liselotte: rauschenblattenknecht

German Life and Letters 49:4 October 1996 0016-8777

LISELOTTE: RAUSCHENBLATTENKNECHT

WILLIAM BROOKS, AXEL GOODBODY, J. B. SMITH, AND P. J. YARROW

Elisabeth Charlotte, born in Heidelberg in 1652, the daughter of the Elector Palatine, Karl Ludwig, and his first wife, Charlotte von Hessen-Kassel, was sent at the age of nineteen to France, where she married Philippe, Duke of Orleans.’ As the king’s brother, Orleans enjoyed the title ‘Monsieur’, and accordingly Elisabeth Charlotte became ‘Madame’. She is also known to us, more affectionately, as ‘Liselotte’, spelt in a number of ways. She was never at home in France, never completely happy, and wrote thousands of letters, mainly to relatives and acquaintances in Germany. Hundreds of her letters (but still a minority) have been published over the last couple of centuries, affording many insights into the French court and other aspects of French life, and most particularly into her own determined, gritty person- ality. She is much anthologised, quoted in dictionaries and works of reference, and selections from her correspondence have often been translated into English and French. To this day, in certain parts of Germany, Liselotte is regarded as something of a folk heroine. Her importance in the Palatinate, for example, is shown by the city of Heidelberg’s decision to include a major Liselotte exhibition and lecture programme as part of the celebrations for its 800th anniversary in the autumn of 1996.

From time to time in her letters, Elisabeth Charlotte uses the expression rauschenblattcnknecht, which we believe has never been properly understood. The purpose of this article is to explore its meaning and her reasons for using it. The expression occurs only three times in this precise form, but also once as rauschenblatten knecht (two words), four times as rauschmblatten- knechtgen, ten as rauschenplattenknecht (one word), three as rausch@lattcn knecht (two words), seven as rauschenplattenknechtgcn, and twice as ruschblatt tn- knccirtgen. In addition, there are two occurrences of an adjective, rauscAcnplat- tcnknechtisch.2

Thus, we have discovered twenty-two examples with ‘p’, ten with rb’,3

’ We wish to thank Alan Menhennet for his patient listening and sound advice. Our sources are: E. Bodemann (ed.), Brie3 dn Hmzogin Elisabeth Charloth van Orlkar an ihre f&e

Hofmrirlnir A.K. uon Hailing, geb. u. Uffch, und h e n G d l , Geh. Rath Fr. v. Har1i.g zu Hannaw, HanovdLeipzig 1895 [hereafter ‘HA’]; Bodemann (ed.), Aur dn Briefm dn Herzogin Elisabdh Charlot& m W a r n M die Kurfiirstin Sophie wn Hannow, Hanover 1891 [hereafter ‘SO]; and H.F. Helmolt (ed.), Elirabeth Charleitm Brie3 an Kamlint uon Wales und Anton Ulrich van Brauwhweig-Wa~dithl, Annaberg 1909 [hereafter ‘KW’]. Bodemann’s editions of letters to Sophia and to the Harlings, although the moat complete published editions, are. only selections. Many other letters are extant but unpublished. Helmolt’s edition of the letten to the Princess of Wales is a reprint of a volume of extracts fint published in 1789. The original MSS are lost. The extracts were copied by an amanuensis who evidently knew nothing of France in Madame’s time, and many emn crept in. ’ Twelve if one counts separately the two examples of repetition within a single passage. @ Blrhrell PuMisbers Ltd 1996. Published b Blackwell Publishen. 108 Gnvley R o d , Oxford OX4 11F. UK Md 238 M.in Street, Cnmbridge, MA 02142, bSA.

406 LISELOTTE: RAUSCHENBLATTENKNECHT

and four presented as two words. (We count repetition within the same letter as a single occurrence, and our analysis relates to her published letters only.) Despite these orthographical differences, a number of editors, in anthologising her letters, especially for the popular market, prefer to spell the expression as one word with 'b': that is, Rauschmblattenknccht. This particular form, ordinarily with the capital R required by modern usage, has consequently taken on the character of an accepted standard spelling.

The occurrences are listed in chronological order in Appendix One, and an analysis of the variants is given in Appendix Two. Although we quote many of them in context as examples in the course of the present article, we do not do so in chronological order. Therefore, to facilitate location of the examples in the article itself, each quotation from Madame is also preceded by a letter, in alphabetical order.

Apart from a small number of exceptions, which we identify explicitly below, Liselotte makes the expression apply to herself, often using it simply to replace the first person singular. Less than three months after her arrival in France, she writes,

[A] Es ist mir recht leidt, auR euerem schreiben zu sehen, daR Mom. Harling so einen ubelen fall gethan; sagt ihm von meinetwegen, ruschenblatten- knechtgen lie8 ihn gruBen undt ihm sagen, daR ich hoffe, es werde nun wider woll mit ihm sein. (01, HA 17, Saint-Germain, 12 Feb. 1672)

On another occasion, she applies it to her son and to herself in the same sentence:

[B] [In a list of people to whom she is sending compliments.] Ich bitt, doch ahn Mom. Harling neben meinem gruB [zu] sagen, da8 ich ihm hette antworten wollen auf sein schreiben, aber das junge rauschenblattenknechtgen, so nun erst gebohren, hat mich rauschenblattenknechtgen dran verhindert, doch versichere ich ihm hiemit, daB ich den kleinen Harling gar lieb habe undt so vie1 sorge vor ihn haben will, alR ich kan. (04, HA 23, Saint-Cloud, 6 July 1673)

In common with a number of other examples (G, H, M), this type of use tells us little about the meaning of the expression. On other occasions, however, it frequently indicates restless activity and movement:

[C] [Went hunting yesterday in excellent weather. She fears it may rain, but as long as she can get out in the air and enjoy the movement of the carriage at the hunt,] so ist meine gesundtheit allezeit in einem gutten standt. Ich habe gottlob keine andere iwommoditct, alR schmertzen in den knien undt starcke krempf in den fiillen; im ubrigen geht alles woll, aber vor einen rauschenplattenknecht, wie ich bin, kompt das ewige sitzen hart ahn. (17, HA 91, Versailles, 24 March 1715)

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LISELOTTE: RAUSCHENBLATTENKNECHT 407

Indeed, the idea of restlessness and movement emerges also from examples F, K, L, Z, and numbers 19, 24, 45, 46, and 28. Number 34 adds the idea of dislike of boredom and number 46 defines a rauschenblattmknecht as one who is fond of lachen, dantzen, and springen (compare also example 0).

