Capt. "Mad Dog" Davies

For me it's the right tool to get the job done, or whatever weapon helps keep me pockets full and me head out of a noose. Me all-around favorite is me mortuary sword: short enough for boarding, long enough for a tavern brawl or duel, tough, resilient blade that cuts and thrusts equally well, and nice iron cage hand-guard to deliver a solid punch. I also have a Dutch cutlass with shell hand-guard for more serious "wet-work" at sea, an English Dragoon pistol in .61 calibre, and a double-edged dagger that I've used against all manner of edged weapons to great effect, especially rapiers. The bottom line, in me own humble opinion, is that a good pyrate is a professional fighter and should be able to pick up anything at hand and make a weapon of it.

Aye Master Hawkyns, 'tis an interesting question ye've posed. We crew of Ye Pyrate Brotherhood try to be as authentic as possible without being Fascists about it. As I've explained before in other postings, we concider ourselves "acting re-enacters" in that we have a scripted performance that we present to the public, leading up to a treasure hunt for the kids, but we do it in a way that tries its best to be historicaly accurate and still fit the image that most people have come to expect of pyrates. Ye PB are patterned after Buccaneers of the late 17th C. with cavalier hats and bucket boots, rather than the later tri-corn hats and buckled shoes look of the Golden Age. We shoot black powder weapons, including a swivel gun and a small cannon mounted on a naval carriage. We fight with blunted rapiers and cutlasses. As far as events go, we stick to maritime events and pyrate festivals. We've tried the Renn Faire thing just as spectators, but were not warmly received as we didn't fit in chronologically with the rest of the crowd. The same goes for the first year of the Hampton, Va. Blackbeard Festival where we had the opposite problem of representing too eary a period for them. Ironically we unintentionally stoled the show there because we fit the public's image of pyrates more than the more hard-core reenacting crews who were there. As an individual entity like our good shipmate Cascabel, one can have a variety of garb and equipment to fit a broad time range. As a group, Ye PB focuses on a specific period and works to maintain that look. Because of the earlier time period represented at Renn Faires, the folks who come out of that scene and decide to be pyrates seem, at least from our experience, to blend and adapt garb, weapons, etc. into a later time frame than they are really intended for. This is fine, as far as it goes, but is more fantasy than history, in my humble opinion. The bottom line in my book is lighten up, have fun, and appreciate how wide and diverse the pyrate reenacting scene is becoming. Cheers!

Lice. :)

As most pyrate vessels tended to be smaller, albeit faster and more manueverable, than their prizes, it's hard to imagine how pyrates would manage to swing up onto and over the railings of larger ships. However, according to one method I've read about, grapnels were used to draw the two craft together. At that point, a sail could then be lowered, and the yard, extending over the prize's railing, used as a gangplank to board the prize ship. Of course, this would only work on a square-rigger. For the most part, I think pyrate boarding operations were done either by stealth, as practiced by early buccaneers from dugout "piraguas", by subterfuge, or under open threat of annihilation by the pyrates, who tended to be numerically superior to the crews of their prey. :

I always thought that one of the better parts of being a pyrate was that for us, everday is Halloween. :)

Ahoy all hands in the NY, NJ, CT, and RI area, I found out about a pre-Christmas Pyrate Party on Long Island that's happening Sat., Dec. 13th. For info on location, etc. have a look at the host's website: www.jukejoint213.com. Ye Pyrate Brotherhood plans on attending, and though we don't really know this particular establishment, I traded a couple of e-mails with the owner, Cap'n Bob and it seems like it'll be a lot of fun. If you're interested, send him an e-mail yourself, he's a pretty funny guy and tries real hard to talk like a pyrate.

Ahoy Dreamie Darlin' , In my opinion the perfect "smoker" for ye would be one of Pedersoli's fine Queen Anne pistols. They're the right historic period design (Blackbeard loved 'em), are available in a selection of different finishes, well made, dependable, and beautiful to look at. You can see them for yerself at: www.thunder-ridge-muzzleloading.com/p_pistols Write back and let me know what ye think about 'em. If they don't suit yer taste, I'll try and recommend something else. Best regards.

