that I give you Rokoko German:
Berlin, den 11. November 1730.
Nach dem jüngst gemeldetermaßen, der Lieut. v. Katte gestern vor 8 Tagen, unter einer Escorte von 30 Mann Gens d'Armes in Begleitung des Ritt-Meisters v. Aßeburg und des Gens d'Armerie Feld Predigers nach der 10 Meil von hier entlegenen Veste Cüstrin gebracht und daselbst den 3. Tag darauf, am vergangenen Sonntage, abgeliefert worden; hat der, auf Königl. Befehl, dahin voraus gegangene Geh. Rath pp. Gerbet, in Gegenwart des gleichfalls aldar schon an gelangt gewesenen Obristen v. Derschau und anderer dazu bestimmter Officiern, demselben abermahls das Todesurtheil vorlesen und auf den folgenden Tag, dessen die Execution ankündigen müßen. Der Feld Prediger hat demnach die Devotion mit ihm continuiret, da andern Morgens der Condemnatus bald nach 7 Uhr im Schloße sich auf einen daselbst angefahrenen Sand-Haufen, gleich gegen des Cron-Prinzen Fenster über, eingefunden und wie Se. Königl. Hoheit ihn darauf angeredet. Mons. Katte! ich bitte euch vergebet mir, wann Ich euch zu leyde gethan und Ursache an euern Tode bin; und er sich dagegen hinwieder ganz constant in Antwort vernehmen laßen: Ihro Hoheit haben nicht Ursache um Vergebung zu bitten, weil Sie mir nichts zu wieder gethan und ich selbst meines Todes Ursache bin.
Er darauf mit Gebet sich zu Gott gewandt, so folglich sich selbst die Augen verbunden und also in gleicher Constance des Henckers Schwerd Schlag abgewartet, der dann auch so glücklich gelungen, daß mit einem Hieb der Kopf vom Cörper abgesondert worden; welchem necht man dem Leichnam mit dem ausgebreiteten schwarzen Tuch bedecket und also bis 2 Uhr Nachmittags zum Schau liegen laßen; da man selben in einen Sarg geleget und die bestellte 12 Bürger des Orts selbigen so folglich zur Beerdigung auf den Kirchhof getragen; mit welcher Tragedie dann in so weit dieser Actus geendet, und wird gesagt: daß, wann der König dieses decollierten Lieutnants Verbrechen nach der rigoeur hätte bestrafen lassen wollen und nicht consideration für die viele vornehme Verwandten Se. Maj. selben mit einerweit eclatanteren Todes-Strafe belegen können.
Given S. earlier reports all those imminent pardons, the turnaround to "FW totally could have made it worse!" (i.e. FW's own argument) is especially startling. And the fact that it all checks out - the dialogue exchange, the sandheap, Katte binding his own eyes.
In the same November 25th entry where S. mentions the three letters and having read copies, he also provides us with this priceless anecdote about, wait for it, young AW confronting FW with Katte:
Sonsten wird pargiret: daß der zweyte Königl. Prinz jüngster Tagen beim Exercieren, da ein Officier ihm die Handgriffe bey bringen sollen, ganz ermüdet worden und nicht mehr damit fortfahren wollen; wie nun des Königs Majt. zu Ihm gelaget, wenn Du nicht exerciren
willst, so sollst Du auch kein port d'epée mehr tragen; worauf der Prinz geantwortet: mein lieber Papa! das will ich wohl gleich wieder geben; wie der König darauf repliciret: Wilhelm! so kanst Du auch kein Officier sein; hätte der Prinz erwidert; da frage ich nichts nach, mein lieber Papa läßet ja einen Officiers die Köpfe abhauen.
Was nun hiermit weiter vorgefallen, übergehet man billig mit Stillschweigen; inzwischen habe der König geargwohnet: daß gegen den Prinzen jemand dergleichen Reden geführet haben müßte; weswegen Er etwas hart angelaßen, solches zu bekennen; Er hat aber keinen genannt; indessen soll der Kriegs Rath Lindener als Informator, deswegen ein scharfes Bad haben ausstehen müßen.
