Conan chronologies


This article covers some of the major Conan chronologies that have been advanced over the years. From the 1930s onward a number of fans and scholars have analyzed the numerous Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard and later writers, and attempted to organize them into a chronological timeline.
Going beyond a simple fan activity, these efforts have had a significant impact on the development of the popular conception of the character of Conan as well as economic consequences on the Conan franchise. As Paolo Bertetti observes, the focus on the creation of a character chronology outside the work of the original author begins a "process that tends to transform the character into a social object of inter-individual construction and public debate, rendering it independent of texts in which it was born," and in the case of Conan, this has led to the exploitation of the character for commercial reasons and perhaps encouraged and justified the proliferation of pastiche stories and novels over the years.
A number of factors have prevented the establishment of a consensus on the order of the Conan stories, most notably the fact that Howard himself apparently had little more than a general idea of the character's career path and intentionally wrote the stories out of chronological sequence.
Clearly, the stories where Conan is a thief are at the early part of his career and those of King Conan – in the later part. But the middle part – the various tales of his being a pirate, brigand, and mercenary at various locations around the world – are more difficult to arrange in neat order. While the earliest timeline had at least partial endorsement from Howard, the addition of stories discovered and published after Howard's death in 1936 are more difficult to place. Fragments and synopses that were never completed are even more problematic and some contain what appear to be internal inconsistencies.

Miller/Clark/de Camp chronologies

The essay A Probable Outline of Conan's Career was completed during Howard's lifetime by P. Schuyler Miller and John D. Clark. Howard, who reviewed it in the draft and made a few corrections, stated it followed his vision of Conan's career "pretty closely." The version subsequently published in the Howard fanzine The Hyborian Age incorporated Howard's corrections.
Over the years, Miller and Clark revised the chronology with L. Sprague de Camp to take into account additional Conan material, including previously unpublished stories by Howard and newly written stories by others. These revised versions of the chronology guided the order in which the stories were arranged when they were compiled into book form in the early series published by Gnome Press, Lancer/Ace, and Bantam, and text from the chronology was used in these series to bridge gaps between the stories.
The subsequent versions include An Informal Biography of Conan the Cimmerian, a revision by Clark and de Camp used to bridge stories in the first hardcover edition of the Conan stories, published by Gnome Press. De Camp's final version of the chronology, Conan the Indestructible, incorporated the first seven volumes of the series of Conan pastiches published by Tor Books.
While the chronology had Howard's general approval in regard to its placement of the stories covered by its earliest published version, such authority is lacking for later versions' placement of stories discovered after Howard's death. Most post-Howard Conan stories were written to conform to it. The chronology has been criticized for missing some in-story chronological indications pointing to a slightly different arrangement, for force-fitting posthumously discovered Howard tales into its scheme, and for having Conan wander "all over the Hyborian world in a scattered and illogical pattern, and at a break-neck pace."

Order (earliest and latest forms)

All stories added after the earliest version are indented, stories written by people other than Howard are marked with an asterisk, and stories written by Howard but published after his death are marked with a dagger.
  • "The Tower of the Elephant"
  • "Rogues in the House"
  • "Queen of the Black Coast"
  • "Queen of the Black Coast"
  • "Black Colossus"
  • "Shadows in the Moonlight"
  • "A Witch Shall Be Born"
  • "Shadows in Zamboula"
  • "The Devil in Iron"
  • "The People of the Black Circle"
  • "The Slithering Shadow"
  • "The Pool of the Black One"
  • "Red Nails"
  • "Jewels of Gwahlur"
  • "Beyond the Black River"
  • "The Phoenix on the Sword"
  • "The Scarlet Citadel"
  • ''Conan the Conqueror''

    Robert Jordan chronology

A Conan Chronology by Robert Jordan was the attempt of Conan writer Robert Jordan to create a new Chronology including all Conan material written up to that point, including fifteen of the first sixteen volumes of the series of Conan pastiches published by Tor Books. It was first published in Conan the Defiant, by Steve Perry. It was heavily influenced by the Miller/Clark/de Camp chronology, though deviating from it in some respects, and covers more of the Tor series. Jordan seldom provided his reasoning on his departures from the earlier chronology.

