Sword & Sorcery 1961: The Year of the Christening

I put this timeline together as part of the notes I'm keeping for the article I'm working on for Black Gate.

 

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts, corrections, additions, or clarifications anyone can provide.

 

As you all know, the cover dates of fanzines and even prozines can be problematic, but I believe this timeline is probably as close to right as is achievable from the distance of over sixty years.

Note: The Encyclopedia of Fantasy entries are from the last edition of that book in 1997.

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1. “Sword and Sorcery,” speech by Fritz Leiber (Encyclopedia of Fantasy entry |

Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry), March 18, 1961.

2. “Sword and Sorcery,” article by Fritz Leiber. Shangri-l’affaires (Fancyclopedia entry) #55, March-April 1961 (downloadable pdf), eds. John Trimble (Fancyclopedia entry) and Bjo Trimble (Fancyclopedia entry).

Delivered at the annual banquet (dubbed “The Fanquet” by the membership) of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Association (Fancyclopedia entry) , this is, other than a nonce usage in a newspaper headline almost ten years earlier (Newspapers.com image), the earliest usage of any variant of “sword & sorcery” I have found.

3. “On Fantasy-Adventure,” article by George Heap (Fancyclopedia entry). Ancalagon #1 , March 1961 (downloadable pdf), ed. George Heap.

Heap, a founding member of the Hyborian Legion Conan fan group (Fancyclopedia entry) and publisher of the first volume of Amra (Fancyclopedia entry), reports on the most recent muster of the Legion (at the 1960 Worldcon in Pittsburgh) and discusses the conversation there about there about nomenclature for “these type stories.”

This a “rewritten” transcript of the speech Leiber delivered in March.

4. “Letter to the Editor,” letter by Fritz Leiber. Ancalagon #2, April 1961 (downloadable pdf), ed. George Heap.

It is this letter, clearly written in response to Heap’s article in Ancalagon #1, that is most usually pointed to as the first coinage of “sword-and-sorcery.”

5. “Putting a Tag on It,” article by Michael Moorcock (Encyclopedia of Fantasy entry | Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry), Amra vol 2 (Fancyclopedia entry) #15, May 1961, ed. George Scithers (Fancyclopedia entry) et al.

Michael Moorcock proposes “epic fantasy” in answer to the question that has been in the zeitgeist of fandom for some time. He ends the article, “What do you think?”

6. “Scylla’s Daughter,” Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser novelette by Fritz Leiber. Fantastic (Encyclopedia of Fantasy entry), May 1961 (downloadable pdf), ed. Cele Goldsmith (Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry).

The twelfth Fafhrd and Gray Mouser story published, “Scylla’s Daughter” was originally begun in 1936 as "The Tale of the Gain Ships," but set aside. It was reprinted twice, in anthologies in 1986 and 1997, but never appeared in this form in any Leiber collection, having been incorporated into the 1968 novel, The Swords of Lankhmar. The magazine's cover, by Vernon Kramer, illustrates the story.

7. “Introduction to ‘The Garden of Fear’ by Robert E. Howard,” essay by Sam Moskowitz (Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry). Fantastic, May 1961 (see previous entry for downloadable pdf), ed. Cele Goldsmith.

One of Moskowitz’s introductions to the classics reprint series in Fantastic, here he informs the (somewhat) wider world of the existence of the Hyborian Legion and it’s official organ, Amra vol 2.

8. “Letter to the Editor,” letter by Donald Franson (Fancyclopedia entry). Shangri-l’affaires #56, May-June 1961 (downloadable pdf), eds. John Trimble and Bjo Trimble.

 

Franson, a prominent Los Angeles fan and member of First Fandom, genially takes readers to task for not looking for their adventure stories in science fiction as opposed to fantasy (he compares the two genres to astronomy and astrology). He makes use of the term “sword-and-sorcery” several times. This may be the first instance in print of someone besides Leiber using the term.

 

9. “Letter to the Editor,” letter by Philip José Farmer (Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry). Shangri-l’affaires #56, May-June 1961 (see previous entry for download link, eds. John Trimble and Bjo Trimble.

Presented as a counterpoint to Franson’s letter, Farmer pens a lengthy appreciation of Leiber’s article/speech and uses that appreciation to launch a far-ranging discussion of science fiction, fantasy in general, fandom, and mainstream literary culture.

10. “Letter to the Editor,” letter by Buz Busby (Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry | Fancyclopedia entry). Shangri-l’affaires #56, May-June 1961 (see above for download link), eds. John Trimble and Bjo Trimble.

The first of two letters under the editorial heading “Sword & Sorcery” (this appears to be the first usage of the eventually popular ampersand), Busby replies to those parts of Leiber’s speech concerning the “watering down” of heroism in contemporary speculative fiction.

11. “Letter to the Editor,” letter by Steve Tolliver (Fancyclopedia entry). Shangri-l’affaires #56, May-June 1961 (see above for download link), eds. John Trimble and Bjo Trimble.

