Edmund Pevensie

"To the Great Western Wood, I give you King Edmund the Just."

- Aslan

Edmund Pevensie (1930-1949), also known as "Ed", was the third of the Pevensie children, and the second one to enter the magical world of Narnia. He was mischievous and rather rude, but changed largely after his experience with the White Witch.

Edmund was crowned king of Narnia, along with his brother Peter, and sisters Susan and Lucy Pevensie. On the day of his coronation, he received the Narnian titles, King Edmund the Just, Duke of Lantern Waste, Count of the Western March and Knight of the Noble Order of the Table. These titles signify his honour and bravery.

Childhood
Edmund was born in 1930, the third child of his parents, Mr. Pevensie and Helen Pevensie. In 1932, sometime before his second birthday, his sister Lucy was born. At this time, the Pevensie family lived in London, England.

Edmund began attending boarding school with his brother Peter in 1939, at the age of nine. The experience was apparently a bad one for him, as his personality afterwards began to worsen.

Around this time, World War II began, and the children's father was called away to fight in the war. Some time later, in the month of September, in 1940, Edmund and his siblings were evacuated from London, due to the German bombings on the city (by He 111s). They were sent to live in the countryside with an old professor called Professor Kirke, (Digory Kirke, as he was also known). Shortly after their arrival, Edmund began mocking Lucy, who professed to have seen and visited Narnia, and befriended a Faun called Mr. Tumnus, through a Wardrobe, hidden somewhere inside the Professor's mansion.

Winter Rebellion
Shortly afterwards, Edmund followed his little sister through the wardrobe, where she claimed her magical country existed. He was shocked to discover she had been telling the truth, as he found himself in a wintry forest. While he was there, he soon stumbled across a sleigh carrying a large lady.

The woman introduced herself as Jadis, the Queen of Narnia. After inviting him to sit and talk with her, and conjuring him food and drink, the Queen confided in Edmund that she had always wanted a son like him to be her heir. Over the course of their chat, Edmund told her a great deal about his family, and that Lucy had already visited her country, and that she had met Mr. Tumnus.

She offered to make him a prince if he brought his siblings to her realm, to make them dukes and duchesses. Edmund agreed, even though he had no real interest in his siblings getting anything, and promised to keep it a surprise, bidding farewell to the Queen. Shortly afterwards, he found Lucy in the forest, and the two returned to the Professor's house. Lucy warned Edmund that Narnia was ruled by an evil witch who claimed to be the Queen. Despite this warning, Edmund continued to plan to meet with Jadis again, and when questioned by Peter and Susan, Edmund lied and refused to admit that he had in fact seen Narnia.

Several days later, the four siblings were forced to hide in the magic wardrobe, in an attempt to hide from the housekeeper, Mrs. Macready. Thus, all four stumbled into Narnia, and Edmund was forced to admit his lie. When he did, needless to say, his brother was furious with him, calling him a poisonous little beast, but said nothing more to him. Edmund, though, swore to himself that he would get them all back.

After that, they decided to go to visit Mr. Tumnus, but upon arriving at his home, however, the four were dismayed to find it empty, with a warrant for Mr. Tumnus's arrest hanging over the door. Before they could choose what to do, the four were distracted by a bird, who led them into the forests where a Beaver was waiting. The Beaver, called Mr. Beaver, explained to them that Narnia was indeed oppressed by the one everyone called the White Witch, but who referred to herself as the queen of Narnia.

He then took them to his home, where he told them that the true king was called Aslan, and he had returned to reclaim his kingdom. He also told the siblings that according to Aslan's word, the four humans were prophesied to defeat the witch and take her place as the new monarchs of Narnia. In the midst of the meal, Edmund, still planning to meet with the Witch, slipped away and escaped to her castle.

The Witch, however, was furious with him for coming alone, but he told her that he had brought his siblings as far as he could, only for her to throw him into her dungeons. Shortly afterward, he was retrieved from the dungeon, and set out with the Witch on her sleigh to find his siblings.

