122 replies to this topic

[delosrios]

I realize this is a little off or out there,but think about this for one moment. Of all the women Conan hooked up with,for a nights pleasure or for a short love afair,he would of had to of had some little Conans along the way,right. I mean come on, the guy was so healthy you know he was phisically able,and with that whole barbarian mindset thing going,you know sireing children would be a natural thing.
I wonder what his children would be like?
Just a thought.

[Kane]

I've often thought that any daughter of Conan's would look like Victoria from the WWE.

Check it out for yourself.

Victoria

[Shrews]

Howard wrote in letters to folks that of course Conan had many bastards...and noted that when he wrote HOUR OF THE DRAGON Conan was 44 or so and had no male heir yet.

[Isaacson]

Hi delosrios.

Well, I'll personally leave the imaginative speculation as to possibily what any of the fictional Cimmerian's kids could have looked like to others, but here's what REH wrote about offspring of his character Conan ...


- From, a Letter by Robert. E. Howard, to P. S. Miller (dated March 10th 1936) ...

"Conan was about forty when he seized the crown of Aquilonia, and was
about forty-four or forty-five at the time of "The Hour of the Dragon." He
had no male heir at that time, because he had never bothered to formaliy
make some woman his queen, and the sons of concubines, of which he had a
goodly number, were not recognized as heirs to the throne."



Cheers, Danny.

PS. As I was searching for the quote, Mr. Shrews just pipped me to the post, LOL. Good on you.

[Dragon Girl]

For some reason, I read the thread title as, "Conan of the Shire."

[Necton29]

In my July 1981 Ace copy of "Conan of Aquilonia" copyrighted in 1977 by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, on page 8 it describes Conan's son Conn.

It says, "At that same instant he bore a striking likeness to his mighty sire: the same tanned, frowning visage framed in straight, coarse black hair: the same smoldering blue eyes, deep chest, and broad shoulders. Only twelve, he looked likely to match his father's towering height when he came of age, for already he was taller than many Aquilonian men."

[Freebooter]

Hello Delosrios,
I think that Conan's children would likely have the same spirit in them as Conan. A natural burning spirit and a zest for life and adventure as he. But then of course a lot depends on how a child is raised and their environment.
But as far as looks goes, and no racial slurs intended here, that depends on what who he bedded looked like; dark haired, light haired or red headed caucasion, latino type, oriental or black?? If it was a dark-haired white gal, then his daughter might look like Zena in the face, skin, and hair. Some of the women being from other regions and races, there is no telling what they would look like.
Here is an example oin one family: My mom was fair skinned and dark eyed and haired. My dad was the same but hazel eyes. But my dad's mother was strawberry blonde and blue eyes, as were all her sisters. And one of my great aunts on my mom's side was blue eyed and blonde (the rest dark). I had a g.g.grandfather who was redheaded, etc., etc.. Now to give you some examples: Amongst us five children, two, a sister and a brother, were slender, slight olive complexions, with dark hair and eyes, he having a reddish-black beard. One sister was blonde, fair skinned and blue-eyed, and one sister big and tall with reddish-brown hair and eyes but with extremely fair skin. I am a large big boned man, fair skinned, with light reddish brown hair, and a flamiing red beard (or at least it was in my younger days). The two slim siblings stayed slim all their lives. Me and that tall sister have the same complexions, bodies and metabolisms (we gain weight easy and have battled fat all our lives).
Now my dad had two kids with a blonde blue eyed woman during the years he and my mom were divorced. The son is tall, average build, sandy haired and blue eyed. The sister is a spittin' image of my dad; tall and average to healthy build, fairskinned, dark haired, with greenish brown eyes.
The above is an example of how children vary even in one family. You can imagine how Conan's children would vary amongs different women and races all over that continant he lived and roamed on.
Take care and forgive the long post. But I just wanted to bring out some facts.
Freebooter

[Konorg]

For some reason, I read the thread title as, "Conan of the Shire." 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Conan of the Shire eh? I could just see Conan in Lord of the Rings,those poor orcs whouldn't have stood a chance

[Taranaich]

Interesting topic, delosrios.

In terms of physical appearance and prowess, then genes would determine a lot of how a child would end up. However, a child's personality and psychology is mostly up to upbringing. I don't adhere to the idea of nature and nurture being mutually exclusive, rather that a number of factors are taken into account.

First of all, I don't think any of Conan's offspring could hope to be the natural warrior that he is. Conan was raised in the wild hills of Cimmeria, and that harsh childhood forged his iron will and endurance. I don't think any of his sons would endure anything near the conditions Conan survived and thrived in, unless he had a couple of flings with some of those strong Cimmerian lasses .

Most of the women Conan has met were rather insipid, flighty girls, and although tough enough to run about near naked in hostile climes and survive the clutches of nameless horrors relatively unscathed, they certainly weren't as durable as a Valeria or Belit. They certainly wouldn't raise their child as roughly as Conan himself seems to have been raised, what with becoming a well-known warrior at 16 and engaging in battles against Aquilonians.

They would still be magnificent specimens of humanity thanks to their Cimmerian blood, a potent strain which has survived millenia without the need for admixture with other races that most bloodlines need. They'd be naturally predisposed to be stronger, fitter and healthier than most people. But no matter your genes, there's no substitute for harsh experience. As was written about the tough borderers in Beyond the Black River:

They were wild men, of a sort, yet there was still a wide gulf between them and the Cimmerian. They were sons of civilization, reverted to a semi-barbarism. He was a barbarian of a thousand generations of barbarians. They had acquired stealth and craft, but he had been born to these things. He excelled them even in lithe economy of motion. They were wolves, but he was a tiger.

