Worldbuilding Wednesday 8/18/21: Narnian Horse Names (Narnia XXVII)

 


The horses Bree (front, gray dapple) and Hwin (back, brown) are my favorite animal characters from the Chronicles. Not only are they featured throughout the whole of The Horse and His Boy, they play vital roles in the plot. Both were stolen as foals from Narnia and raised in Calormen, where normal non-talking horses are the norm, until they both, simultaneously, take the chance to escape along with their human riders.

Bree’s full name is actually Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah, as he explains to Shasta when they meet. These sounds, of course, are descriptive of the ones horses make. The mare Hwin has a similar onomatopoetic name, which brings to mind “whinny,” and though we don’t get to find out her full name it may be derived from Houyhnhnm, which is a race of intelligent horses in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.

From these two names we can derive that all Narnia horses have personal names of this sort, and map out some randomgens.

 

Narnian Horse Names

Horse language

Bhroo-Hah-Whoo-Whinny

Hway-Hwee-Heesh chf’ chf’

Hwur-Hah-Brinny-Hinny

Hahwoo-Pwah’sh Hay-Bhroo-Hroo

Schnuur-Whahy

Pshinny-Hah-Hwur

Pru-Pru-Hurnny-Hrinny-Whuff’t

B’rhinny-Bhroo

Bray-Uff-Pwah-Pwah-Hahy

Psh’Pway-Pshoot

Schnoo-Heehy-Pshanny-Hahy

Whooshnish-Shnee-Shneehy-Shoo

Prah-Hah-Fee-Fee

Hurn-Hwoo-Hwee-Shnee-Shnee

Whurun-Fah-Hwa

Hee-Hee-Hreeha-Brahy-Bhroo

 Nickname

Broo

Hway

Hwur

Hawoo

Schnur

Shinny

Pru-pru

Berinny

Bray

Pish

Schnoo

Woosnish

Prah

Hurn

Wurun

Hee

 

The Sacrifice

Aslan’s Sacrifice Remade, by Through the Movies

A very original take on the episode from the book. This artist has a great underground style straight out of a 1990s zine.

Worldbuilding Wednesday 8/11/21: Narnian Islands (Narnia XXVI)

The Water-Babies, 1909, illustrated by Warwick Goble

If you are like me, you probably wish The Voyage of the Dawn Treader had gone and on, with Caspian and crew exploring ever more exotic places. That book remains unwritten, but here’s some randomly generated islands they might have explored, if they’d had time.

 

Other Islands of Narnia

Ashvows: Several Star People live on this tropical island which, from above, looks like a bird in flight.

Aslan’s Spire: An island said to lie in an ocean off the west coast of Narnian with a central mountain several miles high… so high it actually pierces the sky.

Birdburn Island: A smoking volcanic island off the northern coast of Narnia that erupts every few years. Just visible on it are the remains of a great city half-buried in the lava flows.

Bottlemarch: A group of low, humped rocks ten leagues to the east of Cair Paravel. They resemble floating bottles which is how they got their name.

Butterhelm: A two-lobed, roughly heart-shaped island consisting of a flat, grassy tableland between high hills. It was settled by centaurs during Narnia’s Golden Age.

Carafaine: An island kingdom in the south-central part of the Great Eastern Ocean, roughly circular with a trailing irregularly shaped peninsula. It was settled by Narnians around the year 600. The climate is tropical yet comfortable and the kingdom self-sufficient, so few traders come.

Churmadon: A sandy islet in the north of the Great Eastern Ocean. The only plants are sea grasses. Some primitive humans live here in small huts, surviving by fishing and harvesting mussels.

Fox Rock: The reddish peak of an extinct volcano that pokes above the sea to the east of Terebinthia. A haven for pirates who utilize its sea caves.

Goldjoust: A legendary island with a kingdom that hosts continual jousting contests, the prize being the winner’s mount’s weight in gold. Any kind of mount is accepted, not just horses.

Hag’s Tangle: A southern atoll surrounded by seaweed and sea plants of all shapes and sizes in which boats can become trapped. The only Calormene explorers to reach the actual island report it was filled with lizards, poisonous snakes, and sea crocodiles.

Hermit’s Hell: A vegetated sandbank off the eastern coast of The Great Desert. No hermits, but plenty of wild pigs which meant humans once lived there.

Kingsands: A small atoll with a blue saltwater lagoon lying to the southeast of The Lone Islands. It has sparse, bushy vegetation. The sand is sparkling white and many rare shells wash up on the beaches. The only things living here are shorebirds.

