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OF THE PLUNDERING PIRATES

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THE PLUNDERING PIRATE STORY
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STORY OF THE REAL PLUNDERING PIRATES


DIRECTORY OF THE PIRATE STORY - HOME
Coining Rogue Sea Thieves as Pirates
  • Profiteering & Buccaneering to Pirating
  • Ushering in the Golden Age of Piracy
  • Pirate Fact Check Matey
  • Lawless Bandits Follow the Pirate Code
  • Pirate Democracy & Equality for All
The Pirate Genre, Language & Lore
  • Rise of a Pirate Archetype
  • ​Glorification & Glitzy Glamorization
  • The Allure of Pirate Lore
  • Literary Narrative on Pirating Narrative
Notable Portraits of Plundering Pirates
  • ​Notable Plunders of Booty and Bling
  • Notable Crimes and Torture
  • Notorious Captures and Hangings
  • ​Bits and Bobs of Notable Notes miscellaneous notes of the pirate life

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ALLURE OF THE LORE


IT ALL STARTS WITH MUSIC … the Sea Shanty
Music was an important part of morale aboard any ship – pirate or otherwise. Often there would be a musician aboard and tavern songs were popular with seamen and the concertina (‘squeeze box’) was the most popular on-board instrument. These songs, called chants or ‘Sea Shanty’, became part of the pirate lore. There were songs or sea shanties like:

Capstan Shanty or Windlass Shanty – song to sing while raising the anchor of a ship.

Short Drag Shanty – song sung while raising the masthead or trimming the sails.

Halyard Shanty – song sung while raising the heavy sails from the yards, the wooden cross-pieces.

Pumping Shanty – sung while pumping out the water when emptying the bilge.

Forecastle Shanty – sung in the quarters of the crew members, the forecastle (fo’ksul) is the forward part of the main deck.

Celebration Shanty – sung to celebrate anything worth celebrating, such as battle victories. The most known song is a tavern song called Blow the Man Down.

An example of a different song:

Here's to the grog, boys, the jolly, jolly grog
Here's to the rum and tobacco
I've a-spent all my tin with the lassies drinking gin
And to cross the briny ocean I must wander
- from Here's to the Grog

LEGENDS AND LORE

DAVY JONES’ LOCKER is a metaphor for the bottom of the sea - the state of death among drowned sailors and shipwrecks. It is used as a euphemism for drowning or shipwrecks in which the sailors' and ships' remains are consigned to the depths of the ocean (to be sent to Davy Jones' Locker). The concept of Davy Jones was combined with the legend of the Flying Dutchman in the Pirates of the Caribbean, in which Davy Jones' Locker is portrayed as a purgatory place of punishment for those who crossed Davy Jones. Jones is portrayed as a captain assigned to ferry those drowned at sea to the afterlife before he corrupted his purpose out of anger at his betrayal by his lover, the sea-goddess Calypso. Davy Jones is portrayed in the movie as an enigma of the sea, featuring octopus arms for a beard and crab claw for a hand. The origins of the name of Davy Jones, the sailors' devil, are unclear, with a 19th-century dictionary tracing Davy Jones to a "ghost of Jonah". Other explanations of this nautical superstition have been put forth, including an incompetent sailor or a pub owner who kidnapped sailors.

  • TO BE IN DAVY'S GRIP: To be close to death, or frightened.
  • TO HAVE THE DAVIES OR THE JONESEYS: To be frightened.
  • TO SEE YOU TO DAVY JONES: To threaten to kill someone.

The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue' from 1811 includes this definition: "DAVID JONES. The devil, the spirit of the sea: called Necken in the north countries, such as Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Linguists consider it most plausible that Davy was inspired by Saint David of Wales, whose name was often invoked by Welsh sailors, and Jones by the Biblical Jonah.

FIDDLER’S GREEN - is an after-life where there is perpetual mirth, a fiddle that never stops playing, and dancers who never tire. In 19th-century English maritime folklore, it was a kind of after-life for sailors who had served at least fifty years at sea.

