Worldbuilding Wednesday 8/6/25: Foods of Archenland (Narnia LXX)

Like the Seven Isles, not much is known about Archenland. In the books it serves as Narnia’s steadfast ally,  a typical Medieval European country ruled by humans that lacks the magic ** and the Talking Beasts of Narnia. It figures most prominently in The Horse and His Boy. Lewis gives it a few quirky details, like brothers having short first names which in the younger one is extended by a syllable (see Twins of Archenland) but other than that it isn’t explicitly fleshed out.

However, we can infer quite a lot about it from what is there. It is a mountainous country, and some of those mountains are high enough to be snowed in at winter and act as a protective barrier to Narnia. It is likely landlocked because no Archenlandian navy is mentioned. It is a rural place and its people are neither traders or warriors, and as country it has existed for a very long time without any major disruptions, ones that we know of anyway.

All of these factors make me think of it as a kind of Switzerland, leaning mostly on the Germanic side, and in that vein I came up with some unique dishes for it.

 

Foods of Archenland

High Summer Roast: Wild boar doused with thickened dark ale, then spit-toasted over a fruitwood fire. Wood from an apple tree is best.

Ironcake: A rye flatbread baked on a flat river stone that has been heated in a fire. Delicious when topped with pork cracklings or served with Moonmelt.

Moonmelt: There is a legend in Archenland that the moon is made of cheese. This dish is similar to a Swiss fondue in that several types of cheese are combined in a copper pot in which pieces of bread or other food items are dipped.

Dundlefiskel: Smoked fish served with sweet pickles as an appetizer.

Kingsmash: Well-boiled potatoes, turnips, parsnips, and carrots mashed together with butter and goat cheese curds. The wet mixture is poured in a deep casserole dish and topped with bread crumbs and parsley, then baked in the oven until the top is crispy.

Archenlandian mulled wine: Served at the Yule holidays. Spruce resin is one of the many spices that give it a distinct flavor.

Gleisten: A pale cider made from late apples and pears flavored with alpine herbs.

Applehoney Pie: Said to have created by Queen Aravis who missed the honey-flavored desserts of her native Calormen. Honey is used liberally in this pie instead of sugar and the crust is exceptionally sweet and flaky.

** There is the magic pool of The Hermit of the Southern Marches, but it’s not clear if he’s within the borders of Archenland or not.

More White Witches on Parade

Design for a book cover with the kids and the witch, who, with her golden halo, looks like an evil saint. I like how the artist caught aspects of the kids’ personalities here and gave them the correct hair colors that were in the book.

An angry witch who appears to screaming  “Hand over that traitor right NOW!”

The witch on her throne surrounded by petrified creatures. She looks a bit petrified herself.

An epic, mature White Witch by artist Denver Balbaboco who might have stepped out of an Wagnerian opera.

A manga White Witch. This is the scene where she offers Edmund (who is inexplicably kneeling in the snow) the Turkish Delight, but she’s a bit too wholesome and cheery for my taste. Edmund’s nighttime getup is copied from the movie, the witch’s bubble grown from this Leo and Diane Dillon rendition.

This White Witch, from a stage production, is so vain she has her own face carved into the back of her “throne” (a fabric-draped wicker peacock chair, once a Pier One specialty.) Her majorette hat, combined with her wimple and kimono-like gown, is inspired, despite the cheap-looking Maugrim who’s wearing a Halloween werewolf mask on his head.

THIS is how you do a White Witch / Edmund Halloween costume couple!

A mournful White Witch print by artist Jonathan Bean, who did a whole series of alternate Chronicles covers available as signed, limited-edition prints.

Say WHAT?

White Witches on Parade

Artwork by Lara Carson

Here’s a number of interesting White Witches that I found over the course of a year. The above one is of Jadis in her… chariot! She kept it stored in her garage in case the snow melted. In the Walden movie it was pulled by polar bears.

Another unusual one is this fiber arts White Witch — based on a still from the Walden movie — with embellishments of embroidery, faux pearls, silver chains, and sequins. It was an Etsy offering.

Jadis, by Jade Alexandria

Jadis past, in her first life as Queen of Charn, and Jadis present, as the White Witch.

Jadis tempts Edmund, but he’s skeptical. The colored pencil works well with the storybook, childlike style.

Artwork by Don Sparrow

A simple sketch that conveys the witch’s cunning and evil.

Jadis, Queen of Narnia, by enjay_dee_deyzoh9

The witch wears a featherlike (or scaled?) gown here with a gold crown, as is correct. “How do you like my manicure, dearies?”

Artwork by Ellen Walker

A mop-top Edmund shivers with pleading eyes and Jadis reacts in fear? Surprise? It might be the moment where Edmund tells her he has brothers and sisters and she realizes the prophecy may be fulfilled.

A different take on the White Witch — ripped! AI art.

 

Maugrim on Stage, Part 2

In part two of this series I’m going to concentrate on more… aspirational Maugrims.

