Jolly Roger was the

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

flown by a

pirate ship Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the latter part of the

Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy was the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Histories of piracy often subdivide the Golden Age of Piracy into th ...

). The vast majority of such flags flew the motif of a human skull, or “Death's Head”, often accompanied by other elements, on a black field, sometimes called the ''"Death's Head flag"'' or just the ''"black flag"''. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger todaythe

skull and crossbones A skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two long bones crossed together under or behind the skull. The design originated in the Late Middle Ages as a symbol of death and especially as a ''memento mori'' on tombstones. ...

symbol on a black flagwas used during the 1710s by a number of pirate captains, including

Samuel Bellamy Captain Samuel Bellamy ( 23 February 1689 – 26 April 1717), erroneously known as "Black Sam" Bellamy, was an English sailor turned pirate during the early 18th century. He is best known as one of the wealthiest pirates in the Golden Age of Pi ...

Edward England Edward England (–1721) was an Irish pirate. The ships he sailed on included the ''Pearl'' (which he renamed ''The Royal James'') and later the ''Fancy'', for which England exchanged the ''Pearl'' in 1720. His flag was the classic Jolly Rog ...

, and

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...

. It became the most commonly used pirate flag during the 1720s, although other designs were also in use.

Etymology

Jolly Roger at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Use of the term ''Jolly Roger'' in reference to pirate flags goes back to at least Charles Johnson's ''

A General History of the Pyrates ''A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'', or simply ''A General History of the Pyrates'', is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates,Roger Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

. Johnson specifically cites two pirates as having named their flag "Jolly Roger":

Bartholomew Roberts Bartholomew Roberts (17 May 1682 – 10 February 1722), born John Roberts, was a Welsh pirate who was, measured by vessels captured, the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy. During his piratical career, he took over 400 prize shi ...

in June 1721 and

Francis Spriggs Francis Spriggs (died 1725?) was a British pirate who, associated with George Lowther and Edward Low, was active in the Caribbean and the Bay of Honduras during the early 1720s. Early career Although much of his early life is unknown, Francis S ...

in December 1723.Johnson (1724), pp. 411–12. While Spriggs and Roberts used the same name for their flags, their flag designs were very different, suggesting that already "Jolly Roger" was a generic term for black pirate flags rather than a name for any single specific design. Neither Spriggs' nor Roberts' Jolly Roger consisted of a skull and crossbones. Richard Hawkins, who was captured by pirates in 1724, reported that the pirates had a black flag bearing the figure of a skeleton stabbing a heart with a spear, which they named "Jolly Roger". This description closely resembles the flags of a number of Golden Age pirates.David Cordingly (1995). ''Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates'', New York: Random House, p. 117. An early reference to "Old Roger" (a humorous or familiar name for the devil, or death) is found in a news report in the ''Weekly Journal or British Gazetteer'' (London, Saturday, 19 October 1723; Issue LVII, p. 2, col. 1):

“Parts of the West-Indies. Rhode-Island, July 26. This Day, 26 of the Pirates taken by his Majesty Ship the ''
Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...
, Captain Solgard'', were executed here. Some of them delivered what they had to say in writing, and most of them said something at the Place of Execution, advising all People, young ones especially, to take warning by their unhappy Fate, and to avoid the crimes that brought them to it. Their black flag, under which they had committed abundance of Pyracies and Murders, was affix'd to one Corner of the Gallows. It had in it the Portraiture of Death, with an Hour-Glass in one Hand, and a Dart in the other, striking into a Heart, and three Drops of Blood delineated as falling from it. This Flag they called ''Old Roger'', and us'd to say, ''They would live and die under it''.”Old Roger is Jolly Roger
''Linquistlist'',
American Dialect Society The American Dialect Society (ADS), founded in 1889, is a learned society "dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it." The Society p ...

It is sometimes claimed that the term derives from "Joli Rouge" ("Pretty Red") in reference to a red flag used by French

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s. This is sometimes attributed to red blood, symbolizing violent pirates, ready to kill. Another origin includes a phonetic version of the name of a supposed Indian pirate called "Ali Rajah." Historians discount both of these origins for lack of any period reference or mention. "Roger" as a term also applied to both a scoundrel or rogue, as well as for a police officer; it also was a slang term for "penis." In addition "Johnny Roger" was a nickname for

Woodes Rogers Woodes Rogers ( – 15 July 1732) was an English sea captain, privateer and colonial administrator who served as the List of governors of the Bahamas, governor of the Bahamas from 1718 to 1721 and again from 1728 to 1732. He is remembered ...

, the former privateer who became Governor of New Providence charged with ending piracy in the region.

History

The first recorded uses of the skull-and-crossbones symbol on naval flags date to the 17th century. It possibly originated among the

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

of the period, which would connect the black colour of the Jolly Roger to the Muslim

Black Standard The Black Banner or Black Standard (), also known as the Banner of the eagle () or simply as The Banner () is one of the Islamic flags flown by the Islamic prophet Muhammad according to Muslim tradition. It was historically used by Abu Musli ...

(black flag). But an early reference to Muslim corsairs flying a skull symbol, in the context of a 1625

slave raid Slave raiding is a military raid for the purpose of capturing people and bringing them from the raid area to serve as slaves. Once seen as a normal part of warfare, it is nowadays widely considered a war crime. Slave raiding has occurred since ...

on Cornwall, explicitly refers to the symbols being shown on a

green flag Green Flag Limited is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used a network of ...

. There are mentions of English privateer

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

flying a black flag as early as 1585, but the historicity of this tradition has been called into question. Contemporary accounts show

Peter Easton Peter Easton ( – 1620 or after) was an English privateer and later pirate in the early 17th century. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life. By 1602, Easton had become a highly successful privateer, commissioned to protect En ...

using a plain black flag in 1612; a plain black flag was also used by Captain Martel's pirates in 1716,

Charles Vane Charles Vane (c. 1680 – 29 March 1721) was an English pirate who operated in the Bahamas during the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. Vane was likely born in the Kingdom of England around 1680. One of his first pirate ventures was under the l ...

, and

Richard Worley Richard Worley may refer to: * Richard Worley (pirate) (died 1718/19), pirate active in the Caribbean and along the east coast of the American Colonies * Richard Worley (police officer) (born 1964 or 1965), American police officer and commissioner ...

in 1718,Johnson, pp. 72, 147, 344. and

Howell Davis Howell Davis (19 June 1719), also known as Hywel and/or Davies, was a Welsh people, Welsh piracy, pirate. His piratical career lasted just 11 months, from 11 July 1718 to 19 June 1719, when he was ambushed and killed. His ships were the ''Cadogan ...

in 1719. An early record of the skull-and-crossbones design being used on a (red) flag by pirates is found in a 6 December 1687 entry in a log book held by the . The entry describes pirates using the flag, not on a ship but on land. Bonnet

During the 17th and 18th centuries, British privateers were required to fly a specific flag, the 1606

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

with a white crest in the middle, to distinguish them from Royal Navy vessels. Before this time, British privateers, such as Sir

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports o ...

