Prince Rabadash
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Prince Rabadash is a human character and the main
antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...
in C. S. Lewis's
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
novel ''
The Horse and His Boy ''The Horse and His Boy'' is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1954. Of the seven novels that comprise ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956), ''The Horse and His Boy'' was the fifth to be published. The nove ...
''. Rabadash is the heir to the throne of
Calormen In C. S. Lewis's ''Chronicles of Narnia'' series of novels, Calormen is a large country to the southeast of Narnia. Lewis probably derived its name from the Latin ''calor'', meaning "heat". When using the name as an adjective or an ethnonym, Lewis ...
, being the eldest son of the
Tisroc In C. S. Lewis's ''Chronicles of Narnia'' series of novels, Calormen is a large country to the southeast of Narnia. Lewis probably derived its name from the Latin ''calor'', meaning "heat". When using the name as an adjective or an ethnonym, Lewis ...
. In ''
The Horse and His Boy ''The Horse and His Boy'' is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1954. Of the seven novels that comprise ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956), ''The Horse and His Boy'' was the fifth to be published. The nove ...
'', he attempts to conquer
Archenland Narnia is a fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as the primary location for his series of seven fantasy novels for children, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. The world is named after the country of Narnia, where much of the ''Chronicles'' takes p ...
, the neighbouring country of
Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been Adaptations of The Chron ...
, but is thwarted by King Edmund and Queen Lucy of Narnia, with help from a boy named Shasta. His name seems to be derived from ''Rab adaşı'', Turkish for the somewhat blasphemous title, "namesake of the Lord" or "namesake of God".


Life

Rabadash goes to war because he is unsuccessful in courting Queen Susan of Narnia. It is revealed that he and his retinue visited Susan at
Cair Paravel Narnia is a fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as the primary location for his series of seven fantasy novels for children, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. The world is named after the country of Narnia, where much of the ''Chronicles'' takes ...
, where he impressed the Queen. On Susan's return visit to
Tashbaan Narnia is a fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as the primary location for his series of seven fantasy novels for children, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. The world is named after the country of Narnia, where much of the ''Chronicles'' takes p ...
, the capital of Calormen, accompanied by her brother King Edmund, she learns that Rabadash is a proud and cruel man, and fears (correctly) that he intends to take her by force if necessary. Susan, Edmund, and their followers escape from Tashbaan. Rabadash, spoiled, angry, and with an injured masculine pride to nurse, seeks permission from his father to lead a small force of cavalry to Narnia, to abduct Susan when she returns to Cair Paravel. This is to be preceded by surprising and capturing Anvard, the capital of Archenland, which, if successful, will also give Calormen a forward base from which to later invade Narnia. The Tisroc does not publicly support Rabadash's move, reasoning that it would be diplomatically inconvenient to be seen to order an unprovoked attack on a neighbouring country, particularly a country patronized by a being as powerful as Aslan; should Rabadash fail, the Tisroc could simply deny any knowledge or approval of his eldest son's actions, avoiding conflict. He also sees that Rabadash's hotheadedness and ambition are dangerous to himself. The Tisroc would rather see Rabadash expend his energies and ambitions, and even be killed abroad than stay at home and plot to seize the throne from him before his time, as has happened to previous Tisrocs. Before Rabadash left, his father made it clear that he would neither avenge his son nor rescue him should he be killed or captured, and if the prince spilled any more Narnian blood than necessary and open war arises from it, then regardless of the campaign's success or failure, Rabadash would be stripped of his status as the heir to the throne. In the scene where the Tisroc, the Vizier, and Prince Rabadash secretly discuss his proposal for attacking, the Vizier and his father the Tisroc use several
proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...
s that Lewis created (Unseth 2011). Rabadash, impatient, hot-headed and intellectually clumsy, cannot hold his own in such a conversation and complains, "I have had maxims and verses flung at me all day." Rabadash proceeds to take his force of cavalry into Archenland. But
King Lune This is a list of characters in the series of fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis called ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. See also a list of portrayals. A *Ahoshta: a 60-year-old Tarkaan of Calormen who later becomes the Grand Vizier, chief adviser to ...
and the knights of his house are warned of the invasion by Shasta, and escape into Anvard. Rabadash, rather than recognising that his plan has failed, lays siege to the castle. Shasta meanwhile crosses the mountains into Narnia, where, on hearing his news, Edmund and Lucy lead an expeditionary force to Anvard. Rabadash's army, outnumbered and taken by surprise, is badly defeated, and Rabadash is taken prisoner and brought before Lune's judgment. At the end of ''
The Horse and His Boy ''The Horse and His Boy'' is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1954. Of the seven novels that comprise ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956), ''The Horse and His Boy'' was the fifth to be published. The nove ...
'', Aslan gives the captured Rabadash a chance to repent and accept the mercy of Lune, who has decided to release him on certain conditions. When Rabadash refuses, Aslan transforms him into a
donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
. Aslan then decrees that Rabadash must return to the temple of Tash in Tashbaan and stand before the altar at the time of the autumn feast, when thousands of his subjects will be watching. If this is done, he will regain his human shape. However, he must live within ten miles of the temple. If he were to risk leaving that area, he would risk being transformed into a donkey a second time, with no hope of ever changing back. Because he cannot leave Tashbaan, unable to declare war while fearing that any who gain glory might overthrow him, Rabadash's reign upon assuming the throne is described as incredibly peaceful as he was labeled "Rabadash the Peacemaker" to his subjects. But as his people never forgot his humiliating transformation, they called him "Rabadash the Ridiculous" behind his back and after his death while calling any fool a "second Rabadash".


References

* * * * * * Unseth, Peter. (2011.) A culture “full of choice apophthegms and useful maxims": invented proverbs in C.S. Lewis’ The Horse and His Boy. Proverbium 28: 323-338. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabadash The Chronicles of Narnia characters Literary characters introduced in 1954 Fictional princes Fictional kings Fictional donkeys it:Personaggi minori del III volume delle Cronache di Narnia#Rabadash