Caspian I

Book portrayal

Caspian I is the first Telmarine king to conquer Narnia. By the time of Prince Caspian, he is long dead, but his shadow still lies over the whole book. He is the founder of the human dynasty that drove the old Narnians into hiding and rewrote the country around Telmarine fear and domination.

That makes Caspian I more than a historical footnote. He is the starting point of the political order Prince Caspian is struggling to undo. Later kings inherit the throne, but they also inherit the damage created by the Conqueror’s original invasion.

Lewis uses figures like Caspian I to give Narnia a real sense of past depth. The conflict in the book did not begin yesterday. It reaches back through generations.