THE KRAKEN
The Kraken is a mythical creature with huge tentacles that would leave a dangerous, deadly whirlpool in its wake. For centuries, stories of the Kraken have been told in various cultures, and numerous sightings have been reported of what many people believe to have been the legendary kraken. Legends say it exists to terrify sailors
Pirates and sailors would tell stories of this multi- armed monster that could reach the top of the ship’s main mast. Legend has it that the Kraken would haunt the seas of Scandinavia and harass vessels until they would capsize in order to eat the ship’s crew. If the Kraken were unable to capsize the boat by wrapping their arms around the hull, it would start swimming in circles to create a whirlpool around the ship, causing it to sink. The Kraken could even eat a ship’s crew in just one bite! Those who weren’t eaten by the sea creature would drown. Leaving none alive to share their story.

Many claim that the Kraken is the largest sea monster to have ever been imagined, and whether the story is true is still under great debate. However, over the course of hundreds of years, sailors claimed sightings of gigantic squids (some 40 to 50 feet long), which many thought to be the Kraken. Interestingly, the original tale of this massive beast is that, in fact, there were no tentacles and that the kraken more closely resembled a crab or whale.

King Syerre of Norway believed in the Kraken as he wrote in 1180 that the kraken was a “large, squid-like monster. He would warn sailors of the many dangers of the sea, including massive sea monsters that would protect the shores of Norway.” Then in 1752, a bishop published a (presumably non-fiction) book titled Natural History of Norway. The book included a section on sea monsters and the Kraken was described as “round, flat, and full of arms.” By the late 1800s, there were so many sightings that scientists began paying attention to the beast. Scientists believed the Architeuthis (a real-life Giant squid) inspired the tales of the Kraken.

PIRATE SUPERSTITIONS
Sailors are believed to be members of the third oldest occupation, and some superstitions involving the sea date back to ancient times. Prior to becoming privateers, pirates commonly sailed on merchant or naval ships and many things were unexplained and feared.

Sea Creatures
Sharks and turtles were creatures connected with luck. If sharks followed in the wake of a ship, someone aboard would soon die. They patiently waited for their meal to be consigned to a watery grave.

Pirates often dined on turtles, but if they killed one and didn’t eat it, they had bad luck. Sailors who carried turtle bones in their pockets, on the other hand, enjoyed good luck.

Manta rays, also known as devilfish or sea devils, were feared as much as sharks, for sailors believed these sea creatures could attach themselves to a ship’s anchor and drag it under the waves to Davy Jones’ Locker.

Lighting up St. Elmo’s Fire
Legend says that Saint Erasmus, also known as Saint Elmo, died during a sea storm. Just before his death, he promised the crew he would return and show himself in some form if they were to survive. Sailors saw a mysterious light at the masthead of their vessel and assumed Erasmus had kept his word that they would not drown. So the electrical discharge that creates bright light around a ship’s masts and yards during a storm came to be known as St. Elmo’s Fire. Sailors believed its appearance was a sign that the worst of the storm was over, and as long as the light remained high among the masts, luck followed them. If it shone on the deck, though, bad luck was certain. If the light ringed a man’s head, he would soon die.

We get it - women were bad luck
One of the more interesting theories behind the curse of a woman on the ship was from a more maternal side. The ship itself was always referred to as “she” and considered the mother protecting the ship and her crew from the ravages of the sea. So she might be made jealous if other women were aboard. That said, even though having a woman aboard was considered bad luck, bare-breasted women were thought to calm the seas. Many people believe that’s why the figureheads carved into the bows of sailing ships were usually topless—and m well-endowed.

Forget a parrot. Pirates wanted a ship cat. Specifically a black cat with extra toes.
Some sailors believed that polydactyl cats were better at catching pests, possibly connected with the suggestion that extra digits give a polydactyl cat better balance, important when at sea. Cats were believed to have miraculous powers that could protect ships from dangerous weather. It was believed that cats could start storms through magic stored in their tails. If a ship's cat fell or was thrown overboard, it was thought that it would summon a terrible storm to sink the ship and that if the ship was able to survive, it would be cursed with nine years of bad luck. If a cat licked its fur against the grain, it meant a hail storm was coming; if it sneezed it meant rain; and if it was frisky it meant wind.

A STORY FROM GREEK MYTHOLOGY
How to put the fear of god in a pirate
The Tyrrhenians were the most notorious pirates before the age of Rome who were synonymous with the slave trade. In this myth, Dionysus, the god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and frenzy, was captured by Tyrrhenian Pirates. He was a god but was fond of disguising himself as human to wander the world. He was captured as he travelled the islands of the Greek Aegean. Dionysus' mistake was actually his disguise. Being a more refined god, it can be assumed he was more inclined to dress in a more regal attire so when he disguised himself, he chose very high quality materials as that was his nature despite his intentions to fit in. His appearance did not disguise him, it made him stand out. It was the impression of such extreme wealth that the pirates assumed he must have a royal pedigree. He was captured under an expectation of a big return when they sold him into slavery.

