In Retrospect: Lord Charlemont and learning

Abstract

LordCharlemont andlearning JamesKelly History Department, StPatrick's College,Drumcondra, Dublin9 James Caulfeild (1728-99),first earlofCharlemont (PL I) andfirst president oftheRoyalIrish Academy, wasoneofthemost interesting members of theIrish peerageintheeighteenth century whenmembers ofthat elitewere attheir mostimposing politically andinfluential culturally. Charlemont was popularly known as the'volunteer earl'becauseofthecareandattention with which hefilled thehonorary office ofcommander-in-chief ofthevolunteers.1 Thehighesteeminwhichthisappellation suggests he was heldis corroborated bythefact that hewaslongconsidered theleading patriot peerinthe HouseofLordsand,inhiscapacity ofeminence griseofthepatriot political interest, thefriend andpatron respectively ofHenry FloodandHenry Grattan .2 He was a self-described 'constitutional royalist',3 whosefinely-honed Whigpoliticalconvictions wereshapedbyhisreverence fortheconstitutional monarchy brought intobeingbytheGlorious Revolution of1688.His political careerwas defined byhiscommitment totheachievement offull Pl. I- Portrait ofJamesCaulfeild, earlofCharlemont (1728-99),PRIA, 1785-99.© RoyalIrish Academy. 1M.J.Craig,Thevolunteer earl,beingthelifeand times ofJamesCaulfeild, first earlof Charlemont (London,1948). LJames Kelly,HenryFlood: patriots andpoliticsin eighteenth-century Ireland(Dublin, 1998);James Kelly, Henry Grattan (Dublin,1993). 3 Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC), The manuscripts and correspondence of James, first earlofCharlemont, Charlemont toMalone,9 October1797(2 vols,London, 1891),ii,309. Proceedings oftheRoyalIrish Academy Vol.106C,395-407© 2006RoyalIrish Academy James Kelly constitutional rights for Ireland commensurate with itsstatus as a kingdom of theBritish crown.4 Inkeeping with hisefforts toadvance the agenda ofpolitical patriotism, brought closetorealisation bytheattainment oflegislative independence in 1782towhich hemadea significant contribution,5 Charlemont aspired alsoto enhance thesocialandeconomic fabric ofthekingdom, andthewell-being of itspopulation bypromoting improvement andeconomic development. Hewas notanimproving landlord intheconventional sensesinceagricultural matters heldlittle appeal,buthecontrived tocreate an improved environment byhis commitment tothe finest standards inart andarchitecture. Thushisrecruitment ofthearchitect William Chambers todesignandoversee theconstruction of hissuburban villaat Marino, on theoutskirts ofDublin,seta standard for architectural sophistication thathad fewpeersin Britain or Ireland. While Charlemont House, which served ashisprimary residence, provided him with a bespoke areainwhich hecouldlive, entertain and, notleast, display ina refined setting themedals, paintings, sculpture andrarebooks,which he purchased at considerable expenseandimported from all overEurope.6Significantly, Charlemont wasillateasewith thecodeofhonour - that emblematical feature oftheancienrégime aristocratic elite - for though thecourtesy andpoliteness that were hallmarks ofhisconduct ensured hedidnot issueorreceive challenges, hewasunwilling tocriticise duelling andheserved as a precise, ifreluctant, second when calledupontoperform that function.7 As thedescription ofhischaracter thus farsuggests, Charlemont was a complex, sensitive figure. Thisis wellillustrated bytheattack of'nervous diffidence' that'totally disabled'himforsomeyears,and thatdissuaded himfrom making a formal politicalspeechthereafter, whenhe sought to advancea programme ofpolitical reform inthe1750s.Thisdiminished his political effectiveness, butitalso encouraged hisengagement inintellectual pursuits - anengagement whichachieved a notable peakwhen, having played animportant part, including hosting theinitial meeting, inthefoundation of theRoyalIrishAcademy, he was an attentive first president.8 Charlemont 's intellectual activity isperhaps theleast well-known aspect ofhisbiography, for though hiscontribution totheestablishment oftheRoyalIrish Academy has 4 JamesKelly,'A genuineWhig and patriot: Lord Charlemont 's politicalcareer',in M. McCarthy (ed.),LordCharlemont andhiscircle(Dublin, 2001),7-38. 5James Kelly, Prelude tounion: Anglo-Irish politics inthe1780s(Cork,1992). 6Jane Meredith, 'Letters between friends: LordCharlemont 'slibrary andother matters', Irish Architectural andDecorative Studies 4 (2001),53-77. 7See HMC,Charlemont, Charlemont toFlood,30December 1772,i,313inwhich herelates hisexperience as LordBellamont's second;James Kelly, Thatdamn d thing calledhonourduelling inIreland, 1570-1860(Cork,1995),109,280. 8 See R.B. McDowell,'The mainnarrative', in T. Ó Raifeartaigh (ed.), TheRoyalIrish Academy: a bicentennial history, 1785-1985(Dublin,1985),9-11,15-16. 396 LordCharlemont andlearning beenamply chronicled, itconstitutes butthemost public part ofanintellectual Odyssey that waslifelong butwasprimarily for private edification. Themost obviousindication ofthisisprovided bythefact that heleft moreintheway ofunpublished manuscripts than published texts. Charlemont's loveoflearning was a product, first andforemost, ofan extended grand tour. Prior tohisembarkation for Europe in1746,agedeighteen, Charlemont hadsuccumbed tothetemptation of'cardsandlatehours'. As a result, hisguardians setaside'allthoughts' ofhisproceeding touniversity,9 and he was sentinstead on a grand tourinthecompany ofEdwardMurphy, his tutor. Murphy's positive influence canbe suggested bythefact that itwasfrom himthat Charlemont obtained a 'masterly' setof'78 bustsand22 statues ... modelled ... atRomefrom thetrue antique originals' bySimon Vierpyl, which werebequeathed in 1868bythethird earlofCharlemont totheRoyalIrish Academy.10 Charlemont's owninterest inandknowledge ofartandarchitecture wereprofoundly shaped byhisextended stayinItaly, butwhilehehadthisin common with many grand tourists from Britain aswellasIreland, hewasunusual inthat, inaddition toclassics, heembraced a lifelong loveofItaly andofItalian literature. Thefoundation for this wasprovided byhislinguistic ability. While abroad, Charlemont achieved fluency inFrench andItalian, which, when added tohiscompetence inGreek andLatin, provided himwith a range oflinguistic knowledge that permitted himtopursue hisessentially amateur involvement in intellectual pursuits toa levelthat fewofhispeerscouldequal.Italsoallowed himtocontemplate publishing...