| King Miraz | |
|---|---|
| Narnia character | |
 Sergio Castellitto as King Miraz inThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | |
| In-universe information | |
| Race | Human |
| Title | Miraz the Usurper, King of Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands, Lord of Telmar |
| Family | Caspian IX Seerelations of Caspian. |
| Spouse | Prunaprismia |
| Children | Unnamed son |
| Nationality | Narnia |
Miraz is a fictional character fromC. S. Lewis's fantasy seriesThe Chronicles of Narnia. He is the mainantagonist in the bookPrince Caspian, and is the uncle of the book'sprotagonist.
Miraz killed his brother,Caspian IX, allowing his nephew to live as heir until, as the book opens, his wife bears him a legitimate heir. He is a descendant of theTelmarines who had invaded Narnia hundreds of years before, and a cruel and unpopular ruler. Most notorious for banning the teaching of Narnia's pre-Telmarine history, he also levies high taxes and enacts harsh laws. He is ultimately defeated in a duel byPeter Pevensie and then slain by his own advisors.
Miraz is atyrant. Eliana Ionoaia notes that "this type of kingship can be termed a tyranny since Miraz rules through oppression, cruelty, and fear."[1]Matthew Dickerson and David O'Hara argue that:
Miraz seeks to remove all sense of enchantment from nature – swords and battles are what are real for Miraz, not talking animals and trees – and by removing enchantment he seeks also to remove all sense of nature's sanctity. For in disenchanting and desanctifying the earth and its creatures, he will be more justified in exploiting it.[2]
The relationship between Miraz and his nephew,Prince Caspian, resembles that ofClaudius andHamlet inShakespeare's playHamlet, as well asPelias andJason from Greek mythology.[3]
In aChristianity Today opinion piece published in 2008, Devin Brown noted that Miraz was "aloof and emotionally distant" like Lewis's own father.[4] This theme is explored in more detail in Chandler Hanton's dissertation,The Tragedy of Caspian: C. S. Lewis and His Trauma.[5]
In the1989 BBC adaptation, Miraz is played byRobert Lang.[6]
In the2008 cinematic adaptation, Miraz is portrayed bySergio Castellitto, an accomplished Italian actor hypothesized byIGN as chosen "to give the Telmarines a Latin-Mediterranean ethnic flavor."[7]The New York Times' review noted that the film's "major source of dramatic energy is the villain, Caspian’s uncle Miraz, who is played with malignant grandeur" by Castellitto.[8] While panning the movie as a whole, movie critic Mick LaSalle found Miraz "square-shouldered and decisive and, by medieval king standards, probably not all that bad. His beard may be too pointy for virtue, but he's hardly evil enough to make it worth yanking the Pevensie siblings out of 1940s England."[9] In an extended critique of the movie, Steven D. Boyer complains that the rivalry between Caspian and Peter is nowhere in the books, but is rather itself a reflection of Miraz's original character.[10]
…it is likely that Miraz's creation owes more to a tradition of scheming, murdering throne-stealers, such as Hamlet's Uncle Claudius…
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King ofNarnia 2290–2303 | Succeeded by |