, sailed under the

Red Ensign The Red Ensign or Red Duster is the civil ensign of the United Kingdom. It is one of the British ensigns, and it is used either plain or defacement (flag), defaced with either a Glossary of vexillology#Flag elements, badge or a Glossary of v ...

. An early use of a black flag with skull, crossbones, and hourglass is attributed to pirate captain Emanuel Wynn in 1700, according to a wide variety of secondary sources. Reportedly, these secondary sources are based on the account of Captain John Cranby of HMS ''Poole'' and are verified at the London

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...

. With the end of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

in 1714, many privateers turned to piracy. They still used red and black flags, but now they decorated them with their own designs. Edward England, for example, flew three different flags: from his mainmast the black flag depicted above; from his foremast a red version of the same; and from his ensign staff the Red Ensign. Just as variations on the Jolly Roger design existed, red flags sometimes incorporated yellow stripes or images symbolic of death.David Cordingly (1995). ''Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates'', New York: Random House, p. 118. Coloured pennants and ribbons could also be used alongside flags.

Marcus Rediker Marcus Buford Rediker (born October 14, 1951) is an American historian, writer, professor, and social activist. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1976 and attended the University of Pennsylvania for gra ...

(1987) claims that most pirates active between 1716 and 1726 were part of one of two large interconnected groups sharing many similarities in organization. He states that this accounts for the "comparatively rapid adoption of the piratical black flag among a group of men operating across thousands of miles of ocean", suggesting that the skull-and-crossbone design became standardized at about the same time as the term ''Jolly Roger'' was adopted as its name. By 1730, the diversity of symbols in prior use had been mostly replaced by the standard design.

Use in practice

Pirates did not fly the Jolly Roger at all times. The flag was intended as communication of the pirates' identity, which gave target ships an opportunity to decide to surrender without a fight. For example, in June 1720, when

sailed into the harbour at

Trepassey Trepassey () is a small fishing community located in Trepassey Bay on the south eastern corner of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was in Trepassey Harbour where the flight of the ''Friendship'' took off, with Amelia Earhar ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

with black flags flying, the crews of all 22 vessels in the harbour abandoned their ships in panic.

Black and red flag

It is claimed that the Jolly Roger was part of a flag signal combination, comprising a "black flag", i.e. the Jolly Roger, and a "red flag", often called a

bloody flag Often called bloody flags or the bloody red (among other names, see ), pattern-free ''red flags'' were the traditional nautical symbol in European waters prior to the invention of flag signal codes to signify an intention to give battle and tha ...

. * The "black flag" signaled that " quarter" would be given if the target surrendered their cargo/valuables, meaning that all enemies will be guaranteed mercy after surrender or capture. * The "red flag" signaled that "

no quarter No quarter, during War, military conflict or piracy, implies that combatants would not be taken Prisoner of war, prisoner, but executed. Since the Hague Convention of 1899, it is considered a war crime; it is also prohibited in customary interna ...

" would be given and the target's cargo/valuables taken by force, meaning that no mercy will be shown and no life will be spared in an attack. When closing on a target ship, the pirate ship would normally fly a

false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrep ...

or no colours until they had their prey within firing range. Like other vessels, pirate ships usually stocked a variety of flags for various purposes. When the pirates' intended victim was within range, the black flag would be raised, often simultaneously with a warning shot, communicating the pirates' identity to the target ship in order to persuade them to surrender without a fight. Surrendering without a fight meant that they would cooperate with the pirate's demands and allow them to rifle through their cargo, which was sometimes rewarded with some cargo being left alone. To signal "yes", the victim ship would have to take down their own flag, in naval terminology called "striking their flag". Followed by warning shots, if the enemy did not strike their own flag to signal surrender, the pirates would raise the red flag, which would signal that the cargo would be taken by force and that "no quarter would be given" to prisoners. If the pirates had several ships, the raising of the bloody flag could also act as the signal "to attack" for the rest of the ships. The pirate captain Jean Thomas Dulaien would wait for the enemy to fire three or more cannon shots after raising the red flag before giving the order to attack with no quarter given. An early claim of the black and red flag-combo was made in the mid-18th century by Richard Hawkins, however, the cited content may simply relate to different pirate captains, their ships, their chosen flag and particular operating practices. The bloody flag was already an established naval flag and was not unique to piracy. The black and red flag tactic was, however, not universal, such as the case of

: " etook down his St. George's Flag, and hoisted a black Flag with a Death's Head in it, which is their Signal to intimate, that they will neither give or take Quarter."

Function in practice

In view of these models, it was important for a prey ship to know that its assailant was a pirate, and not a privateer or government vessel, as the latter two generally had to abide by a rule that if a crew resisted, but then surrendered, it could not be executed:

An angry pirate therefore posed a greater danger to merchant ships than an angry Spanish coast guard or privateer vessel. Because of this, although, like pirate ships, Spanish coast guard vessels and privateers were almost always stronger than the merchant ships they attacked, merchant ships may have been more willing to attempt resisting these "legitimate" attackers than their piratical counterparts. To achieve their goal of taking prizes without a costly fight, it was therefore important for pirates to distinguish themselves from these other ships also taking prizes on the seas.

Flying a Jolly Roger was a reliable way of proving oneself a pirate. Just possessing or using a Jolly Roger was considered proof that one was a criminal pirate rather than something more legitimate; only a pirate would dare fly the Jolly Roger, as he was already under threat of execution.

Design

Before 1700, pirates flew a plain black flag together with the red (“bloody”) flag, the use of emblems first taking the scene in the 18th century. Jolly Roger variations possibly existed as a type of personal calling card to be associated with a certain pirate crew's reputation and thus make enemies surrender more easily, however, this is not mentioned by period sources. Flag motifs could often not be made out at longer ranges, thus, flag details was more likely an internal mark of identity for the crew. Historically, most pirates reused the same designs as their peers, possibly to partake in the reputation of others, eventually leading to designs such as the skull and crossbones becoming the norm. Pirates sometimes used a national flag to symbolize their nationality or their allegiance to a nation.

Common elements

Key elements commonly found on a Jolly Roger flag typically include (some rarer than others): *

Skull and crossbones A skull and crossbones is a symbol consisting of a human skull and two long bones crossed together under or behind the skull. The design originated in the Late Middle Ages as a symbol of death and especially as a ''memento mori'' on tombstones. ...

– The skull, historically called "death's head" (compare ), represents death and danger, emphasizing the pirates' ruthless and deadly reputation. The crossbones are often positioned behind or beneath the skull and create an "X" shape. They symbolize crossed swords or bones, signifying violence and conflict *

Human skeleton The human skeleton is the internal framework of the human body. It is composed of around 270 bones at birth – this total decreases to around 206 bones by adulthood after some bones get fused together. The bone mass in the skeleton makes up ab ...

– the period depiction of the

personification of death Personifications of death are found in many religions and mythologies. In more modern stories, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that per ...

