It's no secret that the favorite weapon of most fantasy heroes is the sword. A sharply honed piece of steel, forged by a skilled blacksmith, or created by the gods, strengthened by special hardening, or enchanted by magic - the sword immediately became one of the main archetypes of fantasy and an almost integral attribute of the genre. It’s a rare “leader” who gets along without his own personal “treasury,” to say nothing of the secondary characters.
The sword is carried by warriors and wizards, bards and mercenaries, kings and paladins, as well as motley hunters of evil spirits and simple adventurers. Sometimes, he himself is a character, like the black sword of the Eternal Warrior, for example, or King Arthur's Excalibur. Fantasy swords often have proper names, sometimes even your own soul. Although, there are also swords without a name, as in famous novel Andrey Belyanin.
The sword is also part visual arts, accompanying fantasy works. Memorable images of fantastic bladed weapons created by artists can be found in movies, computer games ah, on illustrations for novels. A countless amount of both official art and fan art is devoted to the swords of fantasy heroes.
Today we will talk about the most famous swords of the most famous fantasy heroes. Or rather, about their images, or visual embodiments. This article will be an excellent continuation of the “Fantart” column, which I write on this blog. After all, the Hero’s beautiful sword is a real work of art!
And we will start with the sword of the most famous magician in history, after Merlin and Harry Potter, of course.
Glamdring is the sword of Gandalf the Grey. This is a rune blade, the official design of which appeared thanks to the film trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”. An elven sword that glows blue-white as the orcs approach. In the film, for some reason the glow effect was removed (only the blade glows there) Frodo, also elven), nevertheless, this is one of the most beautiful fantasy swords, in my opinion.
Conan's sword is in no way inferior to the previous one in its beauty, in this case, quite severe. Same as Glamdring, this sword became famous thanks to the film adaptation with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Actually, in the books about the famous barbarian, no special sword of Conan is mentioned, and he himself often wields not a sword at all, but a double-edged ax.
The Stormbringer is the sword of Elric of Melnibone, not just a weapon, but a demonic entity that has taken the form of a blade. A terrifying yet beautiful sword, its most popular design comes from graphic novels about the adventures of Elric.
The Talon of Sharon is the sword of Artemis Entreri, created specifically for battles with magicians. Like Elric's Stormbringer - one of the most charismatic blades, possessing by one's own will and exerting considerable influence on its owner. A novel is named after this sword Roberta Salvatore, the final part of the trilogy.
Brisingr is Eragon's sword and another magical blade. Forged from star ore, when you speak its name, it explodes into flames.
Longclaw is the sword of Jon Snow, one of the key characters in A Song of Ice and Fire. An unusual blade forged from Valyrian steel with a wolf's head on the hilt. The image was created for the series and computer games based on the books by George R.R. Martin. The design of the sword is a bit like witcher geralt weapon.
The swords of Drizzt Do'Urden are legendary drow scimitars — characteristic element the image of a militant dark elf. It is simply impossible to imagine Drizzt without two curved elven blades, for they literally merged with him, becoming one. Drizzt's swords are as popular as the hero himself.
We could continue the theme of famous fantastic weapons for a very long time. There are many heroes in fantasy, and their number is growing rapidly with the advent of new books. And a faithful sword is still indispensable for any epic hero.
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Based on the use of fairy-tale and mythological motifs. It is relatively young, formed at the beginning of the last century. The founder of the literary movement is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. The works of this writer are recognized as the best books in the fantasy genre.
Main features
What is fantasy? This is a type of work that is more reminiscent of a historical adventure novel. The action in novels and stories of this genre takes place in real world reminiscent of the Middle Ages. Characters often encounter supernatural beings and phenomena. Often the narrative is built around an archetypal plot.
In order to answer the question of what fantasy is, one should compare this genre with science fiction. What is the main difference? Tolkien in his works, for example, does not seek to explain the world in which the main actions take place from a scientific point of view. It could be another planet, the existence of which has not been proven.
