Chronologically Speaking, Part Eleven: "A Witch Shall Be Born"

Chronologically Speaking is a series focused solely on placing the Conan of Cimmeria stories in timeline order. It's an analysis of only the text of Robert E. Howard's original Conan tales. I'm examining the stories one at a time, in publication order, to show explicit chronological notes to order the stories.

"A Witch Shall Be Born" is the twelfth Conan story published in Weird Tales, making the page in the December 1934 issue. Release only one month after the conclusion of "The People of the Black Circle," this story is rather unique in REH's canon. Narratively, it has one of the most unique structures, being interrupted by an epistle from a Nemedian scholar about halfway through. This fills in some of the story from a 30,000-foot view and, in my opinion, annihilates the pacing. Additionally, it's one of the stories in which Conan is mostly a secondary character. "Witch" is instead the story of Taramis and Salome: identical twin sisters. It also features one of the most depicted Conan scenes of all time- his crucifixion- that even made it into the 1982 movie.

This story is a bit of a disappointment to read after the soaring highs of "People of the Black Circle," but, as I've found often writing this column, doesn't mean that it's any less interesting to mine it for chronological markers.

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• The story takes place over the course of about seven months: "Seven months have passed since then, during which time it seems as though the devil himself had been loosed in this unfortunate realm. Taramis seems to have gone quite mad."
• Conan has evidently become captain of the guard in Khauran: "But when the palace guard was ordered to disarm likewise and disband, the captain of the guard, Conan, interrupted." 
  • This hints at a slightly later placement in the timeline. Conan does command various military and paramilitary units over the course of his life, but many of them appear in the second half of his life.
• Conan recognizes Olgerd Vladislav as a hetman of the kozaki along the Zaporoskan River, which is east of Khauran and south of the Vilayet Sea, near where Conan spent time in "The Devil in Iron" and "Iron Shadows in the Moon." This implies that "A Witch Shall Be Born" takes place after those eastern-set stories: "'If I could come down from this beam I'd make a dying dog out of you, you Zaporoskan thief!' he rasped through blackened lips. 'Mitra, the knave knows me!' exclaimed the other. 'How, knave, do you know me?' 'There's only one of your breed in these parts,' muttered Conan. 'You are Olgerd Vladislav, the outlaw chief.' 'Aye! and once a hetman of the kozaki of the Zaporoskan River, as you have guessed.'"
• This is the story that introduces us to the Zuagir raiders: "The mercenaries of Constantius are men from the Shemitish cities of the west, Pelishtim, Anakim, Akkharim, and are ardently hated by the Zuagirs and other wandering tribes."
  • On a side note, how do you pronounce the word "Zuagir?" I've kind of settled on "zwah-GEAR," but I'm never quite sure.
• Like several other stories, Conan is wearing a broad gold belt buckle: "He was clad in black mesh-mail, and the only glitter about him was the broad gold buckle of the belt which supported his sword in its worn leather scabbard." He also wears lots of black in this story.
• Conan displays some of the tactician mindset that we see in later stories, further pushing this story later in his life. The Conan of "A Witch Shall Be Born" is more similar to the Conan of "Black Colossus" or "The Phoenix on the Sword" than that of "Queen of the Black Coast" or "Rogues in the House." Notably, he has more control over his men than he did in "The People of the Black Circle." They even follow Conan when he deposes Vladislav.
• Conan ends the story as chief of the Zuagirs and decides to stay with them to harry the Turanian borders: "No, lass, that's over with. I'm chief of the Zuagirs now, and must lead them to plunder the Turanians, as I promised. This lad, Valerius, will make you a better captain than I. I wasn't made to dwell among marble walls, anyway."

Because of everything listed above, I'm inclined to believe that this story takes place in the second half of Conan's life, after his other eastern adventures in "Iron Shadows in the Moon," "The Devil in Iron," and "The People of the Black Circle." He's worked his way a little bit back westward by the end of this one.

I recognize that this is much, much later than some of the other popular chronologies, especially the Miller / Clark one. 

This leaves our updated chronology here:

1. The Tower of the Elephant
2. Rogues in the House
3. Queen of the Black Coast
4. Xuthal of the Dusk
5. Iron Shadows in the Moon
6. The Devil in Iron
7. The People of the Black Circle
8. A Witch Shall Be Born
9. Black Colossus
10. The Pool of the Black One
11. The Phoenix on the Sword
12. The Scarlet Citadel