"The Alchemist" by Joseph Wright of Derby: many historical beliefs and stories have been sources for the genre of fantasy. Joseph Wright ( 3 September 1734 - 29 August 1797) styled Wright of Derby was an English landscape and portrait painter

Though the fantasy genre in its modern sense is less than two centuries old, its sources have a long and distinguished history. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Fantastic art is an art genre The parameters of fantastic art has been fairly rigourously defined in the scholarship on the subject Many Anime TV series movies and OAVs fall into the Fantasy genre Fantasy art is a genre of Art that depicts The definition of a fantasy author is somewhat diffuse and a matter of opinion – Jules Verne considered H A number of Fantasy themed Comic books exist For example Elfquest Monster allergy W A fantasy fiction magazine or fantasy magazine is a Magazine which publishes primarily Fantasy fiction. Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes usually involving magic, Supernatural events make-believe creatures or exotic Fantasy worlds Fantasy literature is Fantasy in written form Historically speaking the majority of fantasy works have been literature Fantasy television is a genre of Television featuring elements of the Fantastic, often including magic, Supernatural forces or exotic Fantasy Though the Fantasy genre in its modern sense is less than two centuries old its antecedents have a long and distinguished history The Fantasy Genre has spawned many new Subgenres with no clear counterparts in the myths or Folklore upon which the tradition of fantasy storytelling is The Fantastique is a French term for a literary and cinematic genre that overlaps with Science fiction, horror and Fantasy There are many elements that show up throughout the fantasy genre in different guises This article is about the word for other meanings see Quest (disambiguation A quest is a journey towards a goal used in Mythology A magic item is any object that has magical powers inherent in it There are many elements that show up throughout the fantasy genre in different guises A fantasy world is a type of Imaginary world, part of a Fictional universe used in Fantasy novels and games A legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature (often known as "fabulous creatures" in historical literature Lovecraftian horror is a sub-genre of horror Fiction which emphasizes the Psychological horror of the unknown (in some cases unknowable over gore or other A magician, wizard, sorcerer or a person known under one of many other possible terms in fiction is someone who uses or practices magic Magic in Fiction is the endowing of Fictional characters or objects with magical powers. Tolkien fandom is an international informal community of fans of the works of J Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were an element of literature from its beginning.

In The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, John Clute and John Grant separated the concept of fantasy as such from that of taproot texts, works that are sources for fantasy, but not themselves fantasy. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy is a 1997 Reference work on Fantasy, edited by John Clute and John Grant. John Frederick Clute (1940-) is a Canadian born author and critic who has lived in Britain since 1969 ^[1]

Ancient Near East

The Epic of Gilgamesh was written over generations following the supposed reign of King Gilgamesh, and is seen as a mythologized version of his life. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. This figure is sometimes an influence and, more rarely, sometimes a figure in modern fantasy. ^[2]

The Bible, which had a great and enduring impact on Western Culture and its later works of fiction, also influenced fantasy literature. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin The influence tends to be hidden, however, since many authors are unwilling to risk controversy which can be caused by the use of Bible in fantasy literature. It has typically been less controversial when authors that hold Christian beliefs, such as C. S. Lewis, who made the Bible's influence in his stories quite apparent.

Greco-Roman

Circe, by John William Waterhouse

Classical mythology is replete with fantastical stories and characters, the best known (and perhaps the most relevant to modern fantasy) being the works of Homer. In Greek mythology, Circe ( sərsē; Greek Κίρκη Kírkē, falcon is a Queen Goddess (or sometimes a Nymph John William Waterhouse ( April 6, 1849 &ndash February 10, 1917) was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter most Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the ^[1]

The philosophy of Plato had had great influence on the fantasy genre. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece In the Christian Platonic tradition, the reality of other worlds, and an overarching structure of great metaphysical and moral importance, has lent substance to the fantasy worlds of modern works. ^[3]

East Asia

The figures of Chinese dragons were influential on the modern fantasy use of the dragon, tempering the greedy, thoroughly evil, even diabolical Western dragon; many modern fantasy dragons are humane and wise. The Chinese Dragon or Oriental dragon is a mythical creature in East Asian culture with a Chinese origin The dragon is a Legendary creature of which some interpretation or depiction appears in almost every culture worldwide

