Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. Sword and sorcery commonly overlaps with heroic fantasy.

Origin

American author Fritz Leiber coined the term "sword and sorcery" in 1961 in response to a letter from British author Michael Moorcock in the fanzine ''Amra'', demanding a name for the sort of fantasy-adventure story written by

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906June 11, 1936) was an American writer. He wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subge ...

. Moorcock had initially proposed the term "epic fantasy". Leiber replied in the journal ''Ancalagon'' (6 April 1961), suggesting "sword-and-sorcery as a good popular catchphrase for the field". He expanded on this in the July 1961 issue of ''Amra'', commenting: Since its inception, many attempts have been made to provide a precise definition of "sword and sorcery". Although many have debated the finer points, the consensus characterizes it with a bias toward fast-paced, action-rich tales set in a quasi-mythical or fantastical framework. Unlike high fantasy, the stakes in sword and sorcery tend to be personal, the danger confined to the moment of telling. Settings are typically exotic, and protagonists often morally compromised. Many sword and sorcery tales have turned into lengthy series of adventures. Their lower stakes and less-than world-threatening dangers make this more plausible than a repetition of the perils of epic fantasy. So too does the nature of the heroes; most sword-and-sorcery

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

s, travellers by nature, find peace after adventure deathly dull.

Sources

In his introduction to the reference ''

Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers ''Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy'' is a work of collective biography on the formative authors of the heroic fantasy genreTymn, Marshall B. "Guide to Resource Materials for Science Fiction and Fantasy Teachers," ''T ...

'' 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. It also has been influenced by

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

. For instance, the work of Sir Walter Scott was influenced by Scottish folklore and ballads. But few of Scott's stories contain fantastic elements; in most, the appearance of such is explained away. Its themes of adventure in a strange society influenced the adventures set in foreign lands by

H. Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform ...

and

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

. Haggard's works included many fantastic elements. Sword and sorcery's immediate progenitors are the swashbuckling tales of

Alexandre Dumas, père Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where ''Suffix (name)#Generational titles, '' is French language, French for 'father', to distinguish him from ...

('' The Three Musketeers'' (1844), etc.), Rafael Sabatini ('' Scaramouche'' (1921), etc.) and their

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

imitators, such as Talbot Mundy,

Harold Lamb Harold Albert Lamb (September 1, 1892 – April 9, 1962) was an American writer, novelist, historian, and screenwriter. In both his fiction and nonfiction work, Lamb gravitated toward subjects related to Asia and Middle East. Lamb was an advocat ...

, and

H. Bedford-Jones Henry James O'Brien Bedford-Jones (April 29, 1887 – May 6, 1949) was a Canadian-American historical, adventure fantasy, science fiction, crime and Western writer who became a naturalized United States citizen in 1908. Biography Bedford-Jones ...

, who all influenced

. However, these historical "swashbucklers" lack the supernatural element (even though Dumas' fiction contained many fantasy tropes) which defines the genre. Another influence was early fantasy fiction such as

Lord Dunsany Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dunsany) was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. Over 90 volumes of fiction, essays, poems and plays appeared in his lifetime.Lanham, M ...

's ''

The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth" is a fantasy short story by Lord Dunsany, first published in his 1908 collection ''The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories''. It describes the hero Leothric's quest to free his people from bad dreams ...

'' (1910) and A. Merritt's '' The Ship of Ishtar'' (1924). All these authors influenced sword and sorcery for the plots, characters, and landscapes used. Also, many early sword and sorcery writers, such as

and

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...

, were influenced by the Middle Eastern tales of the

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

, whose stories of magical monsters and evil sorcerers were an influence on the genre-to-be. 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 Lankhmar is a fictional city in the ''Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser'' stories by Fritz Leiber. It is situated on the world of Nehwon, just west of the Great Salt Marsh and east of the River Hlal, and serves as the home of Leiber's two antiheroes ...

bears considerable similarity to 16th century Seville as depicted in Miguel de Cervantes' tale "

Rinconete y Cortadillo "Rinconete y Cortadillo" (or "Novela de Rinconete y Cortadillo") is one of the twelve short stories included in ''Novelas Ejemplares'', by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes. The story is set in Seville in 1569, which at the time was a rich city ...