Dreamie, Darlin' You've a serious fine look yerself, true to tell. What's more, ye seem to have the goods to back it up, not just alot o' smoke, but flames as well. Bloody good for you, sez I! I salute ye, and wish ye good fortune and rich prizes, to be sure.

Capt. William , I thank ye for your gracious compliments to meself and crew. New Orleans is one of me favorite places on Earth, and I'm tryin to get the crew to make a passage there one day, perhaps on the way to Pirates in Paradise. We'll be sure to send ye a signal if we do. To answer your question, a mortuary sword is a type of cage-hilted cavalry sword from around the mid to late 17th century. It has a tough straight blade that's good for cutting and thrusting alike. It's name was coined by 19th century collectors who thought the portrait often found engraved on the pommel was a representation of the excecuted King Charles I. This is strictly conjecture on their part, as no one really knows. To quote meself from an earlier posting, "a straight-bladed cavalry sword of the period. It's light, fast, tough, short enough for use at sea, and long enough to keep an opponant at a safe killing distance in a tavern fight. It's capable of delivering a cut or thrust with equal effectiveness and has a cage guard of iron knuckle bars to both protect the hand and land a solid punch. Very nice indeed."

Ye Pyrate Brotherhood's brigantine be named "Scorpion" (Sorry RumbaRue, we had it first, about 5 years now).

We crew of Ye Pyrate Brotherhood be bloody Buccaneers, circa 1666. Meself I wear a knee-length hunting frock of black calfskin, leather waistcoat, ruffled silk shirt with pearl buttons and ruffled stock, fringed sash, a variety of knee-breeches, knee-high bucket boots, and broad-brimmed Spanish cavalier hat with red and black ostrich plumes. I carry a double-edged dagger (always), English Dragoon pistol in .61 caliber, and depending on the engagement, either a Dutch cutlass or English Mortuary sword, either one worn hung from a leather baldrick. Ye PB is based from a complete encampment including the Captain's Pavillion, a tavern built of boards, barrels and sailcloth, a trestle dining table, and surgeon's tent with instruments o' the Art. We also have a small cannon on a Naval carriage, and a mounted swivel gun. :)

:) 'Tis none other than Meself be Captain of the "Scorpion", mates, or have ye forgotten me so bloody soon?! And if Monty's Wench be who I think she be, I ask her: "How's all our shipmates in beautiful Olcott Beach?" Ye Pyrate Brotherhood sends warmest regards.

Ahoy! To tell ye a bit about Ye Pyrate Brotherhood: We hail from Long Island, NY, home to that ne'er-do well foul-up Capt. Kidd (Note: the first one, not our good shipmate Capt. Kidd of the Free Men of the Sea, who's a decent chap to be sure). The core crew membership's been around since 1999 with crew comin' and goin' as it suits 'em. At present we've about an even dozen steady pyrates on board. We are in essence "acting renacters" who combine story-telling with choreographed swordplay and assorted pyrotechnics to capture the public's imagination, lead them on treasure hunts, and generally keep the spirit of the "Sweet Trade" alive. We do about 15 shows a year at various Pirate and Harbor festivals around the Northeast. Despite our theatrical bent, we put a strong emphasis on historical accuracy in both our equipment and performances.

I'll drink wi' ye to that, shipmate!

:) Aye, I can't argue that. From the perspective of a "Board-ee" I'd do whatever it took to keep an aggressive boarder at a distance and back over the side, or dead on the deck in front of me. If that meant throwing a pistol I wouldn't have time to reload anyway, so be it. If it meant shattering the stock over someone's unlucky head, that's fine , too. But, as aggressors, usually numerically superior and better armed, pyrates just might have had the latitude to be more discerning. Besides, who's to say for certain what was or wasn't? Reenacting helps fill in a lot of missing pieces, I know it has worked that way for me. But we know it's just that...a reenactment, no matter how thorough. And there are limits to just how deep we can see into the past.

