Lord Byron dogs into the water, each with an arm in the ship Captain’s new scarlet waistcoat, to the annoyance of the Captain and the amusement of the crew. Byron had a great love of animals, most notably for a Newfoundland dog named Boatswain. When the animal contracted rabies, Byron nursed him, albeit unsuccessfully, without any thought or fear of becoming bitten and infected. Although deep in debt at the time, Byron commissioned an impressive marble funerary monument for Boatswain at Newstead Abbey, larger than his own, and the only building work which he ever carried out on his estate. In his
Boatswain Norse "sveinn" ("swain"), meaning a young man, apprentice, a follower, retainer or servant. Directly translated to modern Norwegian it would be "båtsvenn", while the actual crew title in Norwegian is "båtsmann" (""boats-man""). While the phonetic spelling "bosun" is reported as having been observed since 1868, this latter spelling was used in Shakespeare's "The Tempest" written in 1611, and as "Bos'n" in later editions. The rank of boatswain is the oldest rank in the Royal Navy, and its origins can be traced back to the year 1040. In that year, when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the