Chronicles of Narnia Prince Sword

Spring’s Herald: The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Sword

So, this replica of the Chronicles of Narnia Prince sword is, you guessed it, based on the sword wielded by Peter Pevensie, eventual King of Narnia. Specifically, it’s based on the sword that we see in the movies based on the books written by C.S Lewis.

As is fitting for a sword wielded by a king, Peter’s sword is beautifully designed. It is elegant and distinctive while still being a serviceable sword, fit for a warrior king. It is ideal for display purposes, as the sword is iconic and comes with a wooden shield-like plaque. This plaque emulates the shield given to Peter alongside his sword, with the Narnian crest of a lion.

However, you could also use this replica for both cosplay and fantasy LARPing purposes. It is pretty much essential for a King Peter costume, as it’s an iconic part of his equipment. When LARPing, be aware that this is a very distinctive sword, which allows you to get creative. Yes, a noble would carry a sword such as this without question, but what about a grizzled mercenary? Perhaps it is a stolen trophy, or a hint to a hidden past.

The royal quality of this weapon is obvious when we look at the hilt. The pommel depicts a golden lion, which fits the lion motif of Peter and of Aslan. Aslan being a big talking lion, of course. The handle has a look of rosewood, split partway by a golden wavy ring, much like a crown. The cross guard itself is straight and relatively simple, but with a satin finish.

When categorising this sword, we could define it as a hand-and-a-half sword, otherwise known as a bastard sword. It has a longer blade than most one-handed swords, but is designed to be wielded alongside a shield, which we see the character doing in both the films and the books.

Speaking of the blade, this is where we see much of the beauty of this sword. The blade is straight and double-edged, as we’d expect from a longsword. It features a deep, wide, squared off fuller that runs about three quarters down the blade. Etched in this groove is ancient script, which reads:

“When Aslan Shakes His Mane, We Shall Have Spring Again.”

Fans of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe will recognise this as being from a prophecy which features heavily in that book.

Winter’s Death: The Golden Age Prophecy

First of all, let’s have a look at this prophecy as it was written by C.S Lewis. Mainly because it’s a cool prophecy, but also to remind us what it says.

Wrong will be right, When Aslan comes in Sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.

When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone,

Sits at Cair Paravel in throne,

The evil time will be over and done

As we can see, this prophecy is split quite nicely into two different parts. The first part discusses Aslan, the aforementioned talking lion. The second part mentions “Adam’s flesh”. It becomes increasingly obvious who or what this is when we get into the book and near enough every character refers to the four Pevensie siblings as “sons and daughters of Adam”.

Why the Prophecy Was Needed

Prophecies pop up a lot in fantasy novels. They can serve to point out a “chosen one” who will save the world, declare the future doom of a character or setting, or do a bit of both. Some settings have loads of prophecies that can mean all sorts of things, which are both ominous and vague.

However, the golden age prophecy is pretty optimistic and easy to understand. We don’t actually know when it was first uttered, but it was likely either during or after the conquest of Narnia at the hands of the White Witch.

The White Witch was a powerful sorceress who was as cold-hearted as she was beautiful. That is, very. She had originally been banished by Aslan, but eventually returned and usurped the Narnian throne. By this point she was incredibly skilled in dark magic, capable of several terrifying feats. These included the ability to curse Narnia to an endless winter.

With her power, the White Witch killed the royal family and ruled as a tyrant over Narnia for a hundred years. She even exterminated the human population of Narnia, who had the right to rule Narnia. However, this rule wouldn’t last forever.

The Fulfilment of the Prophecy: Aslan and Humanity’s Return

While the White Witch would have been quite happy to continue ruling, very few agreed with her. Even those who willingly served her only did so out of fear, as she wasn’t above using her own powers to punish any dissidents.

But even her power wasn’t infallible. One of the few who she feared was Aslan, the Great Lion. Aslan was wise, kind, and incredibly powerful, and he wasn’t willing to let the White Witch run riot for long. With his approach, the first part of the prophecy began to be fulfilled.

The prophecy also required something else, which was “Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone”. This is a fancy way of saying that humans needed to return to Narnia. When the four Pevensie siblings arrived from Earth, things were truly set into motion. These siblings were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.

Of course, there were a few more steps before everything got sorted out. But the cracks in the Witch Witch’s rule started to show with Aslan’s arrival. First, Father Christmas broke through his exile, acting as a herald of her downfall and giving Peter a nice sword to boot.

Then, Aslan sacrificed himself to save Edmund, who was in the White Witch’s clutches and was due to be killed. As he was innocent, he was revived and able to lead an army to support the Pevensies in their battle against the White Witch.

After she was defeated, Aslan crowned the four siblings as the kings and queens of Narnia in Cair Paravel. This marked the beginning of a golden age for Narnia, as well as fulfilling the prophecy.

Tech Specs

The technical specifications of the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Sword replica are as follows:

•         Overall Length: 45 inches or 114.3 cm
•         Blade Length: 36.5 inches or 92.7 cm
•         Handle material: Metal and metal core
•         Guard Width: 8.25 inches or 21 cm
•         Plaque Material: Wood with painted design
•         Plaque size: 11.5 x 7.5 inches