English translation, because I need you to understand this if google doesn't deliver: It's also told that the second royal prince the other day during drilling grew exhausted when an officer was supposed to teach him all the right grips, and hadn't wanted to continue; then the King came to him, he told him, if you don't want to drill anymore, you'll have to return your sword, to which the Prince replied: Dear Papa! I want to return it at once! and the King answered: Wilhelm! Then you can't be an officer! To which the Prince supposedly returned, I don't care for it, my dear Papa orders his officers' heads to be cut off.
What then happened should rather be covered with silence; by now the King suspects someone has been talking in front of the Prince with such speeches, and he's approached him somewhat harshly to confess to this; but (AW) did not provide anyone's name; but still, the Councillor Lindener as the likely informant has been in hot waters because of this.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Lol, I checked my email this morning right before I had two consecutive meetings, and when I got to this line and saw the length of the write-up, I had to stop, because otherwise I wasn't going to be able to focus on work. :P
Just from flipping through the pdf before handing it over, I saw that Stratemann looked like he had potentially interesting stuff on the royal family, and of course the 1728-1733 dates meant that I knew I didn't have to ask you to tell me about the parts that you knew would be Relevant to My Interests (TM). ;)
But now I have read this, and wooooow.
First I have to say, you go, eight-year-old AW! You tell your dad off!
What then happened should rather be covered with silence
Um. I hope this doesn't but fear that it does mean that AW got a beating. :(
Also, Brunswick envoy guy, we count on you for Rococo frankness! Silence is for Victorians. :P
But yeah, poor AW. He had to intercede for a long fellow, then FW did that "I'm going to cut off your fingers" joke that it took AW a minute to decide was a joke, and now Katte. :/
Ihro Hoheit haben nicht Ursache um Vergebung zu bitten, weil Sie mir nichts zu wieder gethan und ich selbst meines Todes Ursache bin.
Yet another slight variant on the last words! The new part is "I myself am the cause of my death." This is consistent with "Not Fritz's fault, but also not FW's fault, definitely God punishing me for my ambitions." [ETA: To be fair, he didn't actually say "punish", he went for something a little less self-critical. What he said, as I recall, was that God was using him as a tool in his grand divine plan to illustrate the vanity of human ambitions, which is theologically different.]
I'm still with
So how come his intel on the execution is suddenly dead on? S., you are a man of mystery.
My theory is that the Danish ambassador, von Johnn, who wrote *his* envoy report on November 11, and who evidently leaked the letters and an eyewitness description to Cologne, so that EVERYONE could know about it, was going, "You know what he did? You know what that bastard did?" to his fellow envoys. November 11 to November 25 is two weeks for Stratemann to have gotten the info, directly or indirectly, from the guy who wanted everyone to know what FW did.
Okay, so my German reading list just got a little longer. :P Thank you for this!
ETA: OH WAIT. I just realized that November 25 is when you said S reads the letters; November 11 is the date of the Katte execution entry. WELL THEN. Seckendorff's and Dickens' envoy reports also date to November 11, per Koser. I have to conclude at this point that all the envoys found out that day, or the day before. And I'm starting to suspect some of them were talking to each other.
Oh, that's right, Lavisse says Sauveterre obviously based his execution report on Dickens', because he didn't have good intel of his own. (Sauveterre was Rottembourg's secretary, who took over for Rottembourg after he left, and was apparently much less proactive than his former boss.) So if Dickens is talking to Sauveterre and the latter is basing his report on the former's, and Stratemann's is very similar to von Johnn's and *suddenly* S has very detailed info and access to letters where before he had nothing...I'm going with: Katte's execution was a shocking event that got everyone gossiping, and people shared notes.
