August 21st 1728 is the entry about the punished pages, plural; I also misremembered the punishment. Just before this info, there's a telling Fritz anecdote reported, apropos the portrait painted of the Russian princess Natalya which is making the rounds in Potsdam:
It was said to the Crown Prince on the 11th in jest: this princess could be a bride for him. He, however, replied: He wouldn't think of a bride for many years more, but if he had to choose one, he wouldn't allow himself to be dictated to. He would hope that his Majesty his father could imagine how he'd have liked it to get a wife forced on him against his will and would have to marry her. On the 18th, too of the King's body pages had to stand on the block for four hours at Neumarkt because they'd forgotten to bring the King's overcoat along in the morning for the parade when it had started to rain.
Stratemann includes a sympathy poem written for Fritz in late 1730. (I'll get to by whom and why.) In German. With a reply poem by Fritz. In German. Note that the poem contains nothing objectionable, they just hope Fritz will get through the dark times and that the sun of grace will shine on him again. Stratemann, interestingly, also provides the entire (French) text of the poem Katte wrote while under arrest at his regiment still in Berlin which you probably know from various biographies. Here it is:
Vers composés par Mr.de Katte, lors qu'il-etoit Prisonnier dans la Guarde des Gensd'Armes.
Cest toi fortune inconstante, fausse Divinité! Qui pour remplir nôtre attente. charme nôtre Vanité; Menteuse! dans tes promesses, Injuste! dans tes largesses, Terrible! dans tes revers, Il n'-y-a jour qui-finisse Sans nous montrer bon Caprice par mille tours divers. Celui qui la curiosité portera a lire cette ecriture apprendra que l'ecrivain a-été mit aux arrests par l'Ordre desa Majesté le 16me d'Auot 1730 non sans esperance de se revoir bientôt én liberté, quoique la façon d'ont-il-a-été gardé Par le temps et la Patience En obtient les fruits d'une bonne Conscience; Si vous voulés savoir qui c'est, Le nom de Katte vous l'apprendra, Toujours constant en Esperance.
This so far is the sole passage in French. Since the next few entries are all Wilhelmine and family related, I'll fast forward here to another intriguing Katte mention, this time of Hans Heinrich, more than half a year later:
Berlin, June 31st 1731: Supposedly General Lieutenant v. Katte after leading his regiment at the revue before the King got off his horse and put his sword at the King's feet, and asked again for his demission, whereupon his majesty showed himself very much displeased. Rumor even has it (Hans Heinrich) got arrested as a consequence.
Now, obviously the arrest didn't happen - I don't think biographers would have overlooked that! -, but this is also the first time I heard about Hans Heinrich making this gesture. Since the revue was a really big public spectacle (this is also why Fritz was pissed off when Heinrich didn't salute him properly in the after the 7 Years War, remember), such a gesture would have been quite something. And does argue it's FW Hans Heinrich is struggling for forgive. Not to mention that it gives the lie to the "Hans Heinrich totally on board with FW executing his son!" version. All the more so since Stratemann is really the most FW friendly envoy ever.
Back to the winter of 1730/1731. Case in point: the same entry that has the AW anecdote also includes this story: It is said that his royal highness recently wrote a submissive letter to His Majesty his lord father, and in it, due to the now allowed changes regarding his earlier limited stay in Küstrin, has given submissive thanks, with many sayings from the bible, which is very seemly towards an once angry but now soothed father, and the King when the letter was read to him squeezed many tears from his eyes. His Majesty also supposedly declared that the entire country was open to his Fritz, he should be able to go and live within the country wherever he pleases.
This, mind, the same month that we know FW wrote the furious "if there would be 200 000 Kattes I'd have them beheaded" rant, had SD toast to England's demise and according to Guy Dickens said he was now sorry re: Katte whose death had to rest heavily on Fritz' conscience, what with Fritz being the one to blame.
S. notes that Ulrike is much in favor, being other than Charlotte FW's favourite daughter for now. So how does this family celebrate the Christmas of 1730:
December 23rd 1730: Her Majesty the Queen spent most of the day with her daughter, the oldest princess, who still hasn't recovered from her illnesss. The second and third prince, too, have come down with a strong cold and cough. The Crown Prince now presides over the government of Küstrin and reports almost daily from events there to the King's greatest pleasure. When his Royal Highness for the first time arrived at the council chamber, the second Secretary, as an acccomplished poet, had welcomed him with a few verses, whereupon the Prince briefly replied in the same fashion. These verses circulate only in a few hands, and I'm not yet allowed to get them, but I will try and will communicate them accordingly.
December 24th: The court jeweller has created presents in gold and silver in the worth of 12/m Reichstaler, of which the Queen had golden pieces for her cabinet, the princes and princesses had silver lates. Princess Charlotte, our Prince of Bevern's bride, received an expensive jewel, some silver kitchen supply, shovels and pliers, and a few pretty things to dress herself up. His Highness her groom shall receive a set of laces, next to a golden set Point d'Espange and other treats sent to him on the occasion of Holy Christ's feast. Now the Princess Ulrike had asked for a while to receive the King's portrait as a Christmas present, and it was among her gifts; when the third prince (i.e. Heinrich) noticed, he asked for a portrait as well, and did receive one, about which this princess showed herself somewhat disgusted. The King went on Christmas Eve in his own person with an entourage to the local Christmas Market and bought entertaining pleasantries for the little princes and princesses. (...) At the first day of Christmas, the widowed Madam General v. Dörfling had had carried a good bowl of cooked Sauerkraut with a roasted fat goose to the palace, as his Majestly loves to eat this dish, and on the holiday a bowl with beautiful apples, which has been received very graciously.
Okay, while I doubt Heinrich asking for Dad's portrait was about more than "big sis got something special, I'd like to have one of those as well", it does provide ammo together with the fish for supper at the start of the year if you want to make a case that FW at this early point indulged him somewhat. And of course FW going shopping for his kids shows him in full loving pater famiilias vein. Our editor chides Wilhelmine again for her harsh, unloving picture of her parents. However: at this point Stratemann still insists she's simply ill. In 1731, he'll finally admit she wasn't ill, she was locked up, for months, and I'll get to the conditions which honestly brought it home to me she really was no less imprisoned as Fritz had been, just in her own rooms. Now, in late 1730, talk is out FW wants to marry little Sophie to BayreuthFriedrich. Sophie therafter keeps getting referenced as the bride of the Erbprinz of Bayreuth. Then, on January 6th, Stratemann reports this rumor:
January 6th: After the King these last days told the Princess Sophie that the Prince Heir of Bayreuth desired to have her as his wife, she started to cry heartily and pronounced that she didn't want to marry at all, but wanted to stay with the clerical career for which she'd been meant earlier. The King supposedly returned to this: it couldn't happen, the bridegroom would soon arrive, who'd please her being a handsome prince, which the princess gave no reply to, but later towards her governess Fräulein de Joccourt sounded very sad about. Now the completely unfounded rumor is making the rounds that the oldest Princess, who is still sick, wishes to replace her sister as the future Abbess of Hertford.
