Nicolò Giraud
Encyclopedia
Nicolo or Nicolas Giraud (born c. 1795 – unknown) was a friend and possible lover of George Gordon Byron. Giraud probably met the poet in about 1810 while Byron was staying in Athens
, where the pair spent a great deal of time together. Giraud was reported to have taught Byron Italian
, and was his travel companion in Greece. Byron paid for the boy's education and wrote in his will that Giraud was to receive £7,000 (about £ as of ) upon Byron's death. However, years after Byron and Giraud parted company, Byron changed his will to remove Giraud. Outside of his involvement with Byron, little is known of Giraud's life.
The friendship between Byron and Giraud has become a topic of interest among biographers and scholars of Byron. Many believe that the pair's relationship was platonic, but correspondence between Byron and his friends has been used since the late 20th century to argue that the two were engaged in a love affair. The earliest claim of a sexual relationship between Giraud and Byron comes from George Colman
's poem Don Leon, in which Byron is the principal character and Giraud is portrayed as his liberator from the sexual prejudices in Britain. The poem is not biographical; it promotes Colman's own social and political views.
Nicolas Giraud was born in Greece to French parents; the name by which he is most commonly known, Nicolo, was given to him by Byron. Giraud may have been the brother-in-law of Giovanni Battista Lusieri, a Roman
painter and broker for Lord Elgin
.Some biographers, such as Fiona MacCarthy, simply declare Giraud as "brother to Lusieri's French wife" (MacCarthy p. 128). Other biographers, including Phyllis Grosskurth, are unwilling to make such declarations with such certainty and instead say Giraud was "supposedly the brother of Lusieri's 'wife (Grosskurth p. 103). Neither provide a source of the declaration of "brother-in-law". However, Demetrius Zograffo, Byron's guide in Greece, informed Byron that the 60-year-old Lusieri was unmarried, and was courting two women each of whom believed that Lusieri was to marry her. Lusieri certainly had a close relationship with Giraud, so it is possible that the two were related in another way, perhaps as father and son. In January 1809, Byron met Giraud in Athens during his travels, and the two were companions until Byron resumed his travels in March.
During the following year, Giraud was working at a Capuchin
monastery when he was assigned to teach Byron Italian after the latter's return to Greece. The two spent their days studying, swimming, and taking in the landscape as Byron composed poetry. In a letter to John Hobhouse
, dated 23 August 1810 and written at the Capuchin monastery of Mendele near Athens where he was residing, Byron states:
Byron took Giraud to visit Charles Meryon, an English doctor who recounted the visit in his memoirs and noted Byron's vivid interest in the boy. Afterward, rumours were spread by Byron's servant that the consultation concerned an anal rupture. Meryon was a travelling companion with Michael Bruce and Lady Hester Stanhope
, one of Byron's friends. Accounts from Michael Bruce and Howe Browne
, both witnesses to Byron's interactions with Giraud, provided confirmation of the relationship to Byron's early biographer Thomas Moore
, although in disparaging terms. In the summer of 1810, Giraud acted as Byron's majordomo on their travels to the Peloponnese
, and took care of Byron during his illness while at Patras
, eventually becoming sick himself. After recovering, although still weak, the pair continued on their travels, arriving at Athens on 13 October. By November they were joined by Lusieri, Louis-Francois-Sebastien Fauvel, who was a French consul, and a group of German academics.
Byron and Giraud eventually parted ways in Valetta, Malta
. Byron saw to Giraud's education by paying for his schooling in a monastery on the island. The two stayed in communication through letters, and after a year Giraud left the monastery, telling Byron that he was tired of the company of monks. Shortly after Giraud left Malta, Byron drew up for him in his will a bequest of £7,000 (£ as of ), almost twice as much as he later lent for refitting the Greek Navy. The will read: "To Nicolo Giraud of Athens, subject of France, but born in Greece, the sume of seven thousand pounds sterling, to be paid from the sale of such parts of Rochdale, Newstead or elsewhere, as may enable the said Nicolo Giraud ... to receive the above sum on his attaining the age of twenty-one years." However Byron later removed Giraud from his will, as he did with his other boyish companions including John Edleston.
Giraud wrote to Byron in January 1815:
Byron had not been responding to Nicolo's letters however, which Nicolo mentions in the letter: "It is now almost three years that I am at Athens; and have sent you many letters, but I have not received any answer". It is possible that Byron did not respond because he was married and, according to the 20th-century Byron biographer Phyllis Grosskurth
, "Nicolo was the last person he would have wanted to hear from."
