''The Incorporated Knight'' is a
fix-up
A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame s ...
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
novel by American writers
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...
and
Catherine Crook de Camp, the first book in their sequence of two Neo-Napolitanian novels. Chapters 1-5 first appeared as L. Sprague de Camp's short stories "Two Yards of Dragon", "The Coronet", "Spider Love" and "Eudoric's Unicorn" in ''
Flashing Swords!
''Flashing Swords!'' is a series of fantasy anthologies published by Dell Books from 1973 to 1981 under the editorship of Lin Carter. It showcased the heroic fantasy work of the members of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a so ...
'', ''
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher a ...
'' and ''
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories
''The Year's Best Fantasy Stories'' is an anthology of fantasy stories, edited by American writer Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in 1975. Despite the anthology's title, it actually gathers together pieces originall ...
'' in 1976-1977. The complete novel was first published in hardcover by
Phantasia Press
Phantasia Press Inc. was an American small publisher formed by Sidney Altus and Alex Berman publishing short-run, hardcover limited editions of science fiction and fantasy books. It was active from 1978 to 1989. The company was based in West Blo ...
in August 1987, and in paperback by
Baen Books
Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...
in September 1988, with a trade paperback edition, also from Baen, following in 1991.
An
E-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
edition was published by
Gollancz's
SF Gateway
Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group.
Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, a ...
imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form.
Plot summary
Squire Eudoric Damberson of Zurgau in the kingdom of Locania wishes to wed Lusina, the daughter of his former tutor, the magician Doctor Baldonius. The price is attaining the status of knight and supplying the magician with a portion of dragon hide for use in his magic. Dragons are locally scarce, so Eudoric and his trusty servant Jillo set out for Pathenia in the east to slay one. But once the two do manage to bring one down (by accident) they face legal complications for violating the local game laws. Returning, Eudoric finds his promised bride has run off with a minstrel, and his feudal lord Baron Emmerhard disinclined to knight him for his heroic exploit; he consoles himself by pursuing a scheme to establish a stagecoach line like those in Pathenia. (This material first appeared as the short story "Two Yards of Dragon".)
A subsequent rescue of Emmerhard from a magic spell finally secures him the knighthood, but he remains unlucky in love, as the baron's daughter Gerzilda also shuns his hand. (This material first appeared as the short story "The Coronet".)
Next Eudoric pursues Maragda, daughter of Rainmar, a local robber baron who has been raiding his coach line. Rainmar tasks him with slaying the giant spider Fraka, and once again matters go awry. While Eudoric's knightly reputation and stage line prosper, his marriage prospects remain nil. (This material first appeared as the short story "Spider Love".)
The pattern is repeated when he is commissioned to capture a unicorn for his ultimate overlord Emperor Thorar IX of the New Napolitanian Empire, intended as a gift for the visiting Grand Cham Gzik of Pantorozia. The emperor's daughter Petrilla, smitten with Gzik, weds the Cham instead. (This material first appeared as the short story "Eudoric's Unicorn".)
Seeking to extend his stage line into Letitia, capital of the kingdom of Franconia that borders the empire to the west, his reputation for getting things done leads to him being deputed to rescue King Clothar's sister Yolanda, held captive in the rude neighboring realm of Armoria. There he is forced to save her from a sea monster and then wed her, after which he flees back to Franconia with his new bride. He finds her a less than congenial mate — Yolanda is both a control freak and an enchantress. Fighting with each other and dangers along the way, they encounter the
restless ghost
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crema ...
of a king cursed to endure eternal boredom in his tomb, an orthodox ogre who kills and eats those of the wrong faith, and the soldiers of the hostile duchy of Dorelia.
Nor are Eudoric's difficulties left behind on their return to Letitia. Mewed up as a prisoner in all but name in his princess bride's mansion by her supernatural servants, he soon discovers she is a female
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the st ...
who regularly collects husbands and petrifies them as she tires of them. By calling on the aid of Dr. Tsudai, a Serican sorcerer whose life he had saved during his earlier stay in Letitia, Eudoric is ultimately successful in freeing his three predecessor-husbands from statuehood and escaping their lethal spouse.
Safe back in Locania, where his nuptials are not recognized, Eudoric receives a message from Yolanda pleading for him to return, as he is the only one of her husbands whose loss she regrets. He prudently ignores her letter, choosing instead to resume his courtship of his original intended, Lusina — she is also back, having grown disillusioned with her unreliable lover. Meanwhile, he and Dr. Baldonius hatch plans to incorporate his coach line as a limited liability company after the fashion of the
hongs
A ''hong'' () originally designates both a type of building and a type of Chinese merchant intermediary in Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton), Guangdong, China, in the 18–19th century, specifically during the Canton System period.
