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Redbeard

Ragnar Redbeard was the pseudonym of Arthur Desmond (c. 1859–1929), a New Zealand-born writer, poet, and political radical who traversed Australia, the United States, and beyond, authoring the provocative 1896 treatise Might Is Right, or the Survival of the Fittest. Published in Chicago amid Desmond's perambulations as a self-styled agitator against socialism and organized labor, the work distills a philosophy rooted in observed natural competition, positing that all social order, moral claims, and "rights" emerge exclusively from the exertion of superior power—physical, intellectual, or strategic—rather than from abstract egalitarian principles or consensual fictions. Desmond, under the Redbeard mantle, lambasts Christianity, democracy, and altruism as enfeebling delusions that prop up the weak at the expense of the strong, urging instead a relentless ethos of self-mastery, conquest, and rejection of external moral or legal restraints in the perpetual "war of each against all." The text, blending verse, prose, and Darwinian allusions with echoes of Nietzschean critique, underwent multiple editions into the early 20th century and has exerted enduring, if niche, influence on egoist thinkers, individualist anarchists, and proponents of unvarnished hierarchy, though it invites rebuke for its stark embrace of innate inequality and martial realism over humanitarian ideals.

Historical Figures

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick I (c. 1122 – 10 June 1190), known as Barbarossa from the barba rossa meaning "" due to the distinctive color of his facial hair, was a prominent ruler of the dynasty who served as King of from 1152 and from 1155 until his death. Born in as the son of Duke Frederick II of Swabia and Judith of , he inherited ducal titles and expanded Hohenstaufen influence through strategic marriages and military prowess. Elected king by princes on 4 March 1152 following the death of Conrad III, he was crowned at on 9 March, prioritizing imperial restoration amid fragmented feudal loyalties. Frederick participated in the Second Crusade (1147–1149) under Conrad III, leading a contingent that suffered heavy losses in Anatolia before reaching Jerusalem, an experience that honed his administrative and military reforms upon return. Crowned King of Italy in Pavia on 24 April 1155 and Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV in Rome on 18 June 1155, he sought to reassert imperial authority over northern Italian communes, enforcing royal rights (regalia) and clashing with papal and municipal resistance. His Italian expeditions, including destructive sieges of Milan in 1158 and 1162, provoked the formation of the Lombard League in 1167—a defensive alliance of cities like Milan, Venice, and Bologna backed by Pope Alexander III—leading to prolonged warfare. A decisive setback came at the on 29 May 1176, where 's forces were routed by the league's militia, compelling him to seek reconciliation with the papacy via the in 1177, where he performed public penance before Alexander III. The Peace of Constance on 25 June 1183 granted limited communal autonomy while preserving nominal imperial overlordship, marking a pragmatic retreat from absolutist ambitions amid fiscal strains from constant campaigning. Domestically, strengthened the empire through legal codes like the Landfrieden of 1152 and 1156, curbing private warfare, and alliances with minsterales (ministeriales) as a loyal administrative class, fostering via town charters and trade. In response to Saladin's 1187 capture of Jerusalem, Frederick organized the German contingent for the Third Crusade, assembling 20,000–100,000 troops and departing Regensburg on 11 May 1189 after securing regency for son Henry VI. Victories against Seljuk forces in Anatolia preceded his death by drowning on 10 June 1190 while crossing the Saleph River (modern Göksu) in Cilicia, possibly from a heart attack or stroke exacerbated by heat and armor; his body was partially preserved by boiling, with bones interred at Antioch and viscera at Tarsus. This untimely demise fragmented his army, stalling the crusade's momentum and elevating legends of his prophesied return from Kyffhäuser Mountain to restore imperial glory. The official biography, Gesta Frederici I Imperatoris by Otto of Freising and others, portrays him as a divinely ordained restorer of Roman order, though modern analyses highlight his adaptive realpolitik over mythic invincibility.