, sometimes carrying out symbolic gestures of suffering and death, such as stabbing a heart with a spear, wielding weapons and even

signal instrument A signal instrument is a musical instrument which is not only used for music as such, but also fit to give sound signals as a form of auditive communication, usually in the open air. Signal instruments are often contrasted with melody, melod ...

s *

Hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, or sand clock) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) from the ...

– symbolizing that the life of the attacked is running out * Bundle of arrows – an older regal or state symbol alluding to the proverb that arrows can be easily broken one by one but are unbreakable if tied together, however, in the case of the Jolly Roger, more likely to symbolize implements of death * Sword – symbolizing implements of death * Sword arm – symbolizing implements of death, a common naval motif outside piracy (see the Dutch

Bloody flag Often called bloody flags or the bloody red (among other names, see ), pattern-free ''red flags'' were the traditional nautical symbol in European waters prior to the invention of flag signal codes to signify an intention to give battle and tha ...

) * Pistol – symbolizing implements of death * Cannon – symbolizing implements of death *

Powder horn A powder horn is a container for gunpowder, and was generally created from cow, ox, or Bison, buffalo horn (anatomy), horn. The term may also be used for any personal container for gunpowder, although powder flask is the strictly correct term. ...

or signal horn – symbolizing implements of death

Historical designs

All illustrations presented here are merely artistic interpretations based on surviving descriptions and do not faithfully represent actual flags.

Black flags

:''Sub-articles:

Old Roger (Jolly Roger) The Old Roger flag is a loose term for a historical variant of the pirate ensign Jolly Roger, whose motif consists of a skeleton on a black field, holding an hourglass in one hand and a dart striking a heart in the other. The general design is not ...

'' File:Pirate Flag of Emanuel Wynne.svg, Interpretation of Emanuel Wynne's pirate flag, described by Captain St. John Cranby of ''HMS Poole'' as "a sable ensigne with Cross bones, a Death's head, and an hour glase". File:Old Roger.svg, Interpretation of the "

Old Roger Old Roger may refer to: * Satan, an old nickname for the devil * Jolly Roger, a period name some pirates named their Jolly Roger * Old Roger (Jolly Roger), a Jolly Roger-design depicting a skeleton holding an hourglass in one hand and a dart striki ...

" design, as described for several pirates, such as

Edward Low Edward Low (also spelled Lowe or Loe; c. 16901724) was a pirate of English origin during the latter days of the Golden Age of Piracy, in the early 18th century. Low was born into poverty in Westminster, London, and was a thief from an early ag ...

, Charles Harris, and

; see

. File:Pirate Death's Head Flag.svg, Interpretation of a death's head flag used by various pirates such as Edward "Blackbeard" Teach,

Stede Bonnet Stede Bonnet (c. 1688 – 10 December 1718) was an English pirate who was known as the Gentleman Pirate because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the is ...

Thomas Anstis Thomas Anstis (died April 1723) was an early 18th-century pirate, who served under Captain Howell Davis and Captain Bartholomew Roberts, before setting up on his own account, raiding shipping on the eastern coast of the American colonies and in t ...

, Captain Kennedy,

Christopher Condent Condent (died 1734), born in Plymouth in Devon, was an England, English pirate who was best known for his piracies in the Indian Ocean. His real name is uncertain; French sources from the time of his retirement refer to him as "Edward Congdon." H ...

, and

. File:Pirate Flag of Stede Bonnet (alternate).svg, Interpretation of

's flag from ''

A General History of the Pyrates ''A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'', or simply ''A General History of the Pyrates'', is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates,th of Aprila large Ship and a sloop with Black Flags and Deaths Heads in them and three more sloops with Bloody Flags all bore down upon the said ship Protestant Caesar". Also a description of Blackbeard's flag. File:Flag of Edward England.svg, Interpretation of

and

's Jolly Roger as described by Thomas Baker of Bellamy's crew: “..they spread a large black flag, with a Death's Head and Bones across, and gave chase to Cap't. Prince under the same colours”. File:Samuel Bellamy Flag.svg, Another flag used by Samuel Bellamy, described as “A black Ensign, with Death holding an Hour-Glass in one Hand and a peakingTrumpet in the other”. File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Olivier Levasseur (La Buse) 2.svg, Another of Levasseur's pirate flags, described as “A black flag in which is represented a corpse which holds in one hand a saber which he holds raised, at his feet a man on his knees.”Baylus Brooks, Dictionary of Pirate Biography File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Olivier Levasseur (La Buse) 3.svg, Another of Levasseur's pirate flags, described as “… made of black cloth and was painted in the middle a skeleton flanked by scattered bones and crossed cutlasses” File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Olivier Levasseur (La Buse) 4.svg, Another of Levasseur's pirate flags, described as “They made it of black silk. In its centre, there was the figure of a naked man with a cutlass in his right hand, and the left one holding a decapitated head by the hair.” File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Olivier Levasseur (La Buse) 5.svg, Another of Levasseur's pirate flags, described as a “Black flag in which for figure there were four skulls and two bones in cross with white tears”. File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Olivier Levasseur (La Buse) 6.svg, Another of Levasseur's pirate flags, described as a “black flag with a skeleton holding an hourglass and a sword, teardrops, and a man lying down”. File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Bartholomew Roberts (early).svg, Interpretation of

' Jolly Roger as described by an eyewitness in the

Boston Gazette The ''Boston Gazette'' (1719–1798) was a newspaper published in Boston, in the British North American colonies. It was a weekly newspaper established by William Brooker, who was just appointed Postmaster of Boston, with its first issue releas ...

, 22 August 1720: “a Black Flag with Death's head and a cutlass in it”. File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Bartholomew Roberts (Trepassey).svg, Interpretation of

' Jolly Roger as used during the battle of

Trepassy Trepassey () is a small fishing community located in Trepassey Bay on the south eastern corner of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was in Trepassey Harbour where the flight of the ''Friendship'' took off, with Amelia Earha ...

harbour, 1720, as described by eyewitness William Matthew: “a death's head and an arm with a cutlass”. File:Edward Low Flag.svg, Interpretation of

's second flag, described as “a black Flag, with the Figure of Death in Red” File:Pirate Skeleton Flag.svg, Interpretation of a flag used by various pirates such as John Cole, George Lowther,

,Benerson Little, The Golden Age of Piracy: The Truth Behind Pirate Myths and James Skyrme. File:Richard Worley Flag.svg, Richard Worley's death's head flag. File:Pirate_flag_of_Howell_Davis_2.svg, Alternate flag of Howell Davis, which ”represented a man asleep and a skeleton with one hand a clock, a sword of the other.” File:Pirate_flag_of_Howell_Davis.svg, Another Howell Davis flag; "gun" here means carriage-gun or cannon: “their Standard, which they hoisted at Main-topmast-head, with a Gun and Sword.” File:Unknown Jolly Roger.svg, Interpretation of a flag Commodore Roggewein described in 1721 as "a black flag, with a Death's head in the centre, a powder horn over it and two bones underneath". File:Flag of Christopher Condent.svg, Interpretation of a flag used by an unknown pirate crew, described as “two unidentified pirates (1718) at Barbados and Saint-Domingue flying multiple ‘death’s heads’ on a black field”. It is incorrectly associated with

