Who doesn’t love a good pirate or privateer saga? All that capturing, swashbuckling and romancing on the high seas—oh yes! Gets my blood boiling just thinking about it. While there are lots of pirate and privateer romances out there, not all are great ones. This is my list of those I have read and rated 4 or 5 stars. Some do not have pirates as such, but may have a swashbuckling sea captain or a privateer. In almost every case, part of the story takes place on the high seas. See them HERE.
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Medieval romance has been around for centuries. The love story of King Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere, as memorialized in Lancelot, le Chevalier de la Charrette, an Old French poem written in the 12th century, and Wagner's composition of Tristan und Isolde are classics we never tire of. And, many of us read Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, set in 12th century England, when we were in school. It might surprise you to know that romance writing developed in Britain after the Norman Conquest and flourished right through the Middle Ages.
Why do we love to read about that time when knights battled for their king and ladies swooned at their victories? Perhaps it is the notion of chivalry, a valuing of womanhood and virtues such as truth, honor and valor. A knight who rises to duty, and the maiden who would take her place at his side. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, he describes a knight as being distinguished in truth, honor, generosity and courtesy, who is both wise and modest. A nobility of spirit, not just a nobility of title and lands. See MORE. There is much to be gained from reading romance novels—more than just a good story to curl up with on a rainy night. For those of us who love the sweeping historical sagas, there can be lessons in love as well as history. See more of my post HERE. Privateers were a large part of the total military force at sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. Privateers raise all the excitement and danger of piracy on the high seas, but with a significant difference: the privateers operated with government sanction, “Letters of Marque” that allowed the private vessel to act under color of law.
Read about them in my post on Privateers in the American Revolutionary War. |
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