Into the Wardrobe

Obviously, Puddleglum - he lives in a marsh and he is glum.

The squirrel Pattertwig - you can just hear his paws pattering through the trees when you see his name.

Glenstorm and Roonwit the centaurs.

Glenstorm... sounds big, expansive, and dangerous.

Roonwit.... sounds like rune, ancient writings. And 'wit', like, well, wit. Someone that is savvy in ancient letters (writings), as centaurs are. Somehow, his name also puts me in a mind of the word "root", things dug up from plants. I suppose that, in addition to being seers, centaurs could also have been healers and would therefore have a good knowledge of herbs medicinal.

Of course, Glimfeather, the owl. Glim, sounds like grim or glum. Both would describe his, and the other owls' personalities.

That's fascinating, I had no idea that there was a different name for the wolf in Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe in the European version!

"Fenris" comes directly from Norse mythology, of which Lewis was a serious fan as a teenager, as he tells in Surprised by Joy. Fenris was a gigantic wolf that was one of the monsters of chaos that would ultimately conquer and devour Asgard, the home of the Norse gods, at the end of time for the gods: the best a Viking could hope for in the scope of eternity was to be part of those brave warriors fighting their last battle against the ultimate triumph of evil when that time came. So the name was very appropriate for the name of the White Witch's chief of secret police, it immediately conveys a sense of his menace (if you've read Norse mythology at some point I suppose).

However, come to think of it, it is unusual for Lewis to use a name from other sources directly like that, rather than use his own made-up names that have roots and sounds that convey a meaning - like Maugrim. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books are almost an encyclopedia of arcane names from mythology and alchemy, but I can't think of any other examples of names like "Fenris Ulf" from any of Lewis' books.

I wonder why they changed the name between the editions on opposite sides of the Atlantic?

Jadis-Jaded