Editing Sword and sorcery (section)

==History==
===Origins===
In his introduction to the reference ''[[Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers]]'' by [[L. Sprague de Camp]], [[Lin Carter]] notes that the heritage of sword and sorcery is illustrious, and can be traced back to mythology, including the labors of [[Hercules]], as well as to classical epics such as [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', the [[Norse sagas]], and [[Arthurian legend]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=de Camp|first1=L. Sprague|title=Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: the Makers of Heroic Fantasy|date=1976|isbn=0-87054-076-9|publisher=Arkham House|page=xi|location=Sauk City, Wisconsin}}</ref>

It also has been influenced by [[historical fiction]]. For instance, the work of [[Sir Walter Scott]] was influenced by Scottish folklore and ballads.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Moorcock|first1=Michael |title=Wizardry & Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy|date=2004 |publisher=MonkeyBrain|location=Austin, Tex.|isbn=1-932265-07-4|page=79|edition=rev.}}</ref> Yet few of Scott's stories contain fantastic elements; in most, the appearance of such is explained away.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clute |first1=John |last2=Grant |first2=John |last3=Ashley |first3=Mike |last4=Hartwell |first4=David G. |last5=Westfahl |first5=Gary |title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy |date=1999 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |isbn=0-312-19869-8 |page=845 |edition=1st St. Martin's Griffin}}</ref> Its themes of adventure in a strange society were influenced by adventures set in foreign lands by [[Sir H. Rider Haggard]] and [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Moorcock|first1=Michael |title=Wizardry & Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy|date=2004|publisher=MonkeyBrain|location=Austin, Tex.|isbn=1-932265-07-4|pages=80–81|edition=rev.}}</ref> Haggard's works, such as ''[[King Solomon's Mines]]'' (1885) and ''[[She: A History of Adventure]]'' (1887) included many fantastic elements.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clute|first1=John |last2=Grant|first2=John|last3=Ashley|first3=Mike|last4=Hartwell|first4=David G.|last5=Westfahl|first5=Gary |title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy |date=1999|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York|isbn=0-312-19869-8|pages=444–445|edition=1st St. Martin's Griffin}}</ref> Some of Haggard's characters, such as Umslopogaas, an axe-wielding Zulu warrior who encountered supernatural phenomena and loved to fight, bore similarities to sword and sorcery heroes.<ref name=tueof /><ref name=bm1>{{cite book|last1=Murphy|first1=Brian|title=Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery|date=2019|publisher=Pulp Hero Press|location=Pismo Beach, CA|isbn=9781683902447|page= Chapter Two: Origins}}</ref> Haggard also wrote ''[[Eric Brighteyes]]'' (1891), a violent [[Historical fiction|historical novel]] based on the [[Sagas of Icelanders|Icelandic Sagas]]; some writers, (such as [[David Pringle]]) have stated that ''Eric Brighteyes'' resembles a modern sword and sorcery novel.<ref name=tueof /><ref name=bm1 />

Sword and sorcery's immediate progenitors are the [[swashbuckling]] tales of [[Alexandre Dumas, père]] (''[[The Three Musketeers]]'' (1844), etc.), [[Rafael Sabatini]] (''[[Scaramouche (novel)|Scaramouche]]'' (1921), etc.) and their [[pulp magazine]] imitators, such as [[Talbot Mundy]], [[Harold Lamb]], and [[H. Bedford-Jones]], who all influenced Howard.<ref name=js /><ref name=tueof /> Mundy in particular, proved influential: early sword and sorcery writers such as Howard, [[C. L. Moore]] and [[Fritz Leiber]] were admirers of Mundy's fiction.<ref name=js /><ref name=bm1 /><ref name=mth>Holmes, Morgan T. "Gothic to Cosmic: Sword and Sorcery in ''Weird Tales''" in Everett, Justin and Shanks, Jeffrey H. (Editors). ''The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales : the Evolution of Modern Fantasy and Horror''. Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, 2015 {{ISBN|9781442256224}} (p.65) </ref> However, these historical "swashbucklers" lack the supernatural element which defines the genre.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clute |first1=John |last2=Grant |first2=John |last3=Ashley |first3=Mike |last4=Hartwell |first4=David G. |last5=Westfahl |first5=Gary |title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy |date=1999 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |isbn=0-312-19869-8 |page=300 |edition=1st St. Martin's Griffin}}</ref>

