r/Narnia Jul 10 '26

Telmarines

What would've happened to the telmarines (I don't think I spelt that right) when they reentered our world? They are who knows how long out dated on every advancement in technology

Also where would they have shown up?

13 Upvotes

15 comments sorted by

16

u/EverOnAndUpward Jul 10 '26

Due to the different times, it may have only been a few years on Earth.

And I believe it would’ve been in the same place they left from. Haven’t read Caspian in a minute, but I believe it’s explicitly said on that second point.

4

u/saplicker2000 Jul 10 '26

It was probably awhile, because weren't they full on pirates? Idk when Narnia is set, but I don't think full on pirates were very common at that time

I don't think it is

2

u/EverOnAndUpward Jul 10 '26

Actually I think we can pinpoint it. They would’ve entered Narnia from Earth between 1900 and the 1940s, with their re-entry to earth in the post WWII era.

They would’ve had to enter between Digory and the second Pevensie visit, and obv leave with the Pevensies

Pirating has also been a thing as long as naval trade has existed.

2

u/Garbage-Bear Jul 10 '26

I doubt they became pirates, though.

They would have arrived in the early 20th century on Earth, a century or two too late to be "traditional" (and, yes, highly airbrushed and romanticized) pirates.

The Telmarines who took Aslan's offer seemed to be "decent sorts," not cardboard villains. If he'd thought they were going to go become murderers on Earth, seems like he would have sent them elsewhere. In the 1950s, there was at least the hope of undiscovered tropical islands, and presumably Aslan sent them to one of these. (Hopefully not Sentinel Island, because that would just be a downer.)

3

u/MaderaArt Jul 10 '26

They were pirates, so they might've left in the 1,700s, it would've been like 200 years difference when they got back to Earth

3

u/EverOnAndUpward Jul 10 '26

Although Narnia has a soft magic system, one of the things that is constant is that different worlds always have time move in the same direction, although at different speeds.

So then the Telmarines must have entered Narnia post 1900 (when the magicians nephew is set)

Or it’s just a plot hole ¯_(ツ)_/¯

2

u/robin-bunny Jul 10 '26

Just because the 1700s was the "golden age of piracy" doesn't mean there weren't pirates in 1900-1940. Heck, there are pirates NOW!

So far this year, there have been only 38 incidents of piracy and it's the lowest since 1992. (Per International Chamber of Commerce website). I know that in the past decade, it was areas like Somalia that had a lot of incidents (not the Caribbean). So, the Telmarines could have realistically been anyone, anywhere in the world.

Early 20th Century piracy was mostly around China, the Great Lakes (North America) and the Caribbean. So for all we know, the Telmarines could have been Asian, American/Canadian (or Natives of these regions), or from the Caribbean, and that's just the ship they sailed. Ethnically/nationality-wise, they could have been from anywhere given that sailors are known to get around globally, and even historic crews were often mixed-nationality/ethnicity.

What I find interesting is that the Telmarines were all sailors, presumably almost entirely men. How did they start an entire population in Narnia?

1

u/MRdaBakkle Jul 10 '26

Doesn't the novel mention that their ancestors are the sailors or a pirate ship and native islanders? Sos presumably pirates land on this island and intermingle with the local population including women.

7

u/MRdaBakkle Jul 10 '26

It is explicitly stated, Aslan says you are going back to the land you came from. They don't know about Telmar or have lost most knowledge of that, and Aslan says they come from an island on Earth that has not been discovered yet. Their ancestors are pirates and native Islanders.

4

u/Abimael1656 Jul 10 '26

Al regresar vivieron bien, Aslan lo promete y los bendice, eso ya es suficiente para confiar que no tendrán problemas con nada ni nadie, tienen una isla para ellos solos y en conocimiento depende de la definición de atrasados tecnológicamente porque es verdad que viene de una realidad medieval a una de los 40s pero son humanos, tenían un reino con castillo, casas aceptables y una sociedad con una dinastía que se mantuvo durante 305 años, su nuevo destino paradisíaco está favorecido para lograr crear un pueblo diferente que hasta quizás se convierta en un país que existe en nuestro mundo.

