Locations in His Dark Materials

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This article covers the fictional locations in the His Dark Materials trilogy and related works by Philip Pullman.

Contents

Locations

Jordan College

Map with list of fictional colleges from Lyra's Oxford. Lyra's Oxford map.jpg
Map with list of fictional colleges from Lyra's Oxford .

Jordan College is a fictional college. [1] [2] It exists in Oxford in a universe parallel to our own and is the home of the trilogy's young heroine, Lyra Belacqua.

The location and layout of Jordan College is analogous to the location of Exeter College, [3] Philip Pullman's alma mater, at the University of Oxford. However, unlike the fictional college, Exeter College is not the oldest (it is the fourth-oldest), nor is it the largest or richest college at Oxford.

Jordan College is an exaggerated version of the real Exeter College, rambling above and below ground in a motley arrangement of buildings, cellars and tunnels constructed over several centuries: [4]

What was above ground was only a small fraction of the whole. Like some enormous fungus whose root-system extended over acres, Jordan (finding itself jostling for space above ground with St Michael's College on one side, Gabriel College on the other, and Bodley's Library behind) had begun, sometime in the Middle Age, to spread below the surface. Tunnels, shafts, vaults, cellars, staircases had so hollowed out the earth below Jordan and for some yards around it that there was almost as much air below ground as above; Jordan College stood on a sort of froth of stone.
(Pullman, Northern Lights )

The name 'Jordan' was inspired partly by the area of Oxford known as Jericho, [4] through which the Oxford Canal passes; an area called 'Jericho' also features in Northern Lights as a mooring point for the Gyptians's boats.

The location of Jordan College used for the film, The Golden Compass, was Christ Church, Oxford.[ citation needed ] The location used for filming Jordan for the TV series was New College. [5]

Trollesund

In Lyra's world, Trollesund is the main port of the country of Lapland, which Lyra and her Gyptian protectors visit during their journey to Bolvangar. Trollesund has a witch consulate, which the Gyptians go to in order to get support from the witches.

In Trollesund Lyra first meets Lee Scoresby, an aeronaut and prospector who has been stranded in the town as a result of a failed expedition, and Iorek Byrnison, an exiled armoured bear whom the townspeople had tricked into working for them as a metalworker with alcohol as payment. Both Lee and Iorek leave Trollesund with Lyra.

Svalbard

In Lyra's world, Svalbard is the location of the panserbjørne palace and the centre of the ice bear government, Iorek Byrnison lives there, Svalbard takes its name from a Norwegian archipelago in our world.

Bolvangar

In Lyra's world, the far north location of the research facility where the Magisterium conducts experiments with intercision, a process which involves severing the link between a human and their dæmon, children are kidnapped and brought to Bolvangar for this to happen. The name Bolvangar means 'Fields of Evil'. [6] In Old Norse, "bǫl" means bale or evil and "vangar" is a plural word meaning fields or meadows.

Cittàgazze

Cittàgazze, sometimes abbreviated to Ci'gazze (Italian pronunciation: [tʃiˈɡaddze] ), meaning "City of the Magpies" in Italian, is a fictional city within a parallel universe which is reached through a "window-between-worlds" created by Lord Asriel at the climax of the first volume of the trilogy, Northern Lights .

It is in Cittàgazze that the two central characters, Lyra and Will, first meet in The Subtle Knife . The first reference to the city appears earlier, as 'the city in the sky', the city visible in the Aurora borealis , an occurrence which, according to the novel, thins the barrier between the universe in which Northern Lights takes place and the universe of Cittàgazze. Lord Boreal describes it as having previously been a crossroads between all the worlds.

Cittàgazze is a seaside town, reminiscent of those near the Mediterranean Sea, which seems to have Italian roots. Its main features are quaint restaurants, parasols hung over circular tables beneath trailing plants, wide cobbled roads, and ancient architecture. However, it also has electric lights, refrigerators and department stores, thus, this world appears to be similar to ours in many respects while inferior in others such as medicine and transport. Its most significant feature is the Torre degli Angeli (Tower of the Angels in Italian), in which the Subtle Knife is first encountered.

The city is plagued by ghostly beings called Spectres. Spectres are invisible to pre-adolescents, but once individuals are old enough to see them, the Spectres eat away their dæmons, leaving them zombie-like and lifeless. Hence, the city is entirely devoid of adults, and populated only by small gangs of children. Spectres cluster around children approaching adolescence and consume them as soon as they come of age.

The multitude of Spectres in the world of Cittàgazze is due to the constant use of the Subtle Knife in its vicinity. The knife can create windows between worlds, but each window creates new Spectres. Asriel's opening of the passage from his world to Cittàgazze caused a massive surge in Spectre population, swarming the Cittàgazze world with the soul-devouring spirits.

