Setting of the Horse and His Boy....

Remember, before we read a book we must consider its context, which is information about the author and the time and place in which the book is set in. We already know a lot about C.S. Lewis. Here is some information about the new lands introduced in this book that will help you understand it better. The first time I read the book, I had a hard time picturing where Calormen and Archenland were in comparison to Narnia. This information should help you....

Much of The Horse and His Boy takes place in Calormen. Back in year 180 of Narnia's existence, Prince Col, the younger son of King Frank and Queen Helen, founded the mountain kingdom of Archenland, just south of Narnia and just north of the Desert.

In the year 204, some Archenlanders migrated to the south of the Desert and founded Calormen, a nation that enjoys a warm climate. The farmlands are bountiful and Calormenes ship their fruits and vegetables throughout most of the world. However, Calormene society is based on war, not farming. Sometime in their history, these descendants of Narnia and Archenland invented a pantheon of gods, with the demon Tash as the chief god, and they came to loath and fear Aslan.

Among the evils that Calormen visits on the rest of the world are war and slavery.

The size and shape of Calormen must change often during its history because it is usually at war with its neighbors; Calormen has become a large empire through conquest.

To wrap it up, the world of Narnia is a small world located on a circular disk. This world consists of only 3 countries to speak of, Narnia in the farthest north, and Archenland just south of that. Archenland is very similar to Narnia. South of Archenland is desert, and south of that is the cruel and powerful empire of Calormen. On the west is the land of Telmar.

We must remember that Lewis is a scholar of the medieval era. He uses this as a basis for Narnia. Calormen is reminiscient of an Islamic, Arabic land. Calormen is very comparable to Ottoman Turks empire in the late medieval and early modern ages. If you're interested in this, than you may want to do a little research on the Ottoman empire.