Elric of Melniboné explained

Elric of Melniboné
First:The Dreaming City, 1961 story
Creator:Michael Moorcock
Gender:Male
Occupation:Emperor, sorcerer, warrior
Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné
Nationality:Melnibonean

Elric of Melniboné[1] is a fictional character created by English writer Michael Moorcock and the protagonist of a series of sword and sorcery stories taking place on an alternative Earth. The proper name and title of the character are Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné. Later stories by Moorcock marked Elric as a facet of the Eternal Champion.

Elric first appeared in print in Moorcock's novella "The Dreaming City" (Science Fantasy No. 47, June 1961). Moorcock's doomed albino antihero is one of the better known characters in fantasy literature, having crossed over into a wide variety of media, such as role-playing games, comics, music, and film. The stories have been continuously in print since the 1970s.[2]

Description

Elric is described in 1972's Elric of Melniboné:

Elric is the last emperor of the stagnating island civilization of Melniboné. Physically weak, the anemic Elric must use drugs (special herbs) to maintain his health and vitality. From childhood, he read freely in the immense royal library and learned of the world outside the Dreaming Isle. Perhaps due to this in-depth study, unlike other members of his race, Elric has a conscience. He witnesses the decadence of his culture, which once ruled the known world, and worries about the rise of the Young Kingdoms populated by humans (Melnibonéans consider themselves separate from humanity), along with the threat they pose to his empire. Because of Elric's introspective self-loathing and hatred of Melnibonéan traditions, his subjects find him odd and unfathomable. However, his cousin Yyrkoon (next in the line of succession, as Elric has no heirs) interprets this behaviour as weakness and plots Elric's death. Complicating matters is Yyrkoon's sister Cymoril, who is deeply in love with Elric; Yyrkoon covets her, and part of his plan for usurpation is to marry Cymoril himself.

In addition to his skill with herbs, Elric is an accomplished sorcerer and summoner. As emperor of Melniboné, Elric is able to call for aid upon the traditional patron of the Melniboné emperors, Arioch, a Lord of Chaos and Duke of Hell. From the first story, Elric uses ancient pacts and agreements with not only Arioch, but various other beings—some gods, some demons—to help him accomplish his tasks.

Elric's discovery of the sword Stormbringer serves as both his greatest asset and disadvantage. The sword confers upon Elric strength, health, and fighting prowess, allowing him to do away with his dependence on drugs, but it must be fed by the souls of intelligent beings. In the end, the blade takes everyone close to Elric and eventually Elric's own soul as well. Most of Moorcock's stories about Elric feature this relationship with Stormbringer, and how it—despite Elric's best intentions—brings doom to everything he holds dear.

Setting

Melniboné
Source:Elric of Melniboné
Creator:Michael Moorcock
Genre:Fantasy, Sword and sorcery
Blank Label:Motto
Blank Label1:Anthem
Locations:Imrryr (capital)
Blank Label2:Language(s)
Ethnic Groups:Melnibonéans
Type:Monarchy
Blank Label3:Currency

Melniboné, also known as the Dragon Isle, is an imaginary country, an island among the Young Kingdoms.

Centuries before Elric's birth, Melniboné ruled its world through sorcerous might and sheer power. By the time of Elric's birth, it has slipped from its preeminent place, being one of many nations. The Melnibonéans themselves are not wholly human. They are skilled with magic and beautiful, though psychologically similar to cats, with a callous nature. They are bound by many ancient customs.

Melniboné's capital and only surviving city is Imrryr, known as "The Dreaming City". Most of the rest of the island has been allowed to revert to wilderness. Caverns exist below the island, in which dragons sleep, awaiting the Melnibonéans' summons to war.

Influences

Moorcock acknowledges the work of Bertolt Brecht, particularly Threepenny Novel and The Threepenny Opera, as "one of the chief influences" on the initial Elric sequence; he dedicated 1972's Elric of Melniboné to Brecht.[3] [4] In the same dedication, he cited Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions and Fletcher Pratt's The Well of the Unicorn as similarly influential texts. Moorcock has referred to Elric as a type of the "doomed hero", one of the oldest character-types in literature, akin to such hero-villains as Mervyn Peake's Steerpike in the Titus Groan trilogy, Poul Anderson's Scafloc in The Broken Sword, T. H. White's Lancelot in The Once and Future King, J. R. R. Tolkien's cursed hero Túrin Turambar, and Jane Gaskell's Zerd in The Serpent.[5] John Clute considers Elric to be a deliberate parody of Robert E. Howard's Conan.[6]

The story of Kullervo from Finnish mythology[7] contains elements similar to Elric's story, such as a talking magic sword and fatal alienation of the hero from his family.[8] Besides Elric, Kullervo has been proposed as having influence on Poul Anderson's 1954 novel The Broken Sword, and J.R.R. Tolkien's Túrin Turambar. Moorcock has stated that "Anderson's a definite influence [on Elric], as stated. But oddly, the Kalevala was read to us at my boarding school when I was about seven", and "from a very early age I was reading Norse legends and any books I could find about Norse stories".[9] Moorcock in the same posting stated that "one thing I'm pretty sure of, I was not in any way directly influenced by Prof. T[olkien]".[10]

