And Peter became a tall and deep chested man and a great warrior, and he was called King Peter the Magnificent.

High King Peter the Magnificent. There are so many things I want to say about him that I’m not sure where to start. Actually I do. The movies messed him up. They really ruined his character. And that upsets me. The producers didn’t absolutely dishonor him in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but they completely obliterated him in Prince Caspian. Ahem, enough said. I’ll get on with it.

All right – before I dive into the magnificent aspect, I want to take a very small detour and appreciate a side of Peter’s character that is really overlooked. Peter is probably one of the kindest characters in the whole Narnia series. Read through both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian and you’ll see that kindness sort of pops out of Peter. Everyone can see this in how he handles the wardrobe situation. Take a look at the beginning of the chapter titled Edmund and the Wardrobe and you’ll see how sweetly Peter treats Lucy. These next few quotes really demonstrate this.

Lucy has persuaded everyone to peek inside the wardrobe. Even though the whole story sounds so implausible, Peter really gives Lucy a chance.

Peter went in and rapped his knuckles on it to make sure that it was solid.

“A jolly good hoax, Lu,” he said as he came out again; “you really have taken us in, I must admit it. We half-believed you.” -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Our next example comes after Edmund and Lucy have come back from their short visit to Narnia. Ed has just lied about having been there at all.

“Look here,” said Peter, turning on him savagely, “shut up! You’ve been perfectly beastly to Lu ever since she started this nonsense about the wardrobe, and now you go playing games with her about it and setting her off again. I believe you did it simply out of spite.” -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Peter’s heart is to protect his sister. He’s angry at Ed, yes. But it’s because Lu is younger and defenseless, and Peter hates bullying.

Also, side-note: Peter doesn’t completely shut down Edmund during this time. Even though he defends Lucy, he doesn’t hate Ed. He’s still being a big brother to him. He DOES keep Ed from bothering Lu, but right before all four Pevensies are chased into the wardrobe he’s actually playing with Edmund.

A few mornings later Peter and Edmund were looking at the suit of armor and wondering if they could take it to bits when the two girls rushed into the room…

I mean, seriously, he’s not always at odds with his little brother. He’s hanging out with him and being a friend. It’s kinda nice to see. Finally, when Ed is brought back from the White Witch’s camp, Peter shows no hesitation to forgive.

Edmund shook hands with each of the others and said to each of them in turn, “I’m sorry,” and everyone said, “That’s all right.” And then everyone wanted very hard to say something which would make it quite clear that they were all friends with him again…” -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Now, in Prince Caspian we don’t see any kind of bravado in Peter’s actions. Throughout the book the High King is full of kindness toward Trumpkin and Caspian. To be honest, Trumpkin was rather nettling at the beginning. Imagine if you’d been a king before, and now a man half your size is openly doubting your abilities. Even Edmund and Lucy lose their cool. In fact, Ed is in the middle of a terrific rant when Peter jumps in.

“There’s no good losing our tempers,” said Peter. “Let’s fit him out with fresh armor and fit ourselves out from the treasure chamber, and have a talk after that.” -Prince Caspian

Nicely handled, Peter. These last quotes I submit to you show this “goodheartedness” even more. Caspian and Peter are meeting for the first time.

“Your Majesty is very welcome,” said Caspian.

“And so is your majesty,” said Peter. “I haven’t come to take your place, you know, but to put you into it.” -Prince Caspian

Enough said. Peter was there to literally give Caspian the kingdom. No strife, no conflict. In fact, they seem to get along quite well. See what Caspian thinks about Peter within the first moments of meeting him?

He (Caspian) was liking Peter very much, but was rather tongue-tied. -Prince Caspian

Can I be any more clear? C. S. LEWIS SERIOUSLY MADE THEM FRIENDS RIGHT OFF!!!!!! WHY ARE THEY PRACTICALLY ENEMIES IN THE MOVIE??????????????????????? Ahem. All right. I think you get my drift.

Anyway, on to our other point.

