Ni pacifiste ni va-t-en-guerre: Lewis, former soldier, and the nine battles of Narnia

• Wounded in 1918 at Mont-Bernanchon, Lewis never tells the story of the war for show: his battles are condensed into a few pages.
• In 1940, he defends just war and describes the ideal knight, formidable in battle and gentle in peace: this is the portrait of Peter, Caspian, and Tirian.
• Grouped by theme, the nine battles form a journey: defending (Beruna, Anvard), liberating (Aslan’s How, the Lone Islands), resisting lies (Underland), holding out without hope (The Last Battle).

The sub-lieutenant Lewis

Lewis arrived at the front, near Arras, on 29 November 1917, his nineteenth birthday. On 15 April 1918, at Mont-Bernanchon, near Lillers, a short British shell wounded him and killed Sergeant Harry Ayres beside him. In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he briefly mentions these months without seeking dramatic effect. We tell this story in Lewis on the French side.

Twenty-two years later, another war opens The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: the Pevensie children are evacuees from London because of air raids. The author of Narnia’s battles is therefore not a dreamer playing at soldiers. He is a veteran who knows what a battlefield is, and chooses not to show it in detail.

What Lewis thought about war

In 1940, as England prepared for invasion, Lewis wrote two texts that shed light on the Chronicles.

• “Why I Am Not a Pacifist”, a lecture given at Oxford to a pacifist society. Lewis argues that war is an evil, but not always the worst evil, and that a Christian may fight in a just war in good conscience.
• “The Necessity of Chivalry”, an article in the weekly Time and Tide. For Lewis, the knight’s ideal consists of a double character, hard to reconcile: formidable in battle, gentle and almost shy at the feast. This balance is not innate; it is learned.

The kings of Narnia fit this model. Peter fights at Beruna, then proposes a duel to spare the army. Caspian reclaims the Lone Islands without bloodshed. And Tirian, at the beginning of The Last Battle, kills two Calormenes who were abusing a talking horse with his unicorn Jewel without challenging them first: he is immediately ashamed and goes to surrender to the enemy. A Narnian king may be defeated, but he must not strike treacherously.

Nine battles, four themes

Instead of following the books in order, we have grouped the nine battles of the Chronicles according to the theme they raise. The complete details (locations, leaders, events, outcomes) are in the data section of the page.

Defending: Beruna, Anvard, the northern giants

This is the simplest case, and the one Lewis defended in 1940. At Beruna, Narnia resists the White Witch’s army, which is far larger; Edmund, who had betrayed her, understands that everything depends on the wand and breaks it, suffering a serious injury. At Anvard, Rabadash attacks without declaring war, which is why he is condemned. Against the northern giants, Peter then Caspian X lead campaigns that the books only mention.

Liberating: Aslan’s How, the duel, the Lone Islands

The Prince Caspian is a war of liberation. The first battle of the Old Narnians, at Aslan’s How, fails; then Nikabrik proposes to call the White Witch, that is, to win at any cost. Peter chooses the opposite: a single combat against Miraz, according to rules, with witnesses. It is Miraz’s lords who cheat, stabbing their own king. At the Lone Islands, Caspian wins without a fight, by trickery and authority: slavery is abolished without a sword being drawn.

Resisting lies: the lamp-post, Underland

Two battles pit our heroes not against an army, but against a sorceress. In London, the White Witch spreads panic and uproots a lamp-post to use as a weapon. In Underland, the Lady of the Green Kirtle does not begin by striking: she lulls her enemies to sleep by repeating that Narnia and the sun do not exist. Victory begins with a gesture of clarity: Puddleglum stamps out the fire with his bare foot, before swords finish off the serpent.

Holding out without hope: The Last Battle

At the stable, Tirian and his last faithful fight the Calormenes of Shift, while the dwarfs, refusing to choose sides, shoot at both. They lose. Lewis does not hide this: loyalty does not guarantee victory. But the defeat at the Hill of the Stable becomes, on the other side of the door, entry into the true Narnia.