These aspects certainly seem to be part of the expression’s meaning, but rauschenblattmknccht has nevertheless both puzzled and fascinated editors and biographers. A. W. Ward, in his life of Sophia of Hanover, writes:

As a child ‘Liselotte’, as she was familiarly called, was the very incarnation of high spirits and natural gaiety, delighting in air and movement like the leaves which the wind drives before its blast; hence the sobriquet, untrans- lateable but conjuring up a world of fairies and imps of mischief, by which she liked to speak of herself, even when cribbed and confined amidst the royal splendours of Versailles.‘

Tant de choses en k mots? According to Maria Kroll, ‘Her aunt had christ- ened her the “Rauschenblatt-Knechtchen” [sic], or “little-knight-of-the-rustling-leaves”, a nickname that Liselotte often fondly referred to long after she had become Madame and full of dignity’. Gertrude Stevenson translates the expression once as ‘a noisy, rough, and wayward girl’, and on a second occasion transcribes it as ‘Rauschen petten Knecht’ [sic] with no attempt to tran~late.~

Amongst the French, Brunet translates rauschblattcnknccht as ‘un enfant bruyant, turbulent et fantasque’. ‘Le petit valet qui fait bruire les feuilles’, says Arlette Lebigre. ‘Mot intraduisible en franqais, qui sugg6re un gamin remuant comme une feuille qui bruit au vent’, according to Van der Cruysse.6 What a pity that we do not know what Jaegli would have made of it: none of the letters in his extensive anthology of translations contains the expression.’

German biographers and editors have been more circumspect but not more helpful. Mathilde Knoop writes reasonably enough of ‘Rauschcnplatten- knecht, wie man das quecksilbrig-lebhafte Kind in Hannover getauft hatte’, but avoids giving a more precise definition. Helmuth Kiesel observes of her new life in France that ‘mit Wehmut gedachte sie im reglementierten Hofleben von Versailles ihrer jugendlichen Ausgelassenheit, derentwegen sie in Heidelberg den Kosenamen Rauschmplattenkechtgcn [sic] bekommen

A. W. Ward, The Electrcss Sophia and the H a ~ v e r i a n Succession. London/Paris/New York 1903, p. 100. ’ Leftas fm Lireloftc, trans. and ed. Maria Kroll, London 1970, p. 10 [the interpolated sic is ours]; The Lettms of Madam, trans. and ed. Gertrude Scott Stevenaon, London 1924-5 (I, p. 27 (0 letter of 23 Nov. 1672) and 11, p. 240 (E: a letter which Stevenson data 9 Jan. 1720, apparently a slip for 30 Apr. 1720)).

G. Brunet (ed.), Corresponuhce complitc & Mndonu duckst d’OriicUrr, Pans 1863, I, p. 2; A. Lebigre, La Primsse Pulatinc, Pans 1986, p. 30; D. Van der CN~SSC, Madmnr Pd&’nc, princuzc ar-, Paris 1988, p. 67; and his edition of the Ltfrufmrtaiur, p. 87, n. 4. ’ E. JaegtC (ad.), Cowes@nake & ModatM &&SM d‘OrUam ulmi(S ds ses lrrtrcs mginalu Wshs a w archim BS Hcrnomc at & scs lcttres publiics par M. L.-W. Holland, 2nd ed., Pans 1890.

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4Q8 LISELO’ITE: RAUSCHENBLATTENKNECHT

hatte’, but he, too, offers no explanation,’ On the contrary, indeed, his assumption that the phrase originated in Heidelberg seems to us miscon- ceived. We believe it to be connected with her stay in Hanover and near Osnabriick (1659-63) since thirty-one of the thirty-two occurrences in her published correspondence are in letters to H a n ~ v e r . ~ There are three in letters to her aunt (Sophia, Duchess of Hanover) and twenty-eight in letters to the Harlings, that is, her aunt’s equerry and his wife. Fraulein von Uffeln, her governess, it will be remembered, accompanied Liselotte from Heidelberg to Hanover, mamed Baron von Harling, and remained there as governess to Sophia’s daughters. Indeed, as we shall show, we agree with Eduard Bodemann, who observes that ‘Der Elis. Charlotte hatte man in ihrer Kindheit wegen ihrer Lebendigkeit und Unruhe den Beinamen “Rauschenblattenknecht” gegeben; besonders scheint der Oberstallmeister v. Harling sie so genannt zu haben, welchen Elis. Charl. zuweilen auch so nennt.’” Alas, Bodemann, like the others, appears unable to explain. It is precisely in order to seek an explanation of this term and a provenance for it that we embarked on the research which has led to the present article. As we have seen, most of the more imaginative interpretations are based

on the assumption that ruuschm is the verb ‘to rustle’ and that platten or blatten is from blatt ‘a leaf. This begs a good many questions. In modern standard German, at least, ‘rustling leaf would be ‘rauschendes Blatt’ and ‘rustling leaves’ would be ‘rauschende Blatter’. In any case, the sequence ‘rauschendes Blatt Knecht’ or ‘rauschende Bktter Knecht’ would be syntac- tically or morphologically no more likely than the corresponding English sequence ‘rustling leaf fellow’ or ‘rustling leaves fellow’, even if this made semantic sense. We feel we can set aside this interpretation as fanciful and grotesque, and that we should look further for an explanation of r a u s c h m b l u t t t .

