"The Twilight of the Grey Gods", also known as "The Grey God Passes", is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American writer Robert E. Howard that blends history and fantasy. Published posthumously in 1962, the first appearance of the story was in a collection titled ''

Dark Mind, Dark Heart ''Dark Mind, Dark Heart'' is an anthology of horror stories edited by American writer August Derleth. It was released in 1962 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,493 copies. The anthology was conceived as a collection of new stories by old Arkham ...

'', edited by

August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the ...

. The tale is a fictionalized version of the

Battle of Clontarf The Battle of Clontarf ( ga, Cath Chluain Tarbh) took place on 23 April 1014 at Clontarf, near Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland. It pitted an army led by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, against a Norse-Irish alliance comprising the forc ...

(1014) recast in Howard's views, with doomful visions and weird fantasy elements. While the historical facts of the battle are accurate, they are not the most important parts of the story. The protagonist is Conn the Thrall, who fights alongside Turlogh Dubh O'Brien, a recurring character of Howard's who is an outcast from

Brian Boru Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domi ...

's clan. Howard first wrote a version of this story called "Spears of Clontarf", but it was rejected by "Soldiers of Fortune" magazine. He then added fantasy elements to the story so as to be able to submit it to the ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...

'' magazine under the title ''The Grey God Passes'', where it was also rejected by editor Farnsworth Wright in December, 1931. He then rewrote it a third time, as a horror story called ''

The Cairn on the Headland ''The Cairn on the Headland'' is a short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, with elements of fantasy and horror. As often in Howard stories, there is a link to the Cthulhu Mythos, in this case mixed also with elements of both Norse Mytho ...

'', and that version was published in the January, 1933 issue of ''Strange Tales''. Howard's first version (as ''Spears of Clontarf'') finally saw print in a

chapbook A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

,Works of Robert E. Howard
Spears of Clontarf, retrieved 16 August 2007 and his ''Grey God Passes'' version was also published posthumously in the anthology collection titled ''Dark Mind, Dark Heart'' in 1962.

Plot introduction

The core of the story, as indicated by the title, is the end of the era of gods and warrior kings. With the victory of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

King Brian over the enslaving

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

s, at the cost of their own lives, Ireland is freed from bondage and increasingly left in the hands of former slaves.

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

himself makes an impressive and doomful appearance, actively aiding and abetting this changing of the guard.

Style

While little known, this story can be regarded as a turning point in the timeline of Howard's universe. While even in his stories that take place in incredibly ancient times, the horror, supernatural and

Cthulhu mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...

elements are seen as survivals from older, more horrible epochs. It can be perceived that in stories that take place later, such elements are viewed as even more horrible and abnormal. (Compare the view of the supernatural in the

Kull Kull may refer to: Arts * Kull of Atlantis, a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard ** ''Kull the Conqueror'', a 1997 fantasy action film based on Howard's character and starring Kevin Sorbo * King Kull (DC Comics), a Fawcett Comics and D ...

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

stories, with that in the

Solomon Kane Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp magazine, pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A late-16th-to-early-17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanqu ...

tales or in ''

The Black Stone "The Black Stone" is a horror short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, first published in the November 1931 in literature, 1931 issue of ''Weird Tales''. The story introduces the mad poet Cthulhu Mythos biographies#Geoffrey, Justin, Justi ...

'' or ''

The Children of the Night "The Children of the Night" is a 1931 short story by Robert E. Howard, belonging to the Cthulhu Mythos. It was first published in the pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in the April/May 1931 issue. Howard earned $60 for this publication.

'' for instance.) The notable exception being ''

Worms of the Earth "Worms of the Earth" is a short story by American fantasy fiction writer Robert E. Howard. It was originally published in the magazine ''Weird Tales'' in November 1932, then again in 1975 in a collection of Howard's short stories, '' Worms of th ...

'' where, in the fourth or fifth century, even a hard bitten hero like Bran Mak Morn finds horror beyond his ability to stand.

Adaptations

''Twilight of the Grey Gods'' was adapted by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

as a Conan story in ''Conan the Barbarian'' #3 ("Twilight of the Grim Grey God", Feb 1971). Finnish comic book artist Petri Hiltunen adapted the story to an album ''Harmaan Jumalan Hetki.''

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twilight of the Grey Gods, The Short stories by Robert E. Howard 1962 short stories Short stories published posthumously Short stories set in the 11th century Ireland in fiction Odin Low fantasy Fantasy short stories War short stories Short stories set in Ireland