Coriakin

Coriakin was originally a star, who, as reparation for past misdeeds was charged by Aslan to rule the Duffers and guide them to wisdom.[2] The nature of Coriakin's misdeeds is not specified. In response to Prince Caspian's question about them, Ramandu, a fellow star, replies that "it is not for you, a son of Adam, to know what faults a star can commit."[3]

Coriakin appears as a wizard, barefoot in a red robe with a crown of oak leaves. He lives on an island in a large house reminiscent of an English mansion. He keeps a spellbook in a room on the top floor, and owns various other odd items, such as a Bearded Glass. Ford mentions possible allusions to the Druids and Melchizedek, but concludes that Lewis's intent and symbolism in Coriakin is far from clear.[4]

Coriakin rules the Duffers through magic, although he hopes they will be ruled eventually by wisdom. Because of the dim-witted stubbornness of his subjects, Coriakin casts a spell that merges their legs into a single leg each. The Duffers, believing themselves to have been "uglified," sneak into his rooms and cast a spell to make themselves invisible, hiding their new appearance.[5] The spell also affects Coriakin, and invisibility makes him sleepy, so that he misses the arrival of the Dawn Treader and its party. Tired of being invisible, the Duffers coerce Lucy Pevensie into reading the spell that makes them visible again (the spell could only be read by a young girl, and the Duffers were too cowardly to send any of their own daughters). After perusing a few other distracting spells, Lucy makes all things in the magician's house visible, including Coriakin and Aslan himself.

Lucy soon sees the magician as a kind, wise fellow with a good sense of humor, hardly the terrifying sorcerer the Duffers made him out to be. He welcomes Aslan graciously and submits willingly to the long penance of bringing the Duffers to wisdom. Although he treats his guests to a magnificent feast, he himself takes only bread and wine. He suggests that Lucy try to convince the Duffers that their new appearance is nicer than their former one, which she succeeds in doing. The dwarfs rename themselves Monopods, but keep mixing it up with their old name and come to be known as Dufflepuds.

Dufflepuds ("Monopods") are among the creatures that face judgement at Aslan's doorway in The Last Battle.[6]

• In the 1989 television serial produced by the BBC, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Coriakin is played by veteran British actor Preston Lockwood (1912-1996).
• In the 2010 Fox/Walden film, he is portrayed by Bille Brown, who died just over two years after the film's release.

• Lewis, C.S. (1952), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, New York: Macmillan
• Lewis, C.S. (1956), The Last Battle, New York: Macmillan
• Ford, Paul (2005) [Original edition 1980], Companion to Narnia, HarperSanFrancisco, ISBN 0060791276