Pictures of German Life in the XVth XVIth and XVIIth Centuries Volume I Part 10

The Glauburgs were one of the most distinguished patrician families of Frankfort-on-the-Maine; Hutten had been very intimate with some members of this family, and had at one time indulged in the charming dream of establishing himself at Frankfort and marrying one of them. Even the ardent spirit of Hutten was powerfully attracted by their splendid opulence and highly refined life. He eagerly disclaimed the suspicion that he intended to take away his bride to the rocky home of his family. He wooed the maiden with more consideration than was his wont, and Arnold of Glauburg was his confidant. But it was a short dream; his destiny soon tore him away. The following letters from two ladies will introduce us into this patrician family; they are printed in the Frankfort archives of J. C. von Fichard, 1811-1815. The first is the letter of a mother to her son, in which she recommends to him a maiden for his wife, in order to withdraw him from the revolutionaries of Wittenberg and the neighbourhood of Luther; a letter which is characteristic of the position of women in a family, and written by one possessed of energy and a practical understanding, who was accustomed to rule, and not without a disposition to intrigue; her son was the nephew of that Arnold of Glauburg, the son of Johann, to whom Hutten sent with hearty greeting his dialogue _Febris_.

1526.

_From Margaret Horng_[57] _at Frankfort, to her son John von Glauburg at Wittenberg_.

"Having given you first, dear Johann, my friendly greeting, know that we are all well in health, praise and thanks be to G.o.d, and hope to hear the same of you. Dear Johann, after I had last written to you, the wife of Johann k.n.o.blauch died, to whom G.o.d be merciful. She was my good friend, and her death has caused me as great grief as the decease of my two blessed husbands, which was however a great calamity to me; but what G.o.d wills we must bear with patience. She and I came here the same year, and lived so friendly together that neither ever angered the other with a word. On her death-bed she commended to me her two daughters as if I were her sister, and begged that I should take care of their dowry, if I should live till they married. One of them is now marriageable, an elegant, well-formed maiden; she is in height like your step-sister Anna, which is also her name, and she is a clever housekeeper, so that he who has her for a portion will not be ruined by her; I foresee that her father will soon establish her, for there are three who woo her, two of them are n.o.blemen, and the third is Johann Wolf Rohrbach, the son of Frau Ursula at the green gate, who is now grown up and has been with his mother since Easter. Although he is only nineteen years old, yet it is the wish of his mother and his friends to establish him whilst she is still alive. For now no one knows what to do with their sons, that they may learn and study what is for their soul's salvation, and not be led astray: for when they have long studied, and spent much money, it is of little advantage to many of them, and perhaps it would have been more profitable to them, to have retained the innate honesty and simplicity which they have from G.o.d, than that they should study, and not rightly understand the Scripture, and that then the devil should lead them astray through pride, and others with them because they are learned and know how to talk well.

Such men lead the people into great error. I would gladly write much to you thereupon, but having promised in my last letter that I would not write to you again thereof, I will not do so whilst you are at Wittenberg; for you imagine that you are in safe keeping in Wittenberg.

G.o.d grant it may be true, and that you will find it so. Further, dear Johann, know wherefore I now write to you thus---- an honourable person has just told me that the wife of Johann k.n.o.blauch had desired her husband, if you and your belongings should ask his daughter in marriage, and the daughter were willing, that he should give her to you rather than to any other. To this I answered, that I did not know your inclinations, but would write and inform you of this, and whatever answer I got from you I would communicate to this person. Therefore, dear son, I make known to you that the maiden pleases me well in all her ways, better than any other with whom I am acquainted; and the mother has always been an honourable steadfast woman. Therefore, I am well pleased that she is not of a fickle nature, for whoever has not an apt and steadfast wife, be she ever so polished and rich, will become a poor miserable man. Therefore, dear Johann, follow my advice, for I give you faithful counsel. It is true there are eleven children to provide for, some of whom are still little, but possibly may become fewer in number, and there is a good fortune, the greater part of it in landed property. Therefore bethink you, dear son, I do not wish to constrain you to change your condition, but it would be the greatest pleasure to me were you to enter this family, for looking into the future, I can see no place that would altogether suit you so well as this one. Dear Johann, if this idea should please you, and you should wish to see her and that she should see you beforehand, come here in the first week of Lent with any travelling companions that you like, to give you security on the road; but keep your purpose to yourself, saying nothing of it to your companions till a day or two before your departure, then tell Justinian that you are going home. But do not tell him why you wish to go home, but make it appear as if it were on account of your property which you wish to regulate, as I had written to you so strongly in my last three letters about it, declining to administer it any longer, as is indeed my intention, if you will in nowise take my advice. There is good reason why you should prevent his saying a word, in order that it should remain secret. Dear Johann, I beg of you to bethink yourself of how the times are, and that it is not fitting for you to remain longer unsettled. Ah! may my brother-in-law Herr Hammann find a wife also for Justinian now; it would do him no harm, as he leads a life of pleasure; and let it not be with him as it was with his deceased cousin Blasius, who had so accustomed himself to a profligate life that no one could persuade him to marry till he became old and had lost his health; he had no child, and now his wife is betrothed again to a n.o.bleman, one Schenk of Schweinsburg. They say she will soon celebrate her nuptials: G.o.d grant her happiness."

