The Fate of Cair Paravel?

tirian_son_of_erlian

Active member
Cair Paravel is in ruins in "Prince Caspian." I believe it is unmentioned in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treador." If I'm not mistaken, the castle in "The Silver Chair" is referred to as Cair Paravel. Although I have searched diligently through the books for an explanation, I didn't find one. However, in the "C.S. Lewis Encyclopedia" it states that Caspian rebuilt the castle during his reign. Is this a logical assumption, or is it stated somewhere in the books?

Also, what do you think will be the fate of Cair Paravel in the movies. Caspian seemed cozy in the Telmarine quarters at the end of "Prince Caspian." Do you think they will use that as the castle for "The Silver Chair," or will they rebuild Cair Paravel. If they do rebuild Cair Paravel on the Eastern Sea, which I hope they do, I really hope it will not look fake from poor CGI as in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
 
I was thinking about this just the other day. Well if you look in Last Battle AND in Silver Chair, you find your answer. In SC the children Eustace and Jill go to Cair and have supper there and are picked up by the owls there. And in Last Battle it says that there were Carlomens IN Cair.

So I'd think Caspian rebuilt it during his reign, and you must remeber that is was years and years in Narnian time between VODT and SC. So they'd have had plently of time to rebuild Cair Paravel.
And I believe they rebuilt Cair on top of the ruins of the old, but that is only what I think.;)

Hope that helps!:D

And BTW it says in Dawn Treader that Caspian 'set out' from Cair Paravel.;)

And as to Cair's fate in the movies, they may more have to build it again because of a scene I mentioned in SC, or at least I'd hope they would. I found it so sad when the kids came back in PC and Cair was in ruins.
 
Well real castles tended to be modified and rebuilt over time so the same is probably true of Cair Paravel.
In SC the Owls meet in a ruined tower somewhere close to Caspians Cair and I`ve wondered if this might be a part of the old Pevensies castle or even older.
In LB Cair is described as a city rather than as just a castle so it must grow much larger after Caspians time.
 
There's an oblique reference to Cair Paravel in Dawn Treader, when Aslan speaks of visiting Trumpkin who is there "counting the days until his master's [i.e. Caspian's] return." So by the time Caspian set sail it was already functioning as the seat of government. The castle in Silver Chair is certainly Cair Paravel, and it's even mentioned in The Last Battle.

By the way, I'm moving this thread to the forum on the books - this one pertains to the movie.
 
Cair Paravel was rebuilt for very important reasons. It had four thrones, folks, the all-important four thrones of the prophesy. The White Witch did not build it, nor did she live there. They were built, no doubt, in response to some prophesy or another that four mighty deliverers, two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve, would sit there. It had to be such a compelling prophesy that the expense of building it would be approved.

When the White Witch swept in, many of the talking beasts thought Jadis would be defeated in combat by these four champions before she could take over. When she did, there was profound disappointment, yet the prophesy lived on that the four would arrive with Aslan.

The four thrones took on holy significance. In rebuilding Cair Paravel, Caspian was rebuilding government on behalf of the talking beasts for whom Narnia was made.

When you want to know things right and proper, ask a badger...we have Smart-Stripes (TM).
 
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