Crom (fictional deity)

For other uses, see Crom.

Crom (pronounced /ˈkrɒm/) is a deity created by American author Robert E. Howard. He is mainly mentioned in swearing by his character Conan the Cimmerian, and "worshipped," it is presumed, by the bulk of the Cimmerian people. His name is probably derived from the ancient Celtic deity Crom Cruach, with the Cimmerians functioning as proto-Celts in Howard's pre-historic Hyboria.

Nature of the god

Crom is a grim and gloomy and unforgiving god, ever watching from atop his mountain in dark clouds and obscuring mists, ready to pass a disapproving judgment on any and all. However, he is also said to value courage and tenacity in mortals, even if the human ultimately proves too frail to succeed. He is the only member of the Cimmerian pantheon named with any regularity, although another Celtic deity, Manannán mac Lir, is mentioned by Conan in one story.

The Stygian followers of Set placate their deity with human sacrifice and actively venerate serpents, while Derketo's worshippers follow the pleasures of the flesh; in Vendhya, the followers of Asura seek truth beyond the illusions of the physical world, and the Hyborian devotees of Mitra are almost Judaeo-Christian in their merging of asceticism with a commitment to compassion and justice. By contrast, Conan remarks in conversation that it is best to avoid doing anything that would draw Crom's attention, as the god brings down only trouble and doom. As a result, he is not so much worshipped in Howard's works as invoked in curses and expletives (for instance, Conan exclaims things like "Crom and his devils"), or when trying to gather one's courage. This does not however imply that he ever does anything, good or bad, to mortals; it is said that his sole gift to men is to bestow them at birth with the courage to survive, persevere, and vanquish adversity.

Crom is never depicted as directly intervening or otherwise explicitly causing any event to occur in the original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. In fact, there is little consistent evidence in his works that Crom, or any other deity, actually exists; the existence of demons and highly advanced aliens are confirmed (as in the stories "The God in the Bowl" and "The Tower of the Elephant"), while the story "The Phoenix on the Sword" implies that Set is one of H. P. Lovecraft's Great Old Ones,. Howard's story "Black Colossus", however, has a princess vocally directed by Mitra to make Conan her champion.

In other media

Crom is briefly mentioned in Conan the Barbarian, a 1982 film directed by John Milius, co-written by Oliver Stone, and loosely based on Robert E. Howard's works. The film's Crom is similar to the god described in Howard's works, although elements of Norse mythology, in particular the mythos of Odin, are introduced. During a theological discussion, Conan says that when he dies, he will go in front of Crom, who will ask of him the Riddle of Steel, and if he does not know the answer, Crom will mock him and cast him away from Valhalla (the Riddle of Steel is not mentioned in Howard's stories).

The only time Conan sincerely prays in the film (and, it is implied, in his entire life) is when he faces the men who killed his lover, Valeria. He admits to Crom that he has never prayed to him, saying "I have no tongue for it." He tells the deity "Valor pleases you Crom, so grant me one request: grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to hell with you!"

In the 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer, however, Conan appears to have reconciled with his god. Conan is found praying to Crom by Queen Taramis for the return of Valeria. He tells the Queen (of Valeria) "She sits by the side of my god." He also says "Crom" as an expletive or expression of surprise at numerous points in the film.

Crom is also mentioned in Conan the Adventurer animated series. There, despite many differences in other things, Crom is also mostly portrayed as he is in Howard's stories, a distant deity that Conan more invokes in exclamations than formal worship, such as by saying "By Crom!" in times of danger. Not irreligious, though, Conan is seen to make solemn vows in the name of his god - or, in the case of the cartoon, guardian spirit of his tribe. For example, when his family is turned to stone, he swears in Crom's name to free them.

In the Oscar-nominated The Secret of Kells, a 1999 animated feature directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, the main character Brendan ventures into the underground lair of Crom, a giant serpent who guards the secret to completing the holy Book of Kells.