Liselotte came from the Palatinate, so let us begin by consulting Christmann’s P’lzisches Worterbuch. One sense of Knccht given there is ‘junger Bursche, der ... sich keck gebardet’, followed by a reference to the compound noun Rauschmblattknccht (sic) .I1 If we pursue this reference, the headword we in fact discover is Rauschmblatttnknecht, with an indication that it is an obsolete, historical form. There is only one citation, from Liselotte herself:

[D] Meine Tochter ist eine rechte Rauschenblattenknecht, die kann nichts lernen, allein die Zunge ist ihr wohl gelijst und spricht ins Gelach hinein.I2

* M. Knoop, Madame. Luufoffe w11 dn Pf&, Stuttgart 1956, p. 10; H. Kiesel (ed.), Sricfc dn Lisclofte w11 dn Pfiz , Frankfurt a. M. 1981, p. 13. 9This generalisation is not invalidated by the single exception, which occurs in a letter to the Princess of Wales and which we shall discuss below (E). lo Note by Bodemann (HA 17) to Liselotte’s use of the expression in the form ru.rcMfaf*hfgm in her letter of 12 Feb. 1672, cited above (A). I‘ E m t Christmann et al., P ’ i i W-U, IV, Stuttgart 1981-6, 346. “Quoted here, following Christmann, from ‘Liselotte, B+ 72, W, which we identify with Die Brirfr dn Liselotte m da P f i , Herzogin 11011 Orleans, ed. C. Ki iml , Eknhauscn nr. Munich 1923, p. 72, line 20. However, as he explains on p. 4, K i i m l modemisea the spelling and, as far as he lQ Blrtvcll Pubtirbm Ltd 1996.


The source of the citation and its uniqueness are significant, as will become apparent. Now, instead of a gloss, we find a reference to Rauschenbtutel, among the senses of which are ‘oberflachliches, keckes Madchen, das gern mit Buben rauft’, ‘mannstolles Madchen’, and ‘lebhaftes Kind’. l3 Unfortu- nately, this interpretation of the expression RauschenblattcnkruGht, relying as it does on an analogy with another word, fails to account for the second and third elements - that is, blattm and knccht are not glossed as part of the compound expression - and so we are no nearer a discovery of how its meaning came about and, crucially, what the expression meant to Liselotte.

Let us therefore consider separately the three elements which go to make up R a u s c h e n b l a t t t , beginning with the first, namely Rauschcn-. From the point of view of meaning, at least, this is relatively unproblematical. Like other commentators we have mentioned, we would allocate it to the verb rauschcn, one sense of which is indeed ‘to rustle’. But the broad meaning of rauschen as glossed by the Grimms is ‘geraiisch machen’, and a closer fit is provided by the first of the numerous senses they list: ‘in der alteren sprache vielfach von der ungestumen, wilden bewegung lebender wesen, daher stiirmen (unbandig, unuberlegt oder zum angrifI).’l* This sense would appear to be reflected in, for instance, the south Hessen Rauschd, ‘ausgelas- senes, temperamentvolles, wildes Madchen, Wildfang’, or, with much the same meaning, Hessen-Nassau Rawchcbausch. l5 Interestingly, the second and third elements of Rauschcnblattenknccht do not appear in any comparable expression in these parts of Germany either, but if we look further afield, suggestive clues are found. Among the words of similar import in the Brana!tnburg-Berlinischs Worterbuch, for example, we find Ruschcl, Ruschclack and Ruschpl&tcr.16 The last of these seems pertinent, and moreover, is matched by the Mecklenburg Ruuschenplaaster, ‘wildes Madchen’, itself followed in the relevant dictionary by the entry Ruuschplat, ‘eig. rauschende Schiine . . ., dann ein wildes, unruhiges Madchen, dessen Schiine immer hin und herrauscht’. One of the quotations illustrating this, ‘sei is as sonn’ Ruuschenplat grot worden’, is glossed as ‘ohne Erzieh~ng’.’~

So, in these more northerly parts of Germany at least, the second element of Rwchcnplat is found, and it means Schiirze, ‘apron’. The full form is Platen, a masculine noun which is glossed ‘Schiirze, grobe Schiirze, Sackschiirze’.

is able, normalises all dialect and archaic words. Notice that the second element begins with a b. Wemann quotes the same text (10, SO I , 61, Fontainebleau, 29 Sept. 1683), and, significantly for us, gives ‘rauschenplatten knecht’ (two words, the second element beginning with p , not b). As Bodemann is ordinarily careful to distinguish Liselotte’s varying spellings, we pmume that he is also right on this occasion. l3 Ernst Christmann et al., P’dzi.sches Mrter6uch, V, Stuttgan 1987-93, 418. “Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, Dl~tschcs Mrtcrbuch, Leipzig 1854-1971, VIII, 306. Compare Liselotte’s understanding of the word BS evinced at the end of example P. l5 Friedrich Maurer et al., Siici;harrirhcs Wdrkrbuch, IV, Marburg 1978-85, 1276; Luisa Berthold, Hessm-Nmsaui~ches Volks~rtcrhch, 11, Marburg 1943, 791. l6 Klaus-Dieter Ganaleweit et al., Bra~6urg-Berlinisches W h 6 u c h , 111, Berlin 1994, 923 and 926. ” Hermann Teuchert, Wosdla-T~hcrt Mecklenbmrgishes Wmtmbwh, V, Neumiinsta 1970, 1126.

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41 0 LISELOTTE: RAUSCHENBLATTENKNECHT

Ruuschenplat also occurs as R~uschp la ten , ‘~ and certainly farther west, in Schleswig-Holstein, the two words coexist, as Ruschfilaat and Ruschplatm, on which the Schleswig-Holstcinischw Worterbuch comments: ‘eigentlich: “rauschende Schiirze”, dann: “ein wildes, ungestiimes, unstetes Frauenzimmer, dessen Schiirze immer hin und herrauscht” . . . “Sausewind”, “unzuverlas- siges Madchen” ’. That the word is well established in Schleswig-Holstein is attested by a citation from 1755.19 As for the separate element Platen (or the rarer Pfaat), it was apparently still well known in Holstein in the 193Os, even though by that time it was beginning to be ousted by its synonyms Scarf, Schuut, counterparts of the High German Schiirzc.20

In fact, there is enough evidence to confirm a wider and more southerly distribution than has so far been indicated. Michael Richey’s Idioticon Ham- burgnrrc of 1755, for instance, lists Ruusch-Plate not only under Plate, ‘Schiirze, Vonchiirze, zu Beschonung der Kleider’, with the comment ‘dafur schilt man ein Weibesbild, daB wild und stiirmerisch zu Wercke gehet’, but also, with a slight variation in spelling, as a headword in its own right, Ruschcn-Plate: ‘ein unachtsames Frauenzimmer, das allenthalben herdurch rauschet, und auf den Wolstand in der Kleidung nich viel schlaget.’*’ Indeed, the word is listed even in modern glossaries of the Hanoverian vernacular. Thus Ludewig: ‘Rusch#lat, m., derber Mensch, bes. wildes oder unordentliches Madchen’, while Toll gives it as an alternative to Rwchbusch: ‘Ruschenbusch - das, nicht der - ist ein Madchen, das einen leicht verwilderten Eindruck macht. Als ware es soeben durch den Busch gerauscht. ... Die Tochter, die zerzaust vom Spiel kommt, wird von der Mutter milde mit “Du Ruschenbusch” empfangen. (Auch Ruschenplat ist gebrauchlich.)’22

