"The Scarlet Citadel" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional

sword 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 ...

hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author

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 ...

and first published in the January, 1933 issue of '' Weird Tales'' magazine. In the pseudo-historical

Hyborian Age The Hyborian Age is a fictional period of Earth's history within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, serving as the setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian. The word "Hyborian" is derived from the l ...

, a middle-aged Conan battles rival kingdoms. The wizard Tsotha-lanti ensnares King Conan, who escapes a dungeon with unexpected aid. The story was republished in the collections ''

King Conan ''King Conan'' is a collection of five fantasy short stories by American writer Robert E. Howard featuring his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It is also the name of two separate comic book series featuring the character. The book ...

'' ( Gnome Press, 1953) and ''

Conan the Usurper ''Conan the Usurper'' is a 1967 collection of four fantasy short stories by American writer Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in the fa ...

'' (

Lancer Books, A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

, 1967). It has more recently been published in the collections '' The Conan Chronicles Volume 2: The Hour of the Dragon'' (

Gollancz Gollancz may refer to: * Gollancz (surname), a Polish-Jewish surname * Victor Gollancz Ltd, a former British publishing house, now used as an imprint by the Orion Publishing Group See also * Gołańcz Gołańcz (german: Gollantsch) is a town ...

, 2001) and '' Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933)'' ( Del Rey, 2003).

Plot summary

An older, wiser King Conan of Aquilonia receives a call for help from Amalrus, the ruler of neighbouring Ophir. Amalrus claims that Strabonus, the Emperor of Koth, is threatening his kingdom. Conan marches into Ophir with an army of five thousand Aquilonian knights. His planned campaign is a trap; the two monarchs are working together to destroy him with the help of a Kothian wizard named Tsotha-lanti. The Aquilonian knights are cut to pieces while Conan is imprisoned within a Korshemish dungeon. This dungeon is used by Tsotha-lanti for nefarious experiments, and Conan discovers bizarre horrors during his escape. Conan frees Pelias, a former rival wizard of Tsotha-lanti, who helps him escape the dungeon and regain his position as king of Aquilonia. The story climaxes with a gigantic battle, where Tsotha-lanti meets a grisly fate at the hands of Pelias.

Reception

Robert Weinberg described "The Scarlet Citadel" as "Howard at his best", and praised the character of Pelias.Robert Weinberg, ''The Weird Tales Story''. FAX Collector’s Editions. (p. 36).

Adaptation

The story was adapted 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 Frank Brunner in ''Savage Sword of Conan'' #30 in 1978, then by Tim Truman and Tomas Giorello in 2011 in ''King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel''.

References

External links

The Scarlet Citadel at Project Gutenberg

Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com

Conan.com: The Official Website
1933 short stories Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard Pulp stories Horror short stories Fantasy short stories Works originally published in Weird Tales {{1930s-horror-story-stub