This is one of the few times where I think we can pinpoint who is Stratemann's source for this story, i.e., Sophie's governess. Bear in mind Sophie is barely pubescent at this point. And destined to marry the godawful Schwedt cousin. Poor Sophie.
On January 13th, Stratemann finally admits in his report that a) Fritz' release and rejoining the family isn't so imminent after all, and b) Wilhelmine isn't sick, she's in disgrace, locked up, and still not reconciled with Dad.
Of the Crown Prince, nothing has been said, and so it doesn't seem that he will appear at the 24th on the occasion of his birthday in Potsdam after all. The oldest Princess remains completely in her room, and thus circumstances argue that a complete reconciliation on both parts is still full of impediments. Her Majesty the Queen, however, enjoys with her husband the King a most endearing complete harmony and bliss, and thus rumor has it that she's expecting another child.
Yeah, not so much, Stratemann.
January 27th: As soon as the King left for Potsdam on the 19th, the Queen went to the oldest Princess, which she hadn't seen during the fourteen days spent with the King, and this most regarded Princess, who hasn't left her room since the 27th of August, which means in five months, went downstairs for to the Queen on the following Sunday the 20th, which I guess the King must have permitted; still, one is assured that the King does not yet permit (Wilhelmine) to appear in front of him, and the much hoped for complete reconciliation with the Crown Prince still seems to be far away; and yet the young gentleman lives very pleasantly at Küstrin and is so popular among so many that the artisans and low workers have said: they want to donate a penny of their daily salaries to his royal highness; then the nobility in the entire country keeps sending food supplies; in the midst of this the King took from the Prince the sole much loved valet left and transfered the later to Halle to get an appointment as Torschreiber (Gate Secretary, literally) with 30 Reichstaler per year as a salary, about which he (the valet) pretended to be embarrassed, but in the end accepted it with devotion.
February sees the rumor that Bayreuth Friedrich (who, if you recall, isn't in Germany, he's on his Grand Tour) has died, which of course isn't true.
On March 10th, Wilhelmine is still in disgrace: The reconciliation of the oldest royal princess has still made no progress, and there isn't much hope for it; by now, the court preachers have received an order to pray with her once a week in her room, but not to preach to her. She hasn't received communion for eight months now, and since August 16th has not been allowed to see any ladies in her chamber other than the governesses of the royal princesses and the Queen's Dames d'honeur. According to rumor, she tries to pass her time with music.
Not receiving communion might not seem a harsh punishment to us, but it's actually really nasty, because if Wilhelmine had died during that time, she'd have died in a damned state. Anyway, see what I mean about Wihelmine being kept as much a prisoner as Fritz? Actually more so, since he gets to attend and work in the Küstrin government, which might not be the most thrilling of occupations but is at least something other than sit and brood in a room.
re: Hille - his being according to Stratemann "an accomplished poet" in his own right certainly puts his complaints about Fritz' poetry in a new light!
Since the revue was a really big public spectacle (this is also why Fritz was pissed off when Heinrich didn't salute him properly in the after the 7 Years War, remember), such a gesture would have been quite something. And does argue it's FW Hans Heinrich is struggling for forgive. Not to mention that it gives the lie to the "Hans Heinrich totally on board with FW executing his son!" version.
YES I KNEW IT oh Hans Heinrich :( <3
oh man I wish we'd had that report on Christmas 1730 when we'd written our fics
Her Majesty the Queen, however, enjoys with her husband the King a most endearing complete harmony and bliss
...whoa.
Anyway, see what I mean about Wihelmine being kept as much a prisoner as Fritz? Actually more so
Given none of the other ambassadors reports any marital bliss between FW and SD in late 1730/early 1731, quite the contrary, I'm mentally translating that description to "FW was extra considerate to SD in the vain hope of getting laid again, but no dice".
Incidentally, I forgot to mention, in the December 2nd 1730 entry when Stratemann is still going along with the "Wilhelmine is just really sick, not locked up in her room" pretense, he has this rumor to tell: The said princess is still bound to her sickbed, and for a few days now has been inconvenienced with undescribably strong headaches, and feels pain her her arms and legs, which everyone ascribes to a great alteration, though the fact the execution of the late Lt. v. Katte has been hidden from her, despite her often asking about him. ("ob sie sich gleich öfters nach dessen Zustand erkundigt".
Now: I'm perfectly willing to believe Wilhemine had headaches along with being locked up. She suffered from migraines often in her life, and until shortly before Katte's execution, there was a real prospect her brother would be killed. If I'm right and Madame de Joucoulles, the governess for the three youngest princesses (Amalie, Ulrike, Sophie) was Stratemann's source for the stories about the royal family, she may have tried to earn her bribery money with some truths (Wilhelmine isn't doing so well), while keeping mum about the larger point (the public hasn't seen her for months because she's basically a prisoner, too). Or Stratemann is quite aware of that (after all, the British envoy in his simultanous reports is), but in his dispatches home to Braunschweig keeps with the official version because he doesn't want to risk the newly secured Charlotte engagement by pissing FW off if his mail is read. (Not to mention that he may or may not have already had his eyes on the main marital prize, Fritz, since obviously the English marriage would not happen, and FW would look for a bride elsewhere since Fritz was still his successor.)
...but that bit about Katte is what truly intrigues me, because I can't think of why either Stratemann or his source (whether or not the source is Joucoulles) should make that up. On the contrary, a story of Wilhelmine asking repeatedly how Katte is doing could be risky to her reputation (given that FW in the big homecoming scene accused her of having an affair with him), which Stratemann at no point gives the impression of wanting to do.
I'm mentally translating that description to "FW was extra considerate to SD in the vain hope of getting laid again, but no dice".
OH GOD, you're right!
I'm laughing so hard right now.
Now: I'm perfectly willing to believe Wilhemine had headaches along with being locked up. She suffered from migraines often in her life, and until shortly before Katte's execution, there was a real prospect her brother would be killed.
Oh yeah, and in her memoirs, she recorded that she didn't know whether *she* would have to face a public interrogation. And Sonsine is getting threatened too. I'm sure she had all KINDS of psychosomatic symptoms. :/
...but that bit about Katte is what truly intrigues me, because I can't think of why either Stratemann or his source (whether or not the source is Joucoulles) should make that up. On the contrary, a story of Wilhelmine asking repeatedly how Katte is doing could be risky to her reputation (given that FW in the big homecoming scene accused her of having an affair with him)
Hmm, yes, that is interesting. And you're right, that is an unlikely thing to make up. Perhaps she thought that Katte's fate functioned as a barometer of FW's mood, as it pertained to both her and Fritz. Especially since she *was* linked to Katte in this affair: with the letters and incriminating evidence.
I'm mentally translating that description to "FW was extra considerate to SD in the vain hope of getting laid again, but no dice".
HAHAHAHA yeah I totally buy that!
...you know, Oster does kind of bring home to me what you've told me before, that FW really did love SD and the whole idea of being a family man in his own dysfunctional way. Sigh.