Thus far the letter: the wish of the prudent mother was fulfilled; her son returned, as she had so cautiously charged him to do, to Frankfort; he married the maiden of her choice, and they lived together forty years in happy matrimony.

Though we can obtain no other particulars of him and Anna k.n.o.blauch, yet we find accounts of members of the same family, towards the end of the century, which characterize in a charming way the position of a bride with her betrothed. A grandson of the above mentioned, the rich patrician Adolf von Glauburg of Frankfort, made acquaintance, when on a visit at Nuremberg, with the beautiful Ursula Freher, daughter of the city Syndic of Nuremberg, and sister of the renowned scholar and statesman, Marquard Freher of Heidelberg. The charms and agreeableness of the lady were celebrated throughout Swabia. The following letters were written by her to him, from Nuremberg to Frankfort during the time of betrothal.

1598.

I.

"To the n.o.ble and honourable Johann Adolf von Glauburg, to the hands of my dearly beloved _Junker_.

"Most n.o.ble, honourable, amiable, and dearly beloved _Junker_, I have received with heartfelt joy your letter, together with the chain, and rejoice to hear you are in health, but learn with regret that your dear sister and son are not well; may G.o.d Almighty restore them according to his holy will. Amen. As regards us, we are, thank G.o.d, tolerably well, may He thus long preserve us all. Dearly beloved _Junker_, my father would gladly have written to you, but your letter arrived too late, and the messenger waiting at the gate is in haste, so that he cannot do it now, but will take the first opportunity.

"Dearly beloved _Junker_, with respect to the chain I have no directions to give you; as your wish is, so is my content, what pleases you pleases me also. The chain which I have here I will carefully preserve, and when G.o.d brings you to us I will take the opportunity of returning it to you; it is much too splendid for me. As to the picture, it is ready all but the dress, at which the painter is still working, and thinks it will be quite finished in about ten days. I have great fear that when the picture comes to you, it will be said the _Junker_ need not have gone so far, he might have found the like of her at Frankfort.

"As concerns the bracelets, I have not yet got them; there is yet plenty of time, but I will send after them.

"Dearly beloved _Junker_, I have nothing more to write to you now, I beg of you kindly to excuse this miserable letter, which has been written in haste; another time I will give you something better.

"No more now than kind greetings to you and your dear ones, from me and my honoured mother, and we commend you to the care and protection of G.o.d Almighty. Given the 12th September.

"Your loving and always faithful

"Ursula Freherin."

II.

"Most n.o.ble, honourable, dearly beloved, and much trusted _Junker_, may my truth and love, together with my greetings and good wishes, be to you beyond all other love and possessions. I received your letter with pleasure, and learned from it with heartfelt joy of your well-being. It is even so with us, for which we thank the gracious G.o.d; may He continue his grace to you and all of us. Amen.

"As concerning the marriage, my honoured father and mother have deliberated thereon, and have agreed that, please G.o.d, it shall take place on the 13th of November, as the _Junker_ will find more amply detailed in my honoured father's letter.

"Dearly beloved _Junker_, I understand thus much from your letter, that you would gladly come here once again before the marriage. If that were possible, it would certainly be a great joy to me, and would give hearty pleasure to all mine without exception. I will not therefore this time entreat of you, but will have all hope and confidence that it may come to pa.s.s, and that the _Junker_ will not fail to pay a visit to me the poor forlorn one, to which I look with great longing. Dearly beloved _Junker_, know that the packet has not yet arrived. We have already sent after it several times, and the answer has been, it was expected every hour; as soon as it comes, your desire shall be attended to; I believe it will answer well. The wife of Dr. Reiner has already written to my honoured mother concerning it, and given it clearly to be understood that she is not to be forgotten in the bridal presents;[58]

however she need not have been in anxiety about it, as she had already been thought of.

"Dearly beloved _Junker_, with respect to the shirts and collars, you must know that we are working zealously thereat, and as many as can be got ready shall be distributed.

"I have received the bracelets; accept, my dearly beloved _Junker_, my warmest thanks. They are much too pretty for my brown hands, but they please me well.

"As regards dress, undoubtedly my honoured father would like to do for one daughter the same as for the other, but as that cannot be on this occasion, he has consented to do something more. I have three taffety dresses; the flesh colour, one gold colour, and one black. We have the tailor still in the house, who is making a violet-coloured damask, and another dress in which I am to go to church, which is to be either of red satin or of black damask. Now I beg you will let me know which you would prefer.

