Lantern Waste
Lantern Waste is a fictional place in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It is a wood and is notable as the place where Lucy Pevensie and Mr. Tumnus meet, which is the first scene of Narnia described in the books. The lamppost in the wood is an iconic image of Narnia, and the question of its origin is what convinced Lewis to write more than one book on Narnia. One of King Edmund's titles is Duke of Lantern Waste.[PC]
The Magician's Nephew
The place where Digory, Polly, Frank the cabman, Strawberry the horse, Jadis and Uncle Andrew first enter the uncreated Narnia would become Lantern Waste. Jadis, angry and afraid at the sight of Aslan, immediately wants to kill him but her magic powers do not work so she needs a weapon. She improvises by throwing something at his head and the thing she happens to have in her hand at the time is a piece from a lamppost she'd taken from London. It falls to the ground without having any effect on Aslan when it hits him and does not appear to have hurt him at all. The fresh new fertile ground of Narnia causes anything that lands on it to sprout and grow, so the fragment sprouts into a full lamppost that shines day and night. The site of the lamppost is also where small trees of gold and silver grew from some dropped coins that were also brought from London by Mr Ketterly, Digory's wicked uncle. Those gold and silver trees would later be used to make King Frank's and Queen Helen's crowns, and they were also where Digory planted the Tree of Protection that kept Jadis away for many years.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
When Lucy hides in a wardrobe in the Professor's house, she finds herself in Lantern Waste, where she meets Tumnus the Faun. Later her brother Edmund finds his way in and meets the White Witch there.
Years later, the four children, now Kings and Queens of Narnia, are hunting in Lantern Waste when they come across the spot where they first entered Narnia and stumble back into the Professor's house in England.
The Last Battle
King Tirian and Jewel the Unicorn, while strolling through Lantern Waste, discover about Aslan's return and his commanding the Narnians to work for the Calormenes. They meet the ape there. It is widely described through the second and third chapters.[LB] It is here that the Last Battle is fought. Earlier, Tirian's grandfather had built three towers in the wood to guard it from bandits; Tirian, Eustace and Jill use one as a base before attacking Stable Hill.
Notable Places in Lantern Waste
Stable Hill
Stable Hill is referenced in The Last Battle. It is here that the false Aslan is shown, the Last Battle is fought and from here Narnia is destroyed. It is described as a hill with a stable of 4×10 dimensions. All the Calormenes and Narnians gather here and engage in battle. The horses are bound below. It is a hill with numerous trees making the stable difficult to see by many.
Lantern of Ever Lighted Lamp
The Lantern of Ever Lighted Lamp lies east of the main Lantern Waste. The lamp post was planted by Jadis, the White Witch. She planted a pole from a lamp post, but it grew into a full post because Aslan's generating song was still in the air. It had a lamp with an ever-lighted lamp. The lamp was rediscovered by Lucy Pevensie a thousand years later. After The Horse and His Boy, they go back to England through it. It plays a major part in The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. The lantern is strongly bound to the Pevensies.[MN][LWW]
Other Notes
Lantern Waste is the first Narnian setting introduced in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It is described as both the start and end of Narnia. It links directly to Earth from the wardrobe.[LWW][MN]