Fictional Fredersdorf was totally there! Also, I think what Fritz wrote to Wilhelmine just makes our respective opening scenes more plausible: if he did come, many precautions were taken.
He probably didn't want to report on fistulas!
Like selenak said in regards to "Ambassadors have it rough", there's really no way to spin that! (Though I would love to see someone try. :P)
On the 18th, too of the King's body pages had to stand on the block for four hours at Neumarkt because they'd forgotten to bring the King's overcoat along in the morning for the parade when it had started to rain.
Oh, THAT incident! That's actually ringing a bell; I've read that somewhere before.
Hmm. How many body pages does a king have at one time? I feel like we're increasing the odds that one of them was my low-key fave Peter Keith. Otoh, it says "two of", which means not all, which means perhaps not Peter. Sucks to be them regardless. (I'm just trying to do my duty as biographer.)
Stratemann, interestingly, also provides the entire (French) text of the poem Katte wrote while under arrest at his regiment still in Berlin which you probably know from various biographies.
I do, but I think this is the first time I've seen the whole thing, thank you!
Except the editor has omitted a line:
non sans esperance de se revoir bientôt én liberté, quoique la façon d'ont-il-a-été gardé Par le temps et la Patience
"la façon d'ont-il-a-été gardé" is grammatically incomplete, has no punctuation before the capital letter of "Par", and thanks to Wilhelmine, we actually know what it said: "the manner in which he is guarded seems to prognosticate something fatal."
It's good to have the full thing (mostly)! Actually, since Wilhelmine wrote in French, I should be able to supply the missing text.
lui fasse augurer quelque chose de funeste.
Oh, this is interesting: she presents the material in a different order, where only the last 5 lines are in verse, and the ones immediately before them, from Celui qu la curiosité on, are in prose, which she says were written below that short verse. The first several lines of the poem, which were new to me, she doesn't reproduce at all.
Berlin, June 31st 1731: Supposedly General Lieutenant v. Katte after leading his regiment at the revue before the King got off his horse and put his sword at the King's feet, and asked again for his demission, whereupon his majesty showed himself very much displeased. Rumor even has it (Hans Heinrich) got arrested as a consequence.
Now, obviously the arrest didn't happen - I don't think biographers would have overlooked that! -, but this is also the first time I heard about Hans Heinrich making this gesture.
Wooow. Yeah, I gather that didn't make it into the Hans Heinrich biographical monograph you picked up at Wust.
Since the revue was a really big public spectacle (this is also why Fritz was pissed off when Heinrich didn't salute him properly in the after the 7 Years War, remember), such a gesture would have been quite something.
Yes, seriously, WOW. Go Hans Heinrich. I'm glad that you don't know what happened to your other sons; you really didn't have good luck there.
And does argue it's FW Hans Heinrich is struggling for forgive. Not to mention that it gives the lie to the "Hans Heinrich totally on board with FW executing his son!" version. All the more so since Stratemann is really the most FW friendly envoy ever.
Yes! More evidence! To go with the commissioned painting and the letters we have from Hans Heinrich, I'm pretty convinced. Plus it makes your theory even more likely as to why Hans Hermann is still in that same wooden coffin from Küstrin, instead of prettying it up to look like a normal death.
Okay, while I doubt Heinrich asking for Dad's portrait was about more than "big sis got something special, I'd like to have one of those as well", it does provide ammo together with the fish for supper at the start of the year if you want to make a case that FW at this early point indulged him somewhat.
Yep! I imagine that had changed by 1736, year of raiding Fritz's larder?
in the midst of this the King took from the Prince the sole much loved valet left
Wait, what? Another much-loved valet? Do we know anything about this individual? Was this just the random Küstrin servant that FW said should come shave him and for a brief period wasn't allowed to even sleep in the same room as Fritz, but had to visit daily?
Now I have a headcanon that the Münchow and/or Lepel got to pick the servant, and they looked around for someone who would be extra nice to this poor abused boy and future monarch whom they want to stay on the good side of.
Man, between this and the letter to Wilhelmine, I'm thinking Fredersdorf did *not* go to Berlin on any of Fritz's visits, at least the early ones, in disguise as a lackey or no. Yikes. :/
Not receiving communion might not seem a harsh punishment to us, but it's actually really nasty, because if Wilhelmine had died during that time, she'd have died in a damned state.
Never use religion to bring comfort when you can use it a stick to wield, says FW.
This was in Oster, which I got to the other day, but thank you for spelling out what it really *meant*. I am never quite clear on the precise theology of things like Pietism (ironically, I know far more about the finer theological points of obscure early Christian schisms than more modern denominations).
Anyway, see what I mean about Wihelmine being kept as much a prisoner as Fritz? Actually more so, since he gets to attend and work in the Küstrin government, which might not be the most thrilling of occupations but is at least something other than sit and brood in a room.
Yep, it definitely sucked in ways that his didn't. On the one hand, she was in proximity to FW and had nothing to occupy her time with besides music (though I like to think that people were smuggling her books, too); on the other, she had music and at least a couple people she loved with her. It sucks to be both of them.
Oh, this is interesting: she presents the material in a different order, where only the last 5 lines are in verse, and the ones immediately before them, from Celui qu la curiosité on, are in prose, which she says were written below that short verse. The first several lines of the poem, which were new to me, she doesn't reproduce at all.
I wonder whether that means that whoever was her source and wrote it down for her - I imagine Wilhelmine didn't go herself to an army barrack - copied it badly, or whether she was just told it verbally and writes it out of her memory twenty years later? That is assuming Stratemann has the correct version, but since he's writing at the time and has no problem copying down the exact text since no one should object to the Braunschweig envoy doing such a thing, I'm assuming so.
Yeah, I gather that didn't make it into the Hans Heinrich biographical monograph you picked up at Wust.
Nope. Would have blown quite a hole into his theory.
WOW. Go Hans Heinrich.
That's what I think. I mean, I wouldn't exclude the possibility that he has mixed feelings about Fritz as well, but mostly this points to him struggling to reconcile the loyalty he feels he ows his sovereign with being a grieving father who thinks his son, while deserving some punishment (I think Hans Heinrich would have been okay with some years in prison - well, ashamed, but okay in terms of considering it just), was taken from him by this man, and not higher justice.
Your plan for the AU in which he and Hans Herrmann have a heart to heart later in life looks more plausible than ever.
Yep! I imagine that had changed by 1736, year of raiding Fritz's larder?
