Dorian Hawkmoon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dorian Hawkmoon, Duke of Köln is one of the fictional characters created by Michael Moorcock in his series of the Eternal Champion books.
Dorian Hawkmoon is one of the most decent and noble characters Moorcock ever created a series around. Unlike the anti-hero Elric of Melniboné, or the alienated and tragic Corum, or the sometimes savage Erekosë, Hawkmoon can generally be counted on to do the right thing.[1]
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Hawkmoon is captured by the evil forces of Granbretan (implied as an evil version of Great Britain where the noble classes hide behind metal masks of various totem animals) who implant a sinister jewel in his skull; he is liberated by the friendly rulers of Kamarg (implied as a future version of the southern French region of Camargue) charged with finding and implementing the will of the Runestaff, a magical item which preserves the Equilibrium. During his adventures, he has to collect two more magical items, the Red Amulet held by a mad god and the Sword of the Dawn, winning many battles in which he is hopelessly outnumbered, but helped by loyal companions, by mysterious allies who arrive in the nick of time, and by dissension in the ranks of his foes.
The Runestaff is one of the major artifacts in Moorcock's multiverse. The Black Sword (whose aspects in Elric's milieu are the soul-stealing swords Stormbringer and Mournblade) is another. The Black Jewel, which manifested itself in the world of Hawkmoon as the Jewel implanted in Hawkmoon's skull, is akin to the Black Sword. Another artifact, the most powerful, is the Cosmic Balance: it powers the Runestaff to produce Order. The Horn of Fate is still another artifact or power. Often artifacts are carried by the Champion Eternal.
Some of the artifacts have servants. The enigmatic Warrior in Jet and Gold serves the Runestaff, as does Orland Fank of the Orkneys.
Hawkmoon's struggle with the empire of Granbretan was treated in The History of the Runestaff, which consists of four books ("The Jewel in the Skull", "The Mad God's Amulet", "The Sword of the Dawn", and "The Runestaff"); the setting of this tale is a post-holocaust Earth. [2]
Hawkmoon later returned as the main character of a sequel trilogy, the Chronicles of Count Brass ("Count Brass", "The Champion of Garathorm", and "The Quest for Tanelorn") that branched out into Moorcock's Multiverse proper. The second Hawkmoon series brought the Eternal Champion cycle to a conclusion of sorts -- though not exactly a finale, as subsequent Eternal Champion books show.
Contents |
[edit] Trivia
- DAW issued the Hawkmoon series in 1977 with cover art by Richard Clifton-Dey.
- The armies of the Vulture Legion of Granbretan fly from place to place in Ornithopters -- a technology featured in Frank Herbert's Dune.
- Historically, Cologne never had a Duke (Hawkmoon's title), it was governed by the Archbishop until 1806.
- In the German translations of the novel, Hawkmoon is called "Falkenmond" (Falconmoon), because the translators obviously thought it sounded better than the literal translation of Hawkmoon ("Habichtmond").
- Several of the Gods of Granbretan were based upon 20th Century British Prime Ministers, e.g. Chirshil (Winston Churchill), the Howling God; Aral Vilsn (Harold Wilson), the Roaring God.
[edit] Music
Hawkmoon, along with other aspects of the Eternal Champion, is mentioned briefly in the song Damned for All Time by German power metal band Blind Guardian, on their Follow the Blind album. The band has also performed a song titled The Quest for Tanelorn, based on the Hawkmoon story of the same name. That track appears on their Somewhere Far Beyond album. Also, Irish band U2 mentions Hawkmoon in their song Hawkmoon 269. However, the song has no mention of the story itself.
[edit] Other Media
The Sword of the Dawn, from the Hawkmoon saga, appears as a hidden weapon that may be found in the Reverse Keep section of the game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. In the Hawkmoon stories, it is a powerful sword that summons "The Legion of the Dawn", a seemingly neverending legion of warriors who fight for the sword's wielder. In the game, it is a 2 handed sword of moderate power, with a special move that allows it to summon "dawn warriors", to fight against the player's enemies. These warriors may be summoned as often as the player wishes.
The History of the Runestaff was adapted into comic books published by First Comics. Written by Gerry Conway, Roger Salick with art by Rafael Kayanan.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Moorcock's Miscellany (formerly Tanelorn, Multiverse.org & Moorcock's Weekly Miscellany)
