A Witch Shall be Born
Encyclopedia
"A Witch Shall Be Born" is one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard
about Conan the Cimmerian
. It was written in only a few days in spring of 1934 and first published in Weird Tales
in 1934. The story concerns a witch replacing her twin sister as queen of a city state, which brings her into conflict with Conan who had been the captain of the queen's guard. Themes of paranoia, and the duality of the twin sisters, are paramount in this story but it also includes elements of the conflict between barbarism and civilization that is common to the entire Conan series. The novella as a whole is considered an average example of the series but one scene stands out. Conan's crucifixion early in the story in the second chapter ("The Tree of Death") is considered the best and most memorable scene in the entire series. A variation of this scene was included in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian with Arnold Schwarzenegger
.
of Khauran awakens one day to find an identical twin sister, Salome, staring her in the face. As a child, Salome
was deemed a witch due to a crescent birthmark on her chest. This birthmark was believed to be a sign of evil, so she was left in the desert to die. However, a magician from Khitai (China) found her, brought her up and instructed her in the arts of sorcery.
Salome has conspired with the Shemitish mercenary Constantius to take over the city state. Queen Taramis is taken to the palace dungeon, with the implication of torture and rape. Salome assumes Taramis' identity as queen of Khauran and appoints Constantius as her royal consort. The army is disbanded and replaced by Constantius' Shemitish mercenaries, an event which turns violent when the captain of the queen's guard, Conan the Cimmerian, refuses to obey the order.
Conan is crucified for his defiance. Olgerd Vladislav, the "Kozak" leader of a band of Zaugir desert raiders, rides by with a scouting party and finds Conan on the cross. Vladislav does not entirely help Conan. He has the base of the cross cut, leaving it to fate and Conan's hardiness that he is not crushed by the heavy wood. Vladislav then refuses to give Conan any water, claiming the Cimmerian must wait until after a ten-mile trek to the outlaw camp to prove his worthiness to his band.
In Khauran, Salome's reign as "Taramis" has plunged the state into ruin. Citizens are killed, tortured or sold as slaves; heavy taxes are imposed and women are frequently debauched by the Shemites. Salome desecrates the temple of Ishtar in the center of the city and summons a demon, Thaug, to live within it. Khaurani citizens are routinely sacrificed to Thaug.
Conan has been expanding the numbers of the Zaugirs as Vladislav's lieutenant, while also communicating with Khaurani knights who had become refugees. When he has sufficient forces he usurps Vladislav but does not kill him in recognition Vladislav having saved Conan's life. Conan fakes the construction of siege engines with palm trees and painted silk. Constantius is fooled by this as his scouts cannot get close enough to see them properly and Conan is known to be experienced in all manner of warfare. The mercenary army rides out of the city for an open-field battle with Conan expecting only the lightly armed Zaugirs, but are taken by surprise by Khaurani heavy cavalry hidden amongst them. Conan's forces are victorious.
Meanwhile, Valerius, a former member of the Khaurani army, has discovered that Salome is an imposter and attempts to rescue Taramis from the dungeon. He plans to either reveal the conspiracy to the people or escape. Conan's victory is not certain to the Khauranis and they are nervous about his intentions as a barbarian leading raiders. Salome, aware that the battle has been lost, decides to kill Taramis before Conan can take the city. She interrupts Valerius' rescue and takes Taramis to the former temple of Ishtar. Valerius manages to kill Salome but she unleashes Thaug. Conan, arriving with his Zaugir forces, who kill the demon with two flights of arrows.
Taramis offers to make Conan councillor as well as captain but he declines, nominating Valerius instead. Conan, as chief of the Zaugirs, mops up the remaining Shemites and leaves to raid the nearby Turanians. His last act before leaving is to crucify Constantius by the stump of the earlier crucifix.
Howard may have been experimenting with style in this novella, leaving behind any standard pulp formula. Conan dominates the story but he is only actually present in two chapters. The narrative instead builds the plot by follows others, such as Valerius, Salome and a wandering savant Astreas.