. File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate captain Napin (Napping).png, Captain Napin "had in his flag a Deaths Head and an hour glass" - ''Boston News Letter'' of August 12, 1717 File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Thomas Nichols.png, Thomas Nichols "had in his flag a dart and a bleeding heart." - ''Boston News Letter'' of August 12, 1717 File:John_Phillips_Pirate_Flag.svg, ''Boston News Letter'' described the flag of John Phillips as "Their own dark flag, in the middle of which an anatomy, and at one side of it a dart in the heart, with drops of blood proceeding from it; and on the other side an hour-glass." File:William Moody Old Roger.svg, Flag associated with William Moody. Described as “A black Flag, having a white Man painted in it, with three Arrows, whose Points were turn’d toward a red Heart, and underneath it were some red Spots, resembling Blood.” File:William Moody pirate flag 2.svg, Another flag associated with William Moody. Described as a “Heart pierc’d by an Arrow.” File:Pirate flag described by William Falconer (1783).svg, Interpretation of a pirate flag described by William Falconer (1732–1769) as, " e colours usually displayed by pirates are laid to be a black field, with a death's head, a battle-axe and hour-glass." File:Captain Jean Adrian Pirate Flag 3.svg, Interpretation of the Jolly Roger flag depicted on a 1811 painting of a 1796 battle, flown by the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...

privateer 'La Mouche', captained by a "Jean Adrian". The flaming grenades are speculative, based on inexplicable white dots on the original. File:Jeremiah_Cocklyn_Flag.svg, Another of Jeremiah Cocklyn's flags, described as “the skeleton of a human body such as Death used to be represented by, and in the other Side a morthead with two bones across and a sandglass…” File:Jeremiah_Cocklyn_Flag_2.svg, Another of Jeremiah Cocklyn's flags, described as “a Man’s arm with a dagger in his hand and on the other side a morthead and glass…”. File:Captain Dulaien Flag.svg, Flag of Jean Thomas Dulaien, described as “The flag was black, with a skull and crossbones below on the hoist and a naked man holding a cutlass in one hand and over the skull and bones and an hourglass in the other, on the fly.” There is no evidence of Walter Kennedy flying this flag; after he mutinied against Bartholomew Roberts, Walter and the rest of the crew retired from piracy and sailed to Ireland. File:Jolly Roger pirate flag of Jean Thomas Dulaien (alternate design).svg, Another flag design by Dulaein, described as “Figures of heads cut off (ie skulls) with a cutlass, piles of bones and hourglasses”. Made out of a fabric called “Ras de St. Maur” - a fine fabric either of wool or silk made in the town of St. Maur - Flag measurement: 22 ft 9in long, 14 ft 9in wide File:Flag (Jolly Roger) of pirate Philip Lyne.svg, Pirate flag of Philip Lyne described as “their Black Silk Flagg before them, with the Representation of a Man in full proportion, with a Cutlass in one Hand and a Pistol in the other” File:Captain Kennedy Flag.svg, Pirate flag of Captain Kennedy, described as a “black Ensign

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

the Figure of a Man with a Sword in his hand and an Hourglass before him, with a Death’s head and bones.” Not to be confused with Walter Kennedy where there is no evidence of him ever flying a distinct pirate flag.

Bloody flags

File:Jean Thomas Dulaien Pennant.svg, Alongside the black flag, Dulaien also flew a red pennant. File:Pirate flag of Bartholomew Sharp.svg, Interpretation of

Bartholomew Sharp Bartholomew Sharp (c. 1650 – 29 October 1702) was an English buccaneer and privateer. His career of piracy lasted seven years (1675–1682). In the Caribbean he took several ships, and raided the Gulf of Honduras and Portobelo. He took comman ...

's pirate flag, described as "a red Flag, with a bunch of white and green Ribbons".Exquemelin, Buccaneers of America vol. 2 File:Red flag.svg, A plain red flag used by John Coxon. File:Florida Straits pirates flag.svg, Interpretation of an unknown pirate flag from the

Florida Straits The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait () is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys (U.S.) ...

described as in 1822, "hoisted a red flag with death's head and cross under it." The "cross" might have referred to crossed bones. File:Filibusters Jolly Roger.svg, Interpretation of a French

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...

s flag from 1688 described as a “red flag with a death’s head at the center and two crossed bones below the head, in white, in the middle of the red”. File:Bloedvlag.svg, Bloody flag used by the 17th century Dutch navy, possibly in return by Dutch pirates considering the motif's appearance on black flags during the following 18th century. File:Unknown Spanish Pirate Flag.svg, ''Bacchus'' under Capt. Stevens in 1731 encountered "a Spanish ''Guarde Costa'', which fir'd a Gun at her, and she return'd; upon which they hoisted a red Flag, with a Death's Head."

Blue flags

File:Blue Flag.svg, A plain blue flag used by

Claes Gerritszoon Compaen Claes Gerritszoon Compaen (1587, Oostzaan, North Holland - 25 February 1660, Oostzaan), also called Claas Compaan or Klaas Kompaan, was a 17th-century Dutch corsair and merchant. Dissatisfied as a privateer for the Dutch Republic, he turned to p ...

and Laurens de Graaf. File:Old Roger (Blue).svg, According to one source, Charles Harris used a blue version of the Old Roger flag.

Green flags

File:16th Century Barbary Corsairs Flag.svg, A green

Barbary corsairs The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

flag with a skull on it. File:BarbarosSancagi.svg, The flag of Hayreddin Barbarossa. File:Rectangular green flag.svg, A plain green flag used by Peter Harris. File:Edward Low The Green Trumpeter flag.svg, Described by George Roberts after his capture by

: “After which, owordered a Consultation Signal to be made, which was their Green Trumpeter, as they called him, hoisted at the Mizen-Peek: It was a green silk flag, with a yellow figure of a man blowing a Trumpet on it.”

Striped flags

File:Pirate flag of Richard Sawkins.svg, A pirate flag used by

Richard Sawkins Richard Sawkins or ''Hawkins'' (died May 22, 1680) was an English buccaneer who participated in the Pacific Adventure, a privateering expedition headed by Captain John Coxon. Although little is known of his early life, Sawkins was captured by ...

, described as "a red Flag striped with yellow...". File:Pirate Flag of Edmund Cooke.svg, A flag used by Edmund Cooke, described as "red Colours striped with yellow, with a Hand and Sword for his devise".

White flags

File:Olivier (La Buse) Levasseur Pirate Flag.svg, Interpretation of the pirate flag of Olivier "La Buse" Levasseur, described as a "white ensign with a figure of a dead man spread in it"; one of the few mentions of a black-on-white Jolly Roger flag. File:Pirate Deaths Head Flag (Levasseur Reversed).svg, Another flag of Olivier Levesseur, described as a "Death’s head in black in ye middle of a white ensign." Flag of buccaneer Edward Davis.svg, Flag of buccaneer Edward Davis, described in Burney's History of the Buccaneers (1816): "as he was furnished with a French commission, and France was still at war with Spain, he carried aloft a white flag, in which was painted a hand and sword." Pirate flag of John Rackham.svg, The pirate flag of

John Rackham John Rackham (hanged 18 November 1720), perhaps known as Calico Jack, was a pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and Jamaica during the early 18th century. Rackham was active in 1720, towards the end of the "Golden Age of Piracy". He is mos ...

