Davy Jones is a legendary figure in Anglo-Saxon maritime folklore, appearing in the 18th century. His name refers to the "Davy Jones's Locker," a metaphor for the bottom of the ocean where drowned sailors and sunken ships rest. He embodies the malevolent spirit of the seas.
Davy Jones
Davy Jones
6 min read
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- First known written mention in Tobias Smollett's *The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle* (1751)
- "Davy Jones's Locker" refers to the seabed, the grave of the drowned
- Recurring figure in British sailors' folklore in the 18th and 19th centuries
- Portrayed as a demon or evil spirit foretelling storms and shipwrecks
- Popularized in the 21st century by the *Pirates of the Caribbean* film saga
Works & Achievements
A maritime narrative attributed to Daniel Defoe containing the first known written mention of Davy Jones.
A novel that fixed the description of the deep-sea demon and anchored the character in literature.
A major poem about sea superstitions and curses, close to the universe of Davy Jones.
A phrase that entered the English language to denote the grave of sailors at the bottom of the ocean.
A modern reinvention of Davy Jones as a cursed captain, popularizing the legend worldwide.
Anecdotes
The first known written mention of Davy Jones appears in 1726 in a narrative attributed to Daniel Defoe, *The Four Years Voyages of Capt. George Roberts*, where sailors already refer to this spirit of the seas. His name was thus familiar to navigators long before becoming a popular legend.
In 1751, Scottish writer Tobias Smollett describes Davy Jones in his novel *Peregrine Pickle* as a demon with round eyes, a triple row of teeth, and horns, blowing blue smoke from his nostrils. This is one of the earliest detailed physical descriptions of the character.
The phrase "Davy Jones's Locker" refers to the bottom of the ocean where drowned sailors and sunken ships end up. Saying a sailor had "gone to Davy Jones's Locker" simply meant he had drowned at sea.
Anglo-Saxon sailors used the name Davy Jones as a superstition to express their fear of drowning, the most dreaded danger aboard sailing ships. Invoking his name served both to ward off bad luck and to explain disappearances at sea.
The origin of the name remains a debated mystery: some see it as a distortion of "duppy" (a malevolent spirit in Caribbean folklore), others as a reference to a dishonest tavern owner or to the biblical prophet Jonah, swallowed by a great fish and a symbol of bad luck for sailors.
Primary Sources
Reference to "David Jones," invoked by sailors as a spirit of the seas, attesting to the antiquity of the belief in English maritime folklore.
"This same Davy Jones, according to the mythology of sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep, and is often seen in various shapes..."
Definition of "Davy Jones's Locker" as an expression designating the bottom of the sea, the grave of drowned sailors.
Key Places
Mythical domain of Davy Jones, underwater grave of all drowned sailors and sunken ships.
Stage of the great crossings and shipwrecks of the 17th-18th centuries where the legend was forged.
Major British ports from which sailors who spread maritime superstitions set sail.
Dreaded passage for all sailors; its tumultuous waters embodied the mortal danger of the seas.
Seas frequented by pirates and scene of shipwrecks, possible birthplace of the name ("duppy") in West Indian folklore.