Louinet suggests that Conan becomes figuratively immortal and superhuman following his crucifixion: "How can anybody kill a character—literarily or literally—who can survive such a scene as that one?"
The supernatural elements of the story are minor and may only have been included to justify publication in Weird Tales.
The demon Thaug is similar to that in Howard's unfinished novel Almuric
, which he had abandoned only a few months before starting this story. The quick reveal and defeat of the demon may indicate that Howard was embarrassed by its inclusion.
The ongoing theme of Barbarism vs. Civilization, which pervades the entire Conan series, is present in this story in two crucifixions. Conan is able to endure and survive his crucifixion, and the subsequent journey without water, thanks to his barbarian stamina. When Constantius is finally crucified, Conan states "You are more fit to inflict torture than endure it. ... You civilized men are soft; your lives are not nailed to your spines are as ours."
, editor of Weird Tales
, was running out of Conan stories which were growing in popularity and attracting new readers to the magazine. Howard ha recently finished the Conan novel The Hour of the Dragon
, which was not intended for publication in Weird Tales and the story previous to that, "The People of the Black Circle
" was already scheduled for August. He finished "A Witch Shall Be Born" in only two drafts over a period of days in order to meet this deadline. Wright accepted it without hesitation, telling Howard it was his best Conan story to date, and made it the cover story for the December issue.
at the hands of Constantius. He goes on to say that, while of average quality, it "exudes Howard's confidence in his creation."
Robert Weinberg
concurs, mentioning the "best scene in the entire Conan series" but comments that the remainder of the story in only average. Of the crucifixion, Weinberg writes, "Only Howard could have given the scene life." He states that this scene, the "blood and passion", is an indicator of why Howard is better than any of his imitators. The violence is "graphic and elemental" while the torture "barbaric, primitive and real" not allowing the hero a chance to escape. Instead, Conan survives by sheer endurance, even killing an overeager vulture with his teeth. The passion in the text and strength of the prose suspends disbelief in Conan's survival on the cross. However, Weinberg criticizes the fact that much of the action takes place offstage, for instance, being related to the reader through a letter from the otherwise unseen Astreas or through a priest communicating with Salome.
. The first reprint followed in 1949, when the story was published in the digest anthology Avon Fantasy Reader
#10. The novella was the cover story and main feature of both publications.
A version of the story that was edited and altered by L. Sprague de Camp
appeared in the collection Conan the Barbarian
(Gnome Press
, 1954). This was reprinted several times, notably in the collection Conan the Freebooter
(Lancer Books
, 1968). It was first published by itself in book form by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc., titled A Witch Shall Be Born, in 1974, which did not use the de Damp version.
The novella has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle
(Gollancz
, 2000), The Bloody Crown of Conan (Del Rey, 2005). It was selected by John Clute
as part of the Penguin Modern Classics collection Heroes in the Wind
(Penguin Books
, 2009). All versions used pure-Howard texts with de Camp's alterations excised.
and John Buscema
in Savage Sword of Conan
#5 (1975).
The crucifixion scene was adapted for the first Conan film, Conan the Barbarian (1982). The original script for the film, written by Oliver Stone
, was based on this novella and another Conan story, "Black Colossus
", set in a post-apocalyptic future. When John Milius
took over directing the film, he had the script changed but retained the crucifixion scene, described by Kenneth Von Gunden as "Howard's quintessential Conan scene: the mighty Cimmerian, hanging on a cross, nails driven through his hands and feet, tearing out the throat of a vulture which comes to peck out his eyes."
The name "Queen Taramis
" was also used in the second Conan movie, Conan the Destroyer
(1984), played by actress Sarah Douglas
. The mark of Salome also appears in this film, with the character Jehnna, but it is not used in the same way.
The Czech death metal
band Animal Hate released the album "...A Witch Shall Be Born" in 2008 based on this story.
