Scotland (1790 – 1798)
The
financial hardship caused by ‘Mad Jack’ Byron squandering his mother’s fortune
had a profound and lasting impact on Byron’s childhood and adult identity.
Instead of growing up as a wealthy young aristocrat on his mother’s family
estate, he spent his formative years (aged 2-10) in rented lodgings in
Aberdeen, living on a very meagre income. The financial stress exacerbated the
volatile relationship between young Byron and his mother. Her frequent anxieties
over money, combined with a somewhat explosive temper contributed to Byron’s
emotional turmoil.
Young
Byron’s early exposure to the life led by the middle-to-lower classes gave him
a genuine understanding and empathy with the disadvantaged. An empathy which
later manifested in his passionate defense of the Luddites in his maiden speech
in the House of Lords.
Aberdeen
By 1791 Catherine
Byron had moved to a flat on the first floor at 65 Broad Street. Her son’s education
began at a small independent school in a ‘grimy, poorly lit warehouse- like’
room. He learned little and was subsequently educated by a series of private
tutors. His mother’s financial difficulties and desire to save money often
dictated the quality and consistency of his schooling.
In 1794 Catherine
heard the news that the grandson of the 5th Lord Byron had been
killed by cannon fire in Corsica. Now heir presumptive to the title and estates,
Byron was sent to Aberdeen Grammar school.
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| Aberdeen Grammar School (Wikimedia Commons) |
Byron’s
time at the school was characterized more by self-directed reading in the
libraries and the teachings of his Scottish Calvinist nurse than by formal
academic success. The curriculum was heavily focused upon Greek, Latin and
ancient history/geography. He learnt the rudiments of a classical education –
but exhibited a general dislike for formal lessons, especially Latin. His
academic performance was likely adequate but over-shadowed by his rebellious
nature and self-directed passion for literature, history and politics outside
the set curriculum.
Considered
intelligent and intellectual, Byron was also described as rebellious and sometimes
troublesome - gaining a reputation as a ‘ringleader for mischief’. He read
widely, enjoying much in the way of history and literature (especially Turkish
history & Arabian Nights, Don Quixote and Roman history).
Under the tutelage of Agnes Gray, he enjoyed the poetry of the Psalms and books
of the Old Testament. The story of Cain and Abel clearly captured his
imagination.
“I am a
great reader and admirer of those books and had read them through and through
before I was eight years old, - that is to say, the Old Testament, for the New
struck me as a task, but the other as a pleasure.”
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| Lord Byron at the age of seven by Edward Finden (Alamy) |
Byron developed a love of the outdoors during his stay in the Highlands, which inspired his early poem - Lachin – Y – Gair.
England!
thy beauties are tame and domestic
To one who
has roved o’er the mountains afar:
Oh for the
crags that are wild and majestic!
The steep
frowning glories of the dark Loch na Garr.
Just before
his 10th birthday, the 5th Lord Byron died. Originally,
Byron had been registered on the school roll as ‘George Byron Gordon.’ Now the 6th Baron Byron of Rochdale,
he was given a new Latin title ‘Dominus de Byron.’ He was so overwhelmed by
emotion and the sudden reality of his new status that when the roll was called,
he burst into tears and ran out of the classroom. He later recorded –
“I
differed not at all from other children, being neither tall nor short, dull nor
witty, of my age, but rather lively – except in my sullen moods, and then I was
always a Devil.”
Byron’s
time in Scotland was marked by a difficult relationship with his mother, who
was known for her volatile temper and who sometimes mocked his physical
disability. A childhood marked by financial hardship and a lack of privilege,
fostered a deep-seated empathy for the disadvantaged, oppressed underdog and
the working classes.
His
Scottish identity is seen to play a part in his political actions, particularly
his passionate support for national liberation movements. His maternal lineage,
which had Jacobite connections, fostered an empathy for the struggle of smaller
nations against larger dominant powers. Actions in Greece can be seen as a fulfillment
of the liberal rebellious spirit he cultivated during his childhood.