Moreover, the Danish envoys were, from what I've seen, unhappy with FW and vice versa during 1730 for a number of reasons (including the usual FW recruiting in their territory reason). Since von Johnn's eyewitness report is nearly verbatim the same as the Cologne pamphlet, even more so than Stratemann's, I'm in agreement with Koser that Johnn is the most likely leaker, and since Løvenørn is suspected of tipping off Katte, I can't imagine Johnn would hesitate to share this info, which was, after all, meant to be public. *And* I'm speculating that Johnn might actually have been annoyed with FW's fanboy and wanted to try to clear some of the stars out of his eyes. :P
Stratemann's strategy, in contrast, got three children of his duke married to three children of FW, including the two most politically important ones, so...I guess that paid off. :P
Btw, I was googling Løvenørn just to get the characters that aren't on my keyboard, because I'm oddly lazy about random technical things :P, and I saw that he died in February 1740. That makes even more sense of why Fritz in 1739 is asking Fouqué, who's about to join Danish service, if he has any news on Løvenørn. I wonder if Fritz heard he was sick. In any case, as I've pointed out, Fritz didn't see Løvenørn after 1730 that I know of, and to still be asking after him in 1739 speaks of some fondness.
We know you tried, Løvenørn.
(If I don't get a lot of German done today, detective work is why. ;) )
Son of ETA: Let's not forget that Johnn and the pamphlet he leaked have the only variant of Katte's last words (so far) to mention FW, i.e., "If I had ten lives, I would give them all to reconcile Your Royal Highness with your lord father the King." Johnn: not a fan!
English translation, because I need you to understand this if google doesn't deliver:
I applaud your priorities, and also the sense of urgency you managed to convey in the word "need." :D I extremely needed to understand that, so thank you very much for the translation.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : Rumors, Rumors
- There were lots of rumors in 1729 that Fritz would be allowed to travel to France and Italy, but nothing came out of it.
- there's a lot about the squashed desertion/rebellion among the Long Fellows in early 1730 and the various gruesome executions; Stratemann being the Pollyanna of envoys, he says later when reporting on SD's bad state during the last months of her pregnancy (remember, that family scene where Wilhelmine gets forgiven by FW etc) that clearly, the Queen is distressed because she was so worried about her husband and son being in danger from those evil conspirators
- actual comment from Fritz on this incident:
It is said that the Crown Prince confessed to his confidant, literally: If it was up to me, I'd open all the gates at Potsdam and would announce: now all the scoundrels can go wherever they please and run, honest men could stay, and would be rewarded according to their merits and behavior in the future.
(This reminds me of a famous King Fritz speech just before Leuthen.)
- Stratemann in general reports incidents with members of the army and the staff; in 1728, an unlucky page forgot FW's overcoat and it rained. That guy got beaten. In 1730, one Potsdam Giant committed suicide in the room where the tobacco parliament was held (obviously not while it was in session) by hanging himself, because he had been publically humiliated by his superior officer, and FW was incensed and ordered his body being dragged through the streets and thrown on the dungheap; the guy was born in Tyrol and a Catholic, says our envoy, which makes me conclude he must have been kidnapped.
- in l729, rumor has it the recalled Suhm has ended up at the Fortress Königstein (I've been there, remember the photos), and Stratemann observes philosophically that if true, this would not be surprising, since Suhm was "a creature of Minister Flemming" and when there's a change of minister people often fall; now, Flemming was August's most important minister and majorly responsible of Countess' Cosel's downfall back in the day as he hated her and intrigued against her; the incoming new prime minister was the famous Count Brühl, whose houses Fritz will licence for plunder and whose wife he'll clash with in the 7 Years War
- Dr. Willers, according to Stratemann the guy who taught both Wilhelmine and Fritz in English in preparation for their marriages, is sent away (with honors) from Potsdam in February 1730
- considerate husband FW, when his wife is sick, tells her, sounding a lot like his son later: She should get rid of Dr. Stahlen, he (FW) wanted to be her Medicus; she should not drink so much coffee and drink nothing but hot soup instead, then her illness would pass. The Queen promised to do this and asked for the hot soup; and the following day, her condition improved.
