Mission

And this year, the event was subtitled "Bagley's Bounty" by the event organizers in Put-in-Bay in homage to all the help Michael and Jess have given them in bringing folks out to lend an authentic pirate presence, so you really, really want to be sure to come out and be a part of it. (I suggest we all buy event T-shirts and point at our chests every time we see Michael. Well that's what I plan to do.) (Poor Michael..) Seriously, if I could only attend one event a year, this would be it. It's just tooooo much fun. (Check out last year's Surgeon's Journal for proof. )

The thing I think you would call my ditty bag contains two pocket fleams, a set of folding fleams, a variety of forceps, the tip the clyster syringe, some loose needles (mostly because it's cloth and I can't easily get them out), a scalpel, a bistoury knife and a fid that has been chewed on.

People brought in to serve in a home or office.They could be hired people (although that's the least likely), slaves or indentured servants. I would guess the last one if you're referring to the quote about ladies running away with them. They would be unlikely to run away with slaves given the beliefs of the time.

Only moderators or admins can move posts and edit titles. So I moved it from the March forum to the June forum, changed the title and added the date to the original post for you. You can edit your posts if you need to make any changes to them.

That one is hilarious. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Disney-Pin-TINK-LANTERN-BINZL-/161552637401

Don't start with the Bond folks actual design, just make your own. Then you should be safe. (Besides, so long as you're not making money from it or directly infringing on their copyright somehow, I don't think they'd even take notice.) Octopus-based pirate flags are already around and no one seems concerned about them. For example, the Medusa crew uses one, although theirs is loosely based on the Captain America Hydra flag from what I've been told. (So far the Marvel folks don't seem concerned.)

So this is a question about a fictional flag for a fictional bio. It doesn't really belong in this forum. I'd move it to the proper forum, but I am not sure what that would be. Fiction? Charts, Arts & Wanted Posters? The Crow's Nest? Just out of curiosity I looked up the Surname 'Kraken' and there are none (or at least not enough statistically to be noted) in the UK. They are mostly concentrated in the New World countries which were not well settled during the golden age: Mexico, US, Canada and Australia. This suggests to me that it did not arise here, but was either adopted by those without surnames or was imported by the few old world countries where the name Kraken exists in a statistically significant fashion. (If it did arise the new world countries, it would be a Native American, Aboriginal or Mesoamerican name, which wouldn't suit your purposes very well anyhow.) Old world countries with a notable number of Krakens include Poland, Bohemia, the Cossack Hetmanate and Denmark. The only of these old world countries to produce significant numbers of pirates during the golden age were the Danish. So if you want to frame your story historically, your family would have been Danes. As a side note, it is interesting that most of these old world countries sporting Krakens border Germany (except the Cossacks) and yet there are no significant numbers of Krakens in Germany itself. I would guess (based on the concentration and spelling) that its origin as a surname is probably Polish in origin. The first Polish-Danish relations date back to the beginning of the first Polish dynasty, (the Piast dynasty). In 996, the first Polish king, Mieszko I, gave his daughter Świętosława in marriage to the Danish King Svend Forkbeard. This further supports Poland as the origin of the surname Kraken. Kraken doesn't mean anything in Danish or Polish, although it does mean 'crack' in Dutch.

Are you looking for historical precedents for cephlapods on a flag? I can almost guarantee you there are none. I talk about the flags which are actually described during (or at least near) the golden age of piracy in my article on Memento Mori. If you want to read it, you will find that page here. The kraken is not mentioned in relation to pirates because the word didn't appear until Carolus Linnaeus used it in his book Systema Naturae in 1735. (This is about 5-10 years after the golden age of piracy, depending on how you define it.) In the many sailors accounts from period and near-period that I've read, octopi and squid are rarely mentioned. They were generally of more interest to adventurous naturalists than to sailors. Although some near-period texts do mention sea monsters in the same way they mention ghosts, will-o-the-wisps, werewolves and other fantastic creatures. You can read about some of those accounts in my Halloween article. (While there are some sea monsters mentioned and even drawn by Ambroise Paré, I don't recall much in the way of giant squid-related material. They are mostly people-fish sorts of things.) It would be an interesting idea for next Halloween's article, given the current fascination engendered by the POTC movies, though. I have a feeling it would mostly be a myth-busting sort of article however.)

Actually if I had a flag, I would be a captain, something I believe we would all agree I am not qualified for. (Nor interested in as it happens. A land- based surgical practice for someone who has served at sea was often a well paying position.)

Actually, I find interest in historical accuracy to be on the rise at the events I attend. Michael Bagley basically carved out a small PC niche in the party atmosphere of the Pirate Fest on Put-in-Bay there which over the last 4 years has all but overtaken the Ren Fest attitude that dominated the first year of the event. In fact, most of the fantasy clothing is now on the audience, not on those who are there participating in the performances at the event. Even Fort Taylor has seen a decided shift in interest to historical-based presentation from my perspective. It grows more acute each year. This is not to say that there aren't those who enjoy the fantasy aspects, but with all the historical programs on TV, people are better informed and more interested in the historical perspective than they were when I first started doing the surgeon display. I suspect if you put together a period accurate public dance instructional at one of these events and publicized it well, you might find interest. I also find if you repeat things like that, interest grows from year to year as word of mouth spreads. People will always enjoy things they participate in and learn from over simple presented entertainment. (I learned that from doing skills trainings a decade ago.)

