The comma from SANS, SOUCI.

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Inscription on the central projection of the castle

The comma from SANS, SOUCI. is a book by Heinz Dieter Kittsteiner published in 2001 . It bears the subtitle “A research report with footnotes” and examines the question of what the comma and point are all about, which are found in the name of the Potsdam Palace Sanssouci , which was built under Friedrich II . The book had its fourth edition in 2011.

Content and theses

The investigation bears scientific parody traits, but also has a clear interest in knowledge. It is based on the observation that the name of the castle on the central projection is not written in one word or with a hyphen as expected ("SANSSOUCI" or "SANS-SOUCI"). Instead, a comma and a period are used as parts of the name. This fact was hardly discussed in historical research until Kittsteiner's book.

Kittsteiner assumes that the spelling “SANS, SOUCI.” Is no coincidence and is looking for possible reasons. He goes through various possible solutions that don't seem to work completely:

  • On the one hand, Kittsteiner interprets commas and periods as hidden symbols for other terms. In the "Secret Polizey script of the Count of Vergennes ", the comma stands for "Reformist" and the point for "Naturalist". Kittsteiner applies this to the problematic relationship between Friedrich Wilhelm I and his son: Friedrich II was able to refer to it in coded form to express his hatred of his father: "Sans (le) Calviniste (on est) Sans Souci (comme) Deiste ", d. i.e., "Without the old Calvinist one is carefree as a Deist". Alternatively, Kittsteiner translates, with reference to the theological-philosophical development of Frederick II: "Without fatalism one lives carefree as a Deist."
  • On the other hand, Kittsteiner tries to create an interpretation from the meaning field of the French word for 'comma', 'virgule'. The French word is derived from the Latin 'virgula', whose root word 'vir', as well as 'virga', whose diminutive form is 'vir', stands for everything “that has the male form” ('vir': 'branch' , 'Chopsticks', 'dowsing rod'; 'virga': 'rice', 'rod', 'twig', 'graft', 'stick', 'stick', 'magic wand'). As a breakdown of the lock inscription, this would result in something like: “No shaking, worry-free.” Kittsteiner sees this as a possible allusion to a venereal illness in Friedrich's, which he contracted shortly before his marriage and which then led to castration. Crucial for this interpretation is a report by personal physician Johann Georg Zimmermann ("a cruel cut!"), Which was contradicted by several sides. - The point at the end of the inscription would not play a role in this proposed solution.

The book is 91 pages long and has 251 footnotes (already announced in the subtitle), which are in the form of endnotes at the end. Between the title page and the beginning of the first chapter there is the note: “Printed without the support of the German Research Foundation ”.

reception

Kittsteiner's book was received mostly positively and with a wink in the feature pages. The work was hardly received scientifically and if so, then as an illuminating marginal note or as an example of a scholarly satire; the question itself has rarely been taken up again.

Please add: The words "sans" and "souci" are French. So it makes sense to also judge the two punctuation marks in French. The comma is then called virgule, German: Rütlein, Kittsteiner has explained this elegantly and expertly.

But why did he not do anything with the point in the context of this interpretation? It makes sense to read the point in French as "point"; "ne ... point" means "not at all" in older French, reinforcing the negative. Then the inscription can be read: "Without a Rütlein there are no worries at all". Or: "Without Rütlein you would have no worries at all". Both variants make good sense in the world of the king portrayed by Kittsteiner.

output

The comma from SANS, SOUCI. A research report with footnotes. Manutius, Heidelberg 2001, ISBN 3-934877-08-7 (4th edition 2011).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gustav Berthold Volz , who discussed the origin of the name in 1926, is an exception : Das Sans, Souci Friedrichs des Grossen. Koehler, Leipzig 1926, p. 26 ff.
  2. ↑ The Count of Vergennes' secret police writing. Wittekindt, Eisenach 1793, p. 14 ; Johann Christoph von Aretin : Systematic instructions for the theory and practice of mnemonics. Seidel, Sulzbach 1810, p. 107 .
  3. ↑ Heinz Dieter Kittsteiner: The comma from SANS, SOUCI. 4th edition 2011, p. 41f.
  4. ^ JG Ritter von Zimmermann: Fragments about Frederick the Great. Volume 1. Weidmann, Leipzig 1790, p. 70.
  5. ↑ For example Peter Schnyder : Das Komma. From the secret origin of philosophy. In: Christine Abbt (Ed.): Point, point, comma, line? Gesture, shape and meaning of philosophical punctuation. Transcript, Bielefeld 2009, ISBN 978-3-89942-988-6 , pp. 73-86, here p. 85 ; Ulrich Schütte : Berlin and Potsdam. The palace buildings of the Hohenzollern family between innovation and staged tradition. In: Christoph Kampmann , Katharina Krause , Eva-Bettina Krems , Anuschka Tischer (eds.): Bourbon, Habsburg, Oranien. Competing models in dynastic Europe around 1700. Böhlau, Köln / Weimar / Wien 2008, ISBN 978-3-412-20152-4 , pp. 107–125, here p. 123.
  6. ↑ Alexander Košenina : The learned fool. Scholarly satire since the Enlightenment. Wallstein, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-89244-531-1 , p. 259.
  7. ↑ Exception: Johannes Bronisch: The Patron of the Enlightenment. Ernst Christoph von Manteuffel and the network of Wolffianism. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2010, ISBN 978-3-11-023314-8 , p. 62 f. Clara Frauendorf is without scientific claim: The comma secret about sans, souci (= facts. Vol. 50). Tauchaer Verlag, Taucha 2012, ISBN 978-3-89772-212-5 .