"Dearly beloved _Junker_, I cannot venture to make further demands on my father; for this reason, that none of my sisters have had so much done for them, or such splendid things. But as you have so strongly admonished me, I will be so unreasonable as to ask somewhat of the _Junker_, first begging of you kindly not to take it amiss, as I do it at your own desire; and this is my pet.i.tion, dearly beloved _Junker_: I wish you to send me a dress of whatever kind you like, whether flesh coloured or silver, that I may have greater change of dress.

"Dearly beloved and well-trusted _Junker_, I have another great request to make to you. You know that I have two sisters who love me, and whom I equally love well; I should like to give them some little thing as a present in your name, if it seems good to you. I have written this to you because you have desired me to speak out my wishes, therefore, I beg you, _Junker_, not to take it amiss of me. I do not write it with the idea that it must be, but that it may be done or left undone by the _Junker_ at his pleasure.

"I send you, according to your desire, the measure of my beautiful stature; we have added nothing to it, but such as the maiden is, so is the measure. I hope that, G.o.d willing, they may soon see me tall and beautiful as I am.

"We have partaken with pleasure of the grapes you sent us, and kindly thank you for the same. If we get anything rare we will impart it to you.

"I am delighted that my picture pleases your youngest daughter so well, and that she has shown it so much honour; let her boldly kiss it; G.o.d grant that I may see her, and I will return it to her with interest.[59]

"The shoes which I must have for the pulling off,[60] I will have made as soon as possible of the best kind, as good as they can be made here, although here they are not in fashion. Dearly beloved _Junker_, I have one more pet.i.tion to make in conclusion, namely, that you will make the best of my plain, simple, bad letter, for I intend it in all sincerity, and write from my open heart; and kindly favour me with an answer, which, at the same time, I would rather have by word of mouth, than in writing.

"No more from me but what is always pleasing and agreeable to you.

Herewith I send to the Junker, together with his dearly beloved son and daughter, a hundred thousand greetings, and commend you and ourselves to G.o.d Almighty. Given the 10th October at Nuremberg.

"Yours true in [Ill.u.s.tration: A Heart] as long as I live,

"Ursula Freherin."

III.

"Most n.o.ble, honourable, amiable, and dearly loved Junker, I send you my most kindly greeting, together with my love and truth. I received your letter with pleasure, and learned therefrom with heartfelt joy of the well-being of you and yours. As regards us, we have also to thank our dear and gracious G.o.d; may He continue his mercy to us all. Amen.

"I perceive from your letter that it is impossible for you to come to us before the marriage. This we are sorry to hear, and I am greatly disappointed. I quite thought you would come, and was heartily rejoiced thereat, and oft I ran to the window when I heard any sound of riding or driving. May our dear Lord G.o.d give us all health, and bring us together with joy.

"With respect to the wreath, I thank you kindly, dearly beloved Junker, that you have informed me about it. I am quite persuaded that we shall give occasion for much rude gossip, from not knowing the customs amongst you, as they seem quite different to what they are here. I pray you to have the wreath made as it ought to be, and to send it to us as you propose in your letter. As to the other wreath, Frau Nutzelin has instructed me how it ought to be, and I have ordered one with golden spangles, which shall be properly made. I am not satisfied about the bridal presents, as you have not written to me what I am to take for my sisters, and they will not say what they would like; I am fearful of taking too much, or too little, and yet wish to do exactly what is right; I hoped that you would let me know what, and how much they should have. As concerning mine, I hope I shall act so as to deserve them.

"Dearly beloved Junker, I have yet a great request to make to you concerning the shoes, if I may venture to do it, and you will receive it without displeasure. It is, however, a shame that I should trouble you with it, but it cannot be helped. I have had shoes made, and shown them to Frau Nutzelin, who says they are good for nothing, being much too large; that they ought to be quite little, or they would laugh at me outright; and she has advised me to write to the Junker, and beg he will have them made down there, because being the fashion, they can make them better than here, where they are never worn; they could not at all understand me, even when I explained it to them fully, still they did not comprehend it; however I indeed have never seen one. I send you herewith, dearly beloved Junker, two ducats, and pray you to let your maid-servant see after it, it is my desire that you should not be troubled with it. They need not be very costly, there should be only the arms, or perhaps the name upon them, and they should not be large or long.

"My honoured mother begs that you will not take it amiss if she does not answer your letter now; she has so much to do, she has no leisure, but another time she will send you an answer.

"Dearly beloved Junker, I have nothing further to write except that yesterday I was at the wedding, I felt much because you were not here, and also not coming, and Nutzel brought me home in your place.

"I have nothing further to say, and no leisure, as I must go to the wedding party. There remains only to send you and yours a hundred thousand kindly greetings from my honoured mother, my brothers and sisters, and to commend you to the care and protection of G.o.d Almighty.

"In great haste.

"Your true and loving brunette, and as long as I live,

"Yours in [Ill.u.s.tration: A Heart]

"Ursula Freherin."