TidbitsHow are the book titles abbreviated? How are the book titles abbreviated?The abbreviations are: LWW (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) In what order should the Chronicles be read?There are three possible: the order in which they were originally published, the chronological order, and the order in which Lewis wrote them. The order in which they were originally published: LWW The chronological order: MN The order in which Lewis wrote them: LWW This topic has been discussed over and over again, and the general consensus seems to be that the first time it's best to read them in the order they were published, as this gives a better overall plot development. Really, as long as you read LB last, it isn't strictly neccessary to read the others in any order. And after you've read them for the first time, you can read them in whatever order you like! Are the Chronicles Biblically allegorical?Surprisingly, the answer to this question is "no", according to the strictest sense of the word. An allegory, according to Webster's American Family Dictionary, is "the representation of spiritual, moral, or other abstract meanings through the actions of fictional characters that serve as symbols" (i.e., the materialization through a fictional character of some quality, virtue, or feeling. For instance, Reepicheep may be an allegory of honor). However, Aslan, and most of the other "allegorical" things in the Chronicles are not an allegory of something in the Bible; rather, they are (to use Lewis's own word) suppositions. Here is what Lewis said on the subject: "I did not say to myself 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia'; I said 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen." Where do the names in the Chronicles come from?Many if not most of the names in the Chronicles are just figments of the author's imagination. Some, however, can be definitely traced; though often their meaning isn't clear. Aslan: The Turkish word for lion is arslan, which (if my memory serves me right) Lewis came across when he was reading the Arabian Nights. Bism: Is an obsolete form of the Greek word abysm, which means "bottomless pit". Whence (perhaps through the Latin abyssus) we got our word abyss. Figures. Cair Paravel: Cair is another spelling of kaer, an old British word which can mean castle, city, or court (cf. "Caernarvon"). Paravel is derived from paravail, which in turn comes from the Old French par aval, with meanings like down, lower, and lesser, and perhaps from the Latin ad vallem, meaning "to the valley". The most likely meaning, therefore, is "City in the Valley", although "Lesser Court" has also been suggested. Calormen: Calor, a Latin word meaning "heat" or "warmth", and the English "men". The exact meaning is unclear; but of course Calormen is in the southern latitudes and is warmer than Narnia (in fact part of Calormen is desert), and this name seems to echo that fact. The Companion to Narnia has suggested that the Calormenes are "men from a warm land". Destrier: Is the old French word for "warhorse". Ettinsmoor: Ettin is another spelling of eten, which means "giant". A moor (sometimes spelled muir) is a plain, so this is a "Giant's Plain". Lewis could have coined this name himself but he may also have seen it in Tolkien's writings (there is a place marked "Ettensmoor" on the map of Middle-Earth). Maugrim: Possibly related to the French maugre, "ill-will". Or, if you read "mau" as "maw", it could mean "Savage Jaws" (cf. Tolkien's Carcharoth). However you translate it, the word itself certainly sounds menacing. Strangely, the name was changed to Fenris Ulf in the American editions of the books (undoubtedly a reference to Fenris, the great wolf of Norse mythology). Narnia: Lewis probably came across this name in his readings, as there was a town in Roman times called Narnia which was mentioned several times in period literature. The town itself was named by the Romans, after a tributary of the river Tiber called Nar. Terebinthia: Well, the terebinth is "a small European tree of the sumac family, yielding turpentine." (According to the dictionary.) Lewis may have gotten the word from this; or he may not. (Many thanks to the Companion to Narnia for its excellent information, which was the source for much of the above.) |
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