Narnian Hierarchy

T

TheORKINMan

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It seems there are so many Kings and Queens in Narnia, but is there a definate hierarchy among them?

Obviously the top is the Emperor, under him is Aslan, and under him is Peter.

All the rest are below those three but rereading the Voyage of Dawn Treader especially got me wondering if Edmund/Lucy/Susan are also above the other Kings and Queens. Edmund twice tells Caspian that he is not Caspian's subject and once tells Caspian that he should in fact be Edmund's subject because he is an ancient King who is 2nd in command to Peter, who Caspian is sworn to fealty.

Obviously there are other Kings and Queens but that is the most notable sort of conflict. I was just wondering what others thoughts on this are.
 
I would think The Four would have a special status, especially since on two later occasions some of them popped back into Narnia well out of their original timeframe (Caspian and Dawn Treader). And though Peter may have been High King over all kings of Narnia (under Aslan, of course), he himself made clear that once his reign was over, his status was in a supportive, not supplantive, role. (e.g. he says to Caspian, "We're not here to remove you from your throne, but to put you in it." - or words to that effect.) The other three were clearly under him while they sat on the thrones at Cair, but I think their status with respect to other kings (& queens, if there were any) would have been irregular - i.e. they weren't specifically subject to the king, but neither were they over him. Even when Caspian and Edmund were losing their heads at Deathwater, Edmund states that "I'm no subject of yours. If anything, its the other way round. I am one of the four ancient sovereigns of Narnia and you are under allegiance to the High King my brother." Always allowing for the fact that the curse of Deathwater was making everyone a little crazy, the only clear line of heirarchy was from the High King to Caspian - Edmund's particular status was left unclear. And again, of all the later kings, only Caspian was ever enthroned in the presence of The Four, so he may have had a special status.

My opinion? I think it clear that Peter was titular High King over all the later kings, but that it had no heirarchical or practical significance (how could it?) I think the other three would kind of be "off to the side", in the sense that they wouldn't be in any line of authority between Peter and anyone else.

Anyone else have any thoughts?
 
Narnian Heirarchy: Long and Detailed Answer

The Emperor Across the Sea is God. By default he is soverign everywhere. Take a British or Canadian coin and look at the inscription. Elizabeth II Reg. Dei Gr. - Elizabeth II, Queen by the Grace (permission) of God. British law recognizes that the Queen must defer to God's soverign authority.

If one considers Aslan to be the same as The Christ (and I do), then we should remember Christ's words to Pilate. "My kingdom is not of this world." His kingdom is probably not of Narnia either. Aslan's kingdom is a heavenly one.

That leaves the four Pevensies, the eldest of which was the High King Peter. Each of them had an area of special interest, the northern, southern, eastern and western quadrants. In that way they were like governors of states, each state having soverignty over its local affairs. Matters of national import fell under King Peter who made his final decision after consultation with Susan, Edmund and Lucy. The technical term for their arrangement is "Tetrarchy" and the last time there was a functioning tetrarchy on Earth was the Roman Empire of the First Century CE. Herod, mentioned in the gospels as Caesar and Herod (he was both), was a tetrarch over Judea.

The Emperor Across the Sea was and is King of Kings. Emperors rule a collection of related kingdoms and make the decisions that affect more than one kingdom. In Austria-Hungary, for instance, H.I.M. Franz Josef of Austria could declare war unilaterally (think World War I) but H.R.M. the King of Hungary was dragged into the war without his leave, like it or not (he didn't). By and large the Emperor Across the Sea preoccupied himself with the laws of nature and left the world's kingdoms and their kings under his Viceroy, his son Aslan. A viceroy is someone who represent's a ruler's authority in his absence. The Queen of England is by coincidence also the Queen of Canada. She cannot live both places at once, so she appoints a Viceroy to represent her physical presence and speak for her. The viceroy does not rule, nor does he outrank the Prime Minister, the elected head of state. He does, however, speak for Elizabeth II, and she is the titular head of state. Aslan spoke for the Emperor and dealt directly with the kingdoms as needed.

John Burkitt
 
I believe that obviously the emperor is top and then Aslan. As far as the Human kings; King Frank is above even Peter as he is the first king of Narnia. Peter, as High King, is above all other kings. I believe after that it is the current reigning king who is highest. However, I would agree that Edmund, Susan, and Lucy demand more respect than most kings and queens because of their earlier status. Also, when they return to Narnia they are still kings and queens so they still have power. (I would assume) And finally, I would guess that Caspian gets a little more reverence than others just because he brought back the old narnia in a sense.
 
oh, and in THAHB, lucy notes that she can't carry her cordial under orders from the high king. Which implies that even though Peter is her brother, Lucy still must obey him despite her own queenly stature.
 
Chakal said:
If one considers Aslan to be the same as The Christ (and I do), then we should remember Christ's words to Pilate. "My kingdom is not of this world." His kingdom is probably not of Narnia either. Aslan's kingdom is a heavenly one.
Click to expand...
Ah, but Mr. Beaver identifies Aslan as The King when He's first mentioned. I think we'd have to concede that Narnia is, ultimately, Aslan's kingdom, and all proper kings from Frank onward are under him.

Chakal said:
That leaves the four Pevensies, the eldest of which was the High King Peter. Each of them had an area of special interest, the northern, southern, eastern and western quadrants. In that way they were like governors of states, each state having soverignty over its local affairs. Matters of national import fell under King Peter who made his final decision after consultation with Susan, Edmund and Lucy. The technical term for their arrangement is "Tetrarchy" and the last time there was a functioning tetrarchy on Earth was the Roman Empire of the First Century CE. Herod, mentioned in the gospels as Caesar and Herod (he was both), was a tetrarch over Judea.
Click to expand...
An interesting extrapolation, but the whole "quadrant" thing is entirely an invention of the movie - there's no indication of any such thing in the books. What is mentioned is interests: Lucy in the outdoor sports and warfare, Edmund in judgement and council, Susan in more typically "womanly" interests (probably considered the true "queen" of Cair), and Peter just over all.
 
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