So I would gather. Not least because there's a big difference between a four years old child who until Ferdinand is the baby of the family and a ten years old child. FW's imagine of himself as a loving dad can be amplified by adoring small children. (Note that little Wilhelmine wrote him affectionate "dear Papa" letters, too, when she was around that age and older.) Who get Christmas treats, and who get indulged when they ask for favors (like AW for the pardon) or gifts. Otoh, ten years olds who like books and music are a different matter. Stratemann's reports don't extend to that period, but younger Seckendorff is writing into his journal then, and the only two kid-related anecdotes I recall is a) young AW fainting in the tobacco parliament, and b) Ferdinand (who's the indulged five years old then) cheeking Grumbkow about handing over bread and being a Field Marshal. (Unless we count "Junior"'s pronouncement that Heinrich and Ferdinand have a bad nature, Ferdinand is the worst and AW is good natured but with the education of a peasant.) What we do have, otoh, from that era is FW's statement - quoted in several biographies - that he doesn't make predictions about his children except about AW who would be an "honnete homme" and a great one, surely. So I'm still going with the assumption that the indulgence for Heinrich on those two occasions in 1730 was based on him being the baby of the family, the position he just lost to Ferdinand who however was an actual baby and couldn't yet interact with Dad, and once Heinrich left tiny cutie phase behind and developed interests that were not FW's, he faded into the background with the other kids, with AW the constant male favourite and the female favourite being Charlotte and Ulrike in turns.
Wait, what? Another much-loved valet? Do we know anything about this individual? Was this just the random Küstrin servant that FW said should come shave him and for a brief period wasn't allowed to even sleep in the same room as Fritz, but had to visit daily?
Must be, since I don't think the valet he had before, the one who also shows up in the interrogation protocols, was with him in Küstrin at any point?
It sucks to be both of them.
Absolutely. And that's why I'm majorly sideeying those editors and historians who are complaining about her being a bad daughter, or hysterical, and that poor FW was the one to be pitied, with his wife and two oldest ganging up on him. He had all the power, and no, not every word Wilhelmine wrote in the memoirs was true, but she probably was as accurate as most people looking back at very traumatic events years later and using the writing as a chance to vent and in lack of actual therapy.
It's also always important to remember that while many a contemporary thought FW was over the top with his reactions, both Fritz and Wilhelmine would still have gotten the message that it was his right to treat them this way both as monarch and as father from all sides. And while they hated him, they didn't, I fear, ever stop loving him as well and wanting his approval and a "Well done, you".
On a lighter note, Hervey in his memoirs has this passage of G2 ranting about how lousy sons are the worst, absolute scum, fathers are martyrs, and then he suddenly recalls his own dear old dad and adds, yes, okay, there are bad fathers and good sons as well. And, says, Hervey, it was clear to everyone hearing this that G2 was thinking of himself both as the cardinal example of a wronged father and a wronged son. Meanwhile, FW, only child of two parents who despite being very different from him both seem to have loved him and whose most most debatable action was a) to send him to live with his cousins for a while, and b) given him a strict Calvinist as a teacher when he was ten: Of course there are no bad fathers! Fathers should only be loved and listened to and adored! There are no exceptions!
Yeah, I gather that didn't make it into the Hans Heinrich biographical monograph you picked up at Wust.
Nope. Would have blown quite a hole into his theory.
*g*
mostly this points to him struggling to reconcile the loyalty he feels he ows his sovereign with being a grieving father who thinks his son, while deserving some punishment (I think Hans Heinrich would have been okay with some years in prison - well, ashamed, but okay in terms of considering it just), was taken from him by this man, and not higher justice.
Your plan for the AU in which he and Hans Herrmann have a heart to heart later in life looks more plausible than ever.
Agreed on Hans Heinrich's likely psychology here. And because he doesn't agree with Hans Hermann's decision, and because he doesn't have the sense of pain and outrage at his loss to counterbalance his conviction that Hans Hermann was in the wrong, the heart-to-heart is a deathbed forgiveness secene and not a "Well done, son." But it's enough for Hans Hermann, who, due to Hans Heinrich not seeing him for 10 years and not wanting to commit certain things to mail, has been wondering just *how* angry his father was with him.
What helps reconcile Hans Heinrich and certain other family members is that while it was certainly disloyalty, no one believes it was cowardice, especially not once the full story of Katte's heroic role protecting Fritz during the escape gets out. And now he's got a royal pardon from AW, so it's all good, they can reconcile and part on good father-son terms.
Absolutely. And that's why I'm majorly sideeying those editors and historians who are complaining about her being a bad daughter, or hysterical, and that poor FW was the one to be pitied, with his wife and two oldest ganging up on him.
I'm not just side-eyeing, I'm FUMING. Those poor kids! The victim-blaming! SD was no angel, but she was definitely an abuse victim too!
It's also always important to remember that while many a contemporary thought FW was over the top with his reactions, both Fritz and Wilhelmine would still have gotten the message that it was his right to treat them this way both as monarch and as father from all sides.
Indeed.
Fritz: And as your current monarch and standing in loco parentis to my siblings and niblings, I would like to announce that I've taken this lesson to heart.
And while they hated him, they didn't, I fear, ever stop loving him as well and wanting his approval and a "Well done, you".
Yep. Totally typical for abusive families.
On a lighter note, Hervey in his memoirs has this passage of G2 ranting about how lousy sons are the worst, absolute scum, fathers are martyrs, and then he suddenly recalls his own dear old dad and adds, yes, okay, there are bad fathers and good sons as well.
LOL this is so great. Rationalization for the win!
Meanwhile, FW, only child of two parents who despite being very different from him both seem to have loved him and whose most most debatable action was a) to send him to live with his cousins for a while, and b) given him a strict Calvinist as a teacher when he was ten: Of course there are no bad fathers! Fathers should only be loved and listened to and adored! There are no exceptions!
Was this just the random Küstrin servant that FW said should come shave him and for a brief period wasn't allowed to even sleep in the same room as Fritz, but had to visit daily?
Must be, since I don't think the valet he had before, the one who also shows up in the interrogation protocols, was with him in Küstrin at any point?
Gummersbach? Not that I know of, and more to the point, he was instrumental in preventing the escape, so I wonder if he would still be "most-loved" at that point. Maybe, but until we find out it was him, I stand by my headcanon that Fritz's sympathetic jailers found him a servant who would, I don't know, help smuggle letters to Wilhelmine out.
Also, if it's someone he met at Küstrin, then they only had 4 months to become "much-loved", but also, those are circumstances under which you would very quickly latch on to someone, so... :/
I'm so glad Fredersdorf came along later that year, and FW didn't catch on.
I wonder whether that means that whoever was her source and wrote it down for her - I imagine Wilhelmine didn't go herself to an army barrack - copied it badly, or whether she was just told it verbally and writes it out of her memory twenty years later?
Good question! I've just compared the two French texts, and my impression is that they're way too similar for me to think Wilhelmine is recording something she heard orally long ago. The two transcriptions look to me like the product of two different written copies of the text, where scribal errors and/or different interpretations of not totally legible handwriting crept in.
I mean, I wouldn't exclude the possibility that he has mixed feelings about Fritz as well
Oh sure, I totally believe that. I think he'd have to be a saint not to have mixed feelings when his son would still hvae been alive if Fritz hadn't gotten him involved. But that's distinct from actually executing him. >:(
Absolutely. And that's why I'm majorly sideeying those editors and historians who are complaining about her being a bad daughter, or hysterical, and that poor FW was the one to be pitied, with his wife and two oldest ganging up on him.