Elric's albinism appears influenced by Monsieur Zenith, an albino Sexton Blake villain whom Moorcock appreciated enough to write into later multiverse stories.[11] Moorcock read Zenith stories in his youth and has contributed to their later reprinting, remarking that it "took me forty years to find another copy of Zenith the Albino! In fact it was a friend who found it under lock and key and got a copy of it to Savoy who are, at last, about to reprint it! Why I have spent so much energy making public the evidence of my vast theft from Anthony Skene, I'm not entirely sure... ".[12] Moorcock later said: "As I've said in my introduction to Monsieur Zenith: The Albino, the Anthony Skene's character was a huge influence. For the rest of the character, his ambiguities in particular, I based him on myself at the age I was when I created Elric, which was 20".[13] The influence of Zenith on Elric is often cited in discussions of Zenith.[14]

Publishing history

See also: Michael Moorcock bibliography. Elric first appeared in print in a series of six novelettes published in Science Fantasy magazine:

After this came four novellas:

The last of these terminated the sequence with the close of Elric's life.

After these initial Elric tales, Moorcock periodically published short tales throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, such as 1967's "The Singing Citadel" and 1973's "The Jade Man's Eyes". Meant to be placed in between the initial stories but before the conclusion of "Doomed Lord's Passing", these later stories would frequently be edited, retitled, and combined together with other material to form fix-ups as part of later republication campaigns.

The first original Elric novel, 1972's Elric of Melniboné, is a prequel detailing Elric's origin and how he came to possess Stormbringer. In 1989 came the second original Elric novel, The Fortress of the Pearl, followed in 1991 with The Revenge of the Rose. A decade later Moorcock began an original Elric trilogy, beginning with The Dreamthief's Daughter (2001), followed by The Skrayling Tree (2003) and The White Wolf's Son (2005). In 2022, Moorcock published The Citadel of Forgotten Myths, a new Elric novel set between "Kings in Darkness" and "The Flame Bringers".

Internal chronology

The main sequence, according to the saga's internal chronology, comprises the following books. Bold roman numerals indicate the six-book sequence of the 1977 DAW paperbacks. The dates following each story refer to the date of original publication. In those cases where a book was assembled from several pre-existing stories, each story is given along with its original date; when an original novel is subdivided into parts, the parts are named but not given individual dates.

Chronology uncertain:

Not part of canonical continuity:

Collections

The first five novelettes were originally collected in The Stealer of Souls (1963) and the later four novellas were first published as a novel in an edited version called Stormbringer (1965). The 1965 novel had about a quarter of the text removed for reasons of length (mostly in the second and third novellas) and the remaining text rearranged with new bridging material added to make sense of the restructuring.

In 1977, DAW Books republished Elric's saga in six books that collected the tales according to their internal chronology. These paperbacks all featured cover art work by the same artist, Michael Whelan, and helped define the look of Elric and his sword Stormbringer. The DAW edition of Stormbringer restored some of the original structure and text compared to the 1965 release, but other revisions were performed and other material excised. A few oddments were collected in Elric at the End of Time (1984), which became the seventh book in the DAW line when DAW released it in the US in 1985. It includes two Elric-related tales: the title story and 1962's "The Last Enchantment", originally intended as the final Elric story but put aside in favour of those that eventually made up Stormbringer; it was not published until 1978. Both would appear in later collections (with "The Last Enchantment" occasionally retitled "Jesting with Chaos").

In the 1990s, Orion Publishing/Millennium released a two-book collection – Elric of Melniboné and Stormbringer – containing the Elric material then available. White Wolf Publishing released a similar two-volume compilation – (1998) and Elric: The Stealer of Souls (2001). These two-volume compilations are arranged according to the internal chronology of the saga. The White Wolf text has minor revisions when compared to the Millennium release.

The first nine short stories – with "The Flame Bringers" using the later title of "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams" and the full text of Stormbringer as it appeared in Science Fantasy – were republished in a single volume as Elric (Orion/Gollancz 2001), volume 17 in the Fantasy Masterworks series.

Beginning in 2008, Del Rey Books reprinted the Elric material as a series of six illustrated books: The Stealer of Souls, To Rescue Tanelorn, The Sleeping Sorceress, Duke Elric, Elric in the Dream Realms, and Elric: Swords and Roses. This series arranged the stories in the sequence they were originally published, along with related fiction and nonfiction material. The version of Stormbringer featured in this collection restored all the original material missing since the 1977 DAW edition – which had formed the basis for all later editions – as well as Moorcock's preferred versions of all the revised material in an attempt to produce a definitive text. These volumes present the evolution of the character through early juvenile stories, early fanzine musings by Moorcock, some Elric stories, some others introducing the reader to the wider "Eternal Champion" theme, stories of other heroes who coexist with Elric in the realm of Melniboné, unpublished prologues, installments of Moorcock's essay "Aspects of Fantasy", a 1970s screenplay, a reader's guide, notes from an Elric series that never developed, contemporary reviews, and appreciation essays by other writers.

