How old is Zenobia

[lordyam]

I’m kinda curious. She’s clearly younger than Conan by a good degree and one source (the old rpg) has her as 17 when they met. Can anyone weigh in on this?

[Fayn]

 Which old rpg had her age?

[lordyam]

Mongoose one.

[Spartan198]

"She said she was eighteen!" cried Conan before the magistrate.

[Von K]

I always thought Zenobia was about 20-22 yrs old.

[lordyam]

Jan 19, 2020 22:16:03 GMT -5 Spartan198 said:

"She said she was eighteen!" cried Conan before the magistrate.

I’d think Tarascus and Nimed would be in bigger trouble😊

[Char-Vell]

She's just sixteen years old.
Leave her alone.

[johnnypt]

Jan 20, 2020 16:42:36 GMT -5 Char-Vell said:

She's just sixteen years old.
Leave her alone.

I never knew Conan could sing...

[stubbs]

In SSOC #55, the article Havoc in Hyboria by Jim Neal gives her age as 20 in HoTD. As credible a source as any we're likely to get I suppose.

[themirrorthief]

she was old enough obviously

[karasuthecrow]

I was doing some research on the character but there is really little information, the new Conan RPG does have her character and stats but not her age BUT she is listed already as "Queen Zenobia" in the "Conan the King" sourcebook.

Here is some pictures and little of information that I gathered during my research, hope you will enjoy.

 

The blog "Assassins Hideout" has an interesting post talking about how Zenobia has yet to appear on the MMORPG "Age of Conan : Unchained" and they only says that she its pregnant.

Lore Whore: Zenobia and world's longest pregnancy



The original descriptin given by Howard is the following : "It was a girl who stood grasping the bars with her slender fingers. The dim glow behind her outlined her supple figure through the wisp of silk twisted about her loins, and shone vaguely on jeweled breast-plates. Her dark eyes gleamed in the shadows, her white limbs glistened softly, like alabaster. Her hair was a mass of dark foam, at the burnished luster of which the dim light only hinted." , ""The keys to your shackles and to the farther door!" she whispered, and a slim White hand came through the bars and dropped three objects with a clink to the flags beside him." 







Tómas Giorello and Tim Truman expands Zenobias rol in their adaptation of "The Hour of the Dragon" where escapes with conan on the prision and also helps to defeat the gigant ape, and by the end of the adaptation she is made one of the sacrifices and is rescue by conan.




Conan and Zenobia re-interpreted by Spanish artist Breogán Alvarez.


On the Marvel side, Zenobia also appears on their own Hour of Dragon adaptation, in the annual version she is given an expanded appearence as Conan goes for her, then they are trapped and the two of them fight to get out of the trap and then got married.






On of the last appearences that Zenobia has is on Dark Horse story "Conan and the Mignight God" by  Joshua Dysart and Will Conrad, in this story Zenobia is heavely pregnant and also she is cursed (or something like that) by an evil spell, while Zenobias age is never mentioned in the story Conan calls Zenobia "girl" a couple of times.

[1F409]

I think this brings up a topic which makes the modern world cringe.  Let us be realistic about things, though.  Females lose sexual value (the ability to bear healthy children) as they age, whereas males gain it (the ability to provide), so it would not be all odd for a king such as Conan to have a harem girl or wife that was significantly younger than himself.  The Hyborian Age might be a slight whitewashing for twentieth-century sensibilities, but I think that Howard probably wrote "girl" so often as a descriptor for a reason.  It's not like he, as student of history, wasn't aware of early teen marriage in days when it was chancy to live even to thirty, or how young girls were often taken as housekeeping slaves with a convenient side-benefit eventually manifesting.  That all being said, to gauge Zenobia's age, one must take into account a variety of factors.  Her origin, as well as where she was enslaved, both are likely to have real-world historical analogues.  Her style of hair and manner of dress might offer clues as well, again to be compared to historical details.  That she was practically ignored by her master, this could mean a plain appearance, or too far one way or the other on the spectrum of age.  Another possibility is that she's named after an historical figure, which could also provide a reference point for age.  Et cetera, etc.

[karasuthecrow]

Apr 9, 2022 3:53:11 GMT -5 1F409 said:

I think this brings up a topic which makes the modern world cringe.  Let us be realistic about things, though.  Females lose sexual value (the ability to bear healthy children) as they age, whereas males gain it (the ability to provide), so it would not be all odd for a king such as Conan to have a harem girl or wife that was significantly younger than himself.  The Hyborian Age might be a slight whitewashing for twentieth-century sensibilities, but I think that Howard probably wrote "girl" so often as a descriptor for a reason.  It's not like he, as student of history, wasn't aware of early teen marriage in days when it was chancy to live even to thirty, or how young girls were often taken as housekeeping slaves with a convenient side-benefit eventually manifesting.  That all being said, to gauge Zenobia's age, one must take into account a variety of factors.  Her origin, as well as where she was enslaved, both are likely to have real-world historical analogues.  Her style of hair and manner of dress might offer clues as well, again to be compared to historical details.  That she was practically ignored by her master, this could mean a plain appearance, or too far one way or the other on the spectrum of age.  Another possibility is that she's named after an historical figure, which could also provide a reference point for age.  Et cetera, etc.

I agree that its a cringie them now but Yes, she its named after an historical figure but has really nothing in common with her, also the GURPS Conan RPG list Queen Zenobia with 26 years BUT also 26 is the age that most female lead on the RPG has so...take your guess.

NOTE : I also support that the "girl" adjective could be the best description that Howard gave us, also the latest Glenat/Ablaze adpatation shows her like

[1F409]

Apr 9, 2022 23:56:28 GMT -5 karasuthecrow said:

I agree that its a cringie them now but Yes, she its named after an historical figure but has really nothing in common with her, also the GURPS Conan RPG list Queen Zenobia with 26 years BUT also 26 is the age that most female lead on the RPG has so...take your guess.

NOTE : I also support that the "girl" adjective could be the best description that Howard gave us, also the latest Glenat/Ablaze adpatation shows her like

The only thing I can add is that it's probably best to steer clear of adaptations and other posthumous sources, as they're likely mere "interpretations" based on modern sensibilities rather than level-headed history. Obviously, the trouble is that REH didn't spell much out in that regard, presumably to aid the flow of the stories. However, delving into his contemporaries' work, or even the historical sources he himself studied, might give a better sense of how he intended the word girl/age issue.

[mingerganthecat]

Jul 15, 2022 4:10:59 GMT -5 hun said:

I'd imagine Zenobia is probably not a teenager, more likely in her twenties. REH did not use the word like that and the same can be said of Texans in general.

They also do it in the other direction.

When my sister-in-law first moved to the South, she used to get mad about being called "ma'am" because she thought she wasn't old enough for it. Then she realized that her 10-year-old daughter was considered a "ma'am" down there too.

Something your name reminds me of: a Southern man or woman who calls you "hun" probably isn't being deliberately condescending and isn't necessarily attracted to you. It's just the general Southern version of the Louisianan "cher."