Early Life of George Gordon Byron - Childhood

Childhood

Mayne states that George Gordon Byron was born 22 January 1788 in a house on 24 Holles Street in London. However, R.C. Dallas in his Recollections states that Byron was born in Dover In 1790, John Byron and Gordon moved to Aberdeen, but this was not to last, as John wrote to his sister, "She is very amiable at a distance; but I defy you and all the Apostles to live with her two months, for if anybody could live with her, it was me". Byron's parents then decided to live in separate houses upon the same street to see if the distance would allow them to bear each other, which left Byron to be raised by his mother and a nursemaid, Agnes Gray. His parents would meet regularly until they realized that their separation did not solve their problems; John Byron would come to talk to his son, but after being allowed to take Byron to his house to spend one night, he realized that he could not tolerate either Byron or his mother any longer. Shortly thereafter, John left Scotland to live with his sister Fanny (Frances) Leigh at Valenciennes, France, the place where he would die in 1791. After John Byron's death, Gordon claimed that she "ever sincerely loved" Byron, and she despaired at her loss.

Catherine Gordon was taught to read at a young age and had a passion for literature, a passion she shared with her son. Byron would read through the Bible, focusing predominantly on the Old Testament, and he would also read works dealing with history or narrative tales like the Arabian Nights. However this passion for reading was not the only passion mother and child shared; Catherine was also known for having a violent temper. The son inherited his mother's temper but he would not speak while he experienced various fits. On one occasion, the young Byron bit off a piece of a china saucer during his "silent rage". Byron's problems were compounded by his mother's lack of money, especially with her having to provide for her delinquent husband. When word reached her that John Byron had died, she cried out loud enough for her neighborhood to hear. However, her troubles were not over, for in his final moments John Byron had incurred even more debt, which burdened his widow to the point of having to move to another home in worse conditions.

Without money, she was instead forced to send her son to a day-school at the Long Acre of Aberdeen. Byron did not learn anything at the school, and his mother was forced to hire a series of tutors who taught him literature until he was able to enter the Aberdeen Grammar School in 1798. It was here that Byron became fascinated with politics and began to practice writing narratives. Not everything taught to Byron was met with appreciation; Byron was brought up under Scottish Calvinistic influences including predestination, which encouraged a pessimistic view of life. His mother felt that Byron took in "the gloomiest Calvinistic tenets" and believed that she was also "broken against the rock of Predestination."