Legend

For other uses, see Legend (disambiguation)

Joshamee Gibbs telling Will Turner one of Jack Sparrow's well-known legends.

"Yer not talking about Stone-Eyed Sam and Isla Esquelética? Legend says Same 'e had the Sword of Cortés, and 'e cursed the whole island. Aye, I agree with only one part of that story—that it's legend. Legend, mate. 'A neat little city of stone and marble—just like them there Romans built,' they say. Bah! Rubbish! Aren't nothing like that in the Caribbean, I can tell you!"

―Sailor

A legend (Latin, legenda, "things to be read") is a story of anything perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale likeness or semblance to reality, or to the truth. The term "legend" refers to either a story of unknown origin describing plausible but extraordinary past events, some being fabricated in which part of the truth is embellished to an unlikely degree; or a person of extraordinary accomplishments, usually a leading protagonist. A majority of legends operate within the realm of uncertainty, never being entirely believed by the participants, but also never being resolutely doubted.

History

Known legends

Davy Jones and Calypso

Davy Jones

"You are saying that there is a real Davy Jones, that he is not just a sailor's legend? Not merely a...what is the English term...a figure of speech?"
"I've never seen him, but he's real. I've heard too many sailors talk about seeing his ship in bad storms."

―Esmeralda and Jack Sparrow

According to legend, a sailor named Davy Jones fell in love with Calypso, a woman "as harsh and untameable as the sea." He never stopped loving her and the pain it caused him was too much for him to bear so he carved out his heart and locked it away in a chest. He kept the key to the chest with him at all times.

In reality, Jones was forsaken by Calypso, an ancient sea goddess. So Davy Jones plotted with the First Brethren Court to tear the rule of the seas away from Calypso. Made up of nine Pirate Lords, the First Court had captured Calypso and bound her in human form. With her no longer able to send storms to destroy them, their own rule over the sea had become absolute. It had been the turning point for pirates everywhere. The imprisonment of Calypso meant that they could be the lords of the sea.

The Flying Dutchman

"Aye. The same terrible vessel whose very timbers are cut from the bodies and souls of doomed seamen."

―Torrents to Jack Sparrow

When mariners awake screaming, it's because they had dreamed of a ghostly ship and its terrifying barnacled crew. In sailors' legends the Flying Dutchman rises from the ocean depths, its rigging draped in seaweed and its sails glowing like fire. It sped across the flat water when all other ships are becalmed. Its very beams sigh with human voices, weighed down with a century of weary toil. When sailors fall overboard and are doomed to drown they soon realize that the Dutchman is not just a myth, the ship appears before their eyes and they are swiftly plucked form the jaws of death and given the option to serve before the mast of Davy Jones' ship.

Prior to this, the Dutchman was used in the duty Davy Jones was charged with: to ferry the souls who die at sea into the other side. But after Calypso's imprisonment, Jones abandoned his duty, instead wreaking havoc on the seas and unleashing the Kraken upon many vessels. He also preyed on wayward sailors lost at sea who wished to avoid death and final judgment, press-ganging them into service. The Dutchman returned to its original purpose after Davy Jones' death at the hands of Will Turner. And so the duty of the captain of the Flying Dutchman was passed to another.

Blackbeard

"And what of you? The mighty Blackbeard. Beheaded, they say. Still, your body swam three times around your ship, then climbed back onboard. And here you are, running scared."

―Jack Sparrow

The infamous pirate Blackbeard.

Of all the sea-rovers who ever hoisted the black colors, Blackbeard was the most notorious. Ruthless, cunning, and savage to his subordinates, he was nonetheless an able and even charismatic leader. An Englishman who was born Edward Teach, he began his career of plunder as one of the many privateers dispensed by King George to raid enemy ships during war. It wasn't until he struck out as a free agent that his true legend was born. Blackbeard had become one of the most notorious pirates because he was a great sort of self-promoter. He'd go into battle with smoke billowing around his head and guns all over him; the smoke came from his black beard that he plaited when he went into battle. Blackbeard's death in Ocracoke Inlet became the most popular of all famous pirate battles because it was well-publicized at the time. Sent to track down Blackbeard, Lieutenant Maynard attacked at dawn on two small ships, and came up alongside Blackbeard. And Lieutenant Maynard attacked at dawn on two small ships, and came up alongside Blackbeard. After a tremendous fight onboard, Blackbeard was attacked with about twenty musket balls and six cutlass wounds and eventually fell to the deck, dead. According to legend, Blackbeard was supposedly beheaded and swam around his ship three times before climbing back on board. However, Blackbeard was not killed at all.