Another influence was early fantasy fiction. This type of fiction includes the short stories of [[Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany|Lord Dunsany]]'s such as "[[The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth]]" (1910) and "The Distressing Tale of Thangobrind the Jeweller" (1911). These works of Dunsany's feature warriors who clash with monsters and wizards in realms of Dunsany's creation. Dunsany's work proved inspirational to C.L. Moore, Fritz Leiber, [[Jack Vance]], and [[Karl Edward Wagner]].<ref name=js /><ref name=bm1 /> ''[[The Worm Ouroboros]]'' (1922) by [[E. R. Eddison]], a heroic romance written in a mock-archaic style, was an inspiration to later writers of sword and sorcery such as Leiber.<ref name=EoFSandS /><ref name=bm1 /> The "Poictesme" novels of [[James Branch Cabell]], such as ''[[Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice]]'' (1919), have been cited as a stimulus to early sword and sorcery writing. Cabell's novels depict picaresque exploits in imaginary lands, and were an influence on Leiber and Vance.<ref name=SFESandS /><ref>{{Cite book|title=This is Me, Jack Vance|author=Jack Vance|page=65|isbn=978-1-59606-245-0|year=2009|publisher=Subterranean Press}}</ref> [[A. Merritt]]'s novels ''[[The Ship of Ishtar]]'' (1924) and ''[[Dwellers in the Mirage]]'' (1932) have also been cited as influences on sword and sorcery, as they feature men from the then-contemporary world being drawn into dangerous adventures involving swordplay and magic.<ref name=bm1 /><ref>{{Cite web |title=not reached |url=http://www.swordandsorcery.org/Timeline.aspArchived+15+February+2010+at+the+Wayback+Machine |access-date=September 24, 2024 |website=www.swordandsorcery.org}}</ref> All these authors influenced sword and sorcery for the plots, characters, and landscapes used.<ref name=bm1 /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Moorcock |first1=Michael |title=Wizardry & Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy |date=2004 |publisher=MonkeyBrain |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=1-932265-07-4 |page=82 |edition=rev.}}</ref>

Also, many early sword and sorcery writers, such as Howard and [[Clark Ashton Smith]], were influenced by the Middle Eastern tales of the [[Arabian Nights]], whose stories of magical monsters and evil [[Magician (fantasy)|sorcerers]] were an influence on the genre-to-be.<ref>{{cite book |last1=de Camp |first1=L. Sprague |title=Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy |date=1976 |publisher=Arkham House |location=Sauk City, Wisconsin |isbn=0-8705-4-076-9 |edition=1st |page=10}}</ref>

Sword and sorcery's frequent depictions of smoky taverns and fetid back alleys draw upon the [[picaresque]] genre; for example, Rachel Bingham notes that [[Fritz Leiber]]'s city of [[Lankhmar]] bears considerable similarity to 16th century [[Seville]] as depicted in [[Miguel de Cervantes]]' tale "[[Rinconete y Cortadillo]]".<ref>Dr. Rachel B. Bingham, "The Enduring Influence of Cervantes" in "Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Spanish Literature and Culture" (published in Spanish, French and English)</ref>

Sword and sorcery proper only truly began in the [[pulp magazines|pulp]] fantasy magazines, where it emerged from "[[weird fiction]]".<ref name="stiles">{{cite web |url=http://broaduniverse.org/broadsheet-archive/tales-from-the-brass-bikini-feminist-sword-and-sorcery-november-2011-bs-r |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228100610/http://broaduniverse.org/broadsheet-archive/tales-from-the-brass-bikini-feminist-sword-and-sorcery-november-2011-bs-r |archive-date=2011-12-28 |last=Stiles |first=Paula R. |title=Tales From the Brass Bikini: Feminist Sword and Sorcery |work=Broad Universe |date=November 2011 |access-date=20 June 2012}}</ref> The magazine ''[[Weird Tales]]'', which published Howard's [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan]] stories and [[C. L. Moore]]'s [[Jirel of Joiry]] tales, as well as key influences like [[H. P. Lovecraft]] and Smith, was especially important.<ref>{{cite book|last1=de Camp|first1=L. Sprague|title=Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy|date=1976|publisher=Arkham House|location=Sauk City, Wisconsin|isbn=0-8705-4-076-9|edition=1st|page=ix: Chapter IV (Lovecraft), Chapter VIII (Smith)}}</ref> Lovecraft's fiction (especially his "Dream Cycle" of Dunsany-inspired fantasy stories) was a source of inspiration for the first generation of sword and sorcery writers.<ref name=bm1 />