, described as a "white pendant". File:Unknown White Pirate Flag.svg, Flag of an unknown pirate crew, described as “a white Pendant at the Topmast-Head, with a naked Man and a Sword in his Hand” and "a white Streamer in the Top-mast, with a naked Man brandishing a Sword".

Yellow flags

File:Jolly Roger flag described by William Betagh.svg, Described by privateer

George Shelvocke George Shelvocke (baptised 1 April 167530 November 1742) was an English Royal Navy officer and later privateer who in 1726 wrote the memoir ''A Voyage Round the World by Way of the Great South Sea'' based on his exploits. It includes an account o ...

as "a yellow field and black human skeleton."

National flags

File:Prinsenvlag.svg, The

Prinsenvlag The Prince's Flag () is a tricolour Dutch flag, first used in the Dutch Revolt during the late 16th century. The Prince's Flag is based on the flag of William the Silent, hence the name. The colours are orange, white and blue. On the basis o ...

used by Dutch pirates. File:Flag of England.svg, The

Flag of England The flag of England is the national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is derived from Saint George's Cross (heraldic blazon: ''Argent, a cross gules''). The association of the red cross as an emblem of England ...

used by John Quelch File:Pirate Flag of Thomas Cocklyn.svg,

Jeremiah Cocklyn Jeremiah Cocklyn, better known by the name Thomas Cocklyn (fl. 1717–1719), was an English pirate known primarily for his association with Howell Davis, Olivier Levasseur, Richard Taylor, and William Moody. History Cocklyn was among the hund ...

's pirate flag, described as “

St. George’s cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with the ...

with four balls in the quarter”. File:Pirate Flag of Thomas Anstis.svg,

' pirate flag described as “hoisted a

Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

, with Four blazing Balls”.

Incorrect designs

These are flag designs commonly attributed to historical pirates but which have no factual basis. Some are modern inventions while others are real flags but mistakenly attributed to specific pirates. Some of these first appeared in the early 20th century in the journal

The Mariner's Mirror ''The Mariner's Mirror'' is the quarterly academic journal of the Society for Nautical Research in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1911 and is abstracted and indexed by Scopus. It is published in partnership with Taylor & Francis. The ''M ...

but were not attributed to specific pirates until 1959 in

Hans Leip Hans Leip (22 September 1893 – 6 June 1983) was a German novelist, poet and playwright, best remembered as the lyricist of Lili Marleen. Leip was the son of a former sailor and harbour-worker at the port of Hamburg. He was educated there, a ...

's ''Bordbuch des Satans'', which also included some never-before-seen designs such as Bonnet's and Rackham's. File:Pirate Flag of Blackbeard (Edward Teach).svg, This

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

may be is incorrectly attributed to

Blackbeard Edward Teach (or Thatch; – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he ma ...

; the “horns” on the skeleton are unknown in period sources, and Blackbeard flew only a "Deaths Head". File:Pirate Flag of Rack Rackham.svg, The

Crossed Swords Jolly Roger The Crossed Swords Jolly Roger, or Skull and Crossed Swords Flag, are figurative terms for a popular modern variant of the pirate naval ensign Jolly Roger, whose motif consists of a skull above crossed swords (sabres). Design While not historic ...

, is popularly attributed to

, this flag is a modern invention, and Rackham was not documented as having flown a Jolly Roger. File:Pirate Flag of Stede Bonnet.svg, Traditional depiction of

's flag.; Bonnet was only ever described (in the ''Boston Newsletter'' in June 1718) as having flown a “Death’s head.” File:Flag of Henry Every red.svg, Popular version of

Henry Every Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery (20 August 1659Disappeared: June 1696), sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used s ...

's Jolly Roger. Supposedly, Every also flew a version with a black background. There is no period evidence to support this as an authentic flag of Every’s. File:Henry Every Crossbones Flag.svg, The 1724 book ''

A General History of the Pyrates ''A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'', or simply ''A General History of the Pyrates'', is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates,chevrons Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

and bordered in green. This may have been intended to describe his flag. Although red was a popular colour for pirate flags of the time, the meaning of the four chevrons is not certain; it may have been an attempt (justified or not) to link Every with the West-Country gentry clan of Every whose coats-of-arms showed similar chevrons. File:Flag of Christopher Moody.svg, Supposedly a flag of

Christopher Moody Christopher Moody (c. 1694-1722) was a pirate as a member of Bartholomew Roberts' crew but was never a captain in his own right. He is best known not for his own actions but for a popular Jolly Roger flag mis-attributed to him as well as for later ...

’s, this was a generic "sea rover" design dating to the late 17th or early 18th centuries and was not attributed to "Christopher" Moody until the 1930s. File:Bartholomew Roberts Flag.svg, Said to be Roberts' first flag, showing himself and

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

holding an

hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, or sand clock) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) from the ...

. File:Bartholomew Roberts Flag1.svg, Said to be Roberts' new flag, showing him holding a sword and standing on two skulls, representing the heads of a Barbadian and a Martiniquian. File:Bartholomew Roberts Flag1A.svg, Said to be an early rendition of Roberts' second flag with

Saint George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with ...

in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

. File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Bartholomew Roberts.svg, Said to be a later rendition of Roberts' second flag, showing him holding a flaming sword. File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Bartholomew Roberts (Johnson).svg, One of Roberts' flags described in Johnson's General History: "The Flag had a Death in it, with an Hour-Glass in one Hand, and cross Bones in the other, a Dart by it, and underneath a Heart dropping three Drops of Blood." File:Jolly Roger flag of pirate Bartholomew Roberts (Defiance).svg, One of Roberts' flags described in Johnson's General History: "it had the figure of a skeleton in it, and a man portrayed with a flaming sword in his hand, intimating a defiance of death itself." Pirate Flag of Thomas Tew.svg, Tew's personal standard is often depicted as a black flag with a white arm holding a short

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

. Buccaneers Edmund Cooke and Edward Davis used a similar design, except Cooke used a red-and-yellow striped field while Davis used a white field with a black arm holding a sword on it. However, there is no evidence from period sources that Tew ever flew this flag, which is a 20th-century attribution. File:John Quelch Flag.svg, John Quelch's Old Roger flag is described as having "in the middle of it an

Anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

with an

in one hand and a

dart Dart or DART may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Dart, the equipment in the game of darts * Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero * Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe'' * Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character * Dart ...

in the Heart with three drops of Blood proceeding from it in the other."Gosse, P: "The Pirates' Who's Who Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And Buccaneers", page 253. Lenox Hill Pub, 1968 However, there is no evidence whatsoever that Quelch flew any flag other than the Flag of St. George or possibly a privateer's flag of St. George quartered on a red background similar to today's British merchant colors. Courtroom testimony from the crew maintained that the

flag of England The flag of England is the national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is derived from Saint George's Cross (heraldic blazon: ''Argent, a cross gules''). The association of the red cross as an emblem of England ...

had been flown at all times.

