A maenad and her leopards.
As I mentioned in last week’s Worldbuilding Wednesday, almost none of Lewis’s female Narnian creatures received a name, whether they were Talking Beasts or mythological beings. I’ve attempted to rectify that here. Naiads and maenads have Greek-type names, and dryads and hamadryads those relating to trees. As Hamadryads are bonded only to a particular kind of tree, that type became part of their name. For fun, I added in river-gods (the male equivalent of a naiad) and star people.
It’s also worth reflecting on that there was plenty of miscegnation going on between Narnian natives and human beings from our world. In The Magician’s Nephew, the children of King Frank and Queen Helen are described as marrying naiads and river-gods and thus founding the human population of Narnia-the-world (as opposed to Narnia the country.) In Prince Caspian, dwarves have intermarried with humans, producing human-dwarf hybrids. In Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Caspian marries the daughter of a star person. Her mother is not mentioned, but since she’s living on the earth, mom was probably human as well. Star blood thus passed into Prince Rilian and down through the last kings who likely already carried naiad and dwarf blood.
This puts Aslan’s prophecy that the throne of Narnia shall only be occupied by sons and daughters of Adam and Eve into a new light. As they were from this world, they did not have the taint of dwarf or naiad or river-god; and presumably, neither did Caspian, being of a Telmarine noble family descended from South Sea pirates.
More Mythological Creatures of Narnia
| Living Stars
Beteldu Zularea Marethyn Saphomon Demisda Sabelin |
River-gods
Videas Atphos Barathus Vinderus Valeropus Ganthus |
Naiads
Sayra Villsa Shirna Issenta Elspa Persa |
| Maenads
Ternia Nephera Uvala Orpha Mirlana Fonara |
Dryads
Brightwood Darkdew Greenbraid Silverjade Feathertwig Bluemoth |
Hamadryads
Applejoy Starplum Yewgrass Snowbeech Mosswillow Hazelbrook |