Hayreddin Barbarossa, Ottoman Admiral

, born Khizr in the early 1470s on the island of , was the son of , a potter likely of origin, and , a woman of Christian background. Alongside his brothers—Oruç, İshak, and İlyas—he initially engaged in maritime trade before shifting to privateering against Spanish, Venetian, and other Christian shipping around 1503, establishing a base on Djerba Island by 1504 and allying with the ruler of Tunis. After Oruç's death in 1518 fighting Spanish invaders at Tlemcen, Khizr inherited command of their fleet and forces, adopting the European epithet Barbarossa ("Redbeard"), which had first applied to his brother due to their distinctive facial hair. To consolidate power in North Africa, Barbarossa aligned with the Ottoman Empire, receiving aid from following the brothers' capture of Algiers in 1516, which expelled local tribes and initiated Ottoman influence there. formalized this in 1519 by appointing him Beylerbeyi of Algiers, granting him troops and ships to defend against Spanish reconquests, including the seizure of the Peñón fortress in 1529. In 1533, Suleiman elevated him to Kapudan Pasha, grand admiral of the Ottoman navy, commissioning him to raid Italian coasts and counter the Holy Roman Empire's fleets, thereby integrating Barbary corsairs into imperial strategy. Barbarossa's admiralty yielded conquests such as Tunis in 1534 from the Hafsid dynasty and, most decisively, victory at the Battle of Preveza on September 28, 1538, where his 122 vessels outmaneuvered Andrea Doria's Holy League armada of over 200 ships through tactical retreats, galley swarms, and avoidance of open battle, sinking or capturing dozens while sustaining minimal losses. This clash during the Ottoman-Venetian War (1537–1540) thwarted Christian naval resurgence, affirming Ottoman supremacy in the Mediterranean and enabling sustained raids on European commerce. Barbarossa died on July 4, 1546, in Istanbul's Büyükdere district and was interred in a mausoleum at Beşiktaş. His reforms professionalized the Ottoman fleet with disciplined crews and innovative formations, shifting it from opportunistic piracy to a state instrument that protected trade lanes, projected power into , and deterred coalitions like the Holy League for generations.

Ragnar Redbeard, Pseudonymous Author

Ragnar Redbeard is the pseudonym adopted by the author of Might Is Right, or The Survival of the Fittest, a polemical treatise self-published in Chicago in September 1896. The 178-page volume, printed in cloth-bound ($1.50) and paper ($0.50) editions, advances a social Darwinist worldview asserting that natural selection and superior force, rather than egalitarian ethics or democratic institutions, govern human affairs. It critiques Christianity, altruism, and socialism as weakening mechanisms that contradict the "survival of the fittest," drawing rhetorical inspiration from 's concepts of the Übermensch while emphasizing raw power over abstract rights. The true identity of Ragnar Redbeard remains unconfirmed, though historical analysis points strongly to (1859–1929?), a New Zealand-born poet, journalist, and political agitator. Desmond, who emigrated to Australia and later the United States, exhibited stylistic parallels in his writings, including verse collections like Sayings of Redbeard (1890) and radical pamphlets under aliases such as Desmond Dilg. His presence in Chicago during the mid-1890s aligns with the book's publication, and contemporaries noted his immersion in Nietzschean ideas, which permeated Might Is Right. Desmond's peripatetic life—involving labor activism, anti-colonial journalism, and pseudonymous output—fits the elusive profile of Redbeard, whose work evaded attribution to shield against backlash from its inflammatory content. Speculation linking Desmond to Redbeard gained traction through archival comparisons of prose rhythms, thematic obsessions with Anglo-Saxon supremacy and anti-egalitarianism, and shared geographic footprints, including Desmond's U.S. travels post-1890. No definitive manuscript or confession exists, preserving the pseudonym's opacity, but secondary evidence from Desmond's biographies and publishing records substantiates the connection over rival theories, such as attributions to lesser-known figures. The authorship enigma underscores the text's underground circulation, influencing later thinkers like Anton LaVey, who dedicated The Satanic Bible (1969) to Redbeard for embodying unapologetic might.

Cultural and Fictional References

In Film and Literature

Hayreddin Barbarossa, the Ottoman admiral, has been depicted in Turkish films and television series emphasizing his naval exploits, such as the 2021 series Barbaros: Sword of the Mediterranean, which portrays his rise from corsair to high admiral under and key battles like in 1538. These productions often frame him as a defender of Ottoman interests against European powers, drawing on historical accounts of his 117 documented victories. Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, features in Italian historical films focused on his 12th-century campaigns. In the 2009 production Barbarossa (also titled Sword of War), directed by Renzo Martinelli, Rutger Hauer portrays the emperor's efforts to subdue the Lombard League and assert imperial authority in Italy, culminating in events like the 1176 Battle of Legnano. The pseudonym Ragnar Redbeard is linked to the 1896 treatise Might Is Right, a work blending poetry, prose, and polemic to argue for nd individual strength, though it lacks direct adaptations into film or further nder that name. Fictional uses of "Redbeard" as a pirate archetype appear in European comics, notably the 1959 Belgian series Redbeard (Barbe-Rouge), created by Jean-Michel Charlier and Victor Hubinon, where the titular captain leads adventures in the 18th-century Caribbean alongside his adopted son Eric. Such characters evoke the historical Barbarossas' seafaring legacy without strict biographical fidelity.