:((((((((((((( Yeah, no.
On a lighter note, Hervey in his memoirs has this passage of G2 ranting about how lousy sons are the worst, absolute scum, fathers are martyrs, and then he suddenly recalls his own dear old dad and adds, yes, okay, there are bad fathers and good sons as well.
Hah! Hervey, you always come through with amusement value. Lol.
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timeasmymeasure
The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-03 10:50 am (UTC)It was said to the Crown Prince on the 11th in jest: this princess could be a bride for him. He, however, replied: He wouldn't think of a bride for many years more, but if he had to choose one, he wouldn't allow himself to be dictated to. He would hope that his Majesty his father could imagine how he'd have liked it to get a wife forced on him against his will and would have to marry her. On the 18th, too of the King's body pages had to stand on the block for four hours at Neumarkt because they'd forgotten to bring the King's overcoat along in the morning for the parade when it had started to rain.
Stratemann includes a sympathy poem written for Fritz in late 1730. (I'll get to by whom and why.) In German. With a reply poem by Fritz. In German. Note that the poem contains nothing objectionable, they just hope Fritz will get through the dark times and that the sun of grace will shine on him again. Stratemann, interestingly, also provides the entire (French) text of the poem Katte wrote while under arrest at his regiment still in Berlin which you probably know from various biographies. Here it is:
Vers composés par Mr.de Katte, lors qu'il-etoit Prisonnier dans la Guarde des Gensd'Armes.
Cest toi fortune inconstante,
fausse Divinité!
Qui pour remplir nôtre attente.
charme nôtre Vanité;
Menteuse! dans tes promesses,
Injuste! dans tes largesses,
Terrible! dans tes revers,
Il n'-y-a jour qui-finisse
Sans nous montrer bon Caprice
par mille tours divers.
Celui qui la curiosité portera
a lire cette ecriture apprendra
que l'ecrivain a-été mit aux arrests
par l'Ordre desa Majesté
le 16me d'Auot 1730
non sans esperance de
se revoir bientôt
én liberté, quoique
la façon d'ont-il-a-été gardé
Par le temps et la Patience
En obtient les fruits d'une bonne Conscience;
Si vous voulés savoir qui c'est,
Le nom de Katte vous l'apprendra,
Toujours constant en Esperance.
This so far is the sole passage in French. Since the next few entries are all Wilhelmine and family related, I'll fast forward here to another intriguing Katte mention, this time of Hans Heinrich, more than half a year later:
Berlin, June 31st 1731: Supposedly General Lieutenant v. Katte after leading his regiment at the revue before the King got off his horse and put his sword at the King's feet, and asked again for his demission, whereupon his majesty showed himself very much displeased. Rumor even has it (Hans Heinrich) got arrested as a consequence.
Now, obviously the arrest didn't happen - I don't think biographers would have overlooked that! -, but this is also the first time I heard about Hans Heinrich making this gesture. Since the revue was a really big public spectacle (this is also why Fritz was pissed off when Heinrich didn't salute him properly in the after the 7 Years War, remember), such a gesture would have been quite something. And does argue it's FW Hans Heinrich is struggling for forgive. Not to mention that it gives the lie to the "Hans Heinrich totally on board with FW executing his son!" version. All the more so since Stratemann is really the most FW friendly envoy ever.
Back to the winter of 1730/1731. Case in point: the same entry that has the AW anecdote also includes this story: It is said that his royal highness recently wrote a submissive letter to His Majesty his lord father, and in it, due to the now allowed changes regarding his earlier limited stay in Küstrin, has given submissive thanks, with many sayings from the bible, which is very seemly towards an once angry but now soothed father, and the King when the letter was read to him squeezed many tears from his eyes. His Majesty also supposedly declared that the entire country was open to his Fritz, he should be able to go and live within the country wherever he pleases.
This, mind, the same month that we know FW wrote the furious "if there would be 200 000 Kattes I'd have them beheaded" rant, had SD toast to England's demise and according to Guy Dickens said he was now sorry re: Katte whose death had to rest heavily on Fritz' conscience, what with Fritz being the one to blame.
S. notes that Ulrike is much in favor, being other than Charlotte FW's favourite daughter for now. So how does this family celebrate the Christmas of 1730:
December 23rd 1730: Her Majesty the Queen spent most of the day with her daughter, the oldest princess, who still hasn't recovered from her illnesss. The second and third prince, too, have come down with a strong cold and cough. The Crown Prince now presides over the government of Küstrin and reports almost daily from events there to the King's greatest pleasure. When his Royal Highness for the first time arrived at the council chamber, the second Secretary, as an acccomplished poet, had welcomed him with a few verses, whereupon the Prince briefly replied in the same fashion. These verses circulate only in a few hands, and I'm not yet allowed to get them, but I will try and will communicate them accordingly.
December 24th: The court jeweller has created presents in gold and silver in the worth of 12/m Reichstaler, of which the Queen had golden pieces for her cabinet, the princes and princesses had silver lates. Princess Charlotte, our Prince of Bevern's bride, received an expensive jewel, some silver kitchen supply, shovels and pliers, and a few pretty things to dress herself up. His Highness her groom shall receive a set of laces, next to a golden set Point d'Espange and other treats sent to him on the occasion of Holy Christ's feast. Now the Princess Ulrike had asked for a while to receive the King's portrait as a Christmas present, and it was among her gifts; when the third prince (i.e. Heinrich) noticed, he asked for a portrait as well, and did receive one, about which this princess showed herself somewhat disgusted. The King went on Christmas Eve in his own person with an entourage to the local Christmas Market and bought entertaining pleasantries for the little princes and princesses. (...) At the first day of Christmas, the widowed Madam General v. Dörfling had had carried a good bowl of cooked Sauerkraut with a roasted fat goose to the palace, as his Majestly loves to eat this dish, and on the holiday a bowl with beautiful apples, which has been received very graciously.
Okay, while I doubt Heinrich asking for Dad's portrait was about more than "big sis got something special, I'd like to have one of those as well", it does provide ammo together with the fish for supper at the start of the year if you want to make a case that FW at this early point indulged him somewhat. And of course FW going shopping for his kids shows him in full loving pater famiilias vein. Our editor chides Wilhelmine again for her harsh, unloving picture of her parents. However: at this point Stratemann still insists she's simply ill. In 1731, he'll finally admit she wasn't ill, she was locked up, for months, and I'll get to the conditions which honestly brought it home to me she really was no less imprisoned as Fritz had been, just in her own rooms. Now, in late 1730, talk is out FW wants to marry little Sophie to BayreuthFriedrich. Sophie therafter keeps getting referenced as the bride of the Erbprinz of Bayreuth. Then, on January 6th, Stratemann reports this rumor:
January 6th: After the King these last days told the Princess Sophie that the Prince Heir of Bayreuth desired to have her as his wife, she started to cry heartily and pronounced that she didn't want to marry at all, but wanted to stay with the clerical career for which she'd been meant earlier. The King supposedly returned to this: it couldn't happen, the bridegroom would soon arrive, who'd please her being a handsome prince, which the princess gave no reply to, but later towards her governess Fräulein de Joccourt sounded very sad about. Now the completely unfounded rumor is making the rounds that the oldest Princess, who is still sick, wishes to replace her sister as the future Abbess of Hertford.