St Sophia's School and College

St Sophia's School is where Lyra goes to study the alethiometer after the events of The Amber Spyglass. She then goes on to study at St. Sophia's College.

Worlds

The following are the known worlds in the Multiverse:

Lyra's world

The world in which Lyra and most of the characters in His Dark Materials come from. Northern Lights takes place entirely in this world. There are six known planets in this world and the month of April has an extra day.

Will's world

Our own world. It is the setting for much of the early part of The Subtle Knife and features briefly at the conclusion of The Amber Spyglass . It is the home of Will Parry, his parents Elaine and John Parry, Mary Malone, and several minor characters. While they still exist in this world, Dæmons are invisible here.

The Cittàgazze world

A modern Mediterranean world with beautiful seas and temperate weather. It is the setting for much of The Subtle Knife and parts of The Amber Spyglass . The Cittàgazze world serves as the crossroads to the worlds because all the windows lead here. The Spectres have been common in this world for generations.

Mulefa's world

A world inhabited by the Mulefa and Tualapi. It has a savanna/prairie climate. The creatures here have a diamond-like skeleton. It is the setting for much of The Amber Spyglass .

In the TV series, there was no mentioning of the creatures having diamond-like skeletons.

The Land of the Dead

The underworld in The Amber Spyglass . Lyra and Will are carried across a lake to reach its gate by a ferryman reminiscent of Charon of mythology. Within the books, anyone who has ever died from any world goes there eternally where their ghosts are guarded by Harpies. The Authority turned this world into a prison. Will was able to use the Subtle Knife to cut open a portal for anyone who tells a good life story to Gracious Wings to get out to the Mulefa's world.

Republic of Heaven

The name given to the world in which Lord Asriel builds his army in preparation with war against The Authority. The only known inhabitants prior to the Asriel's forces are cliff ghasts, like those in Lyra's world. The land is mountainous and shows signs of volcanic activity.

Gallivespian world

The Gallivespian characters come from this world, but the trilogy itself never goes there. It is a world inhabited by humans and Gallivespians who are in conflict.

Minor worlds

In this section are minor worlds that are featured in this franchise:

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>His Dark Materials</i> Novel trilogy by Philip Pullman

His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). It follows the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes. The novels have won a number of awards, including the Carnegie Medal in 1995 for Northern Lights and the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year for The Amber Spyglass. In 2003, the trilogy was ranked third on the BBC's The Big Read poll.

Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials. In His Dark Materials Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own. Brought up in the cloistered world of Jordan College, Oxford, she finds herself embroiled in a cosmic war between Lord Asriel on one side, and a deity figure known as The Authority and his Regent, Metatron, on the other. Lyra also features prominently in the subsequent trilogy The Book of Dust.

<i>The Subtle Knife</i> 1997 novel by Philip Pullman

The Subtle Knife is a young-adult fantasy novel published in 1997 and the second book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The novel continues the adventures of Lyra Belacqua recounted in the first novel, Northern Lights, as she investigates the mysterious phenomenon of Dust. Will Parry is introduced as a companion to Lyra, and together they explore new worlds in the search for Will's father.

<i>The Amber Spyglass</i> 2000 novel by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass is the third and final novel in the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. Published in 2000, it won the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year award, the first children's novel to do so. It was named Children's Book of the Year at the 2001 British Book Awards, and was the first children's book to be longlisted for the Booker Prize.

<i>Lyras Oxford</i> 2003 book by Philip Pullman

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<i>Northern Lights</i> (Pullman novel) 1995 novel by Philip Pullman

Northern Lights is a young-adult fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, published in 1995 by Scholastic UK. Set in a parallel universe, it follows the journey of Lyra Belacqua to the Arctic in search of her missing friend, Roger Parslow, and her imprisoned uncle, Lord Asriel, who has been conducting experiments with a mysterious substance known as "Dust".

Will Parry is one of the protagonists in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials, along with Lyra Belacqua. He first appears in the series at the start of the second novel, The Subtle Knife, and continues through to the final book, The Amber Spyglass. Introduced as a 12-year-old boy, he meets and befriends Lyra in the world of Cittàgazze and teams up with her in order to uncover the mysteries of Dust and the disappearance of his father many years previously. He takes possession of the Subtle Knife which he uses to aid Lord Asriel in his bid to destroy the Authority.

