(Though of course we don't know what he was doing to his servants.)
We don't, but while looking for something else, I ran into a document that was easy enough Kurrent to sight-read, and I found a letter from someone complaining that Karl didn't even mention him in his will despite the fact that he served half his life as Karl's chamberlain, then before that worked for one of Karl's uncles as Haus Officiant, and before that, one of Karl's aunts and uncles-in-law, for a total of 50 years in the service of this family. He's now in his 70th year, not fit in age or health for further service, and it was with "shock, horror, and distress" that he learned that Karl's last will didn't mention someone who served him faithfully for over 30 years.
Of course, this is the servant's perspective trying to get money out of the Knyphausen heir, and not necessarily immediately an indictment of Karl, but in an age without much of a safety net, I can understand the shock, horror, and distress. He seems to have a wife and three grown children (it's not clear to me what they're doing for a living), and he doesn't want to become a "source of mockery or a burden" to other people in his old age.
I wish either my deciphering skills were slightly better, or else everyone had handwriting like this guy, because there's got to be tons of interesting tidbits like this out there, if only I could sight-read more of these documents. (I think it might be a generational thing; the early 19th century generation seems to form their letters in a way that I'm not used to, but this 70-year-old guy was trivial to read, as Kurrent goes.)
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timeasmymeasure
Re: A duel for science...or insanity??
Date: 2025-06-02 10:50 pm (UTC)We don't, but while looking for something else, I ran into a document that was easy enough Kurrent to sight-read, and I found a letter from someone complaining that Karl didn't even mention him in his will despite the fact that he served half his life as Karl's chamberlain, then before that worked for one of Karl's uncles as Haus Officiant, and before that, one of Karl's aunts and uncles-in-law, for a total of 50 years in the service of this family. He's now in his 70th year, not fit in age or health for further service, and it was with "shock, horror, and distress" that he learned that Karl's last will didn't mention someone who served him faithfully for over 30 years.
Of course, this is the servant's perspective trying to get money out of the Knyphausen heir, and not necessarily immediately an indictment of Karl, but in an age without much of a safety net, I can understand the shock, horror, and distress. He seems to have a wife and three grown children (it's not clear to me what they're doing for a living), and he doesn't want to become a "source of mockery or a burden" to other people in his old age.
I wish either my deciphering skills were slightly better, or else everyone had handwriting like this guy, because there's got to be tons of interesting tidbits like this out there, if only I could sight-read more of these documents. (I think it might be a generational thing; the early 19th century generation seems to form their letters in a way that I'm not used to, but this 70-year-old guy was trivial to read, as Kurrent goes.)