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Exact textual stateDraft

Men of the Shadows — Draft 4

Part of Men of the Shadows

StateDraft 4Surviving witnesses1TSS catalogue units20
Textual identity is not textual authority. “Catalogue primary/default” selects the default catalogue representation; it does not mean that this wording is automatically Howard’s most authoritative text.

Characters in this exact text

Bran Mak MornBran Mak Morn — Pictish king in Kings of the Night; later the Dark Man of Turlogh’s storyOn PageBrennusBrennus — historical Celtic/Gallic leader invoked in Howard's Pictish historyMentionedCaractacusCaractacus — historical British leader invoked in Men of the ShadowsMentionedFire-godFire-god — ancient deity invoked in the wizard's symbolic visionMentionedGod of the SeaGod of the Sea — Lemurian deity invoked in the wizard's visionMentionedCaesarJulius Caesar — historical Roman conqueror mentioned by comparison in AiSF texts.MentionedMoon-GodMoon-God — Pictish/ancient deity whose abandoned temples appear in the wizard's visionMentionedWodenOdin — Norse deity / Gray Man appearing in Swords of the NorthMentionedthe SerpentThe Serpent — Pictish serpent deity in Men of the ShadowsMentionedThorThor — Norse deity repeatedly invoked by Viking and Saxon charactersMentionedZeusZeus — Greek deity invoked in Men of the ShadowsMentioned

Surviving manuscript evidence

The records below describe surviving physical typescripts, carbons, manuscript material and documentary catalogue evidence for this exact textual state. TSS numbers identify physical catalogue units; they are not story or draft IDs.

Draft 4 — surviving Howard typescriptHoward typescript
Extent20 pagesCompletenessPossibly incomplete

Physical extent: 20 pages / 20 TSS catalogue units

TSS: 65413, 65394–65396, 65414, 65398–65402, 65415–65420, 65409, 65421–65422, 65412

Original Robert E. Howard typescript.

Additional documentary notes

  • Untitled Witness: The spreadsheet records this surviving Howard manuscript as untitled. (witness level)
  • Title present on typescript: The spreadsheet records a title on the surviving Howard manuscript. (witness level)
  • Pagination Or Survival Question: The spreadsheet records page 20 as missing, while also noting it may instead reflect misnumbering; no physical-loss inference is made beyond that source note. (witness level) · Probable
  • Author Identification: The spreadsheet records Howard's name in the top-right corner of the manuscript. (witness level)
  • Verse Component: The spreadsheet identifies this material as the poem that starts the story. (witness level)

Source: 000 TSS of REH moving towards final.xls · Complete List · Men of the Shadows (d4) · TSS 65413, 65394–65396, 65414, 65398–65402, 65415–65420, 65409, 65421–65422, 65412 · spreadsheet rows 10441–10460

Textual witnesses & editorial mediation

These records describe how this textual state is known or represented. A witness may be authorial, editorially mediated, restored, transcribed or otherwise derived without becoming a new Howard-authored textual state.

Bran Mak Morn: The Last King (Del Rey 2005 / Wandering Star 2001)Restored reading editionAuthority basis: Restoration toward authorial text · Treatment: Restored toward authorial wording

Bran Mak Morn: The Last King, pp. 15–32; Del Rey Books 2005, previously Wandering Star Ltd. 2001; textual notes by Rusty Burke and David Gentzel with assistance from Glenn Lord.