Modern military use

By British submarines

Following the introduction of

submarines A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...

in several navies circa 1900, Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, the

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, stated that submarines were "underhanded, unfair, and damned un-English", and that he would convince the British Admiralty to have the crews of enemy submarines captured during wartime

hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

as pirates.Richards & Smith, ''Onslow's Jolly Roger'', p. 10 In September 1914, the British submarine successfully torpedoed the German cruiser SMS ''Hela''.Compton-Hall, ''Submarines at War 1939–45'', p. 62 Remembering Wilson's statements, commanding officer

Max Horton Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton, (29 November 1883 – 30 July 1951) was a British submariner during the First World War and commander-in-chief of the Western Approaches Command, Western Approaches in the later half of the ...

instructed his submariners to manufacture a Jolly Roger, which was flown from the submarine as she entered port. Each successful patrol saw Horton's submarine fly an additional Jolly Roger until there was no more room for flags, at which point Horton had a large Jolly Roger manufactured, onto which symbols indicating ''E9''s achievements were sewn. A small number of other submarines adopted the practice: flew a red flag with the skull and crossbones on return from a foray into the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

in June 1915, and the first known photograph of the practice was taken in July 1916 aboard . The practice restarted during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In October 1940, following a successful patrol by , during which she sank the Italian destroyer ''Palestro'', the submarine returned to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, but was ordered to remain outside the boom net until the motorboat assigned to the leader of the 1st Submarine Flotilla had come alongside.Admiralty, ''His Majesty's Submarines'', p. 43 The flotilla leader wanted to recognize the boat's achievement, so had a Jolly Roger made and delivered to ''Osiris''. After this, the commanders of submarine flotillas began to hand out the flags to successful submarines. Although some sources claim that ''all'' British submarines used the flag,Sumner, ''The Royal Navy 1939–45'', p. 12 the practice was not taken up by those submarine commanders who saw it as boastful and potentially inaccurate, as sinkings could not always be confirmed. During the war, British submarines were entitled to fly the Jolly Roger on the day of their return from a successful patrol: it would be hoisted as the boat passed the boom net, and remain raised until sunset. ORP Sokol2

Symbols on the flag indicated the history of the submarine, and it was the responsibility of the boat's personnel to keep the flag updated. The

Royal Navy Submarine Museum The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport is a maritime museum tracing the international history of submarine development from the age of Alexander the Great to the present day, and particularly the history of the Royal Navy Submarine Service fr ...

(which, as of 2004, possessed fifteen Jolly Rogers) recognizes 20 unique symbols. A bar denotes the torpedoing of a ship: red bars indicated warships, white bars represented merchant vessels, and black bars with a white "U" stood for

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s.Richards & Smith, ''Onslow's Jolly Roger'', p. 11Allaway, ''Hero of the Upholder'', p. 110 A dagger indicated a '

cloak and dagger "Cloak and dagger" was a fighting style common by the time of the Renaissance involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. The term later came into use as a metaphor, referring to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery. Over ...

' operation: typically the delivery or recovery of shore parties from enemy territory. Stars (sometimes surrounding crossed

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

) stood for occasions where the deck gun was fired. Minelaying operations were shown by the silhouette of a sea mine: a number inside the mine indicated how many such missions. A lighthouse or torch symbolized the boat's use as a navigational marker for an invasion force; the latter more particularly associated with

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

. Rescue of personnel from downed aircraft or sunken ships was marked by a

lifebuoy A lifebuoy or life ring, among many other names (see § Other names), is a life-saving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in water to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning. Some modern lifebuoys are fitted with one or more seawater-activat ...

. Unique symbols are used to denote one-off incidents: for example, the Jolly Roger of included a can-opener, referencing an incident where an Italian destroyer attempted to ram the submarine, but ended up worse off because of damage to the destroyer's hull by the submarine's hydroplanes, while added a stork and baby when the boat's commander became a father while on patrol. Flying the Jolly Roger continued in the late 20th century and on into the 21st. raised the flag decorated with the silhouette of a cruiser to recognize her successful attack on the Argentine cruiser ARA ''General Belgrano'' during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. Several submarines returning from missions where Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired fly Jolly Rogers with tomahawk axes depicted, with crossed tomahawks indicating an unspecified number of firings, or individual axes for each successful launch.Norton-Taylor, ''Cruise missile sub back in UK'' The Jolly Roger has been adopted as the logo of the

Royal Navy Submarine Service The Royal Navy Submarine Service is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes known as the Silent Service, as submarines are generally required to operate undetected. The service operates six fleet submarines ( SSNs), ...

By other units

The practice, while commonly associated with British submarines, is not restricted to them. During World War II, Allied submariners working with Royal Navy fleets adopted the process from their British counterparts.Compton-Hall, ''Submarines at War 1939–45'', p. 64 While operating in the Mediterranean, the Polish submarines ORP ''Sokół'' and ORP ''Dzik'' were presented with Jolly Rogers by General

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

, and continued to update them during the war. At least one British surface ship recorded their

kills through silhouettes on a Jolly Roger. The Australian submarine flew the Jolly Roger in 1980, following her successful participation in the Kangaroo 3 wargame as an opposing submarine: the flag bore the silhouettes of the seven surface ships involved, as during the exercise, ''Onslow'' had successfully 'sunk' all seven.Richards & Smith, ''Onslow's Jolly Roger'', pp. 11–12 During the Vietnam war an urgent airfield was needed at

Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Qu ...

by the United States forces. U.S. Seabee Battalions 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 74, 121, and 133 all sent detachments of men and equipment to get the job done. Construction of the airfield necessitated the removal of 11,000 graves. Those detachments dubbed themselves the Ghost Battalion and chose the Jolly Roger for the Battalion's colors. The

Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion The Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion () is a battalion of the Estonian Land Forces. It is a part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade (Estonia), 2nd Infantry Brigade. Battalion headquarters is at Taara Army Base, Võru. History Estonian War of Independence ...

, part of the

Estonian Land Forces The Estonian Land Forces (), unofficially referred to as the Estonian Army, is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defense Forces where it has an offensive military formation role. The Estonian Land Forces is currently the ...

, uses the Jolly Roger as its insignia. Three distinct U.S. Naval Aviation squadrons have used the name and insignia of the Jolly Roger: VF-17/VF-5B/VF-61, VF-84, and VF-103, since redesignated as

VFA-103 Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (VFA-103), nicknamed the Jolly Rogers, is an aviation unit of the United States Navy established in 1952. VFA-103 flies the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and is based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia (US). The ...

