„… vous étes la crême et la fleur de tous mes correspondens“ – Ernst Christoph von Manteuffel’s Correspondence with Luise Adelgunde Victorie Gottsched

Abstract

With Ernst Christoph von Manteuffel and Luise Adelgunde Victorie Gottsched, two people come into contact with each other who are unique in the early Enlightenment. After relinquishing his high political functions, Imperial Count Manteuffel devoted his energy to promoting enlightened ideas characteristic of the Leibniz-Wolff tradition. In the field of tension between the bourgeoisie, the nobility and the Enlightenment, his work has its own weight. The exceptional position of L. A. V. Gottsched among female authors in the second third of the 18^th century has always been recognized. In her dealings with Manteuffel, her position as a satirist, as yet barely perceived, also unfolds, and her contributions touch the nerve of the politically explosive conflicts between Wolffianism and traditional theological positions. The Gottschedin-Manteuffel correspondence shows two sovereign actors connected in mutual respect