For example, who says Maugrim has to be male?

None of these were from a Narnia production, as far as I know, but I’m including them to show the variation when costuming a wolf character.

Now, imagine the impact on stage of a whole pack of wolves.

These characters are from the world of dance where they know a thing or two about creating effective costumes. Ballet companies have larger budgets than many amateur theater groups and their costumes are made to last through many performances. Often they’re warehoused until the time comes when that production is on the season bill again.

Here’s a Narnia Maugrim dressed in plate armor, a different take on costuming him. But how does he speak with those fangs in his mouth?

Want to try a wolf makeup on yourself?

Worldbuilding Wednesday 07/30/25: Narniaworld Waterpark (Narnia LXIX)

 

AI image

After all this time I’ve realized I’ve never described the Narniaworld water park.

The water amusement area was intended to be an integral adjunct to the greater park and was built at the same time. It is themed around the book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. There is a separate admission fee or one can buy a combination ticket for both the water park and the main park. The latter is the option most visitors opt for.

The water park lies below the main (north) entrance to the park on a large terrace overlooking the bay. It is accessed by a curving ramp through thick woods, which effectively hide it from the view of the main park. Lockers are available to rent and there are male and female changing rooms.

The park is arrayed around a large lagoon known as Glasswater. There is an island in the middle, Dragon Isle, with a statue of Eustace in his dragoned state. One “bay” of the lagoon serves as a shallow splash pool for small children. Opposite this is a replica of The Dawn Treader ship with water guns, showers, and slides where older children can play and climb on the riggings. Off its stern are two water slides.

There are well-kept, soft grass lawns around the pool where visitors can spread their towels or lie on one of the beach loungers. The Wild Sea Serpent Shanty snack bar offers things to eat as well as amenities like suntan lotion.

Lately Narniaworld has realized the limitations of this model, which is designed more for families with small children than adults. New concepts are being researched for a more exciting and immersive experience.

 

Narnia Covers by M. S. Corley

Artwork by M. S. Corley

I was so sure this edition of the Chronicles was real! That is, they were once for sale in a bookstore and over the decades eventually scanned and uploaded to the internet.

Alas, they are not. These designs are the work of graphic artist M. S. Corley and were created in 2009, a date decades past the 1960s-70s style they’re a magnificent pastiche of. And by golly I do mean magnificent: the artist has managed to capture everything dull and unappealing about book design of that era yet made them work. They’re both low budget and highbrow, like the cheap, utilitarian classic lit paperbacks intended for college students to read in English Lit, available in the campus bookstore for a buck or two. In 1971 that is.

Maugrim Mural

From the city of Belfast, C. S. Lewis’s birthplace. That’s Aslan in the distance. I’m guessing Maugrim is the black wolf.

Worldbuilding Wednesday 07/23/25: Names of the Seven Isles (Narnia LXVIII)

In the Chronicles the island group known as the Seven Isles did not receive much worldbuilding. Two of them were named: Brenn and Muil, and there was a city, Redhaven. That’s as much as we know. Some wikis say they under Narnia’s dominion the same way the Lone Islands were, but there’s no evidence from the books to support this. Pauline Baynes’s maps locate them as east of Ettinsmoor. They were visited by the Pevensie Kings and Queens during the Golden Age and by Caspian in The Voyage of The Dawn Treader who says:

… five days more we were in sight of Muil which, as you know, is the westernmost of the Seven Isles. Then we rowed through the straits and came about sundown into Redhaven on the isle of Brenn, where we were very lovingly feasted and had victual and water at will.

— The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Now the word isle suggests they were smallish; but in truth, in the English language isle and island are practically synonyms, isle being used in more poetic nomenclature than island. Take the  commonly-used title of The British Isles, for example. The Seven Isles simply has a grander ring to it. Plus, a place known as the Lone Islands already existed, and Lewis sought to differentiate between them.

Why were there seven? Again, that poetic ring. But as they’re mentioned in VODT, perhaps they are meant to echo the seven lost lords.

So, my headcanon is going to fill them in a bit. They are islands big enough to support a sizable population, and they are their own country. Though they are the northernmost of the known islands, the climate is not harsh because of a warm current and in fact may be more mild than Narnia’s. I’m going to say also they were accomplished sea traders and explorers, so the names given there will reflect a combination of Portuguese and Dutch.

 

Names used in the Seven Isles

Male

Alekasar

Balabin

Cazelin

Damo

Darzdenin

Deulin

Enor

Etempor

Ferecido

Glasnin

Merekin

Nateiro

Piro

Radzin

Rosegalin

Rupego

Sersgei

Terefal

Vontigo

Zameto

 Female

Adanda

Coriva

Deliza

Edrilka

Enfaloré

Fanafalla

Fasha

Imurra

Irindé

Izidora

Izmivia

Lalaveia

Liriltta

Mirié

Noanté

Orasava

Paraffeia

Pideela

Satespa

Zuleena