Physical laws in the world in which the characters of fantasy books live, in most cases, differ from those on earth. The works are filled mythical creatures, such as dragons, gnomes, elves, goblins, trolls, centaurs. To the question “what is fantasy?” many answer: “Fairy tale.” However, there are significant differences between these genres. Miracles in fantasy books occur systematically, these are a kind of laws of the universe where mythical creatures live.
The concept of fantasy races deserves special attention. In works created in this genre, there is a division of all intelligent beings into ethnic groups. Each person has a special culture and origin. Races are one of the most essential elements of fantasy.
Fantasy basis
In the Middle Ages, a genre called epic was popular. Romances of chivalry also became widespread. It was these genres that became the founders of a very popular literary movement today. Medieval legends, traditions, myths - all this is present in many fantasy novels. Representatives of this genre also use the traditions of classical Japanese, Chinese and Korean works, in which the magical component is quite large.
This genre developed in the 20th century. However, some literary scholars also call the works of the Russian writer A.F. Veltman fantasy novels, for example, the book “Koschei the Immortal. An epic of old time,” published in 1833. The Belarusian founder of the genre is Jan Barshchevsky. Fantasy creatures are present in the works of the English writer Henry Rider Haggard, namely the books “The Wanderer”, “She”, “The Heart of the World”, “The Ice Gods”.
Representatives of the genre
Still, it is correct to classify fantasy writers as those whose work dates back to the 20th century. Such authors include: Lord Edward Dunsany, Robert E. Howard, C.S. Lewis, James Cabell. Of course best book in the fantasy genre is Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, created in the 40s. The works of this author had a strong influence on the development of the literary movement.
The writer who is generally considered to be Tolkien's successor is Christopher Paolini. Today, fantasy stories have gained immense popularity. Novels and stories from representatives of this genre are actively being filmed. On the bookshelves you can see huge amount books with a fantasy plot and fairy-tale characters. Works in this genre are considered quite popular. Therefore, a huge number of works of varying quality are created every year. Among them are books by both Russian and foreign authors. Even such a direction as a fantasy detective story has emerged.
"Low" and "high" fantasy
There are several classifications of works created in this genre. One of the Russian literary critics, for example, divides fantasy into four types:
- Mystic-philosophical.
- Metaphorical.
- Heroic.
- "Black."
Another critic identified the following types of fantasy:
- Folklore-fairytale.
- Heroic.
- Heroic-epic.
- Myth-forming.
The most common classification is to divide fantasy into two categories: high and low. These names have nothing to do with the quality of the works. The classification is based on the number of fantasy characters.
In some books, the action takes place in a completely fictional world. Others don't have as many fantastic creatures. In works of high fantasy, the real world is usually not mentioned at all. A striking example serves the famous book “The Lord of the Rings” by Tolkien and the work of Sapkowski “The Witcher”. Epic fantasy and high fantasy - literary terms, which are often used as synonyms.
Fans of this fashionable genre know books in which fantastic events take place in the real world. These are works of so-called low fantasy. The characters do not believe in witchcraft, and the events that occur in the work are perceived as amazing phenomena. An example is the novel “ Good intentions"Gaiman and Pratchett. But the characters in books created in the high fantasy genre are not at all surprised by the ubiquitous presence of fantasy animals and other mysterious creatures.
Epic fantasy
The term itself suggests that works of this genre are distinguished by their large volume. Epic fantasy is characterized by a long struggle between characters and a powerful enemy, a representative of evil. The works describe cataclysms and large-scale wars. The main character's task is to save the entire world or a significant part of it. Works created in the genre of epic fantasy usually describe campaigns and large-scale battles. The central part of the plot is the mission of the main character and his friends. In such books there is a clear division of heroes into positive and negative.
The first work created in this genre is Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Many of the plot devices that the writer used later became archetypal. Tolkien was imitated by such authors as Dennis McKiernan, Terry Brooks, Helmut Pesch, Christopher Paolini. This type of genre is the most popular. Another famous example epic fantasy - “The Chronicles of Amber” by R. Zelazny.