Byron later described himself as – “I am half a Scot by birth and bred a whole one.” He retained a faint Scots accent and love for the Gordon tartan. So perhaps we should describe him as the Anglo-Scots poet!
England
Byron
attended Dr. William Glennie’s Academy in Dulwich (1799 – 1801)- a private
boarding school for young boys in South London. His time there was
characterized by a mix of positive intellectual development and significant personal
struggles, often exacerbated by his clubfoot and his mother’s interference.
Byron was
extremely sensitive about his lameness. His mother had sent him to London
hoping he would receive better medical treatment than was available in
Nottingham. While under Dr. Glennie’s care, he was encouraged to exercise in moderation
but often engaged in violent bouts of activity as he attempted to overcome his
physical disability. He was mocked and bullied for it. One cruel anecdote tells
of schoolboys putting his leg in a tub of cold water while he slept. This
experience contributed to his lifelong self-consciousness but also drove him to
‘athletic glory’. He refused to let his limp limit his competitive spirit and showed
a great ambition to excel in high intensity activities. His sheer upper-body
strength made him a formidable opponent in playground scuffles.
Despite such events, Dr. Glennie described him as “playful, good humoured, and beloved of his companions.” Byron and his friends were known to play highwaymen, stopping strangers on the road and mockingly demanding they ‘stand and deliver.’
Dr Glennie
discovered that Byron was an advanced and avid reader with a particular focus
on history, poetry and the Old Testament. Because Byron slept in Dr. Glennie’s
private study, he had direct access to the headmaster’s library. There he
discovered many books including The Shipwreck of the ‘Juno’ - which
provided inspiration and specific details for the shipwreck scene in Don Juan. Narrative
tales like The Arabian Nights and extensive historical works were
readily available.
His
education was constantly disrupted by his mother, who frequently withdrew him
from school to attend social events. This was seen to contribute to the boy’s
lack of self-discipline and neglect of classical studies (Latin and Greek).
Byron later
recalled his childhood feelings for his cousin Margaret Parker which inspired
what he called his ‘first dash into poetry.’ He described his feelings as an
‘embullition of passion’ and admired her as ‘one of the most
beautiful of evanescent beings.’
Byron’s time at Harrow Public School (1801 – 1805) was perhaps the most formative of his youth. It was a period marked by intense lifelong friendships, significant emotional turmoil, and the beginning of his literary aspirations. Byron’s achievements were not so much academic but rather his emergence as a charismatic orator, poet and sportsman. He excelled at public speaking but was somewhat indifferent to core classical studies. Byron was far from being a model student. A somewhat rebellious character, he was known for making trouble and defying authority.
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| Harrow School by Isaac Cruikshank c.1795 |
Byron was a gifted public speaker, praised for his
performances on Speech Days. Along with a group of friends, he formed the
‘Harrow Debating Society’ where he honed his oratorial skills, laying the
groundwork for his powerful speeches in the House of Lords.
“I had a great notion that I should turn out an orator,
from my fluency, my turbulence, my voice, my copiousness of declamation, and my
action.”
While weak in traditional academic subjects such as
Latin Greek and Mathematics, he prided himself on broader historical and
literal knowledge.
“General information was so great on modern topics, as
to induce the suspicion that I could only collect so much information from
reviews, because I was never seen reading, but always idle and in mischief, or
at play. The truth is that I read eating, read in bed, read when no one else
reads.”
Intense emotional experiences and passionate
friendships inspired his earliest poems of Childish recollections,
marking the beginning of his poetic career. In the adjacent St. Mary’s
churchyard, he would often lie for hours on a flat tombstone under an elm tree.
Located on the brow of a hill it commanded a panoramic view of the surrounding
countryside toward Windsor castle. This was the place where Byron often mused, daydreamed
and wrote poetry.
