Lady Christina de Pond asked about period pirates in another thread, and I thought that would be a neat jumping-off point to talk about historical resources for 15th and 16th c. sailor personas. :) I'll admit, this is NOT my area of expertise - so I don't know too much about it. Any resources or websites that you can recommend would be appreciated!
QuoteQuote from: Lady Christina de Pond on Today at 01:23:07 PM
how are pirates not period i thought they always had pirates they still have pirates
Pirates - renegade sailors who illegally board ships and do bad things - are period to the Renaissance. There have been pirates since the dawn of sailing ships. There are historic accounts of piracy dating back to the Greeks and the Romans, and piracy continues through the modern day (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060706-modern-pirates.html).
However, the trend of "pirate coats" and tricorn hats, made popular by the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, is not technically part of the Renaissance period. These garments were worn primarily from 680-1720's or so. (http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/patterns.php?c=22&d=36&w=24&r=Y) This period was known as the Golden Age of Piracy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Piracy)
Pirates of any era simply wore the clothes that everyone else wore - with modifications that made life on a working ship easier. Reconstructing History's English Sea Dogs pattern (http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/rh210-elizabethan-sea-dogs.php?s=&c=22&d=30&q=1&p=285&w=21) is an excellent representation of what a sailor would have worn during the Elizabethan era.
Here are a few sites on sailors in the Renaissance:
http://ilaria.veltri.tripod.com/sailorboys.html
http://home.comcast.net/~calderon/clothing.htm
http://www.maryrose.org/life/cloth1.htm
I know there is a slightly better site regarding the clothing aboard the Mary Rose but I cannot remember where it is right now. There was a jerkin and a doublet found in piece from the excavations of the Mary Rose. I also remember a very nice knitted flat cap.
The average pirate might wear a leather doublet, a pair of slops, a pair of panes, a shift, and a flat cap (along with his hosen). There is a lovely leather doublet in Patterns of Fashion that might help anyone looking to do a 16th c pirate look.
Quote from: silverstah on May 30, 2008, 01:39:28 PM
Lady Christina de Pond asked about period pirates in another thread, and I thought that would be a neat jumping-off point to talk about historical resources for 15th and 16th c. sailor personas. :) I'll admit, this is NOT my area of expertise - so I don't know too much about it. Any resources or websites that you can recommend would be appreciated!
QuoteQuote from: Lady Christina de Pond on Today at 01:23:07 PM
how are pirates not period i thought they always had pirates they still have pirates
thats what i was thinking i'm not any historical expert but i remember something about pirates from history
I just wanted to add http://www.museumoflondonprints.com/image.php?id=61159&idx=7&fromsearch=true (http://www.museumoflondonprints.com/image.php?id=61159&idx=7&fromsearch=true)
That *should* take you to the leather doublet in Patterns of Fashion that is at the Museum of London. If not, just search for leather and it will be on the 2 page.
A couple of 16th century pirates. (At least the Spanish considered them pirates - QE knighted them.)
(http://www.karen.htmlcreators.com/sirfrancisdrake.jpg)
Sir Francis Drake
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Martin_Frobisher_by_Ketel.jpg)
Sir Martin Frobisher
Oooh - and don't forget Sir Walter Raleigh!
(http://images.npg.org.uk/OCimg/weblg/0/4/mw05204.jpg)
Oooo..I'm liking this thread,learning alot!
Nor can we forget Grace O' Malley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_O%27_Malley).
Of course, the only picture I know of her isn't terribly informative in what she would've worn on her exploits (she's on the left, that's Elizabeth on the right):
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Grace2.jpg)