First published in the Howard Collector, Spring 1962.
This is a poem of eleven verses, each verse of four lines. It’s from the point of view of an unnamed outlaw who is also a murderer. He is in the midst of a heated conversation with the Black Prince of England, which would place this early in the 100 Years War in the 1300s. The Black Prince accuses this man whom he had taken into his company of being of “a rebel breed that knows not king or law.” The verse continues,
“You – with your ever smiling face and a black heart under your mail –
With the haughty strain of the Norman race and the wild, black blood
Of the Gael.”
The Black Prince goes on to accuse his companion of trying to kill him seemingly by accident during the recent battle. The outlaw then admits to this, to being a half-breed out of Ireland with dark Irish blood, and to have been betrayed by a series of masters whom he slew. He further admits to having been paid to kill the Black Prince to which the Black Prince shuddered, shook his head, crossed himself, and dismissed the man. Below is the last verse from the assassin’s perspective.
“The starlight silvered my bridle-rein; The moonlight burned my lance.
As I rode back from the wars again through the pleasant hills of France,
As I rode to tell Lord Amory of the dark Fitzgerald line
If the Black Prince died, it needs must be by another hand than mine.”
Howard’s interest in the dark-skinned race of northern Caucasians extended to the characters of Cormac MacArt, Cull and Conan, and also the Picts, recurring savages in his fantasy, to the point that this reader suspects it might be an experiment in ethnic alienation. In any case, this poem fits firmly in his barbarism versus civilization theme, with the character representing each coming to terms on a personal level.
Howard's Gaels/Cimmerians/Atlanteans and Picts are two different ethnoi. Entirely.
REH was the swarthy, blue-eyed, black-haired son of a grey-eyed, black-haired father. Howard was mistaken for a Mexican more than once. Howard was always Howard-centric. He considered himself a "Gael". His Gaels from Conan the Cimmerian to Steve Costigan showed that.
His "Picts" (primal Mediterraneans) were basically a "pet" race he favored for reasons not even known to himself. BTW, his "Picts" are utterly distinct (on a genetic level) from Injuns/Native Americans. A stone-cold fact.
Howard's Atlanteans/Cimmerians/Gaels and the Picts are separated by AT LEAST ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS of evolution, probably more. On top of that, the two races are at constant odds right up to (at least) 1000AD (according to REH).