Editing Sword and sorcery (section)

===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 />