Alfhild – Goth Pirate Princess

Yes you read that right, this week’s post is about a Shero who was not only a princess, but also a pirate and, just for good measure, an actual goth! If you don’t love Princess Alfhild (also known as Awilda or Alvilda) already, you soon will.

The story of this awesome pirate princess was recorded by a chap called Saxo Grammaticus in his 12th Century book, ‘Gesta Danorum’ (Deeds of the Danes).

Princess Alfhild was the daughter of Siward, King of the Goths, who lived during the 5th Century in what is now Sweden. In true princess style,  her parents kept her locked in her room guarded by two vicious snakes. Any potential suitors would have to first defeat her reptilian body guards.

Gráinne Ní Máille (Grace O’Malley) – “A notorious woman in all the coasts of Ireland”

Born in 1530 in the far west of Ireland, Gráinne Ní Máille (anglicized as Grace O’Malley) was the only child of Margaret & Owen O’Malley. Her father was chieftain of the O’Malley clan and made his money through seafaring, fishing, international trade and exacting tolls on shipping in the O’Malley waters off Mayo. As a child Grace’s determination and indomitable spirit was apparent, legend has it that on being told she couldn’t sail with her father’s fleet because her long hair would get caught in the ships rigging, she cut her hair and was subsequently nicknamed Gráinne Mhaol – bald Grace.

Anne Bonny & Mary Read – Swashbuckling Sheroes!

Anne Bonny and Mary Read are two of the most well known female pirates who ever lived! They sailed the seas of the Caribbean, gaining a reputation for how fearsome they were.

Anne Bonny (then Cormac) was born in Ireland in 1702, while Mary Read was born in Plymouth around the same time (no-one knows the exact year she was born.)

Anne’s father was a wealthy man who had left his wife for her mother, who was a servant. When Anne was a child her father dressed her up as a boy and said that she was his nephew, to avoid the shame of having a child with a woman he wasn’t married to. Eventually, when Anne was a young child, their family left Ireland to travel to the ‘New World’: America.