On the journey to the Stone Table, they found a group of animals eating a meal provided by Father Christmas, in celebration of the return of Aslan. In her anger, she turned the lot of them into stone by use of a magic wand that she possessed. With this, Edmund finally learned what kind of a woman the Witch truly was, and became repentant for his earlier betrayal. Eventually, the snow in the forests began melting, a sign which was recognized to signal the end of the White Witch's power, and the coming of Aslan.

After some time, the Witch began to realize that she would not catch Edmund's fleeing siblings, and chose instead to kill Edmund at once, to keep the prophecy from being fulfilled.

Fortunately, before she could carry out her intention, a rescue party – sent by Aslan – attacked her, rescued Edmund, and returned him to Narnian custody, where he at long last met Aslan.

After many words and many apologies, Edmund was made at home, and declared a prince amongst the Narnians.

Later that day, the Witch came to Aslan's Camp and proclaimed that Edmund was hers by right, due to the law of The Deep Magic, set down from the beginning of time. Aslan openly confirmed that this was the law, but after a private conference, persuaded her to renounce her claim.

Despite having his life hang by a thread, Edmund remained steadfast and faithful to Aslan during this time, showing no fear, and displaying a rapid change in his personality.

After the White Witch departed, the camp made ready to leave and recamp at the Fords of Beruna. There, plans were made for battle the next day, which Edmund and Peter were to lead.

The next morning, according to their duties, both brothers rose and prepared for battle, despite the mysterious disappearance in the night of Aslan, Susan and Lucy.

Throughout the impending battle, the Witch turned various creatures into stone with her wand, and Edmund, deducing advantage, took the initiative and destroyed her wand, fighting through several seasoned soldiers to do so.

In doing so, he was severely wounded, but was fortunate enough to survive. Not long after the end of the battle, Peter, Susan and Lucy arrived at his side, and Lucy used a magical cordial that she had been given by Father Christmas to save his life.

Immediately afterwards, Edmund was made a knight in the presence of Aslan, and the next day, all the Narnians marched to the castle of Cair Paravel, where the Pevensie siblings were crowned the new Kings and Queens of Narnia.

Golden Age of Narnia
The Pevensies' reign lasted fifteen years (1000 NT-1015 NT). Throughout their rule, Edmund became known as King Edmund the Just, because of his great council and judgment. He also became an accomplished diplomat and warrior, and the reign he shared with his siblings became known as the Golden Age of Narnia.

Fourteen years after the coronation of Edmund and his siblings, he accompanied his sister, Queen Susan, to Tashbaan, to form a treaty. While there, the prince of Calormen, Rabadash, desired to have Susan as his wife, but they both soon realized that Rabadash was an unsavory character, but realized too late that if they refused his offer then they, and their embassy, would become his prisoners. After devising a disguised escape on their ship, the Splendor Hyaline, they sailed to Cair Paravel.

After landing at the castle, they were informed by a stag that a furious Rabadash was marching on their ally in Archenland. Edmund at once summoned a Narnian army, and, with Queen Lucy, marched south to save the Archenlanders in a hard-fought battle. Rabadash challenged Edmund, but King Lune refused to let Edmund fight, as he felt that Radadash didn't deserve the honour.

One year later, in 1015 NT, the monarchs received news from Tumnus that the White Stag had returned to Narnia. They promptly arranged a hunt for it, but were stymied in the woods when they came upon a mysterious glade. All four admitted to having memories of the forest, and agreed to explore further.

After going deeper into the woods, all four found themselves back in England, still children, with their adventure having taken no time at all.

1940-1941
The four siblings discovered that due to Narnian magic, their fifteen-year reign had not taken up a second on Earth, and they had not been missed or changed. Edmund, again a young boy, returned to boarding school with his brother that fall, greatly changed in personality. The following year, all four siblings set out for boarding school. Peter and Edmund went to Hendon House, and the girls went to Saint Finbar's.

While on their way, they felt a strange tugging or pinching, which Edmund first recognized as the pull of magic. Moments later, all four were pulled out of Earth, and into a strange forest. They were going to Narnia!

