Robert E. Howard would have turned one hundred and fifteen today. An anniversary well worth commemorating. It was brought to my attention that I hadn't done any blog posts on REH's Conan the Cimmerian or the Hyborian Age in many a moon. Considering that writing about such things was my bread n' butter when I first entered online Howard fandom/scholarship, it seems high time to rectify that situation.

Conan in his ‘Amra’ phase, as rendered by Brom.

Casting about for a topic, I remembered the estimable and worthy Bill Ward's blog post from the twelfth of this month, "Amra Who?". For those who don't know, Bill is a blogger and author of note who was recently lured to the Goodman Games blog by his long-time bud, Howard Andrew Jones.

Anyway, I thought there were some things I might comment upon in regard to Bill's post. Firstly would be this:

"[Conan's] piratical nom du guerre is, of course, Amra, “The Lion” in Kushite."

As a matter of fact, we really do not know whether "Amra" means "lion" in Kushite or not. That also brings up the issue of "Kushite". That term would have to apply to the actual kingdom of Kush, rather than the region of Kush, to make any sense. It would appear that there were several distinct dialects--or languages--within Kush, let alone the rest of the Black Coast. The point is, we don't know from what language "Amra" originated. Maybe the language(s) of Kush, maybe not.

Secondly would be this:

"The notion of Amra as Conan’s alias is first introduced in “The Scarlet Citadel,” when Conan’s jailer recognizes him as the reaver Amra. It’s a great detail as it makes the jailer’s planned torment of Conan a much more personal threat, and it also reinforces the idea of Conan as a man who has lived many different lives and accumulated many enemies. Perhaps it’s no coincidence then that the only other mention of the pseudonym occurs in the Conan novel that was essentially the enlargement of the plot of “The Scarlet Citadel,” namely The Hour of the Dragon."

Mr. Ward is absolutely correct in stating that Conan is called "Amra" in "The Scarlet Citadel" and The Hour of the Dragon. However, there are numerous mentions of Conan as "Amra" in various synopses and drafts unrelated to TSC or THotD. I thought a look at those would be fun. In addition, I'll also look at a few Conan yarns that don't mention "Amra" when maybe they should.

Let's look at the Amra passage in "The Scarlet Citadel". The enslaved former chief of Abombi is speaking:

“Long have I wished to meet you, Amra,” the black gave Conan the name—Amra, the Lion—by which the Cimmerian had been known to the Kushites in his piratical days. (...) “I know you from of old, since the days when I was a chief among a free people, before the Stygians took me and sold me into the north. Do you not remember the sack of Abombi, when your sea-wolves swarmed in? Before the palace of King Ajaga you slew a chief and a chief fled from you. It was my brother who died; it was I who fled. I demand of you a blood-price, Amra!”

The Kushites--in this case, almost certainly used in its broad sense as "inhabitants of the Black Kingdoms"--knew Conan by that name. There is no indication from whence the name came. I'm not being pedantic. Knowns and unknowns need to be acknowledged and we don't know the origin of the name.

"The Scarlet Citadel" was an early Conan yarn, written by REH in the spring of 1932. In the summer of '32 he wrote "Queen of the Black Coast". This story was quite popular amongst the readers of Weird Tales--including H.P. Lovecraft, but that's the topic of a future post. However, as many have noticed over the years, Conan is never, ever called "Amra" in that tale. Not by Belit, not by the Black Corsairs, despite the mention of “Amra” and the “corsairs” in TSC. This really is a startling omission and not one easily explained.

"The Vale of Lost Women" was written not long after QotBC, though not published until decades later. It can, arguably, be placed right after QotBC, chronologically. Its setting is not that far from the Black Coast. Directly adjacent, almost. Conan is never called "Amra".

Roy Thomas’ adaptation of the ‘Shumballa’ tale.

In early 1933, REH wrote what is known as the "Shumballa Synopsis". The story it relates is set within the capital of Kush, which is named Shumballa. The Kushite princess, Tananda, is attacked.

[Tananda's] escort were murdered, and she was dragged from her saddle and stripped naked by the mob, who were about to tear her to pieces when she was rescued by Conan, who had just arrived in Shumballa, a wandering adventurer who had recently been a corsair.

Conan is simply called a "corsair" in the synopsis. In the "Shumballa Fragment", we see him called "Amra":

“What are you doing in Shumballa?” [asked Tananda]
“I came here to seek my fortune. I was formerly a corsair.” [ Conan replied]
“Oh!” New interest shone in her dark eyes; she gathered her hair back in her hands. “We have heard tales of you, whom men call Amra the Lion.”