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
about Conan the Cimmerian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
. It was written in only a few days in spring of 1934 and first published in Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
in 1934. The story concerns a witch replacing her twin sister as queen of a city state, which brings her into conflict with Conan who had been the captain of the queen's guard. Themes of paranoia, and the duality of the twin sisters, are paramount in this story but it also includes elements of the conflict between barbarism and civilization that is common to the entire Conan series. The novella as a whole is considered an average example of the series but one scene stands out. Conan's crucifixion early in the story in the second chapter ("The Tree of Death") is considered the best and most memorable scene in the entire series. A variation of this scene was included in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian with Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
.
Plot
Queen TaramisQueen Taramis
"A Witch Shall be Born" is one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian, first published in Weird Tales in 1934. The story was republished in the collections Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Freebooter , and the anthology The Mighty Barbarians...
of Khauran awakens one day to find an identical twin sister, Salome, staring her in the face. As a child, Salome
Salome
Salome , the Daughter of Herodias , is known from the New Testament...
was deemed a witch due to a crescent birthmark on her chest. This birthmark was believed to be a sign of evil, so she was left in the desert to die. However, a magician from Khitai (China) found her, brought her up and instructed her in the arts of sorcery.
Salome has conspired with the Shemitish mercenary Constantius to take over the city state. Queen Taramis is taken to the palace dungeon, with the implication of torture and rape. Salome assumes Taramis' identity as queen of Khauran and appoints Constantius as her royal consort. The army is disbanded and replaced by Constantius' Shemitish mercenaries, an event which turns violent when the captain of the queen's guard, Conan the Cimmerian, refuses to obey the order.
Conan is crucified for his defiance. Olgerd Vladislav, the "Kozak" leader of a band of Zaugir desert raiders, rides by with a scouting party and finds Conan on the cross. Vladislav does not entirely help Conan. He has the base of the cross cut, leaving it to fate and Conan's hardiness that he is not crushed by the heavy wood. Vladislav then refuses to give Conan any water, claiming the Cimmerian must wait until after a ten-mile trek to the outlaw camp to prove his worthiness to his band.
In Khauran, Salome's reign as "Taramis" has plunged the state into ruin. Citizens are killed, tortured or sold as slaves; heavy taxes are imposed and women are frequently debauched by the Shemites. Salome desecrates the temple of Ishtar in the center of the city and summons a demon, Thaug, to live within it. Khaurani citizens are routinely sacrificed to Thaug.
Conan has been expanding the numbers of the Zaugirs as Vladislav's lieutenant, while also communicating with Khaurani knights who had become refugees. When he has sufficient forces he usurps Vladislav but does not kill him in recognition Vladislav having saved Conan's life. Conan fakes the construction of siege engines with palm trees and painted silk. Constantius is fooled by this as his scouts cannot get close enough to see them properly and Conan is known to be experienced in all manner of warfare. The mercenary army rides out of the city for an open-field battle with Conan expecting only the lightly armed Zaugirs, but are taken by surprise by Khaurani heavy cavalry hidden amongst them. Conan's forces are victorious.
Meanwhile, Valerius, a former member of the Khaurani army, has discovered that Salome is an imposter and attempts to rescue Taramis from the dungeon. He plans to either reveal the conspiracy to the people or escape. Conan's victory is not certain to the Khauranis and they are nervous about his intentions as a barbarian leading raiders. Salome, aware that the battle has been lost, decides to kill Taramis before Conan can take the city. She interrupts Valerius' rescue and takes Taramis to the former temple of Ishtar. Valerius manages to kill Salome but she unleashes Thaug. Conan, arriving with his Zaugir forces, who kill the demon with two flights of arrows.
Taramis offers to make Conan councillor as well as captain but he declines, nominating Valerius instead. Conan, as chief of the Zaugirs, mops up the remaining Shemites and leaves to raid the nearby Turanians. His last act before leaving is to crucify Constantius by the stump of the earlier crucifix.