Early 20th-century biographer André Maurois argues that "what Byron was capable of loving in another was a certain kind of innocence and youthfulness" and that the relationship was one of Byron's "protective passions". Likewise, G. Wilson Knight
, in his 1953 biography of Byron, believes that Byron became protective over Giraud just as he did with all of the children he met during his travels. However, Giraud was special to Byron, and, according to Knight, "it was probably of Nicolo that he was thinking when he wrote that Greece was 'the only place I was ever contented in. In Byron: A Biography, published in 1957, Marchand points out that Byron "wished Hobhouse there to share the nonsensical gaiety" of when Byron and Giraud were together, but changed his mind after remembering that Hobhouse's personality would not be conducive to entertainment. Their time together "was a relaxed pleasure that [Byron] was to remember more fondly than most of the adventures of his travels".
A few critics disagree with the speculation over Giraud's and Byron's relationship. The early 20th-century biographer, Ethel Mayne, points out both the commonality of such a relationship to Byron and the inherent ambiguity when she says, "His stay was also marked by one of those ambiguous friendships with a youth infinitely below him in rank which have already been seen to recur in his life ... The patron was supposed to be learning Italian from [Girard]; this made a pretext for giving him, on their parting at Malta in 1811 ... a considerable sum of money". Elizabeth Longford
, in her 1976 biography, disagrees with the claims that there was a physical relationship between the two and argues, "Byron's especial favorite among the 'ragazzi' was Nicolo Giraud. He had first taken up with Nicolo while Hobhouse was away in Euboea
the year before, but there is no evidence that his feelings for Nicolo were anything but romantic and protective." Jerome Christensen followed this view in 1993 and adds, "we know little more than what Byron tells us".
However, Christensen is quick to point out that "Although there is no evidence that Lord Byron, padrone and amico, was ever so vulgar as to set an exact market value on his sexual arrangements in Greece, Nicolo Giraud, Eustathius's replacement in Byron's affections, was employed as 'dragoman and Major Domo', a position that almost certainly entailed payment in love and money". D. L. MacDonald's 1986 biography simply describes Giraud as "The great love of Byron's Eastern tour", and D. S. Neff's 2002 work describes the two as part of "an amorous relationship". Others, like Jay Losey and William Brewer in their analysis of 19th-century sexuality, speculate that Byron's relationship with Giraud was modeled on a Grecian form of pederasty, and homosexual studies scholar Louis Crompton believes that pederasty was a facet of Byron's life and that his letters hinted towards a sexual relationship between Byron and Giraud. As Paul Douglass, in an analysis of Byron biographical studies, points out, Crompton also claims that biographers like Leslie Marchand ignored the nature of Byron's relationship with Giraud. However, Douglass also mentions that Crompton's work, Byron and Greek Love "focuses Byron's life around a single issue, rather than attempting to create a larger view. Such studies prompt negative responses from those who feel the writer warps Byron to fit the theme, presenting a one-sided account".
Benita Eisler, in 2000, argues that Giraud was one of many of Byron's intended sexual conquests. Although, as Eisler claims, Byron was at first unable to attain "that state of total and complete satisfaction" of a sexual relationship with Giraud, he wrote to Charles Matthews declaring that he would soon conquer any of the boy's remaining inhibitions. During Byron's illness, Byron boasted to Hobhouse and Lady Melbourne
that he continued to have sex with one such incident almost causing his death. Although it is uncertain, according to Eisler, "Whether this surfeit of erotic fulfillment involved only Nicolo as partner, he does not say. He was still fond enough of the boy, but his sexual obsession, with its attendant scorekeeping, seems to have run its course." However, Nigel Leask, in 2004, argues that Hobhouse would have disapproved of Byron's relationship with Giraud, and Fiona MacCarthy notes in her 2002 biography that Lady Melbourne "would have understood his partner to be female". In a survey of the various biographical opinions and disagreements about Byron's relationships, including Giraud, written before 2004, Douglass points out that "despite the greater certainty about his sexual ambivalence, the exact nature of those relationships remains elusive".
