You do remember correctly re: the Garrison church.
Schwager: I keep seeing this word used, not just for what I would call a brother-in-law, but also for the relationship between the FW and Wilhelmine's father-in-law, for which English has no single word. So German 1) actually has a word for that relationship, 2) it's the same as brother-in-law?
It usually means "brother-in-law", but in old fashioned German, it used to mean any male in-law, which the old Margrave was.
Wilhelmine's daughter did go by "Friederike". And I did translate Wilhelmine's letter about her husband being adorable about the baby for you back in the day. :) Fritz as godfather: alas he wasn't a good one, in the sense that he actually did something for the girl. Now part of it was that he didn't see her often, due to geography (what with her living either in Franconia with her parents or in Swabia with her husband), and she didn't visit Berlin a lot. (Enough to impress Lehndorff with her beauty, though.) But Fritz quite openly writes to Wilhelmine in the 1750s, when she's fretting about her daughter's marriage, that "the only interest I have in your daughter is because of her mother". Exchanges between Fritz and Wilhelmine about adult Friederike tend to go thusly:
W: Visiting Stuttgart right now. My son-in-law is incredibly jealous and possessive re: my daughter. I think it's creepy, and doesn't bode well for how the marriage will go if the honeymoon era is over. F: Eh, isn't it good if a young bride has her husband's undivided attention? Your daughter should count herself lucky. W: Visiting Stuttgart again. Now he's having favourites. F: Men will be men. I knew he was like that when he was still growing up at my court. W: I've heard a rumor the Duke is secretly considering converting to Catholicism like his father and will make my daughter do the same. Please advise? F: Your daughter converting to Catholicism is a no-go. She's the Duchess in a Protestant principality where people hated the last Duke's guts for converting. Since her marriage is not going well, her being Protestant is all she has to assure herself of being in the public favor, and that can be useful to her if her husband turns more against her. W: Thanks, that's actually good ad.... F: Also I need Würtemberg to continue as my ally, not MT's, so your daughter better ensure her husband doesn't convert.
Daß die Akademie der Wissenschaften unter Friedrich Wilhelm I. für die Bezahlung der Hofnarren zuständig war, sagt eigentlich alles.
That the court fool was responsible for the Academy of Sciences under FW really says it all.
That's the wrong translation, though. "That the Academy of the Sciences under FW was responsible for paying the court fools (plural) salaries says it all."
I mean, the general meaning in the larger context presumably is still the same, re: the standing of the academy in FW's time, but in the interest of your German, I clarified.
It usually means "brother-in-law", but in old fashioned German, it used to mean any male in-law, which the old Margrave was.
Aahhh. Thank you!
And I did translate Wilhelmine's letter about her husband being adorable about the baby for you back in the day.
I indeed remembered the adorable good father part, but not the part where he told Wilhelmine not to tell and Wilhelmine promptly told.
But Fritz quite openly writes to Wilhelmine in the 1750s, when she's fretting about her daughter's marriage, that "the only interest I have in your daughter is because of her mother".
Oh, yes, I remember how he was, and my "awww" was 100% about Wilhelmine/Fritz feels at the time of the birth, not about his A+ godparenting/uncle-ing later in life.
Thank you for the German correction! The problem with my German at this point is that I can figure things like this out...if I'm willing to work for them. And in this case, I was typing fast and translating from a very faded memory, instead of rereading. (I.e. I'm pretty sure I got it when actually reading it a couple weeks ago.) My goal is to get to the point where the meaning jumps off the page at me!
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Oster Wilhelmine readthrough - 1730s
Date: 2020-10-04 05:57 am (UTC)Schwager: I keep seeing this word used, not just for what I would call a brother-in-law, but also for the relationship between the FW and Wilhelmine's father-in-law, for which English has no single word. So German 1) actually has a word for that relationship, 2) it's the same as brother-in-law?
It usually means "brother-in-law", but in old fashioned German, it used to mean any male in-law, which the old Margrave was.
Wilhelmine's daughter did go by "Friederike". And I did translate Wilhelmine's letter about her husband being adorable about the baby for you back in the day. :) Fritz as godfather: alas he wasn't a good one, in the sense that he actually did something for the girl. Now part of it was that he didn't see her often, due to geography (what with her living either in Franconia with her parents or in Swabia with her husband), and she didn't visit Berlin a lot. (Enough to impress Lehndorff with her beauty, though.) But Fritz quite openly writes to Wilhelmine in the 1750s, when she's fretting about her daughter's marriage, that "the only interest I have in your daughter is because of her mother". Exchanges between Fritz and Wilhelmine about adult Friederike tend to go thusly:
W: Visiting Stuttgart right now. My son-in-law is incredibly jealous and possessive re: my daughter. I think it's creepy, and doesn't bode well for how the marriage will go if the honeymoon era is over.
F: Eh, isn't it good if a young bride has her husband's undivided attention? Your daughter should count herself lucky.
W: Visiting Stuttgart again. Now he's having favourites.
F: Men will be men. I knew he was like that when he was still growing up at my court.
W: I've heard a rumor the Duke is secretly considering converting to Catholicism like his father and will make my daughter do the same. Please advise?
F: Your daughter converting to Catholicism is a no-go. She's the Duchess in a Protestant principality where people hated the last Duke's guts for converting. Since her marriage is not going well, her being Protestant is all she has to assure herself of being in the public favor, and that can be useful to her if her husband turns more against her.
W: Thanks, that's actually good ad....
F: Also I need Würtemberg to continue as my ally, not MT's, so your daughter better ensure her husband doesn't convert.
Daß die Akademie der Wissenschaften unter Friedrich Wilhelm I. für die Bezahlung der Hofnarren zuständig war, sagt eigentlich alles.
That the court fool was responsible for the Academy of Sciences under FW really says it all.
That's the wrong translation, though. "That the Academy of the Sciences under FW was responsible for paying the court fools (plural) salaries says it all."
I mean, the general meaning in the larger context presumably is still the same, re: the standing of the academy in FW's time, but in the interest of your German, I clarified.
Re: Oster Wilhelmine readthrough - 1730s
Date: 2020-10-04 06:21 pm (UTC)Aahhh. Thank you!
And I did translate Wilhelmine's letter about her husband being adorable about the baby for you back in the day.
I indeed remembered the adorable good father part, but not the part where he told Wilhelmine not to tell and Wilhelmine promptly told.
But Fritz quite openly writes to Wilhelmine in the 1750s, when she's fretting about her daughter's marriage, that "the only interest I have in your daughter is because of her mother".
Oh, yes, I remember how he was, and my "awww" was 100% about Wilhelmine/Fritz feels at the time of the birth, not about his A+ godparenting/uncle-ing later in life.
Thank you for the German correction! The problem with my German at this point is that I can figure things like this out...if I'm willing to work for them. And in this case, I was typing fast and translating from a very faded memory, instead of rereading. (I.e. I'm pretty sure I got it when actually reading it a couple weeks ago.) My goal is to get to the point where the meaning jumps off the page at me!
Keep the corrections coming. :)
Re: Oster Wilhelmine readthrough - 1730s
Date: 2020-10-06 04:47 am (UTC)