Бран Мак Морн: Последний король пиктов Роберта Говарда

Bran Mak Morn is a hero of five pulp fiction short stories by Robert E. Howard. In the stories, most of which were first published in Weird Tales, Bran is the last king of Howard's romanticized version of the tribal race of Picts.

At the age of 13, Howard, being of Scottish Irish descent, began his studies of Scottish history and became fascinated with what he calls "the small dark Mediterranean aborigines of Britain". This "Mediterranean aborigines" reference described Howard's readings on the now discredited Turanid race theory of the 1800s and early 1900s proposing a common Mediterranean origin for varied European peoples of the Neolithic era. As these Picts were portrayed as inferior to later tribes, Howard imagined them as a link between modern and ancient times. They migrated north until they reached Caledon, the northern lands of the later British Isles. They drove the extant tribes northward until the Aryans, Celts, and Germans invaded. The Picts were pushed to the North, where they mingled with the tribes they had defeated earlier. Forgetting most of their technological skills, they became brutish and skilled in warcraft. Although Bran Mak Morn has dark eyes, he does not resemble the Caledonian Picts as Howard depicts them. He refers to himself as a Mediterranean, possibly meaning that he associates himself with the more ancient Picts. Following Bran Mak Morn's death, he is deified and worshipped as the "Dark Man" or "Dark One" by the Caledonians of Pictish descent. There seems to be a cult centred around him on "the Isle of Altar, near the Scottish mainland". There is a legend, similar to the idea that Brân the Blessed's severed head guards Britain from invasion, about Bran: "mayhap we shall come to you again in your need, as Bran Mak Morn, great king of Pictdom, shall come again to his people some day in the days to come." In "Tigers of the Sea", taking place in the time of King Arthur, Picts are one of the groups active in the turbulent British Islands in the aftermath of the Fall of Rome. In one story, they kidnap a Briton girl and intend on sacrificing her to their deity. In another, they are oppressed by Norse invaders before planning a bloody and ruthless revenge. Cormac Mac Art, Howard's Irish Viking character, alternately fights them or makes temporary alliances with them, as circumstances dictate. None of the stories set in this period makes any mention of Bran Mak Morn. Howard's Picts still seems to be a mysterious, active fighting force during the Norwegian occupation of the Scottish islands as late as the 11th Century. They seem to be withdrawing from civilization at this time: "When the Scot Kenneth McAlpine broke the Kingdom of Galloway, the last remnant of the Pictish empire faded like snow on the mountains. Like wolves, we live now among the scattered islands, among the crags of the highlands and the dim hills of Galloway. We are a fading people." In the story "The Children of the Night" (1931) set in contemporary times, a character states that a "Bran Cult", involving the worship of Bran's statue in a secret cave, still exists among the modern descendants of the Picts.

The Bran Mak Morn stories are connected to the Cthulhu Mythos and occur in the same fictional universe. Twice in Worms of the Earth, mention is made of the black gods of R'lyeh, resting place of Cthulhu, from the works of H. P. Lovecraft, a friend and correspondent of Howard. In the earliest extant copy of Worms of the Earth, mention of Cthulhu himself is made by name although this was later changed to Nameless Gods in the final edition. Also mentioned in the same story is Dagon, a water monster mentioned in some stories by Lovecraft and named after a real world Philistine god. Lovecraft himself references Bran Mak Morn in his short story "The Whisperer in Darkness".

Bran Mac Mufin, a character in Dave Sim's comic book series Cerebus, is an homage to and parody of Bran Mak Morn. His name is a play on words, referring to the pastry bran muffin and the McDonald's breakfast sandwich the McMuffin.

Most of Howard's Bran Mak Morn stories were first published in Weird Tales. A few stories did not appear in print until after Howard's death. Note: The order of publication does not correspond with the order in which the stories were written. "Kings of the Night" (first publication: Weird Tales, November 1930). The first story to feature Bran as a king and describes him as a direct descendant of another Howard character, Brule the Spear Slayer, companion of the Atlantean King Kull. "The Dark Man" (Weird Tales, December 1931). Set centuries after Bran's death, he appears as an idol worshipped by the surviving Picts in which his soul is said to be resident. "Worms of the Earth" (Weird Tales, November 1932). The last Bran story and the only story told through the Pict's point of view. "Men of the Shadows" (Bran Mak Morn, Dell, 1969). Originally a poem placed at the beginning of the Bran Mak Morn story (1926) of the same name. The poem was first published in 1957 in Always Comes Evening, a collection of Howard poems. The poem and the story, which features Bran as a chief instead of a king, were first published together in the Dell novel. This was Howard's first Bran Mak Morn story. "Bran Mak Morn" (Bran Mak Morn: A Play & Others, Cryptic Publications, 1983). Also known as "Bran Mak Morn: A Play". Written in 1922/1923. "The Children of the Night". In this tale, Bran does not appear directly but rather the story elaborates on his cult, which first appears in "The Dark Man" and which seems to have survived into the 20th Century. Elements in the narrative correspond with the timeline and events noted in "Worms of the Earth".

A Song of the Race (Bran Mak Morn, Dell, 1969).

Untitled, "A grey sky arched over the dreary waste. " Untitled, "Men have had visions ere now. " The fragment is believed to be the beginning of a Bran Mak Morn story.

Howard's stories, poems, and fragments featuring Bran Mak Morn have been published several times as a collection in book form. Not every publication has been a complete collection. Bran Mak Morn, Dell, 1969. Worms of the Earth, Donald M. Grant, 1974. Illustrated by David Ireland. Worms of the Earth, Zebra Books, July 1975. Worms of the Earth, Orbit, 1976. Worms of the Earth, Ace, June 1979. Bran Mak Morn, Baen, January 1996. Bran Mak Morn: The Last King, Wandering Star, 2001. Bran Mak Morn: The Last King, Del Rey, June 2005.

Other writers have published novels featuring Howard's Bran Mak Morn. Legion from the Shadows, Karl Edward Wagner, Zebra Books, 1976. For the Witch of the Mists, David C. Smith and Richard Tierney, Ace Books, March 1981. He was detailed in Wayne Barlowe's Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy (1996).

Bran Mak Morn has appeared in several issues of Marvel Comics' Savage Sword of Conan. In 1974 "Men of Shadows" was adapted by writer Roy Thomas and appeared in SSoC #102 104, and 106. Dark Horse Comics published Robert E. Howard's Savage Sword which features stories such as "Worms of the Earth" to "Men of Shadows" to "Kings of the Night". Some are brand new adaptations exclusive to the title, while others are reprints from previous publications.

The name Bran Mak Morn and the names of Robert E. Howard's other principal characters are trademarked by Paradox Entertainment of Stockholm, Sweden, through its US subsidiary Paradox Entertainment Inc. Paradox also holds copyrights on the stories written by other authors under license from Robert E. Howard Properties Inc. Since Robert E. Howard published his Bran Mak Morn stories at a time when the date of publication was the marker, the owners had to use the copyright symbol, and they had to renew after a certain time to maintain copyright, the exact status of all of Howard's Bran Mak Morn works are in question. The Australian site of Project Gutenberg has many Robert E. Howard stories, including several Bran Mak Morn stories. This indicates that, in their opinion, the stories are free from copyright and may be used by anyone, at least under Australian law. Subsequent stories written by other authors are subject to the copyright laws of the relevant time.