I never really thought much about a pirate's eye patch, but if you're going to dress up as a pirate, it's a must have. I recently came across a tidbit of information to explain the overabundance of eye patches and pirates.
So why did so many--if not all--pirates wear an eye patch? Were they all so unlucky to lose an eye? Was missing an eye a prerequisite to becoming a pirate? Were eye patches to make them look fearsome and sinister? Or were eye patches simply a fashion statement?
I didn't find a source that knew for sure, but the likely answer is that the eye patch is practical. Never thought I'd put pirate and practical in the same sentence.
Pirates would be on deck in the bright sunshine, then they would go below deck where it's dark. Eyes can adjust rather quickly from dark to light, but from light to dark, it can take 25 minutes. That's a long time to have your vision impaired, especially in the heat of battle. So pirates likely wore them so they could see when they went below deck. They would flip the patch up or switch it to the other eye below deck, then replace it when they came back up to keep one eye prepared for the dark.
So if you find yourself moving from a dark area to a bright one often throughout the day, maybe you should consider going by way of the pirate.
“Holly & Ivy,” my #HistoricalRomance novella in A #BouquetOfBrides, takes place in 1890, in Washington State. It’s about a young woman who accompanies her impetuous younger sister on her trip across the country to be a Christmas mail-order bride and is helped by a gallant stranger.
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#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance
MARY DAVIS is an award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January 2018, Courting Her Amish Heart in March 2018, The Widow’s Plight in July 2018, Courting Her Secret Heart (Working Title) September 2018, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December 2018. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:
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