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Post by mingerganthecat on Jul 24, 2022 4:25:23 GMT -5
In Queen of the Black Coast, Belit states that her fathers were "kings of Askalon." But in Hawks over Shem, the name is changed to Asgalun. Later writers seem to mostly follow this convention, but was any reason ever given for the name change?
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Post by mingerganthecat on Jul 24, 2022 9:19:35 GMT -5
I dunno if we can really include 'Hawks over Shem'. De Camp Conanised the story, just like he did with some of the El Borak stories. The original yarn by REH was a historical story called 'Hawks over Egypt'. It's a point of contention for certain, but then Howard himself Conanized several stories when they didn't sell in their original guise. Fair point on Jewels of Gwahlur, though. I didn't realize that, because I've only ever heard that story on audiobook. So perhaps it was Howard himself who chose to change the name. |
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Post by zarono on Jul 24, 2022 11:36:30 GMT -5
In Queen of the Black Coast, Belit states that her fathers were "kings of Askalon." But in Hawks over Shem, the name is changed to Asgalun. Later writers seem to mostly follow this convention, but was any reason ever given for the name change? Decamp probably changed it for continuity with Bit-Yakin. I think Bit-Yakin was written after Queen so I can see his logic or maybe he just liked Asgalun better. |
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Post by johnnypt on Jul 24, 2022 14:59:33 GMT -5
Or could've been two separate places with similar sounding names. Howard definitely was guilty of that more than one time.
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Post by zarono on Jul 25, 2022 8:16:24 GMT -5
Or could've been two separate places with similar sounding names. Howard definitely was guilty of that more than one time. Works for me, city states each with kings of varying power and influence. |
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Post by johnnypt on Jul 25, 2022 8:56:53 GMT -5
Decamp probably changed it for continuity with Bit-Yakin. I think Bit-Yakin was written after Queen so I can see his logic or maybe he just liked Asgalun better. Yeah, could be De Camp liked Asgalun from Bit-Yakin better. He probably thought Askalon was too similar to the historical Ashkelon. He could've gone to town with Thog & Thaug, Thoth-Amon, Thothmekri and Tuthmekri, all the Yas girls (luckily only one was in Conan)... |
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Post by Char-Vell on Jul 25, 2022 9:14:09 GMT -5
I loved the Yas Girls until Yasmela quit to go solo. their sound went to hell after that.
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Post by boot on Jul 25, 2022 12:31:00 GMT -5
I've got another question about Asgalun. Do some speculate that Asgalun is in Argos and not Shem? I ask, but I just received The Shadow of the Sorcerer hardback campaign adventure from Modiphius. While I think the 2d20 system is the biggest horse turd to plop behind a camel, I'm going to convert it to d20 Conan (Mongoose).
I was under the impression that the Modiphius Conan stuff was written by several Conan experts. I look at a map, and it looks like Asgalun is inside the border on the Argos side.
Do you think that's just a flat out mistake? Or, is there a school of thought that Asgalun is in Argos?
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Post by johnnypt on Jul 25, 2022 15:38:11 GMT -5
He could've gone to town with Thog & Thaug, Thoth-Amon, Thothmekri and Tuthmekri, all the Yas girls (luckily only one was in Conan)... Yeah, Yasmina in People of the Black Circle, Yasmela in Black Colossus and Yasmeena in the El Borak yarn Daughter of Erlik Khan. I think he liked/picked up the name from the Talbot Mundy stories, I can't remember this stuff too well these days. Yasmeena was also the name of the princess in Almuric. He did get it from Mundy. |
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Post by mingerganthecat on Jul 26, 2022 4:56:36 GMT -5
Or could've been two separate places with similar sounding names. Howard definitely was guilty of that more than one time. Something that reminds me of: You know about the Battle of Agincourt? St Crispin's Day, Henry V, and so on, and so forth? Yeah... they got the name wrong. It's actually called Azincourt, first attested as Aisincurt. There is a place in France called Agincourt, but it is many miles away from the medieval battlefield and has no etymological links with the village or former castle of Azincourt. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azincourten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agincourt,_Meurthe-et-Moselle |
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