Bree

Lore & Background

Bree was born in Narnia as an adventurous and inquisitive colt. He disregarded the warnings of his mother and ventured south past Archenland and into Calormen, where he was captured and either enslaved by or eventually sold to the Tarkaan Anradin. He spent many years pretending to be a dumb and witless horse to hide his origins and became one of the Tarkaan's prized possessions. Bree developed a very high opinion of himself with only non-talking horses to compare himself to, further enhanced by his status as the prized steed of a Calormene lord and his training as a war charger.

Having spent less time in Narnia than most talking horses, he had certain incorrect notions of Narnian behavior and culture. In particular, he asserts that Aslan, Narnia's creator and patron, is not an actual lion, and is only referred to as an analogy of the fierceness and power of a lion; part of his reason for believing this is that he secretly fears lions. In The Horse and His Boy, Bree and the boy Shasta become companions on a journey to escape from Calormen and find freedom in the northern countries of Archenland and Narnia. On their journey, they are joined by a talking mare, Hwin, and a Calormene Tarkheena (princess), Aravis.

Reader's Guide

At the book's close, the author notes that Bree and Hwin live happy lives in Narnia, both eventually marrying (though not to each other). They are said to make frequent trips to Archenland to visit Cor and Aravis, who do end up married to each other and later become the rulers of Archenland.