Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova
Yekaterina Vorontsova Dashkova | |
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Dmitry Levitsky, 1784. | |
Born | Yekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova 28 March 1743 |
Died | 15 January 1810 , Russian Empire | (aged 66)
Spouse | Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Dashkov |
Children |
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Parents |
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Princess Yekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (born Countess Vorontsova; (
Early life and education
Born into an old
When Yekaterina was just 2 years old, Marfa died and Count Roman was an absent father, so the children were sent to different places. Alexander continued to live with their father, but Semyon was raised in the countryside by their grandfather and the three sisters went to live with their uncle Mikhail at the lavish Vorontsov Palace., who provided his nieces with an exceptionally good education and spared no expenses with them.
Yekaterina learned several languages (Russian, French, Italian and German), studied mathematics at the
. She also developed an interest in politics at a very young age and was allowed by her uncle to go through his papers, reading diplomatic letters from Russian ambassadors to illustrious foreigners like the Emperor of China (the content of which she describes in her memoirs), which gave her an inside look at how diplomacy worked. She grew up a well-educated, well-read, bright and intelligent girl.Life at court and marriage
Just like her older sisters, Yekaterina went to live at the Russian court when she became a teenager and, by favour of her godmother Empress Elizabeth I, appointed as one of her maids-of-honour. There, she became acquainted with the Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alexeyevna, 14 years older than her, and the pair bonded over their love of literature, particularly French
At 15, she met 22-year-old Second Lieutenant Prince Mikhail Dashkov of the Imperial Guards and the two fell in love. The couple went to live in Moscow and married a year later, in February 1759. She became known as Princess Vorontsova-Dashkova or simply Princess Dashkova. The couple had three children: Anastasia (born in February 1760), Mikhail (born in January 1761) and Pavel (born in May 1763). Her son Mikhail died in the autumn of 1762.
Catherine's coup d'état
The couple was close friends with Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alexeyevna and disliked the Grand Duke Peter, fearing for the future of Russia under the rule of the pro-Prussia future tsar. In December 1761, Empress Elizabeth became severely ill and died January 5, 1762. Her nephew ascended the throne, began undoing her policies and kept a submissive position towards his idol and Russia's enemy, Frederick the Great, much to the displeasure of his court and military. Yekaterina, along with several nobleman and members of the Imperial Guards, lead a coup d'état against him on June 28, 1762, that put his wife on the throne.
She continued to be loyal to the newly crowned Empress Catherine. However, their friendship gave place to a more estranged relationship as Yekaterina often disliked the men the Empress took as lovers, and often resented the graces and devotion shown to them. She was also disappointed when her request to become a colonel of the Imperial Guards was denied. There were also some tensions over what Catherine the Great called in her letters an exaggerated account of her friend taking the lead part in the coup d'état. She may have also done this to belittle Yekaterina's resolve and ambition, which made her a potential rival in her eyes, capable of taking her away from the throne as she had been of putting her there.
Foreign travels
When Prince Dashkov died in 1764, Yekaterina decided to ask to leave court and was granted permission, starting in 1768 a 14-year-long journey through Europe, where she was welcomed in several courts with respect and admiration.
Paris
In Paris, she became good friends with Diderot and Voltaire, who admired and respected her. She also met Benjamin Franklin in the French capital on February 3, 1781 [6] and the two became close friends, corresponding frequently and showing mutual respect and admiration.
United Kingdom and Ireland
Yekaterina also corresponded with Garrick, Dr. Blair, and Principal William Robertson, meeting them during her visit to the United Kingdom and entrusting the education of her son Pavel to the latter.[7] She was also friends with English painter Georgiana Hare-Naylor, daughter of Jonathan Shipley, whom she met in London.
She lived in
Having recovered from her duel wound, she traveled to
Career
At the end of 1782, Yekaterina returned to Russia and was welcomed by the Empress. Her son Pavel had become an adjutant of
In January 1783, the princess was appointed director of the
Exile and death
When the Empress died in 1796 and her son Emperor Paul I succeeded her, Yekaterina was sent into exile by the new tsar "to meditate on the events of 1762". Eventually, the exile was ended after a petition of her friends and she was allowed to spend the last years of her life on her rural estate in Troitskoye [ru], west of Moscow.[7]
In 1803, Catherine Hamilton sent her cousin Martha Wilmot (1775–1873) to visit the princess in Russia; in 1805, Wilmot was joined by her sister Catherine (1773–1824) and the two sisters ended up living with Yekaterina as her companions, editing and translating her memoirs to English (they were originally written in French). Martha was like a daughter to the princess, who even called the Anglo-Irish woman Mavra Romanovna as if she had actually adopted her, leaving her a fortune and some material possessions upon her death. Catherine left Russia in 1807 and Martha in October 1808.
