Why Did Pirate Men Wear Earrings?
As well as a tendency to say "aargh," Hollywood pirates tend to be alike in that they all wear earrings. Setting aside the question of whether historical pirates really wore earrings at all (they almost certainly did not say "aargh"), the reasons given for pirate earring wearing are diverse, with experts offering often contradictory explanations. Does this Spark an idea?
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Eyesight Improvement
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Perhaps the most cited explanation is that pirates wore earrings because they believed that their eyesight would be improved by doing so. Considering the advantage improved eyesight would give them on the high seas, pirates might very well have been prone to take advantage of this performance enhancement. Pirates probably believed that earrings warded off eyesight-thieving evil spirits, but some acupuncturists have confirmed that the earlobes contain nerve endings which are connected to the eyes. If piercing does improve eyesight, however, the effect is probably temporary. It's even possible that ear piercing could negatively affect eyesight.
Funeral Expenses
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Some sources claim a pirate might wear earrings so that if his dead body was found, the finder would be able to pay for a burial. This practice does seem rather trusting of the corpse-discoverer. And if the funeral-to-earring exchange rate was anything like it is today, it would have taken quite a few earrings, or some truly pricey ones, to cover costs.
Another possibility is that pirates wore earrings not to pay for their funerals, but, believing they would carry the earrings into the spirit world, to pay for admission into the afterlife.
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Shipwreck Survival
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Another explanation offers that pirates who survived shipwrecks would mark their good fortune by bejeweling their earlobes. This, again, may have been a practice fueled by superstition, the earring amulet serving to protect the wearer from another such disaster.
A Mark of Experience
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According to some, pirates who sailed far enough south to bypass Cape Horn may have marked the occasion by donning earrings. Earrings would then be marks of experience and possibly rank.
Fashion
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Like so many before them and since, pirates may have been victims of fashion trends. Pirates who stole from wealthy seafarers may also have worn the jewelry that they pilfered as a form of bragging or as a way of intimidating future victims.
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References
- Photo Credit pirate statue image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