- as reported by Wilhelmine in her memoirs, there's a message from Fritz of Wales swearing his (sight unseen) love for her and that she's the only one for him; both she and Fritz are supposed to stay in England for a year after their marriages and then Fritz gets to travel (again, according to what S has heard about the conditions for the ENglish marriages in 1730)
- Charles Hotham Sr. has a very FW experience: When the King had lunched eight days ago with the English envoy du Bourgue, there was a lot of hard drinking; and since his Majesty emptied a cup toasting the King of England's health directed at the Chevalier Hotham, the envoy demanded an equally large cup and asked for permission to toast his Majesty's health as well; which he put to the test, but holdling and emptying this put even his coworkers on week feet, but he still managed to keep his countenance; though at last his legs could not carry him anymore, and he had to be carried to his coach.
- from our loyal correspondance from Brunswick, more idyllic Hohenzollern family scenes, as the birth of Ferdinand is used by people to petition the King while offering their congratulations: Many petitions are being given to the Queen on this occasion, one of which I want to mention; for the youngest princess, Amalie, had been given by her nurse a memorandum in which she recommended and asked for her husband, who'd been a wine trader and whose trade had been ruined, to be hired by the royal cellar; ; but since the Princess Amalie couldn't quite read out the petition, the Princess Ulrike took it into her hands and adressed the King thusly: My dear Papa! I, too, come in order to ask for a huge favor. Amalie's nurse doesn't have any bread and asks for her husband to be given a lowly emmployment. Princess Amalie, also present, throws herself on the ground before the King and sadly says: "Oh yes! Dear Papa! Bread, bread for my nurse! which the King replies thusly: Don't bother me like this, you shall be granted all and your nurse shall have bread.
- post catastrophe: Löwenör (Strateman's spelling of the name) is in disgrace: The Danish envoy v. Löwenöhr, whom the King used to like always, has not been allowed to come before the King's grace anymore since he supposedly knew of a design il favoured by the King, and didn't report it. Now he lives basically incognito and it is believed he'll soon return again to his sick sovereign.
- Stratemann reports the story of the soldier who lights the candle again for Fritz after extinguishing it according to FW's order in that month of November when he suddenly has all the goods
- in the same entry as he reports the return of Major von Schach from Küstrin, S has heard a rumor about Peter Keith: It is also said: that Lieutenant v. Keit, who'd made himself invisible in Wesel in the month of August and withdrew to Holland and furtherly to England, has become a naturalized citzen there and has been equipped by his Great-British Majesty with a company. I guess this man congratulates himself heartily that he has escaped from a great anger in this country and now finds himself in such happy circumstances.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : Rumors, Rumors
Per Lavisse, these discussions apparently went far enough that in February 1730, the French government officially said, "We'd love to have you visit," which has been taken to mean that they were offering him asylum during his escape attempt, but what they really meant was, "If FW gives you permission."
(This reminds me of a famous King Fritz speech just before Leuthen.)
It does! But even with the Fritz method you only get a one-time deal; desertion at other times is Not On.
in 1728, an unlucky page forgot FW's overcoat and it rained. That guy got beaten.
Oops. I hope it wasn't my favorite FW page!
In 1730, one Potsdam Giant committed suicide in the room where the tobacco parliament was held (obviously not while it was in session) by hanging himself, because he had been publically humiliated by his superior officer
ZOMG. Also, agree he was kidnapped.
in l729, rumor has it the recalled Suhm
Interesting! I just looked up the date of this envoy, and it's October 15, 1729. My other sources have him continuing to be official envoy until January 1730, with a co-envoy from mid-September 1729 on.
Dr. Willers, according to Stratemann the guy who taught both Wilhelmine and Fritz in English
Ooh, English lessons for Fritz. I've always wondered how much English he actually knew. He had no problem spouting off about what an inferior language it was, but Fritz's specialty was always uninformed opinions. And even beyond FW's refusal to let him become properly educated (in contrast to Wilhelmine), Fritz doesn't seem to have been linguistically gifted.
since the Princess Amalie couldn't quite read out the petition, the Princess Ulrike took it into her hands and adressed the King thusly:
Awww! Go Ulrike. Those two do get the cute stories together.
