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The inventory of wonders: the objects of Narnia by what they do

Thirty-eight objects, six families: what opens a passage, what one receives as a gift, what ensnares, what touches the sacred, what makes a kingdom, and the small things.

The cabinet of wonders

Une table de pierre couverte d'objets de toutes les Chroniques
  • A classification by function in the story, and not by alphabetical order.
  • In Lewis, gifts and passages between worlds are good; what promises something and asks for nothing is a trap.
  • A list by book, in the data for the page.

The Chronicles contain few magical objects, but not one of them is there by chance. Rather than an alphabetical catalogue, here are the 38 objects on the site, arranged by what they do in the story. A pattern emerges: in Lewis, what opens a passage, or what one receives as a gift, is almost always good; what promises something and asks for nothing is almost always a trap.

To pass from one world to another

Lewis rarely invents the same passage twice. Dust that came from Atlantis becomes rings, a wardrobe made from a Narnian apple tree opens onto the winter, a painting begins to stream with seawater, and a stable door gives onto Aslan's Country.

  • Atlantean box: The little box bequeathed by Mrs Lefay to Uncle Andrew contained dust from another world.
  • Magic rings: The rings that Uncle Andrew made from the dust of Atlantis work as a pair: the yellow one leads to the Wood between the Worlds, and the green one leads out of it.
  • The Wardrobe: The great wardrobe in the Professor's house, made from the wood of a Narnian apple tree, is the way the Pevensies enter Narnia.
  • The painting: The painting of a ship, the Dawn Treader, hanging in the Scrubbs' house, comes alive and swallows Lucy, Edmund and Eustace.
  • The Stable / Stable Door: The little thatched stable on Stable Hill, larger inside than outside, has become the door into Aslan's Country.

Gifts and weapons

Father Christmas does not offer toys but tools: a sword, a horn, a bow, a phial and a dagger. Each gift says something about the one who receives it, and each will serve again later.

  • Rhindon, Peter's sword, and the shield with the lion: The sword and the shield were given to Peter by Father Christmas. The shield bears a red lion on a silver ground.
  • Susan's Horn: The ivory horn was given to Susan by Father Christmas. Whoever sounds it in distress receives help, and it calls the Pevensies back to Narnia.
  • Susan's bow and arrows: The bow that almost never misses its mark was given to Susan by Father Christmas.
  • Lucy's cordial: The little diamond phial given to Lucy by Father Christmas will heal almost any wound with a single drop.
  • Lucy's dagger: The little dagger that Father Christmas gives Lucy is for her to defend herself as a last resort.
  • Rilian's sword and shield: Rilian has a sword and a black shield, which turns silver again, with the red lion, when the enchantment is broken.
  • Tirian's sword: It is the sword of the last king of Narnia, with which he fights all the way to the Stable Door.
  • Swords of the Seven Lords: These are the swords Caspian must find, witnesses to the fate of the seven lords exiled by Miraz.
  • Narnian armour: The armour and weapons of Narnia run from the coats of mail of the Golden Age to the equipment of Tirian's watch-tower.

Enchantments, baits and traps

Evil, in Narnia, seduces before it strikes: a sweet that enslaves, a tune and a powder that put memory to sleep, a lion skin that passes a donkey off as Aslan, and a bell that should never have been rung.

  • Bell and Hammer: The little golden bell and its hammer, in the Hall of Images at Charn, are what wake Jadis.
  • Deplorable Word: It is the forbidden word that kills every living thing in a world, except the one who speaks it. Jadis spoke it in order to annihilate Charn.
  • Turkish Delight: The magical sweetmeats that the White Witch offers Edmund give him an insatiable hunger to eat still more of them.
  • White Witch's wand: The wand with which Jadis turns her enemies into statues of stone is broken by Edmund at Beruna.
  • Eustace's armlet: The golden armlet that Eustace slips onto his arm tightens around his dragon's leg and reveals the fate of Lord Octesian.
  • The Silver Chair (the enchanted object): The enchanted chair of Underland is the one to which Rilian is bound every night, during the hour in which he is in his right mind.
  • Mandolin and green powder: These are the instruments of the Lady of the Green Kirtle's enchantment: a powder thrown on the fire, and the monotonous music of a mandolin.
  • Lion skin: The lion's hide found in Caldron Pool is what Shift uses to dress Puzzle, so as to make people believe that Aslan has returned.

Sacred things and the deep laws

Some ‘objects’ are not really objects: a law older than the world, a stone knife, a table laid at the end of the sea, and four sentences never to be forgotten. They touch the spiritual heart of the Chronicles.

  • Deep Magic / Deeper Magic: These are the laws engraved from the very beginning of the world: every traitor belongs to the White Witch, but an innocent victim who dies in the traitor's place drives death back.
  • Stone Knife: The stone knife with which the White Witch kills Aslan is afterwards kept on Aslan's Table.
  • Apple of Youth / Tree of Protection: These are the silver apples of the garden of the West, the tree that Digory plants in Narnia in order to protect it, and the apple that heals his mother.
  • Aslan's Table: The long table on Ramandu's Island, always laden, was laid by Aslan's command for those who come so far.
  • Sweet water: The sweet, luminous water of the Silver Sea, the last sea, nourishes whoever drinks it and makes the sight keener.
  • Magician's book: Coriakin's great book of spells is the one Lucy reads in order to make the Dufflepuds visible.
  • Four Signs: These are the four directions given by Aslan to Jill, so that she may find Prince Rilian.

Royalty, ships and treasures

Thrones, crowns, banners with the red lion, a lamp-post fallen from a London street, and two ships: these are the visible signs of a kingdom that remembers its Golden Age.

  • Lamp-post: The lamp-post that shines in the middle of the forest was born of an iron bar torn from London and planted by chance in the new earth of Narnia.
  • Four Thrones: The four thrones in the great hall of Cair Paravel are those which the prophecy says will be occupied by two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve.
  • Treasure chamber: The strongroom beneath the ruins of Cair Paravel is where the Pevensies find their gifts and their weapons from long ago.
  • Crowns: The crowns of the kings and queens of Narnia run from the coronation of the Pevensies to those worn by the heroes in Aslan's Country.
  • Narnian banners: The emblem is a red lion rampant on a ground of silver or of gold, and the war-horns go with the armies of Narnia.
  • Dawn Treader: The royal ship of Caspian X, with a dragon prow and a purple sail, sails towards the utter East.
  • Splendour Hyaline: The royal galleon of the sovereigns of the Golden Age carries the court of Narnia to Tashbaan, and bears them away from it in flight.

The small things

A giants' cookery book with a worrying chapter, odds and ends and curiosities: it is often the details that make a world habitable.

  • Giants' cookbook: The cookery book discovered in the kitchen at Harfang reveals that the travellers are meant to be on the menu.
  • Miscellaneous objects: The small objects, foods and picturesque details of the books are what the old site recorded with care.

To go further

The objects that serve as passages are studied together in The portals between the worlds. The weapons appear again on the battlefields of The clash of arms.

See also

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