Didn't the historical Blackbeard also have at least a small library? I saw it . . . on Twitter . . . somewhere. If it's true, it's an interesting angle on the choices the show is making about him as a character. They're playing up Blackbeard as Stede's opposite, and having him sign the pardon with an X implies that he's illiterate or very nearly. A literate Blackbeard would complicate the show's trajectory. And while I can understand the need, if you're making a short-season half-hour comedy, to work in broad strokes, I'm a bit mournfully fascinated by the more nuanced version that might have been achieved by sticking more closely to history.