In Games and Other Media

In video games, the pseudonym "Redbeard" or epithet "Barbarossa" (meaning "red beard" in Italian) appears in several titles, often evoking pirate, Viking, or historical warrior archetypes. In Age of Empires II (1999), the Barbarossa campaign portrays Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, as a playable Teutonic Knight hero unit across six scenarios depicting his Third Crusade and Italian campaigns, emphasizing conquest and medieval strategy. In the Suikoden series, particularly Suikoden (1995), Barbarossa Rugner serves as a recruitable ally and leader of the Pirates' Stronghold, a floating fortress; he wields a massive sword and commands naval forces in the game's 108 Stars of Destiny recruitment system. In Traps 'n Treasures (1993), Captain Redbeard acts as the primary antagonist, a pirate who raids the protagonist Jeremy Flynn's ship and hoards treasure, driving the platforming adventure's plot. Tabletop and role-playing games feature Redbeard variants in fantasy settings. In the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting, Orim Redbeard is depicted as a notorious pirate captain of the ship Black Dragon, operating from Konigheim in the Utter East during the late 14th century DR (Dalereckoning), known for ruthless raids. The Red Dragon Inn series of card-based party games includes Warthorn Redbeard, a dwarf innkeeper and retired adventurer who interacts with players through gambling and storytelling mechanics centered on tavern role-playing. In other media, Redbeard appears in comics as a pirate archetype. In The Phantom comic strip, Redbeard emerges as the 1664 leader of pirates in Sanloi, challenged by the titular hero in a storyline emphasizing jungle justice and anti-piracy themes. Miniature wargames and RPG proxies, such as the Legends of Signum line, offer models like Captain Gruktuk the Redbeard, an orc pirate rogue scaled for 32mm tabletops, used in skirmish battles.

Modern and Miscellaneous Uses

Businesses and Brands

RedBeard Solutions, headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, operates as a cybersecurity and information technology professional services firm, offering custom project services, staff augmentation, and direct hire recruitment for government and private sector clients, leveraging over two decades of expertise. In creative and digital services, Redbeard Creative, based in Northwest Arkansas and founded by designer Justin with more than 20 years of experience, provides brand identity development, packaging design, website creation, and e-commerce content, including Shopify setups, with clients such as Chewy and Momentous. Red Beard Digital, located in Southwest Florida, functions as a digital advertising agency specializing in data-driven strategies via Google and Microsoft Ads to generate leads and revenue growth for businesses. Consumer product brands include Red Beard Seasonings, a veteran-owned Ohio-based company producing small-batch craft BBQ rubs and seasonings using fresh ingredients without MSG, synthetic fillers, or additives, with blends competing in national and international events. Red Beard Leather handcrafts premium leather goods such as wallets, belts, and keychains, featuring hand-painted and saddle-stitched details from high-quality materials. In finance, Red Beard Ventures serves as an early-stage venture capital firm, led by a team with operational and investing backgrounds, targeting investments in metaverse technologies and other frontier tech to advance societal progress. Additional entities, such as —a record label releasing secular and Christian music alongside creative commons for songwriting—and , which sells adventure-themed apparel and gear like t-shirts and stickers, further illustrate the name's use across niche markets.

Nautical and Symbolic References

Red Beard Sailing is a U.S.-based company established in 2015 that distributes portable, inflatable, and high-performance boats, including trimarans from , sail catamarans like the and , and rigid inflatable tenders such as the , aimed at making recreational sailing and rowing accessible for inland and coastal waters. The company's product lineup emphasizes lightweight, packable designs that assemble quickly—such as the , which sets up in 10 minutes—and features like open bows and catamaran hulls for stability and performance in varied conditions. Symbolically, the "red beard" motif in nautical iconography often evokes the archetype of the bold, rugged seafarer or pirate captain, appearing in modern graphic designs and emblems depicting a red-bearded figure at the helm against oceanic backdrops to represent adventure and maritime prowess. These illustrations, common in vector art and logos, draw on historical pirate imagery to convey themes of exploration and resilience at sea, distinct from specific historical figures. Such symbols appear in branding for sailing gear and nautical-themed merchandise, underscoring a cultural shorthand for daring navigation without implying literal piracy.

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