No mention of Belit.

Robert E. Howard took a long break from writing Conan yarns in 1933. One of his first projects in 1934 was a projected novel starring the Cimmerian set in the desert city of Tombalku, east of the kingdom of Kush. What we have of that is a synopsis and a fragment. Conan is captured and presented to the co-kings of Tombalku, one of whom is Shemite and the other from the Black Coast:

The negro stared at Conan, and greeted him by the name of Amra, the Lion. The black man’s name was Sakumbe, and he was an adventurer from the West Coast who had been connected with Conan when the latter was a corsair devastating the coast.

Here is the same incident from the fragment, as related by Conan:

“At this the black king roused and sat up and stared at me, and then he rose and shouted: ‘Amra!’ and I knew him—Sakumbe, a Suba from the Black Coast, a fat adventurer I had known well in the days when I was a corsair along that coast. He trafficked in ivory, gold dust and slaves, and would cheat the devil out of his eye-teeth—well, when he knew me, he descended from his throne and embraced me for joy—the black, smelly devil—and took my cords off me with his own hands. Then he announced that I was Amra, the Lion, his friend, and that no harm should come to me."

Conan and Publio, courtesy of Gary Gianni.

REH began work on The Hour of the Dragon shortly after. Here is what Publio of Messantia--Conan's fence while the Cimmerian was the leader of the Black Corsairs--has to say when Conan makes an uninvited and unwelcome visit:

“Conan!” he whispered incredulously. “Mitra! Conan! Amra!”

Not long after, Conan is shanghaied and brought aboard an Argossean trade vessel, the Venturer--not unlike Odysseus in Haggard and Lang's The World's Desire. Conan and the Argossean captain hold differing views of Conan's status. Conan calls upon the galley-slaves, some of whom are former Black Corsairs, to mutiny. What follows is one of the most bad-ass passages in the entire Conan canon:

Conan bounded out on the bridge and stood poised above the upturned black faces, ax lifted, black mane blown in the wind.

“Who am I?” he yelled. “Look, you dogs! Look, Ajonga, Yasunga, Laranga! Who am I?”

And from the waist rose a shout that swelled to a mighty roar: “Amra! It is Amra! The Lion has returned!”

The sailors who caught and understood the burden of that awesome shout paled and shrank back, staring in sudden fear at the wild figure on the bridge. Was this in truth that blood-thirsty ogre of the southern seas who had so mysteriously vanished years ago, but who still lived in gory legends. (...)
Conan, his mighty chest heaving and glistening with sweat, the red ax gripped in his blood-smeared hand, glared about him as the first chief of men might have glared in some primordial dawn, and shook back his black mane. In that moment he was not king of Aquilonia; he was again lord of the black corsairs, who had hacked his way to lordship through flame and blood.
“Amra! Amra!” chanted the delirious blacks, those who were left to chant. “The Lion has returned! Now will the Stygians howl like dogs in the night, and the black dogs of Kush will howl! Now will villages burst in flames and ships founder! Aie, there will be wailing of women and the thunder of the spears!”

Conan on the Venturer, right before he unleashes hell.

My final quotation does not reference Conan as Amra. However, it does show just how far the fame of Conan/Amra had spread. Written in mid-1934, "The Servants of Bit-Yakin" sees Conan wandering into the Kushite kingdom of Keshan. Geographically, Keshan is about as far from the Black Coast as Liberia is from Kenya. Here is the pertinent passage:

This proposition [a Keshani invasion of Punt] was not as audacious as it might seem. Conan’s fame had preceded him, even into distant Keshan; his exploits as a chief of the black corsairs, those wolves of the southern coasts, had made his name known, admired and feared throughout the black kingdoms.

Does anyone else notice the glaring omission of any mention of Belit in all of these "Amra" quotes? Sure, one or two omissions could be laid at the door of "streamlining", but it remains a fact that Belit is never mentioned in any Conan yarn other than "Queen of the Black Coast". Just as Conan is never called “Amra” in QotBC. I'll let readers draw their own conclusions.

In closing, I hope no one thinks that I am dogging on Bill Ward's post. I am not. Mr. Ward did a fine job, as far as it goes. I may disagree with Bill on a few points--which points might be discussed in future posts--but he is a man who has done his homework. I urge all and sundry to check out "Amra Who?" here.

Raise a glass to the memory of Robert E. Howard, sword-brothers.

The Lion and his lion, courtesy of Gary Gianni.