In August 2012, Victor Gollancz Ltd. announced their intention to republish all of Michael Moorcock's back catalogue, including all the Elric stories, presented in internal chronological order along with previously unpublished material, in both print and e-book formats. The Elric stories were published in seven volumes in 2014–15: Elric of Melniboné and Other Stories, Elric: The Fortress of the Pearl, Elric: The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress, Elric: The Revenge of the Rose, Elric: Stormbringer!, and Elric: The Moonbeam Roads.

Characters in the Elric series

Appearances in other media

Comics

Music

Film

Television

Role-playing games

Video game

A video game based on Elric was in development by Haiku Studios and to be published by Psygnosis for the PlayStation during the late 1990s.[25] [26] [27]

Critical response

Writing for NPR, Jason Sheehan calls Elric "far and away the coolest, grimmest, moodiest, most elegant, degenerate, drug-addicted, cursed, twisted and emotionally weird mass murderer of them all".[28]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: pronunciation . https://web.archive.org/web/20090416042923/http://www.multiverse.org/fora/showthread.php?t=4358&page=3 . Michael Moorcock . 1 March 2008 . 16 April 2009 . Moorcock's Miscellany . 18 November 2016 . 3 . Mel-nib-on-ay (as in cafe) . dead.
  2. Web site: Order of Elric Books . Order of Books . 2021-05-04.
  3. http://www.multiverse.org/fora/showthread.php?t=6841 "Mike's Recommended Reading List"
  4. Book: Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock. Library Thing.
  5. Michael Moorocok, "Aspects of Fantasy" in Darrell Schweitzer (ed.), Exploring Fantasy Worlds: Essays on Fantastic Literature. San Bernardino, CA: Borgo Press, 1985, p. 27.
  6. John Clute and John Grant, eds. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy London: orbit, 1977p. 659.
  7. Web site: The Kalevala: Rune XXXI. Kullerwoinen Son of Evil.. John Martin Crawford. 1888. sacred-texts.com. 18 November 2016.
  8. Web site: The Kalevala: Rune XXXVI. Kullerwoinen's Victory and Death.. John Martin Crawford. 1888. sacred-texts.com. 18 November 2016.
  9. http://www.multiverse.org/fora/showthread.php?t=1102 Elric/Turambar
  10. Web site: Tolkien times two . The Guardian . London . 25 January 2003 . 1 May 2010 . Michael . Moorcock.
  11. Web site: The Metatemporal Detective by Michael Moorcock (review). Paula Guran. Rich Horton. Fantasy Magazine. 4 December 2007. 18 November 2016.
  12. http://www.multiverse.org/fora/showthread.php?t=6938 Lancer pirates? > M. Zenith
  13. Bill Baker, World Famous Comics >> Baker's Dozen – 5 January 2005.
  14. E.g.: Monsieur Zenith the Albino, and Savoy People: The Most Banned Publishing Company in Britain.
  15. According to John Davey, Moorcock's editor and bibliographer: “The Citadel Of Forgotten Myths slots -- in terms of the overall saga’s internal narrative chronology -- between two novellas, ‘Kings In Darkness’ and ‘The Flame Bringers’, which fall just before the final volume, Stormbringer. This is despite cover text for Citadel… stating that it is “Taking place between the first and second book in the Elric Saga”.” [This comment was posted in 'The Many Worlds of Michael Moorcock' Facebook group by Guy Lawley on 07.12.2022.]
  16. Web site: La Saga d'Elric le Nécromancien. Bedetheque.
  17. . . A Sword Called Stormbringer!", "The Green Empress of Melniboné . . 1 . 14, No. 15 . March 1972 . Marvel Comics.
  18. Web site: Elric BD Facebook Page. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/326773474101449/1048816828563773 . 2022-02-26 . limited. Elric BD Facebook. Glénat BD. 15 February 2017.
  19. Web site: Elric: The Dreaming City @ Titan Comics. 2021-08-19. titan-comics.com.
  20. Web site: The Chronicle of the Black Sword DVD @ Discogs.com. 2022-11-03. Discogs.com.
  21. Web site: Domine - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives .
  22. Empire Staff . Weitz Brothers Making Elric . . 29 May 2007 . 13 July 2008.
  23. Web site: 2019-11-19. Hot TV Package: Michael Moorcock's Fantasy Novel Series 'The Elric Saga' With Glen Mazzara & Vaun Wilmott. 2020-10-06. Deadline. en-US.
  24. See the RPGnet brief history of Chaosium for more details.
  25. Elric . . 101 . . December 1997. 93.
  26. Four-Eyed Dragon . Sneak Previews: Elric. . 112 . . January 1998. 56.
  27. Web site: Lauren. Fielder. Moira. Muldoon. Elric on Hold. https://web.archive.org/web/20001119234500/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_04/24_elric/index.html. GameSpot. November 19, 2000. April 24, 1998. November 7, 2022.
  28. Web site: Sheehan . Jason . June 17, 2014 . Summer Doldrums? These Nautical Reads Will Put Wind In Your Sails . September 4, 2014 . NPR.