The narrator of Don Leon praises Giraud and claims that Giraud was so beautiful that he:
Throughout the poem, the narrator describes how Byron (Don Leon) spent his time with Giraud:
The poem ends with Giraud's beauty conquering any fears that Byron may have about their relationship:
G. Wilson Knight, unlike most early critics, thought the poem was worthy of response, although he says that it was from "the most indecent poet of high quality in our literature". However, Grebanier believes that Colman, as "a recipient of Byron's confidence during a crucial period of the poet's life, and as a man who shared Byron's hatred of pretense ... must have seen an ideal subject in presenting ruthlessly, even brutally, the basic truths about Byron's moral dilemma, as a powerful means of blasting once more that sanctimoniousness which has always been fashionable in Britain." Colman's purpose was not necessarily to discuss Giraud, but to respond to those who spread rumours about Byron and criticized Byron for his failed marriage, the reason for his exile. However, the poem does focus on Giraud, and, as Grebanier argues, "If, the poem says, our hero's affections were fastened upon Nicolo Giraud" then Byron's actions are acceptable because "he was but following the custom of the country. Once he had seen a beautiful Ganymede of fifteen attending the Turkish Governor, a Grecian youth, publicly known as the Governor's 'catamite.' Was it criminal to do what the Governor was doing?"
Byrne Fone, a historian of homosexuality-related issues, emphasizes how the poem and the fictional discussion of Giraud and Byron's relationship reveal insights into 19th-century British views on homosexuality. To Fone, the poem was written by one who knew Byron and reveals Byron's homosexuality. Fone also argues that the 1833 publication of the poem was prompted by the arrest of William Bankes, a homosexual friend of Byron's, and the execution of Henry Nicholls for homosexual activity. The opening lines of the poem mention "crippled Talleyrand", William Beckford
and William Courtenay
. Fone argues that the references to Beckford and Courtenay are used both to talk about the unfair treatment of homosexual men who had committed no real crime, and to emphasise England's hypocrisy when it comes to sex. The poem then claims that England's treatment of homosexuals forces Don Leon to travel to Greece in order to fulfill his desires and be free of intellectual control, which is fulfilled when Don Leon is able to be with Giraud. The fictional Giraud, according to Fone, allows Don Leon to break free of the homophobia of England. The poem, as he points out, tries to convince Moore to mention Byron's homosexual desires. Fone concludes, "It is not only the poem that is an effective attack on homophobic prejudice, but the example of the poet himself."
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, where the pair spent a great deal of time together. Giraud was reported to have taught Byron Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, and was his travel companion in Greece. Byron paid for the boy's education and wrote in his will that Giraud was to receive £7,000 (about £ as of ) upon Byron's death. However, years after Byron and Giraud parted company, Byron changed his will to remove Giraud. Outside of his involvement with Byron, little is known of Giraud's life.
The friendship between Byron and Giraud has become a topic of interest among biographers and scholars of Byron. Many believe that the pair's relationship was platonic, but correspondence between Byron and his friends has been used since the late 20th century to argue that the two were engaged in a love affair. The earliest claim of a sexual relationship between Giraud and Byron comes from George Colman
George Colman the Younger
George Colman , known as "the Younger", English dramatist and miscellaneous writer, was the son of George Colman "the Elder".-Life:...
's poem Don Leon, in which Byron is the principal character and Giraud is portrayed as his liberator from the sexual prejudices in Britain. The poem is not biographical; it promotes Colman's own social and political views.
Life
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
painter and broker for Lord Elgin
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat, known for the removal of marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens. Elgin was the second son of Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and his wife Martha Whyte...
.Some biographers, such as Fiona MacCarthy, simply declare Giraud as "brother to Lusieri's French wife" (MacCarthy p. 128). Other biographers, including Phyllis Grosskurth, are unwilling to make such declarations with such certainty and instead say Giraud was "supposedly the brother of Lusieri's 'wife (Grosskurth p. 103). Neither provide a source of the declaration of "brother-in-law". However, Demetrius Zograffo, Byron's guide in Greece, informed Byron that the 60-year-old Lusieri was unmarried, and was courting two women each of whom believed that Lusieri was to marry her. Lusieri certainly had a close relationship with Giraud, so it is possible that the two were related in another way, perhaps as father and son. In January 1809, Byron met Giraud in Athens during his travels, and the two were companions until Byron resumed his travels in March.
During the following year, Giraud was working at a Capuchin
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
monastery when he was assigned to teach Byron Italian after the latter's return to Greece. The two spent their days studying, swimming, and taking in the landscape as Byron composed poetry. In a letter to John Hobhouse
John Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton
John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton GCB, PC, FRS , known as Sir John Hobhouse, Bt, from 1831 to 1851, was a British politician and memoirist.-Background and education:...
