Ettinsmoor
From WikiNarnia, the Narnian Encyclopedia
Ettinsmoor (derived from Ettins' Moor) was the Giant-inhabited land directly to the north of the Kingdom of Narnia, bordered on the south by the River Shribble and on the north by the Great Northern River. To the west it was bordered by the western mountains, and to the east by the Eastern Ocean. It is the only official nation (as recognised by the Kingdom of Narnia) in the Wild Lands of the North.
The country was a rough and stony moor traversed by many streams and rivers. Wild geese commonly flew over Ettinsmoor in the late autumn.
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[edit] People
The Ettins were once a sophisticated species of Giants that built ancient cities and bridges around the Wild Lands of the North during the Age of Conquest. However, some time during the Age of Winter, the Giants became uncivilised at best. The inhabitants of Ettinsmoor became notorious for their stupidity and vicious temperament. Physically, they resembled rock formations when standing still, helping them to blend into their barren surroundings.
[edit] History
The northern Giants regularly waged unofficial war with their southern neighbors in Narnia for many years into the Golden Age. The High King Peter, during a northern expedition, finally declared war on the area by recognising it as its own independent nation, Ettinsmoor (having been a previously unnamed region). He defeated the Giants in the Ettinsmoor War of Narnian-year 1014, and with this, they were forced into constructing Ettinsmoor as a new, united nation. The Ettin inhabitants, however, were unable to establish for themselves a long-standing political system and continued their savage, anarchical lifestyles. The Ettins were again encroaching on Narnian territory in the time of Caspian X who defeated them in 2304 and forced them to pay tribute. At this point, the Ettins' state was incorporated into the Narnian Empire as the Barony of Ettinsmoor, a new Narnian territory.
[edit] Trivia
Ettinsmoor is spelt Ettinsmoor in The Silver Chair, but Ettinsmuir in The Last Battle. Both are acceptable spellings. The word Ettin is an obsolete form of the word eten giant, and a "moor" is a high, open wasteland. 'Ettenmoors' is the name of a region in Middle-earth, also inhabited by Giants. The reason for this would be the close friendship between Tolkien and Lewis.
[edit] References
Paul F. Ford, The Companion to Narnia (San Francisco, 1994)