. While these are distinctly different squadrons that have no lineal linkage, they all share the same Jolly Roger name, the skull and crossbones insignia and traditions. At least twice in 2017, the USS ''Jimmy Carter'', an American attack submarine modified to support

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

operations, returned to its

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

flying a Jolly Roger. The flag was traditionally an indicative of a successful mission. The three American destroyers named USS ''Kidd'' have all flown the Jolly Roger; they were named for US Navy Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, not for

William Kidd William Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701), also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in N ...

. The Jolly Roger is also commonly used by private PMC contractors, in form of patches velcroed on uniforms and tactical jackets.

In popular culture

The Jolly Roger flag became a cliché of pirate fiction in the 19th century. The "

" ended by the mid-18th century, and piracy was widely suppressed by the 1800s, although the problem of

persisted until the

French conquest of Algeria The French conquest of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Regency of Algiers, and the French consul (representative), consul escalated into a blockade, following which the Jul ...

in 1830. By the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, the pirate threat had receded enough for it to become a

topos In mathematics, a topos (, ; plural topoi or , or toposes) is a category that behaves like the category of sheaves of sets on a topological space (or more generally, on a site). Topoi behave much like the category of sets and possess a notio ...

of boyish adventure fiction, notably influenced by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

's adventure novel ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

'' (1883). Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 3 ...

'' (which debuted on 31 December 1879) introduced pirates as comedic characters, and since the later 20th century, pirates sporting the Jolly Roger flag were often depicted as cartoonish or silly characters.

J.M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

also used it as the name of

Captain Hook Captain James Hook is the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter and Wendy, Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate captain of the br ...

's pirate ship in ''

Peter and Wendy ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel titled ''Peter and Wendy''. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous ...

'' (1904 play and 1911 novel); it was thus used in most adaptations of the character, including

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's television series ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

'' (2011–2018). Additionally, the Jolly Roger is depicted in

Eiichiro Oda is a Japanese manga artist and the creator of the series ''One Piece'', the best-selling manga in history and the best-selling comic series printed in volume. With more than 520 million copies of ''One Piece'' in circulation worldwide ...

's manga ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as he explores the Grand Line in search of the myt ...

'', in which the pirate crews in the series have different designs that reflects the appearance of the captain (

Straw Hat Pirates The ''One Piece'' manga features an extensive cast of characters created by Eiichiro Oda. The series takes place in a fictional universe where vast numbers of pirates, soldiers, revolutionaries, and other adventurers fight each other, using va ...

for example, the protagonist crew, having the classic skull with cross bones wearing a straw hat like the main character,

Monkey D. Luffy , also known as is a fictional character and the protagonist in the Japanese manga series '' One Piece'' created by Eiichiro Oda. Luffy made his debut as a young boy who acquires the properties of rubber after accidentally eating one of the ...

) or a personal theme of the crew (Black Cat Pirates for example, one of the antagonist crews, having the head of a black cat with cross bones).

In film and television

In the film '' Captain Blood'', Peter Blood's flag has a skull and two crossed arms holding swords underneath. In the film '' The Island'' (1980), the Jolly Roger is a skull with a red dot and crossbones with an hourglass on the bottom. In

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's ''Pirates of the Caribbean'', the ''

Black Pearl The ''Black Pearl'' (formerly known as the merchant ship '' Wicked Wench'') is a fictional ship in the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. In the screenplay, the ship is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. Captain ...

'' flies a flag of skull over two crossed swords. In '' Black Sails'', the Jolly Roger is shown at the very end as Jack Rackham's new flag.

In music

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English Rock music, rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were call ...

' album ''

Kings of the Wild Frontier ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'' is the second album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was released on 17 September 1980 by CBS Records in the UK and Epic Records internationally. The album was the UK number 1 selling album in 19 ...

'' (1980) includes the song, "Jolly Roger".

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

's single " Pirate Flag" is on his fourteenth studio album '' Life on a Rock'' (2013). The cover of indie rock band

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...

's 2005 album ''

Achtung Bono ''Achtung Bono'' is the tenth album by UK Independent music, indie rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released in 2005. In 2010, a Facebook campaign was mounted with the aim of saving BBC 6 Music from threatened closure and, as a sign of protest ...

'' shows a stylised Jolly Roger, featuring a grinning skull adorned with sunglasses and a halo. The cover of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

's album '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (2006) includes a version of a Jolly Roger depicting a helmeted Eddie and two

assault rifles An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate-rifle cartridge and a detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer ''Special Forces Foreign Weapons Handbook'', ...

instead of bones, hanging from a tank. On the cover of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's album '' Dangerous'' (1991), the Jolly Roger can be seen on the left side with the alteration of a skull over two swords. The re-issued version of the

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

album, '' Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!'' (1985), shows a stylized Vic Rattlehead skull on top of crossed swords and crossed bones. This was based on Mustaine's original drawing for the cover which the band did not have enough money to produce at the time. The "pirate" German metal band Running Wild often references the Jolly Roger and other pirate related themes in their music. Their third album is named ''

Under Jolly Roger ''Under Jolly Roger'' is the third studio album by German heavy metal band Running Wild. It marked a stylistic turning point in which the group dropped the Satanic imagery they had previously used and adopted the pirate theme they would become ...

''. Another "pirate" metal band

Alestorm Alestorm are a Scottish heavy metal band formed in Perth in 2004. Their music is characterised by a pirate theme, and as a result, they have been dubbed a "pirate metal" band by many critics and their fanbase. The group currently consists of ...

also uses Jolly Roger and other pirate related themes in their music. The Pirates, a spinoff of the band

Johnny Kidd & the Pirates Johnny Kidd & the Pirates (known simply as The Pirates after their reunion) were an English rock band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Kidd. Their musical journey spanned the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, during which they achieved considerable ...

, released an album called ''Out of their Skulls'' featuring a skull with crossed guitars below it. British DJ

Eddie Richards Eddie Richards, also known as Evil Eddie Richards and Jolly Roger, is a British DJ. He was one of the first DJs to champion house music back in the mid-1980s and one of the UK's original mix DJs residing at London's Camden Palace. Along with bein ...

released the

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

hit "Acid Man" in 1988, under a Jolly Roger alias.

In sports

A number of sports teams have been known to use variations of the Jolly Roger. The

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's fr ...

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...

, a sports club from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

best known for its

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team, adopted a variation of Richard Worley's flag as their own emblem. The club later bought the rights to the design and made it an official team logo. The

South African Football Association The South African Football Association (colloquially known as SAFA) is the national administrative governing body that controls the sport of football in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and is a member of the Confederation of African Footbal ...

soccer team

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club, referred to as simply Pirates, is a South African professional football club based in Orlando, Soweto that plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as Betway Premiership. The team plays i ...

also has the classic Jolly Roger as their logo.

Central Coast United FC Central Coast United FC, is a semi-professional soccer club, based and located on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Central Coast of New South Wales. For the 2024 Football NSW season, 2024 season, the club's senior teams will compete in the NSW ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

use the Jolly Roger as their club crest and their active supporters are known as the Graveyard. The short-lived Pirate Yacht Club, based in

Bridlington Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...

