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Autobiography written in the first person, which Graffenried claims to write at the request of a good friend, "gantz naivement ohne afectierten Stil" (quite naively, without any affected style). The text begins – after title and preface – with his birth and recounts the life story of the author in episodes until the time of his departure from Bern in 1709. He speaks about his travels, his wedding and his admission to the Grand Council of Bern. Regarding the time he spent in America, he finally refers to his "relation" about the trip to America. Von Graffenried has organized his life story as a sequence of "fataliteten" (marginal notes on each). The biography also exists (under the same signature) in a second version under the title "Lebens Beschreibung Fataliteten, u. avantures Herren von Graffenriedt Alt Land Vogt von Yverdon, und Herschafft Herr zuo Worb Sambt der Carolinischen Expedition ins besonders". In this version, also written on loose folio pages (123 pages), pages 13-28 are missing. It breaks off on p. 123 during the time he spent as bailiff in Yverdon. Finally, there is a third text (same signature, 10 folio pages) "Continuation meinen Lebens Beschreibung wo verbliben Namlich bey meinen Carolinischen wider kunfft in Bern", going up to the year 1740. |
