Aslan's Army:
Centaurs

Introduction

There are several centaur positions in Aslan's army that call for some variation in armor, weapons, and costume. Therefore, there are three write-ups for the "extra" centaurs. General Orieus' armor is heavier and more decorative and therefore requires its own write-up.

Female Archers
Male Warriors
- Lancemen
- Swordsmen

And, of course

General Oreius

There is a ton of centaur information available that can't be catalogued here, but please check out IGN's "Anatomy of a Centaur" for tons of concept art, plus the centaur video from the special edition DVD! Also check out IGN's interview with Richard Taylor.

Overview, Tunics

The centaurs have long hair, deep-set eyes and horse-like ears. The human torso protrudes slighty from the horse body. They may look rather sunburned, too; Richard Taylor suggests that centaurs are not outdoor creatures and are therefore affected by sudden exposure to the sun when they join Aslan's army.

Centaurs are certainly a race of Narnia seen plentifully at the battle. All the centaur armor and weapons are heavy with heraldic etching and color. The patterns are usually very geometric and symmetrical, featuring sun and lion motifs.

According to Richard Taylor, the insignias were meant to reflect Aslan's "heraldic symbol" of being emblazoned in light. It's hard to describe and keep track of all the patterns and symbols, but we will present as many as we can in our image gallery.

All centaurs wear a basic sleeveless woven wool tunic over their human body that fans out to cover part of their horse back. The armholes are edged with leather binding, and atop the shoulders are leather capsleeve flaps that serve as padding when wearing pauldrons. The tunics come in dark reds, greens, and oranges, in various forms and lengths. Some of the weaves can be seen at our Stansborough swatches page.

Some appear to pull up around the waist and wrap around the back, a complicated cut to distinguish, especially with the breasplate in the way. Others fall to a point in front and are slit down from the waist at the sides and pulled back under the leather caparison. More info on individual centaur tunics on their respective pages.