Loudfolly: A lightly forested, rocky island. It is covered with mountains in its eastern part out of which a large, noisy waterfall cascades down to the beach.

Nymph’s Heart: This cross-shaped small island is thickly forested and inhabited by Talking Beasts. It is located off the coast of Galma.

Penandia: A large island to the northeast of the Seven Isles, a two days’ journey according to sailors, that is home to seabirds and marine mammals like sea lions. No one has ever penetrated its interior because of the rough, jagged cliffs that surround it, but some visitors have seen humans waving from the top.

Pinekeep and Blistercast: Two small islands that are part of the Lone Islands group, and thus part of Narnia. After King Caspian retook the islands, the slaves that were freed settled them.

Puddleglum’s Rock: Named in honor of the brave Marsh-wiggle, this tiny island lies just off the marshes and is reachable on foot during exceptionally low tides. Currently Talking Owls and Talking Eagles live there.

Queen’s End: Only Galman explorers have ever visited this large northern island. They have never sailed completely around it, giving rise to the speculation it is a microcontinent and not an island. What little of it that was seen was bare and rocky, dusted with snow.

Raven Island: A medium-sized hilly island twenty miles off the coast of Archenland. Many Talking Beasts live here. Nominally it is under the guardianship of the Kingdom of Narnia.

Reepicheep’s Rush: Some legends say the noble Talking Mouse Reepicheep spent the night here fasting and praying before sailing to Aslan’s Country. The island is small and bar-shaped, covered with green grass and copses of trees, and lies off the coast of Ramandu’s Island.

Rhince’s Cairn: A small islet said to have been discovered by Rhince, the first mate of the fabled Narnian Ship Dawn Treader, when it was returning to port. It held a clear, sweet spring and a mysterious shaped pile of white, polished rocks with strange carvings on them.

Sweetstone: A small island on which a clan of Dwarves has a mine. The climate is semi-tropical and much of it is farmed. Dwarves also mine guano from the seacliffs on the eastern side. Some fauns and satyrs live here also, helping to herd the sheep and tend the vineyards.

The Harewealdhs: An isolated island chain in the central-north Great Eastern Ocean. Heavily forested, with pines, cedars, and other evergreen trees. The animals that live here are dwarfed versions of their mainland counterparts. Though in rough, subarctic seas the climate is mild because of a warm current. No kingdom has ever claimed these islands.

The Lion’s Maze: A volcanic island chain of the far south. The islands are made of black and dark brown solidified lava twisted into spires or worn by the sea into domes and pillows. Only small boats can navigate between the islands because of the sharp underwater rocks. Some islands have tropical forests but all remain unexplored. Calormene sailors are deathly afraid of this place while followers of Aslan feel at peace.

The Redcastles: A small island chain named for its rock formations, which at sunrise and sunset look like the red-gold towers of a fantastic castle shimmering above the sea. The islands themselves are bare and rocky with tufts of grass growing between the cracks. There is no animal life here, but the largest island has a freshwater spring.

Wyglade: A small spindle-shaped island lying at the center of the Bite of Calormen. Dryads and Naiads are said to live there, casting spells on the currents so they carry away any human ship that tries to approach it.

Zhedad: A tropical island that lies in the center of an atoll with an extensive coral reef around it. A wizard lives there, researching the secrets of the sea. Close to this lies the tiny island of Fireferry, on which dwell a group of good-natured witches. Both islands are filled with parrots and other tropical birds, as well as small tapirs and deer, wild spotted cats, and Talking Coatimundi.

In the Great Desert

Calormen Outpost, by Gkaida

The Great Desert of the world of Narnia held a few surprises, such as this Calormene fortress.

Tashbaan and its Protector

Tash the Inexorable by Leonard Ismos

A beautifully rendered view of the city of Tashbaan, top, and the God Tash, bottom. It wasn’t until The Last Battle that the reader finds out Tash is real, and evil, and received sacrifices of human beings.

Narnia in the Real World

Last year, while researching Narnia, I found out about the existence of a Florida rock band called White Witch. I don’t know if the name was inspired by Narnia or not. But there are plenty of other musical groups and even companies who looked to Lewis for inspiration.

The Australian rock band Silverchair was perhaps the most famous of these, pictured above in its very young grunge phase.

Jadis inspired the name of a British prog-rock band.

Beruna, or be-Runa, is a company that makes sprouted seed salt and heirloom popcorn.

Charn(ia) is an ancient lifeform from the pre-Cambrian period that looked like a leaf or a feather. The place where its fossil was found was named Charnwood.