Every war has its traitor

Edmund betrays before Beruna, Nikabrik wants to call the White Witch before Aslan’s How, Glozelle and Sopespian stab Miraz, the cat and the fox serve Shift at the end. Each traitor is judged differently: Edmund is forgiven and becomes Edmund the Just, Nikabrik dies, Rabadash is turned into a donkey. For Lewis, betrayal is never just a military failing: it is a matter of the heart, and forgiveness remains possible.

Nine battles at a glance

• Battle — Book — Theme — Outcome
• The Lamp-post Skirmish — The Magician’s Nephew — resisting lies — no one wins; the iron bar becomes the lamp-post
• The Battle of Beruna — The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — defending — Narnia’s victory
• The Battle of Anvard — The Horse and His Boy — defending — victory of Archenland and Narnia
• The wars against the giants — The Horse and His Boy (and Lewis’s chronology) — defending — Narnian victories
• The First Battle of Aslan’s How — Prince Caspian — liberating — Old Narnians’ defeat
• The Duel and the Battle of Aslan’s How — Prince Caspian — liberating — victory, end of Telmarine oppression
• The reclaiming of the Lone Islands — The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — liberating — victory without battle
• The Battle against the Lady of the Green Kirtle — The Silver Chair — resisting lies — Rilian is freed
• The Last Battle — The Last Battle — holding out without hope — defeat, then the true Narnia

On screen

The films do the opposite of Lewis: where he summarizes, they show. The 2005 film turns Beruna into a large set-piece battle, with griffins, a cavalry charge, and a duel between Peter and the Witch; the 2008 film invents a night raid on Miraz’s castle. We analyze these choices in Too much volcano. To place each battle in time, see the history of Narnia; for the kings who led them, The right to rule.

• battles —
  • Battle of the Lamp-post — The Magician's Nephew — 1900 (Earth) — location

    London and England

    — participants
    • Jadis
    — the White Witch
  • London Mob and Police — participants — bystanders, police officers, Frank the cabby
  — Arrival in London, Jadis steals jewels, seizes a cab, and causes panic. At the Ketterley house, the mob and police attempt to stop her. She tears a lamp-post iron bar and uses it as a weapon until Digory and Polly drag her, along with Uncle Andrew, Frank, and Frank’s horse, into the Wood between the Worlds. — No winner: everyone is whisked away to another world. The iron bar, dropped in the newly born Narnia, grows into the lamp-post. — resist
• bataille-de-beruna — The Battle of Beruna — The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — 1000 — location

  The Gué of Beruna

  — participants
  • Narnia and Aslan — leaders
    • Peter
    • Edmund
    • Aslan (reinforcements)
    — centaurs, unicorns, leopards, eagles, talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, giants, then the creatures freed from the White Witch’s castle
  • The White Witch — leaders
    • Jadis
    • Maugrim (killed before the battle)
    — ogres, wolves, dwarfs, ghouls, harpies, minotaurs, evil tree spirits, marshwiggles
  — After Aslan’s death, Peter leads the Narnian army against the Witch’s forces, far more numerous. She turns one fighter after another to stone with her wand. Edmund, realizing the wand’s importance, fights his way to her and shatters it, taking a serious wound in the process. Aslan, resurrected, arrives with the statues he has brought back to life from the Witch’s castle, Lucy and Susan on his back, and the giant Rumblebuffin. — Decisive victory for Narnia. Aslan kills the White Witch. Lucy heals Edmund with her cordial. The four children are crowned at Cair Paravel. — 1 — defend
• bataille-d-anvard — The Battle of Anvard — The Horse and His Boy — 1014 — location

  Anvard

  — participants
  • Archenland and Narnia — leaders
    • King Lune
    • Edmund
    • Lucy (archer)
    • Lord Peridan
    • Corin and Shasta
    — the Anvard garrison; a Narnian relief column with talking horses, centaurs, bears, talking cats, leopards, dwarfs and six giants
  • Calormen — leaders
    • Prince Rabadash
    — about two hundred Calormen horsemen
  — Furious at being rejected by Susan, Rabadash crosses the desert to take Anvard by surprise, then plans to attack Cair Paravel. Warned by Shasta, who runs to the Hermit of the Southern March and then to King Lune, Anvard closes its gates in time. Rabadash has a tree felled to make a battering ram. The Narnian army arrives through the pass and surprises the Calormenes, while Lune and his knights make a sortie. The cats attack the horses, the giants smash the right flank. — Victory for Archenland and Narnia. Rabadash is left hanging by his mail on a wall hook. Aslan turns him into a donkey. Peace settles for a long time between Calormen and its northern neighbors. — 2 — defend
• raid-contre-les-geants — The Wars Against the Northern Giants — The Horse and His Boy — 1014 and 2304 — location

