“The Chronicles of Narnia” continues to produce many discussions and analysis decades after the book was released. The Alabama Media Group takes a look at one of the conversations sparked by the book in a recent article titled “Is Narnia series a hodgepodge or a cosmos-based work of genius? Meet the man who broke the code.”

Carol McPhail of the Alabama Media Group writes, “J.R.R. Tolkien is said to have described the Narnia series as a mishmash or hodgepodge of writings. But C.S. Lewis scholar and author Michael Ward had a eureka moment in 2003 that not only debunked that theory but revealed the beloved book series as a work of genius organized according to the stars. ‘What I've discovered is he was working on a very sophisticated and careful plan,’ said Ward, author of ‘Planet Narnia’ and the presenter of the BBC TV documentary ‘The Narnia Code.’ Ward's argument, that Lewis employed an old understanding of the seven planets to write the series, turned out to be a major advance in the understanding of the beloved books. Ward is giving a free lecture Friday at the University of Mobile. The talk begins at 1:30 p.m. in Weaver Auditorium and is sponsored by the college's Honors Program. In an phone interview, Ward described the moment when he broke the ‘Narnia code.’ ‘It occurred to me one night,’ he said. ‘I was in bed about to turn out the light when I was reading a poem he wrote called 'The Planets.' I thought, 'It's the planets, of course!' Ward, a senior research fellow at Blackfriars Hall at the University of Oxford, suggests in ‘Planet Narnia’ that each story in the Narnia series embodies and expresses the characteristics of one of the seven planets from medieval cosmology.”

If cracking codes isn’t your thing, you can always enjoy Narnia with novelty items from Armory Replicas. For example, one of our more popular Narnia-related items is our Narnia Black Tiger Dagger. This dagger is modeled directly off of our replica of the sword Peter carries throughout the movie The Chronicles of Narnia but in the form of a dagger. It’s a handy piece that is a must have for fans. Made from 440 stainless steel and sporting a mirror polish finish, the unsharpened blade has a beautiful ridge line running down the middle separating the double edges. Our Narnia Black Tiger Dagger is almost perfectly balanced with an ornate silver lion head on the pommel setting the balance point just half an inch from the guard. Lastly, the ABS scabbard features a leather texture finish in the same black color as the glossy handle.

Whatever replica armory or novelty item needs you might have, look no further than Armory Replicas!