Locations in His Dark Materials series
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This page contains locations from the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.
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[edit] Bolvangar
Bolvangar (meaning the Fields of Evil) is an experimental station set up by the General Oblation Board in order to conduct experiments involving intercision, the process of severing a child from their dæmon. Large numbers of children have been taken as a result, including children of the Gyptian people and Roger, a friend of Lyra Belacqua. Lyra manages to save most of the children who have been kidnapped and return them to the Gyptians, who have come to rescue them.
Bolvanger appears in Northern Lights (The Golden Compass).
[edit] Cittàgazze
Cittàgazze (sometimes abbreviated to Ci'gazze), meaning "City of the Magpies", is a fictional city within an unknown world (and parallel universe).
The first reference to the city appears in the first volume of the trilogy, "Northern Lights, as 'the city in the sky': the city visible in the Aurora borealis, an occurrence which, according to the novel, thins the barrier between the dimension in which the story takes place and the dimension of Cittàgazze. The most expansive description of the city is given as Lyra and Will venture into it and other surrounding universes in The Subtle Knife. It is also mentioned in the final volume, The Amber Spyglass. The city is located within a parallel universe different from most others mentioned in the trilogy, and is reached through a "window-between-worlds" created by Lord Asriel at the end of Northern Lights.
Cittàgazze is a seaside town, reminiscent of those near the Mediterranean, which seems to have Italian-like roots. Its main features are quaint restaurants, parasols hung over circular tables beneath trailing plants, wide cobbled roads, and ancient architecture. However, it should not necessarily be considered "old-world". There is mention electric devices (electric lights and refrigerators) and the world appears to be roughly as technologically as our own (except of course for the subtle knife, which is far in advance of our world).
The city is also plagued by deadly, ghostly beings called spectres. They are invisible to pre-adolescents, but once individuals are old enough to see them the spectres take an interest in them, eating away people's dæmons (sometimes believed to represent the soul), thus leaving them zombie-like and lifeless. Hence, the city is entirely devoid of adults, but is populated by small rag-tag gangs of children. Spectres cluster around children approaching adolescence and consume them the moment they come of age.
The multitude of spectres in the world of Cittàgazze is due to the constant use of the subtle knife in its vicinity. While the knife can create windows to other worlds, each occurrence of this creates a new spectre. Asriel's opening of the passage from his world to Citàgazze caused a massive surge in spectre population swarming the world with the soul-devouring wraiths.
Cittàgazze is introduced to us in The Subtle Knife when Will enters through a "window" into its universe; it appears to be deserted, but the influence of life remains. We learn from children who later return to the city that the adults are elsewhere in order to escape the spectres.
Cittàgazze is also the name of the oldest His Dark Materials forum, where many His Dark Materials fans discuss not only the novels but also more personal topics.
[edit] Torre degli Angeli
Perhaps the most significant feature of Cittàgazze, the Torre Degli Angeli (Tower of Angels) is a great tower that stands in the middle of the wraith-haunted city. It was once the home of the philosophers that created Æsahættr, the subtle blade, where it still resides. It is at the top of Torre Degli Angeli that Will Parry fights Tullio and obtains the blade.
It appears in The Subtle Knife.
[edit] The Clouded Mountain
The Clouded Mountain (also known as the Chariot) is a giant mountain/fortress surrounded by mist and clouds. It is home to The Authority (God), Metatron (the Regent of Heaven), and a citadel to all angels apart from the rebels. It is defended with gun emplacements built into the rock and can apparently move under its own power.
It is described only once in the series, in The Amber Spyglass, when Mrs Coulter arrives there in The Intention Craft, to trick the Regent into following her to his death when she plunges him into the empty abyss created by an interdimensional bomb the Magisterium set off to kill Lyra Belacqua. The Clouded Mountain's fate is not revealed, but it can be presumed it was destroyed or captured after Metatron's death.
[edit] Jordan College, Oxford
Jordan College is a college of the University of Oxford in Lyra's world, and is considered her home. The Jordan College appears at the beginning of The Golden Compass and at the end of The Amber Spyglass, and is the primary setting of Lyra's Oxford.
For detailed information, see the main article.
| Part of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series |
|---|
| Books |
| Northern Lights/The Golden Compass - The Subtle Knife - The Amber Spyglass Lyra's Oxford - The Book of Dust |
| Films |
| His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass |
| Games |
| The Golden Compass |
| Characters |
| Lyra Belacqua and Pantalaimon - Will Parry - Lord Asriel - Marisa Coulter - Iorek Byrnison - John Faa - Farder Coram - Serafina Pekkala - Lee Scoresby - Iofur Raknison - The Authority - Balthamos - Baruch - Mary Malone - Xaphania - Roger Parslow - Metatron |
| Other |
| Alethiometer - Dust - Æsahættr - Locations - Dæmons - Panserbjørne |
