MacKillopp is SPECULATING- nor is he an authority on howard. that being said, he has only said that _howard's conan_ was not based on an irish conan (howard's CHARACTER is original- not DERIVITIVE, though the name was derived from old irish myth and legend)- he did not say the NAME was not based on an irish name- because clearly it is based on an irish name.
now whether howard himself was aware of the actual irish prononciation we can never know, we can only know how howard pronounced the name... when a name peculiar to a specific culture or country gets introduced to a new country, pronounciations change, BUT THAT DOES NOT ALTER THE CORRECT ORIGINAL PRONOUNCIATION. Likewise, when conan lives in various countries in various stories, we can expect the inhabitants of those countries to pronounce his name differently- exactly as Arnold swarzenegger's name is completely mis-pronounced here in america. our mispronounciation doesn't alter the original correct form. nor does everyone mispronouncing it make their mistake correct. JB >> Following this, if one looks up the name 'Conan' in >> Dr. MacKillop's dictionary, the following can be >> found: my comments are within [these brackets] >> >> " Conan, a name found with differing associations >> in three Celtic lands. In Ireland it is:Conan [accent >> on the 'a'] (hound, wolf)...In Wales it is: Conan >> [Howard's spelling] (to grumble, to mutter?) In >> Brittany Conan is the name for Cynnan, the British >> invader of the country...Despite much conjecture, >> there does not seem to be a link between any of the >> Celtic figures named Conan and the Conan of the pulp >> adventure fiction series of Robert E. Howard (d.1936)" >> > >Yeah, but given Howard's fascination and interest for Irish folklore and >mythology, >which is amply demonstrated in his letters to HPL (and some of the books >in his library), >the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong as to where the name CONAN >originated. >MacKillop can only say what he says by ignoring or not knowing REH's >fascination with >the Irish and the Celts, and the fact that REH borrowed historical names >out the wazoo >for his stories, or slightly altered historical names for his stories. > >Best, MEH >-- > Mark Hall >Niigata Prefectural Museum of History > ><>