So far, so good. We have traced the expression to Hanover. Before proceeding, however, it may be helpful to say a little more about the second element, which, as we have seen, is the LG noun Platen. Although recent research strongly suggests that this is a Slavonic loanword, deriving from Wendish plitna, plaifna, ‘linen’, plitne, ‘Pechleinen’ (a kind of linen that has been treated with pitch), and taking on in LG the meaning ‘Arbeits-, Kiichenschiirze’, it will be worth bearing in mind that the etymology originally favoured by lexicographers tended towards the ‘popular’ or ‘associative’ rather than the strictly scientific. The assumption was that Platen was historically identical with MLG plate ‘Brustplatte, Harnisch’, a word

’* Tcuchcrt, 459, where we also find a saying addressed to a destructive boy (‘einem Knaben, der viel Zeug zerrciEt’): ‘de Smidt saIl di ’n iscrn Platen maken.’ l9 Otto Mcnsing, Schbmig-Holstcinischu W M b w h (Volhausgde) , IV, Neumiinster 1933, 208. ”ibid. , I l l , Neumiinster 1931, 1045-6.

* Georg Ludcwig, S ~ ~ R C T ~ C ~ W M b n c h , ed. D. Stellmacher, Neumiinster 1987, p. 97; Hmw- ws&s wdrkrbwh, ed. Hans J. Toll, R. Hollmann and Armin Mandel, Hanover 1989, p. 148. Incidentally, the reference to Bur& is another example of wayward etymologising, for the expression has nothing to do with bushes but is related to Hcsscn-Nassau Rourclub& (see above). @ BlrcLwcU PuMisbcn L.Id 1996.

Michael Richcy, idioticon Humburgme, Hamburg 1755, pp. 187 and 219.

LISELOTTE: RAUSCHENBLATTENKNECHT 41 1

which suggested something flat and was ultimately cognate with the NHG adjective p l ~ t t . * ~

For the present, let us return to Hanover. What the foregoing seems to point to is that, during her stay with her aunt between the ages of six and ten, Liselotte was found, probably by Baron von Harling, to merit the epithet RurchtnpIut(en), ‘wild girl’. Now, we find it highly suggestive that in no work of reference, save the dictionary of Pfalzisch (where it does not belong), do we find the full form ruwchenbluttenknccht with all three elements present. We believe that this is because the word simply does not and did not exist in common usage. It was unique to Liselotte and her little circle in Hanover. We speculate that Baron von Harling, who knew the word Ruschplut(en) in its transferred meaning, ‘wild girl’, applied it to Liselotte but came to decide that as such it was not enough.** We suggest that, in order to do justice to her tomboyish nature, he added the element -kncchtgcn. That is, -knecht for her tomboyishness and -gen partly because she was a child, partly to deflect the inconvenient grammatical masculine by aligning the word with such others as Ma&hen. Ruschenplutenknechtgen is thus a nickname or term of endearment suitable for a boyish little girl, which for the moment we may translate as ‘hoyden tomboy’ or ‘whirligig lad’. (Certainly, a girl who got up to some of the tricks Liselotte used to play was no ‘rustling leaf!) It was a special expression applied to Liselotte during her stay in Hanover, and only a small group of people used it or were familiar with it. Thus, the only time she explains it is also the only time she uses it in a letter to someone outside the circle. To Caroline of Anspach, many years later, she writes:

[El In meiner Jugend bin ich sehr lustig gewesen, davon ist mir der Name Rauschenplatten Knecht uberkommen. [21, KW, 238, 30 Apr. 17201

Interestingly, rather more than a year earlier she had intimated that a ruwchpluttenknecht should be ‘lus tig’ (I).

Now, as we have seen, there are a number of variations in the form of the expression, and it is to these that we turn our attention next. One of the most striking is the diminutive suffix -gm, which is present in nearly half the examples. As might be ex.pected, the suffix is retained where there are connotations of youthfulness, as when Liselotte refers to her infant son:

[F] WaB meinen kleinen rauschenblattenknechtgen ahnbelangt, so hat er den nahmen wol mit der that undt ist ein greiilicher wiltfang ... (06, HA 26, Versailles, 19 March 1674)

Is See W. Focrste, ‘Zwei wendischc W6rter im Niederdeutschen’, Nirdndrutsch Wort, 6 (1966), 5 5 6 ; Friedrich Kluge, Eiymologischc~ Worinbuch &r akutsch Spa&, 22nd cd., rev. Elrnar Scebold, Berlin/Nm York 1989, p. 550, Teuchert, loc.cit. z’ Whilst it seems to us highly improbable that he would have known the origins of the word, it really makes no difference whether he did or not.

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Conversely, where the emphasis is on age or maturity, the sumX tends to be shed, as when, in 1709, she refers to herself as

[GI ewer jetzt alt rauschenplattenknecht [15]

or, in a letter to Frau von Harling, applies the epithet to the Baron:

(HI Aber ich muB schlieBen ...; bitte meine lieb fraw Harling griiRe alle gutte bekanten, insonderheit ra~schenblattenknecht,~~ ich kan ihm vor diBmahl nicht antworten, denn ich habe kaum der zeit, diB auBzuschreiben. (02, HA 19, Versailles, 15 Sept. 1672)

In other instances it is perhaps sentence rhythm as well as just meaning that dictates the omission of -gal as in examples Q, R, and T.

