Coriakin
Encyclopedia
Coriakin is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's
Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
.
, who, as reparation for past misdeeds was charged by Aslan
to rule the Duffers and guide them to wisdom. The exact nature of Coriakin's misdeeds is unclear (a fellow star, Ramandu
, mentions they are not for human beings to know " 'What did he do, Sire' asked Caspian. 'My son,' said Ramandu, 'it is not for you, a son of Adam, to know what faults a star can commit.'" ).
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Coriakin appears as a stereotypical wizard, complete with a beard and ornate robes. He lives on an island in a large house reminiscent of English mansions. He has a spellbook kept in a room on the top floor. He owns various other odd items such as a Bearded Glass.
Coriakin requires magic
to govern the Duffers, although they will be ruled by wisdom in the distant future. Because of the dim-witted stubbornness of his subjects, Coriakin eventually casts a spell that merges their legs into a single leg each. The Duffers, believing themselves to have been "uglified," sneak into his rooms and cast a spell to make themselves invisible, hiding their new appearance. The spell also affects Coriakin. However, the Duffers eventually tire of being invisible, and coerce Lucy Pevensie
into reading the spell that makes them visible again (the spell could only be read by a young girl, and the Duffers were too cowardly to send any of their own daughters). After perusing through a few other distracting spells, Lucy made all things visible in the magician's house (including Coriakin and Aslan himself).
Lucy soon sees the magician as a kind, wise fellow with a good sense of humor, hardly the terrifying sorcerer the Duffers made him out to be. He suggests that she try to convince the Duffers that their new appearance is nicer than their former one, which she succeeds in doing. The dwarfs rename themselves Monopods, but keep mixing it up with their old name and come to be known as Dufflepuds.
Dufflepuds are among the creatures that entered Aslan's Country in The Last Battle
. Presumably Coriakin's efforts at enlightening them are successful by that time.
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Written in 1950, it was published in 1952 as the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia...
.
Biographical summary
Coriakin was originally a starStar
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
, who, as reparation for past misdeeds was charged by Aslan
Aslan
Aslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...
to rule the Duffers and guide them to wisdom. The exact nature of Coriakin's misdeeds is unclear (a fellow star, Ramandu
Ramandu
Ramandu is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, part of the series The Chronicles of Narnia.- About :...
, mentions they are not for human beings to know " 'What did he do, Sire' asked Caspian. 'My son,' said Ramandu, 'it is not for you, a son of Adam, to know what faults a star can commit.'" ).
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Coriakin appears as a stereotypical wizard, complete with a beard and ornate robes. He lives on an island in a large house reminiscent of English mansions. He has a spellbook kept in a room on the top floor. He owns various other odd items such as a Bearded Glass.
Coriakin requires magic
Magic (fantasy)
Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
to govern the Duffers, although they will be ruled by wisdom in the distant future. Because of the dim-witted stubbornness of his subjects, Coriakin eventually casts a spell that merges their legs into a single leg each. The Duffers, believing themselves to have been "uglified," sneak into his rooms and cast a spell to make themselves invisible, hiding their new appearance. The spell also affects Coriakin. However, the Duffers eventually tire of being invisible, and coerce Lucy Pevensie
Lucy Pevensie
Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan...
into reading the spell that makes them visible again (the spell could only be read by a young girl, and the Duffers were too cowardly to send any of their own daughters). After perusing through a few other distracting spells, Lucy made all things visible in the magician's house (including Coriakin and Aslan himself).
Lucy soon sees the magician as a kind, wise fellow with a good sense of humor, hardly the terrifying sorcerer the Duffers made him out to be. He suggests that she try to convince the Duffers that their new appearance is nicer than their former one, which she succeeds in doing. The dwarfs rename themselves Monopods, but keep mixing it up with their old name and come to be known as Dufflepuds.
Dufflepuds are among the creatures that entered Aslan's Country in The Last Battle
The Last Battle
The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in Literature in 1956.-Plot summary:In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end...
. Presumably Coriakin's efforts at enlightening them are successful by that time.
Portrayals
- In the 1989 television serialMiniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
produced by the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Coriakin is played by Preston LockwoodPreston LockwoodPreston Lockwood was an English actor.He is best known for his television credits, including the role of Butterfield the butler in several episodes of Jeeves and Wooster...
. - In the 2010 FoxFoxFox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
/WaldenWaldenWalden is an American book written by noted Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau...
film, he is portrayed by Bille BrownBille BrownBille Brown, AM is an Australian Shakespearean actor and acclaimed writer of plays.Brown was born in Biloela, Queensland and studied drama at the University of Queensland where he received and Honorary Doctorate of Letters...
.
Factoids
- As Coriakin told Lucy, invisibility makes him feel sleepy
- Coriakin walks in bare feet which sets him apart from many other fictional magicians