So I'm thinking death is the most likely explanation.
Probably, especially if whoever was put in charge of her wasn't really motivated to keep the baby alive. I am not insinuating infanticide, just that if baby X ended up with some eighteenth century countrywoman who got already paid for caring for other babies, as was often the custom in France (don't know about Prussia), then being one of many wouldn't heighten its life chances. Now obviously both Schwerin and the Baronness Knyphausen could have afforded a more exclusive upbringing, i.e. one family, but if they had done that, you'd think that their descendants would have known whether or not Amalie was the genuine article or an impostor and what exactly became of the kid.
(Illegitimate children of nobility: I've encountered all variations, from the kids being part of the regular household to "it never happened, who is this?", with the most common method sadly being foisting them on a third party from lower in the class system who originally benefits financially and stops caring once the benefit is no longer there.)
The one caveat is that the only reason we have to believe in the satire--at least so far, no other sources have emerged--is an extremely unreliable source: a British merchant writing decades later and specifically saying he heard the story from Tido, who was prone to telling tall tales. All contemporary sources point to simple desertion; maybe Tido fancied up the story at Fritz's expense years later.
Good point, yeah. It does make himself look cooler than simple desertion.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Baroness von Knyphausen's illegitimate child
Date: 2025-06-08 02:10 pm (UTC)Probably, especially if whoever was put in charge of her wasn't really motivated to keep the baby alive. I am not insinuating infanticide, just that if baby X ended up with some eighteenth century countrywoman who got already paid for caring for other babies, as was often the custom in France (don't know about Prussia), then being one of many wouldn't heighten its life chances. Now obviously both Schwerin and the Baronness Knyphausen could have afforded a more exclusive upbringing, i.e. one family, but if they had done that, you'd think that their descendants would have known whether or not Amalie was the genuine article or an impostor and what exactly became of the kid.
(Illegitimate children of nobility: I've encountered all variations, from the kids being part of the regular household to "it never happened, who is this?", with the most common method sadly being foisting them on a third party from lower in the class system who originally benefits financially and stops caring once the benefit is no longer there.)
The one caveat is that the only reason we have to believe in the satire--at least so far, no other sources have emerged--is an extremely unreliable source: a British merchant writing decades later and specifically saying he heard the story from Tido, who was prone to telling tall tales. All contemporary sources point to simple desertion; maybe Tido fancied up the story at Fritz's expense years later.
Good point, yeah. It does make himself look cooler than simple desertion.
Re: Baroness von Knyphausen's illegitimate child
Date: 2025-06-09 03:16 am (UTC)Re: Baroness von Knyphausen's illegitimate child
Date: 2025-06-09 03:58 am (UTC)Salon hive mind! I had this exact thought and almost wrote this exact paragraph but for lack of time.
you'd think that their descendants would have known whether or not Amalie was the genuine article or an impostor and what exactly became of the kid.
Gah! I have opinions on this, based on the latest archival findings, but no time. To be continued!