pirates
A pennant flies from the Jolly Mon.

A pennant flies from the Jolly Mon.

"Trim that sail!"
"Trim that sail!"
"Slack windward brace and sheet!"
"Slack windward brace and sheet!"
"Haul the pennant line!"
"Haul the pennant line!"
―Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow[src]

A pennant was a long narrow flag which was larger at the hoist than at the fly, i.e., the flag narrows as it moves away from the flagpole. It could have several shapes, such as triangular, tapering (square tail) or triangular swallowtail (forked tail), etc. The pennant was sometimes pointed, but more generally forked or swallow-tailed at the end.

History

The Interceptor flies the blue commissioning pennant from the mainmast.

The Interceptor flies the blue commissioning pennant from the mainmast.

"That's the Otter, so it's Sri Sumbhajee himself. See that long blue pennant with the black cutlass on the top mast? That's his jolly roger. The Pirate Lord himself is gracing us with his presence."
―Jack Sparrow to Carolina[src]

During the Age of Piracy, pennants were flags flown by ships at sea. The British Royal Navy was known to use three pennants during the 18th century, red, white, and blue. All three pennants had a small St George's Cross, the symbol of England, in the corner. Those pennants meant the vessels flying them were commissioned ships of war in service of the Royal Navy.[citation needed]

When the East India Trading Company forces led by Benedict Huntington attacked Suvarnadurg pennants with their triple-cross symbol flew from every mast of every ship.[1] The Jolly Mon, a boat owned by Anamaria and stolen by Captain Jack Sparrow, had pennants that were visible even after it sunk at Port Royal.[2] The merchant vessel the Edinburgh Trader flew a pennant from the mainmast during the ship's departure from Port Royal and her final journey through the Caribbean before it was destroyed by the Kraken.[3] By the time before the fourth meeting of the Brethren Court, the Black Pearl, captained by Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa, had pennant lines.[4][5] The flag of of Mistress Ching's fleet was a long, thin, red pennant.[6] The Jolly Roger of the Indian Pirate Lord Sri Sumbhajee was a long blue pennant with the black cutlass and three golden crescents.[7] The Empress, the flagship of the Chinese Pirate Lord Sao Feng, flew the pennants from all three of her masts after he gave his Pirate Lordship and captaincy to Elizabeth Swann around the fourth meeting of the Brethren Court. During the battle between the Brethren's ragtag pirate fleet and the armada of the East India Trading Company, several of the pirate ships flew various pennants, while Lord Cutler Beckett's flagship of the EITC Armada, the HMS Endeavour, flew a blue commissioning pennant from the mainmast.[5]

One of Henry Turner's drawings had a ship flying a commissioning pennant from the mainmast.

One of Henry Turner's drawings had a ship flying a commissioning pennant from the mainmast.

During his boyhood, Henry Turner began studying the myths of the sea, researching every legend and every curse, including the illustrations of recorded encounters with the sea monsters, with at least one drawing featuring a ship flying a commissioning pennant from the mainmast.[8] During the quest for the Fountain of Youth, the three Spanish galleons under The Spaniard's crew flew the pennants consisting of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the colors of the Spanish monarchy.[9]

Behind the scenes

Pennants first appeared in the 2003 video game Pirates of the Caribbean.[10] It was first identified by name in media relating to the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,[5] notably the junior novelization.[4]

In 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, both the HMS Dauntless and the HMS Interceptor fly the historically inaccurate Blue Ensigns and blue pennants. In real-world history those flags were used by the Blue squadron which patrolled the waters of the south Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.[citation needed]

James "Jim" Carson's artwork of the battle between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman in At World's End showed the Dutchman flying a dirty tattered pennant from the mainmast, notably used in most media, including Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide,[11] and The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean.[12] Although the British Royal Navy warship HMS Monarch doesn't fly any flags in the 2017 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,[8] Helen O'Loan's artwork of the Monarch shows the red, white and blue pennant flying from the ship's mainmast.[13]

Appearances

Sources

External links

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: The Turning Tide, p. 181
  2. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  3. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization), pp. 67-68
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  6. ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East, p. 68
  7. ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: The Turning Tide, p. 30
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
  9. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
  10. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean (2003 video game)
  11. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
  12. ↑ The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean
  13. ↑ The Monarch concept art by Helen O'Loan