Heinrich Freiherr Menu von Minutoli

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Heinrich Menu von Minutoli
Portrait General Johann Heinrich Freiherr Menu von Minutoli.JPG
Birth name Johann Heinrich Karl Menu
Birth date 12 May 1772
Place of birth Geneva, Lordship and Republic of Geneva, Switzerland
Death date 16 September 1846 (aged 74)[1]
Place of death Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Allegiance Germany Prussian Eagle.jpg Kingdom of Prussia
Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor with haloes (1400-1806).png Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
Wappen des Deutschen Bundes.jpg German Confederation
Service/branch War and service flag of Prussia (1895–1918).png Prussian Army
Rank Generalleutnant
Unit field artillery, infantry
Commands held Berlin officer cadet corps (1797–1820)
Battles/wars Coalition Wars
Other work Archaeologist and expedition leader (during army service)

Johann Heinrich Karl Menu, later von Menu, as of 1820 (Freiherr) Menu von Minutoli (12 May 1772 – 16 September 1846), was a German officer of the Prussian Army, finally Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) as well as prince educator (Prinzenerzieher), egyptologist, archaeologist, art collector, explorer, travel writer, researcher and publicist.

Life (chronology)

Lieutenant General Menu of Minutoli in the Siwah Oasis; At the turn of the 18th century, not least under the influence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Western cultural world was primarily committed to ancient Greek antiquity, while ancient Egyptian culture remained in the shadows. With the Napoleonic campaigns in Egypt, the independent value of this culture was more clearly recognized. The expedition should be seen in this context. Von Minutoli was the first European to open and explore the step pyramid of King Djoser in Sakkara. It is considered the first stone monumental structure of the ancient Egyptian culture. Based on archaeological explorations, he managed to collect an extensive treasure trove of antiquities to bring back to Germany.
Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Freiherrlichen Häuser (Edition 1874, pp. 464–466)
Oberstleutnant Anton Jacob Carl von Watzdorf (1788–1815)
  • Heinrich Menu spent his youth on his parents' estate “Petit Morillon” on Lake Geneva and in Offenburg, Margraviate of Baden (HRE), where he received private lessons.
  • 1782 to 1784 Student at the Gymnasium illustre in Karlsruhe
  • Menu completed military training with his uncle, Prussian Captain (later Generalmajor) Ludwig Moritz von Lucadou (1741–1812) , in Magdeburg and entered the Prussian army service in July 1786 as a “bombardier” in the field artillery corps.
  • 1792 to 1793 First Coalition War
    • Rhine Campaign: Battle of Pirmasens, Steigerkopf, Bitsch; severely wounded on 21 May 1793 near Bitsch and remained limited in the use of his right arm until the end of his life as a result of this wound.
  • 21 January 1794 Commanded as Stabskapitän (Staff Captain) to the Royal Prussian Cadet Corps in Berlin
  • 4 April 1794 Departure to Berlin
  • 12 April 1794 Commencement of service
  • August 1810 Now a Major, delegated with the care of Prince Friedrich Carl Alexander von Preußen (1801–1883)
    • The prince's mother, the queen Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie Duchess of Mecklenburg, had died on 19 July 1810 and the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm III needed someone for his son.
  • 14 December 1810 Named Wirklicher Gouverneur (real governor) of the prince
  • 28 December 1810 Received the official certificate as Wirklicher Gouverneur from the king
    • his payment was also regulated, that of a major of the infantry with an extra allowance, the free of charge appartment, rations, a servant, a riding groom and a uniform for servant and groom[2]
  • 18 January 1811 Pubicly appointed governor
    • His family moved into the Royal Palace Unter den Linden next to the opera
  • 1813 During the German campaign against Napoleon, he was commanded to Breslau with the price, there, for the next six months, he was also responsible for the Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1795–1861) and and Prince Wilhelm (1797–1888).
  • 11 March 1820 Last day as Wirklicher Gouverneur
  • 20 May 1820 Departure to Egypt
    • After completing his educational assignment with the prince and about 10 weeks of preparation, he went on a study trip to the Orient and acquired valuable antiquities there. Papyrus rolls, mummies and other finds form the basis of Berlin's Egyptian collections. However, a not insignificant part was later lost.
  • 3 August 1820 Marriage in Trieste, Italy, then continuation the journey
  • 17 September 1820 Arrival in Alexandria
    • He was entrusted with the direction of the expedition (Königlich Preußische Expedition nach Aegypten und Aethiopien) that until August 1821 was paid for by the Egyptian government. The scientists Wilhelm Friedrich Hemprich and Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg, the architecture professor Liman and the Orientalist Scholz, among others, accompanied him.
  • 7 November 1820 Visit of the oasis of Siwah
  • 19 December 1820 Departure to Upper Egypt
  • 17 July 1821 Journey home via Trieste
  • 11/12 March 1822 The sailing ship “Gottfried,” which was chartered in Trieste, sank in a hurricane at the mouth of the Elbe in the night. The ship has not been found to this day. Some pieces from the collection, presumably washed ashore, later surfaced and could be bought back. The finds transported overland reached Berlin safely. King Friedrich Wilhelm III acquired a significant portion for 22,000 thalers; this is kept in the Berlin Museum among the Egyptian antiquities.

Freiherr (title)

Alter Garnisonfriedhof - Heinrich Menu von Minutoli.jpg

The title of Freiherr appears to be historically controversial. Some state, he bestowed himself with it, which was tolerated by the king. Sources state, that the famous German writers' lexicon from Hamberger and Meusel[3] had listed him as of 1810 as Karl Menu von Minutoli upon his express request submitted in writing. Since 1814, von Menu used the prefix Freiherr in letters, and as of 1819 publicly. On 7 May 1820, two weeks before leaving for North Africa, the King of Prussia officially granted him the right, to call himself von Minutoli, this right was granted to all family members, even his divorced wife, who now also signed Menu von Minutoli.