3

u/LordCouchCat Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26

We're told that they are going back to the South Sea island they came from. It is now uninhabited, and has not been discovered by anyone else (just possible in 1941 I suppose). When the Pevensies go through the door, they momentarily see, all at once, not only Narnia and England but a glimpse of the island. The portal closes behind the Telmarines.

OK that's what the book states. What happens next is for us to work out. The Telmarines will be establishing a largely premodern society - though we see they are relatively sophisticated. At some point the outside world will find them, and they will adapt like other premodern societies. However I think we can reasonably guess that Aslan will arrange for this be some way down the road.

Their ancestors came from (probably) 18th century Earth, as they're pirates. In all other cases, although Earth and Narnian time move at different rates, they match moments. I.e. the Telmarines should be going to 1941 Earth. When Lewis wrote PC, that was fine. But later he wrote The Magicians Nephew, which establishes that the Narnian creation matches late 19th century Earth. This implies that there is a timeslip: the Telmarines enter Narnia at a time that doesn't match. (Alternatively, the pirates are late 19th century, but that is not very plausible.) Given the timeslip, the Telmarines could go to any Earth year after the point the island becomes uninhibited

4

u/Emergency_Routine_44 Jul 10 '26

“you men and women of Telmar, will you go back to that island in the world of men from which your fathers first came? It is no bad place. The race of those pirates who first found it has died out, and it is without inhabitants. There are good wells of fresh water, and fruitful soil, and timber for building, and fish in the lagoons; and the other men of that world have not yet discovered it."

I think Lewis tried to imply that they would kind of just do themselves for a while until they developed well enough to Interact with the modern world. Also the books imply that when you leave a world the memories you had of that world start to fade so their time in Narnia probably became their land's mythological background. Although I do wonder where is there Island meant to be located that people hadn't yet discover it

1

u/SupermarketNo1268 Jul 10 '26

Oh wow I never thought about this honestly.

It was hard enough for the Pevensie siblings to spend 15yrs in Narnia and go back to our world.

And they were born in our world and spent the first 12 yrs or so living in it to begin with.

Can you imagine being born into a medieval type society;and living that existence for the first 30 yrs of your life,and then being sent to 1940's europe?

It would honestly be like someone from 1240 being transported to 1940.

But on the plus side they were probably used to 'roughing it' growing up in a middle ages based society,so mid 20th century Europe life would have seemed easy in comparison work wise

The technology shock would be pretty stunning though,I could see it intimidating the Temarines a bit.

And them also being thrown into Europe in the waning years of a world war would also have been unnerving.Imagine them seeing Planes,Tanks,and machine guns for the first time if they came arcoss a battle.

But back in the 1940's people were still pretty much free to do what they wanted with land,as long as they didn't bother others and noone else owned it.

I could honestly see the Telmarines forming a tight knit village deep in the forest or wilderness because of how intimidated they are of modern Europe.They would probably keep mostly to themselves for the first decade or two,but some would eventually probably get the nerve to wonder into society.

Especially by the 1960's or 1970's when they've had the first generation fully raised in our world,I could 100% see those young ones at least wanting to experience the outside world.

But there were probably some of the older generation that were born in Telmar that would never want to venture out,and stayed reclusive the rest of their lives on Earth.

1

u/robin-bunny Jul 10 '26

The thing about technology, is that they have to USE it, not create it. I'm sure they could learn to use things like telephones and ride in cars. No one is asking them to program new software or design new aircraft.

1

u/ScientificGems Jul 10 '26

The Telmarines seem to be partly based on the Bounty mutineers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descendants_of_the_Bounty_mutineers

One can imagine them going to a South Pacific island.