Then I don't have any more Knyphausen letters until November 1743 (I think that's a 3 in 1743), so we'll get back to the adventures of Tido, but after transcribing all these letters, it occurred to me that, much like Karl von Keith's duel, this *has* to be in Fritz's correspondence!
Sure enough, we get this letter from Fritz to Jordan in March 1742:
My dear Jordan, you will go to Madame de Knyphausen, and tell her that, after I have sufficiently informed her of my wishes on the subject of her son, whom she has made arrangements for despite my intentions, if she does not bring him back immediately, I will take revenge on her as an angry master who punishes a bad citizen who acts against the State. Announce my vengeance to her, and tell her that I have means in hand, more than she thinks, to make up for her unfaithfulness and her treason; that she has found a way to quarrel with everyone, and that in the end I am obliged to admit that the world is right; but that there are houses of correction for wicked women, just as there are places where bad citizens are sequestered. Farewell; be assured that I love you with all my heart.
This is the man who wanted Wilhelmine to lock up that journalist, all right.
Now, the timing and recipient of this letter are SO extremely interesting to me. Because you may recall that Jordan was Peter's go-between with Fritz in early 1742! In December 1741, Fritz wrote to Jordan that he would increase Peter's salary, and maybe now Peter would give him some peace.
Then in March, Fritz wrote the letter of fire and brimstone to Jordan about Peter's prospective mother-in-law (remember that Peter and Oriane are engaged, but won't get married until the summer).
Then in April 1741, Jordan wrote that Fritz had charged Jordan with a "commission" regarding Peter, which he had carried out. (Me: What commission??? Tell me!!) Jordan wrote that "This honest man would ask nothing better than to serve Your Majesty; but he would like not to be idle, at his age, while his friends are in the army; he regards his condition as a state of shame. He protests moreover that with his income he is not in a condition to live in Berlin, where indeed everything is very expensive."
Then in May 1741, Jordan writes: "Madame Knyphausen is very sad to see that Keith, to whom she promised her eldest daughter, and whom she regarded as the future support of her family, is about to leave. I believe that she is seeking to retire to her estates in Ost-Friesland, and that she will ask permission. I will naturally confess to Your Mmajesty that I pity her fate. Keith cannot digest the mortification of remaining in Berlin while everyone else is in the army."
I didn't know that Fritz was so pissed off at Madame Knyphausen when Jordan wrote this! I knew he was annoyed with Peter, and that Jordan was being brave to take Keith's side, but wow.
Then in June, Jordan writes:
Knyphausen will go, I believe, to her estates; she continues to be ill. I pity her: not being well, having five daughters to marry, a son who is a vagabond, not being able to make arrangements for a man whom one would like to make one's son-in-law [Peter], there is in all this reason to be upset.
I've been curious for a long time what it is that's taking Peter out of Berlin. I used to think he'd been given permission to join the army, but the way "Keith cannot digest the mortification of remaining in Berlin while everyone else is in the army" reads, I feel like he's saying he's still not in the army. I think he's just gotten permission to go live in the country or something, and he doesn't feel he can live in Berlin and support Oriane, so he can't marry her.
And I kind of wonder if him wanting to marry into this particular family right at this exact time is making Fritz even more annoyed (remember that Peter would have had to ask Fritz for permission to marry her), or if this is just one of those compartmentalization things. But don't forget that Peter and Oriane end up living *with* her mother and younger siblings, presumably because it's too expensive to get their own place in Berlin. So the ties there are pretty close, and maybe it's not making Fritz more well disposed toward Peter.
Next up: what happened to Tido abroad, and how did he drag Peter into it?
ETA: And a little further chronology reminder: the First Silesian War ends in June, and Peter's able to hold his head up in Berlin and marry Oriane in mid August.
ETA: The more I think about it, the more I think the "commission" was "Tell Peter he can't join the army, he's not getting any more money, and stop bothering me."
I commented elsewhere on some aspects of this, but let me add:
there are houses of correction for wicked women
This is a truly nasty threat. Because that's what FW did to Doris Ritter. I mean, I don't think he'd have done it, for class reasons if for nothing else. (Note: FW did it to non-noble Doris Ritter. Ototh, Manteuffel's noble girlfriend and spy whom they discovered to be his girlfriend and spy during the Clement affair got first a bit of house arrest, and then got banished, but after some years and cajoling by SD ended up as governess of Fritz' sister Sophie, unless I misremember.) Still. It tells you just how upset he was. And Voltaire wasn't even involved!
(Perhaps extra upset because it's so close to the actual event and he's not Frederick the Great yet, there is still the possibility that instead of being regarded with fear and awe by all of Europe for how he pulled off that invasion, he will instead be ridiculed.)