, Yorkshire, used a red burgee defaced with a black skull and crossbones. A black skull and crossbones features on the burgee of Penzance Sailing Club, Cornwall. Burgee of the Pirate Yacht Club, Bridlington.svg, Burgee of the Pirate Yacht Club, Bridlington (c.1898–1908) Penzance Sailing Club original burgee.svg, Original burgee of Penzance Sailing Club, 1939 (the Cornish flag was added in the 1990s) Burgee of Buccaneer YC (Alabama).svg, Burgee of

Buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...

Yacht Club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

"Raise the Jolly Roger!" is used in a statement by the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

's team

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

announcer Greg Brown when the Pirates win a game. Fans of the team are known to bring Jolly Roger flags and wave them during the ballgames. The Pirates have also used versions of a skull and crossbones for their logo, with crossed

bats Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

in place of swords or bones. The

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

' use a variation of the Jolly Roger for their logo, which depicts a head with facial features, wearing an eye patch and a helmet, and crossed swords behind the helmet. Also in the NFL, the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

' use a version of the

, with a

carnelian Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semiprecious stone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker; the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used int ...

red background instead of black, and an American football positioned over the intersection of two crossed swords. The

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team based in Milwaukee. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators. They play their homes games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

have used a series of pirate Death's heads as their logo. Their current version wears a John Paul Jones-style bicorne hat emblazoned with an "A" spelled out in bones. All these variations are seen as the logos of sporting teams in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

: * The Braehead Paisley Pirates/

Paisley Pirates The Paisley Pirates were founded in 1946 and are one of the oldest ice hockey clubs in Scotland and the UK (the oldest being the Fife Flyers). The Pirates were the epitome of the game in Scotland during the 1950s. In season 1953–54 they won t ...

of the Scottish National League and The Paisley Buccaneers and Riversdale Pirates of the Scottish Recreational Ice Hockey Conference * The

East Kilbride Pirates The East Kilbride Pirates are an American Football team based in Glasgow, Scotland, who compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier North, the highest level of British American football. The club although formed in East Kilbride currently opera ...

American football team in BAFA Division 1 * The Edinburgh Buccaneers basketball club of the

Scottish Men's National League The Scottish Basketball Championship Men is the national basketball league of Scotland. The league forms the second and third tiers of British basketball (inline with the National Basketball League) after the professional setup of Super League ...

The Jolly Roger is the popular icon of all

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

(Ireland) sports teams. The athletic teams of

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

used a stylized Jolly Roger as one of their logos. This particular variation includes an

earring Earrings are jewelry that can be worn on one's ears. Earrings are commonly worn in a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear, or by #Clip-on and other non-pierced earrings, some other means, such as stickers or clip-ons. Earr ...

ed and

eyepatch An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...

-wearing skull donning a

tricorn The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat in a triangular shape, which became popular in Europe during the 18th century, falling out of style by the early 1800s. The word "tricorne" was not widely used until the mid-19th century. During the 18th ...

of purple and gold (the school's colors) emblazoned over two crossbones. This logo appears on the

helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the Human head, head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a Custodian helmet, policeman's helmet in the Unite ...

of the school's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team, and an elaborate pre-game ritual takes place prior to each home contest wherein a

bearing the university's Jolly Roger logo is raised on a special

flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

located behind the west

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...

prior to the opening kickoff. Immediately prior to the start of the fourth quarter, the normal (black) Jolly Roger is lowered and replaced with a flag bearing the ECU Jolly Roger on a red background, indicating that the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

will grant their opponents "

". The

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...

, the starting defensive unit players for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska has played its home games at Memorial Stadium (Linc ...

team, are represented by a Jolly Roger, somewhat similar to

's flag but with the skull encased in the team's

football helmet A football helmet is a type of protective headgear used mainly in gridiron football, although a structural variation has occasional use in Australian rules football. It consists of a hard plastic shell with thick padding on the inside, a Face ma ...

. Additionally, the players and fans often celebrate by "throwing the bones", where they cross the forearms in front of the chest in an 'X' imitating the logo, and the

student section A student section or student cheering section is a group of students, student fans that supports its school's student athlete, athletic teams at spectator sport, sporting events; they are known for being one of the most visible and vocal sections o ...

Memorial Stadium, Lincoln Memorial Stadium, nicknamed "The Sea of Red," is an American football stadium on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and hosts th ...

is known as the 'Boneyard', where the logo is often displayed on banners, signs, and flags in an act of intimidation.

Other uses

The early development team of the

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

used a pirate flag to portray a "rebellious" spirit. Antifa zaszlo kormany ellenes tuntetsen

Before changing to a stylized "P", Sweden's

Pirate Party Pirate Party is a label adopted by various Political party, political parties worldwide that share a set of values and policies focused on Civil and political rights, civil rights in the digital age. The fundamental principles of Pirate Partie ...

used the Jolly Roger as its symbol, which is still used extensively in the Pirate movement. The

Piratbyrån ( "The Pirate Bureau") was a Swedish think tank established to support the free sharing of information, culture, and intellectual property. provided a counterpoint to lobby groups such as the Swedish Anti-Piracy Bureau. In 2005 released an a ...

and its online database,

The Pirate Bay The Pirate Bay, commonly abbreviated as TPB, is a free searchable online index of Film, movies, music, video games, Pornographic film, pornography and software. Founded in 2003 by Swedish think tank , The Pirate Bay facilitates the connection ...

also use either the skull and crossbones symbol, or derivatives of it, such as the logo of

Home Taping Is Killing Music "Home Taping Is Killing Music" was the slogan of a 1980s anti-copyright infringement propaganda campaign by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), a British music industry trade group. With the rise in cassette recorder popularity, the BPI fe ...

The flag of the

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...

is modeled to look like a classic Jolly Roger, with some alterations. The flag depicts a whale and a dolphin on the skull's forehead, and the crossed long-bones are replaced with a crossed trident and a

shepherd's crook A shepherd's crook is a long and sturdy stick with a hook at one end, often with the point flared outwards, used by a shepherd to manage and sometimes catch sheep. In addition, the crook may aid in defending against attack by predators. Wh ...

Unicode Unicode or ''The Unicode Standard'' or TUS is a character encoding standard maintained by the Unicode Consortium designed to support the use of text in all of the world's writing systems that can be digitized. Version 16.0 defines 154,998 Char ...

uses a sequence of and to display this flag.

Sub-articles

* Flag of Blackbeard *

– fictional design *

– historical design

Notes

References

Bibliography

Books

* * * * * * *

Journal and news articles

* *

Websites

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=August 2024 Naval ensigns Cross symbols Maritime flags Pictograms Pirate customs and traditions Skulls in art Memento mori Naval warfare Naval history Types of flags Military symbols

Etymology

History

Use in practice

Black and red flag

Function in practice

Design

Common elements

Historical designs

Black flags

Bloody flags

Blue flags

Green flags

Striped flags

White flags

Yellow flags

National flags

Incorrect designs

Modern military use

By British submarines

By other units

In popular culture

In film and television

In music

In sports

Other uses

Sub-articles

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Books

Journal and news articles

Websites