This is one of the few times where I think we can pinpoint who is Stratemann's source for this story, i.e., Sophie's governess. Bear in mind Sophie is barely pubescent at this point. And destined to marry the godawful Schwedt cousin. Poor Sophie.
On January 13th, Stratemann finally admits in his report that a) Fritz' release and rejoining the family isn't so imminent after all, and b) Wilhelmine isn't sick, she's in disgrace, locked up, and still not reconciled with Dad.
Of the Crown Prince, nothing has been said, and so it doesn't seem that he will appear at the 24th on the occasion of his birthday in Potsdam after all. The oldest Princess remains completely in her room, and thus circumstances argue that a complete reconciliation on both parts is still full of impediments. Her Majesty the Queen, however, enjoys with her husband the King a most endearing complete harmony and bliss, and thus rumor has it that she's expecting another child.
Yeah, not so much, Stratemann.
January 27th: As soon as the King left for Potsdam on the 19th, the Queen went to the oldest Princess, which she hadn't seen during the fourteen days spent with the King, and this most regarded Princess, who hasn't left her room since the 27th of August, which means in five months, went downstairs for to the Queen on the following Sunday the 20th, which I guess the King must have permitted; still, one is assured that the King does not yet permit (Wilhelmine) to appear in front of him, and the much hoped for complete reconciliation with the Crown Prince still seems to be far away; and yet the young gentleman lives very pleasantly at Küstrin and is so popular among so many that the artisans and low workers have said: they want to donate a penny of their daily salaries to his royal highness; then the nobility in the entire country keeps sending food supplies; in the midst of this the King took from the Prince the sole much loved valet left and transfered the later to Halle to get an appointment as Torschreiber (Gate Secretary, literally) with 30 Reichstaler per year as a salary, about which he (the valet) pretended to be embarrassed, but in the end accepted it with devotion.
February sees the rumor that Bayreuth Friedrich (who, if you recall, isn't in Germany, he's on his Grand Tour) has died, which of course isn't true.
On March 10th, Wilhelmine is still in disgrace: The reconciliation of the oldest royal princess has still made no progress, and there isn't much hope for it; by now, the court preachers have received an order to pray with her once a week in her room, but not to preach to her. She hasn't received communion for eight months now, and since August 16th has not been allowed to see any ladies in her chamber other than the governesses of the royal princesses and the Queen's Dames d'honeur. According to rumor, she tries to pass her time with music.
Not receiving communion might not seem a harsh punishment to us, but it's actually really nasty, because if Wilhelmine had died during that time, she'd have died in a damned state. Anyway, see what I mean about Wihelmine being kept as much a prisoner as Fritz? Actually more so, since he gets to attend and work in the Küstrin government, which might not be the most thrilling of occupations but is at least something other than sit and brood in a room.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-03 04:50 pm (UTC)Well, aren't you the tease. :P (Kidding: I think you meant to include it and forgot?)
Anyway, I went and looked it up, and I can see why you wanted to build suspense: the Neumark War and Domain Chamber. Whose director was--
Hille?!
I did not see that one coming, I admit.
More later! In the meantime, thank you for these latest glorious envoy writeups.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-05 07:33 am (UTC)Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-05 10:26 pm (UTC)Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-04 04:42 am (UTC)YES I KNEW IT oh Hans Heinrich :( <3
oh man I wish we'd had that report on Christmas 1730 when we'd written our ficsHer Majesty the Queen, however, enjoys with her husband the King a most endearing complete harmony and bliss
...whoa.
Anyway, see what I mean about Wihelmine being kept as much a prisoner as Fritz? Actually more so
Yeah. Poor Wilhelmine :(
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-04 06:27 am (UTC)Incidentally, I forgot to mention, in the December 2nd 1730 entry when Stratemann is still going along with the "Wilhelmine is just really sick, not locked up in her room" pretense, he has this rumor to tell: The said princess is still bound to her sickbed, and for a few days now has been inconvenienced with undescribably strong headaches, and feels pain her her arms and legs, which everyone ascribes to a great alteration, though the fact the execution of the late Lt. v. Katte has been hidden from her, despite her often asking about him. ("ob sie sich gleich öfters nach dessen Zustand erkundigt".
Now: I'm perfectly willing to believe Wilhemine had headaches along with being locked up. She suffered from migraines often in her life, and until shortly before Katte's execution, there was a real prospect her brother would be killed. If I'm right and Madame de Joucoulles, the governess for the three youngest princesses (Amalie, Ulrike, Sophie) was Stratemann's source for the stories about the royal family, she may have tried to earn her bribery money with some truths (Wilhelmine isn't doing so well), while keeping mum about the larger point (the public hasn't seen her for months because she's basically a prisoner, too). Or Stratemann is quite aware of that (after all, the British envoy in his simultanous reports is), but in his dispatches home to Braunschweig keeps with the official version because he doesn't want to risk the newly secured Charlotte engagement by pissing FW off if his mail is read. (Not to mention that he may or may not have already had his eyes on the main marital prize, Fritz, since obviously the English marriage would not happen, and FW would look for a bride elsewhere since Fritz was still his successor.)
...but that bit about Katte is what truly intrigues me, because I can't think of why either Stratemann or his source (whether or not the source is Joucoulles) should make that up. On the contrary, a story of Wilhelmine asking repeatedly how Katte is doing could be risky to her reputation (given that FW in the big homecoming scene accused her of having an affair with him), which Stratemann at no point gives the impression of wanting to do.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-04 06:35 pm (UTC)OH GOD, you're right!
I'm laughing so hard right now.
Now: I'm perfectly willing to believe Wilhemine had headaches along with being locked up. She suffered from migraines often in her life, and until shortly before Katte's execution, there was a real prospect her brother would be killed.
Oh yeah, and in her memoirs, she recorded that she didn't know whether *she* would have to face a public interrogation. And Sonsine is getting threatened too. I'm sure she had all KINDS of psychosomatic symptoms. :/
...but that bit about Katte is what truly intrigues me, because I can't think of why either Stratemann or his source (whether or not the source is Joucoulles) should make that up. On the contrary, a story of Wilhelmine asking repeatedly how Katte is doing could be risky to her reputation (given that FW in the big homecoming scene accused her of having an affair with him)
Hmm, yes, that is interesting. And you're right, that is an unlikely thing to make up. Perhaps she thought that Katte's fate functioned as a barometer of FW's mood, as it pertained to both her and Fritz. Especially since she *was* linked to Katte in this affair: with the letters and incriminating evidence.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-06 04:45 am (UTC)HAHAHAHA yeah I totally buy that!