, dated 23 August 1810 and written at the Capuchin monastery of Mendele near Athens where he was residing, Byron states:
But my friend, as you may easily imagine, is Nicolo who by-the-by, is my Italian master, and we are already very philosophical. I am his "Padrone" and his "amico", and the Lord knows what besides. It is about two hours since, that, after informing me he was most desirous to follow him (that is me) over the world, he concluded by telling me it was proper for us not only to live, but "morire insieme" [die together]. The latter I hope to avoid – as much of the former as he pleases.
Byron took Giraud to visit Charles Meryon, an English doctor who recounted the visit in his memoirs and noted Byron's vivid interest in the boy. Afterward, rumours were spread by Byron's servant that the consultation concerned an anal rupture. Meryon was a travelling companion with Michael Bruce and Lady Hester Stanhope
Lady Hester Stanhope
Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope , the eldest child of Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope by his first wife Lady Hester Pitt, is remembered by history as an intrepid traveller in an age when women were discouraged from being adventurous.-Early life and travels:Lady Hester was born and grew up at her...
, one of Byron's friends. Accounts from Michael Bruce and Howe Browne
Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo
Howe Peter Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo, KP, PC, PC , , was an Irish peer and colonial governor, styled Viscount Westport until 1800 and Earl of Altamont from 1800 to 1809....
, both witnesses to Byron's interactions with Giraud, provided confirmation of the relationship to Byron's early biographer Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
, although in disparaging terms. In the summer of 1810, Giraud acted as Byron's majordomo on their travels to the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
, and took care of Byron during his illness while at Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
, eventually becoming sick himself. After recovering, although still weak, the pair continued on their travels, arriving at Athens on 13 October. By November they were joined by Lusieri, Louis-Francois-Sebastien Fauvel, who was a French consul, and a group of German academics.
Byron and Giraud eventually parted ways in Valetta, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Byron saw to Giraud's education by paying for his schooling in a monastery on the island. The two stayed in communication through letters, and after a year Giraud left the monastery, telling Byron that he was tired of the company of monks. Shortly after Giraud left Malta, Byron drew up for him in his will a bequest of £7,000 (£ as of ), almost twice as much as he later lent for refitting the Greek Navy. The will read: "To Nicolo Giraud of Athens, subject of France, but born in Greece, the sume of seven thousand pounds sterling, to be paid from the sale of such parts of Rochdale, Newstead or elsewhere, as may enable the said Nicolo Giraud ... to receive the above sum on his attaining the age of twenty-one years." However Byron later removed Giraud from his will, as he did with his other boyish companions including John Edleston.
Giraud wrote to Byron in January 1815:
My most precious Master, I cannot describe the grief of my heart at not seeing you for such a long time. Ah, if only I were a bird and could fly so as to come and see you for one hour, and I would be happy to die at the same time. Hope tells me that I shall see you again and that is my consolation for not dying immediately. It is two years now since I spoke English. I have completely forgotten it.
Byron had not been responding to Nicolo's letters however, which Nicolo mentions in the letter: "It is now almost three years that I am at Athens; and have sent you many letters, but I have not received any answer". It is possible that Byron did not respond because he was married and, according to the 20th-century Byron biographer Phyllis Grosskurth
Phyllis Grosskurth
Phyllis M. Grosskurth, is a Canadian biographer.Born in Toronto, Ontario, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree, honours English from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Ottawa...
, "Nicolo was the last person he would have wanted to hear from."
Relationship with Byron
Giraud's relationship with Byron has been a topic discussed by many of Byron's biographers. Moore, Byron's early biographer, described the relationship between Byron and Giraud as:one of those extraordinary friendships – if attachment to persons so inferior to himself can be called by that name – of which I have already mentioned two or three instances in his younger days, and in which the pride of being a protector, and the pleasure of exerting gratitude, seem to have constituted to his mind the chief, pervading charm. The person, whom he now adopted in this manner, and from similar feelings to those which had inspired his early attachments to the cottage-boy near Newstead, and the young chorister at Cambridge, was a Greek youth, named Nicolo Giraud, the son, I believe, of a widow lady, in whose house the artist Lusieri lodged. In this young man he appear to have taken the most lively, and even brotherly, interest.However, Moore's work was commented on by Byron's close friend, John Hobhouse, who noted that "Moore had not the remotest guess at the real reason which induced Lord B. at that time to prefer having no Englishman immediately or constantly near him." Regardless of Moore's bias against the lower class and Byron's spending time with other boys during his times in Greece, Byron was close to Giraud while the two were together.
