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Blackguard

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This article is about the term. You may be looking for the mercenaries of the same name.
Hector Barbossa once called Jack Sparrow a blackguard, only to refer to himself as a worthless blaggard years later.

Hector Barbossa once called Jack Sparrow a blackguard, only to refer to himself as a worthless blaggard years later.

"Cruel blackguard!"
"Life is cruel. Why should the afterlife be any different?"
―Scuttled ship sailor and Davy Jones[src]

A blackguard (alternatively spelled as "blaggard") could mean a scoundrel, an unprincipled contemptible person, or an untrustworthy person. It is also a verb, meaning to abuse or disparage (someone) scurrilously. Some people were called blackguards by their actions, notably Davy Jones, Jack Sparrow, and Hector Barbossa.

History[]

"Just as I was saying to Barbara, as long as you boys are on the case, I am sure there's not a pirate anywhere in the city of Hong Kong. We'll gut any blackguard who dares set foot in our town. As I promised: nothing for you to worry about, dear."
―Benedict Huntington[src]

An old-fashioned term for a scoundrel, the term had been used several times during the Age of Piracy. When the Brethren Court discussed the threat of the rogue pirates, Captain Teague referred to them as blackguards and Code-breakers.[1] A month later, when Captain Hector Barbossa realized the Pirate Lord Boris Palachnik was the one who sank his ship, the Cobra, he called the Russian "The soulless little blackguard."[2] When Barbossa revealed Captain Teague's plan to capture the rogues to young Jack Sparrow, he called them "Code-breaking blackguards".[3]

As the Spanish galleon sailed for Florida with the imprisoned Spanish princess Carolina, the captain attempted to convince her to wear a long, frilly, white lace dress. She used the dress to tie him up and when the crew of the Black Pearl attacked and captured the ship, Carolina appeared on deck with her prisoner and told the pirates what the "blackguard" wanted her to do.[4] A few months later, Pusasn called Captain Jack Sparrow a blackguard when he suspected Jack was the one to lead the East India Trading Company to Sri Sumbhajee's hideout.[5] Grandmama considered King Samuel a blackguard.[6] Shortly after becoming the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea, Jack Sparrow once referred to fellow Pirate Lord Eduardo Villanueva as a blackguard to the soothsayer Tia Dalma.[7] Villanueva returned the favor when he called Jack a "horse-faced blackguard" aboard his ship, the Centurion.[8] When the French Pirate Lord Chevalle recounted the story of how the Shadow Lord stole a vial of Shadow Gold from him, the Frenchman called his enemy a blackguard.[9]

When Davy Jones killed the chaplain of a scuttled ship, one of the other sailors called him a cruel blackguard, only for Jones to respond, "Life is cruel. Why should the afterlife be any different?"[10] One of Jones' crewmen, Clanker, was known as a barnacled-browed blackguard while serving aboard the Flying Dutchman.[11]

Near the end of the parley that took place during Lord Cutler Beckett's war against piracy, Hector Barbossa called Jack Sparrow a "blaggard" while cutting off his Piece of Eight.[12][13] Barbossa later used the word for Blackbeard as he used the "blackguard's sovereign blade" when releasing the Black Pearl from its bottled prison. However, despite his past usage of the word, Hector called himself a worthless blaggard to Jack Sparrow when they recounted the circumstances of Carina Smyth being Barbossa's daughter.[14]

Behind the scenes[]

"You wish to know who destroys your ships."
"Name this blaggard that's been burning my fleet."
―Shansa and Hector Barbossa[src] (Behind-the-scenes)

The word "blackguard" first appeared in the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.[10]

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for Dead Man's Chest, the scuttled ship sailor calls Davy Jonees a "Cruel bastard."[15] The line was changed from "bastard" to "blackguard" for the film.[10] The sailor's line was omitted entirely in Irene Trimble's junior novelization.[16]

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Hector Barbossa yells "Blaggar!" (without the "d") at Jack Sparrow.[17] "Blaggard" (with the "d") was included in T.T. Sutherland's junior novelization.[13] The word "Blackguard" would be used for the subtitles of At World's End in home video releases and Disney+ streaming service.[12]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

External links[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ The Price of Freedom, Chapter Two: Lady Esmeralda
  2. ↑ The Price of Freedom, Chapter Eight: The Devil in the Deep Blue Sea
  3. ↑ The Price of Freedom, Chapter Ten: Revelations
  4. ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean, p. 69
  5. ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: The Turning Tide, p. 175
  6. ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters, p. 97
  7. ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean, p. 109
  8. ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow, Chapter Fourteen
  9. ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow, Chapter Eight
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  11. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, pp. 66-67: "Davy Jones' Crew"
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization), p. 165
  14. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
  15. ↑ Wordplayer.com: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
  16. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization)
  17. ↑ Wordplayer.com: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
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