The 1929 ''Weird Tales'' story "[[The Shadow Kingdom]]" by Robert E. Howard is often regarded as the first true "sword and sorcery" tale, because it pits a heroic warrior ([[Kull of Atlantis]]) against supernatural evil, in an imaginary world of the writer's devising.<ref name=js />

Howard published only three stories featuring Kull in ''Weird Tales''. He revised an unsold Kull story, "[[By This Axe I Rule!]]" into "[[The Phoenix on the Sword]]", which introduced a new character, [[Conan the Barbarian]].<ref name=js /><ref name=mth /> When "The Phoenix on the Sword" was published in 1932, it proved popular with the ''Weird Tales'' readers, and Howard wrote more tales of Conan, of which 17 were published in the magazine.<ref name=js /><ref name=mth />

===Development===
The success of Howard's work encouraged other ''Weird Tales'' writers to create similar tales of adventure in imagined lands. [[Clark Ashton Smith]] wrote his tales of the [[Hyperborean cycle]] and [[Zothique]] for ''Weird Tales'' in the 1930s. These stories revolved around the exploits of warriors and sorcerers in lands of the remote past or remote future, and often had downbeat endings.<ref name=SFESandS /><ref name=mth /> [[C. L. Moore]], inspired by Howard, Smith and H. P. Lovecraft, created the ''[[Jirel of Joiry]]'' stories for ''Weird Tales'', which brought in the first sword and sorcery heroine.<ref name=SFESandS /><ref name=js /> Moore's future husband [[Henry Kuttner]] created [[Elak of Atlantis]], a Howard-inspired warrior hero, for ''Weird Tales'' in 1938.<ref name=js /><ref name=mth />

Following a change of ownership in 1940, ''Weird Tales'' ceased to publish sword and sorcery stories.<ref>Weinberg, Robert (1999b) [1977]. "The Stories". In Weinberg, Robert (ed.). The Weird Tales Story. (1999) Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Wildside Press. (pp. 43) ISBN 1-58715-101-4. </ref> However, the pulp magazine ''[[Unknown (magazine)|Unknown Worlds]]'' continued to publish sword and sorcery fiction by [[Fritz Leiber]] and [[Norvell W. Page]].<ref name=pg /><ref name=js /><ref name="nwp">[[Mike Ashley (writer)|Mike Ashley]], "Page, Norvell W(ooten)", in ''St. James Guide To Fantasy Writers'', ed. [[David Pringle]], St James Press, 1996, {{ISBN|1-55862-205-5}}, (pp. 465–466)</ref> Leiber's stories revolved around a duo of heroes called [[Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser]], and dealt with their adventures in the world of Nehwon ("No-When" backwards). Leiber's stories featured more emphasis on characterisation and humour than previous sword and sorcery fiction, and his characters became popular with ''Unknown's'' readers.<ref> Don D'Ammassa, ''Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction'', Facts on File, New York, 2013 {{ISBN|9781438140636}} (p.112)</ref> Page's sword and sorcery tales centred on [[Prester John]], a Howard-inspired gladiator adventurer, whose exploits took place in Central Asia in the first century CE.<ref name="nwp" />

With the diminution of pulp magazine sales in the late 1940s, the focus of sword and sorcery shifted to small-press books. [[Arkham House]] published collections by Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith and Fritz Leiber that included some of their sword and sorcery work.<ref>Tibbetts, John C. ''The Gothic Imagination : Conversations on Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction in the Media''  Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2011 {{ISBN|9780230118164}}, (p.60)</ref> Writer [[Jack Vance]] published the book ''[[The Dying Earth]]'' in 1950. ''[[The Dying Earth]]'' described the adventures of rogues and wizards on a decadent far-future Earth, where magic had replaced science.<ref name=SFESandS /><ref name=pg />

