Theories
The origin of the tale of "Davy Jones" is unclear, and many explanations have been proposed:
- He was Vanderdecken ('of the decks'), the captain of the ghost ship the Flying Dutchman.
- There was an actual David Jones, who was a pirate on the Indian Ocean in the 1630s, but most scholars agree that he was not renowned enough to gain such lasting global fame.
- A British pub owner who is referenced in the 1594 song "Jones's Ale is Newe." He may be the same pub owner who supposedly threw drunken sailors into his ale locker and then dumped them onto any passing ship.
- He could also be Duffer Jones, a notoriously myopic sailor who often found himself over-board.
- Welsh sailors who would call upon Saint David for protection in times of mortal danger, though this is unlikely as the Welsh have always used the saint's Welsh name Dewi. Although "Dewi" spoken with a heavy Welsh accent may sound very close to "Davy"
- Some also think it is simply another name for Satan.
- The name may have come from Deva (Hindu), Taffy (derogatory term for Welsh people used in rhymes that depict Welsh people as thieves and liars), or the thief of the evil spirit.
- Davy may also stem from Duppy, a West Indian term for a malevolent ghost.
- There is also the "Jonah" theory, Jonah became the "evil angel" of all sailors, as the biblical story of Jonah involved his shipmates realizing Jonah was being punished for his disobedience to God and casting him over-board. Naturally, sailors of previous centuries would identify more with the beset-upon ship-mates of Jonah than with the unfortunate man himself. It is therefore a possibility that "Davy Jones" grew from the root "Devil Jonah" – the devil of the seas. Upon death, a wicked sailor's body supposedly went to Davy Jones' locker (a chest, as lockers were back then), but a pious sailor's soul went to Fiddler's Green.
Read more about this topic: Davy Jones' Locker
Famous quotes containing the word theories:
“Philosophers of science constantly discuss theories and representation of reality, but say almost nothing about experiment, technology, or the use of knowledge to alter the world. This is odd, because ‘experimental method’ used to be just another name for scientific method.... I hope [to] initiate a Back-to-Bacon movement, in which we attend more seriously to experimental science. Experimentation has a life of its own.”
—Ian Hacking (b. 1936)
“The real trouble about women is that they must always go on trying to adapt themselves to men’s theories of women, as they always have done. When a woman is thoroughly herself, she is being what her type of man wants her to be. When a woman is hysterical it’s because she doesn’t quite know what to be, which pattern to follow, which man’s picture of woman to live up to.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“It takes twenty or so years before a mother can know with any certainty how effective her theories have been—and even then there are surprises. The daily newspapers raise the most frightening questions of all for a mother of sons: Could my once sweet babes ever become violent men? Are my sons really who I think they are?”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)