Dark Agnes de Chastillon

Dark Agnes de Chastillon (also known as Agnes de Chastillon, Dark Agnes, Agnes de la Fere and The Sword Woman) is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard and the protagonist of three stories set in 16th Century France, which were not printed until a long time after the author's death.

The character of Agnes was beaten by her father and almost forced into an arranged marriage. She avoids this by killing the bridegroom and running away. She meets Etienne Villiers, who at first attempts to sell her to a brothel, and Guiscard de Clisson, a mercenary captain who trains her as a swordswoman. When de Clisson is killed, Agnes heads for Italy with Villiers.

Like the later character Red Sonja, who was based on another Howard character, Red Sonya of Rogatino, Agnes has red hair and a short temper. But while Red Sonja's skill in the handling of swords is a divine gift, Agnes's skill is a mixture of innate talent and training.

The character may be partially based on Novalyne Price.^[1] Fictional prototypes include Jirel of Joiry, created by C. L. Moore. Moore was enthusiastic about the first of Howard's stories:^[2]

My blessings! I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed “Sword-Woman”. It seemed such a pity to leave her just at the threshold of higher adventures. Your favorite trick of slamming the door on a burst of bugles! And leaving one to wonder what happened next and wanting so badly to know. Aren’t there any more stories about Agnes?

Stories

Robert E. Howard wrote two complete Dark Agnes de Chastillon stories and part of the first draft for a third.

"Sword Woman"

This is the origin story for Agnes. It features her abortive arranged marriage and subsequent training. "Sword Woman" was first published in REH:Lone Star Finctioneer #2 (Summer 1975).^[3]

"Blades for France"

Agnes, still with her sidekick Etienne Villiers, faces international intrigue with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. "Blades for France" was first published in Blades for France (1975).^[4]

"Mistress of Death"

Howard only wrote two incomplete drafts of "Mistress of Death". The second of which was later completed by Gerald W. Page and first published in Witchcraft & Sorcery Volume 1 Number 5 (January–February 1971).^[5] This story is the only one to include a fantasy element in the form of a sorcerer. It is not written to the same standard of the two complete stories and features some departures from the established character, making her more stereotypically feminine.^[6]

It was later adapted into a Conan tale "Curse of the Undead-Man"^[7], appearing in The Savage Sword of Conan no. 1, 1974, where the Cimmerian encounters Red Sonja.^[5]

Collections

All three Agnes stories, together with "The King's Service" and "The Shadow of the Hun" (a Turlogh Dubh O'Brien story), and an introduction by Leigh Brackett, were collected in:

Howard, Robert E. (May 1977). Sword Woman. Zebra. ISBN 0-89083-261-7. ^[8]
Howard, Robert E. (1979) [1977]. Sword Woman. Berkley. ISBN 978-0-425-04445-2. ^[9]
Howard, Robert E. (October 1986) [1977]. Sword Woman. Ace. ISBN 0-441-79279-0. ^[10]

The Zebra edition had cover art and illustrations by Stephen Fabian. The Berkley and Ace editions had cover art by Ken Kelly.

References

↑ A Short Biography of Robert E. Howard Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. by Rusty Burke, retrieved 19 December 2007
↑ Quoted by Glenn Lord in his introduction to The Second Book of Robert E. Howard (Zebra, May 1976)
↑ Works of Robert E. Howard: Sword Woman retrieved 19 December 2007
↑ Works of Robert E. Howard: Blades for France retrieved 19 December 2007
1 2 Works of Robert E. Howard: Mistress of Death retrieved 9 July 2017
↑ Amanda Salmonson, Jessica. "Dark Agnes: A Critical Overview of Robert E. Howard's Sword Woman". Archived from the original on 28 December 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
↑ "The Annotated Savage Sword of Conan - Curse of the Undead-Man". Retrieved 9 July 2017.
↑ Works of Robert E. Howard: Sword Woman - Zebra
↑ Works of Robert E. Howard: Sword Woman - Berkley
↑ Works of Robert E. Howard: Sword Woman - Ace

External links

Works by Robert E. Howard

Adventure

El Borak	"Blood of the Gods" "The Coming of El Borak" "The Country of the Knife" "The Daughter of Erlik Khan" "Hawk of the Hills" "The Lost Valley of Iskander" "North of Khyber" "Son of the White Wolf" "Three-Bladed Doom"

Fantasy

Conan	"Beyond the Black River" "Black Colossus" "The Black Stranger" "Cimmeria" "The Devil in Iron" "Drums of Tombalku" "The Frost Giant's Daughter" "The God in the Bowl" "The Hall of the Dead" "The Hand of Nergal" "The Hour of the Dragon" "Iron Shadows in the Moon" "Jewels of Gwahlur" "The People of the Black Circle" "The Phoenix on the Sword" "The Pool of the Black One" "Queen of the Black Coast" "Red Nails" "Rogues in the House" "The Scarlet Citadel" "Shadows in Zamboula" "The Snout in the Dark" "The Tower of the Elephant" "The Vale of Lost Women" "A Witch Shall be Born" "Wolves Beyond the Border" "Xuthal of the Dusk"
Solomon Kane	"The Right Hand of Doom"
Kull	"By This Axe, I Rule" "Exile of Atlantis" "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune"
Bran Mak Morn	"The Children of the Night" "Worms of the Earth"

Comedy

Sailor Steve Costigan

Breckinridge Elkins

"A Gent from Bear Creek"

Horror

John Kirowan	"The Children of the Night" "The Haunter of the Ring" "The Black Stone"

Other

Other stories	"Almuric" "Black Canaan" "Pigeons from Hell" "Post Oaks & Sand Roughs" "The Shadow of the Vulture" "Skull-Face" "The Sowers of the Thunder" "The Twilight of the Grey Gods"
Other characters	Cormac Fitzgeoffrey James Allison Red Sonya Dark Agnes de Chastillon Steve Harrison Turlogh Dubh O'Brien Kirby O'Donnell The Sonora Kid
Poetry	Echoes from an Iron Harp (1972)
See also	List of works by Robert E. Howard List of poems by Robert E. Howard "The Hyborian Age"

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