Also of note is its use as a plural in:

[I] So eine zeit wie dieBe hat man, glaube ich, noch nie erlebt, da man nichts alB lauter ungliick undt verdrieBlichen sachen hort; das macht die rauschenblattenknechtger ahnstatt lustig sehr nachdenkisch. (20, HA 131, Paris, 26 Jan. 1719)%

Apart from this, the morphological shape of the expression is remarkably constant. Only on two occasions, for instance, does it occur as an adjective rather than as a noun. Thus, referring to the need to give reason precedence over impulse, Liselotte says:

01 ... man muB woll der vernunft waB nachgeben undt nicht allezeit seinem rauschenplattenknechtischen kopf folgen. (23, HA 179, 8 Dec. 1720)

The other example is a lament for her once nimble legs. The king, Louis XV, was just over six years old:

[K] ... gestern, er lief so geschwindt ahn tafel, dal3 ich ihm nicht folgen konte, denn ich habe meine rauschenplattenknechtische schenckel nicht mehr. (18, HA 101, 5 Apr. [1716])

As far as gender is concerned, the variants in -knccht show every sign of being masculines, and those in -kncchtgen of being neuters, even where, as

25 ‘So nennt Elis. Charl. Xter den Oberstallmeister v. Harling, welcher ihr vielleicht jenen Namen gegeben hat.’ [Note by Bodemann.] 26 Examples of -gn as the plural of the diminutive -got are ubiquitous in Liselotte’s letters. Only in the dative plural docs the former ending revert to -gm, as in Holland 1, 206: ‘in den schichtelgen’. In the form nuchct@lotunkncclrlgm, it is thus a dative plural on its second Occurrence in example L. In modem Walzisch, - c h similarly becomes - c h . For examples, see Bruno Hain and Rudolf Lehr (eds), [email protected] WR hiivluc und drluwr, 11, Schwetzingen 1992, pp. 31-3; and for the linguistic background see, for instance, Elmar Secbold, ‘Diminutivformen in den deutschen Dialekten’ in Werner k c h et al. (cds), Dialcktolgir: Ein Hana‘bucA zur &ufschm und allgnnrinn DiabktJorschg, 11, Bcrlin/Ncw York 1983, pp. 1250-5 (especially pp. 1252-3).

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in the great majority of instances, Liselotte refers to herself. There is one example (Z) in which the word without the sumX is made neuter. More important, there are a few examples in which grammatical clearly gives way to natural gender. Thus, in referring to her infant son, Liselotte says: ‘WaB meinen kleinen rauschenblattenknechtgen anbelangt, so hat er .,.’ (see F), and she calls her daughter [lo] ‘eine rechte Rauschenblattenknecht’ (D). We may also note example W, where the relative pronoun is feminine.

Now to orthography and putative pronunciation. The first point that strikes us is that in an example A, from 1672, the spelling ruschmblattcn- kwchtgen occurs, with what must be the original LG monophthong in the first syllable, while another early quotation, example L, probably from 1673-4, follows suit with ruschplattenknechtgm, twice. But elsewhere, even as early as 1672 (H), the monophthong is replaced by the diphthong au. The obvious reason for this is that, following her departure from her aunt’s care at the age of ten, she stayed eight years in the familiar surroundings of the Palatinate. By the time she left for France towards the end of 1671, her original linguistic background had had ample time to reassert itself. Since not only her native Rhine Franconian, but also the NHG standard, has au for LG u in appropriate contexts,*’ the substitution of rauschm- for ruschen- would be quite natural, even though the latter form surfaces occasionally in her very early letters.

Now, if Liselotte’s pronunciation is revealed in one spelling, we must be prepared to seek it in another. Whereas Low German, like the present-day High German standard, distinguishes between, say, platt and Blatt, Rhine Franconian as spoken in the Palatinate and adjoining regions does not. The opposition between p and b, t and d, and so on, generally operates in one position only, that is word-initially immediately before an accented vowel, as in /pand/, ‘Pfand’, versus /band/, ‘Band’. A pair such as platt and Bfatt, which does not fulfil this condition, will thus be pronounced ident- ically, namely as /blad/.28 Native speakers of dialects in which the fortis- lenis opposition is generally neutralised in this way will from time to time be at a loss when, in writing, they are expected to make an orthographic distinction between p and b, t and d, and so on, since in the majority of instances they experience no such difference in the language as they speak it or hear it spoken.29 Liselotte is no exception.30 Not only do we find

’’ Cf. Gilbert LiCbray, Dar pho~~logischc Sysrcm der Oflnshdinn Munaiart, Marburg 1969, pp. 146, 270, etc.; R.E. Keller, G a ~ n Dialects, Manchester 1961 (reprinted with minor corrections 1979), pp. 172 and 350.

LiCbray, pp. 266, 207, 210 etc; W.A.I. Green, ‘The Dialects of the Palatinate (Das Walxische)’ in Charles VJ. Russ (ed.), The Dialects of Modrm German: A Linguistic Sumcy, London 1990, p. 249. 29 Cf. Joachim Hasselberg and Klaus-Peter Wegera, DialekdHocApach c-kontrartiv: Hessisch, Diissel- dorf 1976, pp. 38-9.

On Liselotte’s linguistic background, see Klaus J. Mattheier, ‘Liselottes Sprache’ in Klaus J. Mattheier and Paul Valentin (eds), Pathos, Klatsch und Ehrluhkeit: Liseloite m der Pf& am Hafe drs Sommkws, Tiibingen 1990, pp. 217-32 (pp. 222-3). On her tendency to confuse lenes and fortes, see Paul Valentin, ‘La langue de la Palatine dans ses lettres allemandes’, in Mattheier and Valentin,

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pp. 211-5 (p. 212).


throughout her letters spellings such as blautterte for ‘plauderte’ (Holland 11, 658);31 we also find examples such as the following: ‘Ich kann kein blat vors maul nehmen; ich habe es meinem sohn Matt herausgesagt’ (Holland V, 239), in which the near-homographs (our italics) stand for ‘Blatt’ and ‘platt’ respectively. Compare also ‘Ich bin klein, trag aber die schuhe ganz Mat’ (Holland I, 267, our italics) and, in the same letter a few lines earlier, rOgmbladt, for ‘Rosenblatt’. It is therefore entirely in character for her to interpret the second element of Ruschen~laten as beginning with a b in about one-third of the occurrences, even if she does, as a rule, appear to follow the norm.

We next need to account for the doubling of the t in the second element, bfatten or platten. This clearly indicates that the preceding a is short, whereas, just as clearly, the single t of Ruschenplatcn suggests a long a.32 Since, however, Rhine Franconian tends to have a short a in some similar contexts, as in Vadder for ‘Vater’, or S c h w a d h for ‘ S ~ h w a d e n ’ , ~ ~ we would suggest that -platen was affected by analogy, so that it too ended up with a short a.