Early 20th-century biographer André Maurois argues that "what Byron was capable of loving in another was a certain kind of innocence and youthfulness" and that the relationship was one of Byron's "protective passions". Likewise, G. Wilson Knight
G. Wilson Knight
George Richard Wilson Knight was an English literary critic and academic, known particularly for his interpretation of mythic content in literature, and his essays The Wheel of Fire on Shakespeare's drama...
, in his 1953 biography of Byron, believes that Byron became protective over Giraud just as he did with all of the children he met during his travels. However, Giraud was special to Byron, and, according to Knight, "it was probably of Nicolo that he was thinking when he wrote that Greece was 'the only place I was ever contented in. In Byron: A Biography, published in 1957, Marchand points out that Byron "wished Hobhouse there to share the nonsensical gaiety" of when Byron and Giraud were together, but changed his mind after remembering that Hobhouse's personality would not be conducive to entertainment. Their time together "was a relaxed pleasure that [Byron] was to remember more fondly than most of the adventures of his travels".
A few critics disagree with the speculation over Giraud's and Byron's relationship. The early 20th-century biographer, Ethel Mayne, points out both the commonality of such a relationship to Byron and the inherent ambiguity when she says, "His stay was also marked by one of those ambiguous friendships with a youth infinitely below him in rank which have already been seen to recur in his life ... The patron was supposed to be learning Italian from [Girard]; this made a pretext for giving him, on their parting at Malta in 1811 ... a considerable sum of money". Elizabeth Longford
Elizabeth Longford
Elizabeth Pakenham, Countess of Longford, CBE, better known as Elizabeth Longford was a British author.-Life:...
, in her 1976 biography, disagrees with the claims that there was a physical relationship between the two and argues, "Byron's especial favorite among the 'ragazzi' was Nicolo Giraud. He had first taken up with Nicolo while Hobhouse was away in Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
the year before, but there is no evidence that his feelings for Nicolo were anything but romantic and protective." Jerome Christensen followed this view in 1993 and adds, "we know little more than what Byron tells us".
However, Christensen is quick to point out that "Although there is no evidence that Lord Byron, padrone and amico, was ever so vulgar as to set an exact market value on his sexual arrangements in Greece, Nicolo Giraud, Eustathius's replacement in Byron's affections, was employed as 'dragoman and Major Domo', a position that almost certainly entailed payment in love and money". D. L. MacDonald's 1986 biography simply describes Giraud as "The great love of Byron's Eastern tour", and D. S. Neff's 2002 work describes the two as part of "an amorous relationship". Others, like Jay Losey and William Brewer in their analysis of 19th-century sexuality, speculate that Byron's relationship with Giraud was modeled on a Grecian form of pederasty, and homosexual studies scholar Louis Crompton believes that pederasty was a facet of Byron's life and that his letters hinted towards a sexual relationship between Byron and Giraud. As Paul Douglass, in an analysis of Byron biographical studies, points out, Crompton also claims that biographers like Leslie Marchand ignored the nature of Byron's relationship with Giraud. However, Douglass also mentions that Crompton's work, Byron and Greek Love "focuses Byron's life around a single issue, rather than attempting to create a larger view. Such studies prompt negative responses from those who feel the writer warps Byron to fit the theme, presenting a one-sided account".
Benita Eisler, in 2000, argues that Giraud was one of many of Byron's intended sexual conquests. Although, as Eisler claims, Byron was at first unable to attain "that state of total and complete satisfaction" of a sexual relationship with Giraud, he wrote to Charles Matthews declaring that he would soon conquer any of the boy's remaining inhibitions. During Byron's illness, Byron boasted to Hobhouse and Lady Melbourne
Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne
Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne was an English political hostess and the wife of Whig politician Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne. She was the mother of William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
that he continued to have sex with one such incident almost causing his death. Although it is uncertain, according to Eisler, "Whether this surfeit of erotic fulfillment involved only Nicolo as partner, he does not say. He was still fond enough of the boy, but his sexual obsession, with its attendant scorekeeping, seems to have run its course." However, Nigel Leask, in 2004, argues that Hobhouse would have disapproved of Byron's relationship with Giraud, and Fiona MacCarthy notes in her 2002 biography that Lady Melbourne "would have understood his partner to be female". In a survey of the various biographical opinions and disagreements about Byron's relationships, including Giraud, written before 2004, Douglass points out that "despite the greater certainty about his sexual ambivalence, the exact nature of those relationships remains elusive".