Pevensie, the family of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, lent its name to a tract of retirement homes. The house plans are named after the kids; this is the Edmund.

Aslan Brewing, maker of craft beers, is based in Bellingham, Washington.

… while Narnia is also the name of a Swedish rock band.

Jazz musician Kris Berg wrote this piece titled “The Gates of Tashbaan.”

Lastly, a nail polish manufacturer called Pahlish came out with this collection in 2014 titled “The Wood Between the Worlds.”

 

 

 

Worldbuilding Wednesday 8/4/21: Let’s Talk About Cair Paravel (Narnia XXV)

Yes, I know this is a Disneyland Castle photoshopped into the scene.

Just where the land of Narnia met the sea—in fact, at the mouth of the great river—there was something on a little hill, shining. It was shining because it was a castle and of course the sunlight was reflected from all the windows which looked towards Peter and the sunset; but to Peter it looked like a great star resting on the seashore.

— from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

 

Cair Paravel is Narnia’s ruling seat, a great castle on the edge of the eastern sea. It’s unclear in the books if it had a town or city attached to it (which, logically, it must have had) but it did have a treasure room, an orchard, a harbor, and a throne room/hall with an “ivory roof and the west door all hung with peacock’s feathers and the eastern door which opens right onto the sea.”  Very grand indeed. I always picture the castle like a smaller version of Neuschwanstein, one of the pet projects of Ludwig the Second, The Mad King of Bavaria, which I had visited as a child.  At the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe the Pevensies are crowned kings and queens in the Great Hall (There are a lot of great this-and-thats in Narnia, Hall, Waterfall, River, etc.) in the four thrones which are there conveniently waiting for them.

The descriptions of the castle are magical, but the name is even more so. It sounds graceful and light, French or Italian, unlike the mouth-twisting chewiness of Neuschwanstein. But the word Caer is from Old Welsh. In Medieval times it meant fortress, castle, or stronghold — it still exists in Wales, in place names like Caerphilly Castle. Paravel, on the other hand sounds Latin, in which para means “beside” — a preposition of placement — as in the modern  English words paranormal and parallel. Vel could also be a Latin preposition, comparable to the English “or” … it could also derive from velum / veli, which can mean the sail of a ship. Given that that Cair Paravel stands by the sea and has a harbor, I think it’s the latter – the castle beside the sails (of the sea-going ships.)

Other scholars have their own ideas. In Middle English, Cair Paravel means “court” and “lesser than” — the idea that Aslan is true ruler of Narnia and the humans merely rule under him. This concept is never discussed by Lewis in the books, however, so I like my more concrete etymological analysis better.

In addition the words of Cair Paravel call up other allusions. Paravel sounds very close to paragon — in that the castle was a pinnacle of aesthetic and courtly perfection — and paradise. Switch the p for a c and you get caravel, a type of swift sailing ship. All of which allude to the castle’s role.

Looking to name a castle with something that has the same feel ?

 

Other Cair Paravels

Caer Tilphoniel

Charer Luravel

Cair Perafoil

Caer Cathadrul

Carre Pasvogel

Cair Murravel

Caer Carrovay

Cair Pallraven

Cair Paraveth

Cuer Pintagal

Kaer Pastvaal

Ceyen Shekiv

Khaer Parhokh

 Caer Shervil

Couer Madret

Cer Eurville

Cith Ragasha

Cayhr Tareevel

Cahr Trivel

Céich Parvem

Ceuer Taravel

Carre Cureros

Chaere Tirysel

Ker Gracedel

Kaere Pasivod

Cyr Paraves

Asdis or Jadslan?

The New White Witch, by Liekkilaulu

What if Aslan, instead of defeating the White Witch, usurped her position?

The Great Sea Serpent

Suddenly, only about the length of a cricket pitch from their port side, an appalling head reared itself out of the sea. It was all greens and vermilions with purple blotches—except where shell fish clung to it—and shaped rather like a horse’s, though without ears. It had enormous eyes, eyes made for staring through the dark depths of the ocean, and a gaping mouth filled with double rows of sharp fish-like teeth. It came up on what they first took to be a huge neck, but as more and more of it emerged everyone knew that this was not its neck but its body and that at last they were seeing what so many people have foolishly wanted to see—the great Sea Serpent.

— from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

When I read this passage as a child, I was less than impressed, having grown up with depictions of sea serpents that looked more like the one below.