Once upon the ship, the pirates unsuccessfully tried to restrain him using ropes despite the warnings of their helmsman who recognized him for a god. He urged the rest of the crew to release him, beg for his forgiveness and to worship him. The captain refused to consider the plea and they tried again to restrain Dionysus.

“They sought to bind him with rude bonds, but the bonds would not hold him, and the withes fell far away from his hands and feet: and he sat with a smile in his dark eyes. Then the helmsman understood all and cried out at once to his fellows and said: ‘Madmen! L
look What god is this whom you have taken and bind, strong that he is? Not even the well-built ship can carry him. Surely this is either Zeus or Apollon who has the silver bow, or Poseidon, for he looks not like mortal men but like the gods who dwell on Olympos. Come, then, let us set him free upon the dark shore at once: do not lay hands on him, lest he grow angry and stir up dangerous winds and heavy squalls.’” - Homeric Hymn 7 to Dionysus (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th to 4th B.C.)

The god unleashed his wrath and transformed himself into a lion. He conjured a bear to help him attack the crew. After he killed the captain he filled their ship with spreading vines and phantom beasts, and when the remaining pirates jumped into the sea, he transformed them into dolphins.
The only one spared was the helmsman. It was the man’s wisdom and kindness that spared him as he was the one who recognized the regal power of a god. The other pirates had not shown wisdom and respect when they failed to listen and treated a god with no reverence. For that the pirates paid the price. Dionysus spared the helmsman for showing true wisdom. For that, Dionysus revealed his identity to him and the man pledged fealty and he worshiped Dionysus as a faithful follower for the rest of his life.

"[Dionysos] had power to change those Maeonian mariners and sink them in the sea."
NEXT >> A LITERARY NARRATIVE

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LEARN THE REAL STORY OF PIRATES
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Democracy - Pirate Code ~ Notable Notes
Notorious Pirates ~ Booty ~ Hangings
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CLICK TO ACCESS THE DICTIONARY
THE PIRATE DICTIONARY- real and invented words, terms & slang and expressions
Home ~ Pirates ~ Captains - Crew - Punishment
Ships ~Sails
~ Flags - Navigation ~ Food ~ Booze Gear ~ Weapons​ ~ ​Slang/Expressions
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The words were invented - just like Star Trek - to build a vocabulary for the genre. The colorful words and phrases don’t come from Pirates. The authentic words refer to ships, sails, food, gear etc. These are part of the vernacular of the time period and come from nautical sources or the military. Read more here. This dictionary is formed from real words and terms used in Golden Age and the jargon for sailors and shipbuilding. The pirate specific terms come from Johnson’s nonfiction pirate reference book written in the late 17th century. See it here.

​And the dictionary contains the slang you need to Talk Like a Pirate in September.
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BONUS BOOTY - words related to pirates
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LEXICON OF PIRATES IN OBSCURITY
the rare, unusual & obscure words related to pirates
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View the rare, unusual and obscure words - some even obsolete - that apply to pirates, their lives and their world. Obscure words form the very foundation of this site - the dictionary is like giving you an expected wage. The lexicon is giving you a share of the best booty and the bling.
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  • Beautifully Obscure Words
    • Tracing the Etymology of a Word
    • Typing the Typeface of Writing Types
    • WORD LIST: Feelings and Emotions >
      • FEATURE: Our Capacity for Love
    • FEATURED WORD LIST COLLECTIONS
    • BEAUTIFUL WORD LISTS
    • WORD LIST: Translating Your World >
      • Index of Untranslatable Words (Alphabetical)
  • WORD LIST: Rolling Log of Beautiful Words
  • WORD LIST: The Languages From Around the World
    • FEATURE: Words of the World >
      • DEFINING LOVE with a French Romance >
        • Fantastic Flair of Everyday French - Nature
  • IT’S ABOUT TIME! Website Housekeeping
    • FULL SITE INDEX - SITEMAP - All the Beautiful Words
    • A SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS - My Vocabulary Books and Blogs >
      • Download - The Logophile Lexicon - Words About Words
  • WORD LIST: People, Places and Things
    • To Sleep Perchance to Dream
  • WRITING SYSTEMS