In the second of the two letters headlined “Sword & Sorcery,” Tolliver responds to the second half of Leiber’s speech, which largely concerned parody.

12. “The Dreaming City,” novelette by Michael Moorcock. Science Fantasy (Encyclopedia

of Fantasy entry) #47, June 1961 (downloadable pdf), ed. John Carnell (Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry).

The debut of the long-running (and still running!) Elric Saga.The cover image by Brian Lewis illustrates the story.

13. Tales of Night’s Black Agents, collection by Fritz Leiber. Bantam Books, June 1961.

This is an abridgment of Leiber’s 1947 Arkham House collection, Night’s Black Agents. It omits the 1942 Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser novella original to the Arkham House book, Adept’s Gambit, but still includes the 1942 short story, “The Sunken Land.”

Note: The author’s name is misspelled as “Lieber” throughout, including on the cover and the copyright page.

14. “Swackle” (letter to the editor), letter by Fritz Leiber, Amra vol 2 #16, July 1961, ed George Scithers et al.

This is the best-known of the various “first times” Leiber introduced the term “sword-and-sorcery.” It is frequently cited as a “response” to the question Moorcock posed at the end of his article in the previous issue of Amra vol 2. This is clearly not the case.

15. “Goodbye, Atlantis,” novelette by Poul Anderson (Encyclopedia of Fantasy entry | Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry). Fantastic, August 1961 (downloadable pdf), ed. Cele Goldsmith.

A little known sword & sorcery story published by Cele Goldsmith, who was increasingly a force in the genre. A fine example of Anderson the stylist, it has only been reprinted once, in the all-reprint magazine Thrilling Science Fiction in June 1974. The Fantastic cover by Leo Summers illustrates the story.

15. Three Hearts and Three Lions, novel by Poul Anderson. Doubleday, August, 1961.

This is an expansion of the original novel as it was serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September-October 1953.

16. “The Last Druid,” short story by Joseph E. Kelleam (Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry). Fantastic, October 1961 (downloadable pdf), ed. Cele Goldsmith.

 A slip by Goldsmith, this brief story—almost a vignette—recounts a foiled theft. There’s swordplay. There’s sorcery. It has never been reprinted.

17. “While the Gods Laugh,” novelette by Michael Moorcock. Science Fantasy, October 1961 (downloadable pdf), ed. John Carnell.

The second Elric story.

-finis-

20th Century Sword & Sorcery Characters: Cappen Varra, created by Poul Anderson

Poul Anderson’s (1926-2001) entry at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database runs to hundreds of novels, stories, and poems. His contributions to science fiction and fantasy are nearly without parallel. His work earned three Nebula Awards, seven Hugo Awards, and many others. He was named a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1997 and inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2000. His work was heavily influenced by his knowledge of physics and by his mastery of the sagas and epic poetry of Scandinavia (he was of Danish descent).

His main contributions to sword and sorcery are no doubt the novels The Broken Sword and Three Hearts and Three Lions. He also, however, wrote extensively at shorter lengths, and among those many stories are the three tales of Cappen Varra. The wandering bard and fencer is probably best known from Anderson’s contribution to the first volume of the popular Thieves’ World shared world series in 1979, but the character actually debuted over twenty years earlier in the pages of Fantastic Universe, then reappeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction over twenty years later. Cappen Varra is memorable for his courage, which is largely dependent on a protective amulet which may or may not actually be efficacious, and his encounters with powerful women—a troll-wife, an amanuensis, and a goddess.

Anderson was capable of striking imagery and beautiful prose. Here is the opening paragraph of the final Cappen Varra story, “The Lady of the Winds.”

“Southward the mountains lifted to make a wall across a heaven still hard and blue. Snow whitened their peaks and dappled the slopes below. Even  this far under the pass, patches of it lay on sere grass, among strewn boulders—too early in the season, fatally too early. Dry motes blew off in glittery streaks, born on a wind that whittered and whirled. Its chill searched deep. Westward, clouds were piling up higher than the heights they shrouded, full of darkness and further storm.”

“The Valor of Cappen Varra” | Fantastic Universe vol. 7, # 1, ed. Hans Stefan Santesson, January 1957 | short story

“The Gate of the Flying Knives”  | Thieves’ World, ed. Robert Asprin, Ace Books, 1979 | novella

“The Lady of the Winds”  | The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, vol. 101, #s 4 & 5, Whole # 600, ed. Gordon Van Gelder, October/November 2001 | novelette

Internet Speculative Fiction Database entry

Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry

Wikipedia entry

Cappen Varra article at Dark Worlds Quarterly

Detail from Thieves' World cover by Rowena Morrill

Cover of Fantastic Universe by Hannes Bok

entry by Christopher Rowe

20th Century Sword & Sorcery Characters: Arcana, created by Janet Fox

Janet Fox (1940-2009) was a Kansan who wrote dozens of short stories and poems spanning five decades, beginning her career with the short story “Just for Kicks” in in the November 1966 issue of the

highly regarded small press magazine/fanzine Riverside Quarterly. A 2004 collection, Not in Kansas, appears to have been her final publication. There was a poem, “The Timeline Murders,” published posthumously in the 2021 issue of Startling Stories. She edited a fanzine, Scavenger’s Newsletter, from 1985 to 2000, and wrote the final five novels of the Scorpio series for Ace Books in the early 1990s.