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| Lord Byron in St. Mary’s Graveyard (Alamy) |
Byron immortalized the spot in his 1807 poem Lines
Written beneath an Elm in the Churchyard of Harrow.
Spot
of my youth! whose hoary branches sigh,
Swept
by the breeze that fans thy cloudless sky;
Where now
alone I muse, who oft have trod,
With
those I loved, thy soft and verdant sod:
With
those who, scattered far, perchance deplore
Like
me, the happy scenes they knew before.
Byron formed strong bonds with other boys. These
relationships were often intense and emotionally charged, reflecting his passionate
nature. He described John FitzGibbon (later Earl of Clare) as “the only
human being I ever loved with passionate attachment.” – and wrote that he “never
knew a being so amiable, so good, so handsome, so gifted…without a fault.”
He was in the same fourth form class as Edward Noel
Long and Robert Peel (British prime minister). A famous anecdote describes
Byron offering to take half of a thrashing intended for Peel by a school bully.
The two performed Virgil’s Aeneid together on Speech Day in 1804 and Peel
forever referred to the poet by his school nickname ‘Birron.’
Birron on Speech Day (NightCafe AI Creator)
Edward Noel Long remained a close companion when he and Byron moved on to Trinity College Cambridge in 1805.
Byron was a charismatic figure who commanded loyalty
from his small circle of friends, but his sensitivity and physical
vulnerability also made him an easy target for the cruelty of others. He gained
a reputation for bravery and a rebellious spirit which earned him respect
amongst his select group of friends. Byron was amiable and generous to an
extreme with those he liked.
Fagging was a traditional hierarchical British Public School system whereby the Fagmaster (a senior student) was given authority by the school to command younger students, known as fags. It was intended to teach discipline, obedience and self-reliance to younger boys while giving senior boys experience in leadership and responsibility. While the system was seen as character building, it also gave rise to abuse, bullying and humiliation.
Fags performed personal servant duties for their
fagmaster - notably menial tasks such as shining shoes, brushing clothes,
making beds and keeping the room warm and tidy. They also ran errands such as carrying
messages and fetching items from the school tuck shop. The fagmaster was there
to act as a role model – setting the standards of behaviour and dress for
younger boys to aspire to. He was expected to look after the wellbeing of his
fags – protecting them from bullying and handling minor disciplinary matters.
Byron experienced both sides of the fagging system. An
unhappy junior fag, he rose to become an influential well-respected fagmaster. Byron
entered Harrow in 1801 at the age of thirteen. He reportedly disliked the
initial level of subservience required and his disability made him vulnerable
to cruelty by other boys.
“An unkept boy with an iron-clamp on one of his feet,
with loose trousers plentifully relieved in ink, and with finger-nails bitten
to the quick.’’
Already self-conscious about his deformed foot, Byron
was nicknamed ‘Eighteen pence’ due to the differing size of his eyes. His
classmates joked that his smaller eye was the size of a sixpence (6d) and his
left eye was the size of a shilling (12d). The total equalled eighteen pence (1s
6d). Many of his future portraits were idealized to hide the slight asymmetry.
As a senior, he commanded his own fags and clearly
fulfilled his role as mentor and protector. He became one of the most popular
and influential boys at the school. Most of his fighting was when championing younger
or smaller boys. A strong attraction to boys persisted from his Harrow days throughout
his life.
In his final year at Harrow, Byron played in the first
Harrow vs. Eton cricket match at Lords in 1805 – a significant moment in school
history.
Byron had an excellent relationship with Dr. Joseph
Drury – the headmaster of Harrow school. Byron considered him a father figure
and a highly positive influence.
“my preceptor, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Drury, was the best
and worthiest friend I ever possessed.’’
Drury recognized Byron’s unique and difficult
personality describing him as a ‘wild mountain colt.’ He identified that the
youth responded better to kindness and guidance than strict discipline. The
affection was mutual and after he left Harrow, Byron remained in contact with
the Drury family.
