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| New English Library 1983, Chris Achilleos |
Published in 1981, The War Hound and the World's Pain introduced a new
character whose family lineage would soon grow into another important branch
of Michael Moorcock's ever-expanding literary multiverse. Although this novel
could be considered "heroic fantasy" of a sort, it has more depth than most of
the 1960s "pulp-styled" adventures, and actually reflects more of a post-Gloriana approach to historical extrapolation.
Taking place in 1631 during the height of the bitter Thirty-Years' War,
The War Hound and the World's Pain describes the exploits of Germanic
infantry captain Ulrich von Bek, guilty of the usual war indiscretions
and thus forced to make a literal "deal with the Devil". In order to spare his
soul from an eternity in Hell, von Bek must obtain the Holy Grail for Lucifer,
who hopes to use the sacred artifact to "buy" his way back up to Heaven.
However, in order to complete this quest, von Bek must face both human
parasites infesting war-torn Europe as well as "infernal" forces
arrayed against him in the "Mittelmarch", a territory in which Hell intersects
with the Earth. However, his greatest challenge may be to learn the cost of being worthy to lift the legendary Grail
vessel.
L'Atalante 1993, Paolo Uccello
A 17th Century War Hound
The Thirty Years' War took place from 1618 to 1648 and cost up to 8 million
lives, making it one of the most devastating conflicts of the pre-modern era.
In simplest terms, this war was caused by a disagreement between Catholic and
Protestant political forces in Europe, and thus a kind of Christian "civil
war". The War Hound and the World's Pain takes place shortly after the
Sack of Magdeburg, in which the Protestant citizens of Magdeburg were
mercilessly slaughtered (and worse) by frenzied members of Germany's Imperial
Army (serving the Holy Roman Empire). As the novel begins, Ulrich von Bek
identifies himself as one of the participants in the Magdeburg holocaust, although
he has now abandoned his company due to a plague raging through their
ranks.
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| White Wolf 1995, Janet Aulisio |
Von Bek's pessimistic outlook is similar in some respects to a few of Moorcock's other Eternal Champions (Elric, Erekose, etc.). Like a few of these darker Champions, he has a "shaded" sense of morality defined by pragmatism. However, unlike Elric or Corum, von Bek exists in a real historical period of Earth's past, and is clearly human. Also, since his account is written in the first person, the narrative is able to present a more keenly-intimate psychological portrait of von Bek's mental journey. And, because the story makes use of a well-established Judeo-Christian belief system (or at least a Miltonian one), Moorcock can spend more time having van Bek debate the underlying consequences of the beliefs, rather than having to worry about explaining them in the context of a "fantasy mythology".
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| Timescape 1981, Rowena Morrill |
However, it's ironic that, by setting the story in a Biblically-informed universe, the author can directly challenge the accepted dogma (of the 17th century, anyways) surrounding the interpretations of these subjects. In other words, Moorcock uses this opportunity to provide "allegorical commentary" on these existing faiths, mostly imparted through von Bek's debates with the sagacious hermit Philander Groot (although some of his exchanges with his "simply-minded" Kazak companion Sedenko prove illuminating in their own way).
It's even more ironic that the key to von Bek's salvation lies in his
rejection of "marvelous" forces, and instead lies in his faith in mankind's
own self-reliance (and acceptance of self-responsibility, presumably). In the
narrative, the Dukes of Hell oppose von Bek (and Lucifer) in fear of being
abandoned by their leader. Little do they realize that the fulfillment of von
Bek's quest requires the banishment of both God and the Devil, thus ushering in of an "Age of Reason" (i.e, the Enlightenment).
“Everything that is fantastic leagues against me,” I said, repeating Klosterheim’s warning.
“Aye. Everything that is fantastic is threatened. Some believe all these marvels you have witnessed to be productions of the World’s Pain. Without that Pain, some say, they would not be necessary. They would not exist.”
“You suggest that mankind’s needs create them?”
“Man is a rationalizing beast, if not a rational one,” said Philander Groot.
In any case, like in the ending to Stormbringer and The Quest For Tanelorn, the "ideal" state of the Balance occurs when both Law and Chaos are nullified.
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| Seghers 1983, Keleck |
The "Mittelmarch" described in the novel translates to "Middlemarch" in English. The word might reference George Eliot's novel, but it also recalls imagery from the verse of Dante Alighieri (who was a noted source of inspiration to Eliot). In The War Hound and the World's Pain, Mittelmarch refers to patches of supernatural territory on Earth which exist as "borderlands" between Hell and Earth. These marches can only be accessed by those "damned to Hell", since they are in fact, part-Hell. It's ironic that, since the Grail is ultimately guarded by a denizen of the outer Mittelmarch, it can only be found by a damned soul - yet, the seeker must be "worthy". This might initially appear to be an impossible contradiction, but it turns out that to be worthy only requires one to realize that the "World's Pain" (of which the Grail is supposed to cure) is derived from its very worship of the Grail and its implications. One only needs to acknowledge that humanity should trust itself, rather than a clay pot.
It might be worth noting that the priest von Bek encounters in the Middlemarch version of Ammendorf is named after Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, whose book Simplicius Simplicissimus Moorcock has cited as a source of some inspiration. Klosterheim's name is borrowed from Thomas de Quincey's 1832 gothic mystery Klosterheim; or the Masque. Also, the maternal figure who von Bek meets at the border forest to Heaven is named Lilith, after a notorious Biblical character sometimes identified as Adam's first wife (prior to Eve). One might also wonder if the Middlemarches might be connected to the Dream Marches separating the "Heaven" and "Hell" illustrated in Moorcock's 1979 Eternal Champion story, The Swords of Heaven, the Flowers of Hell.
The War Hound and the World's Pain is divided into 18 chapters. Unlike
the Eternal Champion novels, von Bek's novel is not divided into three or four
"Books". However, it is possible to break down the narrative into a few arcs
which use classical epic narrative devices to convey wry allegory (headings below are my own invention). Unavoidable spoilers follow...
-
The Lover and the Bargain (1-3): After meeting the beautiful and
mysterious Sabrina, the soldier von Bek meets her master, the Devil. He is
then offered a Quest in which he can redeem both their eternal souls.
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The Companion (4-7): Von Bek meets the Muscovite warrior Sedenko (a
Champion's Companion if there ever was one). Like von Bek, Sedenko is damned
to Hell, and thus his eternal fate also falls on von Bek's shoulders.
- The Wizard, and the Adversary (8-11): Von Bek meets the Grey Lord Philander Groot, a neutral (but insightful) character who directs von Bek forward on his Quest. During this section, von Bek also engages in his first struggle against his Enemy, Johannes Klosterheim, a twisted apostate of Christ who now patronizes Arioch, Lucifer's rival in Hell.
-
The Great Battle (12-15): Several smaller conflicts climax in a great
battle, with Klosterheim at the head of a massive horde of Hell-creatures. Victory requires the timely intervention of Philander Groot, but
ultimately leaves von Bek alone to complete the Quest. Also von Bek kills a
dragon...
- The Grail (16-18): Von Bek finally comes face-to-face with the Grail, and proves himself worthy not by deed, but by a penetrating understanding of the source of humanity's woes. Then, after overcoming his enemies through the power of his own belief in the Grail's true meaning, he returns to Lucifer with his prize. He soon learns that the Devil will now be responsible for mankind's acceptance of the truth which had earned von Bek the Grail: that the age of miracles is past, to be replaced by an Age of Reason. Ironically, the Enlightenment could not arrive until mankind had been able to obtain the Grail, and the only way for mankind to be worthy of the Grail was to realize that it no longer needed it.
“It might be possible to free Man from his captivity, his dependency on either God or Lucifer. We could see the dawning of a New Age. An Age of Reason.”
“But what if Man’s Reason is as imperfect as the rest of him?” I said. “Why should we praise his poor logic, his penchant for creating laws which only further complicate his lot?”
“Ah, well,” said Philander Groot. “It is all we have, perhaps. And we must learn, must we not, through trial and error.”
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| Delta Vision 2008 |
Finally, it's interesting to see the appearance of the names Arioch and Xiombarg in a narrative defined by Judeo-Christian beliefs. In this way, Moorcock already seems to be positioning a convergence of his historical fantasy von Bek series with the Eternal Champion sequence (although Gloriana had already hinted at such a convergence earlier). In years to come, members of the von Bek family (as well as Klosterheim) would frequently fight alongside Elric and other Eternal Champions (and Temporal Adventurers) of the Multiverse.
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| Millennium 1992, Mark Reeve |
Synopsis and More Notes (Spoilers)
Next: The Brothel in Rosenstrasse (1982)
Previous: My Experiences in the Third World War and Other Stories (1969-89)