She wrote two series characters. The listing below consists of the three stories that describe the career—from a relatively new spellcaster to a powerful mistress of demons—of the witch Arcana. Of particular interest is Arcana’s version of what might be called “the Conan romance phenomenon,” in that she takes up a different male companion in each story.

 

“A Witch in Time”  |  Fantastic Stories vol. 22, #6, ed. Ted White, September 1973  |  short story |  reprinted in the author's collection, A Witches Dozen, W. Paul Ganley/Wildside Press, 2003

 

“She-Bear”  |   Fantastic Stories vol. 23, #2, ed. Ted White, January 1974  |  short story  |  never reprinted

 

“Demon and Demoiselle”  |   Fantastic Stories vol. 27, #3, ed. Ted White, October 1978  |  novelette |  reprinted in the author's collection, A Witches Dozen, W. Paul Ganley/Wildside Press, 2003

Internet Speculative Fiction Data Base entry

Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry

Wikipedia entry

Memorial blog post by Todd Mason

Entry by Christopher Rowe

Special thanks to Mike Palumbo for locating the author's photo

20th Century Sword & Sorcery Characters: Jaisel, created by Tanith Lee

Tanith Lee (1945-2017) hardly needs any introduction. She was a winner of multiple World Fantasy Awards and was named a Grand Master by the World Horror Convention in 2009. Among her 100+ novels and short stories, she wrote a number of sword & sorcery tales, including a pair that tell the story of the swordswoman Jaisel. They first appeared in the two volumes of Jessica Amanda Salmonson’s essential Amazons anthologies.

Jaisel’s ancestry can be productively traced to Mary Shelley (Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus), Nathaniel Hawthorne (“Rappaccini's Daughter”) and J.R.R. Tolkien (The Return of the King), all focused through the prism of Lee’s own extraordinary imagination.

“Northern Chess”  | Amazons!, ed. Jessica Amanda Salmonson, 1979 | short story

“Southern Lights”  | Amazons II, ed. Jessica Amanda Salmonson, 1982 | short story

Internet Speculative Data Base entry

Encyclopedia of Fantasy entry

Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry

Wikipedia entry

Both of these stories, along with fourteen other of Lee's sword & sorcery stories, are collected in The Empress of Dreams, published by DMR Books

Entry by Christopher Rowe

20th Century Sword & Sorcery Characters: Thula, created by Pat McIntosh

Pat McIntosh is a Scottish writer best known for a series of mystery novels featuring the characters Gilbert and Alas Cunningham. Years before she began that series, however, she wrote five short stories recounting the adventures of the swordswoman Thula, who was a sort of warrior-nun. They remain of interest today, as McIntosh managed to limn a world with some detail within a relatively small word count, and the characterization of Thula, her allies, and her enemies, is quite adroit. While the first three stories appeared in a fanzine called Anduril (then the official organ of the Tolkien Society) they were reprinted by Lin Carter in the first three volumes of his Year’s Best Fantasy Stories (six volumes, DAW Books, 1975-1980). Two more stories of Thula were specifically commissioned by Carter for volumes 4 and 5. The first story in the series, “Falcon’s Mate,” was eventually reprinted in Dragons and Warrior Daughters: Fantasy Stories by Women Writers (Lion Tracks, ed. Jessica Yates, 1989) The Thula stories have never been collected, and only “Falcon’s Mate” has been reprinted outside of Carter’s series.

 

"Falcon’s Mate” | Anduril #4, ed. John Martin, July 1974 | short story | Reprinted in The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories, DAW Books, ed. Lin Carter, DAW Books 1975

 

“Cry Wolf”  | Anduril #6, ed. John Martin, August 1976 | short story | Reprinted in The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories #2, ed. Lin Carter, 1976

 

“Ring of Black Stone”  | Anduril #5, ed. John Martin, July 1975 | short story | Reprinted in TheYear’s Best Fantasy Stories #3, DAW Books, ed. Lin Carter, 1977

 

“The Cloak of Dreams”  | The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories #4, DAW Books, ed. Lin Carter, 1978 |  short story

 

“Child of Air”  | The Year’s Best Fantasy Stories #5, DAW Books, ed. Lin Carter, 1980 |  short story

 

 

Biographical Sketch

Internet Speculative Fiction Database entry

Wikipedia entry

 —Entry by Christopher Rowe