Most of Conan's kids would have thus been born of civilization, although with the added gift of having Cimmerian genes and a vestige of the Gift of Crom.

Has anyone written an essay on the possible children of Conan as written in the tales? I know Belit and Conan never sprouted a sprog, but what about other cases like Natala and Olivia? It'd be interesting to draw up a possible picture of what they'd be like.

[Conqueror]

Well utilizing the lessons I learned in Biology and Psychology, Conan's child would vary depending if it were a male or a female and where it was raised. If Conan's child were a male, chances are it would bare some resemblance to his father and if raised in a loving environment, it would definitely not be barbaric like his father. A factor coming into consideration with only a male child is the XYY Chromosome theory that Conan may suffer from. The XYY Chromosome Theory states that an additional Y chromosome in males may cause them to be more aggressive than your average male. This theory has been tested on violent prison inmates and is so far successful but there is no solid evidence to support this theory. Seeing as Conan is quite aggressive, this theory would apply to him quite well and his genetic disorder has a 1 in 4 chance or less of carrying down to his son. A female child would merely bare resemblence to her father but would remain unaffected by the XYY chromosome issue no matter what. Once again, the child's behaviour solely depends on the environment they are raised in and how the Nature vs. Nurture comes into effect unless a genetic/mental disorder is present in the child. Hope that helps you out!

[Cormac]

Conan was the Cimmerian Johnny Appleseed, with bastards instead of orchards.

[Bonesaw]

Great call on the Victoria reference, Kane. She has always been my favorite women wrestler- maybe my favorite women athlete!

[Visigoth]

In my July 1981 Ace copy of "Conan of Aquilonia" copyrighted in 1977 by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, on page 8 it describes Conan's son Conn. 

It says, "At that same instant he bore a striking likeness to his mighty sire:  the same tanned, frowning visage framed in straight, coarse black hair:  the same smoldering blue eyes, deep chest, and broad shoulders.  Only twelve, he looked likely to match his father's towering height when he came of age, for already he was taller than many Aquilonian men."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the same book, specifically the story "Black Sphinx of Nebthu" (de Camp/Carter) Conan is mentioned as having two other legitimate children with Queen Zenobia, a younger son named Taurus and a daughter named Radegund, although if there are any actual descriptions of their physical characteristics I'm not aware of it.

[Buxom Sorceress]

..Conan is mentioned as having two other legitimate children with Queen Zenobia, a younger son named Taurus and a daughter named Radegund, although if there are any actual descriptions of their physical characteristics I'm not aware of it.

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they were not described cos they are mutants??
later, Taurus [great name] escaped to live in the shadows of hyboria + teamed up with other rogues + freaks. in the mountains of Argos he was worshipped by hidden cults as a dark demi-god, due to his immense strength + his big twisted horn...??

[ those are the kind of dark new hyborian 'wierd tales' i wanna read.]
--
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rock on!

[terryallenuk]

Well , the kids mentioned appeared in the King Conan comics and I'm sure an illegitimate one or two popped up in SSOC . As REH never wrote anything about them I guess all these would be as legitimate , ouch ! , as any other pastiche versions.

Terry

The Robert E Howard Comics Group
http://groups.yahoo....REHcomicsgroup/

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[Visigoth]

they were not described cos they are mutants?? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, and they were locked away in the attic by their widowed mother and deeply religious grandmother, then after a while they began to...oh wait, different book.

Never mind.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words. The sig in case you were wondering (since you mentioned it) is a kenning, a poetic metaphor often used in Scandinavian literature. In this case, "to stir the din of valkyries' armour" means to wage war, the "war god" refers to Odin, and his wine is poetry (one of his gifts to men, related to the mead of inspiration), so in essence the phrase is a reference to the warrior poet, which is how I often think of REH.

[Buxom Sorceress]

.."to stir the din of valkyries' armour" means to wage war, the "war god" refers to Odin, and his wine is poetry (one of his gifts to men, related to the mead of inspiration), so in essence the phrase is a reference to the warrior poet, which is how I often think of REH.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

'the din of valkyries' armour'.. could be a similar sound to the noise i make when i impatiently tap my sword against my big breast-plates just before i charge??

i hope u enjoy some of the new bawdy + 'warrior' poets in this forum?

must go now.. the mutant kids are wailing for more of 'odins wine'...??

[Shrews]

didn't Zenobia die in childbirth to a second daughter?

I had an idea for a lost son of Conan returning to Aquilonia to claim the throne...but no one was biting on new Conan material....so the idea has mutated (oddly enough) into another novel about a different guy

[Taranaich]

I'm kind of surprised there hasn't been a pastiche where one of Conan's offspring comes to usurp daddy.

Maybe one could be at the head of a mighty Stygian army, the son being the unholy offspring of Conan and a Stygian sorceress, who had her way with him through sorcery to birth a child of awesome physical power and terrible sorcerous energy. Conan is torn: he is his own flesh and blood, yet he is corrupted by his Stygian upbringing, forsaking Crom for Set?

That'd be really interesting, for a pastiche.

[PainBrush]

Hahaha , Hyborian problem-child juvenile delinquent !! Great idea .

" You always let my brother have a parade whenever he wants , I HATE YOU - you ain't my dad , my dad was the MILKMAN !! " - loudly slamming the door to his tower .