William Aytoun
William Edmondstoune Aytoun - A Famous Scottish Poet & Humorist
William Edmondstoune Aytoun (1813 - 1865) William Aytoun was born, into a literary family (which included Sir Robert Aytoun), in Edinburgh on June 21, 1813. William was the only son of Roger Aytoun, a writer to the signet (a superior order of solicitors found only in Scotland) and, from an early age, William was heavily influenced by his mother's love of literature, ballad poetry and history, especially the Scottish history of the Jacobites (those sympathetic to the cause of the Royal House of Stuart).
William's father was keen for him to follow in his footsteps and employed the services of a private tutor for William. After three years preparation, in 1824 at the age of eleven, William was sent to the Edinburgh Academy. In 1828 he continued his education at the University of Edinburgh where he became a a member of the Speculative Society and spent much time reading British literature and history. In 1830 William Edmondstoune Aytoun completed his first work, a collection of six poems, "Poland, Homer, and Other Poems" which was published in 1832.
In 1833 William reluctantly moved to London to study law but, after only a few months, in September (1833) he decided to move to Aschaffenburg in Bavaria, Germany to study the German language and German literature. During his time in Germany he worked on a translation of "Faust" (not published).
In April 1834 he returned to the UK to work in law at his father's chambers and in 1835 he was admitted as a writer to the Signet and was called to the Scottish Bar in 1840 and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates. William's first love was literature he had contributed some of his translations, of German ballads by Johann Ludwig Uhland, to Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in 1836.
In 1840 Aytoun published a small volume, the "Life and Times of Richard I" for the "Family Library" and from 1841 to 1844 he collaborated with Theodore Martin in a series of humorous and satirical papers for Tait's and Fraser' (which were later published, in 1845, as the "Bon Gaultier Ballads"). In 1844 William Aytoun joined the staff of Blackwoods and contributed articles about politics, society, and literature. In 1845 Aytoun was appointed professor of rhetoric and belles lettres at Edinburgh University.
On 11 April, 1849, William Edmondstoune Aytoun married Jane Emily Wilson (the youngest daughter of Professor John Wilson "Christopher North"). In the same year he was conferred the honorary degree of M.A. by Edinburgh University and his most famous works, "Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers", were published. The "Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers" was a selection of Jacobite ballads and the publication was extremely successful for a sustained period (it reached it's 32nd edition within thirty-two years) both in Scotland and abroad.
In 1852 William Edmondstoune Aytoun was appointed the Sheriff of Orkney and Shetland, chiefly in recognition of the support he had given the Tory Party (especially that shown during the Anti-Corn-Law period) and in 1853 Oxford University bestowed upon him the honorary degree of D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Law). In 1854 Aytoun's best-known poem "Firmilian, or the Student of Badajoz, a Spasmodic Tragedy" was published. The poem was a return to his earlier style of poetry being a light verse of humour at the expense of the spasmodic school (a group of poets and critics which included Alexander Smith).
In 1856 "Bothwell" was published but not well received. In June 1858 Aytoun published a two-volume work "The Ballads of Scotland" which was a collection of 139 Scottish ballads which had been composed prior to the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland. In the December of that year a collection of some of the translations he made with Sir Theodore Martin for Blackwoods Magazine were published entitled the "Poems and Ballads of Goethe". In 1860 the Associated Societies of Edinburgh University elected him their honorary president and in 1861 his novel "Norman Sinclair " was published.
William Edmondstoune Aytoun had been greatly effected by the death of his wife, four days after their 10th wedding anniversary,on 15 April 1859 and the death of his mother in November 1861 added a further blow and his health began to deteriorate. In the December of 1863 he married Miss Kinnear but sadly, less than 2 years later, on the 4th of August 1865, William Edmondstoune Aytoun died at Blackhills, near Elgin, Moray, Scotland.
Read the Poems of William Edmondstoune Aytoun in our Scottish Poetry section.
Back to