Pirates of the Mediterranean:
The Curse of the Maltese Owl

From the time of the first crusades and well into the 19th century, the most notorious of these pirates were the Barbary pirates, so named for the coast of North Africa—the Barbary Coast—where the pirates were based. These pirates were also known as the Ottoman corsairs and were relentless in their attacks of non-Islamic ships and coastal towns. The impact of these attacks was devastating—France, England, and Spain each lost thousands of ships, and long stretches of the Spanish and Italian coasts along the Mediterranean were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants. Pirate raids discouraged settlement along the coast.

In 1565, the pirate forces of the great sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, laid siege to the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta. Their goal—to drive the unbelievers, the Knights of Malta, from their rocky fortress and once again bring Malta under the rule of the Ottoman Turks.

The sultan's forces numbered over 40,000. The knights numbered only 600. For months the siege dragged on. The island's invaders grew weak with hunger and disease. Then the sultan's men heard rumors of a great fleet coming to the rescue. Finally, fearing defeat, the pirates departed and left the beleaguered Knights of Malta to their rocky island in the glistening Mediterranean.

How were the knights, who were so few in number, able to withstand the greater numbers of the sultan's forces? Well, the shire-folk of Owl's Nest made up...um...have a legend about "The Curse of the Maltese Owl."

Back to Top

The Curse

The story of "The Curse of the Maltese Owl" has come down through the misty ages from the first bards of Owl's Nest. As you may know, the island of Malta has many ancient stone temples. The Owl's Nest legend, as our bards tell it, is that one of the sultan's pirates found a small, carved statue of an owl (of course) and removed it from it's space in one of the stone temples. Unbeknownst to the pirate, there was a curse on that little owl. *GASP!*

The curse read, "Whoever is so foolish as to remove this owl from it's resting place in the temple will doom themselves and their associates to despair and misfortune."

Unfortunately for the pirate, he either couldn't—or didn't—read the warning. (BCM => Bad career move on his part.)

And that's why the tiny force of the Knights of Malta were able to stand against so many pirates. (That's our story, and we're sticking to it.)

Back to Top

The Event—
(to be read in your best pirate voice...)

Assemble the crew! Step lively! Strike the colors! Man the crow’s nest! Heave to, and raise the mizzen! Now, hoist the Jolly Roger and bring ‘er about for a broadside!

Be ye a piratical Corsair or be ye a defender of Malta, thar be things a-plenty to keep yer attention. For the fighters, o’ course, thar be fightin’ ‘til yer too weary to raise yer arms (or yer mates’ arms). We be plannin’ a formal tourney for fencers and a formal tourney for heavies, each with booty for the winner. And once ye catch yer breath, thar’s more fightin’ to be had. Resurrection battles, ye ask? Aye, ye just can’t keep a good pirate or Maltese defender down. (Argh argh argh.) And o' course, what’s an event without pickup fights?

For those of a more scholarly bent, we be havin’ learnin’ (some calls ‘em classes) to enhance yer skills and knowledge.

Did we mention the bards—them scurvy dogs what likes to warble and spin yarns? Thar be a bardic competition hosted by Lord Raymond the Scot, the Bard of Owl’s Nest. He’s even threatenin’ to hand over treasure to the winner.

Oh, and have ye heard about the victuals we be servin’? Ye can’t sail ‘round the Med or have a decent siege without a layin’ in of grub. Thar’ll be a spread set out throughout the day featuring delectables from around the Mediterranean. Rumor has it that we’ll even be havin’ snow brought down from the mountains, summoned by Suleiman himself, and served with exotic flavorings. (We hear that they be called "cones of snow.")

As if that be not enough, the day will be ending with dancing and dessert.

So bring yer best parrot, learn yer sea chanties—don’t forget to swash yer buckle—and join the Shire folk of Owl’s Nest for “The Curse of the Maltese Owl.”

Remember, one fee gains ye access to all of this!