  The Landes of Ettin (Ettinsmoor)

  — participants
  • Narnia — leaders
    • Peter (1014)
    • Caspian X (2304)
    — Narnian army
  • The Northern Giants — leaders
    • Giants of Ettinsmoor
    — These campaigns are only mentioned. While Susan and Edmund visit Tashbaan, Peter leads a victorious expedition against the Northern Giants. After his coronation, Caspian X defeats them in turn and forces them to pay tribute. — Victories of Narnia, which explain the giants’ distrust of Narnia in The Silver Chair. — defend
  • premiere-bataille-de-la-butte-d-aslan — The First Battle of Aslan’s How — Prince Caspian — 2303 — location

    Aslan’s How

    — participants
    • Old Narnians — leaders
      • Caspian
      • Centaur Oreius
      • Trompillon
      • Giant Wimbleweather
      — dwarfs, centaurs, fauns, bears, badgers, Talking Mice of Reepicheep
    • The Telmarine Army — leaders
      • King Miraz
      • Lords Glozelle and Sopespian
      — Telmarine infantry and cavalry, far more numerous
    — Hiding in Aslan’s How, a hollow hill above the broken Stone Table, the Old Narnians attempt an attack at dawn. Caspian and the dwarfs must engage the Telmarine right flank, then Wimbleweather and the centaurs must emerge to cut them off from the rest of the army. But the giant comes out too early and in the wrong place. — Narnian defeat: the small army retreats into Aslan’s How, where it is besieged and discouraged. Caspian blows Susan’s horn. Nikabrik will soon suggest calling the White Witch. — 3 — liberate
  • duel-et-bataille-finale-du-prince-caspian — Peter’s Duel with Miraz and the Battle of Aslan’s How — Prince Caspian — 2303 — location

    Aslan’s How

    — participants
    • Narnians — leaders
      • Peter
      • Edmund
      • Caspian
      • Trompillon
      • Reepicheep
      — Old Narnians, then the awakened trees and Bacchus’s companions
    • Telmarines — leaders
      • Miraz
      • Glozelle
      • Sopespian
      — Telmarine army
    — Peter challenges Miraz to single combat, with Edmund as his second. Encouraged by Glozelle and Sopespian, who hope to see him fall, Miraz accepts. The duel is close; Miraz stumbles, and the two lords cry treachery and stab him in the back, then launch the attack. The Narnians resist, then the trees, awakened by Aslan, begin to move. The Telmarines flee to the Beruna Ford, where the river god, freed by Bacchus, has washed away their bridge. — Narnian victory and end of Telmarine oppression. The Telmarines surrender. Caspian becomes Caspian X; those who wish are sent back to our world through a door opened by Aslan. — 4 — liberate
  • prise-des-iles-solitaires — The Capture of the Lone Islands — The Voyage of the Dawn Treader — 2306 — location

    The Lone Islands

    — participants
    • Caspian and Lord Bern — leaders
      • Caspian
      • Lord Bern
      • Drinian
      — the crew of the Dawn Treader and Bern’s men
    • Governor Gumpas — leaders
      • Governor Gumpas
      • Pug the slave-trader
      — the governor’s guard
    — Captured by slave-traders, Caspian is ransomed by Lord Bern, one of the seven exiled lords. The two men stage a trick: they signal that a great fleet is waiting offshore. Caspian enters the castle of Narrowhaven, ends Gumpas’s paperwork, and forces him to acknowledge his king. — No battle, no victory: Gumpas is deposed, slavery is abolished, Bern is named Duke of the Lone Islands. — liberate
  • combat-contre-la-reine-des-profondeurs — The Fight Against the Lady of the Green Kirtle — The Silver Chair — 2356 — location

