Felis did indeed, and also I'm too tired right now to type up all the pages on the 1795 reform. :)
But I can tell cahn now that poor Lepsch had a go at the sheep courtesy to the pamphlet you uploaded. Well actually, I don't know which animal(s) he had a go at, but it wasn't humans. The giveaway is "viehische Vermischung" again, and also that he was the only accused. If it's m/m, and Philippe d'Orleans or his boyfriends aren't involved, that would be a case of two sinners brought to "justice". Also that pamphlet is one of the gruesome religious "aren't I a good priest for making the condemned repent properly" exercise, very much the opposite of Schubert's compassion in the Gundling letter or Besser's to Hans Heinrich about his son's death.
Incidentally, since we're now two for two for "sodomy" used to mean bestiality in 18th century Prussia, not gay sex, I'm veering back to my original conviction that this was the way the term was used in German even then.
Re: Torture and capital punishment in 18th Century Prussia
But I can tell [personal profile] cahn now that poor Lepsch had a go at the sheep courtesy to the pamphlet you uploaded. Well actually, I don't know which animal(s) he had a go at, but it wasn't humans. The giveaway is "viehische Vermischung" again,
I had already told cahn that, noting "Viehische Sünde," which is a term I learned from you. ;) But I was actually going to say to her that I don't know if it was a sheep or what. I was hoping the pamphlet would tell you!
Incidentally, since we're now two for two for "sodomy" used to mean bestiality in 18th century Prussia
So the pamphlet does use the term "sodomy", not just the modern author describing it? I didn't see it, but I refuse to scan the entire thing with its font and general readability issues, so for all I know it uses the term 20 times. :P
But Felis pointed out that "sodomy" is only used in the 1746 cabinet order's heading and might have been added by the 1894 publisher, which leaves us with the 1794 code, which is ambiguous in its phrasing, though Wikipedia says, "Unter Sodomie verstand man damals alles, was nicht den Koitus zwischen Mann und Frau darstellte." And Horowski says, "Für die Zeitgenossen war schon männliche Homosexualität keineswegs etwas klar Definiertes oder gar wie heute eine Identität, obwohl auf die vage mit ‹Sodomie› bezeichneten Aktivitäten."
Re: Torture and capital punishment in 18th Century Prussia
No, it's "viehische Sünde" in the pamphlet itself. Hm. BTW, after introducing Andreas Lepsch, 50 years old sinner who sired eight children (of whom four are still alive) before being caught at this terrible sin and justly condemned to death by fire, our author adds a snarky footnote that one recently hears more and more "of such completely inhumane deeds", ESPECIALLY among the aristocracy, whereas "geringe Leute tuns zwar auch, aber nicht so häuffig" (i.e. "lowly people do it, too, but not as often"). Now, this being right at the start of the pamphlet (after the introduction), and in the same year 1730 where, as we know, across the border in the Netherlands you have a big, big scandal and literally hundreds of men put on trial for, so say the Hervey/FoW article authors, sodomy - Lepsch was near the end of September, so the Dutch scandal preceded this -, and given the Hervey/FoW article also points out the Dutch were indignant that the aristocrats among the accused were granted a private execution instead of a public spectacle, I did take this to be an allusion to the Dutch goings on, of which Prussian subjects given the close ties between the countries would certainly have been aware. Now, I have no idea about what the Dutch guys were accused of was all gay sex, a mixture of gay sex and bestiality, or all bestiality. (Though given the sheer number of accusations, I doubt the last one.) I also don't know what term was used in Dutch, whether there is more than one meaning of "sodomy" there, and whether or not the article writers had a source able differentiate here.
But given the sheer timing, I'm hard pressed to believe in a coincidence. I mean, if the British papers across the channel reported on the Dutch scandal (and in a way so Hervey's enemy who fought the duel with him could make a pointed allusion to it in his insult that caused Hervey to challenge him), I bet the Brandenburg preachers and their pamphlet reading audience had heard about it, too. And they might really put all in the same category, i.e. Lepsch and his non-specified animal in the same class as whatever the Dutch had gotten up to.
Also in September: Katte (still held at his regiment's house) gets interrogated repeatedly and FW urges to show him the instruments (of torture).
No, it's "viehische Sünde" in the pamphlet itself.
Okay, that's what I had thought (I saw several instances of that and none of "Sodomie"), but as I said, I couldn't be sure.
So! Did a little research on the Utretcht sodomy trials of 1730. They conveniently have their own Wikipedia page. In it, I find three interesting things:
1. Extensive claims that the "sodomy" persecutions were for homosexual behavior. [ETA: not sure if that means exclusively, but seems to be at least primarily.] For example,
The ruins of the Dom Church's nave had for years been a meeting place for homosexuals when in April 1730, the city authorities started an investigation at the request of the Dom's sacristan, Josua Wils.