In later years, Blackbeard and his zombie officers had become known for raising havoc throughout the Caribbean. Blackbeard also wielded a mystical weapon—the Sword of Triton—which he used to control ships, both the Queen Anne's Revenge and other vessels he captured. His crew of ghastly zombies obey his every command, and they don't fear death because they're already dead. As Blackbeard's flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge had a cage put on the back, a Greek fire-based weapon on the bow, and the entire ship was decorated with the skeletons of his victims as trophies.

Jack Sparrow

"Jack Sparrow is no more. And was never more than selfish desire cloaked in romantic fictions. A legend we're well rid of."

―Cutler Beckett

How Captain Jack Sparrow wriggled his way into the pantheon of great pirate captains and attained the rank of Pirate Lord, no one knows. The fact remains, though, that his widely chronicled exploits have granted him a rather nefarious legend. It was considered insanity of the highest order to repeat his tragicomic misadventures would, including replicating his consumption of rum. Despite his dishonesty and many deceptions, Jack Sparrow did embark on a number of grand and thrilling adventures, some involving the supernatural and journeys in finding hidden treasures. Many tales have been told of him, most of which have been embellished by Jack himself. Such tales have made Jack an infamous pirate of the Caribbean, having been able to create, or at least contributed to, his own reputation. Some include Jack vanishing from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company and sacking Nassau Port without firing a shot.

Legend had it that Angelica was the only woman Jack Sparrow ever truly loved, but there have been occasions where she tried to kill him. Whether she broke his heart or he smote hers was an endless debate between the two pirates.

Quest for the Sword of Cortés

"This is the cursed sword that gave Cortés the power to conquer the Aztec empire! Legend has it that the sword made him unstoppable in battle....And it gave him strange powers, like convincing the Aztecs that he was a god. The Aztecs believed the god Quetzalcoatl would come back to them someday, and with this sword, Cortés convinced them that's who he was. Legend says the sword holds limited power if the one who possesses it doesn't also have its sheath."

―Arabella Smith

The corrosive conquistador Hernán Cortés used a cursed sword to conquer the Aztec empire. Legend said that the sword made Cortés unstoppable in battle and granted him strange powers, such as convincing the Aztecs that he was the god Quetzalcoatl. The sword held limited power if the one who possessed it didn't also have its sheath. Later legends tell of Stone-Eyed Sam using the sword to curse Isla Esquelética, as "A neat little city of stone and marble—just like them there Romans built."

Arabella Smith overheard some of the stories at the Faithful Bride tavern. To the patrons of the Bride, she was just the girl who filled the tankards, but she had heard hundreds of stories and legends over the years. Each story was almost like being on an adventure.

Blood of the Aztec Curse

The chest of Cortés.

"The Black Pearl? I've heard stories. She's been preying on ships and settlements for near ten years. Never leaves any survivors."
"No survivors? Then where do the stories come from, I wonder?"

―Jack Sparrow and a seedy prisoner

There were stories told of a ghostly ship with black sails that haunted the Caribbean—its crew and captain cursed for all time to search for a mysterious treasure. Some had heard the stories of the dreaded ship, known as the Black Pearl. For over ten years she had sailed the waters of the Caribbean, preying on towns and vessels. Without warning, she would appear out of the night and attack, leaving nothing nothing but chaos and destruction in her path. The Black Pearl was a legend, an old ghost story told to young children to scare them. Even Mullroy, who let out a laugh upon hearing the ship's name from Jack Sparrow, knew not to be afraid of a ship that no one had ever seen—no less sailed on. Mullroy scoffed, "There's no real ship as can match the Interceptor," before arguing about if the Pearl was real or not with Murtogg, who claimed to have seen it.

Although Governor Weatherby Swann wanted his daughter to be a proper member of Port Royal society, Elizabeth Swann had long been fascinated with pirates and legends of the sea. Though she had great knowledge on most pirate legends, such as Jack Sparrow and the Code of the Brethren, she hadn't known of many other stories of the sea.

Search for the Dead Man's Chest

"You know this place?"
"Stories. The Church came to the island, and brought salvation, and disease and death. They say the priest had to bury everybody, one after the other. It drove him mad, and he hung himself."

