Narnian Ships

[wolfloversk]

Remember in the opening pages of VDT when Lu and Ed notice how Narnian the ship in the painting looks? Well this brings up a good question, just what did Narnian ships look like?

The Dawn Treader- Well we all know this one. Dragon head for a prow, the tail coming of the back (stern, right?) the wings along the sides. Purple sails.

The Splendour Hyaline- in the last page of Ch 8 in PC, this ship is described as having a swan's head at the prow, swan's wings along both sides. "great stern lanterns." In VDT I believe it's also said that the Dawn Treader isn't as majestic as the ships from the golden age, including this one.


So it appears as though animals and creatures are a basis in the design of Narnian ships.

Another question I have, did Caspian use the Dawn Treader in SC? Or was it a different ship altogether?

[DiGoRyKiRkE]

If we're to go off of the Pauline Baynes illustration, then we have to assume that it was a different ship entirely. The ship that Baynes gives us looks more like a ship that one would expect to see in a medieval navy, in that it is compact, practical, and sensible.

[SilverSea]

I think all Narnian ships were based off of the same concept: winged animals at the prow with their wings along the side, and a large single sail with only one colour.

[wolfloversk]

SilverSea, I'm not so sure about single sail, in PC it says that the Splendour Hyaline had "silken sails." It uses sails plural not singular. I do think however that the ships during Caspian's reign were smaller, and therefore required less sails than those in the golden age. I could be wrong though.

[DamselJillPole]

I agree with SilverSea (that rhymed)

I assume it has something to do with the same concept of any animal.