Hoist Yer Colors!

When most people think of a pirate flag, they think of the Jolly Roger (also known as the Skull and Crossbones). But, as my pirate-educated readers well know, Edward England's Jolly Roger is just one example of an historical pirate flag. There are many more.

Being an independent lot, it was not uncommon for pirate captains to design or commission their own flag. Most featured skeletons and blades, symbols of intimidation, as the main purpose of the black flag was to warn vessels that the pirates meant business. During one period of private history, privateers (pirates sailing under sanction of their government) used both red and black flags, red flags acting as warning and black flags indicating that they would give no quarter. (My friend Lynne thinks this is most handy. She says she definitely needs a red flag to warn her husband of trouble and a black flag to let him know when he's gone too far!)

Looking at the flags of different pirate captains gives us a glimpse into their personalities and the influences of their time periods. You can see a number of these flags in a stirring scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, as the pirate lords hoist authentic in response to the command, "Hoist the colors!" The end of the film holds a special treat for fans of pirate flags, as well.

All of this musing over pirate flags has led me to wonder, what would we come up with today if we were each designing our own flags? Think about it - what symbols would you want your flag to include? What traditional images would you keep and what marks of your own style would you add?

I thought about this for a couple of hours over Photoshop and developed the Alix North flag, hoisted on this site for the very first time:

Arrr! Now these be colors worth fighting under!

I'm issuing the call for all my readers to hoist your own colors, too. Design your flag and share a link in the comments...I would love to see what you think up!

(For more information about pirate flags and their elements, see Historical Pirate Flags by N. Cargill-Kipar.)

P.S. The Arrrtist flag is coming soon to a T-shirt near you. Keep an eye on this blog for updates.

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