Order

  • "Legions of the Dead"
  • "The Thing in the Crypt"
  • Conan the Defiant
  • "The Tower of the Elephant"
  • Conan and the Sorcerer
  • Conan the Mercenary
  • Conan: The Sword of Skelos
  • Conan the Destroyer
  • Conan the Magnificent
  • Conan the Invincible
  • "The Hall of the Dead"
  • Conan the Fearless
  • "The God in the Bowl"
  • Conan the Warlord
  • Conan the Champion
  • "Rogues in the House"
  • Conan the Victorious
  • Conan the Unconquered
  • "The Hand of Nergal"
  • "The City of Skulls"
  • "The People of the Summit"
  • "The Curse of the Monolith"
  • Conan the Valiant
  • "The Blood-Stained God"
  • "The Frost-Giant's Daughter"
  • "The Lair of the Ice Worm"
  • Conan and the Spider God
  • Conan the Defender
  • Conan: The Road of Kings
  • Conan the Triumphant
  • "Queen of the Black Coast"
  • Conan the Rebel
  • "Queen of the Black Coast"
  • "The Vale of Lost Women"
  • "The Castle of Terror"
  • "The Snout in the Dark"
  • "Hawks Over Shem"
  • "Black Colossus"
  • "Shadows in the Dark"
  • Conan the Renegade
  • "Shadows in the Moonlight"
  • "The Road of the Eagles"
  • "A Witch Shall be Born"
  • "Black Tears"
  • "Shadows in Zamboula"
  • Conan the Raider
  • "The Star of Khorala"
  • "The Devil in Iron"
  • "The Flame Knife"
  • "The People of the Black Circle"
  • Conan the Marauder
  • "The Slithering Shadow"
  • "Drums of Tombalku"
  • "The Gem in the Tower"
  • "The Pool of the Black One"
  • Conan the Buccaneer
  • "Red Nails"
  • "Jewels of Gwahlur"
  • "The Ivory Goddess"
  • "Beyond the Black River"
  • "Moon of Blood"
  • "The Treasure of Tranicos"
  • "Wolves Beyond the Border"
  • Conan the Liberator
  • "The Phoenix on the Sword"
  • "The Scarlet Citadel"
  • The Hour of the Dragon
  • The Return of Conan
  • "The Witch of the Mists"
  • "Black Sphinx of Nebthu"
  • "Red Moon of Zembabwei"
  • "Shadows in the Skull"
  • ''Conan of the Isles''

    William Galen Gray chronology

Timeline of Conan's Journeys, was William Galen Gray's attempt to create "a chronology of all the stories, both Howard and pastiche". It is based on a close reading of all the stories and drawing on the earlier Miller/Clark/de Camp and Jordan chronologies. Where the earlier chronologies differ Gray sometimes adopts one's placement, sometimes the other, and occasionally departs from both, in each case explaining his reasons for the placement. The Gray chronology incorporated all then-published Conan stories, including all the Tor volumes, but treated inconsistently Tor pastiches whose portrayals of Conan's early life contradict Howard's account of it. Three of these, the movie adaptations Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer and the John M. Roberts novel Conan the Bold, Gray rejected as apocryphal "Legends." The fourth, Harry Turtledove's Conan of Venarium, he accepted.

Order

  • Conan of Venarium
  • "Legions of the Dead"
  • "The Thing in the Crypt"
  • Conan the Defiant
  • Conan the Hunter
  • Conan the Indomitable
  • Conan the Free Lance
  • Conan the Formidable
  • "The Tower of the Elephant"
  • Conan and the Sorcerer
  • Conan the Mercenary
  • Conan: The Sword of Skelos
  • Conan the Outcast
  • Conan the Magnificent
  • Conan the Invincible
  • "The Hall of the Dead"
  • Conan the Fearless
  • "The God in the Bowl"
  • Conan the Warlord
  • "Rogues in the House"
  • Conan the Victorious
  • Conan the Unconquered
  • "The Hand of Nergal"
  • "The City of Skulls"
  • Conan the Hero
  • "The People of the Summit"
  • "The Curse of the Monolith"
  • Conan the Valiant
  • Conan and the Spider God
  • "The Blood-Stained God"
  • Conan the Valorous
  • "The Frost-Giant's Daughter"
  • "The Lair of the Ice Worm"
  • Conan the Relentless
  • Conan the Savage
  • Conan the Defender
  • Conan the Triumphant
  • Conan the Guardian
  • "Queen of the Black Coast"
  • Conan the Rebel
  • "Queen of the Black Coast"
  • Conan at the Demon's Gate
  • "The Vale of Lost Women"
  • "The Castle of Terror"
  • "The Snout in the Dark"
  • Conan the Gladiator
  • Conan and the Emerald Lotus
  • "Hawks Over Shem"
  • "Black Colossus"
  • "Shadows in the Dark"
  • Conan: The Road of Kings
  • Conan the Renegade
  • "Shadows in the Moonlight"
  • Conan of the Red Brotherhood
  • Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast
  • Conan the Champion
  • "The Road of the Eagles"
  • "A Witch Shall be Born"
  • "Black Tears"
  • Conan and the Manhunters
  • "Shadows in Zamboula"
  • Conan the Raider
  • "The Star of Khorala"
  • Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza
  • Conan and the Amazon
  • "The Devil in Iron"
  • "The Flame Knife"
  • Conan and the Shaman's Curse
  • "The People of the Black Circle"
  • Conan the Marauder
  • Conan and the Mists of Doom
  • "The Slithering Shadow"
  • "Drums of Tombalku"
  • "The Gem in the Tower"
  • Conan and the Grim Grey God
  • "The Pool of the Black One"
  • Conan the Buccaneer
  • "Red Nails"
  • Conan and the Gods of the Mountain
  • "Jewels of Gwahlur"
  • "The Ivory Goddess"
  • Conan and the Treasure of Python
  • Conan, Lord of the Black River
  • Conan the Rogue
  • "Beyond the Black River"
  • "Moon of Blood"
  • "The Treasure of Tranicos"
  • "Wolves Beyond the Border"
  • Conan the Liberator
  • "The Phoenix on the Sword"
  • "The Scarlet Citadel"
  • The Hour of the Dragon
  • The Return of Conan
  • Conan the Great
  • "The Witch of the Mists"
  • "Black Sphinx of Nebthu"
  • "Red Moon of Zembabwei"
  • "Shadows in the Skull"
  • Conan of the Isles
Apocryphal:
  • Conan the Barbarian
  • Conan the Bold
  • ''Conan the Destroyer''