While writing these character sketches I’m finding a certain principle that seems to hold true through them all. The Narnians find names to describe their monarchs, and each name mirrors an attribute of Aslan. Lucy’s valiance comes from Aslan. Without the Lion, Edmund would be anything but just. When Susan finally rests in Aslan’s control she finds gentleness to replace her worry. The same holds true for Peter. The magnificence we see in Peter is Aslan revealing himself through the High King.

While reading through the books, I was struck with how… normal… Peter is. He’s nothing special. He’s the oldest. He’s kind. He’s got his faults. And he’s anything BUT magnificent. Here are a couple instances where his normalness comes through. See how he reacts when he hears of Aslan for the first time?

Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

When you suddenly feel brave and adventurous, it kinda seems to mean that you didn’t feel brave and adventurous a moment before. Just sayin’…

Next, the children have arrived at Aslan’s camp and are meeting him for the first time.

“Go on,” whispered Mr. Beaver.

“No,” whispered Peter, “you first.”

“No, Sons of Adam before animals,” whispered Mr. Beaver back again.

“Susan,” whispered Peter, “What about you? Ladies first.”

“No, you’re the eldest,” whispered Susan. And of course the longer they went on doing this the more awkward they felt. Then at last Peter realized that it was up to him. He drew his sword and raised it to the salute and hastily saying to the others “Come on. Pull yourselves together,” he advanced to the Lion and said:

“We have come — Aslan.” -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Where is the magnificence? I mean really, Peter, asking your little sister to be the first to speak just seems a little cowardly. But then the boy realizes he has no other option and he faces up to the task. This situation of having no other option hounds him throughout the book.

After being told that he was to be king (which is slightly overwhelming if you think about it), Peter hears Susan’s horn, and he realizes that Aslan has put it up to him to rescue.

Peter did not feel very brave; indeed he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do. He rushed straight up to the monster and aimed a slash of his sword at its side. -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

There’s no bravery or brilliance. But after seeing the task the Lion has given him, he does it. It’s his duty, and there’s nothing else he can do about it. We see this next in the chapter The Triumph of the Witch. The whole company is moving to make camp elsewhere, and Aslan has been instructing Peter on how to effectively fight in the battle.

And all the time he was advising Peter how to conduct the operations, saying things like, “You must put your Centaurs in such and such a place” or “You must post scouts to see that she doesn’t do so-and-so,” till at last Peter said,

“But you will be there yourself, Aslan.”

“I can give you no promise of that,” answered the Lion. And he continued giving Peter his instructions. 

…

Aslan’s mood affected everyone that evening. Peter was feeling uncomfortable too at the idea of fighting the battle on his own; the news that Aslan might not be there had come as a great shock to him. -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Peter is really depending fully on the Lion. Only with Aslan does he feel “brave and adventurous.” How is he supposed to do this on his own? But he does. And really, truly, he wasn’t on his own. Aslan’s plan was perfect and his timing was perfect. Just as the battle seemed pretty hopeless, Aslan came. And at the end of the battle Lucy describes Peter like this:

The next thing that Lucy knew was that Peter and Aslan were shaking hands. it was strange to her to see Peter looking as he looked now — his face was so pale and stern and he seemed so much older. -The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

And I think that after that battle the Narnians saw their High King as a man who fully trusted in the Lion. And with his faith completely grounded in Aslan he was as brave and adventurous and magnificent as one could wish. They didn’t see fear in him anymore. They saw the magnificence that comes when fear is vanquished due to full confidence in Aslan’s timing.

Peter never forgot the lesson of resting in Aslan’s perfect timing. Consider his actions in Prince Caspian.

“Now,” said Peter, as they finished their meal, “Aslan and the girls (that’s Queen Susan and Queen Lucy, Caspian) are somewhere close. We don’t know when he will act. In his time, no doubt, not ours. In the meantime he would like us to do what we can on our own.” -Prince Caspian

In His time, not ours. The High King has confidence and boldness not because of his own ability, but because of Aslan’s ability. He’s seen the Lion come through victorious when he was to be king, and he knows that Aslan will come through again in His own perfect timing. This gives him confidence and true Magnificence.

Love,

Hannah Jo <3