". American author Gertrude Hall's 1895 novelette "Garden Deadly" appears to anticipate the genre with the tale of a blighted kingdom, a seductive enchantress who turns men into animals, and a brash, brawny outsider who sets out to save the day. Sword and sorcery proper only truly begins in the pulp fantasy magazines, where it emerged from " weird fiction". The magazine '' Weird Tales'', which published Howard's Conan stories and C. L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry tales, as well as key influences like H. P. Lovecraft and

, was especially important.

Selected works

The genre has been defined by Robert E. Howard's work, especially his tales of '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Kull of Atlantis'', mostly in ''Weird Tales'' from 1932 and 1929 respectively. Other books and series that define the genre of sword-and-sorcery include: *

's Hyperborean and Zothique tales, beginning with " The Tale of Satampra Zeiros" and "The Empire of the Necromancers" in 1931 and 1932, respectively. * C. L. Moore's '' Jirel of Joiry'' tales, beginning with "Black God's Kiss" (1934), which introduced the first notable sword and sorcery heroine. * Fritz Leiber's ''

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two sword-and-sorcery heroes appearing in stories written by American author Fritz Leiber. They are the protagonists of what are probably Leiber's best-known stories. One of his motives in writing them was to have ...

'' sequence, beginning with "Two Sought Adventure" (1939). * Michael Moorcock's '' Elric'' sequence, beginning with ''The Dreaming City'' (published in ''

Science Fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

'' 1961), notable for its adherence to counterstereotype. * L. Sprague de Camp's ''

Swords and Sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...

'', the first sword and sorcery anthology, was published by Pyramid Books in December 1963. * Karl Edward Wagner's ''Kane'' novels, beginning with ''Darkness Weaves'' (1970), credited with reinvigorating the genre. * Robert Lynn Asprin's '' Thieves' World'', a series of shared world anthologies first created in 1978. * Samuel R. Delany's '' Return of Nevèrÿon'', a series of three-story collections and one novel influenced by

critical theory A critical theory is any approach to social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to reveal, critique and challenge power structures. With roots in sociology and literary criticism, it argues that social problems stem more from soci ...

, published from 1979 to 1987. * Charles Saunders's '' Imaro'' novels, beginning with ''Imaro'' (1981), a collection of short stories first published in the seventies for ''Dark Fantasy'' fanzine. Imaro was the first notable black sword and sorcery protagonist. L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter had created Juma of Kush as a secondary character in a short story published in 1967. * Gardner Fox's Kothar and Kyrik novels and "Crom the Barbarian", the first sword and sorcery comic series. Other pulp fantasy fiction, such as Edgar Rice Burroughs' ''

Barsoom Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs. The first Barsoom tale was serialized as ''Under the Moons of Mars'' in 1912 and published as a novel as ''A Princess of Mars' ...

'' series and Leigh Brackett's ''Sea Kings of Mars'', have a similar feel to sword and sorcery. But, because alien science replaces the supernatural, these books are usually described as planetary romance or

sword and planet Sword and planet is a subgenre of science fantasy that features rousing adventure stories set on other planets, and usually featuring humans as protagonists. The name derives from the heroes of the genre engaging their adversaries in hand-to-ha ...

. They fall more in the area of science fiction. Despite this, planetary romance closely aligns with sword and sorcery, and the work of Burroughs, Brackett, and others in the former field have been significant in creating and spreading S&S proper. Sword and sorcery often blurs the lines between fantasy and science fiction, drawing elements from both like the "weird fiction" it sprang from.

Revival

From the 1960s until the 1980s, under the guiding force of Lin 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 The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of American publisher Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 (presumably in response to the growing popularity of Tolkien's works), the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature which w ...

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. Another notable sword and sorcery anthology series from 1977 through 1979, "

Swords Against Darkness ''Swords Against Darkness'' is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by Andrew J. Offutt. It was first published in paperback by Zebra Books in February 1977. Summary The book collects nine short stories and novelettes by various fantasy author ...

" (

Zebra Books Zebra Books is an imprint of American publisher Kensington Publishing Corp. As the company's flagship imprint until the late 80s, it currently publishes women's fiction, romantic suspense and bestselling historical, paranormal and contemporary ro ...

), edited by Andrew J. Offutt, ran five volumes and featured stories by such authors as Poul Anderson,

David Drake David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography Drake graduated Phi ...