He was sometimes listed as Freiherr Menu von Minutoli, as Freiherr von Minutoli, as Menu von Minutoli and even von Minutoli. In the important Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat, he was listed as Freiherr Menu von Minutoli in the editions 1821 to 1828. The Royal Ministry of Interior made an investigation of the Freiherr title in 1829, and although the results are not publicly known, after that he was furthermore only listed as Mr. and Excellency (a title received with the promotion to Generalleutnant) Menu von Minutoli, but without the title Freiherr. In the edition 1845, he is reffered to as His Excellency Mr. von Minutoli, in the edition 1848, his sons are also listed as von Minutoli, still no Freiherr title and dropping the name Menu. Julius and his brothers only used von Minutoli.

The Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Freiherrlichen Häuser (Edition 1874, pp. 464–466) explains that son Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm (1806–1887) was allowed as of 1 July 1866, to continue the title Freiherr as Freiherr von Minutoli or, as of 29 June 1868, as Freiherr von Minutoli-Woldeck (since he had inherited his uncle's, Ernst Heinrich Friedrich von Woldeck, estate).

Death

Lieutenant General (ret.) Freiherr Menu von Minutoli, who had finally retired to his acquired estate near Lausanne, died in 1846 during a visit to Berlin and was buried with honours at the Alter Garnisonfriedhof (Old Garrison Cemetery).

Family

The Calvinist Minutoli (Minutolo) family, later changing their name to Menu, originally came from the independent city republic of Lucca (de jure under control of the Holy Roman Empire) and were forced to emigrate to Switzerland at the end of the 16th century, starting with Paolino Minutoli, followed by his son Vincent in 1597. Geneva had been protestant reformed since 1536. Heinrich was the son of Daniel von Minutoli (1732–1811) and his wife Isabelle, née von Lucadou (1739–1816). Heinrich's father Daniel, who was mostly in southern Germany on business (he also carried out diplomatic tasks for the Elector of Trier and the Margrave of Baden), was arrested by French revolutionaries in 1791 and sentenced to death. He was able to escape to Germany, but all of the family's possessions in Switzerland were lost for the time being.

Marriages

In 1801, Heinrich Menu married Charlotte von Woldeck (1781–1863), the daughter of Lieutenant General Alexander Friedrich von Woldeck (1720–1795) and his wife Luise Ernestine von Weltzien (1766–1834). He had three sons with her:

  • Adolph Hermann Emil Eugen Adalbert (1802–1848), Jurist and Court Marshal in Saxony-Meiningen
  • Julius Rudolph Ottomar (1804–1860), administrative lawyer, diplomat, scientist, writers, Berlin police chief and envoy to the Persian court; ⚭ Mathilde Freiin von Rotenhan (b. 1812)
  • Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm (1806–1887), Prussian civil servant, art collector, founder of the world's first decorative arts museum (1844)
    • ⚭ 1855 Fanny Albertine Possart (1830–1861), two daughters: Anna (1856–1936) and Clara (1857–1872)
    • ⚭ 1863 Bertha Possart

Because of Lieutenant Colonels von Menu infidelity (later admitted in court), they seperated in 1811, and on 24 August 1812, the marriage was officially divorced. The children stayed with the mother. On 3 August 1820, Menu von Minutoli married the widow Wolfradine Auguste Luise Gräfin von der Schulenburg (1794–1868) in Trieste, who accompanied him on his expedition to Egypt and wrote a travel report that appeared in several translations. She became one of the first Western women to travel to Egypt. Her first husband, Lieutenant Colonel Anton Jakob Carl von Watzdorf (b. 12 May 1788), was killed in action during the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.

After the English translation (Recollections of Egypt by the Baroness Von Minutoli, London 1827) was published, especially due to her report on the Harem of the Agas of Damietta, The Monthly Review (1827, p. 132) wrote:

„In truth, there is not an inconsiderable degree of pleasure to be derived from observing the effect, which the wonders of Egypt may have produced upon a female mind.“

In the German version, Reise der Frau Generalin von Minutoli nach Egypten, she did not use the title Baroness or Freifrau, because she wasn't legally entitled to do so.

Awards, decorations and honours

  • Red Eagle Order, 3rd to 1st Class
    • 3rd Class[4]
    • 2nd Class with Oak Leaves
      • later received the Star to his 2nd Class[5]
    • 1st Class with Oak Leaves on 2 December 1845
  • Knight of the Johanniter-Orden on 5 May 1820

Honours

  • Honour member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin in 1832
  • Honour member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin
  • Out-of-town (auswärtiges) member of the Prussian Ministry of Spiritual, Educational and Medical Affairs

Works (excerpt)

He has written around 120 publications.[6] Among them are:

References

  1. ↑ Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat für das Jahr 1848, p. 823
  2. ↑ Dorothea Minkels / Joachim Karig: Heinrich Menu von Minutoli und seine herausragende Familie, 2019, p. 173
  3. ↑ Georg Christoph Hamberger / Johann Georg Meusel: Das gelehrte Teutschland oder Lexikon der jetzt lebenden teutschen Schriftsteller, 1810
  4. ↑ Rangliste 1817, p. 29
  5. ↑ Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat für das Jahr 1845, p. 102
  6. ↑ Späte Ehrung
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