Jadis is the main antagonist of The Magician's Nephew and of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in C.S. Lewis's series, The Chronicles of Narnia. She is commonly referred to as the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, as she is the Witch who froze Narnia in the Hundred Years Winter.
Some recent editions of the books include brief notes, added by later editors, that describe the cast of characters. As Lewis scholar Peter Schakel points out, the description there of Jadis and the Queen of Underland (the main antagonist of The Silver Chair) "states incorrectly that the Queen of Underland is an embodiment of Jadis". Beyond characterising the two as "Northern Witches", Lewis's text does not connect them. (See Lady of the Green Kirtle for further discussion.)
The White Witch was born before the creation of Narnia and died in battle in Narnian year 1000.
In The Magician's Nephew, Jadis is introduced as the Queen of Charn, a city in an entirely different world from Narnia. She was the last of a long line of kings and queens, who began well but grew evil over many generations and conquered the entire world of Charn. Jadis, a powerful sorceress, fought a bloody war of rebellion against her sister. On the point of defeat, Jadis chose not to submit, but spoke instead the Deplorable Word that destroyed all life on Charn except her own. She then cast a spell of enchanted sleep upon herself, to await someone who could rescue her from Charn.
Jadis is the White Witch in C. S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles
Jadis may also refer to:
Jadis is a U.K. neo-progressive rock group. They play guitar-driven rock with the use of synthesizers to add depth and atmosphere, and an emphasis on melody. They are currently signed to InsideOut Music.
The name Jadis is taken from the novel "The Magician's Nephew" by C.S.Lewis. The same character later appeared as the white witch in "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe"
Jadis was formed in 1986 and in 1989 released their first album Jadis, which was produced by Marillion's Steve Rothery. In 1992, More Than Meets the Eye was released and was received well in the progressive rock scene.
Jadis is led by Gary Chandler (vocals, electric guitar), although generally the whole group is given songwriting credit. Other original members of the band were Trevor Dawkins (bass), Pete Salmon (keyboards) and Paul Alwin (drums), who was replaced by Mark Law in July 1988. Later members were Martin Orford (keyboards), John Jowitt (bass) and Steve Christey (drums). Orford and Jowitt were also members of IQ during that time.