Dust (<i>His Dark Materials</i>) Fictional particle in His Dark Materials trilogy

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Dæmon (<i>His Dark Materials</i>) Fictional being from Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials

A dæmon is a type of fictional being in the Philip Pullman fantasy trilogies His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust. Dæmons are the external physical manifestation of a person's "inner-self" that takes the form of an animal. Dæmons have human intelligence, are capable of human speech—regardless of the form they take—and usually behave as though they are independent of their humans. Pre-pubescent children's dæmons can change form voluntarily to become any creature, real or imaginary. During adolescence a person's dæmon undergoes "settling", an event in which that person's dæmon permanently and involuntarily assumes the form of the animal which the person most resembles in character. Dæmons are usually of the opposite sex to their human, though same-sex dæmons do exist.

Lord Asriel is a character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Asriel is a member of the aristocracy in a parallel universe dominated by the Church. Possessed of enormous determination and willpower, he is fierce in nature and commands great respect in both the political and academic spheres, being a military leader and a fellow of Jordan College in his world's version of Exeter College, Oxford.

<i>The Golden Compass</i> (film) 2007 film directed by Chris Weitz

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<i>The Golden Compass</i> (video game) 2007 video game

The Golden Compass is a 2007 action-adventure puzzle video game developed by Shiny Entertainment for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, and by A2M for Nintendo DS. The game was published on all platforms by Sega, and was released in Europe in November 2007, and in North America in December. It is the video game of the 2007 film of the same name, although it is also partially based on the 1995 novel upon which the film is based, Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. The game was released prior to the film and features a slightly different sequence of events towards the end of the story, as well as additional footage at the end of the game not seen in the film. This was due to a last minute re-edit of the last half-hour of the film by New Line Cinema, which could not be incorporated into the game, as it was based on the shooting script. Due to this the game manages to portray motives and themes of the book in much more detail, including details only present in later books of the trilogy. The Golden Compass was the last game developed by Shiny before Foundation 9 Entertainment merged them with The Collective. A significant feature has Dakota Blue Richards and Freddie Highmore reprising their roles from the film.

<i>Once Upon a Time in the North</i> 2008 novel by Philip Pullman

Once Upon a Time in the North is a 2008 novella by Philip Pullman. The book serves as a prequel to Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The premise of the story involves the meeting of Iorek Byrnison and Lee Scoresby:

I've just finished a short book which will be coming out next spring, probably March or April in this country. It's called Once Upon A Time in the North, and it's about Lee and Iorek. When we see them for the first time with Lyra, Lee is not that old; he's fifty, sixty, something like that, so they know each other for a long time. But I wanted to write a story when they first met as they were young, and I've just written it. I'm making a little book like Lyra's Oxford.

His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of Northern Lights (1995), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). This is a list of the fictional races and creatures in the novels.

His Dark Materials is a play written by British playwright Nicholas Wright, adapted from the Philip Pullman fantasy novel trilogy of the same title. The production premiered in the Royal National Theatre's Olivier Theatre, London, in 2003. Due to the complications in staging a piece containing the narrative of three books, the play was performed in two parts in alternate performances. The play is published by Nick Hern Books.

<i>La Belle Sauvage</i> 2017 novel by Philip Pullman

La Belle Sauvage is a fantasy novel by Philip Pullman published in 2017. It is the first volume of a planned trilogy titled The Book of Dust and is set twelve years before Pullman's His Dark Materials. It presents events prior to the arrival of the six-month-old Lyra Belacqua at Jordan College, Oxford.

<i>His Dark Materials</i> (TV series) 2019 British fantasy television series

His Dark Materials is a fantasy drama television series based on the trilogy of novels by Philip Pullman. It is produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Productions, for BBC One and HBO, with the latter handling international distribution. The show follows the orphan Lyra as she searches for a missing friend and discovers a kidnapping plot related to an invisible cosmic substance called Dust.

<i>Serpentine</i> (book) 2020 novella by Philip Pullman

Serpentine is a fantasy novella written by Philip Pullman, set after the events of his His Dark Materials trilogy and before the events of The Secret Commonwealth, the second book of his The Book of Dust trilogy. The manuscript was originally sold at a charity auction in 2004 and the book was publicly released in October 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "His Dark Materials — Dictionary — J". Arts and Drama. BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  2. ↑ Thorpe, Vanessa; Heawood, Jonathan (6 April 2003). "Pullman brings back Lyra for Oxford mystery". The Observer . Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "From Exeter to Jordan". Oxford Today . 14 (3). 2002. Archived from the original on 8 July 2007.
  4. 1 2 Pullman, Philip (27 July 2002). "Dreaming of Spires". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  5. ↑ Medd, James. "Where is Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials filmed?". CN Traveller. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "His Dark Materials — Dictionary — B". Arts and Drama. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
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