2. A modern-day plaque in the location of the commemorating the victims. The plaque uses both the word "Sodomie" and "Homoseksualiteit":
The Dom Square was once a place where, in the ruins of the middle nave of the church, gay cruising took place. Since 1999 it has hosted a stone, the so-called Sodomonument, commemorating the deaths of the persecuted sodomites, and telling that the terminology has changed to homosexuality, and the city wants its women and men to live their lives in freedom.
3. Scans of contemporary Dutch pamphlets using the word "Sodomie": here and here.
So then I dug up some more sources. The English contemporary newspaper quotes I found all use the English word "sodomy", and at least one of them makes it pretty clear that homosexuality is what we're talking about here:
Hague, Sept. 1. Last Week a Dutch Minister at Viana, three Leagues from Utrecht, absconded by Night from that Place, being accused of Sodomy, not only by and with some of those who have been lately executed, but by others whom he has endeavoured to seduce to that unnatural Crime; and ’tis said he was so harden’d in his Iniquity, that he has attempted to prove, from Pasages of Scripture, that it was not only not a Sin, but a Practice more acceptable to the Deity, than the Love of Women! (London Journal)
Note the date. This is not just recent history but breaking news when Peter is passing through (August 6-~18)!
(Btw, no points for guessing which Biblical passage the minister relied most heavily on. :P)
Then there was this article, which refers to an 18th century Dutch dictionary:
In the Dutch Republic the word sodomy and the definitions given in early modern texts differ somewhat. Egbert Buys described in part nine of his 1777 dictionary sodomy as lechery against nature, that could be committed with persons of the same sex or with animals, and he added that it was especially in vogue in Italy [self: always Italy! :P I should add that the Florentines were notorious in the Late Middle Ages/early Renaissance and I have an entire book on the subject] "but elsewhere was punishable with fire. According to Theo van der Meer sodomy in the seventeenth century included all sexual activities that were not aimed at reproduction. He cites amongst others Joost de Damhouder, a sixteenth century jurist and legal adviser. De Damhouder described sodomy as a crime against nature, committed by a man (he uses the reflexive pronoun ‘himself’) with himself or with another human or beast. The legal definition of sodomy was, according to Van der Meer, anal contact, either active or passive, with ejaculation in the body, and again bestiality is mentioned.
So between the fact that modern and 18th century English uses "sodomy" for bestiality and same-sex relationships (in modern English, only in a historical sense, like "poltroon" :P), modern (ditto in a historical sense) and 18th century Dutch uses "Sodomie" for bestiality and same-sex relationships, and we have at least 3 modern-day Germans reporting that 18th century German used "Sodomie" for bestiality and same-sex relationships, I'm going to conclude that modern German is the odd one out and that the meaning narrowed during the 19th century.
Tangentially, even more interesting because unusual:
One of the legal definitions originates from the 1532 Constitutio Criminalis Carolina, a law introduced by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, which was still in use in the Dutch Republic in the eighteenth century. In the Carolina the word sodomy is not used, however the act is described as an act against nature, moreover it specifies the improper behaviour: when a human commits indecency with an animal, between two men or between two women. The law does not mention anal penetration, and it mentions women specifically, unlike for example De Damhouder’s definition.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: Torture and capital punishment in 18th Century Prussia
But I can tell
Incidentally, since we're now two for two for "sodomy" used to mean bestiality in 18th century Prussia, not gay sex, I'm veering back to my original conviction that this was the way the term was used in German even then.
Re: Torture and capital punishment in 18th Century Prussia
I had already told
Incidentally, since we're now two for two for "sodomy" used to mean bestiality in 18th century Prussia
So the pamphlet does use the term "sodomy", not just the modern author describing it? I didn't see it, but I refuse to scan the entire thing with its font and general readability issues, so for all I know it uses the term 20 times. :P
But Felis pointed out that "sodomy" is only used in the 1746 cabinet order's heading and might have been added by the 1894 publisher, which leaves us with the 1794 code, which is ambiguous in its phrasing, though Wikipedia says, "Unter Sodomie verstand man damals alles, was nicht den Koitus zwischen Mann und Frau darstellte." And Horowski says, "Für die Zeitgenossen war schon männliche Homosexualität keineswegs etwas klar Definiertes oder gar wie heute eine Identität, obwohl auf die vage mit ‹Sodomie› bezeichneten Aktivitäten."
Re: Torture and capital punishment in 18th Century Prussia
No, it's "viehische Sünde" in the pamphlet itself. Hm. BTW, after introducing Andreas Lepsch, 50 years old sinner who sired eight children (of whom four are still alive) before being caught at this terrible sin and justly condemned to death by fire, our author adds a snarky footnote that one recently hears more and more "of such completely inhumane deeds", ESPECIALLY among the aristocracy, whereas "geringe Leute tuns zwar auch, aber nicht so häuffig" (i.e. "lowly people do it, too, but not as often"). Now, this being right at the start of the pamphlet (after the introduction), and in the same year 1730 where, as we know, across the border in the Netherlands you have a big, big scandal and literally hundreds of men put on trial for, so say the Hervey/FoW article authors, sodomy - Lepsch was near the end of September, so the Dutch scandal preceded this -, and given the Hervey/FoW article also points out the Dutch were indignant that the aristocrats among the accused were granted a private execution instead of a public spectacle, I did take this to be an allusion to the Dutch goings on, of which Prussian subjects given the close ties between the countries would certainly have been aware. Now, I have no idea about what the Dutch guys were accused of was all gay sex, a mixture of gay sex and bestiality, or all bestiality. (Though given the sheer number of accusations, I doubt the last one.) I also don't know what term was used in Dutch, whether there is more than one meaning of "sodomy" there, and whether or not the article writers had a source able differentiate here.