Cecil and Beany, Saturday morning cartoon that debuted in 1962

Nevertheless, Lewis’s description quoted above matches what was said about the beast in sailor’s stories and cryptid descriptions of the time: the horse-like head, the round staring eyes, the lengthy body. This description also matches that of Nessie the Loch Ness monster, implying cross-fertilization between lake and sea.

Most of the older depictions look even more ridiculous than the postcard one above, so that Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent may have actually been an improvement. Cecil looks more dragonlike than the earlier illustrations, and, indeed, as the 20th century progressed sea serpents in popular culture began to look more reptilian than piscine, such so they became a species of sea dragon.

In reality, many historians believe sightings of the rare oarfish may have inspired such tales.


While the largest oarfish ever recorded was 26 feet — not very impressive considering the great sea serpent  of legend was huge enough to encircle a ship and crush it in its coils — exaggeration likely inflated its size. Perhaps it was difficult to estimate from a bouncing boat in choppy waters.

Close up of the head of a young specimen, showing the dorsal fin running down its back and the mottled coloring, though I can’t say it’s vermilion and green like Lewis says. (The blotches look purple enough though.) In addition, the oarfish is capable of projecting its jaws outside its mouth, giving it a horselike profile.

(I wonder if Pauline Bayne’s depiction of the Green Witch as serpent was based on a sketch for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which went unused.)

This artist showing the moment the sea serpent attacks the Dawn Treader is more in the creature-as-dragon camp, giving the monster snakelike scales and ignoring the garish coloring in favor of black.

In this depiction of the same scene the sea serpent looks … part pelican? It also seems way too friendly and doesn’t adhere to the text either.

Now we come to the Dawn Treader movie, which turns the dangerous yet goofy monster of the book into a titanic, slimy, alien nemesis whose attack serves as the plot’s action-filled climax. As I said in an earlier post, I was not a fan of this change, which likely came from the producers. But the concept art was cool.

Here we have the Sea People fighting the creature, whose size seems more reasonable than the kaiju-sized beast that made it into the movie. Remember the sea serpent was long rather than titanic, long enough to encircle the boat several times, yet lightweight enough for the crew to push it out of the way. This early version of the creature is decidedly more fishlike than reptilian, drawing on features of abyssal species like anglerfish for the long pointed teeth and sea robins for the long pectoral fins made for walking on the sea floor.

The sea serpent in the film showing it rearing over the prow of the ship as Edmund flees for his life. Two production designs are below.

This is a terrific design… for a horror / SF movie set on some other planet. It doesn’t belong in Narnia.

It’s kinda like a moray eel… kinda like The Predator of action movie fame… kinda like a watermelon… kinda like a crustacean… and kinda like a cobra with that hood, which is filled with shrimp legs. It’s really disgusting and overcomplicated, and neither are words I would use to describe Narnia.
If a slimy, scary, eel-like monster was what the producers called for, wouldn’t this have been a better choice?

Or this one, which is dinosaur-influenced? Imagine the malicious character one could animate into that face.


I’ll close with this silly but charming 1930s illustration of a flapper mermaid riding a sea serpent, which actually looks more like the serpent according to Lewis’s text than any of the others!

Worldbuilding Wednesday 7/28/21: Places in Narnia (Narnia XXIV)

The picturesque town of Narni, Italy, said by some to be the inspiration for the name of the fictional Narnia

One thing Narnia did not have is a lot of human towns. In fact, I can think of only two: the Telmarine settlements of Beruna and Beaversdam. There’s also a town called Chippingford in The Last Battle but whether it is human or not is unclear. There’s also some kind of human settlement around Cair Paravel to support both it and the shipping trade of the port, but it goes nameless. Unlike the vast majority of fantasy worlds, Narnia is bereft of human habitations, at least in the stories Lewis chose to write.

If there were towns and other human-named features, however, here’s how they might have been named.

 

Places in Narnia

Maugrim’s Road

Ravenjoy

Jackamoor

Sagewick

Nymph’s Foundry

Bacchusbloom

Hareberry

Witch Stocking

Pomona’s Sky

Molepath

Hwin’s Hill

Farncastle

Naiad’s Cup

Centergrace

Satyrstride

Rainsuffice

 Mousenibble

Bree’s Air

Ingeton-on-Shribble

Flagswood

The Lord’s Skyway

Leopard Walk

Witchweir

Meadpond-on-Rush

The Giant’s Pace

Beaver’s Bough

Octesian’s Needle

Merrylawn

Badgersong

Kingspire

Fledge’s Wing

Stargaze