Löwenör (Strateman's spelling of the name)
He's so hard to Google because there are like 6 spellings of his name!
- Stratemann reports the story of the soldier who lights the candle again for Fritz after extinguishing it according to FW's order in that month of November when he suddenly has all the goods
Ooh! That is the earliest and only contemporary account of that we have. So it was definitely predates the Fouqué visit in the following year, and since our only evidence for Fouqué letting Fritz use his candles past lights-out is Fouqué's grandson, I wonder if this story got passed down orally and changed a little to give him credit. Of course, the officer extinguishing Fritz's candle may well have just decided to leave Fouqué's candle lit on that occasion and not relight Fritz's, but it wouldn't have been necessary. Even in the cell, Fritz later reports to Wilhelmine that he was reading with a lamp, and that was before Katte's death (at least so we've deduced).
Though I have to wonder...if Stratemann knows about this candle-lighting at this early date, does FW know about this? Does he (try to) put a stop to it?
has become a naturalized citzen there and has been equipped by his Great-British Majesty with a company.
I don't know about the company, but the rest checks out.
I guess this man congratulates himself heartily that he has escaped from a great anger in this country and now finds himself in such happy circumstances.
I guess so! Though he's still nervous enough to withdraw to Dublin.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : Rumors, Rumors
When the King had lunched eight days ago with the English envoy du Bourgue, there was a lot of hard drinking; and since his Majesty emptied a cup toasting the King of England's health directed at the Chevalier Hotham, the envoy demanded an equally large cup and asked for permission to toast his Majesty's health as well; which he put to the test, but holdling and emptying this put even his coworkers on week feet, but he still managed to keep his countenance; though at last his legs could not carry him anymore, and he had to be carried to his coach.
Heh! Man, FW.
Okay, I liked that story about Ulrike and Amalie :P :)
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Speaking of sources: according to the preface, Stratemann hung out with Seckendorf a lot, which makes sense because at this point Braunschweig and Habsburg interests were still aligned (and remember, MT's mother the Empress was a born EC von Braunschweig-Bevern). So he could have the intel from Johnn, but he could also have it from Seckendorf. Though why Seckendorf should suddenly provide him with the real goods in this particular month, and not before, I don't know, so it might be the Danes after all. (If he risked hanging out with in disgrace Løvenørn.)
One more thing about the preface: editor Richard Wolff here and in the footnotes complains about the "harsh and unloving" way Wilhelmine writes about her parents, and how the picture she paints of them is surely proven wrong by all these heartwarming stories about indulgent father FW....
...which reminds me: it really shows in all these sources (not just the ones about the Hohenzollern but also the British ones) how much parents dealing out verbal abuse to their children was treated very differently to children talking badly about their parents (or just talking back) - and not just in the 18th century but still in the 20th. Anyway, it doesn't seem to occur to Editor Wolff that one reason why Stratemann focuses to much on reporting cute anecdotes about the smaller kids is that anything he could say about the older ones (other than in euphemisms, like Wilhelmine being sick throughout the second half of 1730) would not sound good. He already had managed to secure the marriage with Charlotte (whose engagement he reports on) for his Duke, and was presumably gunning for Fritz, and if his mail got opened by Prussians, he really did not want to be found spouting criticism of FW, would be my guess.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
That's what I was thinking. Though if he's worried that his source might get their head cut off, maybe that contributed. :/
UGH FW.
Me when FW does something: Ugh, FW.
Me when Fritz does something: Oh, Fritz.
:P
So he could have the intel from Johnn, but he could also have it from Seckendorf. Though why Seckendorf should suddenly provide him with the real goods in this particular month, and not before, I don't know, so it might be the Danes after all.
Good point, it could have been Seckendorff. We have no data on what he knew, because his November 11 report just says that on November 6, Katte's head was cut off below Fritz's window, and Fritz had to watch, and that there's hope that Fritz is about to be freed, because FW is looking for some people (lit. "Cavaliers") to go to him.