Dark fantasy
This subgenre is close to gothic. Dark fantasy is based on classic fantasy laws. However, the basis of the plot in which works is not the struggle between Good and Evil. In books of this subgenre bad guy has already won. His reign is perceived by other heroes as ordinary. But suddenly more active characters appear who launch a fight against dark forces. The main idea in such works is the confrontation between “great” and “small” evil. There is an oppressive darkness, complete hopelessness. One of the founders of dark fantasy is H. Lovecraft.
Mythological motives
The genre is based on folklore fairy tales. Depending on what kind of mythology lies in the works, several other types of fantasy are distinguished. The authors use Slavic, Scandinavian, oriental motifs. In the work “Ship in the Fjord” by Elizaveta Dvoretskaya, for example, there are elements of German-Scandinavian mythology. And in the books “Through Thinking Kingdoms” by A. Foster, “Children of Anansi” by N. Gaiman, African motifs are found. Synthesis is also allowed. The same mixture of mythological foundations was used by Neil Gaiman in the book “American Gods”.
Slavic fantasy
The subgenre is based on the use Slavic mythology. The first works appeared as a response to the wave of Western fantasy that was gaining popularity. One of the representatives of the genre is Yuri Nikitin with a series of works “Three from the Forest”. Maria Semyonova also created a number of novels in the style of Slavic fantasy.
The subgenre is based on a combination of standard fantasy canons and Slavic folklore. The plot of such works contains elements of epics, legends, and myths. Within the subgenre, there are two types: heroic and historical. Not only domestic writers, but also foreign ones create their books based on Russian folklore. West Slavic legends are used in the works of Andrzej Sapkowski.
Heroic fantasy
This literary direction has a lot in common with the genre of alternative history. The action takes place based on famous events, but certain fantasy elements are added to the plot. One of the representatives of the subgenre is Harry Turtledove. Russian authors such as Yuri Nikitin, Alexandra Mazina, and Elena Khaetskaya write in the genre of historical fantasy.
Parodies
Fantasy in the second half of the last century gained wide popularity in the world. Published large number low-quality works, and then parodies of them. In the eighties, a series of works by Terry Pratchett was published, which is a parody of the fairy tale heroic epic. The writer became the founder of a new subgenre. Pratchett's books have inspired many Russian authors. Thus, in 1995, Mikhail Uspensky’s book “Where We Are Not” was published. A satire on popular works literary genre is also “We Rolled Your Sun” by E. Lukin.
Children's fantasy
This is a special subgenre. Literary scholars have not given an exact definition regarding children's fantasy. It is generally accepted that the main characters in such works are children who have unique abilities. The logical conclusion of the story is the victory of good over evil. Such books have much in common with educational novels.
Who is the brightest representative of children's fantasy? The name of this writer is known to everyone. Lewis Carroll created a number of works about the adventures of the girl Alice, which were loved by young readers all over the world. They were created in the 19th century, long before the formation of the fantasy genre. Nevertheless, they can safely be attributed to this literary movement.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
The writer is best known for his works “The Silmarillion”, “The Lord of the Rings”, “The Hobbit, or There and Back Again”, created in the genre of high fantasy. Tolkien is one of the most widely read authors of the 20th century. It is difficult to give an exact figure. However, according to some data, by the end of the last century more than fifty million copies of the book “The Lord of the Rings” were sold, and the book became one of the best-selling books in the century.
Tolkien's works have been translated into more than thirty languages, including Japanese, Estonian, Greek, Finnish, and Vietnamese. Researchers of the work of the founder of fantasy have calculated that he is the author of more than two hundred different publications. However, the writer became known to the general public as the author of “The Lord of the Rings,” created in the 40s of the twentieth century as a continuation of “The Hobbit.”
