George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron collection
Collection
Call Number: GEN MSS 892
Scope and Contents
The collection consists primarily of manuscripts and letters by George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron, including a manuscript of the Preface to Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and the manuscript of The Prisoner of Chillon; and letters to John Murray, Francis Hodgson, and Samuel Rogers. Other contents include several letters by Anne Isabella Milbanke, Baroness Byron; two notes by Catherine Byron, the poet's mother; and eighteen letters from Augusta Leigh to Francis Hodgson.
Dates
- 1804-1927 1804-1822
- Majority of material found within 1804 - 1822
Creator
Physical Description
0.42 linear feet (1 box) + 2 broadside items.
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron Collection is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired by gift and purchase from various sources, 1933-1968. Further acquisition information available in finding aid entries for individual items.
Arrangement
Organized into three series: I. George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron Papers, 1806-1823. II. Anne Isabella Milbanke Byron, Baroness Byron Papers, 1814-1856. III. Other Related Papers, 1804-1927.
Extent
0.42 Linear Feet ((1 box) + 2 broadside items)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The collection consists primarily of manuscripts and letters by George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron, including a manuscript of the Preface to Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and the manuscript of The Prisoner of Chillon; and letters to John Murray, Francis Hodgson, and Samuel Rogers. Other contents include several letters by Anne Isabella Milbanke, Baroness Byron; two notes by Catherine Byron, the poet's mother; and eighteen letters from Augusta Leigh to Francis Hodgson.
George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron (1788-1824)
George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron (1788-1824), British poet who became one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement and gained fame as much for his scandal-ridden personal life as for his poetry. Educated at Harrow and Cambridge, Byron embarked on an extended Grand Tour in 1808, visiting both the western and eastern Mediterranean.
On his return to England in 1812, Byron published the first two cantos of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, a narrative poem featuring the first appearance of the "Byronic hero." The poem was a sensation, and Byron "awoke one morning and found myself famous." The following four years saw a series of successful publications, including The Bride of Abydos (1813), Hebrew Melodies (1815), and The Prisoner of Chillon (1816), and a series of often scandalous love affairs, including relationships with Lady Caroline Lamb and Lady Oxford.
Byron married the mathematically gifted heiress Anna Isabella Milbanke, Caroline Lamb's cousin, in 1814. The couple had one daughter, but the marriage soon broke down, and Byron was the subject of widespread rumors of adultery and an incestuous relationship with his half-sister, Augusta Leigh. After signing a deed of separation in April, Byron left England and never returned. A summer spent at the Villa Diodati with Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, and her half-sister Claire Claremont resulted in the story fragment The Vampyre and the eventual birth of his illegitimate daughter by Claremont, Clara Allegra.
Byron spent the following years in Italy, settling primarily in Venice from 1816 through 1819, where he pursued a series of affairs with local women, documented in his correspondence and journals, and wrote, among other works, the first cantos of his Don Juan (1819-1824). This satiric poem is today considered Byron's masterpiece; the first two cantos were widely condemned for immorality when they were published anonymously in 1819.
In Venice Byron met the nineteen year old, and already married, Countess Teresa Guiccioli, moving to Ravenna and becoming her cavalier servente. The Count and Countess eventually separated, and Byron accompanied her to Pisa and later to Genoa. In 1823, Byron gave his support to the Greek Independence movement, and sailed to Greece late in that year. He planned to lead part of an expedition against Lepanto, but died of a fever at Missolonghi on April 19, 1824.
On his return to England in 1812, Byron published the first two cantos of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, a narrative poem featuring the first appearance of the "Byronic hero." The poem was a sensation, and Byron "awoke one morning and found myself famous." The following four years saw a series of successful publications, including The Bride of Abydos (1813), Hebrew Melodies (1815), and The Prisoner of Chillon (1816), and a series of often scandalous love affairs, including relationships with Lady Caroline Lamb and Lady Oxford.
Byron married the mathematically gifted heiress Anna Isabella Milbanke, Caroline Lamb's cousin, in 1814. The couple had one daughter, but the marriage soon broke down, and Byron was the subject of widespread rumors of adultery and an incestuous relationship with his half-sister, Augusta Leigh. After signing a deed of separation in April, Byron left England and never returned. A summer spent at the Villa Diodati with Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, and her half-sister Claire Claremont resulted in the story fragment The Vampyre and the eventual birth of his illegitimate daughter by Claremont, Clara Allegra.
Byron spent the following years in Italy, settling primarily in Venice from 1816 through 1819, where he pursued a series of affairs with local women, documented in his correspondence and journals, and wrote, among other works, the first cantos of his Don Juan (1819-1824). This satiric poem is today considered Byron's masterpiece; the first two cantos were widely condemned for immorality when they were published anonymously in 1819.
In Venice Byron met the nineteen year old, and already married, Countess Teresa Guiccioli, moving to Ravenna and becoming her cavalier servente. The Count and Countess eventually separated, and Byron accompanied her to Pisa and later to Genoa. In 1823, Byron gave his support to the Greek Independence movement, and sailed to Greece late in that year. He planned to lead part of an expedition against Lepanto, but died of a fever at Missolonghi on April 19, 1824.
Processing Information
The George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron Collection is comprised of material formerly classed as MS Vault Shelves Byron.
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing, in 2012.
The finding aid for this collection is largely compiled from individual catalog cards for each acquisition that were created at or around the time of receipt by the library. Information from the catalog cards was repurposed in the finding aid in accordance with current archival descriptive standards. Some catalog cards, filed with the collection, include more detailed descriptions of individual items and/or provenance notes. Descriptions for items not represented by catalog cards were derived from accession records, folder labels, or other available descriptive material. Some items are accompanied by transcripts or other explanatory material; this is not generally noted in the finding aid.
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing, in 2012.
The finding aid for this collection is largely compiled from individual catalog cards for each acquisition that were created at or around the time of receipt by the library. Information from the catalog cards was repurposed in the finding aid in accordance with current archival descriptive standards. Some catalog cards, filed with the collection, include more detailed descriptions of individual items and/or provenance notes. Descriptions for items not represented by catalog cards were derived from accession records, folder labels, or other available descriptive material. Some items are accompanied by transcripts or other explanatory material; this is not generally noted in the finding aid.
- Authors
- Authors, English -- 19th century -- Archives
- Byron, Anne Isabella Milbanke Byron, Baroness, 1792-1860
- Byron, Catherine Gordon, 1764?-1811
- Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron, 1788-1824
- English literature -- 19th century
- English poetry -- 19th century
- Hodgson, Francis, 1781-1852
- Leigh, Augusta, 1784-1851
- Murray, John, 1778-1843
- Rogers, Samuel, 1763-1855
- Romanticism -- Great Britain
- Title
- Guide to the George Gordon Byron, Baron Byron Collection
- Author
- by Beinecke Staff
- Date
- September 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.