, Ramsey Campbell, Andre Norton, and Manly Wade Wellman. Despite such authors' efforts, some critics use sword and sorcery as a dismissive or pejorative term. During the 1980s, influenced by the success of the 1982 feature film '' Conan the Barbarian,'' many cheaply made fantasy films were released in a subgenre that would be called "sword & sorcery". After the boom of the early 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 Steve Rune Lundin (born October 7, 1959), known by his pseudonym Steven Erikson, is a Canadian novelist who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist. He is best known for his ten-volume spanning epic fantasy series ...

, Joe Abercrombie, and Scott Lynch, magazines such as ''Black Gate'' and the ezines ''Flashing Swords'' (not to be confused with the Lin Carter anthologies), and '' Beneath Ceaseless Skies'' publish short fiction in the style. According to the literary critic Higashi Masao, of Japanese works, Guin Saga and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen were initially planned by their authors as novels that could be classified as belonging to the European sword and sorcery subgenre. but later ''Guin Saga'' volumes center too much around conspiracy, while ''Sorcerous Stabber Orphen'' is only officially published in light novel format, and its later development involved increased reliance on magic and elements of high fantasy.

Women creators and characters

Despite the importance of C. L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, Andre Norton, and other female authors, as well as Moore's early heroine, sword and sorcery has been characterized as having a masculine bias. Female characters were generally distressed damsels to be rescued or protected, or otherwise served as a reward for a male hero's adventures. Women who had adventures of their own often did so to counter the threat of rape or to gain revenge for same. Marion Zimmer Bradley's ''

Sword and Sorceress The ''Sword and Sorceress'' series is a series of fantasy anthologies originally edited by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, and originally published by DAW Books. As she explained in the foreword to the first volume, she created the anthol ...

'' anthology series (1984 onwards) tried the reverse, encouraging female writers and protagonists. The stories feature skillful swordswomen and powerful sorceresses working from a variety of motives. Jessica Amanda Salmonson similarly sought to broaden the range of roles for female characters in sword and sorcery through her own stories and through editing the World Fantasy Award-winning ''Amazons'' (1979) and ''Amazons II'' (1982) anthologies; both drew on real and folkloric female warriors, often from areas outside of Europe. Early sword and sorcery writer

had espoused feminist views in his personal and professional life. He wrote to his friends and associates defending the achievements and capabilities of women. Strong female characters in Howard's works of fiction include

Dark Agnes de Chastillon Dark Agnes de Chastillon (also known as Agnes de Chastillon, Dark Agnes, Agnes de la Fere and The Sword Woman) is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard and the protagonist of three stories set in 16th Century France, which were not pr ...

(first appearing in "Sword Woman", circa 1932–34), the early modern pirate Helen Tavrel ("The Isle of Pirates' Doom", 1928), as well as two pirates and Conan the Barbarian supporting characters, Bêlit (" Queen of the Black Coast", 1934), and Valeria of the Red Brotherhood ("

Red Nails "Red Nails" is the last of the stories featuring Conan the Cimmerian written by American author Robert E. Howard. A novella, it was originally serialized in '' Weird Tales'' magazine from July to October 1936, the months after Howard's suicide. ...

", 1936). Introduced as the co-star in a non-fantasy historical story by Howard entitled "

The Shadow of the Vulture "The Shadow of the Vulture" is a short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, first published in '' The Magic Carpet Magazine'', January 1934. The story introduces the character of Red Sonya of Rogatino, who later became the inspiration for ...

", Red Sonya of Rogatino later inspired a fantasy heroine named Red Sonja, who first appeared in the comic book series '' Conan the Barbarian'' written by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith. Red Sonja got her own comic book title and eventually a series of novels by David C. Smith and

Richard L. Tierney Richard Louis Tierney (August 7, 1936 – February 1, 2022) was an American writer, poet and scholar of H. P. Lovecraft, probably best known for his heroic fantasy, including his series co-authored (with David C. Smith) of Red Sonja novels, fe ...

, as well as

Richard Fleischer Richard O. Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. Though he ...

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

in 1985.

References

External links

Oxford English Dictionary citations for Sword and Sorcery.''Sword and Sorcery''
in '' The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' {{Film genres 1961 neologisms Fantasy genres fr:Heroic fantasy#Définition