...you know, Oster does kind of bring home to me what you've told me before, that FW really did love SD and the whole idea of being a family man in his own dysfunctional way. Sigh.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-05 12:07 am (UTC)IKR? Though on the other hand, my favorite part about this fandom is that the more time we spend in it, the more we discover. <3
But wait! The Stratemann volume says the reports cover the period up to 1733--surely he has something to say about the infamous Christmas of 1732!
WHAT. It skips from May 6, 1732 to April 29, 1733. Stratemann, like Lehndorff in Wust, you have failed in your gossipy duties to posterity. Tsk.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-06 05:19 am (UTC)He probably didn't want to report on fistulas!
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-07 12:15 am (UTC)He probably didn't want to report on fistulas!
Like
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-04 04:42 pm (UTC)Oh, THAT incident! That's actually ringing a bell; I've read that somewhere before.
Hmm. How many body pages does a king have at one time? I feel like we're increasing the odds that one of them was my low-key fave Peter Keith. Otoh, it says "two of", which means not all, which means perhaps not Peter. Sucks to be them regardless. (I'm just trying to do my duty as biographer.)
Stratemann, interestingly, also provides the entire (French) text of the poem Katte wrote while under arrest at his regiment still in Berlin which you probably know from various biographies.
I do, but I think this is the first time I've seen the whole thing, thank you!
Except the editor has omitted a line:
non sans esperance de
se revoir bientôt
én liberté, quoique
la façon d'ont-il-a-été gardé
Par le temps et la Patience
"la façon d'ont-il-a-été gardé" is grammatically incomplete, has no punctuation before the capital letter of "Par", and thanks to Wilhelmine, we actually know what it said: "the manner in which he is guarded seems to prognosticate something fatal."
It's good to have the full thing (mostly)! Actually, since Wilhelmine wrote in French, I should be able to supply the missing text.
lui fasse augurer quelque chose de funeste.
Oh, this is interesting: she presents the material in a different order, where only the last 5 lines are in verse, and the ones immediately before them, from Celui qu la curiosité on, are in prose, which she says were written below that short verse. The first several lines of the poem, which were new to me, she doesn't reproduce at all.
Berlin, June 31st 1731: Supposedly General Lieutenant v. Katte after leading his regiment at the revue before the King got off his horse and put his sword at the King's feet, and asked again for his demission, whereupon his majesty showed himself very much displeased. Rumor even has it (Hans Heinrich) got arrested as a consequence.
Now, obviously the arrest didn't happen - I don't think biographers would have overlooked that! -, but this is also the first time I heard about Hans Heinrich making this gesture.
Wooow. Yeah, I gather that didn't make it into the Hans Heinrich biographical monograph you picked up at Wust.
Since the revue was a really big public spectacle (this is also why Fritz was pissed off when Heinrich didn't salute him properly in the after the 7 Years War, remember), such a gesture would have been quite something.
Yes, seriously, WOW. Go Hans Heinrich. I'm glad that you don't know what happened to your other sons; you really didn't have good luck there.
And does argue it's FW Hans Heinrich is struggling for forgive. Not to mention that it gives the lie to the "Hans Heinrich totally on board with FW executing his son!" version. All the more so since Stratemann is really the most FW friendly envoy ever.
Yes! More evidence! To go with the commissioned painting and the letters we have from Hans Heinrich, I'm pretty convinced. Plus it makes your theory even more likely as to why Hans Hermann is still in that same wooden coffin from Küstrin, instead of prettying it up to look like a normal death.
Okay, while I doubt Heinrich asking for Dad's portrait was about more than "big sis got something special, I'd like to have one of those as well", it does provide ammo together with the fish for supper at the start of the year if you want to make a case that FW at this early point indulged him somewhat.
Yep! I imagine that had changed by 1736, year of raiding Fritz's larder?
in the midst of this the King took from the Prince the sole much loved valet left
Wait, what? Another much-loved valet? Do we know anything about this individual? Was this just the random Küstrin servant that FW said should come shave him and for a brief period wasn't allowed to even sleep in the same room as Fritz, but had to visit daily?
Now I have a headcanon that the Münchow and/or Lepel got to pick the servant, and they looked around for someone who would be extra nice to this poor abused boy and future monarch whom they want to stay on the good side of.
Man, between this and the letter to Wilhelmine, I'm thinking Fredersdorf did *not* go to Berlin on any of Fritz's visits, at least the early ones, in disguise as a lackey or no. Yikes. :/
Not receiving communion might not seem a harsh punishment to us, but it's actually really nasty, because if Wilhelmine had died during that time, she'd have died in a damned state.
Never use religion to bring comfort when you can use it a stick to wield, says FW.
This was in Oster, which I got to the other day, but thank you for spelling out what it really *meant*. I am never quite clear on the precise theology of things like Pietism (ironically, I know far more about the finer theological points of obscure early Christian schisms than more modern denominations).
Anyway, see what I mean about Wihelmine being kept as much a prisoner as Fritz? Actually more so, since he gets to attend and work in the Küstrin government, which might not be the most thrilling of occupations but is at least something other than sit and brood in a room.
Yep, it definitely sucked in ways that his didn't. On the one hand, she was in proximity to FW and had nothing to occupy her time with besides music (though I like to think that people were smuggling her books, too); on the other, she had music and at least a couple people she loved with her. It sucks to be both of them.
UGH.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-04 05:45 pm (UTC)I wonder whether that means that whoever was her source and wrote it down for her - I imagine Wilhelmine didn't go herself to an army barrack - copied it badly, or whether she was just told it verbally and writes it out of her memory twenty years later? That is assuming Stratemann has the correct version, but since he's writing at the time and has no problem copying down the exact text since no one should object to the Braunschweig envoy doing such a thing, I'm assuming so.
Yeah, I gather that didn't make it into the Hans Heinrich biographical monograph you picked up at Wust.
Nope. Would have blown quite a hole into his theory.
WOW. Go Hans Heinrich.
That's what I think. I mean, I wouldn't exclude the possibility that he has mixed feelings about Fritz as well, but mostly this points to him struggling to reconcile the loyalty he feels he ows his sovereign with being a grieving father who thinks his son, while deserving some punishment (I think Hans Heinrich would have been okay with some years in prison - well, ashamed, but okay in terms of considering it just), was taken from him by this man, and not higher justice.
Your plan for the AU in which he and Hans Herrmann have a heart to heart later in life looks more plausible than ever.
Yep! I imagine that had changed by 1736, year of raiding Fritz's larder?