Oh, and Mildred, I seem to recall that when we read Nancy G.'s book, Felis did a little compare and contrast to track down who reported what on Fritz' flight/strategic retreat from Mollwitz because we were curious whether her version had any basis on any contemporary report. I don't think the merchant from Bengal was one of the sources, but I do find it interesting that he phrases it as ""took fright, and made a very un-soldier-like retreat", because I think you suspected the first to hint (by joking how far Fritz got before the news of the Prussian victory reached him) that Fritz left the battlefield because he was afraid was Voltaire. If the merchant's report predates the publication of Voltaire's memoirs, it was Tido Knyphausen!
Which inevitably begs the question (since Knyphausen was actually present at Mollwitz, whether or not he was still tight with his mother's former boyfriend): yes, we know Fritz was later a leading from the front himself guy who got his horses shot under him by enemy fire, and no one could question his physical bravery. But this was his very first real battle (Philippsburg doesn't count in terms of life and death risks). So could it be that his version - that Schwerin practically forced him to leave - is perhaps a bit embellished? I mean, I still believe it was Schwerin's idea, but maybe a part of him was scared, and that's yet another reason why he's in full FW mode on this. (FW is only a year dead, less than a year, and his voice, commmenting HE always knew Wretched Son didn't have what it takes as a soldier, must have been especially loud in Fritz' head.)
This is a truly nasty threat. Because that's what FW did to Doris Ritter.
Ohhhhh. Right. Ouch.
but I do find it interesting that he phrases it as ""took fright, and made a very un-soldier-like retreat", because I think you suspected the first to hint (by joking how far Fritz got before the news of the Prussian victory reached him) that Fritz left the battlefield because he was afraid was Voltaire. If the merchant's report predates the publication of Voltaire's memoirs, it was Tido Knyphausen!
Oh cool! Maybe Voltaire read Tido's satire?
(FW is only a year dead, less than a year, and his voice, commmenting HE always knew Wretched Son didn't have what it takes as a soldier, must have been especially loud in Fritz' head.)
I think you suspected the first to hint (by joking how far Fritz got before the news of the Prussian victory reached him) that Fritz left the battlefield because he was afraid was Voltaire
I don't remember this at all! Clearly I need to research this story more.
So could it be that his version - that Schwerin practically forced him to leave - is perhaps a bit embellished?
Do you know where this variant comes from? I don't think I've ever known. It certainly doesn't come from Fritz. It's in Varnhagen von Ense's 1841 bio of Schwerin, but where does Varnhagen get it from?
I mean, I still believe it was Schwerin's idea, but maybe a part of him was scared
He'd kind of have to be: he's only human. I would still like to know where this story goes back to...
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timeasmymeasure
A Knyphausen satire - Part 2
Date: 2025-01-12 11:24 pm (UTC)Sure enough, we get this letter from Fritz to Jordan in March 1742:
My dear Jordan, you will go to Madame de Knyphausen, and tell her that, after I have sufficiently informed her of my wishes on the subject of her son, whom she has made arrangements for despite my intentions, if she does not bring him back immediately, I will take revenge on her as an angry master who punishes a bad citizen who acts against the State. Announce my vengeance to her, and tell her that I have means in hand, more than she thinks, to make up for her unfaithfulness and her treason; that she has found a way to quarrel with everyone, and that in the end I am obliged to admit that the world is right; but that there are houses of correction for wicked women, just as there are places where bad citizens are sequestered. Farewell; be assured that I love you with all my heart.
This is the man who wanted Wilhelmine to lock up that journalist, all right.
Now, the timing and recipient of this letter are SO extremely interesting to me. Because you may recall that Jordan was Peter's go-between with Fritz in early 1742! In December 1741, Fritz wrote to Jordan that he would increase Peter's salary, and maybe now Peter would give him some peace.
Then in March, Fritz wrote the letter of fire and brimstone to Jordan about Peter's prospective mother-in-law (remember that Peter and Oriane are engaged, but won't get married until the summer).
Then in April 1741, Jordan wrote that Fritz had charged Jordan with a "commission" regarding Peter, which he had carried out. (Me: What commission??? Tell me!!) Jordan wrote that "This honest man would ask nothing better than to serve Your Majesty; but he would like not to be idle, at his age, while his friends are in the army; he regards his condition as a state of shame. He protests moreover that with his income he is not in a condition to live in Berlin, where indeed everything is very expensive."
Then in May 1741, Jordan writes: "Madame Knyphausen is very sad to see that Keith, to whom she promised her eldest daughter, and whom she regarded as the future support of her family, is about to leave. I believe that she is seeking to retire to her estates in Ost-Friesland, and that she will ask permission. I will naturally confess to Your Mmajesty that I pity her fate. Keith cannot digest the mortification of remaining in Berlin while everyone else is in the army."
I didn't know that Fritz was so pissed off at Madame Knyphausen when Jordan wrote this! I knew he was annoyed with Peter, and that Jordan was being brave to take Keith's side, but wow.
