Eagle Council

The Parliament of Owls is a night-time gathering of Narnian owls whose counsel helps set the search for the missing Prince Rilian in motion. It is not a formal court: meeting apart from the daytime habits of other creatures, the owls share information that the children cannot safely obtain through ordinary channels and guide them toward the next stage of their quest.

Nature and purpose

When Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb are reunited, Glimfeather proposes that the owls hold a parliament. The name describes a practical meeting: the birds assemble to discuss the children’s situation and explain what they know about the lost prince. Their collective voice is playful, but the gathering addresses serious matters of royal succession and public safety.

The owls keep to their own schedule because, as Glimfeather explains, most Narnian creatures are active in daylight and are too sleepy or inattentive at night to converse usefully. The owls therefore meet at night, when they can talk among themselves. This habit gives the parliament a distinct role: it is an information-sharing council formed around the creatures’ nocturnal lives, rather than an institution governing the kingdom.

The prohibition on the search

At the meeting, Glimfeather warns that Trumpkin, the Lord Regent, would prevent the children from setting out to find the lost prince. Eustace initially wonders whether this means Trumpkin is a traitor, recalling that Caspian had trusted him. The owls reject that suspicion. Their explanation is that more than thirty champions—including knights, centaurs, and good giants—had already gone in search of Rilian and never returned. Caspian consequently forbade further expeditions rather than allow more of Narnia’s bravest inhabitants to be lost.

The parliament thus clarifies the difference between disloyalty and protective restraint. Trumpkin’s opposition to the children’s plan follows the king’s prohibition and the history of failed searches; it does not imply that he has turned against Caspian or the kingdom. The warning also establishes that the children’s undertaking defies an order intended to prevent further casualties.

The story of Rilian’s disappearance

At Eustace’s request, an old owl other than Glimfeather recounts the events that led to Rilian’s disappearance. About ten years earlier, Rilian had ridden with his mother, the Queen, in the north of Narnia. During a May outing, a great serpent emerged from the wood and fatally attacked her. Rilian pursued it with his sword, but it escaped into thick bushes. His mother died before she could deliver the message she had been trying to give him.

The owls’ account makes the prince’s later search for the serpent part of a bereavement. He repeatedly rode along Narnia’s northern marches seeking vengeance for his mother’s death. About a month after her death, others noticed a change in him: he sometimes returned looking tired and distracted, and his expression suggested that he had seen visions. The parliament’s recollection supplies the background against which Rilian’s disappearance and the later search must be understood, though it does not resolve what happened to him after those changes began.

Guidance and limits

Once the children confirm that they must travel north toward the ruins of a giant city, the owls admit they cannot accompany them. Their lives are ordered by night, whereas the children would need to travel by day; the journey is also toward Ettinsmoor, a prospect that seems to dampen the gathering’s spirits. Glimfeather offers a practical alternative: the children should be taken to one of the Marsh-wiggles, the people best able to help them. The owls agree, and Glimfeather arranges for each child to be escorted.

The parliament’s assistance is therefore real but bounded. It provides historical knowledge, explains the political obstacle, and connects the children to a guide suited to the terrain ahead; it does not itself join the expedition. Its contribution moves the quest forward through counsel and referral rather than through direct action on the road.

Narrative role

The parliament turns an isolated reunion into a shared investigation. Its meeting gives the children access to Narnian memories and political context, while the older owl’s account inserts Rilian’s family history into the present-day journey. That shift from council to recollection makes the prince’s absence more than a mystery: it is linked to his mother’s death, the kingdom’s unsuccessful searches, and Caspian’s decision to protect his remaining champions.

The owls’ advice also contrasts their limited capacity to travel with their ability to guide. They cannot match the children’s daytime journey, but their nocturnal gathering supplies exactly the knowledge and connection the quest needs at this point. The Parliament of Owls functions as a temporary council of witnesses and guides, opening a route onward without taking the children’s task out of their hands.