Introduction

Introduction to the Heidelberg Letter Corpus

In a letter from 1707, Duchess Elisabeth Charlotte (1652-1722), who was living in Fontainebleau at the time, tells her half-sister, Countess Amelie Elisabeth von Degenfeld, about her most natural passion: "Of course I write more than one letter a day; not a day goes by that I do not write at least four letters, and on Sundays often twelve." Elsewhere she confesses: "Writing is my great occupation, for I cannot and do not like to work, and find nothing more boring in the world than to insert a sewing needle and pull it out again. " The letters that have survived are mostly addressed to addressees in Germany, e.g. to her aunt Sophie, Duchess of Hanover, and to her half-sisters Luise and Amelie Elisabeth. In them, she describes in part very directly and bluntly the life and conditions at the court of Louis XIV. Letters received by Liselotte have not survived; in some cases Liselotte burned them after answering the letters, otherwise the letters were destroyed - as was customary at the time - after Liselotte's death in 1722.

Of the approximately 6,000 preserved letters, 53 are kept in the Historical Collection of Heidelberg University Library and are presented here as a digital edition. Only two of the letters in the collection are in German, the remaining 51 are in French. They cover a period from 1687 to 1722. 47 of these letters are addressed to the court lady Madame de Ludre, who had retired to a convent in Lorraine. In these, Liselotte comments, among other things, on the Versailles court, wars, the politics of her son Philip of Orleans, the death of Louis XIV, and questions of religion and philosophy of life. Several times Liselotte also deals with questions of illness, passing on details about the practice of medicine around 1700. This correspondence thus represents an important source for the history of mentality and culture at the French court.

The last letter in the volume was dictated shortly before the duchess's death (8 December 1722). Only the salutation and the signature were executed in her own hand.

Entry into the historical collection of the University Library

The letters entered the historical collection through acquisition at auctions.

  • Heid. Hs. 3834_1: Letter to Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme, 11.05.1711. Acc. No. 75 So 68. auction Stargard, Marburg, February 1975.
  • Heid. Hs. 3834_2: Letter to a lady of the French court [Madame de Ludres?], 07.06.1703. Acc. No. 77 So 220. Hartung u. Karl, Auction 22, Nov. 1977.
  • Heid. Hs. 3834_3: Letter to the Marquise of Maintenon, 14.02.1707. Acc. No. 91 St 3940; Antiquariat Dr. Wolfgang Wiemann, Heidelberg, 23.12.1991.
  • Heid. Hs. 3903: The volume comprises 47 letters to Marie-Isabelle de Ludre and was purchased on 30 May 1979 with funds from the private estate of Count Gudenus, Paris.
  • Heid. Hs. 3924: Letter to Madame Amelie Elisabeth Raugräfin zu Pfalz, 16.03.1702: Acquired in May 1980 from the "Adam Collection" (auction at Fa. Tenner) No. 259/2. Acc. No. 80 St 1632.
  • Heid. Hs. 4155,6: Letter to Madame de Puidebar. Acquired from the possession of Count Gudenus, Paris, 2000, no. 1703.