Maugrim

"Be still, stranger, or you'll never move again!"

- Maugrim, threatening Edmund.

Maugrim (known by some records as Fenris Ulf) was a ferocious talking wolf in Narnia, and the captain of the White Witch's Secret Police at the very end of the Long Winter.

He was also one of the White Witch's most loyal followers, and was known for his cruelty to the other Narnians.

Biography
Maugrim was born during the Age of Winter, and at some point joined her Secret Police. It's possible that all wolves were required to join, as wolves legs are known to be moderately longer than those of other canids, which enables them to move swiftly, allowing them to overcome deep snow, making them the ideal candidates for her forces.

Over time he rose to the position of police captain, which was no doubt because of his contempt for his fellow Narnians and his fierce loyalty to the Witch. Under his leadership, he and his police force were feared throughout all of Narnia.

When Jadis learned that one of her spies, the Faun Tumnus, had seen a human and not informed her, she sent Maugrim to apprehend him.

He led the raid on Tumnus' Cave where the Faun lived, and captured him, leaving his home in ruin. He also left behind an intimidating message there, so as to make an example of the poor Faun, and to warn those passing by not to make the mistake of betraying his queen.

Maugrim later encountered the human boy, Edmund Pevensie, while guarding the White Witch's Castle courtyard, after Edmund stepped over him, mistaking him for one of the stone statues.

Maugrim first attacked the boy, demanding to know who he was, only to release him and take him to the Witch after Edmund explained that she had sent for him.

"Come in! Come in! Fortunate favourite of the Queen - or else not so fortunate."

- Maugrim granting Edmund entry to Jadis' castle

After Edmund had told the Witch where his siblings were, she sent Maugrim and his wolves to go dispose of them, at the Beaver's Dam. The wolves tracked them there, but by the time they had arrived, they were gone, having already left for the Stone Table, where Aslan and his army were.

Eventually, Maugrim was able to track them all to Aslan's Camp, and attempted to attack Susan and Lucy Pevensie. With the sound of Susan's Horn, her eldest sibling, Peter, ran to her and Lucy's rescue, by withdrawing his sword and meeting Maugrim in battle, while the girls hid in a tree.

Although Peter at first missed Maugrim, he was able to successfully impale him through the heart, while the wolf howled. The wolf captain died a few moments later, never ceasing in his struggle.

Adaptations
He appeared in the BBC version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where he was portrayed by actor, Martin Stone.

Maugrim was voiced by Michael Madsen (who was uncredited) in the 2005 Disney adaptation with an expanded role: -

After being sent after the children at the Beaver's Dam, he and his Secret Police (portrayed to have a lot more members) found and attempted to intimidate a Fox into revealing the children's location. The fox misled them, though, sending them on a wild goose chase, away from the Pevensies who were safely hiding in a tree above them.

Before the children and the Beavers had reached Aslan's Camp, Maugrim tracked them to a frozen river and waterfall, where he attempted to convince Peter to just take his siblings and go home, without having to fight in the war.

He also told him to put his sword away, as someone could get hurt with it, indicating he didn't think too much of Peter's skills at the time. Maugrim was thwarted, though, when the ice broke, and the children escaped with the flow of the river, and he was apparently taken in by the river, too. He survived, though.

After he escaped the river, he and another wolf named Vardan tracked them to Aslan's Camp, and threatened Susan and Lucy, despite being very tired at the time, which he told them. This leads Susan to throw a towel at Maugrim, grab her horn, get off a good blast before she and Lucy hid in a tree. When he and Peter fought, his death, although still by Peter's hand, was notably different in the film.

After taunting Peter about him being a coward (referring back to the river, where Peter was unwilling to deliver a killing blow without risking his friends and family), he jumps right onto Peter's sword-tip while it was extended at him. This indicates that he either became extremely arrogant, to the point that even the sword was of little concern to him, or he was attempting suicide, though the former is more likely.

"You may think you're a king, but you're going to die like a dog!"

- Maugrim's death.

Trivia

 * When given the opportunity to make changes to the texts for publishing the book in US territories, Lewis (amongst other revisions in the book) changed his name to Fenris Ulf (and therefore also Peter's title to "Fenris Bane"), after which these changes were reflected in American editions of the books. Even though Lewis may have had a good reason to change the name, the current Narnia publisher, HarperCollins, in 1994, decided to use Lewis' earlier, unrevised texts to publish today (and also re-order the books so they reflect internal chronology; a change which is also disputed), which refer to him as "Maugrim". This decision has led to the character now being most widely known as "Maugrim", even though many consider his canonical name to be Fenris Ulf. The name is taken from a wolf in Norse Mythology: Fenrisulfr, the son of the god Loki who is destined to devour the sun and the gods Týr and Odin.
 * Maugrim's name is supposedly derived from the words "maw" (mouth) and "grim" or possibly "morgue grim". Alternatively, his name could be derived the Old Irish words maug or "slave", and rím or "rhyme", meaning "slave of rhyme", or, alternately, "slave of a spell".
 * Maugrim appears in the 2005 motion picture The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (film), in which he is voiced by American actor, Michael Madsen.
 * In the book; when Maugrim tells Edmund to enter the castle, he says it in a way where he is basically telling Edmund to hurry up or else suffer the Witch's wrath. In the movie; he says it in a way that sounds like he's telling him that he might not be so fortunate to be the Witch's favourite after all, indicating a warning.
 * "Come in! Come in! Fortunate favourite of the Queen - or else not so fortunate."

- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (book)


 * "My apologies, fortunate favourite of the Queen - or else, not so fortunate."

- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (film)

Maugrim