Why did pirates wear an earring in their ear?
Noble and not very pirates wore an earring in their ear, and this was by no means a fashionable accessory for courageous filibusters. In books and films, an earring is an integral attribute of the image of a sea robber. What function did this item perform?
Modern historians claim that the right to wear such an accessory was acquired by sailors who crossed the equator or circled the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Therefore, the decoration in the ear served as a kind of indicator of the experience of the sailor.
The sailors themselves believed that the earring in the ear protects from the evil spirits of the sea and sharpens eyesight. By the way, this assumption has a very real basis: acupuncture proves the presence in the urine of nerve endings, some of which are also associated with vision. Some sources say that each earring is a ship taken by a pirate for boarding.
Adherents of a more prosaic version claim that the earrings have the ability to weaken seasickness, and during the battles they played the role of a kind of ear plugs: they plugged their ears to protect the eardrum from the thunder of cannon shots.
Another version looks the most realistic. Of course, the path of filibusters was tortuous and dangerous, and the kind of activity did not contribute to the extension of life, which could end at any moment. And the earring was the pay for the funeral for the person who discovered the body of a pirate. The money earned for it was also spent on the burial or delivery of the body to the port.
There are assumptions regarding the material used to make the earring, and the presence of inscriptions on it. Only the highest ranks could boast of gold. The rest had to be content with copper, bronze and silver.
As for the inscription, it usually contained information about the port where the owner of the earring preferred to be buried.
Modern historians claim that the right to wear such an accessory was acquired by sailors who crossed the equator or circled the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Therefore, the decoration in the ear served as a kind of indicator of the experience of the sailor.
The sailors themselves believed that the earring in the ear protects from the evil spirits of the sea and sharpens eyesight. By the way, this assumption has a very real basis: acupuncture proves the presence in the urine of nerve endings, some of which are also associated with vision. Some sources say that each earring is a ship taken by a pirate for boarding.
Photo © kulturologia.ru
Adherents of a more prosaic version claim that the earrings have the ability to weaken seasickness, and during the battles they played the role of a kind of ear plugs: they plugged their ears to protect the eardrum from the thunder of cannon shots.
Another version looks the most realistic. Of course, the path of filibusters was tortuous and dangerous, and the kind of activity did not contribute to the extension of life, which could end at any moment. And the earring was the pay for the funeral for the person who discovered the body of a pirate. The money earned for it was also spent on the burial or delivery of the body to the port.
There are assumptions regarding the material used to make the earring, and the presence of inscriptions on it. Only the highest ranks could boast of gold. The rest had to be content with copper, bronze and silver.
As for the inscription, it usually contained information about the port where the owner of the earring preferred to be buried.