Style
A theme of paranoia runs through the story. Howard uses a theme common to his works in having evil hide behind innocent features. Similarly, Vladislav is unaware of Conan's plans until it is too late. Of all the characters, only Conan is aware of all the facts. The twin sisters Taramis and Salome are an instance of Howard's interest in siblings and the theme of duality, which appeared in several other works.Howard may have been experimenting with style in this novella, leaving behind any standard pulp formula. Conan dominates the story but he is only actually present in two chapters. The narrative instead builds the plot by follows others, such as Valerius, Salome and a wandering savant Astreas.
Louinet suggests that Conan becomes figuratively immortal and superhuman following his crucifixion: "How can anybody kill a character—literarily or literally—who can survive such a scene as that one?"
The supernatural elements of the story are minor and may only have been included to justify publication in Weird Tales.
The demon Thaug is similar to that in Howard's unfinished novel Almuric
Almuric
Almuric is a science fiction novel by Robert E. Howard. It was originally serialized in three parts in the magazine Weird Tales beginning in May 1939...
, which he had abandoned only a few months before starting this story. The quick reveal and defeat of the demon may indicate that Howard was embarrassed by its inclusion.
The ongoing theme of Barbarism vs. Civilization, which pervades the entire Conan series, is present in this story in two crucifixions. Conan is able to endure and survive his crucifixion, and the subsequent journey without water, thanks to his barbarian stamina. When Constantius is finally crucified, Conan states "You are more fit to inflict torture than endure it. ... You civilized men are soft; your lives are not nailed to your spines are as ours."
Background
This story was written in late May or early June 1934. Farnsworth WrightFarnsworth Wright
Farnsworth Wright was the editor of the pulp magazine Weird Tales during the magazine's heyday.He was born in California, and educated in the University of Nevada and the University of Washington....
, editor of Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
, was running out of Conan stories which were growing in popularity and attracting new readers to the magazine. Howard ha recently finished the Conan novel The Hour of the Dragon
The Hour of the Dragon
The Hour of the Dragon, also known as Conan the Conqueror, is a fantasy novel written by Robert E. Howard featuring his seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was first published in serial form in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1935 through 1936; and in book form in 1950 by Gnome...
, which was not intended for publication in Weird Tales and the story previous to that, "The People of the Black Circle
The People of the Black Circle
"The People of the Black Circle" is one of the original novellas about Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine in three parts over the September, October and November 1934 issues...
" was already scheduled for August. He finished "A Witch Shall Be Born" in only two drafts over a period of days in order to meet this deadline. Wright accepted it without hesitation, telling Howard it was his best Conan story to date, and made it the cover story for the December issue.
Reception
Howard scholar Patrice Louinet refers to this as a rather forgettable Conan story but one that contains the most memorable scene of the entire series: Conan's crucifixionCrucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
at the hands of Constantius. He goes on to say that, while of average quality, it "exudes Howard's confidence in his creation."
Robert Weinberg
Robert Weinberg
Robert Allan Weinberg is a Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research at MIT and American Cancer Society Research Professor; his research is in the area of oncogenes and the genetic basis of human cancer. Weinberg is also affiliated with the Broad Institute and is a founding member of the...
concurs, mentioning the "best scene in the entire Conan series" but comments that the remainder of the story in only average. Of the crucifixion, Weinberg writes, "Only Howard could have given the scene life." He states that this scene, the "blood and passion", is an indicator of why Howard is better than any of his imitators. The violence is "graphic and elemental" while the torture "barbaric, primitive and real" not allowing the hero a chance to escape. Instead, Conan survives by sheer endurance, even killing an overeager vulture with his teeth. The passion in the text and strength of the prose suspends disbelief in Conan's survival on the cross. However, Weinberg criticizes the fact that much of the action takes place offstage, for instance, being related to the reader through a letter from the otherwise unseen Astreas or through a priest communicating with Salome.
Publication history
The story was first published in the December 1934 issue of Weird TalesWeird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
. The first reprint followed in 1949, when the story was published in the digest anthology Avon Fantasy Reader
Avon Fantasy Reader
Avon Fantasy Reader was a magazine which reprinted science fiction and fantasy literature by now well known authors.-Writers:...