Thus, if we are to believe the evidence of Liselotte’s invariable doubling of the t , she always pronounced platen with a short -a-. This change will, however, have been strongly supported by her interpretation of the word, which, as an isolated LG item in an otherwise HG idiolect, will over the years have lost its original motivation, even assuming she understood it fully in the first place. We suggest that she did not. Rather, although she continued to associate the first element, rauschen-, with the verb rauscha ‘to behave in a boisterous and unruly fashion’ (for example, in B and P), she will also have tended to see in the considerably more obscure element platen the adjective platt, in its sense of ‘coarse, untutored’34 and hence ‘unsophisticated and forthright’. That the leap from platen to platt, though a piece of ‘folk’ etymology, is not an unnatural one, is shown by the tendency, mentioned above, for traditional etymologists likewise to discern behind Platen, with its long vowel, the adjective platt with its short one. Indeed, some LG dictionaries have no compunction in conflating Platc(n), ‘something flat, plate’ (cf. HG Platte in its various senses) and Platc(n), ‘apron’ under a single headword, thus suggesting polysemy rather than homonymy.35

Further encouragement for her to gloss -platen- as an adjective may have come from the immediately following -knccht or -knechtgen, neither of which would preclude the form platten, in the appropriate oblique cases at least.

3’ W. L. Holland (ed.), Brie) &r Hercogin Elisabeth Churlor* w11 Orf im, Stuttgarfliibingen 1867-81. ’*Compare, for instance, Mensing, 111, 1045. 33 See Liibray, p. 225 and Keller, p. 199, and compare for instance Liselotte’s spelling of ‘Vater’ as mttr in Holland 11, 314, 339, 389, 548, etc. Significantly, too, she generally spells the proper name ‘Platen’ as Platten. For reference, see Holland’s induces at I, 538 and 11, 791, etc. “Compare Crimm, VII, 1904, phtt, 2d: ‘von penonen, die zur ungebildeten, niedrigen menge gehiircn oder sonst durnm, flach, seicht, witz- und geistlos sind.’ 55Thus Richcy, p. 187; Heinrich Teut, Hdkr wlirtcrbuch, Neumiinster 1959, 111, 329. @ Blackwell Publirbcn Lrd 19%.


One might even see the spellings which feature knccht(gm) as a separate word as providing support for the interpretation of plattm as an adjective. Liselotte’s childhood activities included spending time with ordinary people, and amongst the pages and grooms and the kitchen staff. This was particularly true during her stay in Hanover, and she must have had better than a nodding acquaintance with LG at a receptive age in her linguistic development. We must be careful not to overstate the case, but it seems to us suggestive that ‘[ich bin ein] Rauschenplattenknecht’, alias ‘rauschen platten Knecht’, may be justified in LG grammatical terms. Let us take first the second element, which we maintain she construed as an adjective, plattm. On the face of it, this appears to have an accusative ending, but the functions of cases in Low and High German do not necessarily corre- spond. In LG, sentences such as

hei is en riken Mann (er ist ein reicher Mann) or dat is n goden Kerl (das ist ein guter Kerl)

are perfectly normal. Whereas, of course, in HG the noun of the complement is always in the nominative, in LG it is marked as a complement by means of oblique case-endings on an attributive adjective immediately preceding it.

The argument for regarding the first element, r a w c h , as an adjective, is different. The corresponding HG form would of course be zuuchmd, but in LG such present participles apparently lack the final dental. They are thus identical in form with the infinitive. Moreover, even when used attributively, they apparently take no ending. Compare

de reisen Gesell (der reisende Gesell) and ein Paar glanzen Ogen (ein Paar glanzende A ~ g e n ) ~ ~

Our argument is thus that over the years Liselotte will have come to interpret the expression along the lines of ‘rauschender platter Knecht’, ‘wild, untutored lad’. Such an interpretation does not of course stand up to rigorous linguistic analysis in every one of the contexts in which it occurs, but that is not the point. We are dealing with a subjective ‘folk etymological’ approach, one that was associative rather than analytical.

Having discussed in some detail the background to Ruwchnblat&nknecht in its various forms, we need to sum up. What we are saying is that

Dieter Stellmacher, ‘Neuniederdeutsche Grammatik Phonologit und Morphologie’ in Cerhard Codes and Dieter Mcihn (eds), H&h zur nirdadcutschen Spach- turd Likrohrwirsnucrhoft, Berlin 1983, p. 268.

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416 LISELOTTE RAUSCHENBLAITENKNECHT

Liselotte’s Rauschenblattnokmechccht originates from the LG Ruschenpluccht(cn), liter- ally ‘whirling apron’, in its transferred sense, ‘wild girl’. This is adequately and objectively documented in the works of reference we have cited. The word was used to describe her, and knecht(gcn) was added because she was not merely a Ruschenplaten, but a tomboy to boot. But, as we have indicated, there is also a subjective aspect to the problem, namely, Liselotte’s own understanding of the word, possibly involving the reinterpretation of its second element as an adjective, plutt. Here, at last, we may profitably return to her use of the expression.

We have noted that she occasionally applies the expression to others: twice to her son (B and F) and once to her daugher (D). Most significantly for us, however, she applies it to Baron von Harling (H). Indeed, she appears on one occasion to be applying it both to herself and to the Baron’s family (his children? or her aunt Sophia’s children?) in the same letter:

[L, signing off.] Mr. Harling laS ich sagen, daB ruschenplattenknechtgen die zeit lang felt undt daB ich miichte gern zu Iburg3’ itzunder sein; umb mit den andern ruschenplattenknechtgen ein wenig herumb zu raRen, umb die zeit zu vertreiben. (05, HA 26, undated, placed by Bodemann between 6 Aug. 1673 and 19 March 1674)

Thus, the phrase is, in our view, unmistakably linked to Baron von Harling, and this underlines our very strong suspicion that it was he who coined it for her. In the early example (A), the phrase sentimentalises Liselotte’s expression of sympathy towards him. Elsewhere, indeed, she calls herself ‘his’ rau.schnpluttmknecht(gen). During her late illness, using the third person to refer to Harling, she writes,

[MI ... ich weiR, daI3 Mom. Harling in sorgen vor sein rauschenplattenknechtgen ist (31, HA 218-9, 26 Sept. 1722)