Chinese traditions have been particularly influential in the vein of fantasy known as Chinoiserie, including such writers as Ernest Bramah and Barry Hughart. Chinoiserie, a French term signifying "Chinese-esque" refers to a recurring theme in European artistic styles since the seventeenth century which reflecting Ernest Bramah ( 20 March 1868 - 27 June 1942) whose real name was Ernest Bramah Smith, was an English author Barry Hughart (born March 13, 1934) in Peoria, Illinois, is an American author of Fantasy Novels ^[4]

Taoist beliefs about Nei Jin and its influence on martial arts have been a major influence on Wuxia, a sub-genre of the martial arts film that is sometimes fantasy, when the practice of wuxia is used fictiously to achieve super-human feats, as in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Nèi Jìn or Nèi Jìng (內勁 is the Chinese term for the "internal power" associated with Chinese martial arts. Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for Combat. Wuxia or Wǔxiá ( Mandarin ùɕiɑ̌ Hanyu Pinyin: Wǔxiá, Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6 Taiwanese/Hokkien bu hiap Wuxia or Wǔxiá ( Mandarin ùɕiɑ̌ Hanyu Pinyin: Wǔxiá, Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6 Taiwanese/Hokkien bu hiap Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ( is a Chinese-language Film in the Wuxia ( chivalric and martial arts) style ^[5]

Islamic Middle East

"Ali Baba" by Maxfield Parrish. Maxfield Parrish ( July 25, 1870 &ndash March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator.

The most well known fiction from the Islamic world was The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), which was a compilation of many earlier folk tales. The term Muslim world (or Islamic world) has several meanings The epic took form in the tenth century and reached its final form by the fourteenth century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another. ^[6] All Arabian fairy tales were often called "Arabian Nights" when translated into English, regardless of whether they appeared in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, in any version, and a number of tales are known in Europe as "Arabian Nights" despite existing in no Arabic manuscript. ^[6]

This epic has been influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland. Antoine Galland ( April 4, 1646 &mdash February 17, 1715) was a French Orientalist and Archaeologist, most ^[7] Many imitations were written, especially in France. ^[8] Various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin, Sinbad and Ali Baba. Aladdin (an Anglicisation of the Arabic name (originally Syrian Alāʼ ad-Dīn, Arabic: علاء الدين literally "nobility of the faith" Ali Baba ( Arabic, Persian: علي بابا is a Fictional character based in Ancient Arabia. Part of its popularity may have sprung from the increasing historical and geographical knowledge, so that places of which little was known and so marvels were plausible had to be set further "long ago" or farther "far away"; this is a process that continue, and finally culminate in the fantasy world having little connection, if any, to actual times and places. A fantasy world is a type of Imaginary world, part of a Fictional universe used in Fantasy novels and games

A number of elements from Persian and Arabian mythology are now common in modern fantasy, such as genies, bahamuts, magic carpets, magic lamps, etc. GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange was an online service Bahamut ( بهموت Bahamūt) is a vast fish that supports the earth in Arabian mythology. A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary Carpet that can be used to Transport persons who are on it instantaneously or quickly to their ^[8] When L. Frank Baum proposed writing a modern fairy tale that banished stereotypical elements, he included the genie as well as the dwarf and the fairy as stereotypes to go. Lyman Frank Baum ( May 15 1856 &ndash May 5 1919) was an American Author, Actor, and Independent filmmaker ^[9]

The Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran, is a mythical and heroic retelling of Persian history. Shāhnāmé, or Shāhnāma ((alternative spellings are Shahnama Shahnameh Shahname Shah-Nama, etc For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. See Also Persian Empire History of Iran and Greater Iran (also referred to as the " Iranian Cultural Continent Amir Arsalan was also a popular mythical Persian story, which has influenced some modern works of fantasy fiction, such as The Heroic Legend of Arslan. Amir Arsalan-e Namdar (in Persian امیرارسلان نامدار is a popular Persian legend which was narrated to the Qajar Shah of The Heroic Legend of Arslan is the title of a Japanese Fantasy Novel, which is known in Japan as.

Medieval Europe

Medieval European sources of fantasy occurred primarily in epic poetry and in the Fornaldarsagas, Norse and Icelandic sagas, both of which are based on ancient oral tradition. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation A Legendary saga or Fornaldarsaga (literally a tale of times past) is a Norse saga that unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place The sagas (from Icelandic saga, plural sögur) are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history about early Viking voyages Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( The sagas (from Icelandic saga, plural sögur) are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history about early Viking voyages Oral tradition, oral culture and oral lore is a way for a society to transmit history, literature, law and other Knowledges The influence of these works on the German Romantics, William Morris, and J. R. R. Tolkien means that their influence on later fantasy has been large. William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated ^[10]

Thor's battle against the giants, by Marten Eskil Winge, 1872

Anglo-Saxon

Beowulf is among the best known of the Nordic tales in the English speaking world, and has had deep influence on the fantasy genre; although it was unknown for centuries and so not developed in medieval legend and romance, several fantasy works have retold the tale, such as John Gardner's Grendel. Beowulf is an Old English Heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between John Champlin Gardner Jr ( July 21, 1933 – September 14, 1982) was a well-known and controversial American novelist and university Grendel is one of three Antagonists along with Grendel's mother and the Dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf ^[11]

Norse

Norse mythology, as found in the Elder Edda and the Younger Edda, includes such figures as Odin and his fellow Aesir, and dwarves, elves, dragons, and giants. Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval Manuscript Codex Regius. The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda ( Snorra Edda) or simply Edda, is an Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. In Old Norse, áss (or ǫ́ss ás, plural æsir, feminine ásynja, feminine plural ásynjur) is the term denoting one of the principal Dvergar or Norse dwarves ( Old Norse dvergar, sing dvergr) are highly significant entities in Norse mythology, who associate An elf is a creature of Norse mythology. The elves were originally imagined as a race of minor nature and fertility gods, who are often pictured as youthful-seeming European dragons are Legendary creatures in Folklore and Mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. A jötunn, sometimes anglicized as jotun (pronounced yotun is a giant in Norse mythology, a member of a race of nature spirits with superhuman strength ^[12] These elements have been directly imported into various fantasy works, and have deeply influenced others, both on their own and through their influence on Nordic sagas, Romanticism, and early fantasy writers.

The Fornaldarsagas, literally tales of times past, or Legendary sagas, occasionally drew upon these older myths for fantasic elements. A Legendary saga or Fornaldarsaga (literally a tale of times past) is a Norse saga that unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place Such works as Grettis saga carried on that tradition; the heroes often embark on dangerous quests where they fight the forces of evil, dragons, witchkings, barrow-wights, and rescue fair maidens. Grettis saga (also known as Grettla, Grettir's Saga or The Saga of Grettir the Strong) is one of the Icelanders' sagas. ^[13]

Fornalder (times past), painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo

More historical sagas, such as Völsunga saga and the Nibelungenlied, feature conflicts over thrones and dynasties that also reflect many motifs commonly found in epic fantasy. Peter Nicolai Arbo ( June 18 1831 &ndash October 14 1892) was a Norwegian painter who specialized in painting historical motifs and The Völsunga saga is a Legendary saga, a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the origin and decline of the Volsung clan The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of Fantasy fiction that is set in invented or parallel worlds. ^[10]

The starting point of the fornaldarsagas' influence on the creation of the Fantasy genre is the publication, in 1825, of the most famous Swedish literary work Frithjof's saga, which was based on the Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna, and it became an instant success in England and Germany. Friðþjófs saga hins frœkna is a Legendary saga from Iceland which in its present form is from ca 1300. Friðþjófs saga hins frœkna is a Legendary saga from Iceland which in its present form is from ca 1300. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. It is said to have been translated twenty-two times into English, twenty times into German, and once at least into every European language, including modern Icelandic in 1866. Their influence on authors, such as J. R. R. Tolkien, William Morris and Poul Anderson and on the subsequent modern fantasy genre is considerable, and can perhaps not be overstated. William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated Poul William Anderson ( November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American Science fiction author who wrote during a Golden

Celtic

Queen Maev

Celtic folklore and legend has been an inspiration for many fantasy works. Medb ( Old Irish spelling mɛðv Meḋḃ Meaḋḃ modern Meadhbh mɛɣv reformed modern Irish Meabh, Meːv sometimes Anglicised Maeve or Maev The separate folklore of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland has sometimes been used indiscriminately for "Celtic" fantasy, sometimes with great effect; other writers have distinguished to use a single source. ^[14]

The Welsh tradition has been particularly influential, owing to its connection to King Arthur and its collection in a single work, the epic Mabinogion. ^[14] One influential retelling of this was the fantasy work of Evangeline Walton: The Island of the Mighty, The Children of Llyr, The Song of Rhiannon, and Prince of Annwn. Evangeline Walton (24 November 1907 – 11 March 1996 was the pen name of Evangeline Wilna Ensley an American author of fantasy fiction The Island of the Mighty is a Fantasy Novel by Evangeline Walton, the earliest in a series of four based on the Welsh Mabinogion The Children of Llyr is a Fantasy Novel by Evangeline Walton, the second in a series of four based on the Welsh Mabinogion The Song of Rhiannon is a Fantasy Novel by Evangeline Walton, the third in a series of four based on the Welsh Mabinogion Prince of Annwn is a Fantasy Novel by Evangeline Walton, the fourth in a series of four based on the Welsh Mabinogion. A notable amount of fiction has been written in the area of Celtic fantasy. ^[15]

The Irish Ulster Cycle and Fenian Cycle have also been plentifully mined for fantasy. Texts in translation Most of the important Ulster Cycle tales can be found in the following publications Thomas Kinsella, The Táin, Oxford University The Fenian Cycle or Fiannaidheacht (modern Irish Fiannaíocht) also known as the Fionn Cycle, Finn Cycle, Fianna Cycle, Finnian ^[14]

Scottish tradition is less used, perhaps because of the spurious nature of the Ossian cycle, a nineteenth century fraud claiming to have much older sources. Ossian is the narrator and supposed author of a cycle of poems which the Scottish poet James Macpherson claimed to have translated from ancient sources in the ^[14]

Its greatest influence was, however, indirect. Celtic folklore and mythology provided a major source for the Arthurian cycle of chivalric romance: the Matter of Britain. As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the Legends that concern the Celtic and legendary History of Great Britain, especially those Although the subject matter was heavily reworked by the authors, these romances developed marvels until they became independent of the original folklore and fictional, an important stage in the development of fantasy. ^[16]

Finnish

The Finnish epic, the Kalevala, although not published until the 19th century, is compiled from oral tradition dating back to this period, and perhaps even earlier. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The Kalevala is a book and epic poem which the Finn Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish and Karelian Folklore in the nineteenth

J. R. R. Tolkien cited it, with the Finnish language he learned from it, as a major inspiration behind the Simarillion. The Silmarillion is a collection of J R R Tolkien 's mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in ^[17]

Renaissance

"Undine Rising From the Waters" by Chauncey Bradley Ives: an elemental as a force of nature. Chauncey Bradley Ives { December 14, 1810 – 1894 was a prolific American sculptor who worked primarily in the Neo-classic style

During the Renaissance, Giovanni Francesco Straparola wrote and published The Facetious Nights of Straparola, a collection of stories, many of which are literary fairy tales Giambattista Basile wrote and published the Pentamerone, a collection of literary fairy tales, the first collection of stories to contain solely the stories later to be known as fairy tales. Giovanni Francesco (or Gianfrancesco) Straparola ( Caravaggio, c The Facetious Nights of Straparola, also known as The Nights of Straparola, is a two-volume collection of 75 fairy tales produced by the Italian A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving Giambattista Basile (1566 or 1575 – February 23, 1632) was an Italian Poet, Courtier, and Fairy tale collector Both of these works includes the oldest recorded form of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. ^[18] This was the beginning of a tradition that would both influence the fantasy genre and be incorporated in it, as many works of fairytale fantasy appear to this day. Fairytale fantasy is distinguished from other subgenres of Fantasy by the works' heavy use of motifs and often plots from folklore ^[19]

Although witchcraft and wizardry were both believed to be actual at the time, such motifs as the fairies in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Weird Sisters in Macbeth and Prospero in The Tempest (or Doctor Faustus in Christopher Marlowe's play) would be deeply influential on later works of fantasy. William Shakespeare ( baptised A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by " The Knight's Tale " from Macbeth is among the best-known of William Shakespeare 's plays, and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written some time between The Tempest is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It is generally dated to 1610-11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him although The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus is a play by Christopher Marlowe, based on the Faust story in which a man sells his soul to the devil

In a work on alchemy in the 16th century, Paracelsus identified four types of beings with the four elements of alchemy: gnomes, earth elementals; undines, water elementals; sylphs, air elementals; and salamanders, fire elementals. Alchemy a part of the Occult Tradition is both a philosophy and a practice with an ultimately unknown aim involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of Paracelsus (11 November or 17 December 1493 in Einsiedeln Switzerland – 24 September 1541 in Salzburg, Austria) was an alchemist, A gnome is a Mythical creature characterized by its extremely small size and subterranean lifestyle Ondines or undines (unda — a wave are Elementals enumerated as the water elementals in works of Alchemy by Paracelsus. Sylph (also called sylphid) is a mythological creature in the Western tradition This article is about the legendary creature for the amphibian see Salamander. ^[20] Most of these beings are found in folklore as well as alchemy; their names are often used interchangeably with similar beings from folklore. ^[21] However, as elementals, they are often used in fantasy works as personifications of the forces of nature. An elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus. ^[22]

Romanticism

Romanticism, a movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, was a dramatic reaction to Classicism, challenging the priority of religion and promoting the importance of imagination. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Its success in rehabiliting imagination was of fundamental importance to the evolution of fantasy, and its interest in medieval romances providing many motifs to modern fantasy. As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative ^[23]

Arthur Rackham, illustration to Hansel and Gretel

In the later part of the Romantic tradition, in reaction to the spirit of the Enlightenment, folklorists collected folktales, epic poems, and ballads, and brought them out in printed form. Arthur Rackham ( 19 September 1867 &ndash 6 September 1939) was a prolific English book illustrator Hansel and Gretel ( Hänsel und Gretel) is a Fairy tale of Germanic origin adapted by the Brothers Grimm and earlier by Giambattista The Brothers Grimm were inspired in their collection, Grimm's Fairy Tales, by the movement of German Romanticism. The Brothers Grimm ( German: Die Gebrüder Grimm) Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Children's and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen is a collection of German origin Fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob For the general context see Romanticism. In the Philosophy, Art, and Culture of German -speaking countries German Romanticism Many other collectors were inspired by the Grimms and the similar sentiments. Frequently their motives stemmed not merely from Romanticism, but from Romantic nationalism, in that many were inspired to save their own country's folklore: sometimes, as in the Kalevala, they compiled existing folklore into an epic to match other nation's; sometimes, as in Ossian, they fabricated folklore that should have been there. Romantic nationalism (also National Romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of Nationalism in which the state derives The Kalevala is a book and epic poem which the Finn Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish and Karelian Folklore in the nineteenth Ossian is the narrator and supposed author of a cycle of poems which the Scottish poet James Macpherson claimed to have translated from ancient sources in the These works, whether fairy tale, ballads, or folk epics, were a major source for later fantasy works. ^[24]

Despite the nationalistic elements confusing the collections, this movement not only preserved many instances of the folktales that involved magic and other fantastical elements, it provided a major source for later fantasy. ^[25] Indeed, the literary fairy tale developed so smoothly into fantasy that many later works (such as Max Beerbohm's The Happy Hypocrite and George MacDonald's Phantastes) that would now be called fantasies were called fairy tales at the time they written. Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm ( August 24, 1872 &ndash May 20, 1956) was an English parodist and caricaturist. The Happy Hypocrite is a Short story with moral implications written by Max Beerbohm in 1897. George MacDonald ( 10 December 1824 &mdash 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author poet and Christian minister Phantastes A Faerie Romance for Men and Women is a Fantasy novel written by George MacDonald, first published in London in 1858 ^[26] J. R. R. Tolkien's seminal essay on fantasy writing was titled "On Fairy Stories. "On Fairy-Stories" is an essay by J R R Tolkien which discusses the fairy-story as a literary form "

Ossian and the ballads also provided an influence to fantasy indirectly, through their influence on Sir Walter Scott, who began the genre of historical fiction. Sir Walter Scott 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 &ndash 21 September 1832 was a prolific Scottish Historical novelist and Poet popular throughout Historical fiction is a sub-genre of Fiction that often portrays alternate accounts or dramatization of historical figures or events ^[27] Very few of his works contain fantastic elements; in most, the appearance of such is explained away,^[28] but in its themes of adventure in a strange society, this led to the adventures set in foreign lands, by H. Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs,^[29] Although Burrough's works fall in the area of science fiction because of their (often thin) justifications for their marvels,^[30] Haggard's included many fantastic elements. Sir Henry Rider Haggard KBE ( 22 June 1856 &ndash 14 May 1925) was a prolific writer of Adventure novels set Edgar Rice Burroughs ( September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author best known for his creation of the jungle hero ^[31] The works of Alexandre Dumas, père, romantic historical fiction, contained many fantasy tropes in their realistic settings. ^[32] All of these authors influenced fantasy for the plots, characters and landscapes used -- particularly in the sword and sorcery genre, with such writers as Robert E. Howard. Sword and sorcery ( S&S) is a fantasy subgenre generally characterized by swashbuckling heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts Robert Ervin Howard ( January 22 1906 &ndash June 11 1936) was an American pulp writer of Fantasy, ^[33]

See also

• History of fantasy

References