Work on the work lasted more than ten years. Negotiations with publishers dragged on for another two years. Everything in this work is unusual: the characters, the events, the plot, and the philosophy. Readers and researchers unanimously note the amazing diversity and specificity of Tolkien’s world, which has its own way of life, culture, geography and history.
However, the work of this writer attracts the attention of researchers not only with its amazing popularity and unusualness, but also with its genre originality. It is worth saying that in both Western and Russian cultural space such a direction in literary criticism as “Tolkien studies” has been formed.
Other books by this author: “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, “The Leaf of Niggle’s Brush”, “Farmer Giles of Ham”, “The Ballad of Atru and Itrun”, “Monsters and Critics”, “Roverandom”, “Tales of the Fairyland”. This, of course, is far from a complete list of works created by John Tolkien. It is worth saying that most of his books were published posthumously.
Roger Zelazny
Known American writer series of works “Chronicles of Amber”. In total, Zelezny has about twenty novels and several collections of short stories. He is a six-time Hugo Award winner and has been awarded several other prestigious awards in the English-speaking literary world.
The first five books in the Chronicles of Amber series: The Guns of Avalon, The Nine Princes of Amber, The Mark of the Unicorn, The Realm of Chaos, The Hand of Oberon. These works were first published in the seventies. Zelezny later wrote Maps of Fate, Sign of Chaos, Blood of Amber, and Knight of Shadows.
JK Rowling
In the mid-nineties, Rowling completed her manuscript for the novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The book, as you know, became a bestseller, although publishers did not immediately appreciate it. A story known to many happened with Rowling's work. famous writers. The manuscript was sent to twelve publishing houses and was rejected everywhere.
A year later, the writer finally received an advance from editor Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury. Although he warned that Rowling had little chance of making money from children's books. Just two years later, the creator of “Harry Potter” received a grant of eight thousand pounds to continue the stories about the character, loved by both children and adults.
In June 1997, The Philosopher's Stone was published with an initial circulation of one thousand copies. The book received several awards. At the beginning of 1998, an auction was held in the United States for the rights to publish the novel; it was won by a large publishing house for one hundred thousand dollars. The sequel to the first novel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in July 1998. The fourth book was released simultaneously in the UK and the USA. Rowling received the British Book Awards as author of the year.
Terry Pratchett
Among the many British writers, famous throughout the world for their fantasy stories, the books of this author have become very successful not only among children's audiences, but also among adults. The creator of “The Flat World” began his creative journey at the age of thirteen, when his short story was first published in a school newspaper and then published in a literary magazine. Then Terry released his first novel, “People of the Carpet.” With the publication of the work “The Color of Magic” the famous cycle began.
Pratchett's first novel did not make a splash in the literary world. However, it became the starting point for the development of the fantasy universe created by the writer and a springboard in his literary career.
The cycle became more popular primarily due to the satirical view of literature inherent in the author, ridiculing other novels of the genre. As the writer himself notes, novels about the Discworld began as an antidote to poorly written works in the fantasy genre. The fact is that at the end of the seventies in England this direction became incredibly popular. Many of the fantasy works of those days, according to T. Pratchett, were secondary, due to the fact that their creators did not want or were unable to introduce something new into this genre or develop it further.
Parodying such creations, Pratchett combined several typical fantasy universes into one and called it the Discworld. The basis of the novels is parody - both of works of classical literature and of little-known works English writers. In his books there are jokes on almost any topic, from the history of the pyramids of Egypt to Hollywood and classical philosophy. The Discworld series can be conditionally divided into four cycles: about the wizard Rincewind, about the witches from Lancre, about the night guard of Ankh-Morpork and about Death, not counting a number of side works related to the description of the city itself. ο peace.
The action takes place on a planet that has the shape of a disk. In other words, this is a flat planet, whose world is strikingly different from the usual reality. Here light moves slowly, magic is material, and the rainbow contains not seven, but eight colors. What is considered a myth in the ordinary world is quite real in the Flat World.