Whereas the Johnn report has all the details that make it clear it was from an eyewitness, as does Stratemann.
An important difference between the two is that Johnn (like the pamphlet) has the "if I had ten lives to give," whereas S's is more generic. But that could also reflect bias: Johnn's makes Katte look good and FW look bad, and S's has Katte explicitly blame himself and not just exonerate Fritz (the only report so far to do so). Also, this:
1731 pamphlet presumably based on Johnn: "Mein gnädigster Cron-prinz sie haben nicht Ursach mich um Verzeihung zu bitten"
Stratemann: "Ihro Hoheit haben nicht Ursache um Vergebung zu bitten"
But since we don't have Seckendorff's account of the details of the execution, it's really hard to say whether Stratemann's is closer to one or the other.
(If he risked hanging out with in disgrace Løvenørn.)
But if Wikipedia is to be trusted, he wouldn't have had to! Løvenørn was back in Denmark by November. It would have been Johnn passing on the goods.
how much parents dealing out verbal abuse to their children was treated very differently to children talking badly about their parents (or just talking back) - and not just in the 18th century but still in the 20th
Yeah, in Wilhelmine's memoirs, she says there was no excuse for mocking her father behind his back, because no matter what your parents do, children should never forget the respect they owe them. Needless to say, I disagree with the notion that only punching down is morally acceptable, which is very convenient for the people who get to make the rules. ;)
doesn't seem to occur to Editor Wolff that one reason why Stratemann focuses to much on reporting cute anecdotes about the smaller kids is that anything he could say about the older ones (other than in euphemisms, like Wilhelmine being sick throughout the second half of 1730) would not sound good.
Sigh. Of course not.
He already had managed to secure the marriage with Charlotte (whose engagement he reports on) for his Duke, and was presumably gunning for Fritz, and if his mail got opened by Prussians, he really did not want to be found spouting criticism of FW, would be my guess.
Totally agree.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Wow! Go AW.
What then happened should rather be covered with silence
Oof. :(
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Wow! Go AW.
Envoys have it ALL! Seriously, if you'd told me early last year that I'd be eagerly jumping out of bed one morning because we just uncovered a new envoy and I want to see if
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, but Peter Keith was "hanged in effigy." Hanged. Meaning his picture was put up on the gallows. Meaning if they'd caught him, his extremely unimportant family was evidently not getting *his* sentence commuted to a clean beheading. :/
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
Mildred, you want to know why I find Fritz more congenial than FW even though they can both be terrible? This kind of thing is why! (Well, also, because Fritz can be charming and FW just can't, at least not in a way I recognize.)
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
For all that Fritz's terribleness resulted in a great deal more suffering on a large scale (a million is a statistic), he also had positives for me to latch onto. Which is why I'm all "My (problematic) FAVE!" to Fritz and "DIE DIE DIE" to FW, unfair as that may be.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
RUN PETER RUN
You know, it occurred to me a while back that maybe Peter hanging out in a room in Dublin reading books for years without socializing much was only partly because he enjoyed that sort of thing, and partly because he was still worried about being caught. Since that was why he had left London in the first place.
I'm glad that when he came back to London, circa 1734, he considered it safe to hang out in society with intellectuals, and that the stay in Portugal was for the climate and not because only that was far enough away to be out of FW's reach.
ETA: Also. Do you think FW would have made Fritz watch?
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
If Peter gets captured early on before Katte's execution, otoh, all bets are off. Even FW letting the tribunal's judgment on Katte stand (i.e. a life sentence, amounting to "however long FW lives" sentence), because he could have had a boyfriend executed in front of Fritz without grieving one of his trusted and loyal milistary an (Hans Heinrich) and grieving the only guy from his father's administration he really liked (Grandpa Wartensleben).
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions
because he could have had a boyfriend executed in front of Fritz without grieving one of his trusted and loyal milistary an (Hans Heinrich) and grieving the only guy from his father's administration he really liked (Grandpa Wartensleben).
:(
Yet another "break it differently" AU.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective : First Impressions