Glundandra

> "And now I guess what it is that I have seen – Jupiter rising beyond the Asteroids and forty million miles nearer than he has ever been to earthly eyes."
>
> Elwin Ransom in *Out of the Silent Planet*

**Glundandra**, also known as **Glund**, was the fifth planet in the Field of Arbol, known to Hmāna as **Jupiter**, located between Malacandra and Lurga, and just beyond the Asteroid Belt. Like most other planets such as Thulcandra, Malacandra, Lurga and Neruval, it has its own moons, but these are not named in the Space Trilogy.

In the Space Trilogy, the Low Worlds are newer, so the Great Worlds such as Glundandra will be older worlds.

When Ransom meets the Sorn Augray, he correctly deduces he is not from Malacandra (Mars) because he is so thickset. He says he must be from a planet with higher gravity, probably Thulcandra (Earth) but not Glundandra because its gravity is intense that anyone from there would be "*flat like plates*". However, the Space Trilogy never mentions Hnau from Glundandra, and it seems unlikely there are any. Glundandra does however have its own Eldila and an Oyarsa known as the great Glund-Oyarsa.

## Non-canon

Non-canon work, i.e. not by C.S. Lewis, related to The Space Trilogy suggests Glund may be home to some entities:

> *There are djinn-like creatures all over the universe, perhaps parallel evolutions to the ones in our ionosphere. These include much larger communities in the Solar System. The two biggest are in the Jupiter system and the Solar atmosphere, the one living in the Jovian ionosphere and radiation belts, and the other in the Solar corona, with a large sub-community on Mercury. These creatures have no known connection to Earthly djinn and would strike a human as like slightly more human eldila.*
>
>

Whether these qualify as Hnau or a separate category is arguable.

Another source says that the great Glund-Oyarsa

> Focuses on administration. In addition to being the most powerful Oyarsa, Glundandra can coordinate the other Oyarsu.
>
>

The same non-canon source states that

> Adenandra was the first Mortal Oyarsa, an experiment by Glundandra. The world he was set to protect was destroyed by a fireball and his name was shortened to Aden. Not having any particular place to protect has made him into a long-range strike fighter. Aden neglected to properly choose a focus and changes his modus operandi occasionally.
>
>

## Background

It has long been known that Jupiter is the biggest of the planets of the Solar System, and is appropriately named after the king of Roman deities.

Not too much was known about Jupiter in Lewis' time, except its great size and heavy gravity, which the book alludes to. It is also like a mini-solar system in its own right, having a number of moons around it. These have been known about since the invention of telescopes - if any hnau were to be in the system, they would be more likely to live on these moons.

The name "Glundandra" means the "land of Glund" in Old Solar, although it is unclear what "Glund" means. The same suffix -andra, can be found in Low Worlds' names such as Perelandra, Thulcandra and Malacandra.

### Astrological significance

Somewhat like Gustav Holst's musical suite, the Planets, written just before WW1, Lewis' conception of the solar system owes as much to mediaeval astrology as modern astronomy. As such Glundandra would relate to power, but this is not really spelt out.

Jupiter's associated day is Thursday, *Jeudi* in French. It is associated with thunder, and kingship. Jupiter's associated metal is tin.

## Quotations

* "*No feet have walked, nor shall, on the ice of **Glund**; no eye looked up from beneath on the Ring of Lurga; and Ironplain in Neruval is chaste and empty. Yet it is not for nothing that the gods walked ceaselessly around the fields of Arbol. Blessed be He!*" - Perelandra, p. 342 of the Pan one-volume edition of "The Cosmic Trilogy"

## References

1. ↑ http://www.windoffthehilltop.com/ink-ArbolRaces.html
2. ↑ https://fantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Oyarsa
3. ↑ https://fantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Oyarsa
4. ↑ https://fantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Aden