:) I thank ye kindly for the compliment, Capt. William! I also agree with most of your observations about pistols as auxilliary weapons. As most people of any era or location wielded swords in their right hand, and most pistols were made to be carried also in the right hand, it makes for a cumbersom combination. And unless they happened to have an abundance of pistols in reserve, I think most pirates would be reluctant to abuse his weapon in ways that might damage or break it. The exception might be as a cudgel, as most well-made pistols with heavy butt caps could certainly stand up to such use. Gilkerson, in BOARDERS AWAY, II even depicts someone throwing a pistol, though I can only see this being done in later periods, with an issued Sea-Service pistol, but not with any personally-owned weapon. On the other hand, pistols were largely inacurate at any significant range, so most of their effective use would have been pretty close up and personal. I think a lot of notions about the cutlass-pistol combination may actually come from interperative portraits of famous buccaneers posed holding a pistol and cutlass crossed over their chest. The best way to find out is to experiment and see if it works or not. By the way, the July issue of NQG has a nice article by Damashi of Tora, who participated in the CONQUEST Pirate Combat episode and writes about his experience. It answered some questions about the production that I had and I recommend it to all.

Well Shipmates, Have none o' ye gotten to watch the pyrate combat episode on "Conquest" this past week? I expected to see a volley of differing opinions fired back and forth here, but it would seem either no one watched it or no one thought much of it. So I guess I'll get the cannonball rolling. I saw it and thought it was passable, considering past episodes that I enjoyed more and looked forward to less. Peter Woodward's knowledge, logic, and enthusiasm carried the program as usual, but the overall production seemed a little makeshift. I'm probably as used to seeing the regular team of British reenacters as PW is used to working with them. The American "pyrates" seemed both unfamiliar and uneasy with PW, and I get the impression the whole show was kind of rushed. I liked the fact that the brutal reality of pyrate combat was stressed and Hollywood iconography dismissed, especially "fencing" with cutlasses. In truth, I only saw the show once and hope to catch it again over this weekend. Perhaps my opinion will change, but I doubt it.

Thanks Royaliste! Sorry to all hands for neglecting to state that "Conquest " is on the History Channel . I was working on a tall tiki drink when I did that posting.

Ahoy Capt. Flint and all the scurvy dogs on the forum! The Mad Dog's been busy whippin' 'is crew into fightin' shape for the festival season. Ye Pyrate Brotherhood just returned from our 3rd year at the Olcott Beach Pirate Festival in NW NY State, on the shore of Lake Ontario. It blew a gale for a good part of the time, but we kept our powder dry and managed to get in a parade and 4 treasure hunts. I want to remind all hands that the upcoming episode of the tv show "Conquest" is all about Pirate Combat, this Sunday, 7/27 @ 10:30 EST. I intend to tape it and it should make for some interesting scuttlebutt here at "Boarders Away!". "Till the next turn of the glass.

What causes fatigue when cutlass fighting, and in most forms of swordsmanship, is a combination of improper footwork and body movement, and improper breathing. The former will keep you off balance and restrict your movement. The latter will flat out exhaust you., especially if you get in the habit of holding your breath when you should be breathing deeply and rhythmically. Swordsmanship is a blending of alternating passive and dynamic interludes. The successful swordsman merges with it, both physically, and spiritually (whether the spirit be light or dark). By merging, I mean aligning oneself as completely as possible with the rhythm of the encounter. These principles manifest themselves through constant, focused training. One of the main benefits is heightened endurance.

Ahoy Capt. William, Your observations about rapiers are correct, for they were made in many different configuratons. Many factors lent to this, and not the least was a reluctance on the part of traditionally-minded military men (Englishmen especially) to adopt what they considered to be a civilian weapon that was good for thrusting and little else. But that, after all, defines the rapier and the techniques that developed around it. The wider-bladed versions were intended to retain as much cutting ability as possible while conforming to the trend towards lighter, faster swords. The Spanish adhered to their distinctive cup-hilt rapiers long after most of Europe had abandoned rapiers for the lighter, faster small sword and its variants. Spanish naval officers also seemed to prefer rapiers. All in all, I think that our association with the rapier as a pyrate weapon comes largely from the romantic and beautiful, though often innacurate illustrations of Howard Pyle, which were used by art directors of early swahbuckler movies as a reference. Hence Errol Flynn and countless others fencing with cup-hilt rapiers in all those early films. An excellent look at pyrate swords and weapons in general can be found in Men at Arms magazine, vol. 4, no. 1, January/February, 1982, available as a back issue from Mowbray Company, the publishers of "Boarders Away!".

