Lord Byron, the poet’s great-uncle, fell to arguing over dinner at the Star and Garter with a neighbor of his from Nottingham, a Mr. Chaworth. Byron said the game on his lands flourished because he took no care of it, while Chaworth said he kept an eye on his and was strict about poachers. Byron offered to bet a hundred pounds that he had more rabbits on a manor or manors of his than Chaworth had on any of his. The discussion got hotter, and presently a waiter showed them into an empty room lit only by a single candle. In the sword fight that followed, both were badly wounded, and Chaworth died.
In his defense, Byron declared that Chaworth had treated him “in a slighting and contemptuous manner,” claiming he had more rabbits on five acres of his manor than his Lordship had on all his estates. The House of Lords found him guilty only of manslaughter, always a minor matter, fined him, and discharged him.
Source:
Holland, Barbara. “II. The Idea of Honor.” Gentlemen’s Blood: A History of Dueling From Swords at Dawn to Pistols at Dusk. Bloomsbury, 2004. 34-5. Print.
If you enjoy this type of content, please consider donating to my Patreon!
No comments, yet...