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Byron's Nature pp 65–104Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

In Quest of Cultural Ecology, A Romaunt

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Abstract

Hubbell compares Byron’s cultural ecology to Alexander von Humboldt’s social geography by studying Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Cantos I and II, and the Essay on the Geography of Plants. Both Humboldt and Byron used similar methodologies to achieve a similar understanding of how culture evolves from its specific bioregional natural systems. While Humboldt’s social geography has shaped social and scientific ecology, Byron’s cultural ecology has largely been ignored. Yet, Byron’s cultural ecology has influenced his philhellenism and his hope for a Greek renaissance. Byron’s cultural ecology was also foundational to the discourse of cultural patrimony, first used to contest Lord Elgin’s appropriation of the Acropolis marbles, and still at the core of international disputes over historical artifacts.

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  1. Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA, USA

    J. Andrew Hubbell

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Hubbell, J.A. (2018). In Quest of Cultural Ecology, A Romaunt. In: Byron's Nature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54238-6_3

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