Her son Pavel died in January 1807 and bequeathed his fortune to his cousin Ivan Vorontsov.
Yekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova-Dashkova died in Moscow on 4 January 1810, at 66 years of age.
Works and legacy
Besides her work on the 6-volume dictionary of the Russian Languages, Yekaterina edited a monthly magazine, and wrote at least two novels: The Marriage of Fabian and a comedy entitled Toissiokoff. The University of Edinburgh opened in 2010 the Princess Dashkova Russian Centre in her honor.
Her memoirs were published in French in 1804 (Mon Histoire), then edited and translated to English by Martha Wilmot in 1840 in two volumes (Memoirs of the Princess Daschkaw, written by herself)[13] and the Russian version of her memoirs was translated by Alexander Herzen in 1857.
Exhibitions
The Princess and the Patriot: Ekaterina Dashkova, Benjamin Franklin and the Age of Enlightenment exhibition was held in
Compositions
Yekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova-Dashkova was also an accomplished composer.[16][17] She loved to compose her own music and collect and transcribe the folk music of Russia. As a child, she was given art and music lessons but was not able to become a professional musician until later on in life because it was considered to be appropriate for a noble lady. Amateur music concerts were a component in the earrlier years of Catherine the Great's reign. At these concerts, Yekaterina would often perform her songs even though her husband and Catherine the Great would make fun of them. Dashkova composed a variety of pieces in a variety of languages throughout her lifetime. For example, she composed arias, songs, spiritual hymns, and folk songs in Russian, English, French and Italian.[18]
Short list of compositions:[17]
- A Collection of Airs
- Andante
- Air Russe
- Sweet Enslaver
- How Imperfect is Expression
- Nel dirti addio bel idol mio
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Russian pronunciation: [jɪkətʲɪˈrʲinə rɐˈmanəvnə vərɐnˈtsovə ˈdaʂkəvə]
- ISBN 9780822316213. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- New International Encyclopedia(1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. This source reports that Prince Dashkov died in 1761.
- ISBN 0-8103-5711-9.
- ^ "Dashkova, Yekaterina Romanovna". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
- ^ "Benjamin Franklin and Russia" (PDF). The Philosophical Age. St. Petersburg Center for History of Ideas: 58–61, 129. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 844.
- ^ "The Dashkov Medals". Edinburgh University Library, Special Collections and Archives.
- ^ The Memoirs of Princess Dashkova|Duke University Press |date=2003 |page=149
- ^ "Francis Wheatley, Portrait, Landscape and Figure Painter – Irish Artists".
- ISBN 978-0-312-27815-1.
- ^ "CHAPTER TWO: Was She or Wasn't She? Only her Empress Knew for Sure".
- ^ "Wilmot-Dashkova Collection". Royal Irish Academy. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ "Catherine Ekaterina Dashkova". American Philosophical Society Member History. American Philosophical Society. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ "The Princess and the Patriot: Ekaterina Dashkova, Benjamin Franklin, and the Age of Enlightenment". Museum of the American Philosophical Society. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009.
- )
- ^ a b "Russian Women Composers of the 18th Century - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- )
Sources
- The princess & the patriot: Ekaterina Dashkova, Benjamin Franklin, and the Age of Enlightenment, Volume 96, Part 1, Editor Sue Ann Prince, American Philosophical Society, 2006, ISBN 978-0-87169-961-9
- Woronzoff-Dashkoff, A. Dashkova: A Life of Influence and Exile. American Philosophical Society: Philadelphia, 2008.
- The memoirs of Princess Dashkova, Editors Jehanne M. Gheith, Alexander Woronzoff-Dashkoff, Translator Kyril FitzLyon, Duke University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-8223-1621-3
- "Princess Ekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova Dashkova", Great Women Travel Writers: From 1750 to the Present, Editors Alba Amoia, Bettina Knapp, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN 978-0-8264-1840-1
Further reading
- Barker, Georgina (2019). The Enlightened Virago: Princess Dashkova through the Eyes of Others / Princess Dashkova, the Woman Who Shook the World: A historical verbatim play in three acts (PDF). Edinburgh. ISBN 978-0-9532713-0-6.)
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External links
- The Vorontsov Virtual Museum
- Madame Directeur de l'Academie
- Brooklyn Museum Heritage Floor: Yekaterina Dashkova
- Russian Princess Stands With Franklin as Comrade of the Enlightenment
- Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. This source reports that Prince Dashkov died three years after his marriage. .
- Russian Women Composers of the 18th Century This is a recording of a variety of different Russian female composers of the 18th century and includes songs Dashkova composed.