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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Will Doyle" data-source="post: 5926516" data-attributes="member: 6682161">Sea shanties as they're commonly known were pretty much a creation of the 18th and 19th Centuries, weren't they? Of course, the tradition had its roots in earlier line-haul and fishing songs, but I can't think of any songs from before the classic shanty period. Incidentally, there's a bit of a sea shanty revival going on over here in the UK at the moment, partially due to the success of Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends - a group formed of local fishermen and lifeboat workers from Cornwall. Their songs span a very wide period, but I'd recommend hunting them down, if only to get you into the writing mood (starting <a href="http://portisaacsfishermansfriends.com/" target="_blank">here</a>).  I guess Vikings are the obvious place to look for ancient maritime legends. That said, Cornwall has really, really old seafaring tradition, dating as far back as the Iron Age. There's even some evidence that the Iron Age Britons were conducting regular sea trade with the Phoenicians. Hence, lots of seafaring legends, if you dig about. One of my favourites is the legend of Tom Bawcock. When his fishing village was threatened by a months' long storm, he braved the ocean to bring in a haul. The entire catch was baked into a pie with the heads of the fish poking out of the crust - and christened "Stargazy Pie". To this day, the villagers have baked a giant Stargazy Pie has every christmas, and paraded it through the streets with lanterns.</blockquote>

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