The Scarlet Citadel
{{short description|Novelette by Robert E. Howard}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox short story
| name = The Scarlet Citadel
| image =
| caption = Cover of Weird Tales, January 1933.
Art by J. Allen St. John
| author = Robert E. Howard
| country = United States
| language = English
| series = Conan the Cimmerian
| genre = Fantasy
| published_in = Weird Tales
| publication_type = Pulp magazine
| publisher = Rural Publishing Corp.
| pub_date = January 1933
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by = The Phoenix on the Sword
| followed_by = The Tower of the Elephant
}}
"The Scarlet Citadel" is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in the January, 1933 issue of Weird Tales magazine. In the fictional Hyborian Age, a middle-aged Conan battles rival kingdoms. The wizard Tsotha-lanti ensnares King Conan, who escapes a dungeon with unexpected aid.
The story was republished in the collections King Conan (Gnome Press, 1953) and Conan the Usurper (Lancer Books, 1967). It has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 2: The Hour of the Dragon (Gollancz, 2001) and Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932–1933) (Del Rey, 2003).
Plot summary
An older, wiser King Conan of Aquilonia receives a call for help from Amalrus, the ruler of neighbouring Ophir. Amalrus claims that Strabonus, the Emperor of Koth, is threatening his kingdom.
Conan marches into Ophir with an army of 5,000 Aquilonian knights. His planned campaign is a trap; the two monarchs are working together to destroy him with the help of a Kothian wizard named Tsotha-lanti. The Aquilonian knights are cut down by the Kothian cavalry, while Conan is imprisoned within a Korshemish dungeon. This dungeon is used by Tsotha-lanti for nefarious experiments, and Conan discovers many bizarre horrors during his escape.
Conan frees Pelias, a former rival wizard of Tsotha-lanti, who helps him escape the dungeon and regain his position as king of Aquilonia. The story climaxes with a gigantic battle, where Tsotha-lanti meets a grisly fate at the hands of Pelias.
Reception
Robert Weinberg described "The Scarlet Citadel" as "Howard at his best"; he also praised the character of Pelias.Robert Weinberg, The Weird Tales Story. FAX Collector’s Editions. {{ISBN|0913960160}} (p. 36).
Adaptation
The story was adapted by Roy Thomas and Frank Brunner in Savage Sword of Conan #30 in 1978, then by Tim Truman and Tomas Giorello in 2011 in King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Wikisource}}
- [http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600821h.html The Scarlet Citadel at Project Gutenberg]
- [http://www.amrathelion.com/ Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050718003025/http://www.conan.com/ Conan.com: The Official Website]
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{{s-bef|before="The Phoenix on the Sword"}}
{{s-ttl|title=Original Howard Canon
(publication order)}}
{{s-aft|after="The Tower of the Elephant"}}
{{s-bef|before="The Phoenix on the Sword"}}
{{s-ttl|title=Original Howard Canon
(Dale Rippke chronology)}}
{{s-aft|after=The Hour of the Dragon}}
{{s-bef|before="The Phoenix on the Sword"}}
{{s-ttl|title=Complete Conan Saga
(William Galen Gray chronology)}}
{{s-aft|after=The Hour of the Dragon}}
{{s-end}}
{{Conan}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarlet Citadel, The}}
Category:Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard
Category:Fantasy short stories
Category:Works originally published in Weird Tales
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