War of Deliverance
Upon arriving, they explored their new surroundings, which was an overgrown forest on an uninhabited island. After some walking, they found a castle in ruins, which Peter later deduced to be the former great castle of Cair Paravel.

Edmund argued against it, finding it impossible that Narnia could have changed so much in one year. He was proven wrong, though, when the four discovered their old treasury within the ruins, which they got in thanks to Edmund's new electric torch that he had brought with him. The following morning, Edmund solved the issue of the vast change in Narnia, by recalling how the times of the worlds are not concurrent.

That morning, the four stumbled upon their first sighting of humans; two strange soldiers trying to drown a dwarf. After Peter and Susan saved the dwarf, Edmund cut his bonds, and all four inquired about the situation. The dwarf told them that the year was then 2303 NT, and Narnia had been overrun by the Telmarine humans, who had driven the Narnians into hiding.

The Narnians were now being led by a Telmarine prince, called Caspian X, who had promised to give them freedom once he gained back his throne. Apparently, he had called the Kings and Queens into Narnia, to help him, through Susan's horn.

The dwarf introduced himself as Trumpkin, a Narnian scout sent to bring them to Caspian. After telling them he found them unfit for battle, he was challenged to a duel with Edmund. After a long spar, Edmund was victorious, and Trumpkin then agreed to lead all four to Caspian, and they set out.

They traveled first on a boat, and then walked on land until they encountered a gorge. The river below, they realized, was the Rush. They argued about which way to go, when Lucy claimed that she saw Aslan, but instead of going up, as Edmund and Lucy insisted, they went down. They almost walked into a Telmarine outpost, and were attacked with arrows, but managed to escape.

On the second night of their journey, Edmund was awoken by Lucy, who told him that Aslan had told her which way to go, to get to Caspian. Edmund was disgruntled, but agreed more easily than his sibings to follow her. After a short walk, Edmund too was able to see and follow Aslan, and all five reached Caspian's camp not long after.

When they met with Aslan, he greeted Edmund only by telling him, 'Well done". Peter, Edmund, and Trumpkin then went to meet with Caspian, as the queens departed with Aslan.

They arrived at Caspian's camp in time to witness Caspian's attempted assassination by a werewolf, a hag, and a Black Dwarf.

After slaying the attackers, the kings were introduced to Prince Caspian, and King Peter immediately took charge, and arranged a duel with the enemy's King Miraz. Edmund was chosen to carry the challenge to the king.

Later that day, he also witnessed the duel alongside Caspian.

After the duel went afoul, and the Telmarines declared open battle, Edmund was the first to rush to Peter's side and fight in the battle.

When the Telmarines retreated, Edmund pursued them to the fords of Beruna, where their escape was cut off. Aslan, the queens, and the Narnian reinforcements met them at the fords, where the Telmarines surrendered.

Caspian was knighted on the spot, along with many of his followers.

The Four kings and queens then spent several days in Caspian's company, as he set up his new reign.

They departed the day after Caspian's coronation, through a simple-looking but magical doorway, and were returned to their homeland on Earth.

1941-1943
The Pevensies then found themselves again on their way to school, just as they had been when they left, though Edmund learned that he had lost his new torch, which he had left in Narnia. Edmund and Peter returned to school as planned, and the following year their parents and Susan traveled to America, while Edmund and Lucy were sent to stay with their Aunt Alberta and Uncle Harold.

Edmund was forced to share a room with his cousin, Eustace Scrubb, a younger boy whom he openly detested. During this visit, he was known to visit Lucy's private bedroom, where the two would talk about Narnia and study a painting on Lucy's wall, which they agreed resembled a Narnian ship. Eustace once caught them talking about Narnia, and entered with the intention of teasing them about it. Once he entered, the painting drew them into it, again bringing Edmund and Lucy into Narnia, along with their cousin.

