Pirate Larp - From sailor to scoundrel
Pirate costumes and pirate clothing have been very popular in larp for years. The numerous stories about the daring buccaneers have many fans and offer many ideas for exciting character concepts. Since Pirates of the Caribbean, pirate outfits have been a common sight in fantasy larp and on medieval markets. And this although the golden age of pirates and piracy - or what we associate with the pirate look - falls into the baroque era, i.e. the 16th - 18th century. And that, as we know, is well after the Middle Ages. But fantasy larp draws influences from antiquity, to the Renaissance and beyond. That's why you'll find a nasty buccaneer a la Blackbeard or a daredevil in no way inferior to an Anne Bonny or Mary Reed.
Pirates have probably been around ever since humans began trading at sea. With the development of trade by sea, people came up with the idea of robbing merchant ships. Already in ancient Egypt there were incidents of this kind. Also well known is the pirate queen Teuta of Illyria, whose pirate crew robbed Romans and Greeks. And vikings were pirates as well. With their fast ships they landed on distant coasts and went on wild raids in foreign lands. So pirates, buccaneers, corsairs or privateers did not just appear in the 16th century. However, the Caribbean pirate that we know as a pirate stereotype took its origin in this period. The pirate myth is undeniably fascinating. From real pirates like the German pirate Klaus Störtebeker, the English pirate Sir Francis Drake, the American pirate Calico Jack Rackham and Sir Henry Morgan - after whom the pirate rum is named - to the movie pirate Jack Sparrow, or literary adaptations like The Flying Dutchman and Long John Silver from Treasure Island: people love a good pirate story of the romanticized rogue or the gangster bride.
Larp Pirates - What is the game like?
Pirates in larp are mostly "town" characters, who rarely take an active part in battles. The pirate ship is often played by "telling". They like to hang around at ambient Larp events with town character and form alliances, do dubious trade, get drunk in taverns or seek quarrels and misbehave in other ways. Playing a pirate can be very entertaining, as it is not bound to particularly much etiquette and obligations, and makes this character quite easy for larp beginners. Of course, a pirate is also a good adventure character who can travel around flexibly and likes to fight and seek confrontation. In any case, a pirate's life is rarely boring. The pirate look for ladies of course varies somewhat from the pirate outfit for men, but basically both sexes can be out and about in pirate men's clothing.
The typical pirate clothing includes a pirate coat for the pirate captain or captainess and sometimes a pirate jacket or a pirate vest. Under it men wear a pirate shirt or a pirate blouse. You can also find a leather pirate corsage in our pirate store. A pirate skirt as a pirate outfit for lady or girl should not be missing. The pirate pants are suitable for pirates, female pirates and pirate children. A pirate hat, pirate boots and pirate saber complete the picture. A pirate hook hand, pirate scarf, pirate jewelry complete the picture. If you are not looking for a pirate costume but for historical pirate clothing, you should not forget the bandolier, the black teeth - dyed with dental enamel - and the pirate pistol among the accessories.
Famous pirates and famous pirate women
Next to Sayyida al-Hurra, who roamed the Mediterranean, Sadie Farrell - Sadie the Goat, the river pirate and gangster boss from New York and Lady Elizabeth Killigrew, a real lady pirate from Cornwall and Grace O'Malley, an Irish pirate who even got to meet Elizabeth I, the most famous female pirate was probably Ching Shih - sometimes spelled Zheng Yisao. Like many of the other female pirates, she took over the pirate business from her husband after his death and brought fear and terror to the seas around China. She had 1500 ships and over 80,000 crewmember under her command. That is called female force.
The Turkish pirate Barbossa - also called Redbeard - joined forces with Sayyida al-Hurra. Mary Redd and her best friend Anne Bonny belonged to Calico Jack Rackham's crew. And to the privateer Sir Henry Morgan we owe not only the pirate rum but also the pirate codex, which was written down by Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin. Sir Francis Drake was a trained seafarer, equipped with a letter of marque, he was even the first Englishman to sail around the world. He was later awarded a knighthood under the Tudor Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Pirate Costumes & Pirate Fashion - Tortuga trends
You can almost say there is a kind of pirate fashion in larp. There are whole events in the larp scene that are completely based on the pirate theme. For example, an island inhabited by pirates or a fort that has to be held is a part of the event. Rare, but very spectacular, are pirate larp events on real ships, where sea battles are re-enacted in a larp context. To create your pirate character, the Pirate Larp category is the right place for you. Pirate clothing is basically perfect for beginners. Just a dirty pirate shirt and wide trousers, as well as a large belt and pirate boots and the base of a pirate look is complete. Here you'll find everything from tricorn hat to pirate top that you need to convincingly play a pirate. For a beautiful pirate outfit for ladies we also have in-house leather corsages for the sophisticated corsairess. For the cosmopolitan lady pirate, a ruffled pirate skirt for ladies also looks very good, as well as an fine pirate blouse. Add all kinds of beautiful trinkets and pirate jewelry to the outfit and your pirate can set sail!
Pirate fashion is versatile. It doesn't have to stick to the classic triangular pirate hat: oriental pirates with turban and scimitars, for example, have their very own aesthetics and there are almost no limits to creativity. Fantasy Larp also offers the possibility to equip your pirate man or pirate woman with nasty curses. From the ship's kobolt - the Klabautermann - to the Voodoo Witch, everything is possible. Pirates can be also Part of the Steampunk-Genre and can be seen at such events! At Andracor you can create your very own pirate costume and pirate look. Pirate weapons from sabers or boarding axes to flintlock pistols are just waiting to be put to use. So...
On deck you landlubbers, grab a bottle of rum, time to board! Arrr;)
