Demonland is a large island in Eric Rücker Eddison

Eric Rucker Eddison

Eric Rücker Eddison was an English civil servant and author, writing under the name "E.R. Eddison."-Biography:...

's fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 world, described in The Worm Ouroboros

The Worm Ouroboros

The Worm Ouroboros is a heroic high fantasy novel by Eric Rücker Eddison, first published in 1922. The book describes the protracted war between the domineering King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland in an imaginary world that appears mainly medieval and partly reminiscent of Norse sagas...

. Contrary to what one might think based on the name, Demonland is not home to demon

Demon

call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

s. Instead the people who live in Demonland are recognizably human, though they are adorned with small horns on their heads.

Detail

Demonland is the setting for much of the action in the story. Although it has a complicated geography, it was never fully defined by the author. Demonland is one of several important realms in the book. The others are Witchland

Witchland

Witchland is a large and powerful country in Eric Rücker Eddison's fantasy world, described in The Worm Ouroboros. Contrary to what one might think based on the name, Witchland is not home to witches...

, Impland, Goblinland, the Foliot Isles, and Pixyland.

This is how Demonland was described by Lord Juss when he saw it in Chapter 8:
In fiction, Demonland is somewhat comparable to Rohan

Rohan

Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....

 of Middle-earth

Middle-earth

Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....

 or Cimmeria

Cimmeria (Conan)

Cimmeria is a fictional land of barbarians in antediluvian earth and the homeland of Conan the Barbarian in the works of Robert E. Howard.-Fictional history:...

 in Conan

Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...

's world. As a real place, Demonland is similar to Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 during the Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 period, both in geography and in its economy. Eddison describes a rugged land where people follow a pastoral

Pastoral

The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...

 economy inland, while near the ocean there are many ships and fishermen. No major cities are named but many castles are described; each lord of Demonland seems to rule over a territory centered around a castle. Major castles are:

• Galing Castle, home to Lord Juss
• Owlswick Castle, home to Lord Spitfire
• Krothering Castle, home to Brandoch Daha and his sister the Lady Mevrian
• Drepaby Castle, home of Goldry Bluszco

Many other places are named such as Switchwater Way, Glaumry Pike, Rammerick Mere and hundreds more. However, Eddison, unlike his better known contemporary Tolkien, never mapped his world.

Government of Demonland

As Paul Edmund Thomas explains in his introduction to the 1991 edition of the book, Demonland has no clear government. Lord Juss is not a king, and what orders are given are issued after a council meeting. Lord Spitfire says early on "Are not the Demons a free people?" Despite this, the ordinary farmers and fisherfolk of Demonland are content to follow their leaders into battle without much question or complaint.

The main leaders of Demonland are the three brothers, Lord Juss, Goldry Bluszco, and Lord Spitfire; as well as one other great lord: Brandoch Daha. Lesser leaders of Demonland are:

• Lord Volle of Kartadza
• Lord Vizz of Darklairstead
• Lord Zigg of Many Bushes
• Other notable people from Demonland are: Astar, Tharmrod, Styrkmir, Quazz, and Melchar (see page 354)

Several battles are fought in Demonland during the book:

• Battle of Grunda - Corsus of Witchland defeats Lord Vizz of Demonland
• Battle of Crossby Outsikes - Corsus defeats and kills Lord Vizz
• Battle at the Rapes of Brima - Lord Spitfire defeats Corsus
• Battle of Thremnir's Heugh - Lord Corinius of Witchland defeats Lord Spitfire
• Battle of Krothering Side - Lord Juss and Brandoch Daha defeat Corinius and the entire Witchland army is driven from Demonland

In addition one other battle is mentioned taking place before the book begins:

• Sea battle at the Races of Kartadza - The fleet of Demonland destroys the fleet of the Ghouls (page 126)

Demonland is also the home to the last of the wild hippogriff

Hippogriff

A Hippogriff is a legendary creature, supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a mare.- Early references :...

s, and a second hippogriff egg is found in the waters of Dule Tarn by Brandoch Daha. This allows Lord Juss to rescue his brother Goldry from the enchanted prison of Zora Rach.

Maps

• Gerald Hayes, a cartographer with the Royal Navy, created the first map for The Worm Ouroboros circa 1925 - initially from internal evidence, and later in consultation with Eddison. He states in a letter to C.S. Lewis that he secured Eddison's approval "as a true presentation of all the lands, seas, and countries of his history". Source: Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Vol II, page 559. Not sure if it still exists! States crude copy made for Lewis.
• A rough map was created by J. B. Hare in 2004 and can be seen here.
• Another map of the world by Bernard Morris was published in Twilight Zine No. 4 and reprinted in the book An Atlas of Fantasy
  An Atlas of Fantasy
  An Atlas of Fantasy, compiled by Jeremiah Benjamin Post, was originally published in 1973 by Mirage Press and revised for a 1979 edition by Ballantine Books. The 1979 edition dropped twelve maps from the first edition and added fourteen new ones...
  
  (book author: Jeremiah Benjamin Post) in 1979.
• The map on this page was created by David Bedell in 1978.