===Rise in popularity===

In the 1960s, American paperback publisher [[Lancer Books]] began to reissue Robert E. Howard's ''Conan'' stories in paperback, with cover illustrations by artist [[Frank Frazetta]]. These editions became surprise bestsellers, selling millions of copies to a largely young readership.<ref name=tueof /><ref> Sammon, Paul. ''Conan the phenomenon : the legacy of Robert E. Howard's fantasy icon''. Dark Horse Books, Milwaukie, OR, 2013 (p.45) {{ISBN|9781616551889}} </ref> The commercial success of the Conan books encouraged other publishers to put out new and reprinted books in the style of Howard's work.<ref name=tueof />

Initial works in the 1960s by other authors closely followed the Conan mould, with [[Lin Carter]]'s [[Thongor of Lemuria]], [[Gardner Fox|Gardner F. Fox]]'s Kothar the Barbarian, and [[John Jakes]]' Brak the Barbarian being the most popular of the imitators. Notably different works were [[Michael Moorcock]]'s [[Elric of Melniboné|Elric of Melnibone]] stories, which were designed to be in counterpoint with the barbarian trope, and the revival of interest in the original [[Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser|Fafhrd & Gray Mouser]] stories with their focus on urbane rogues, by [[Fritz Leiber]] led to Leiber writing new stories with the characters that he would periodically revisit through out the 1970s and 1980s. 

Despite this, the initial barbarian-focused boom crashed in the early seventies, before the mid-1970s led to newer, more varied authors and books being published with it, such as [[David Drake]], [[Tanith Lee]], [[Charles R. Saunders]], [[Michael Shea (American author)|Michael Shea]], [[Karl Edward Wagner]] and others.<ref> “A Brief Introduction to Karl Edward Wagner” by David Drake, ''Weird Tales''Fall 1989, </ref>

From the 1960s until the 1980s, under the guiding force of Carter, a select group of writers formed the [[Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America]] (SAGA) to promote and enlarge the sword and sorcery genre. From 1973 to 1981, five anthologies featuring short works by SAGA members were published. Edited by Carter, these were collectively known as ''[[Flashing Swords!]]'' Because of these and other anthologies, such as the [[Ballantine Adult Fantasy]] series, his own fiction, and his criticism, Carter is considered one of the most important popularizers of genre fantasy in general, and S&S in particular.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clute|first1=John|last2=Grant|first2=John|last3=Ashley|first3=Mike|last4=Hartwell|first4=David G.|last5=Westfahl|first5=Gary|title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy|date=1999|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=New York|isbn=0-312-19869-8|page=171|edition=1st St. Martin's Griffin}}</ref>

Despite such authors' efforts, some critics use sword and sorcery as a dismissive or pejorative term.<ref name=EoFSandS /> During the 1980s, influenced by the success of the 1982 feature film ''[[Conan the Barbarian (1982 film)|Conan the Barbarian]]'',<ref name=Shaw1996>Andrea Shaw. "1980s - 1990s: Sword and Sorcery". Seen That, Now What?  The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Video You Really Want to Watch. Fireside. 1996. pp [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vgVStU_SWRcC&pg=RA1-PA443#v=onepage&q&f=false 443] & 444.</ref> many fantasy films, some cheaply made, were released in a subgenre that would be called "sword and sorcery".

