Peasant or Pirate? How to Talk like One but Not the Other
I mean. Ahem.
It’s an alarming trend I’ve noticed at Renaissance Faires and other pre-modern era events. Pirates. At the court of Elizabeth the First. Henry the VIII. And when I say pirates, I’m not talking Sea Dogs. I’m talking cutlass-bearing, black-power loading, tricorner hat wearin’, buckled shoes and longcoats pirates. The kind made popular in recent years by Johnny Depp and Disney’s out of the ordinarily entertaining movie.
The romanticised pirate ruled the seas from the mid 1600s to the mid 1700s. Whereas the Renaissance period began far earlier and ended about 1600s as the ‘modern era’ began to take shape. So why is it you see these scurvy sea dogs roaming the streets of villiages taking place 100 years prior to when they should be there?
1. Ignorance – some people don’t know Mary Queen of Scotts from Bloody Mary Tudor, or lump time periods all together as ‘Back then’. This would be, to be a bit more clear, like wearing a 1960s military uniform to a Civil War renactment. And yet you never see that unless it’s a Timeline event…
2. Pirates are ‘cool’ – When something is new and exciting, everyone wants to jump on that bandwagon. “Hey, it’s a Ren Faire, let’s dress like pirates and get drunk!”
3. Lack of outlets – Since Pirate Faires are a new minority, there’s not a lot of options for the pirate-goer to dress up and get beer and wenches (or strapping lads).
So, even though you’re going to end up mixing your time-periods by 100 years, here’s words to avoid as a pirate to make sure you don’t sound like a peasant – or vice versa. You may be in the wrong place and time, but you won’t SOUND wrong.
Arr – Pirates use ARR liberally. Peasants don’t.
God save the king/queen – Peasants use frequently. Pirates don’t care unless they’re privateers under a letter of marque from the king. Then, and only then, may you use this phrase.
Avast! – Pirates. Peasants do not use such things unless they’re telling someone to be gone. Shakespeare uses Avast in MacBeth when dealing with the witches. (Also? Written more towards the Jacobian pirate era than the Elizabethan era.)
Thee, thou, and the -est addition – These archaic words were out of use by the Elizabethan era and represented the formal and informal language. By the pirattical era they were replaced by the simple and utilitarian You. Be-est, do-est, go-eth – all out of use by the pirates.
Be – both of them used ‘be’ as verb liberally. This one swings both ways. I be going to the marketplace, He be askin’ for a beating…. works for both.
Wench – Again, both. It means woman. It does not mean shrew or bitch, but like with any word, the inflection could carry the tone of the usage.
Scurvy – Most elizabetheans never went to sea, so scurvy ( a disease caused by lack of certain vitamins often gotten by sailors on long sea voyages) is not an insult to them.
Grog – Pirate catchall for ‘booze’.
Davey Jones Locker – Pirate. Peasants wouldn’t have any concept of the bottom of the deep blue sea…
Aye, Yea, Nay – Again, both. Use liberally.
Clothing notes:
Pirates wear swords. Peasants do not. Peasants could not afford a sword and laws prohibited them in most cases.
Pirates wear long coats. Peasants did not often wear coats. Vests or jerkins, and cloaks. Coats were not in fashion yet.
Pirates wear tricornered hats. Tricornered hats were not worn in the middle ages and renaissance periods in great numbers.
Pirates wear buckled shoes. Peasants could not afford buckled shoes as they were not manufactured widely. They laced theirs or used buttons – buckles were for the wealthier set.
So now you know how to either talk more like a pirate or more like a peasant.
Now just remind yourself -100 years off- and go find a Pirate Faire and stay outta my Renaissance England!