Earlier, addressing him in the second person, she calls herself ‘ewer ... rauschenplattenknecht’ (G). Some years before, replying in French to a letter from the Baron, doubtless also in French, she had concluded thus:

[N] Je vous prie de me continuer vostre amitii et d’estre persuade que la miene est pour vous telle que vous la pouvts desirer de vostre rau.rchr@lattm- kmchtgtn. (11, HA 75, 14 Apr. 1689)%

” Iburg, near Osnahriick, was the residence of the Bishop of Osnabriick. When he died, Sophia’s husband, Ernst August, succeeded him. Liselotte lived with her aunt and uncle in Iburg from 1662 until her return to Heidelberg. WJ In his edition of the Lcttrcsfransoues, Pans 1989, p. 87, Van der Cruysse modernises the French and also the word Ranrchmb&&nkndtgm, to which he gives a capital initial letter as in modern German, whilst also replacing the p at the bqpnning of the sccond element with what has become, over time, the more familiar b. @ BIackweU Publishen Ltd 19%.

LISELO’ITE: RAUSCHENBLATTENKNECHT 41 7

Liselotte provides an early clue to the personal significance of the expression when she says:

[0] 0, mein liebe jungfer Uffel! Wie kompt das einem rauschenplattenknechtgen so spanisch vor, wan man nicht mehr laufen undt sprin[g]en dad, auch gar nicht einmahl in der kutzschen fahren, sondern al5 in einer chaise muB getragen werden. Undt wan es baldt gethan were, so were es noch ein sach, aber daB es so 9 gantzer monat fort weren mu& das ist ein trubseeliger zustand ... (03, HA 20, 23 Nov. 1672)

Out of context these remarks are rather cryptic, but what she is alluding to is the fact that she is pregnant. On two other occasions, Liselotte finds the expression pertinent when writing about pregnancy:

[PI Aber in dieBem augenblick ruft man mir zum nachteBen, drumb kan ich nichts mehr sagen alB daB MY. Harling meinen gruB hir findt und dai3 ich versichert bin, da8, wan er mich jetzt sehen wiirde, so wiirde er mich nicht mehr kennen, denn ich bin gar kein rauschenblattenknechtgen mehr undt ist mir das rauschen abscheulich vergangen. (07, HA 30, Saint-Cloud, 20 April 1676)

We know that she gave birth less than six months later, on 13 September (for the third and last time). We may paraphrase her last clause: ‘Although the thought of it is unbearable, my wild ways are now a thing of the past.’ A year later, using the expression without the su&x -gm for only the second time, she remarks that she would not like to be pregnant again soon,

[Q denn es ist gar ein traweriges leben drumb, welches einem rauschenblattenknecht, wie ich bin, nicht zu pal3 kompt. (08, HA 35, 23 Sept. 1677)

Sometimes, it conveys the idea of being giddy and feather-brained. In a previous letter, she had wished Baron von Harling a happy and peaceful new year, and he must have made some mildly ironic comment in response. To which she replies:

[R] [All I meant was ...I zu erweiBen, daB ich mich der teutschen brauche noch gar woll erinere, und so rauschenblattenknecht alB ich auch bin, daB ich doch unBere gutte teutsche brauche nicht vergeBe. (16, HA 89, Versailles, 14 Feb. 1715)

Absent-mindedness is also indicated:

[S] Mom. Harling weiB auch woll, daB ich nicht stoltzer worden bin undt noch das alte rauschenblattenknechtgen bin, so ich geweBen, denn erinert er sich nicht, wie ich seine uudicntz hir entpfing undt seine handschu vor die meine ahnthat? (IS, HA 77, 11 March 1706)

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A different kind of selfdeprecatory claim is made a few years later:

[TI [People are talking of the peace negotiations to be convened at Cambrai. The Regent simply wants peace at any price.] Politirirm ist mein sach gar nicht, undt wer all sein leben ein rauschenplattenknecht geweBen, versteht sich kein haar auf staatssachen [... but she, too, hopes for peace] (44, HA 172, Saint-Cloud, 1 Aug. 1720)

On giddiness and being a featherbrain, with a touch of impetuosity and capriciousness, see also no. 23 (partly quoted as example J). Closely allied to this, perhaps, is the suggestion of mobility, fickleness:

[U] Mom. Harling betrigt sich nicht, wenn er glaubt, da8 ich nie gegen meine alte gutte freunde endere, undt so rauschenplattenknecht ich auch sein mag, so kan ich doch nie vergeBen die, so mir freiindschaft envieBen. (14, HA 78, 24 Oct. 1709)

There are also connotations of cheerfulness (I, 24), activity (K, 28), and vivacity (29).

Another context suggests simplicity, and an unfeminine indifference to dress and make-up:

[V] Ich gehe alle 2 tage undt sehr offt 2 undt 3 tage nach einander mitt dem Konig auff die jagt, undt wir jagen hir nicht weniger alB zu Fontainebleau. Der lust von der hirschjagt ist unserm Konig jetzt gantz auf i neue ahnkom- men, deB bin ich recht froh undt ich folge ihm so offt es mijglich ist, denn ich liebe die jagt ebenso sehr als I.M. undt das ist ein rechter lust vor ein rauschenblatten knecht wic ich bin, denn man d a d sich da nicht vie11 butzen noch rott a h n t h ~ n ~ ~ alwie bey den bal. (09, SO I, 16, Versailles, 4 Nov. 1677)

Another context also suggests simplicity:

[w] Ich bin ein rauschenplatten knecht, die nie darnach gefragt, ob ich hiibsch oder heBlich bin, undt habe mich nie gem gebutzt. (13, SO 11, 134, 16 May 1706)

Closely allied to this is the idea of toughness and resilience:

[XI [Her health is deteriorating.] Gott weiB, wan es ein endt nehmen wirdt, muB es woll mit gedult erwarten. Die Frantzosen wissen nicht, daB die rmdes dc precmtion sich gar nicht vor ein teiitsches rauschenplattenknechtgen schicken, auch will ich mich sobaldt nicht wider ertappen laBen. (47, HA 214, St. Cloud, 16 July 1722)

J’ ‘Schminken’ (note appended by Bademann). Madame twicc makes Lurt masculine in this passage, a gender which is not untypical of some dialects in the period in question. See Grimm, VI, 1314. Q Bidme11 RtMirbm Lld 1996.


