D-DGla, KK II Nr. 3033 (Minutes of the Privy State Council, 1800)

Vienna, January to December 1800

Location: Duisburg, Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen (D-DGla), Abteilung Rheinland, Kurköln II Nr. 3033 (Minutes of the Privy State Council, 1800)

During the reign of Elector Maximilian Franz, most petitions and decrees were decided upon in meetings of the so-called Geheime Staats-Conferenz. These bulky protocol books are seldom consulted by music historians, and were largely overlooked by Thayer for his Beethoven biography (and as a result they appear in no later scholarship that relies on him). Their value is especially critical when the corresponding petitions and decrees have not survived, as is very often the case with court musicians. In cases where they have survived, the records here can sometimes clarify points of chronology or details of the decision-making process. One important subtlety has to do with the chain of command. Most petitions were not handled by the elector directly, so when a first decision is marked "dependirt von höchster Gnad," which can be understood as "referred to the highest authority," it is a sign that the matter was considered unusually important.

Maximilian Franz still held court in exile after 1794, since there were still legal matters pertaining to his subjects that only he had the authority to handle. The case of Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven below is one such example.

Transcription

[177r]

[Wien, 26. Sept. 1800]

571 Der K.K. Universal-Staatsschul-
-den Cassa-Officier Carl van Bethoven
stellt unserem 20^ten d. vor: sein
jüngerer Bruder Nicolas Johann
sei durch einen hinterlistigen Men-
schen zu einem Kontrakte ver-
-leitet, und ihm solchergestalt
sein ganzes in Dienstjahren
mit Mühe erworbenes Vermögen
abgeloket worden, er laufe
Gefahr, die eine Hälfte für
immer zu verlieren, und die
andere könne nur durch eine
schleunige rechtliche Vorkehrung
gerettet werden. Da aber
gn[ä]d[i]gst sein Bruder vermöge des
abschriftlich angelegten Tauf-
-scheins noch minderjährig, folg-
-lich selbst als Kläger vor Ge-
-richt nicht auftreten könne,
auch überdies dessen ehemalige
Vormundschaftsbehörde in Bonn
gegenwärtig in Feindesgewalt
sein, folglich ihm als einem Aus-
-gewanderten keinen vormund-
schaftlichen Schutz angedeihen
lassen werde; so bitte er
E.K. Dchlt, ihn Carl van Bethoven
zum Vormund seines minder-
-jährigen Bruders g[nädi]gst aufzu-
-stellen, und hievon den hiesigen

[177v]
Magistrat zu benachrichtigen,
damit er in Stand gesezt
werde, die Rechte seines Bru-
-ders gerichtlich zu behaupten
und somit wenigstens einen
Theil dessen Vermögens zu
retten.

Translation

[177r]

[Vienna, 26 September 1800]

571 Cashier Officer of the Imperial-
Royal Universal Funds Carl van
Bethoven presents the following on the 20^th:
his younger brother Nicolas Johann
purports to have been tricked into a
contract by a deceitful person, who
thereby fleeced him of the entire
fortune he had accumulated with
much effort over years of service,
he claims to be at risk of losing
half of it forever, and the other
half can only be saved through
swift legal action. But since
his most gracious brother is still
underage according to the handwritten
copy of his baptismal certificate,
and therefore cannot appear before
the court as a plaintiff, and moreover
because his former guardianship authority
in Bonn currently is under enemy
control, and therefore will not grant
him guardianship protections due to
his status as a migrant; thus he petitions
His Electoral Highness to graciously
name him as his underage brother's
guardian, and additionally to notify

[177v]
the local magistrate's office, so that
he will be capable of trying his
brother's case in a court of law,
and thus be able to save at least
a portion of his fortune.

___