Sword and sorcery, also called heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy literature characterized by sword wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent personal adventures, often incorporating romance, magic and the supernatural. It differs from high fantasy in that its dramatic stakes center on personal battles rather than world endangering threats, and it traces its origin to the early 1930s pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard, whose Conan stories are widely credited, including by Isaac Asimov, as founding the tradition.
Facts
Place of OriginUnited States, in the early 1930s pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard. 1 Notable ExampleRobert E. Howard's 1929 Weird Tales story The Shadow Kingdom, featuring Kull of Atlantis, is often regarded as the first true sword and sorcery tale. 1 Defining TraitA sub-genre of fantasy literature characterized by sword-wielding heroes in violent personal adventures, focused on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. 1 FAQs
Who gave sword and sorcery its name?
Fritz Leiber re-coined the term in 1961.
The American author Fritz Leiber re-coined the term in April 1961. Writing in the fanzine Ancalagon, he was responding to a letter from the British author Michael Moorcock in the fanzine Amra, which had demanded a name for the sort of fantasy-adventure story that Robert E. Howard wrote.
Connections
Features Author
Source Wikipedia: Le Morte d'Arthur
Form Of Genre
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Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Sword and Sorcery (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. Sword and Sorcery (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, first and third sentences
Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a sub-genre of fantasy literature characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures.
History, Origins section
The 1929 Weird Tales story “The Shadow Kingdom” by Robert E. Howard is often regarded as the first true “sword and sorcery” tale, because it pits a heroic warrior (Kull of Atlantis) against supernatural evil, in an imaginary world of the writer's devising.
Lead section, fourth sentence
The genre originated from the early 1930s works of Robert E. Howard.
View the Source Wikipedia: Le Morte d'Arthur
WikipediaFeatures Author: Le Morte d'Arthur, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Le Morte d'Arthur, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Chivalric romance, sword and sorcery, historical fantasy
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