#10. The novella was the cover story and main feature of both publications.
A version of the story that was edited and altered by L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
appeared in the collection Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (collection)
Conan the Barbarian is a collection of five fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard featuring his seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, first published in hardcover by Gnome Press in 1954. The stories originally appeared in the 1930s in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales...
(Gnome Press
Gnome Press
Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics.The company was founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A. Kyle. Many of Gnome's titles were reprinted in England by Boardman Books...
, 1954). This was reprinted several times, notably in the collection Conan the Freebooter
Conan the Freebooter
Conan the Freebooter is a 1968 collection of five fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. Most of the stories originally appeared in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales in the 1930s...
(Lancer Books
Lancer Books
Lancer Books was a series of paperback books published from 1961 through 1973 by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particularly its series of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian tales, the...
, 1968). It was first published by itself in book form by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc., titled A Witch Shall Be Born, in 1974, which did not use the de Damp version.
The novella has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle
The Conan Chronicles, 1
The Conan Chronicles: Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle is a collection of fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard featuring his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. The book was published in 2000 by Gollancz as eighth volume of their Fantasy Masterworks series. The book,...
(Gollancz
Gollancz
Gollancz often refers to the British publishing house Victor Gollancz Ltd.Gollancz, a family name originating from the Polish town Gołańcz , is mainly known as the name of a prominent British Jewish family, including:* Sir Hermann Gollancz , rabbi* Sir Israel Gollancz , scholar of...
, 2000), The Bloody Crown of Conan (Del Rey, 2005). It was selected by John Clute
John Clute
John Frederick Clute is a Canadian born author and critic who has lived in Britain since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history."...
as part of the Penguin Modern Classics collection Heroes in the Wind
Heroes in the Wind
Heroes in the Wind: From Kull to Conan; the Best of Robert E. Howard is a 2009 collection of dark fantasy and horror short stories written by Robert E. Howard, selected and with an introduction by John Clute. Most of the stories were originally published in various fantasy magazines and feature...
(Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
, 2009). All versions used pure-Howard texts with de Camp's alterations excised.
Adaptation
The story was adapated for comic books by Roy ThomasRoy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
in Savage Sword of Conan
Savage Sword of Conan
The Savage Sword of Conan was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. Savage Sword of Conan starred Robert E...
#5 (1975).
The crucifixion scene was adapted for the first Conan film, Conan the Barbarian (1982). The original script for the film, written by Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
, was based on this novella and another Conan story, "Black Colossus
Black Colossus
"Black Colossus" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine, June 1933...
", set in a post-apocalyptic future. When John Milius
John Milius
John Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.-Early life:Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps in the late 1960s, but was rejected...
took over directing the film, he had the script changed but retained the crucifixion scene, described by Kenneth Von Gunden as "Howard's quintessential Conan scene: the mighty Cimmerian, hanging on a cross, nails driven through his hands and feet, tearing out the throat of a vulture which comes to peck out his eyes."
The name "Queen Taramis
Queen Taramis
"A Witch Shall be Born" is one of the original stories by Robert E. Howard about Conan the Cimmerian, first published in Weird Tales in 1934. The story was republished in the collections Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Freebooter , and the anthology The Mighty Barbarians...
" was also used in the second Conan movie, Conan the Destroyer
Conan the Destroyer
Conan the Destroyer is a 1984 American action fantasy film directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mako returning to resume their roles as Conan and Akiro the wizard, respectively. The cast also includes Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Tracey Walter and Olivia d'Abo. It is...
(1984), played by actress Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the Kryptonian supervillain Ursa in the first two Superman movies , and for her role as Pamela Lynch in the 1980s primetime drama series Falcon Crest .-Early life:Douglas was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the...
. The mark of Salome also appears in this film, with the character Jehnna, but it is not used in the same way.
The Czech death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band Animal Hate released the album "...A Witch Shall Be Born" in 2008 based on this story.
External links
- A Witch Shall Be Born at Project Gutenberg of Australia.