Miraz

"Everyone except your Majesty knows that Miraz is a usurper. When he first began to rule he did not even pretend to be King; he called himself Lord Protector. But then your royal mother died, the good Queen and the only Telmarine who was ever kind to me. And then, one by one, all the great lords, who had known your father, died or disappeared. Not by accident, either: Miraz weeded them out [...] And when there was no one left who could speak a word for you, then his flatterers (as he had instructed them) begged him to become King. And of course he did."

- Cornelius speaking of Miraz

King Miraz (reign: Narnian-years 2263—2303) was the unrightful ruler of the Kingdom of Narnia, reigning during the revisit of the Pevensie children and the Telmarine Age of Narnia.

Usurping the Throne
Miraz was the younger brother of Caspian IX, the Telmarine-Narnian king and uncle of Caspian X. Miraz was an imperious, cruel and deceptive man, so intent on gaining power that he secretly murdered his own brother to take control of the throne (presumably by poisoning him while he was asleep, as when he was confronted about his involvment in his death, his wife thought that Caspian IX had died in his sleep, to which he responded that he did in a manner of speaking). He called himself Lord Protector after Caspian IX's mysterious death and he let his nephew (the murderered king's son) live only because, at the time, he had no heir himself.

He had a nurse raise Caspian X in his early years, but dismissed her because she would tell Caspian the stories of the old Narnia before it had been invaded by the Telmarines. He had a tutor named Doctor Cornelius teach Caspian from that point on. What Miraz did not know was that Cornelius was actually half-dwarf, and so also had Old Narnian leanings, intending to incite rebellion against the current Telmarine regime.

Narnian Revolution
Miraz's wife, Queen Prunaprismia, eventually gave birth to a son when Caspian was a young man. No longer needing Caspian X as an heir, he decided to have him killed (before Caspian learned the truth of his father's unusual and sudden death). But Caspian had been warned about this by Dr. Cornelius and fled for his life. While on the run, he met with the Old Narnians and promised to lead them in an attempt to overthrow Miraz and the Telmarine dynasty. Miraz learned of this, and sent armies forth to quell his nephew and his army of Old Narnians during their growing revolution.

During this time, the four Pevensies returned to Narnia (due to Caspian blowing Susan's Horn), and they allied with Caspian. Miraz vanquished the old Narnians twice at Aslan's How and prepared his army to destroy their rebellion completely. However, among Miraz's council of lords and advisers, some were actually plotting to betray Miraz and take the throne for themselves, notably the Lords Glozelle, Sopespian, and Gergiore. They therefore encouraged Miraz into a sword duel against the former High King Peter Pevensie, since it would place Miraz in immediate danger, perhaps even leading directly to his death at Peter's hands (which would allow them to seize Miraz's power and be free from blame of his death). They had him accept the duel by using his own arrogance to encourage the idea rather than be thought of as a coward.

At the duel, on one side stood the Telmarine Army and, on the other, the Old Narnian Army. In the middle, Miraz and Peter bowed to one another and began; Peter quickly spilled first blood by pricking Miraz in the armpit, though Miraz had the advantage of height and weight. Miraz struck Peter's helmet and shoulder while Glozelle and Sopespian waited for their chance to betray Miraz. Miraz clumsily slipped on a tussock and fell; before he could rise again, Glozelle and Sopespian rushed into the lists, lying that Peter had wrongly stabbed Miraz while he was down. This deliberately excited the watching Telmarine Army into charging into the Old Narnian Army, thinking that Miraz was dead. As the chaos broke out during this Battle of Beruna, while all were preoccupied, Glozelle quietly approached the fallen Miraz who in fact was unharmed and stabbed him to death. The battle that followed resulted in the fall of the Telmarine dynasty; Sopespian was killed and Glozelle disappeared.

Physical Description
Miraz was never given any description in the book, and so consequently his appearence differs drastically between the films. In the BBC films, he is a big man with shoulder-length reddish hair, an unshaven face, and a mustache. In the Disney Adaption, he is taller and slimmer, with extremely short dark hair, a black beard, and a mustache.

Role in the Film
In the BBC Film, Robert Lang played Miraz. In it Miraz's role in very similar to the book---he is shown to have a sour relationship with his nephew, Caspian, and once his wife, Pruniprismia, has a child, Miraz sets tries to have Caspian killed, seeing as he no longer needs him as heir to the throne. Like in the books, he is shown to have a fierce temper, yelling at Glozelle and Sopespian. He falls during the end fight scene due to having been injured by Peter, and is then promptly killed by Glozelle, who pretends to help him up.

Sergio Castellito played Miraz in the Disney and Walden Media film. Miraz's role in the film---including his personality---differs drastically. In the books he is outright hard and bad tempered, whereas in the movie he acts more soft, subtle and dangerous. At the beginning of the film he has already murdered Caspian's father but is not king. He and Caspian do not interact much, seeing as Caspian leaves early on in the film. He is shown far more often---notably at a scene where he presents Trumpkin before the Telmarine council as proof Old Narnians are around. He notably slaps Trumpkin during the scene. He is killed by Sopespian, not Glozelle, and---ironically---with one of Susan's arrows, instead of Glozelle's sword.



Trivia

 * Miraz is very similar to Claudius from the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. Like Claudius, Miraz killed his brother to become king, and is enemies with his nephew. In addition, the Disney film implies that Miraz killed his brother in his sleep, much like Claudius did.

Behind the Scenes

 * Sergio Castellitto played Miraz in the Disney and Walden media film of Prince Caspian.
 * Robert Lang played Miraz in the BBC film version of Prince Caspian.