Cor

"When he was sitting out of doors mending the nets, and all alone, he would often look eagerly to the north."

- Chapter One

Cor, also known as Shasta, was the Prince and later King of Archenland.

The son of King Lune, Cor was kidnapped while still an infant, and stolen away to Calormen. Years later, he returned and saved Archenland from the greatest danger it had ever faced.

He eventually married his one-time travelling companion, Aravis, with whom he ruled with once King Lune died. Cor and Aravis also had a son who would later go on to be King Ram the Great.

Biography
Cor (later known as Shasta) was born in the land of Archenland as the elder twin brother of Corin, the sons of King Lune.

As a baby, Cor, along with his brother, was brought into Narnia by his parents to be blessed by a wise old centaur. The centaur predicted that Cor would one day save Archenland from the greatest danger it would ever be in. But one of King Lune's lords, Lord Bar, who was working as an agent for the Tisroc of Calormen, kidnapped Cor to try to prevent this from happening.

King Lune pursued the kidnappers out to sea, but when the treacherous Lord Bar knew that his ship would be caught on the seventh day, he sent Cor away in a boat with a knight, and was killed when his ship was caught. The knight gave all the food he had to Cor, and died of starvation, but the boat was eventually pushed ashore by Aslan.

Cor was then found by a Calormen fisherman named Arsheesh. He was named "Shasta," and was raised as little more than a slave.

One day, Arsheesh and Shasta were visited by a Tarkaan and his horse. While Arsheesh and the Tarkaan talked, Shasta heard about how he had been found. He also found out the horse, named Bree, could talk. Bree told him about the lands of the North, and the two decided to escape Calormen and make for those lands.

If Shasta had not escaped, he would have been sold to the Tarkaan, who Bree told him was harsher and crueler than Arsheesh.

Return Home


"Oh hurrah! Then we'll go North. I've been longing to go to the North all my life."

- Chapter One

Some time later, Bree and Shasta met with two other travelers, Aravis and her horse Hwin. After some initial disagreements between the humans in the group, the four decided to continue on their journey together. They traveled without much difficulty, until they came to the Calormen capital of Tashbaan.

They were separated when Cor was mistaken for Prince Corin, who was staying with Queen Susan and King Edmund of Narnia on a diplomatic mission, and who had become separated from his group due to fighting a boy who had insulted Susan. Cor was taken back to the House the Narnians were staying in.

Rabadash, the prince of Calormen, had been courting Susan, but she had seen what he was really like in Tashbaan, and the group planned to leave secretly so that she could avoid being forced to marry him. From Sallowpad the raven, Shasta heard of a narrow valley with a river in the desert between Calormen and Archenland, and was able to escape with the help of his brother Corin (neither knew of their relation at the time).

Shasta waited at the Tombs, where Aslan protected him from Jackals and took the form of a cat to comfort him, and reunited with Bree, Hwin and Aravis. Aravis, while in the city, had heard of Rabadash's plan to invade Archenland, to use it as a staging ground to invade Narnia and abduct Queen Susan.

The group then set out across the desert to warn King Lune of the impending invasion, and on the way, Aslan chased them so they could get to King Lune in time.

Shasta was able to tell King Lune about the attack, and the king raced back to Anvard to prepare his defenses, though Shasta was left behind, as he was unable to ride the horse he had been given fast enough.

That night, Shasta met with Aslan, who explained how he had arrived in Calormen and came to be raised by the fisherman. Aslan made sure Shasta found his way to Narnia, enabling him to tell the Narnians of the attack on Archenland. Chervy the Stag delivered the news to Cair Paravel, and Shasta then rested at the house of three dwarves. Soon after this, he ran into a Narnian relief army coming to assist King Lune, meeting Corin again, and fought in the battle that led to Rabadash's capture and the destruction of the Calormene army, fulfilling the prophecy that had been made about him.

After the battle, King Lune revealed that Shasta was really his long lost son Cor, and officially introduced him to his people, asking if any of them had any doubts of Cor's identity. None did.

Cor later invited Aravis to live with him and his family in Anvard, which she accepted. He also learned, to his dismay, that since he had returned to his homeland, he was once again King Lune's heir, and would become king upon his father's death. He asked his father if he could change this, but was told even the King must obey the law.

Later life
In his later life, Cor became an expert swordsman, but he could never match Corin in terms of fist-fighting. He also married Aravis, and they became the rulers of Archenland after King Lune's death. Their son Ram, also known as Ram the Great, was the most famous of all Archenland's kings.

Afterlife
Cor was taken to Aslan's Country after he died, and he was among those who welcomed everyone there after Narnia was destroyed.

Trivia

 * Cor is the name of a giant in English folklore.
 * The name Shasta is of Bantu origin and means "Precious Water."

Cor Cor