The eldest shellback was called King Neptune, and the next eldest was his assistant who was called Davy Jones.ĭavy Jones is the main villain in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ( 2006), played by Bill Nighy. In traditions associated with sailors crossing the Equatorial line, there was a "raucous and rowdy" initiation presided over by those who had crossed the line before, known as shellbacks, or Sons of Neptune. Not all traditions dealing with Davy Jones are fearful. Jones's reputation causes fear among sailors, and many refuse to discuss Davy Jones in any great detail. Upon death, a wicked sailor's body supposedly went to Davy Jones's locker, but a holy sailor soul went to Fiddler's Green.ĭavy may come from Duppy, a West Indian term for a malevolent ghost, or from Saint David, also known as Dewi, the patron saint of Wales, while Jones comes from the prophet Jonah, whose story is considered bad luck for sailors. Some think Jonah became the "evil angel" of all sailors. Some call him Deva, Davy or Taffy, the thief of the evil spirit. Some also think it is just another name for the devil. Some believe the name came from Welsh sailors who would call upon Saint David for protection in times of mortal danger. Others have suggested more supernatural meanings. He could also be Duffer Jones, a notoriously myopic sailor who often found himself overboard. Sources have cited the British pub owner who is referenced in the 1594 song "Jones's Ale is Newe." He may be the same pub owner who supposedly threw drunken sailors into his ale locker and then dumped them onto any passing ship. David Jones was a pirate on the Indian Ocean in the 1630s, but most scholars agree that he was not famous enough to gain such lasting global fame. The exact origin of "Davy Jones" is unclear, and many explanations have been proposed. For aught I know he has gone to sea once more on his chest, and may land to bother some people on the other side of the world though it's a thousand pities, added he, if he has gone to Davy Jones's locker. In 1824, Washington Irving mentions Jones's name in his "Adventures of the Black Fisherman.": He came, said he, in a storm, and he went in a storm he came in the night, and he went in the night he came nobody knows whence, and he has gone nobody knows where. He is described in the same story as having saucer eyes, three rows of teeth, horns, a tail, and blue smoke coming from his nostrils. The earliest known reference to Davy Jones's negative connotation occurs in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett, published in 1751: This same Davy Jones, according to sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep, and is often seen in various shapes, perching among the rigging on the eve of hurricanes, ship-wrecks, and other disasters to which sea-faring life is exposed, warning the devoted wretch of death and woe. the sea." It appears not to have yet taken on the later connotations of misfortune. George Roberts": "Heaving the rest into David Jones's locker, i.e. He is also very popular in the broader culture.ĭaniel Defoe mentions the phrase in his 1726 book "The Four Years Voyages of Capt. The story's reputation has been widespread among sailors since its popularization, and nautical traditions have been created around Davy Jones. The origins of the name are unclear, and many theories have been put forth, including incompetent sailors, a pub owner who kidnapped sailors, or that Davy Jones is another name for the devil. to be "sent to Davy Jones's Locker") Davy Jones is a nickname (used primarily by sailors) for what would be the devil of the seas. It is used as a euphemism for death at sea (e.g. Related subjects: Mythsĭavy Jones's Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea - the resting place of drowned seamen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |