The Black Abbot of Puthuum

The Black Abbot of Puthuum
by Clark Ashton Smith
Title page of "The Black Abbot of Puthuum" as it appeared in Weird Tales, March 1936.
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Zothique
Genre(s)	Fantasy
Published in	Weird Tales
Publication type	Pulp magazine
Publisher	Popular Fiction Publishing Co.
Media type	Print
Publication date	March 1936

"The Black Abbot of Puthuum" is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle, and first published in the March 1936 issue of Weird Tales.

Plot[]

In Yoros, Zobal the archer and Cushara the pike-bearer are assigned by king Hoaraph to retrieve the maiden Rubalsa from Izdrel for the king's harem. They are accompanied by the eunuch Simban. While they retrieve Rubalsa and head off for Yoros, a darkness envelops them. Surrounded by darkness, strange sounds haunt them. Eventually they are met by a black man Ujuk, who is an abbot for the monastery Puthuum. Ujuk invites them to a feast, but Zobal and Cushara are skeptical of his intentions. Later that night, Zobal finds an animate mummy named Uldor. Uldor tells Zobal he was the last survivor of a monastery. However, in the final days, Uldor was visited by a lamia and they had a son, Ujuk. Uldor pleads with Zobal to kill Ujuk. Zobal does this and Puthuum disappears. Meanwhile, Sibman dies. Deciding this is outside the deal the king made with them, Zobal and Cushara draw lots to decide who will take Rubalsa for their own. Instead, Rubalsa chooses Cushara.

Themes[]

In the 1988 book Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, James Cawthorn and Michael Moorcock noted the stories "Necromancy in Naat", "The Witchcraft of Ulua", and "The Black Abbot of Puthuum" on the theme of love and lust.^[1]

See also[]

• Clark Ashton Smith bibliography

References[]

External links[]

• The Black Abbot of Puthuum title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Text of "The Black Abbot of Puthuum"

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