Ernestine Countess Strassoldo (1695-1766) was the most long-serving matron in Marianne’s circle, holding the post of Fräuleinhoffmasterin, or the supervisor of a young unmarried maid of honour (i.e. Juliana and Leontine), especially of their behaviour and service.
Of her nearest past, the year 1746 happened to be a true annus horribilis for the Countess. Over the course of eleven months, she lost her daughter-in-law, her only son and her husband. She was left with her one-year-old grandson, heir to his grandfather’s legacy, which had to be maintained by the Countess in the name of the infant. This did not go very well; several estates and other properties had to be sold in order to cover remarkable debts.
The evaluation of the Countess’s character, at least to some extent, depends on whether the difficulties were the result of her method of administration or earlier decisions made by her late husband. In both cases, I believe she must have been a practical lady; perhaps not the sharpest crayon in the box, but surely blessed with a good quantity of common sense.
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