Voyage on the Dawn Treader
Edmund, Lucy and Eustace found themselves in the Narnian seas. After struggling for several minutes to stay afloat, they were rescued by a passing ship. Edmund and Lucy were overjoyed to discover that the ship was indeed Narnian, and was on a voyage being led by their old friend King Caspian.

Caspian welcomed them, and explained that his ship, the Dawn Treader, was on its maiden voyage, sailing to find Seven Lost Lords of Narnia. Caspian's secondary purpose on the voyage was to explore to the end of the world, in the hopes that he might find Aslan there.

Shortly after arriving in Narnia, Edmund accompanied Caspian and a small party on a walk over the island of Felimath, where the party was captured by slave traders. Edmund, Lucy, Eustace and Reepicheep the mouse were separated from Caspian, and spent the night on a slave ship. The next morning, they were sold separately at a slave auction until Caspian and his Narnian crew shut down both the auction and the entire trade. After being freed, the Narnians spent several more days at the Lone Islands before sailing on.

The ship weathered a hurricane before arriving at an uninhabited island for repairs. The day of their landing, Eustace disappeared, and Edmund and most of the crew participated in searching for him. The next morning, Edmund and the crew were confronted by a dragon, which they faced bravely until they realized that it was in fact Eustace, under an enchantment.

After several weeks stuck on the island due to Eustace's predicament, Edmund woke early one morning and found someone wandering the woods near their camp. He was overjoyed to discover that it was Eustace, again a human. Telling his story, Eustace appeared contrite for his earlier actions, and humbly listened to Edmund's advice. And in the next few days, Eustace began to change.

Afterwards, the Dawn Treader sailed on and was attacked by a sea serpent before landing on another unknown island, where they found armor, coins and a sword, which were Narnian. They then found a lifelike golden statue of a man in a deep pool of water. Here, Edmund was the first to deduce that the pond was magic, and the statue was in fact a real man turned into gold. Though aware of the pull of magic, Edmund briefly fell under the enchantment of the island, and began to quarrel greedily with Caspian and Lucy, until Aslan appeared briefly, and all were brought back into their right minds.

They next arrived on a cultivated island, where they found an empty house and an abandoned estate. They were later dismayed to discover that the island was inhabited by invisible people who desired to kidnap the Narnians, and force them to agree to their own terms. With no choice, the Narnian party agreed to the terms of their invisible captors, who asked Lucy to perform a magic spell on them to make them visible. Despite Edmund's apprehension, Lucy did so, and the Narnians left the island on good terms with its inhabitants.

They next happened upon a dark swath of cloud, which they agreed to sail into. Upon exploring they found a man, who told them that they were inside an island where all nightmares came true. In terror, Edmund and the crew rowed away with the man, who was the Lord Rhoop. With the help of an Albatross, they were able to sail away from the Dark Island.

Continuing east, they stopped at an island where they found a table, a feast, and three men sleeping there. Edmund was wary, but agreed to spend the night on the island with Caspian, Lucy, Eustace and Reepicheep. At dawn, they were approached by a beautiful young woman, who told them of the three men, the islands, and the magic on it. Edmund was polite, but was suspicious of her until introduced to Ramandu, a star and lord of the island, who told them they must sail on until they reached the end of the world, and leave one person there.

The ship accordingly sailed on, discovering a sea of lilies known as the Silver Sea, where it became obvious that they could sail no further. Edmund, Lucy, Reepicheep and Eustace then went on in a rowboat to the very end of the world, where Reepicheep separated from them, and continued on to Aslan's Country.

The three remaining beached their boat at the End of the World, where they were greeted by a beautiful Lamb, who turned out to be Aslan. He bade all three to go on to Earth, and told Edmund and Lucy that neither would ever return. After rendering open the sky, he created a door, and sent all three back to England.

1942-1949
In 1949, Edmund and the others of the Seven Friends of Narnia--Digory Kirke, Polly Plummer, Peter Pevensie, Lucy Pevensie, Eustace Scrubb, and Jill Pole (Susan no longer believed in Narnia, and thus was not present)--were gathered together at Polly Plummer's home, reminiscing over their memories of Narnia. There, they received a vision of Tirian, the last king of Narnia, in suffering.

