The History of “Cashel Byron Stewart”

My son Cashel Byron Stewart hits the benchmark of 30 years old today so I hope you’ll forgive a sentimental old father the indulgence of doing something here in his honor. And after all, there is precedent. I did a big spread here on his 18th birthday, with photos and an original song dedicated to him, accessible here. Since that earlier post in 2013, Cashel has graduated from college, married his college sweetheart, traveled extensively throughout the country and the world, has worked for his local city government for eight years, and started his own business. There’s a kind of echo to the occasion. I was 30 when Cash was born. At that age, I was working at the Big Apple Circus, starting down a path that led me in wonderful, unexpected directions. So Cashel was also literally a newborn the first time he entered a circus tent. NOW you can be envious.

With one Cashel Byron Stewart tribute under my belt, what’s left to be done in that department? I thought of something less self-indulgent that you, the general interest reader, might actually enjoy. An explication of the cultural significance of his name. Names, like words, are just sounds, they possess no necessary meaning beyond that which is assigned and attributed to them by the people who use them. I tend to be obsessed with such meaning, though, which is why I am a writer. I have already done two posts on my own name (here and here) and just thought of a third one. My ex and I both gave a great deal of thought to both of our sons’ names, it wasn’t just random. So here’s a cultural history of the names.

We begin with the one we inherited. We’re Stewarts, which puts us in the unusual position of knowing something about our family background going back over 1,000 years. The name has long been associated with Scotland, though the origins of the family line lay in France. The oldest ancestor we know about is a Frankish knight known as Hato of Dol (ca. 988-1060), who was brought in to serve at the court of the Duke of Brittany (Dol is a town in Brittany). His son Flaald, or Flaad, became seneschal (major-domo) to the Archbishop of Dol. Flaald’s son Alan Fitz Flaad inherited his title and position. Allied with Henry I, father and son crossed the channel with him when he assumed the English throne.

Alan’s son Walter fitz Alan (ca. 1090-1177) was named Lord High Steward to the King of Scotland, thus becoming the progenitor of all genuine Stewarts, Stuarts, Stewards, and several different but rarer spelling variations. The Steward was a role not unlike that of the seneschal, or chief of staff,, and was passed down hereditarily for generations. At any rate, this is the point at which the family became Scottish. Today, millions bear the name, most of them neither knowing nor caring about the origin.

One of the lines (not my direct patrilineal one) became royal. The first Stuart king, Robert II, grandson of Robert the Bruce, ascended the throne of Scotland in 1371 and ruled until the union that formed Great Britain, reigning over the joined nations from 1603 through 1714 — with notoriously mixed results. The “Stuart” spelling originates with Mary Queen of Scots while exiled in France (the French have no “W”).

Of course, the only thing I inherited was the name — and I guess something of the Gallic arrogance that has clearly motivated my ancestors for centuries. My ex, on the other hand, is extremely (and proudly) Irish. It was she who suggested the name Cashel. This name too has associations with tribal monarchies, for better or worse. It is modified from the Irish word caiseal, which means “castle”. The Rock of Cashel is a geographical feature in Tipperary which was the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster starting in about the 4th century. Forts were built there over the centuries, a tall round tower, an entire cathedral, a graveyard, and other buildings. It’s now a picturesque ruin. The name of Cashel was also given to the nearby town, and to several products made in the region, for example, a certain variety of blue cheese. And it is used as a given name from time to time. The nephew of one of my oldest friends has the name as well.

Now, I also have Irish, Scots-Irish, and Anglo-Irish roots, and my love for Irish culture is mighty strong, so I was more than good with this name. But it especially clicked because, as a fan of George Bernard Shaw I knew of his 1882 novel Cashel Byron’s Profession, one of his earliest literary efforts. It’s a pretty obscure work, and neither Shaw himself nor critics have ever rated it high in his oeuvre, but it has its virtues. It’s about a boxer who romances a young society lady and is compelled to keep what he does for a living a secret. It is a kind of dry run in certain ways for aspects of Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1893) and Pygmalion (1913) — with genders reversed. There have been theatrical adaptations of it, including one by Shaw, but none that have made a huge splash. As a fan of the boxing genre in all its forms, I am hoping for some major stage or screen version to come along, for I think it would lend itself to that.

Anyway, the fact that this book existed sort of made the sale for me in terms of naming our son after it. The plot isn’t relevant so much, but I do love the fact that it’s from the pen of a socialist author, and is about class differences, thus it makes it a bit of antidote to the seeming monarchical pretensions of Cashel’s first and last name. (Note to right wing pin-heads: you can know and honor and respect the history of your ancestors without approving of the barbarism that characterized earlier eras. Monarchy? Barbaric. Slavery? Barbaric. Wars of conquest? Barbaric. Feel differently? You: barbarian).

As for “Byron” in the name? Obviously Shaw chose the name Cashel to connect his character to Ireland, to make him one of the people. Byron is obviously a reference to the Romantic poet and mercenary George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824), the dashing and unconventional fighter. I admire Byron of course, and have posted about him here and here and am planning another post in him, so that fits as well. Still, all things remaining the same, I likely wouldn’t have included “Byron” in the name without the “Cashel”. The historical Lord Byron was a rake and a bounder. And while I admire physical courage, it can’t be said that I identify with it. But my son is brave in ways that I am not, so it suits him. He gets it from his mother!

Okay, I know this isn’t what you signed on for, but I believe in honoring special days (tomorrow happens to be another). I’m going to try get you another show biz post or two today before the sun sets. Thanks for bearing with the doting, if not the dotage, of this dotard!