Don Leon
George Colman, Byron's friend, anonymously wrote a poem called Don Leon that, according to Bernard Grebanier, "depicts Byron as having wooed Giraud with gifts when they first met, and to have busied himself with developing the boy's mind".The narrator of Don Leon praises Giraud and claims that Giraud was so beautiful that he:
- Gave pleasing doubts of what his sex might be;
- And who that saw him would perplexed have been,
- For beauty marked his gender epicoene.
Throughout the poem, the narrator describes how Byron (Don Leon) spent his time with Giraud:
- Spent half in love and half in poetry!
- The muse each morn I wooed, each eve the boy,
- And tasted sweets that never seemed to cloy.
The poem ends with Giraud's beauty conquering any fears that Byron may have about their relationship:
- But thou, Giraud, whose beauty would unlock
- The gates of prejudice, and bid me mock
- The sober fears that timid minds endure,
- Whose ardent passions women only cure,
- Receive this faithful tribute to thy charms,
- Not vowed alone, but paid too in thy arms.
- For here the wish, long cherished, long denied,
- Within that monkish cell was gratified.
G. Wilson Knight, unlike most early critics, thought the poem was worthy of response, although he says that it was from "the most indecent poet of high quality in our literature". However, Grebanier believes that Colman, as "a recipient of Byron's confidence during a crucial period of the poet's life, and as a man who shared Byron's hatred of pretense ... must have seen an ideal subject in presenting ruthlessly, even brutally, the basic truths about Byron's moral dilemma, as a powerful means of blasting once more that sanctimoniousness which has always been fashionable in Britain." Colman's purpose was not necessarily to discuss Giraud, but to respond to those who spread rumours about Byron and criticized Byron for his failed marriage, the reason for his exile. However, the poem does focus on Giraud, and, as Grebanier argues, "If, the poem says, our hero's affections were fastened upon Nicolo Giraud" then Byron's actions are acceptable because "he was but following the custom of the country. Once he had seen a beautiful Ganymede of fifteen attending the Turkish Governor, a Grecian youth, publicly known as the Governor's 'catamite.' Was it criminal to do what the Governor was doing?"
Byrne Fone, a historian of homosexuality-related issues, emphasizes how the poem and the fictional discussion of Giraud and Byron's relationship reveal insights into 19th-century British views on homosexuality. To Fone, the poem was written by one who knew Byron and reveals Byron's homosexuality. Fone also argues that the 1833 publication of the poem was prompted by the arrest of William Bankes, a homosexual friend of Byron's, and the execution of Henry Nicholls for homosexual activity. The opening lines of the poem mention "crippled Talleyrand", William Beckford
William Thomas Beckford
William Thomas Beckford , usually known as William Beckford, was an English novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer and sometime politician, reputed to be the richest commoner in England...
and William Courtenay
William Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon
William "Kitty" Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon was the youngest son of William Courtenay, 2nd Viscount Courtenay and his wife Frances Clack. He was baptized on 30 August 1768....
. Fone argues that the references to Beckford and Courtenay are used both to talk about the unfair treatment of homosexual men who had committed no real crime, and to emphasise England's hypocrisy when it comes to sex. The poem then claims that England's treatment of homosexuals forces Don Leon to travel to Greece in order to fulfill his desires and be free of intellectual control, which is fulfilled when Don Leon is able to be with Giraud. The fictional Giraud, according to Fone, allows Don Leon to break free of the homophobia of England. The poem, as he points out, tries to convince Moore to mention Byron's homosexual desires. Fone concludes, "It is not only the poem that is an effective attack on homophobic prejudice, but the example of the poet himself."
Sources
- MacDonald, D. L. "Orientalism and Eroticism in Byron and Merrill" Pacific Coast Philology, Vol. 21, No. 1/2 (Nov., 1986), pp. 60–64
- Neff, D. S. "Bitches, Mollies, and Tommies: Byron, Masculinity, and the History of Sexualities" Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 2002), pp. 395–438