Examples of sword and sorcery films include ''[[The Beastmaster (film)|The Beastmaster]]'' (1982), ''[[The Sword and the Sorcerer]]'' (1982),<ref name=Shaw1996/> ''[[Hercules (1983 film)|Hercules]]'' (1983),<ref>Jacobs. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VIJ8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PR224#v=onepage&q&f=false Screening Statues: Sculpture in Film]. 2017.</ref> a Conan sequel, ''[[Conan the Destroyer]]'' (1984),<ref>Tambling (ed). A Night in at the Opera: Media Representations of Opera. John Libbey. 1994. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BMzl-08heWwC&pg=PA133#v=onepage&q&f=false p 133]</ref> ''[[Ladyhawke (film)|Ladyhawke]]'' (1985) and ''[[Red Sonja (1985 film)|Red Sonja]]'' (1985), which, like the Conan films, also starred [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]].<ref name=Shaw1996/> The sword and sorcery boom is said to have begun with ''[[Hawk the Slayer]]'' (1980).<ref name=Shaw1996/><ref>Nick Curtis. [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/06/hawk-the-slayer-film-sequel-terry-marcel-jack-palance Hawk the Slayer is back – and he's brought his mindsword]. The Guardian. 6 July 2015.</ref> The [[sword and planet]] film<ref>Nicholas Diak. The New Peplum. Macfarland. 2018. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dThCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false p 5].</ref> ''[[Masters of the Universe (1987 film)|Masters of the Universe]]'' (1987) contains elements of sword and sorcery<ref>Baer. How He-Man Mastered the Universe. Macfarland. 2017. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7nRPDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA19#v=onepage&q&f=false p 19].</ref> and has been called a Conan hybrid.<ref>[https://variety.com/1986/film/reviews/masters-of-the-universe-1200427185/ Masters of the Universe]. Variety. 31 December 1986.</ref>

''[[Clash of the Titans (1981 film)|Clash of the Titans]]'' (1981), ''[[Excalibur (film)|Excalibur]]'' (1981) and ''[[Krull (film)|Krull]]'' (1983) are characterised as sword and sorcery films by some writers,<ref name=Shaw1996/><ref>Ray B Browne (ed). Objects of Special Devotion. Bowling Green University Popular Press. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NO5DkzptBeoC&pg=PA51#v=onepage&q&f=false p 51].</ref> but this is disputed by Butler.<ref>Butler. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UWEYAQAAMAAJ Fantasy Cinema: Impossible Worlds on Screen]. Wallflower. 2009. p 73.</ref> ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977) was influenced by sword and sorcery,<ref name=SFESandS/> and in turn influenced<ref>Alexander Zahlten. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=D74zDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT60#v=onepage&q&f=false The End of Japanese Cinema]. Duke University Press. 2017.</ref><ref>Toshiyuki Matsushima. 角川春樹インタビュー「里見八犬伝」の映画化は私の長い間の念願だった! [[Kinema Junpo]]. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=87I2AAAAMAAJ December 1983]. pp 44 to 46.</ref> ''[[Legend of the Eight Samurai]]'' (1983), a Japanese sword and sorcery style film.<ref>Chris D. Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film. IB Tauris. 2005. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MbaKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA13#v=onepage&q&f=false p 13].</ref>

After the cinema and literary boom of the early to mid-1980s, sword and sorcery once again dropped out of favor, with epic fantasy largely taking its place in the fantasy genre. There was, though, another resurgence in sword and sorcery at the end of the 20th century. Sometimes called the "new" or "literary" sword and sorcery, this development places emphasis on literary technique, and draws from epic fantasy and other genres to broaden the genre's typical scope. Stories may feature the wide-ranging struggles of national or world-spanning concerns common to high fantasy, but told from the point of view of characters more common to S&S, and with the sense of adventure common to the latter. Writers associated with this include [[Steven Erikson]], [[Joe Abercrombie]], and [[Scott Lynch]], magazines such as [[Black Gate (magazine)|''Black Gate'']] and the ezines ''Flashing Swords''{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} (not to be confused with the [[Lin Carter]] anthologies), and ''[[Beneath Ceaseless Skies]]'' publish short fiction in the style.<ref>[http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/page.php?p=about] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508103934/http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/page.php?p=about|date=8 May 2012}}</ref> According to the literary critic Higashi Masao regarding Japanese works ''[[Guin Saga]]'' and ''[[Sorcerous Stabber Orphen]]'', they were initially planned by their authors as novels that could be classified as belonging to the European sword and sorcery [[subgenre]] but had various major elements that distanced themselves from the typical novels in the genre.<ref name="HMAI">{{cite book|last=Higashi|first=Masao|editor1-last=Ai |editor1-first=Ishidou |title=Encyclopedia of Japanese fantasy writers|year=2009| language=ja |publisher=Kokusho Kankōkai|isbn= 9784336051424|pages=45}}</ref>

In the 1990s, sword and sorcery boomed in popularity in [[Great Britain]] and other parts of the world.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Science fiction |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/science-fiction |access-date=2023-04-24 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref>