Part 2 of 2

In Part 1 of “The Ships of Hy-Brasil” we learned that Howard’s poem “The Isle of Hy-Brasil” is more than a historical narration of this island and its myth. As stated previously, “Isle” essentially describes the many types of ships anchored along its shores. To envision the beauty of this ancient island shoreline when lined with these ships, pictures of each ship type as well as a description have been added below. The ships discussed in Part 1 include the galleon, the coracle, the trireme, the galley, an ancient barge-boat, and the pirate ships: the brigantine, the caravel, the carrack and finally the frigate. Part 2 begins with the bireme.

And there’s a sturdy bireme that sailed to the Holy Land.

The Bireme

The Bireme is a galley type ship with two bank of oars that was especially used by the Greeks and Phoenicians. The ship had a hull of wood and was used for both shipping and naval warfare possibly as early as 350 bc It was configured with a single square rigged sail, short mast. The two banks of oars provided man-powered propulsion in case of calm waters or for better control in battles. The bronze armored ram on the bow of the ship was designed to be driven deep into an enemy ship. In addition to the small number of crew required, there could hold as many as 45 sailors during combat as well as additional fighting men on the main deck who were ready to board enemy vessels that had been rammed. Top speed was approximately seven knots.

Main masts lifting like a forest of the south,
Beaked prows looming and the scarlet courses furled,
Dim decks heel-marked, warped by rain and drouth,
Rift in the cross-trees, drift of the southern seas;
Dim ships, strong ships, from all about the world.

High ships, proud ships, towering at their poops,
Galleons flaunting their pinnacles of pride,

Galleon

(Galleon ship also pictured in Part 1.) A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the European nations from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The galleon was 100-150 feet long, 40-50 feet wide, carrying about 600 tons (although some were bigger). Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon. [NOTE: this is a long heavy cannon that was used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries having a bore of about 41/2 in. (11 cm) and firing a shot of about 10 lb. (5 kg).] A lowering of the forecastle and elongation of the hull gave an unprecedented level of stability in the water, and reduced wind resistance at the front, leading to a faster, more maneuverable vessel. The galleon was powered entirely by sail, carried three to five masts, with a lateen sail on the last (usually third) mast.

Battleships and merchantmen and long, lean sloops,

Battleship, the USS Kentucky (pictured)

Battleships came in a variety of types. Most ship websites agree that battleships never used sail power. A good example of a battleship is the USS Kentucky (pictured above). According to the Navy Military History website, she was commissioned in 1900. Her first active service was on the Asiatic Station between 1900 and 1904 transiting between the U.S. and the Far East via the Suez Canal. The Kentucky operated along the U.S. east coast and in the Caribbean area from 1905 to late 1907. She participated in the “Great White Fleet” cruise around the world, visiting South America, the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, China, Ceylon and the Mediterranean before returning to Hampton Road, Virginia in February 1909. She was out of commission from August 1909 to June 1912 to be modernized and receive two of the new “cage” masts. She was again inactive in 1913-15, then operated in the western Atlantic and Caribbean areas until the U.S. entered the First World War. During that conflict, Kentucky served as a training ship in the Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic coast. With the return of peace, she briefly remained in service, making a Naval Academy Midshipmen’s cruise to Panama in mid-1919. She was finally decommissioned in 1920 and sadly, sold for scrap in 1924 in compliance with U.S. commitments under the Washington Treaty which limited naval armaments.

[NOTE: In a return email regarding my inquiry about the purpose of the upper “cage” masts, Bill from the USS Kentucky website stated they were used for spotting the fall of shells in battle; they also carried small machine guns for ship to ship battle in boarding, held antennas that were mounted for the radios and were used for the hoisting of the signal flags.]

Merchantmen

A merchantmen ship carried cargo rather than the armaments of a warship. Without weapons, they were easy targets for pirates.

Sloop

The Sloop is a single-masted, fore-and-aft-rigged sailing boat with a short standing bowsprit or none at all and a single headsail set from the forestay. Small and fast, it had a narrow bow which allowed it to move through waves easily..

Flagships floating with the schooners on the tide.

HMS Victory, flagship of the Second Sea Lord of the Royal Navy

The purpose of a flagship is to carry a fleet or squadron commander and it bears the commander’s flag. It is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, a designation given on account of being either the largest, fastest, newest, most heavily armed or, for publicity purposes, the best known. In military terms, it is a ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships. The term originates from the custom of the commanding officer (usually, but not always, a flag officer) to fly a distinguishing flag.

Schooner

A schooner is a vessel with two or more masts, with fore and aft sails on both masts, normally less than 150 tons but some of the triple masted schooners built on Prince Edward Island in the 1800s exceeded 700 tons.

The Schooner Thomas W. Lawson

An exceptional schooner, the Thomas W. Lawson was a seven-masted, steel-hulled schooner originally planned for the Pacific trade, but primarily used to haul coal and oil along the East Coast of the USA. Built in 1902, she holds the distinction of being the largest schooner and the largest pure sailing vessel (without an auxiliary engine) ever built. Her design was an extreme attempt to keep sail viable in the coastal trade against competition from steam vessels. Her seven masts were all the same height with gear and sails that were more or less interchangeable. The lower parts of her seven masts were of steel while the upper parts were of pine. Her dimensions were 385 x 50 x 35 feet; masts: seven gaff sails, seven topsails, seven staysails and five jibs, with a total area of 43,000 sq feet or approx. one acre of sail. The sails weighed 18 tons. She could carry 11,000 tons of coal or 60,000 barrels of oil and held a crew of 17. She was also reportedly very difficult to handle and sluggish to maneuver and was described as being “like a beached whale” and had “the lines of a canal barge, and about as sweet as a bath tub”. Caught in a succession of winter gales, her hull and masts provided so much windage that she reportedly made twelve knots under bare poles. On December 13, 1907, she was riding out a gale off the Scilly Isles (south of England) when she dragged her anchors and broke up on western rocks of Hellweather’s Reef, with the loss of 15 of the 17-member crew. Captain George Dow and engineer Edward Rowe were the survivors. Also lost in this mishap was pilot William Thomas Hicks. This grounding resulted in the first case of oil pollution in the Channel, exactly 60 years prior to the ‘Torrey Canyon’.

And there’s a Viking Serpent that sailed the northern seas,

Viking Serpent Ship

The Viking ship was perhaps the greatest technical and artistic achievement of the European dark ages. These fast ships had the strength to survive ocean crossings while having a draft of as little as 50cm (20 inches), allowing navigation in very shallow water. Two different classes of Viking era ships were found: warships called langskip and merchant ships called knörr. Typically, a warship is narrower, longer, and shallower than a knörr, and is powered by oars, supplanted by sail. The warship is completely open and is built for speed and maneuverability. In contrast, a knörr is partially enclosed and powered primarily by sail. Cargo carrying capability is the primary concern. The single square rigged sail allowed sailing close to the wind. This ability, combined with the capability to row during adverse wind conditions, allowed Norse sailors to run in to shore, engage the enemy on land, and escape retribution at will. The shallow draft of Norse war ships had several advantages. The Norse could raid well inland by sailing far up rivers that were too shallow for typical sea-going vessels of the day. The Frankish kingdoms in present day France were shocked by Norse raids in unthinkable locations hundreds of kilometers (100+ miles) inland on rivers not thought to be navigable. In general, the Norse raided only those locations to which they could sail. Overland marches were avoided. In addition, the shallow draft made for fast and easy disembarkation during a raid. When the ship was beached, a Viking could be certain that if he jumped out near the stem, the water would scarcely be over his knees. The crew could leave the ship and join the raid quickly and confidently.

That knew the stride of giants, ferocious gods of brawn,
And there’s a lateened rover that billowed to the breeze,
There a ship that sailed from Tyre when the waves were tinged with fire
And the first skies of history were rosying to dawn.

Lateened Rover

A Rover is a pirate ship or vessel. Lateened refers to the type of sail which is triangular in shape and extended by a long yard, which is slung at about one fourth of its length from the lower end, to a low mast, this end being brought down at the tack, while the other end is elevated at an angle or about forty-five degrees.  This sail is used in small boats, feluccas, xebecs, etc., especially in the Mediterranean and adjacent waters. Some lateen sails have also a boom on the lower side.

The Good St. Brandon knew it when he turned him to the West
When he left the world behind him as he ventured far away,
And his fearless keel went plowing the ocean’s sapphire crest
Till he won unto Hy-Brasil which no other mortal may.

For the island is Hy-Brasil, the paradise of ships,
Where the dim ghost crafts lie anchored and at rest,
Where the sea wind never rages and the sea rain never drips,
There they dream away the days in the mystic, sapphire haze
About the isle of Hy-Brasil, far off amid the West.

A THANK YOU TO ALL TC’S WORD OF THE WEEK FANS

For the past ten months, the Word of the Week Blog has searched the nooks and crannies of Robert E. Howard’s poetry for new words or for a new way of looking at familiar ones. His expertise with words and his extensive vocabulary made it easy to post this blog each week.  But defining the word, its part of speech, and its origin was only part of it, quoting the Howard poem gave it a context and  meaning.  Words were Robert E. Howard’s business and they offer us a passport to other worlds. Through his descriptions, we can travel to ancient lands and alternate realities, we are able to see decaying civilizations, barbarians, as well as both the horror and the beauty in Life. We can experience ocean waves and mountain peaks, and even get a glimpse of a hidden altar dedicated to a forgotten deity.

The Word of the Week Blog has been challenging and fun. I’ve added to my own vocabulary and I hope that you have also. Some of the poems quoted were favorites but in many cases, even the familiar ones came alive by just defining that one word. I hope your experience with Word of the Week was as enjoyable as mine.  

Thank you so much for your support!
Barbara

The Word of the Week Blog has appeared on The Cimmerian Blog each Monday since August 3, 2009. In May 2010, the format was slightly changed to include a monthly theme.  In the May introduction, it was mentioned the theme in June would be ships. Unfortunately, WotW will only post once this month. However, to fulfill that promise here is a two-part article on “The Ships of Hy-Brasil” from my February 2010 REHupa mailing based on the Robert E. Howard poem, “The Isle of Hy-Brasil.”  These will be the last two postings for Word of the Week on TC. Enjoy!

THE SHIPS OF HY-BRASIL
Part 1 of 2

In his poem, the “Isle of Hy-Brasil,” Robert E. Howard brings to life the fabled isle that existed even when the pre-historical islands of Atlantis and Lemuria were still afloat in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The isle, also known as Brazil, Hy-Brazil, and several other variants, is steeped in Irish myth. According to legend, it is a phantom island cloaked in mist, except for one day each seven years when it becomes visible but still unattainable. Similar in myth to that of St. Brendan’s Island [spelled Brandon in the poem], it is shown as being circular, often with a central strait or river running east-west across its diameter. Despite failure in the attempts to find Hy-Brasil/St. Brendan’s Island, it appeared regularly on maps lying southwest of Galway Bay from 1325 until 1865.

Howard’s poem “The Isle of Hy-Brasil” is more than a historical narration of this island and its myth. It essentially describes the many types of ships anchored along its shores. To envision the beauty of this ancient island shoreline when lined with these ships, pictures of each ship type as well as a description have been added below.

There’s a far, lone island in the dim red West
Where the sea-waves are crimson with the red of burnished gold,
(Sapphire in the billows, gold upon the crest)
An island that is older than the continents are old.

For when in dim Atlantis a thousand jeweled spires
Burned through the twilight in the ocean’s dusky smile,
And when mystic Lemuria glowed with myriad gemming fires
Strange ships went sailing to seek the wondrous isle.

And when the land of Britain was a forest for the deer
And the mammoth roamed the mountains and the plains were veiled in snow,
When the dawn had swept the ocean and the air was crystal clear
The ape-man looking sea-ward caught the distant topaz glow.

When Drake went down to Darien and Cortez sailed the Main
And the wide blue Pacific lay like a summer dream,
From the gold-decked bridges of the galleons of Spain
Far upon the skyline they saw the island gleam.

Galleon

A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the European nations from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The galleon was 100-150 feet long, 40-50 feet wide, carrying about 600 tons (although some were bigger). Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon. [NOTE: this is a long heavy cannon that was used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries having a bore of about 41/2 in. (11 cm) and firing a shot of about 10 lb. (5 kg).] A lowering of the forecastle and elongation of the hull gave an unprecedented level of stability in the water, and reduced wind resistance at the front, leading to a faster, more maneuverable vessel. The galleon was powered entirely by sail, carried three to five masts, with a lateen sail on the last (usually third) mast.

It flashes in the Baltic, dimly glimpsed through driving snow,
And it lights the Indian Ocean when the waves are lying still,
It dreams along the sea-rim in the twilight’s golden glow,
And mariners have named it The Isle of Hy-Brasil.

For sailing ships are anchored close, about that ancient isle,
Ships that roamed the oceans in the dim dawn days,
Coracles from Britain, triremes from the Nile,
Anchored round the harbors, mile on countless mile,
Ships and ships and shades of ships, fading in the haze.

Coracle

A coracle is oval in shape and very similar to half a walnut shell, the structure was made of a framework of split and interwoven willow rods, tied with willow bark. The outer layer was originally an animal skin such as horse or bullock hide, with a thin layer of tar to make it fully water proof. Today, it is made of tarred calico or canvas, or simply fiberglass. The structure has a keel-less, flat bottom to evenly spread the weight of the boat and its load across the structure and to reduce the required depth of water — often to only a few inches, making it ideal for use on rivers

Trireme

In its day, the trireme was a “state of the art” fighting ship designed to cover long distances quickly under oar and sail and in battle to ram enemy ships with devastating effect. It was a class of warship used by the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans. It derives its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar. As a ship it was fast and agile, and became the dominant warship in the Mediterranean from the 7th to the 4th centuries BC. Triremes played a vital role in the Persian Wars, the creation of the Athenian maritime empire, and its downfall in the Peloponnesian War.

And there’s a Roman galley with its seven banks of oars,

Galley

The Galley was an oared fighting ship used mainly in the Mediterranean from many centuries b.c. until well into the 18th century. They were also used in the Baltic and by other northern European nations, although not to the same extent and duration as in the Mediterranean. Some galleys were rowed by groups of three, five or seven men on a bench pulling a single oar, and others had a single rower per oar, possibly two or three men to a bench. The top speed of a galley under full-oar has been estimated to be 7 or 8 knots. [NOTE: The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, which is equal to exactly 1.852 km/h and approximately 1.151 mph.]

And there’s a golden barge-boat that knew the Caesar’s hand,

ancient barge-boat

A barge-boat is any of various boats with roomy, usually flat-bottoms and used chiefly for the transport of goods on inland waterways or as luxurious passenger boats.

And there’s a sombre pirate craft with shattered cabin doors,

pirate ship

The subject of pirate ships is more complex as there were many different types in use by pirates, rovers and buccaneers. Among the most popular were the Brigantine, the Caravel, the Carrack and the Galleon. Although the Brigantine, the Caravel and the Carrack were not mentioned specifically in any of his poetry, they are very much part of the lore of the “somber pirate” craft mentioned by Howard in “Hy-Brasil.”

The Brigantine

While the Brigantine was often the ship of choice for pirates, it was also very popular as both a merchant and naval ship. It could carry 10-16 guns and was rigged for speed, having two masts with both top gallant sails and royals rigged to each mast. World-wide it was often used by navies for scouting and reconnaissance duties. Many brigantines in the late 1800s carried sweeps for maneuvering in still weather. In 1814, the British Navy had 71 of the Brigantine’s in active service. Length: 110 feet; Beam: 28 feet; Depth: 16 feet; Crew: 110-120 men. [NOTE: By the first half of the 18th century the word brigantine had evolved to refer not to a ship type, but to a particular type of rigging: square rigged on the foremast and fore-and-aft rigged on the mainmast. ]

The Caravel

Although popular with pirates, the Caravel was used from the 14th to the 17th century primarily as a cargo ship; the Mediterranean version was lateen rigged on two masts, while the Spanish and Portuguese versions were three masted with the first two masts square rigged and the mizzen lateen rigged

[NOTE: The lateen sail is triangular in shape and extended by a long yard, which is slung at about one fourth of its length from the lower end, to a low mast, this end being brought down at the tack, while the other end is elevated at an angle or about forty-five degrees; -- used in small boats, feluccas, xebecs, etc., especially in the Mediterranean and adjacent waters. Some lateen sails have also a boom on the lower side.]

lateen sail is on the left

The Galleon ship was favored by pirates because it was sturdy in battle and able to carry large loads of supplies and loot. [Picture and full explanation for the Galleon are given above]

A fourth ship that was a favorite of pirates and unusual in its design is the Carrack

The Carrack

The Carrack was a popular ship in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. It had three masts with the first two square rigged and the mizzen lateen rigged, carrying up to 1,200 tons of cargo. It was larger than a caravel with higher forecastles and aftcastles. This design was used by the Spanish and Portuguese in their long voyages to the East Indies. It was the largest European sailing ship of the 15th century easily outdoing the caravel in tonnage with more than a thousand tons compared to an average of two hundred fifty tons for the caravel. The carrack with its unusually high castles in bow and stern, quickly became the standard vessel of the Atlantic trade and exploration of mid-16th century Europe. In 1560, an Englishman John Hawkins discovered that the large forecastle seriously hampered sailing. The size of it tended to catch the wind before it hit the sails, pushing the bow leeward and making it very difficult to maneuver. Hawkins experimented with a design that eliminated the high forecastle proving that a ship with a high stern and a relatively low bow is faster and could sail closer to the wind. Hawkins’ new design eventually was called the galleon which then became the standard form for all large ships until the late 18th century. [see picture and description of the Galleon above.]

Lastly, under pirates vessels, there is the Frigate which was often used to HUNT pirate ships.

The Frigate

Frigate was a name used for a variety of ships from small oared boats to three masted sailing ships. The name was formalized by the English in the late 17th century to mean a vessel smaller than a ship of the line, carrying 24-38 guns on a single deck with three fully rigged masts, their speed made them better suited to convoy duty and hunting pirates.

TOMORROW:  The conclusion of “The Ships of Hy-Brasil”

Ouketi is the transliteration of the Greek word meaning “no longer” or “no more.” It suggests the end of the old ways and the beginning of something new. It means a change. When prior events have been painful, the change can be positive. However, a haunting lament echoes and goodbyes become painful when an enjoyable experience ends.

On June 11th, the death knell will sound for The Cimmerian Blog. Another blow to REH fandom that comes almost eighteen months after The Cimmerian published its last print issue.

While the word ouketi may apply to the future of The Cimmerian Blog, its past is rich with memories that will survive.  As his many fans well know, Robert E. Howard’s prose and poetry were filled with passion and depth. Many of the articles and essays that appeared on the TC Blog also reflected those qualities. They contributed to our knowledge of Bob Howard and explored questions about his life, his loves and who he was. They examined his words and looked at how and why he chose the ones he did. Some of the TC essays were thought provoking. Some of them were just plain provoking; so much so that at times I wished I could crawl through the electronic circuits and “strangle” the writer.

Since its inception in 2006, I have read just about everything written here. I was an enthusiastic fan of Steve Tompkins and looked for his name each time I checked the website. Sometimes I had to struggle through the labyrinth of his writing style but the nuggets of beauty that I discovered were always worth it. He wrote passionately, with much insight and an unbelievable depth of knowledge. His imagination soared and best of all, it often took mine along.

And he was only one of four good writers who produced quality essays. I read insightful and fun articles by the other regular bloggers, Leo Grin, Rob Roehm, and Mark Finn that covered a gamut of often fascinating material. The list of guest bloggers read like a Who’s Who of Howard Fandom. They were the names I saw on books and articles and biographies. And I was content to read as much by and about Robert E. Howard as I could.

Then on April 17, 2007, after I sent him a review of the A&E documentary Warrior Empires: The Mughuls, Leo posted this:

Guest Blogger and Howard fan Barbara Barrett informs us about a familiar Howardian vibe in a recent TV program.

I remember the thrill and the feeling of unreality the first time I saw my name on The Cimmerian Blog site. I was a newbie to Howard fandom in the broadest sense of the word – a fan for barely more than a year. But it was the start of a dream. I recognized quality and I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to write a blog for The Cimmerian. That was in 2007 and it took over two years for me to realize that dream. Even then, my contribution has been very slight. The Word of the Week was started in the beginning of August 2009 when I revived Leo’s discontinued feature. Right after I received Leo’s okay, I enthusiastically began to write. I know, I know, all I had to do was dig out a word, let everyone know its part of speech, its origin, find a good poem to quote and add a picture. We’re not talking rocket science here. But, I had a dream and my foot was now in the door! Even, my name and picture appeared on the list of TC’s Bloggers. But, it was the classic story of the reporter doing the society page and all the while wanting to do something larger and gutsier. And, I only had to wait another few months for that to happen. Deuce Richardson asked me to write an article for the October 18th celebration of the Charge of the Light Brigade. It was a big opportunity to do what I enjoy most: write. I did an incredible amount of research – probably enough to write my own book but it was a complex subject and I wanted to do it justice. It all came together when I found Terry Brighton’s Hell Riders. It allowed me to tell the story of this famous Charge from the point of view of the men – those who actually rode the length of that field under heavy enemy fire and survived the twenty minutes that landed their brave deed in the history books. The article appeared in three different postings on that day! I had written and posted my first article. I was a blogger on The Cimmerian. Another first in my writing life.

I still cherish an email I received from Steve Tompkins in March 2009, shortly before his death. He had read my REHupa article “Hester Ervin Howard and Tuberculosis” and was asking if I wanted to be a guest blogger on TC. By this time, I’d written an article for The Cimmerian print journal, published a book, and now someone whose writing I respected and enjoyed was asking me to be a guest blogger. Yes, dreams do come true. And so many of mine were tied directly to The Cimmerian and its online blog.

I’m just one fan, and I’m sure that many of you reading this can contribute similar stories about the influence of The Cimmerian Blog in your own lives. It was a class act and, however small my own contributions, I was happy to be part of it.

All the TC bloggers are moving on now. The website will be maintained so that the archives will survive intact. When the tents are folded and all have gone, only the ghosts of what has been written through the years will remain. Ultimately, even blogs and magazines are subject to the same cosmic forces that oversee the rise and fall of civilizations. Still, many of those fallen civilizations have not been forgotten. Robert E. Howard’s poem, “The Path of the Strange Wanderers” says it so eloquently:

They have broken the lamps and burst the camps
And they follow the roads that the wild wind tramps;
And the starlight falls on Babel’s halls
And the trumpeter mounts the broken walls
And the moon comes up through the mists and damps.

“They are here today,” the wild winds say,
“But who can trace the track of tomorrow?
“And who can shackle a roving heart
“That leans to the winds that waver and start,
“Or chain a soul like the ocean spray,
“Whiter than glory and brine as sorrow?”

“They are here today,” the fierce winds say,
“But the east is white and the sea is grey,
“And the trumpet’s blast is an empty blast
“For the winds flee and they follow fast.
“And the hall may fall and the city wall,
“And the brazen trumpet forever call,
“But the bladed rovers, where are they?”

Tower and hall and marble wall
Altar and honor and glory fall;
Grass grows in the city street—
Where are the rovers’ restless feet?
Other cities waver and rise
And grow and loom before their eyes;
Topaz towers in dreaming skies.
And cities are dust upon the plain
But the wanderers come not back again.

While the wanderers in Howard’s poem will not come back, many of the TC bloggers will show up on other websites. But before TC becomes a changeless archive page dedicated to research, and while the memories are still fresh, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to the “wanderers,” past and present, who contributed to the TC Blog. Thanks Leo Grin, Rob Roehm, Mark Finn, and Steve Tompkins, the original bloggers, who started it all. Thanks also to Deuce for keeping the TC website alive. I thank Steve Trout as well as the current bloggers: Jim Cornelius, Al Harron, Miguel Martins, William Maynard, Brian Murphy, Jeffrey Shanks and Keith Taylor. It’s been a privilege to work with you. Thanks also to all the guest bloggers who made this website such a wonderful experience for so many of us Howard fans. Your articles enriched our knowledge of Robert E. Howard and many other authors and poets.

The Cimmerian Blog will soon be ouketi – no more – and what is to come is not yet written. Robert E. Howard’s poem, “Astarte’s Idol Stands Alone,” speaks of the old gods, “the dreams of men today” and what really lies beyond “no more.”

Astarte’s idol stands alone
With eyes that hold the ravished years;
Baal-Pteor’s shrine is shattered stone
Where through the night the jackal leers.

No more Bab-Ilu’s women sit
Beneath Mylitta’s mistletoe;
No more grim Molloch’s eyes are lit
By torches flaming row on row.

* * * * *
Across the stars their doom was writ:
“The dark before the dawn must go.”

Yet Baal, unseen, sits still enshrined
Along the world’s broad thoroughway;
Bubastes’ tendrils still are twined
About the dreams of men today.

For man still wears, from birth to dust,
The seal of Chiron’s neighing foal
And fires of Molloch’s darksome lust
Still light the windows of the soul.

And lighting the “windows of the soul” is what it’s all about.
Thanks TC,
Barbara

troll

noun

1. a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or hills.

According to a 1908 encyclopedia: “Trolls are dwarfs of Northern mythology, living in hills or mounds; they are represented as stumpy, misshapen, and humpbacked, inclined to thieving, and fond of carrying off children or substituting one of their own offspring for that of a human child. They are called hill-people, and are especially averse to noise, from a recollection of the time when Thor used to fling his hammer at them.”

[origin: 1616; Norwegian troll and Dan trold, from Old Norse troll giant, demon; probably akin to Middle High German trolle lout]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

There’s a bell that hangs in a hidden cave
Under the heathered hills
That knew the tramp of the Roman feet
And the clash of the Pictish bills.

It has not rung for a thousand years,
To waken the sleeping trolls,
But God defend the sons of men
When the bell of the Morni tolls.

[from “Bell of Morni”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 193]

dragon

noun

1. A mythical being traditionally represented as a gigantic winged reptile with a huge claws and scaly skin, usually breathing fire and smoke and spitting poison.

[origin: 13th century; Middle English, from Old French, dragun, from Latin draco, dracon-, large serpent, from Greek drakon serpent; akin to Old English torht bright, Greek derkesthai to see, to look at]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

There is a cavern in the deep
Beyond the sea-wind’s brawl;
Where the hills of the sea slope high and steep,
And dragons sleep
And serpents creep—
There is a cavern in the deep
Where strange sea-creatures crawl.

[from “Deeps”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 274]

gryphon (variant of griffin)

noun

1. mythical animal typically having the head, forepart and wings of an eagle and the body, hind legs and tail of a lion.

The griffin originated in ancient Middle Eastern legend and is often found in Persian sculpture and the decorative arts. Although its significance is obscure, it is often thought to have been a protective symbol, representing strength and vigilance.

[origin: 14th century; Middle English griffon, from Anglo-French grif, griffun, from Latin Gryphus, from Greek gryp-, gryps]

HOWARD’S USAGE

I swam below the surface of a lake
And found myself within a curious hall,
Lined with bronze columns, somber-black and tall;
On them I heard the evil gray waves break.
Sudden the granite floor began to shake;
A monster strode from out an iron stall;
Before his gryphon feet I reeled, to fall
As one who, dreaming, struggles to awake.

Upon my lips he set his grisly mouth
As to allay some fierce, demoniac drouth.
A broken shell, I tread the earth in vain;
My comrades are the goblin and the troll,
Since One in that forgotten, sunken fane
In evil hunger sucked from me my soul.

[from “The Soul-Eater”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 239 and Always Comes Evening, p. 57]

The basic format for each word will remain the same.

werewolf

noun

1. a person who transformed into a wolf or is capable of assuming a wolf’s form.

Background: Historical legends describe a wide variety of methods for becoming a werewolf. One is the bite of another werewolf. Others include wearing a pelt made of wolf skin, rubbing the body with a magic salve, or drinking water from the footprint of a werewolf, or from certain enchanted streams.

The curse could be removed by an enchanter, or by reproaching the werewolf with being a werewolf, saluting it with the sign of the cross, addressing it thrice by its baptismal name, striking it with three blows on the forehead with a knife, or drawing at least three drops of its blood. Cures also included removing the animal pelt or skin, or kneeling in one spot for a hundred years.

[Origin: before 12th century; Middle English, from Old English werwulf (akin to Old High German werewolf werewolf), from wer man + wulf wolf ]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

Up, John Kane! Why cringe there and cower?
The pact was sealed with the dark blood-flower;
Glut now your fill in the werewolf’s hour!

Fear not the night nor the shadows that play there;
Soundless and sure shall your bare feet stray there;
Strong shall your teeth be, to rend and to slay there.

Up, John Kane, the thick night’s falling;
Up from the valleys the white fog’s crawling;
Your four-footed brothers from the hills are calling:
Will ye come, will ye come, John Kane?

[from “Up John Kane!”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 192]

interjection

1. alas, woe; sorrow, regret

[Origin: ca. 1470; ScotGael ochan, Ir ochon; cf. och; Gaelic ochoin]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

Oh the men of the isle are all loyal and bold
And the women are lovely and fair to the eye;
Ochone for the ones who left with a sigh.
(Betrayin’ their friends for the Englishmen’s gold.)

Oh never the love of that island shall slack
As long as her sons shall roam the world round,
For a country so beautiful n’er will be found.
(God pity the bastards that have to go back.)

[from the untitled poem “There’s an isle far away on the breast of the sea”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 624]

noun

1. knob on the hilt of a sword or saber

[Origin: 14th century; Middle English pomel, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin pomellum ball, knob, from diminutive of Latin pomum fruit]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

Harald leaned against the taffrail and gripped it with his hand;
The blood streamed from his arm and head, and he could scarcely stand.
When Eric saw his foeman’s plight, with laughter loud he roared,
Like a buffalo bull he charged to meet—the point of Harald’s sword!
For Harald’s strength for an instant returned and he put it all in a thrust;
To the hilt it sank in Eric’s breast and Eric bit the dust.

Over the hilt and pommel the red life blood did run,
And the star of Eric of Norway went down with the setting sun.
Hasting stood by a stanchion with Ragnar at his feet,
And deep in his heart he had believed that Eric could ne’er be beat.

[from “Eric of Norway”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 536 and A Rhyme of Salem Town, p. 76]

noun

1. narrow passages or gorges

[Origin: 1865; French défilé, from past participle défiler]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

From Sonora to Del Rio is a hundred barren miles
Where the sotol weave and shimmer in the sun—
Like a horde of rearing serpents swaying down the bare defiles
When the scarlet, silver webs of dawn are spun.

There are little ’dobe ranchos brooding far along the sky,
On the sullen dreary bosoms of the hills;
Not a wolf to break the quiet, not a desert bird to fly
Where the silence is so utter that it thrills.

[from “The Grim Land”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 302]