So I would gather. Not least because there's a big difference between a four years old child who until Ferdinand is the baby of the family and a ten years old child. FW's imagine of himself as a loving dad can be amplified by adoring small children. (Note that little Wilhelmine wrote him affectionate "dear Papa" letters, too, when she was around that age and older.) Who get Christmas treats, and who get indulged when they ask for favors (like AW for the pardon) or gifts. Otoh, ten years olds who like books and music are a different matter. Stratemann's reports don't extend to that period, but younger Seckendorff is writing into his journal then, and the only two kid-related anecdotes I recall is a) young AW fainting in the tobacco parliament, and b) Ferdinand (who's the indulged five years old then) cheeking Grumbkow about handing over bread and being a Field Marshal. (Unless we count "Junior"'s pronouncement that Heinrich and Ferdinand have a bad nature, Ferdinand is the worst and AW is good natured but with the education of a peasant.) What we do have, otoh, from that era is FW's statement - quoted in several biographies - that he doesn't make predictions about his children except about AW who would be an "honnete homme" and a great one, surely. So I'm still going with the assumption that the indulgence for Heinrich on those two occasions in 1730 was based on him being the baby of the family, the position he just lost to Ferdinand who however was an actual baby and couldn't yet interact with Dad, and once Heinrich left tiny cutie phase behind and developed interests that were not FW's, he faded into the background with the other kids, with AW the constant male favourite and the female favourite being Charlotte and Ulrike in turns.
Wait, what? Another much-loved valet? Do we know anything about this individual? Was this just the random Küstrin servant that FW said should come shave him and for a brief period wasn't allowed to even sleep in the same room as Fritz, but had to visit daily?
Must be, since I don't think the valet he had before, the one who also shows up in the interrogation protocols, was with him in Küstrin at any point?
It sucks to be both of them.
Absolutely. And that's why I'm majorly sideeying those editors and historians who are complaining about her being a bad daughter, or hysterical, and that poor FW was the one to be pitied, with his wife and two oldest ganging up on him. He had all the power, and no, not every word Wilhelmine wrote in the memoirs was true, but she probably was as accurate as most people looking back at very traumatic events years later and using the writing as a chance to vent and in lack of actual therapy.
It's also always important to remember that while many a contemporary thought FW was over the top with his reactions, both Fritz and Wilhelmine would still have gotten the message that it was his right to treat them this way both as monarch and as father from all sides. And while they hated him, they didn't, I fear, ever stop loving him as well and wanting his approval and a "Well done, you".
On a lighter note, Hervey in his memoirs has this passage of G2 ranting about how lousy sons are the worst, absolute scum, fathers are martyrs, and then he suddenly recalls his own dear old dad and adds, yes, okay, there are bad fathers and good sons as well. And, says, Hervey, it was clear to everyone hearing this that G2 was thinking of himself both as the cardinal example of a wronged father and a wronged son. Meanwhile, FW, only child of two parents who despite being very different from him both seem to have loved him and whose most most debatable action was a) to send him to live with his cousins for a while, and b) given him a strict Calvinist as a teacher when he was ten: Of course there are no bad fathers! Fathers should only be loved and listened to and adored! There are no exceptions!
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-04 06:48 pm (UTC)Nope. Would have blown quite a hole into his theory.
*g*
mostly this points to him struggling to reconcile the loyalty he feels he ows his sovereign with being a grieving father who thinks his son, while deserving some punishment (I think Hans Heinrich would have been okay with some years in prison - well, ashamed, but okay in terms of considering it just), was taken from him by this man, and not higher justice.
Your plan for the AU in which he and Hans Herrmann have a heart to heart later in life looks more plausible than ever.
Agreed on Hans Heinrich's likely psychology here. And because he doesn't agree with Hans Hermann's decision, and because he doesn't have the sense of pain and outrage at his loss to counterbalance his conviction that Hans Hermann was in the wrong, the heart-to-heart is a deathbed forgiveness secene and not a "Well done, son." But it's enough for Hans Hermann, who, due to Hans Heinrich not seeing him for 10 years and not wanting to commit certain things to mail, has been wondering just *how* angry his father was with him.
What helps reconcile Hans Heinrich and certain other family members is that while it was certainly disloyalty, no one believes it was cowardice, especially not once the full story of Katte's heroic role protecting Fritz during the escape gets out. And now he's got a royal pardon from AW, so it's all good, they can reconcile and part on good father-son terms.
Absolutely. And that's why I'm majorly sideeying those editors and historians who are complaining about her being a bad daughter, or hysterical, and that poor FW was the one to be pitied, with his wife and two oldest ganging up on him.
I'm not just side-eyeing, I'm FUMING. Those poor kids! The victim-blaming! SD was no angel, but she was definitely an abuse victim too!
It's also always important to remember that while many a contemporary thought FW was over the top with his reactions, both Fritz and Wilhelmine would still have gotten the message that it was his right to treat them this way both as monarch and as father from all sides.
Indeed.
Fritz: And as your current monarch and standing in loco parentis to my siblings and niblings, I would like to announce that I've taken this lesson to heart.
And while they hated him, they didn't, I fear, ever stop loving him as well and wanting his approval and a "Well done, you".
Yep. Totally typical for abusive families.
On a lighter note, Hervey in his memoirs has this passage of G2 ranting about how lousy sons are the worst, absolute scum, fathers are martyrs, and then he suddenly recalls his own dear old dad and adds, yes, okay, there are bad fathers and good sons as well.
LOL this is so great. Rationalization for the win!
Meanwhile, FW, only child of two parents who despite being very different from him both seem to have loved him and whose most most debatable action was a) to send him to live with his cousins for a while, and b) given him a strict Calvinist as a teacher when he was ten: Of course there are no bad fathers! Fathers should only be loved and listened to and adored! There are no exceptions!
THERAPY FOR EVERYONE
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-04 07:00 pm (UTC)Must be, since I don't think the valet he had before, the one who also shows up in the interrogation protocols, was with him in Küstrin at any point?
Gummersbach? Not that I know of, and more to the point, he was instrumental in preventing the escape, so I wonder if he would still be "most-loved" at that point. Maybe, but until we find out it was him, I stand by my headcanon that Fritz's sympathetic jailers found him a servant who would, I don't know, help smuggle letters to Wilhelmine out.
Also, if it's someone he met at Küstrin, then they only had 4 months to become "much-loved", but also, those are circumstances under which you would very quickly latch on to someone, so... :/
I'm so glad Fredersdorf came along later that year, and FW didn't catch on.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-04 06:52 pm (UTC)Good question! I've just compared the two French texts, and my impression is that they're way too similar for me to think Wilhelmine is recording something she heard orally long ago. The two transcriptions look to me like the product of two different written copies of the text, where scribal errors and/or different interpretations of not totally legible handwriting crept in.
Re: The Braunschweig Perspective: Family Holidays
Date: 2020-10-06 04:58 am (UTC)I mean, I wouldn't exclude the possibility that he has mixed feelings about Fritz as well
Oh sure, I totally believe that. I think he'd have to be a saint not to have mixed feelings when his son would still hvae been alive if Fritz hadn't gotten him involved. But that's distinct from actually executing him. >:(
Absolutely. And that's why I'm majorly sideeying those editors and historians who are complaining about her being a bad daughter, or hysterical, and that poor FW was the one to be pitied, with his wife and two oldest ganging up on him.
:((((((((((((( Yeah, no.
On a lighter note, Hervey in his memoirs has this passage of G2 ranting about how lousy sons are the worst, absolute scum, fathers are martyrs, and then he suddenly recalls his own dear old dad and adds, yes, okay, there are bad fathers and good sons as well.
Hah! Hervey, you always come through with amusement value. Lol.