A distinctive feature of the series of books about the Discworld can also be considered a special form of narration used by Pratchett. The author does not describe the life and adventures of some main group of characters, but, on the contrary, divides the novels into several cycles, each of which in turn focuses on certain heroes. Storylines novels and the places where the action unfolds often intersect with each other in different works.
Andrzej Sapkowski
Most famous work Polish science fiction writer is the Witcher saga. Sapkowski's books have been published in Russian, Czech, Spanish, German, Spanish and other languages. His work began in the mid-eighties, when a novella was published telling about the adventures of the witcher Geralt of Rivia, one of the most famous fantasy characters.
Books by Andrzej Sapkowski: “The Hour of Contempt”, “Baptism of Fire”, “The Last Wish”, “The Tower of the Swallow”, “The Lady of the Lake”, “The Road of No Return”.
George Martin
The writer began his creative path as a screenwriter. For a long time he considered fantasy a frivolous genre. However, Martin always spoke positively about Tolkien’s book “The Lord of the Rings.” However, the writer’s prejudice was destroyed only after the publication of the work “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn.” After reading Williams' book, Martin decided to write something in the fantasy genre himself. The Song of Ice and Fire series brought him worldwide fame.
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin
The American writer differs from other representatives of fantasy primarily in her humanitarian bias and emphasis on anthropology and sociology. Her books are full of fantastic details. However, Ursula Le Guin writes primarily about people. The fantasy world described in her works is populated by characters with typical human traits. The main thing in the plot is the hero’s growing up, his knowledge, and entry into another culture. The most famous works Ursula Le Guin - stories about Earthsea: “The Tombs of Atuan”, “A Wizard of Earthsea”, “The Farthest Shore”, “Tehanu”.
Famous fantasy characters
This genre has become the most popular in the 21st century. A huge number of fantasy works are published every year. Let's name the characters in the novels of the best authors:
- Prince Corwin (“Chronicles of Amber”).
- The Hobbit Frodo (The Lord of the Rings).
- Geralt (The Witcher).
- Jon Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire).
- The Great Magician Ged ("Wizard of Earthsea").
- Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy (The Chronicles of Narnia).
This genre is essentially pure, unadulterated, classic fantasy. Stories about lonely heroes who stand up to fight evil, capable of using only their volitional efforts and the skills to overthrow the reign of darkness and challenge the darkest forces building insidious plans. Purity of motives, courage, bravery and complete disregard for common sense, plus slanting fathoms in the shoulders and clearly expressed humanistic views - this is the real hero of fairy-tale literature.
Fantasy heroes, as types, have always been popular and will remain so. They embody the centuries-old longing of humanity for a hero who is capable of cutting through with one stroke of a sword the knot of contradictions that has been skillfully woven for centuries, bestowing truth and freedom on everyone who needs such a gift.
If you have little understanding of how the world around you works, or, conversely, understand it too well but cannot agree with the fundamental principles that shape our reality, your salvation is to read heroic fantasy.
A beautiful and unrealizable world where faith in goodness and big fists solve problems. In fairness, we note that the classic form of heroics in modern fantasy is, undoubtedly, a chivalric romance. It is there that authors working in the genre of “sword, sorcery and square jaw” still draw inspiration to this day. Remember the famous warriors of the past - Gawain, Lancelot, Galahad and others. All of them literally embody the ideal of an invincible and pure-minded hero who has embarked on the path of searching for truth or protecting the weak. Since those times, the goals have not undergone a fundamental change, and Arturianism itself, although it has been rethought many times, has migrated unchanged in its main theses to our days.
Heroic fantasy is a sword, a rose as a symbol of a beautiful lady, and a quest five thousand pages long with the acquisition of true friendship, overcoming the machinations of enemies, colorful battles and pathetic retreats, followed by a crushing blitzkrieg of the forces of good. That's how normal scenario fantasy, and it is precisely for its linearity and directness that we value and love this genre, accepting all its conventions and assumptions.