[y1 ... Ohne sterben, kan man nicht ubeler sein, alB ich ahn meiner gelbsucht geweRen, so mir von nichts kommen all3 von dem vielen purgiren. Man hat mich wollen wie eine frantzonin fmacfiren undt man bedenckt [nicht], daB einem teutschen rauschenplattenknechtgen die frantzoschen pssen: aderlZB undt purgationen gar nicht zukommen. (30, HA 218, Saint-Cloud, 19 Sept. 1722)

Strength and health are also indicated by no. 19. Her last recorded use of the word was at a time when only her determination to attend the coronation of Louis XV in Rheims was keeping her going. It was not the ceremony that interested her, of course, but the opportunity to see her daughter, the Duchess of Lorraine, who would be there too:

[Z] Es mag hernach gehen, wie gott will, mit mir, so kan ich ruhig sterben; werde also gar getrost meine reiBe ahnfangen, es setzt mich in kein sorgen, ein altes rauschenplattenknecht,w wie ich bin, lest sich nicht leicht er- schrecken. (32, HA 220, Saint-Cloud, 1 Oct. 1722)

Apart from an extremely short letter on 3 October, this poignant note is her last to Harling, and she died barely two months later.

The expression ruuschenbluttcnktucht in its various forms, and in particular the concept it embodies, underlies and explains many of Liselotte's attitudes and her responses to the situations in which she found herself. In other words, to an appreciable extent, it defines the very person she was. It is therefore important to understand it and to be aware of its provenance. Of its origins, we feel we have left little room for doubt: rmtschbluttcnknccht is a pet-name or hypocorism which emerges from her stay in Hanover. We hope to have shown that its meaning is never precisely fixed but includes in varying measure qualities such as gaiety, activity, simplicity, endearing giddiness, Germanic toughness, and above all, forthrightness and honesty in speech and deed, all tinged with nostalgia for a vanished happy childhood and affection for those who made such happiness possible. Not the kind of qualities that might be implied by allusions to the wind rustling the leaves, but a unique word for a unique princess.

APPENDIX ONE

Chronology of references to rauschenbluttMlknccht [all forms] :

(01) 12 Feb. 1672 (HA 17); our example A (02) 15 Sept. 1672 (HA 19); our example H (03) 23 Nov. 1672 (HA 20); our example 0 (04) 6 July 1673 (HA 23); our example B (05) Undated, between Aug. 73 and March 74 (HA 26); our example L

Notice that she makes it neuter, men without the sumX -gem

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420 LISELOTTE: RAUSCHENBLA'ITENKNECHT

(06) 19 March 1674 (HA 26); our example F (07) 20 Apr. 1676 (HA 30); our example P (08) 23 Sept. 1677 (HA 35); our example Q (09) 4 Nov. 1677 (SO I, 16); our example V (10) 29 Sept. 1683 (SO I , 61); our example D (11) 14 Apr. 1689 (HA 75); our example N (12) 11 March 1706 (HA 77); our example S (13) 16 May 1706 (SO 11, 134); our example W (14) 24 Oct. 1709 (HA 78); our example U (15) 5 Dec. 1709 (HA 79); our example G (16) 14 Feb. 1715 (HA 89); our example R (17) 24 March 1715 (HA 91); our example C (18) 5 Apr. [1716] (HA 101); our example K (19) 27 May 1717 (HA 106) (20) 26 Jan. 1719 (HA 131); our example I (21) 30 Apr. 1720 (KW, 238); our example E (22) 1 Aug. 1720 (HA 172); our example T (23) 8 Dec. 1720 (HA 179); our example J (24) 1 March 1722 (HA 207) (25) 5 March 1722 (HA 208) (26) 4 July 1722 (HA 213) (27) 16 July 1722 (HA 214); our example X (28) 29 July 1722 (HA 215) (29) 29 Aug. 1722 (HA 217) (30) 19 Sept. 1722 (HA 218); our example Y (31) 26 Sept. 1722 (HA 218-19); our example M (32) 1 Oct. 1722 (HA 220); our example Z

APPENDIX TWO

Analysis of variants:

rauschmblattenkmcht (one word)

(02) HA 19, Versailles, 15 Sept. 1672 (08) HA 35, 23 Sept. 1677 (16) HA 89, Versailles, 14 Feb. 1715

rauschcnblattcn knccht (two words)

(09) SO I, 16, Versailles, 4 Nov. 1677

rauschmb Lattenknechtgm

(04) HA 23, Saint-Cloud, 6 July 1673 (mice) 0 BlsekweU hblhben U d 1996.

LISELOTTE: RAUSCHENBLATTENKNECHT 42 1

(06) HA 26, Versailles, 19 March 1674 (07) HA 30, 20 Apr. 1676 (12) HA 77, 11 March 1706

rauschplattmknccht (one word)

9A 78, 24 Oct. 1709 -IA 79, Versailles, 5 Dec. 1709 -IA 91, Versailles, 24 March 1715 HA 106, Paris, 27 May 1717 -IA 172, Saint-Cloud, 1 Aug. 1720 -IA 207, Paris, 1 March 1722 -IA 208, Paris, 5 March 1722 I A 215, Saint-Cloud, 29 July 1722 -IA 217, Saint-Cloud, 29 Aug. 1722 -IA 220, Saint-Cloud, 1 Oct. 1722

rauschplattenknechtisch (adjective)

(18) HA 101, Pans, 5 Apr. [1716] (23) HA 179, Paris, 8 Dec. 1720

rauschenplatten knecht (two words)

(10) SO I, 61, 29 Sept. 1683 (13) SO 11, 134, 16 May 1706 (21) KW, 238, 30 Apr. 1720

(03) HA 20, 23 Nov. 1672 (11) HA 75, 14 Apr. 1689 (20) HA 131, Paris, 26 Jan. 1719 (in the form rauschplattenknechtger) (26) HA 213, Saint-Cloud, 4 July 1722 (27) HA 214, Saint-Cloud, 16 July 1722 (30) HA 218, Saint-Cloud, 19 Sept. 1722 (31) HA 218-19, Saint-Cloud, 26 Sept. 1722

mchenblattenknechtgen

(01) HA 17, 12 Feb. 1672 (05) HA 26, undated, placed by Bodemann between letters dated 6 Aug.

1673 and 19 March 1674 (twice)

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liselotte: rauschenblattenknecht

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