List of Narnian creatures

Narnian creatures are any non-human inhabitants of Narnia, the fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as a setting for his The Chronicles of Narnia. This is a series of commentaries on the creatures of Narnia. Entries include information on physical, habitual, and behavioural elements of the creatures, as well as noting any important members of the species. Each commentary draws on specific references and citations from the books and officially sanctioned Disney films. Many animals that are found in our world are also present in Narnia, and some species include talking variations. At the birth of Narnia, Aslan the lion stares at certain animals and breathes upon them. This enabled them to think and talk in a manner similar to humans, and also altered their size (MN). Smaller talking beasts – such as rodents, birds and small mammals – are generally larger than their non-talking counterparts, whereas larger talking beasts are generally smaller than average. There is never any mention of talking fish or insects, although there are Naiads, or water-spirits. Lewis freely drew on various sources for inspiration; the creatures contained in this list include many from classical mythology and English folklore.[1]

Narnia Abbreviation Key
LWW: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
PC: Prince Caspian
VDT: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
SC: The Silver Chair
HHB: The Horse and His Boy
MN: The Magician's Nephew
LB: The Last Battle
TL: Narnian timeline

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

Illustrations

Narnian creatures that are not mentioned in The Magician's Nephew but can be seen in the original ink illustrations by Pauline Baynes include bison, camels, Cape buffaloes, chickens, cobras, crocodiles, ducks, ferrets, frogs, gazelles, giraffes, goats, hippopotamuses, moose, otters, raccoons, rats, shrews, skunks, storks, weasels, and zebras. An Ipotane that was meant to be a Centaur can be seen in one of the illustrations in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Unidentifiable mythical creatures are listed below.

Adaptations

Narnian creatures that are not mentioned in Lewis' books but that appear in film or game adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia include the following:

Animated Adaptation

The following creatures appear in the animated adaption that was made by Children's Television Workshop:

BBC miniseries adaptations

The following creatures appear in the mini-series adaption that was made by BBC:

Disney movie adaptations

In concept art for the Disney version of LWW, some unused creatures include Naiads, Sprites, People of the Toadstool, Gorgons, Succubus, Manticores, Rhinotaurs, and the Tree Spirits that are on the White Witch's side.

Notes and references

  1. K. M. Briggs, The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature, p. 209 University of Chicago Press, London, 1967
  2. A Guide to Narnia by Martha C Sammons,published 1979 by Hodder Christian Paperbacks, ISBN 0-340-24800-9
  3. The now defunct American folk-rock band, The Marshwiggles (of whom David Wolfenberger was a founding member) took their name from this Narnian character.

External links

Original text for this article provided by Joshua Bell of NarniaMUSH.

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