The Friends of Narnia then agreed to concoct a plan to send Eustace and Jill back to Narnia by means of the magic rings, which had brought Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer to Narnia at its creation. Edmund and Peter, disguised as workmen, retrieved the rings, which were buried in the backyard of Digory's former home. They subsequently headed to a train station, where they were to wait for the others who were on a train. (The parents of Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy were also on that train, though Edmund or the others were not aware of it.)

There was a railway accident, due to the train taking a turn too fast. This was the cause of Edmund's death, including the deaths of the Pevensie family (except for Susan), Professor Kirke and Ms. Polly.

Edmund was later seen in Aslan's Country, and was witness to the end of Narnia's World.

Afterlife
He, along with the other Seven Friends of Narnia, were immediately resurrected in Aslan's Country, and reunited. They witnessed the end of the World of Narnia, reunited with Aslan, and lived eternally thereafter with former inhabitants of both Narnia and England.

Name

 * The naming of Edmund probably originates from Anglo-Saxon times.
 * The origin of his surname, Pevensie, likely originates from Pevensey, the town that William the Conqueror landed at, to fight King Harold II during the Norman Conquest of England.

Adaptations

 * Edmund was portrayed by the English actor, Skandar Keynes, in the three Walden Media films, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008), and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010).
 * Edmund has a darker personality in the movies than in the books, still remaining a witty and quite brooding character, even after he redeems. He is the wisest and the most down-to-earth character, who also becomes Lucy's biggest supporter, and the one who looks after her the most, as opposed to younger Edmund, who always bullied and mocked her. Edmund's darker personality stems from the fact that he still has his dark thoughts and wills, as portrayed in the third movie, where he is revealed to be jealous of Caspian in his ruling. He's also tempted for the second time by the magic pond that turns everything into gold, going to the point where he tries to lure Lucy into becoming rich and powerful along with him, and get rid of Caspian because he opposes his plan. Edmund is silent and quite sarcastic at times, being an antihero. He's also angered by and tempted to use violence on his bratty, younger cousin, Eustace Scrubb.
 * Edmund has often been compared to Judas Iscariot, the Biblical Betrayer, because Edmund betrays Aslan, who represents God/Jesus, and his siblings (the Apostles), to the White Witch, who symbolizes the evil itself, for thirty pieces of Turkish Delight, just like Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
 * Edmund was also very good at archery, even beating Susan in a match.
 * In the 1979 animated movie, Edmund wore glasses.

Appearances

 * The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (book, appearance)
 * Prince Caspian (book, appearance)
 * The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (book, appearance)
 * The Horse and His Boy (book, appearance)
 * The Last Battle (book, appearance)
 * 1967 TV Series of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
 * The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (BBC serial) (1988 TV, appearance)
 * Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (BBC serial) (1989 TV, appearance)
 * The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (film) (2005, appearance)
 * The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (film) (2008, appearance)
 * The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (film) (2010, appearance)

Trivia

 * He was portrayed by Edward McMurray in the 1967 TV Series of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
 * He was voiced by Simon Adams and Nicholas Barnes in the cartoon adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1979).
 * He was played by Jonathan R. Scott in the BBC television adaptations of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1988) and Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, while Charles Pointing portrayed the older Edmund in LWW (1988).
 * Lewis' Edmund is very similar to Shakespeare's Edmund in King Lear. Both are jealous of their brothers, both are traitors, and both repent at the last moment. The repentance of Shakespeare's Edmund, however, is too late, and does not make up for his evil deeds: Cordelia was executed by the orders he had given. He dies shortly afterwards from the fatal wounds he received during the duel with his brother.
 * Edmund's birthday was in early September, as is Skandar Keynes' birthday, which is on September 5th.
 * Edmund characteristically fights with two swords, a skill that not even the most talented swordsmen accomplish: suggesting that he is a better swordsman than Peter.
 * /Personality/

Edmund Pevensie

Edmund Pevensie