Then in June, Jordan writes:
Knyphausen will go, I believe, to her estates; she continues to be ill. I pity her: not being well, having five daughters to marry, a son who is a vagabond, not being able to make arrangements for a man whom one would like to make one's son-in-law [Peter], there is in all this reason to be upset.
I've been curious for a long time what it is that's taking Peter out of Berlin. I used to think he'd been given permission to join the army, but the way "Keith cannot digest the mortification of remaining in Berlin while everyone else is in the army" reads, I feel like he's saying he's still not in the army. I think he's just gotten permission to go live in the country or something, and he doesn't feel he can live in Berlin and support Oriane, so he can't marry her.
And I kind of wonder if him wanting to marry into this particular family right at this exact time is making Fritz even more annoyed (remember that Peter would have had to ask Fritz for permission to marry her), or if this is just one of those compartmentalization things. But don't forget that Peter and Oriane end up living *with* her mother and younger siblings, presumably because it's too expensive to get their own place in Berlin. So the ties there are pretty close, and maybe it's not making Fritz more well disposed toward Peter.
Next up: what happened to Tido abroad, and how did he drag Peter into it?
ETA: And a little further chronology reminder: the First Silesian War ends in June, and Peter's able to hold his head up in Berlin and marry Oriane in mid August.
ETA: The more I think about it, the more I think the "commission" was "Tell Peter he can't join the army, he's not getting any more money, and stop bothering me."
Re: A Knyphausen satire - Part 2
Date: 2025-01-13 05:30 pm (UTC)there are houses of correction for wicked women
This is a truly nasty threat. Because that's what FW did to Doris Ritter. I mean, I don't think he'd have done it, for class reasons if for nothing else. (Note: FW did it to non-noble Doris Ritter. Ototh, Manteuffel's noble girlfriend and spy whom they discovered to be his girlfriend and spy during the Clement affair got first a bit of house arrest, and then got banished, but after some years and cajoling by SD ended up as governess of Fritz' sister Sophie, unless I misremember.) Still. It tells you just how upset he was. And Voltaire wasn't even involved!
(Perhaps extra upset because it's so close to the actual event and he's not Frederick the Great yet, there is still the possibility that instead of being regarded with fear and awe by all of Europe for how he pulled off that invasion, he will instead be ridiculed.)
Oh, and Mildred, I seem to recall that when we read Nancy G.'s book, Felis did a little compare and contrast to track down who reported what on Fritz' flight/strategic retreat from Mollwitz because we were curious whether her version had any basis on any contemporary report. I don't think the merchant from Bengal was one of the sources, but I do find it interesting that he phrases it as ""took fright, and made a very un-soldier-like retreat", because I think you suspected the first to hint (by joking how far Fritz got before the news of the Prussian victory reached him) that Fritz left the battlefield because he was afraid was Voltaire. If the merchant's report predates the publication of Voltaire's memoirs, it was Tido Knyphausen!
Which inevitably begs the question (since Knyphausen was actually present at Mollwitz, whether or not he was still tight with his mother's former boyfriend): yes, we know Fritz was later a leading from the front himself guy who got his horses shot under him by enemy fire, and no one could question his physical bravery. But this was his very first real battle (Philippsburg doesn't count in terms of life and death risks). So could it be that his version - that Schwerin practically forced him to leave - is perhaps a bit embellished? I mean, I still believe it was Schwerin's idea, but maybe a part of him was scared, and that's yet another reason why he's in full FW mode on this. (FW is only a year dead, less than a year, and his voice, commmenting HE always knew Wretched Son didn't have what it takes as a soldier, must have been especially loud in Fritz' head.)
Re: A Knyphausen satire - Part 2
Date: 2025-01-15 05:56 am (UTC)Ohhhhh. Right. Ouch.
but I do find it interesting that he phrases it as ""took fright, and made a very un-soldier-like retreat", because I think you suspected the first to hint (by joking how far Fritz got before the news of the Prussian victory reached him) that Fritz left the battlefield because he was afraid was Voltaire. If the merchant's report predates the publication of Voltaire's memoirs, it was Tido Knyphausen!
Oh cool! Maybe Voltaire read Tido's satire?
(FW is only a year dead, less than a year, and his voice, commmenting HE always knew Wretched Son didn't have what it takes as a soldier, must have been especially loud in Fritz' head.)
Ouch. :(
Re: A Knyphausen satire - Part 2
Date: 2025-01-16 10:16 am (UTC)I don't remember this at all! Clearly I need to research this story more.
So could it be that his version - that Schwerin practically forced him to leave - is perhaps a bit embellished?
Do you know where this variant comes from? I don't think I've ever known. It certainly doesn't come from Fritz. It's in Varnhagen von Ense's 1841 bio of Schwerin, but where does Varnhagen get it from?
I mean, I still believe it was Schwerin's idea, but maybe a part of him was scared
He'd kind of have to be: he's only human. I would still like to know where this story goes back to...