But given the sheer timing, I'm hard pressed to believe in a coincidence. I mean, if the British papers across the channel reported on the Dutch scandal (and in a way so Hervey's enemy who fought the duel with him could make a pointed allusion to it in his insult that caused Hervey to challenge him), I bet the Brandenburg preachers and their pamphlet reading audience had heard about it, too. And they might really put all in the same category, i.e. Lepsch and his non-specified animal in the same class as whatever the Dutch had gotten up to.
Also in September: Katte (still held at his regiment's house) gets interrogated repeatedly and FW urges to show him the instruments (of torture).
Another thread called "sodomy"
Okay, that's what I had thought (I saw several instances of that and none of "Sodomie"), but as I said, I couldn't be sure.
So! Did a little research on the Utretcht sodomy trials of 1730. They conveniently have their own Wikipedia page. In it, I find three interesting things:
1. Extensive claims that the "sodomy" persecutions were for homosexual behavior. [ETA: not sure if that means exclusively, but seems to be at least primarily.] For example,
The ruins of the Dom Church's nave had for years been a meeting place for homosexuals when in April 1730, the city authorities started an investigation at the request of the Dom's sacristan, Josua Wils.
2. A modern-day plaque in the location of the commemorating the victims. The plaque uses both the word "Sodomie" and "Homoseksualiteit":
The Dom Square was once a place where, in the ruins of the middle nave of the church, gay cruising took place. Since 1999 it has hosted a stone, the so-called Sodomonument, commemorating the deaths of the persecuted sodomites, and telling that the terminology has changed to homosexuality, and the city wants its women and men to live their lives in freedom.
3. Scans of contemporary Dutch pamphlets using the word "Sodomie": here and here.
So then I dug up some more sources. The English contemporary newspaper quotes I found all use the English word "sodomy", and at least one of them makes it pretty clear that homosexuality is what we're talking about here:
Hague, Sept. 1. Last Week a Dutch Minister at Viana, three Leagues from Utrecht, absconded by Night from that Place, being accused of Sodomy, not only by and with some of those who have been lately executed, but by others whom he has endeavoured to seduce to that unnatural Crime; and ’tis said he was so harden’d in his Iniquity, that he has attempted to prove, from Pasages of Scripture, that it was not only not a Sin, but a Practice more acceptable to the Deity, than the Love of Women! (London Journal)
Note the date. This is not just recent history but breaking news when Peter is passing through (August 6-~18)!
(Btw, no points for guessing which Biblical passage the minister relied most heavily on. :P)
Then there was this article, which refers to an 18th century Dutch dictionary:
In the Dutch Republic the word sodomy and the definitions given in early modern texts differ somewhat. Egbert Buys described in part nine of his 1777 dictionary sodomy as lechery against nature, that could be committed with persons of the same sex or with animals, and he added that it was especially in vogue in Italy [self: always Italy! :P I should add that the Florentines were notorious in the Late Middle Ages/early Renaissance and I have an entire book on the subject] "but elsewhere was punishable with fire. According to Theo van der Meer sodomy in the seventeenth century included all sexual activities that were not aimed at reproduction. He cites amongst others Joost de Damhouder, a sixteenth century jurist and legal adviser. De Damhouder described sodomy as a crime against nature, committed by a man (he uses the reflexive pronoun ‘himself’) with himself or with another human or beast. The legal definition of sodomy was, according to Van der Meer, anal contact, either active or passive, with ejaculation in the body, and again bestiality is mentioned.
So between the fact that modern and 18th century English uses "sodomy" for bestiality and same-sex relationships (in modern English, only in a historical sense, like "poltroon" :P), modern (ditto in a historical sense) and 18th century Dutch uses "Sodomie" for bestiality and same-sex relationships, and we have at least 3 modern-day Germans reporting that 18th century German used "Sodomie" for bestiality and same-sex relationships, I'm going to conclude that modern German is the odd one out and that the meaning narrowed during the 19th century.
Tangentially, even more interesting because unusual:
One of the legal definitions originates from the 1532 Constitutio Criminalis Carolina, a law introduced by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, which was still in use in the Dutch Republic in the eighteenth century. In the Carolina the word sodomy is not used, however the act is described as an act against nature, moreover it specifies the improper behaviour: when a human commits indecency with an animal, between two men or between two women. The law does not mention anal penetration, and it mentions women specifically, unlike for example De Damhouder’s definition.