Guangzh ...
of Serica.
Setting
''The Incorporated Knight'' and its sequel ''
The Pixilated Peeress
''The Pixilated Peeress'' is a fantasy novel by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp. It is the second book in their sequence of two Neo-Napolitanian novels, following ''The Incorporated Knight''. It was first published ...
'' are both set in the medieval era of an alternate world sharing the geography of our own, but in which a "Napolitanian" (
Neapolitan
Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to:
Geography and history
* Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city
* Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...
) empire filled the role of Rome and no universal religion like Christianity ever arose, leaving its nations split among competing pagan sects. The New Napolitanian Empire, of which Eudoric is a subject, roughly corresponds to our world's
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, or
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, while Franconia and Armoria, the lands he visits to the west, are the equivalents of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
, respectively. The geography of more eastern regions such as Pathenia and Pantorozia are borrowed in part from the fanciful regions portrayed in ''
Mandeville's Travels''; the time-period corresponds to the historical 14th century. In keeping with the character of de Camp's fantasy world as a cognate of our own, its place names tend to echo those of the real world. Examples include Franconia, equating to France but derived from the historic German
region of the same name; Armoria, based on
Armorica
Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...
, an ancient name for Brittany;
Serica
Serica (, grc, Σηρικά) was one of the easternmost countries of Asia known to the Ancient Greek and Roman geographers. It is generally taken as referring to North China
North China, or Huabei () is a List of regions of China, geogr ...
, an ancient name for
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
or
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
; Sogrambrium, the capital of the New Napolitanian Empire, derived from the
Sicrambri or Sugambri, an ancient Germanic tribe located on the east bank of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
near the present border of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
; and Letitia, the capital of Franconia, a variation on
Lutetia
The Gallo-Roman town of ''Lutetia'' (''Lutetia Parisiorum'' in Latin, in French ''Lutèce'') was the predecessor of the modern-day city of Paris. It was founded in about the middle of the 3rd century BCE by the Parisii, a Gallic tribe. Tra ...
, the ancient name of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
Reception
Reviews were favorable. ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'', noting that "
e hallmark of Sprague de Camp's classic fantasy has been a wry humor as he asked commonsensical questions of the genre's imaginative but impractical motifs," called this book, "the adventures of ... a knight whose only goals are a wife and a decent living," "
nor de Camp but still most enjoyable," Jackie Cassada, writing for ''
Library Journal
''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...
'', praised its "doughty and resourceful hero and ... generous dollop of the de Camps' boisterous humor."
Roland Green, in ''
The Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
'', called the book "a pleasant fantasy romp," noting that while it was "likely to be released in paperback in due time," its "high quality definitely makes
tworth considering in hardcover."
[Green, Roland. "Science Fiction" (Review). ''The Booklist'', v. 84, no. 5, November 1, 1987, p. 437.]
The book was also reviewed by Trevin Matlock in ''
Locus
Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to:
Entertainment
* Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front
* ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine
** ''Locus Award' ...
'' no. 320, September 1987, and
Darrell Schweitzer
Darrell Charles Schweitzer (born August 27, 1952) is an American writer, editor, and critic in the field of speculative fiction. Much of his focus has been on dark fantasy and horror fiction, horror, although he does also work in science fictio ...
in ''
Aboriginal Science Fiction
''Aboriginal Science Fiction'' was a high-circulation semi-professional science fiction magazine started in October 1986 by editor Charles Ryan. After releasing 49 issues it ceased publication in the spring of 2001. In 2002 the rights to ''Abor ...
'', November-December 1987.
Relation to other works
The main plot device of bickering male and female protagonists not destined for a happy ending together is featured in several late de Camp novels, notably ''
The Prisoner of Zhamanak
''The Prisoner of Zhamanak'' is a science fiction novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, the eighth book of his ''Viagens Interplanetarias'' series and the sixth of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologica ...
'' (1982), ''
The Bones of Zora
''The Bones of Zora'' is a science fiction novel by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp, the ninth book of the former's ''Viagens Interplanetarias'' series and the seventh of its subseries of stories set on the fictio ...
'' (1983), and ''
The Pixilated Peeress
''The Pixilated Peeress'' is a fantasy novel by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp. It is the second book in their sequence of two Neo-Napolitanian novels, following ''The Incorporated Knight''. It was first published ...
'' (1991).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Incorporated Knight
1987 American novels
American fantasy novels
Collaborative novels
Novels by L. Sprague de Camp
Phantasia Press books