Next you'll be asking why so many people accept mermaids, fire dancing and faeries at pirate events. (Answer: I think it's overlap from Ren Fairs.) For reference, here are some near-period drawings of mermaids. Derceto, from Athanasius Kircher's Oedipus Aegyptiacus (1652) A Triton and a Siren of Nilus from The Workes of That Famous Chirurgion Ambroise Parey, p. 664 (1649)

I've been told not to trust Ellms, although I also have read that his book is basically a rehash of Charles Johnson's. That being said, Johnson's account does say, "when they took a priest, they made him say mass at the mainmast, and would afterwards get on his back and ride him about the decks, or else load and drive him like a beast." (Charles Johnson, History of the Pirates, 1834 Edition, p. 125) Based on a failed attempt to take a Portuguese ship, the same account explains that "he used all the Portuguese, who fell into his hands, who were many, very barbarously, cutting off their ears and noses". Johnson's account also says than when Condent's crew were faced with an Indian who who threatened to blow up the ship. Condent jumped into the hold where the Indian was and "ran up and shot the Indian. When he was dead, the crew hacked him to pieces, and the gunner, ripping up his belly, tore out his heart, broiled and ate it." (Charles Johnson, History of the Pirates, 1834 Edition, p. 123) While not intrinsically cruel (since the Indian was dead), it does suggest the crew had a rather violent and bizarre nature. Condent also had some of the officers of a ship they had taken whipped and pickled for poor treatment of the sailors on their ship. So there's plenty of evidence that his was a cruel crew.

Here's a delightful bit of detail on sailors surviving in the wilderness from Ed Fox's book Pirates in Their Own Words. It is an excerpt of Richard Hawkins second account given to The British Journal on 22 August, 1724 from when he and some other men were on an otherwise uninhabited island near 'Benacca' (today called Guanaja - located in the Bay of Honduras) where they had been left by Francis Spriggs' pirates: "Here we found a Well of good fresh Water, Soldiers [Caribbean hermit crabs] and Guayanas [lizards - possibly Cnemidophorus lemniscatus]; and from Benacco we fetch’d Plenty of Cocoa-Nuts. We saw several Fish swimming about us, but we were very uneasy, not knowing how to come at them: At length Tobias Martin, my boatswain, (who is come home with me,) found a Tenpenny Nail in the Canoe; this he __ crook’d like a Hook, and made it fast to a Line of the old Man’s, and therewith caught a Rock-fish as large as a Cod; which, with the Broth made us a good Meal. Some Days after, we shot at another of them with a single Ball, which being in Shoal Water, and among the Rocks, we had the good Fortune to take." (Fox, p. 303-4)

Very nice. :)

From my experience, most of the customers at Joann are women and you are one tall, slightly forbidding-looking guy, Patrick. Plus, just on general principles I suspect the sort of women who sew tend to be introverts (although this is certainly not entirely true) and would rather deal with other women. It's psychology.

It probably wouldn't even occur to me to wear my garb at Halloween if I wanted to dress up for the holiday. Someone at an event last year asked me about my "costume" and I was shocked to hear it called that. It's just another suit of clothes I wear. Even if I did decide to wear my pirate garb, everyone would think I was a pilgrim, so it wouldn't work anyhow. I would wear my ringwraith or rebel fleet trooper cosplay outfits, though. Those are costumes. If I had really good Hollywood garb, I'd wear that in a minute. It's perfect costume fodder. (I don't know about the rest of you, but movie pirates at Halloween are a fond memory from my youth.)

I am resurrecting this thread because my pirate surgeon article for this month is about memento mori during the golden age of piracy. It gets into how memento mori symbols were used in stories, art, grave art, anatomy books, jewelry and pirate flags. In fact, I actually added a story (and an image) which I found in this very thread.

Wow. There is a period or near-period book that does just that, although it's been picked apart by the critics here as not doing a good job of representing the other countries clothing, rather showing it as the author saw it. Trouble is, I don't know the name of it and I don't have it because it's not related to the topic of my interest. I'm almost certain it's been discussed in one of the older threads the Sewing Room subforum.

"Evaluating this thing I just watched is like trying to evaluate the Mona Lisa after somebody poured acid on the canvas." Ha ha ha ha ha! And... Ha ha ha ha ha! Hee hee....

Aw. c'mon you guys. I want to see where he goes with this.

Uh huh. Do keep us informed on how this all goes for you; we shall follow your future progress with great interest.

You'll want to check with Leigh/Lily Alexander on that one. A LOT has changed since 2009 as far as park rules are concerned, so it could go either way. You can find her email all over the FTPI Website.

Wasn't there something about a catholic monk or priest whose twelve apostles were swinging around him? I don't recall Teonge ever getting into battle, but that's not what I look for and it's been years since I read his book. Why not read it and find out? You can get it on line for free. It seems to me that there was another chaplain who wrote about his experiences at sea around this time... yes, there was. Dr. John Covell was a clergyman who wrote a diary that included 1670-1679. You can get his book on line for free as well at archive.org. I only read the parts of Covell's book that interested me, but I seem to recall that he was told to go below with the surgeon during battle. (Not to help the surgeon, just so he would be out of harm's way.) Based on that limited information, I'd say the clergy generally didn't get involved in fighting.

Now this is amusing. I was the one who started the thread asking about the name (probably in regard to Stynky wanting to change the name and me wanting to keep it) and Beau was the one who gave the answer he just gave. I don't find any other discussion of the name in this forum. Captain Twill?