Queens of the Sea #7: Pirate Costume for Unknown Pirate Captain

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Welcome to day seven of the Queens of the Sea series, part of the Random Magic Pirates book tour! Here is the mini-bio for today’s pirate, provided again by Lyrika:

Unknown French pirate captain: The Mystery Captain

Jamaica Rose and Michael MacLeod relate the tale of a mystery pirate captain in their book, The Book of Pirates

In 1805, an American who was held prisoner in Cuba reported on a French privateer vessel, La Baugourt. He said the ship had a crew of one hundred, ‘commanded by a woman.’ This is about all that is known of this unnamed captain.

This anecdote might’ve easily been dismissed as just a fanciful tale, if not for the fact that there is, indeed, a mention of the activity of French privateers at that time — and this very ship — included in a volume of The Mariner’s Mirror, a quarterly bulletin printed by the Society for Nautical Research.

I have been trying to stay at least true to the spirit of the historical periods, and to think “well, someone in this century would have worn this, not that” or “if someone was just a regular sailor she wouldn’t be swanning around in a fancy coat, right?” or “no, somehow, I get the feeling hot pants were never actually part of most female pirates’ wardrobe.” But if this mysterious pirate captain may have never existed, I feel a little more free to give her a costume that never existed! Well, it’s not the most unreasonable pirate costume I’ve ever seen…

By the way, I’m scheduled to have another paper doll up tomorrow, but I’ll be out of town, so I’m going to try to do two over the weekend instead.

Don’t forget to enter my contests! Click here for the chance to win an original drawing, for those of you who can give me an address if you win, and click here for the chance to design a pirate outfit, open to everyone!

Check out the tour schedule here! And for more information about Random Magic, here’s the trailer for the book.

Also, check out the Rum + Plunder treasure hunt for more pirate prizes!

There is still time to join my crew… Take the poll!

poll by twiigs.com

Queens of the Sea #6: Purple Tunic and Brown Cloak for Awilda

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Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

Welcome to day six of the Queens of the Sea series, part of the Random Magic Pirates book tour! Here is the mini-bio for today’s pirate, provided again by Lyrika:

Awilda: The Runaway Royal

The full story of Awilda might be a legend, although she is mentioned in a historical book, the Gesta Danorum (A History of the Danes or Deeds of the Danes).

Awilda (or Alwilda, Alvild, Alfhild) was a princess who was meant to marry, but instead runs off to sea. During an onboard battle, she fights someone who turns out to be her intended. Mutually impressed with the courage the other has shown in close combat, they decide they might be a good match for each other, after all.

A full version of Awilda’s story is told by medieval literature scholar Carolyne Larrington in her book Women and Writing in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook, for anyone
who’d be interested in additional details about this legendary Nordic princess and some background about her life and times. If anyone just wants a quick summary of the story, a sketch is included here.

You can read more about Awilda at vvb32 reads on May 19th, as part of the Queens of the Sea series. (I’ll update the link after it’s been posted.)

I do like her story, whether she is just a legend or not! I was talking to Brian about her, and he said “So this is a few centuries before Beowulf, right? Yeah, those were good times. You meet someone, you fight with them, then you kind of know where you stand with them, whether you’re going to get along or be enemies or what.”
“What if you and I met and had a fight?” I asked.
“You’d win, of course.”
“But if you’d never met me before, you wouldn’t care about me. I’d say ‘Ow! My foot!’ and instead of saying ‘Oh, what a poor delicate little foot’ and letting me win, you’d stomp on the other one, too.”
Happily we met in a more genteel day and age…

Don’t forget to enter my contests! Click here for the chance to win an original drawing, for those of you who can give me an address if you win, and click here for the chance to design a pirate outfit, open to everyone!

Check out the tour schedule here! And for more information about Random Magic, here’s the trailer for the book.

Also, check out the Rum + Plunder treasure hunt for more pirate prizes!

Apparently the Good Ship Paperdoll is filled with the strong, silent type! I’m not complaining. I’m the shark food type, so I would appreciate a lot of more capable people around to have my back.

poll by twiigs.com

Queens of the Sea #5: Blue Gown and White Cloak for Grace O’Malley

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Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

Welcome to day five of the Queens of the Sea series, part of the Random Magic Pirates book tour! Here is the mini-bio for today’s pirate, provided again by Lyrika:

Grace O’Malley: The Rebel Chieftain

Grace O’Malley, or Gráinne Ní Mháille in Gaelic, was a de facto Irish clan chieftain and pirate. She challenged English merchant ships and interrupted trading routes, which brought her to the attention of reigning monarch Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth sent a military commander to deal with the trouble, and he reportedly killed Grace’s oldest son, turned her second son against her and imprisoned her youngest son. Grace wrote to request an audience with Elizabeth, and was granted one. They agreed on a truce, but the truce was brief.

The meeting is notable for its unusual nature, as it included a negotiation of terms between two of the 16th century’s most unusual and powerful women — one a queen of royal blood, and the other a
pirate queen of her own making.

You can read more about Grace O’Malley at Miss Page-Turner’s City Of Books on May 18th, as part of the Queens of the Sea series. (I’ll update the link after it’s been posted.)

I really wanted to try to draw something she could have worn for her meeting with Queen Elizabeth, but I can’t really make heads or tails of how that picture works — how about that cape’s neckline? In the end, I based the general design on a statue of Grace O’Malley that I thought was very beautiful.

Don’t forget to enter my contests! Click here for the chance to win an original drawing, for those of you who can give me an address if you win, and click here for the chance to design a pirate outfit, open to everyone!

Check out the tour schedule here! And for more information about Random Magic, here’s the trailer for the book.

Also, check out the Rum + Plunder treasure hunt for more pirate prizes!

I’m amused by the poll results so far…

poll by twiigs.com

Queens of the Sea #4: Jacket and Pants for Anne Bonny

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Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.

Welcome to day four of the Queens of the Sea series, part of the Random Magic Pirates book tour! Here is the mini-bio for today’s pirate, provided again by Lyrika:

Anne Bonny: The Southern Spitfire

The illegitimate daughter of an Irish lawyer, who left Ireland for the colony of South Carolina (at the time, there was no United States of America, the settlements were all colonies of the British Empire) and became a merchant.

She married a small-time pirate but ran away with Jack ‘Calico Jack’ Rackham after they met on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas, a pirate lair of the time.

A comrade of pirate Mary Read, Anne Bonny was captured along with Mary Read and Jack Rackham in a pirate hunter raid but mysteriously vanished from historical records after being imprisoned, although Mary died in jail and Jack was executed.

You can read more about Anne Bonny at The Epic Rat on May 17th, as part of the Queens of the Sea series. (I’ll update the link after it’s been posted.)

Now, with Anne Bonny, one of the most famous female pirates, the outfits are getting a little more traditionally pirate-looking… You will have to imagine her carrying pistols, though, that’s far out of my area of expertise! This whole series is a little out of my area of expertise, really — I’ve drawn more pants this month than I probably did all last year — but I’m enjoying it, and I hope you are too!

Don’t forget to enter my contests! They’re open until the end of the tour. Click here for the chance to win an original drawing, for those of you who can give me an address if you win, and click here for the chance to design a pirate outfit, open to everyone!

Check out the tour schedule here! And for more information about Random Magic, here’s the trailer for the book.

Also, check out the Rum + Plunder treasure hunt for more pirate prizes!

Hm, let’s have a poll, I haven’t done one for a while… How about a nice long one?

poll by twiigs.com