    The Underworld

    — participants
    • Rilian and his rescuers — leaders
      • Rilian
      • Eustace
      • Puddleglum
      • Jill
      — three swords and a Marsh-wiggle with burnt foot
    • The Lady of the Green Kirtle — leaders
      • The Lady of the Green Kirtle
      — her magic, then her giant serpent form
    — Just as Rilian is about to leave after being freed from the silver chair, the Lady returns. She tries to lull her enemies to sleep with her green powder and mandolin, persuading them that Narnia and the sun do not exist. Puddleglum crushes the fire with his bare foot, and the smell of Marsh-wiggle’s burnt foot dispels the spell. Furious, the Lady turns into a giant serpent and coils around Rilian. The prince, Eustace, and Puddleglum kill her with their swords. — Rilian is avenged for his mother’s death, killed by the same serpent. The Underworld collapses and the Earthmen return to Bism. — 5 — resist
  • bataille-de-la-colline-de-l-etable — The Battle of Stable Hill (The Last Battle) — The Last Battle — 2555 — location

    Stable Hill

    — participants
    • Narnia’s Faithful — leaders
      • Tirian
      • Eustace
      • Jill
      • Jewel the unicorn
      • Poggin the dwarf
      — a handful of faithful: a few talking beasts, a boar, a bear, dogs, the talking horses who joined them but were shot down by the dwarfs’ arrows
    • Calormen and the traitors — leaders
      • Rishda Tarkaan
      • Shift (already surrendered to Tash before the battle)
      — about thirty Calormen soldiers, Pattertwig the fox and a few allied beasts; the dwarfs refuse to choose sides
    — Tricked by the ape Shift and his false Aslan, Narnia is delivered to the Calormenes. Tirian and his last faithful confront Rishda’s soldiers in front of the stable where Tash actually appeared. The dwarfs, who no longer wish to be “tricked” by anyone, shoot at both sides. One by one, the Narnians are killed or cast into the stable. Tirian drags Rishda inside. — Narnian defeat, eternal victory: inside the stable, Tash takes Rishda and Aslan appears. Narnia ends, and Narnia’s friends enter the true Narnia. — 6 — hold
• note — The ‘illustration’ field refers to the illustration number of the article (null = no illustration).
• questions —
  • hold — Hold — Can one defend oneself without becoming a tyrant? — battles
    • Battle of the Lamp-post
    • Battle of Stable Hill
  • defend — Defend — Is it right to take up arms to defend a country and its people? — battles
    • Battle of Beruna
    • Battle of Anvard
    • Wars Against the Northern Giants
  • liberate — Liberate — Is it right to wage war to free a people from oppression? — battles
    • First Battle of Aslan’s How
    • Peter’s Duel with Miraz and the Battle of Aslan’s How
    • Capture of the Lone Islands
  • resist — Resist — Should one resist evil even if it means fighting? — battles
    • The Fight Against the Lady of the Green Kirtle
• texts by Lewis —
  • Why I Am Not a Pacifist — 1940 — lecture given to an Oxford pacifist society, published in The Weight of Glory — War is an evil, but not always the worst evil: a Christian may, in good conscience, fight in a just war.
  • The Necessity of Chivalry — 1940 — article published in the weekly Time and Tide — The ideal of chivalry requires a man to be both formidable in battle and gentle, almost timid, at the peace table; these two qualities do not come naturally and must be learned together.
  • Surprised by Joy — 1955 — autobiography — Lewis summarizes in a few pages his months in the trenches (November 1917 - April 1918) and his injury, without seeking dramatic effect.
• note on texts by Lewis — The ‘question’ field for each battle refers to see also questions (proper ranking specific to the site).

See also

• The Gué of Beruna
• Anvard
• Aslan’s How
• Stable Hill
• The Lone Islands
• The White Witch’s Wand
• Rhindon, Peter’s Sword, and the Lion Shield
• Narnian Swords and Armor
• The Volcano of Too Much: Judging Narnia Films by Lewis’s Criteria
• Narnia Under Fire: Criticism and Controversy
• From First Dawn to Last Night: The History of Narnia
• Lewis on France: War, Translations, Readers
• The Right to Rule: Those Crowned by Aslan, Usurpers, and Kings Against Their Will