―James Norrington and Elizabeth Swann

Legend has it that a tortured soul called Davy Jones lives beneath the sea, his still-beating broken heart locked away in a chest, and a terrible sea beast at his command. Unfortunately for the notorious pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, this particular legend is very real. Years ago, Jack made a deal with Davy Jones, who is now expecting him to make good on his promise by handing himself over to Jones's servitude. But Jack will not give in without a fight.

Stories were told of Isla Cruces, in which the island was once populated and that the Church of England also established itself on the island. However, it was said to have brought disease to the island, resulting in a plague that wiped out the entire population. The priest had to bury the inhabitants, one by one, until he went insane and hung himself. When Jack Sparrow asked Will Turner how he got to the island, Will said "Sea turtles, mate. A pair of them, strapped to my feet," referencing a well-known legend that Jack Sparrow himself had escaped an island on the backs of turtles. Jack grinned at Will's slight, saying "Not so easy, is it?"

During the fight at Isla Cruces, Norrington and Will stood stunned as Jack took off down the beach with the key to the Dead Man's Chest, then quickly regained their composure and bolted after him. Jack headed for the old church. Racing into the bell tower, key in hand, he climbed the wooden stairs. High above him, dangling from the timbers was the skeleton of the legendary hanged priest. Jack gave the skeleton a quick nod and continued his climb before Norrington and Will caught up to Jack.

War Against Piracy

"Calypso. An old legend."
"No. The goddess herself, bound in human form. Imagine all the power of the seas brought to bear against our enemy. I intend to release her. But for that I need the Brethren Court. All the Court."

―Sao Feng and Hector Barbossa

Since the golden age of pirates, the Pirate Lords have ruled the Seven Seas. Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company was on a mission to change that balance of power. Having already heard of Jack Sparrow's death by the Kraken, Beckett said that Jack was "a legend we're well rid of." However, Jack was brought back from the Land of the Dead and participated in the Fourth Brethren Court meeting.

While convincing Sao Feng to side with the pirates, even after his betrayal, Hector Barbossa referred to the legend of the imprisoned sea goddess Calypso. In spite of Sao Feng scoffing at Calypso being an old legend, he made an accord with Barbossa. Prior to this, Elizabeth Swann told Sao Feng that he commanded in an age of piracy where bold captains sail free waters, that weren't measured in feet, but as increments of fear, and those who pass the test become legend.

The Fountain of Youth

The struggle between life and death as depicted on the Mao Kun Map.

"Legends tell that everlasting life can be found at the Fountain of Youth, but only those who possess the knowledge of the ancient ritual can achieve their heart's desire."

―Logbook of the Santiago

There are many myths of the seven seas, but the fate of few ships has been debated like that of the Santiago. Sent to discover the marvels of the New World in the 16th century, the ship had been missing ever since. Legends say that its captain, Juan Ponce de León, discovered the Fountain of Youth. Two centuries after Ponce de León's search, the Santiago once again figures in the schemes of ruthless men.

According to the legend, some very specific items were necessary to perform the Profane Ritual of the Fountain of Youth. The two silver Chalices of Cartagena were a crucial part of the ritual to gain eternal life; for the ceremony required not just a seeker of youth but also a victim whose years will be consumed. Both must drink from the Chalices, at which point all the years of the victim's life will be transferred to the seeker. The perilous waters of Whitecap Bay must then be reached, for mermaids lurked beneath the pale, foaming breakers. A longboat full of members of Blackbeard's crew was sent to lure a mermaid for her tears. Legend has it that man-made light and song attract the sirens of the sea, so the boat is lit by the beam of the lighthouse and Scrum sang a swaying sea shanty. Only a mermaid's tear, placed in one of the Chalices, would set the rejuvenating forces to work. Finally, the Fountain of Youth itself must be reached in order for the ceremony for immortality to begin.

Examples of famous legends

• Atlantis
• El Dorado
• Fountain of Youth
• James Misson and the founding of Libertalia, a pirate utopia
• Story of Davy Jones and Calypso
• The Flying Dutchman
• The Brethren Court
  • The First Brethren Court, told as an event justifying the imprisonment of Calypso
  • Morgan and Bartholomew of the Second Brethren Court
• Sea monster
• Jack Sparrow
• Blackbeard; stories of his cruelty have attained legendary status.

Behind the scenes

• The tagline for Pirates of the Caribbean Online was "Live the Legend!"

Appearances

• The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow
• Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)
• Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (junior novelization)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide

See also

• Folklore
• Pirate Lore
• Myth

External links

• Legend on Wikipedia