I agree, we are obviously not talking about the same thing, as you seem to be talking about a sport. Since this forum topic is supposed to be devoted to historical pyrate combat, my opinions are historically based. As for disrespecting the fencing masters you refer to, on the contrary, they have my complete admiration, as would anyone who has devoted themselves to the mastery of a skill. This would include master chefs, master craftsmen, and so on. As for reinventing titles, I would not dream of reinventing a title that has been carried for centuries, earned by actual swordsmen, at risk to their lives. What I did say is that the issue was a matter of semantics (what words mean) and that in my opinion, the sword master, as we've come to apply it to swordsmanship, and especially sport fencing today, cannot mean the same thing as it once did, because it is devoid of the experience of intentionally life-threatening encounters.

Capt. Lasseter, I have three blades that I alternate between for pyrate reenacting. Two are "Mortuary" swords, identical, apart from one having a live blade and the other a rebated blade. The latter, also known as a "backsword" was popular among "stage gladiators" during the 17th-19th centuries. These were basically paid duellists who fought endurance bouts with rebated blades before a paying audience. Mine has blackened iron fittings leather-wrapped wood handle, and a black laquered wood scabbard. It's my choice for most of my pyrate activities. Its a perfect weight, size, and balance. The blade is tough and agile. The live sword has polished fittings,and wire "Turk's heads" capping a leather-over-wood handle. This is my dress sword. Too dangerous for any practical use, but a real beauty. Either would be suitable at sea, but are just right for tavern brawls and street confrontations. My third blade is a c.1700 Dutch cutlass from Museum Replicas. It has a wood grip, and steel guard with clamshell handguard, and curved, open-ended knuckle bow. this is my sea-service cutlass and just right for "wet work" on a prize deck. I also own several fine rapiers, but associate them more with Elizabethan Seadogs than later 17th century Buccaneering, which is what we of Ye Pyrate Brotherhood prefer to reenact. This is not to say rapiers weren't in use at that time, but their use at sea was minimal, and their popularity waning, with the small sword gaining favor as a lighter, faster weapon.

Actually fencingmaster (wich I belive is the english word) is a title you earn much in the same way you earn the title lawyer. There is a long training with an exam in the end. This is a tradition that travels ceturies back in time. In the beginning the fencingmaster was the dude teaching soliders(mostly officers) to fence. In most older regiments in europe there still is a tradition of fencing kept alive with a fencingmaster. But fencingmasters are most easily found in sportfencing today. There is a widely spred rumour that these fencingmasters don't know anything about how people fenced with "real" weapons, this however is nothing more than bullshit. All real fencingmasters are thought how to fence with real weapons, even though it's not what they will be teaching. In truth I believe you're referring to the English "Masters of Defense" who indeed received that title only after completing an arduous program of training, and testing over a prescribed number of years, much the way "dan" rankings are conferred in traditional martial training in Japan. The way in which we each of us perceives the word "master", is, I think, a matter of semantics. The key. I believe, is the word "defence", from which the term "fencing" is derived. Those "Masters of Defence" lived in an historic period that witnessed the deregulation of swords from a privilage of the noble class and their retainers, to just about anyone who could afford to purchase a sword. This in turn debased the sword to an excuse for common street brawls by "swashbucklers", and eventually defamed academic sword training as the spawning ground of rogues and cuthroats. Anyone who carried a sword risked constant confrontation and had better know how to defend himself. To be a sword "master" meant survival on a near-daily basis. Given that, I maintain my contention that any title of "master" or "maestro" as applied to modern swordsmen or fencers is, at best, diluted by the absence of a true, intentionally life-threatening challenge in their experience.

Capt. Lasseter, I chose an English Dragoon pistol with a 12-inch barrel in .61 for meself. It's everything I could want in a servicable sea pistol: well made, dependable, and quite beautiful.