Six Interesting (and possibly Neglected) Entries

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Monday, 27 March 2017

Telmarine Names

I recently finished a re-read of the Chronicles of Narnia. Any thoughts I have can wait until another time - suffice it to say I felt them worthy of a re-read, and that I had them to hand- but I did sit down and create a list of Telmarine names. The Telmarines struck me as the most explicit piece of world-building by Lewis; at least a little different from the Calormens; the other big human nation - in that they didn't appear in reading to have quite the same correspondence as the Calormen to any given real-world group. Though they do seem to adapt the more-or-less European characteristics of Narnia, both culturally and in appearance.

 (The 2008 film, which was to me a somewhat boring adaptation, made them visually reminiscent of Golden Age Spain, with morion helmets and what I can only describe as Evil Empire Masks with Van Dyck beards. A trip to Wikipedia reveals that the actors involved were Italian, Spanish, Mexican or Serb - apart from an English Caspian!)
Miraz without helmet.....
...his troops with. How many do you bet have beards underneath as well?

Anyway, the names, together with other information as relevant.
Caspian (Prince, named for his forefathers, esp. The First, the Conqueror)
Miraz (the Usurper)
Prunaprismia (wife of the Usurper)
Glozelle (confederate of the Usurper)
Sopespian (confederate of the Usurper)
Belisar (dead or lost loyalist)
Uvilas (dead or lost loyalist)
The Passarids (dead or lost loyalist family)
Arilan (dead or lost loyalist)
Erimon (dead or lost loyalist)
Rilian (subject to the Silver Chair)
Drinian (Captain of the Dawn Treader)
Revilian (Lost Lord)
Bern (Lost Lord)
Argoz (Lost Lord)
Mavramorn (Lost Lord)
Octesian (Lost Lord)
Restimar (Lost Lord)
Rhoop (Lost Lord)
Rynelf (Sailor)
Tirian (at The Last Battle) [Incidentally, trivia fans, Peter Dinklage played the cynical dwarf Trumpkin!]

Cornelius (half-dwarf capable of passing among Telmarines)

One notes the preponderance of aristocratic male names. Perhaps not a surprise given the subject of the books, but it makes building up a real picture of Telmarine culture and language a little difficult. This aside, some of these are super names for a character; Octesian or Sopespian are names crying out to become high-ranking mages, and Glozelle and Uvilas definitely sound sneaky.

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3 comments:

  1. Luke Sampson12:24 am, November 24, 2021

    Have you watched the old BBC version? A bit dated, but I liked their visual look for the Telmarines: black armor and kite shields with abstract designs in white, crimson and blue.

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    1. Solomon VK7:47 am, November 24, 2021

      I don't believe I ever watched it outside the odd clip. I may have to take a look at their designs - they sound like a stage costume version of something by Pauline Baynes.

      Curiously, the earliest and most abiding memory I have of a Narnia adaptation was an audio book of The Last Battle, on cassette. I would have sworn it was read by Paul Schofield, but I only find reference to his name attached to an audio drama of The Last Battle.

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    2. dansumption9:04 pm, May 04, 2022

      The BBC adaptation is very much of its time, but I still prefer it to the Hollywoodised films. My uncle & aunt made a great many of the props for it, which of course also makes it rather special to me.

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