George MacDonald in the context of "Congregational church"

Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian literature, including recurring myths such as ascending a mountain, the axis mundi, myths of combat, descent into the Underworld, accounts of a dying-and-rising god, a flood myth, stories about the founding of a tribe or city, and myths about great heroes (or saints) of the past, paradises, and self-sacrifice.

Various authors have also used it to refer to other mythological and allegorical elements found in the Bible, such as the story of the Leviathan. The term has been applied to myths and legends from the Middle Ages, such as the story of Saint George and the Dragon, the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and the legends of the Parsival. Multiple commentators have classified John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost as a work of Christian mythology. The term has also been applied to modern stories revolving around Christian themes and motifs, such as the writings of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Madeleine L'Engle, and George MacDonald.

Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy literature may be directed at both children and adults.

Fantasy is considered a genre of speculative fiction and is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, respectively, though these may overlap. Historically, most works of fantasy were in written form, but since the 1960s, a growing segment of the genre has taken the form of fantasy films, fantasy television programs, graphic novels, video games, music and art.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals. It narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. Except in The Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world who are magically transported to Narnia, where they are sometimes called upon by the lion Aslan (who appears in all seven books) to protect Narnia from evil. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician's Nephew to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle.

C.S. Lewis's life and literary influences deeply shaped The Chronicles of Narnia. His childhood experiences – moving to a large house in Belfast, losing his mother at an early age, and attending English boarding schools – paralleled events and settings in Narnia, such as Lucy discovering the magical world or the Pevensies attending school. Lewis also drew extensively on mythology, medieval literature, and cosmology. Works like the Old Irish immrama inspired The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; Michael Ward's Planet Narnia suggests that each Narnia book corresponds to a medieval planet with symbolic traits. Lewis's reading of Plato, George MacDonald, Dante, and John Milton influenced themes, character archetypes, and moral lessons in the series, with elements of Christian theology interwoven through characters like Aslan, though Lewis preferred the term "supposition" over allegory.

The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body (Norwegian: Jetten uten hjerte) is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.

George MacDonald retold it as "The Giant's Heart" in Adela Cathcart. A version of the tale also appears in The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and in A Book of Giants by Ruth Manning-Sanders.

The Princess and the Goblin is a children's fantasy novel by George MacDonald. It was published in 1872 by Strahan & Co., with black-and-white illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Strahan had published the story and illustrations as a serial in the monthly magazine Good Words for the Young, beginning November 1870.

Anne Thaxter Eaton writes in A Critical History of Children's Literature that The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel both "quietly suggest in every incident ideas of courage and honor". Jeffrey Holdaway, in the New Zealand Art Monthly, said that both books start out as "normal fairytales, but slowly become stranger", and that they contain layers of symbolism similar to that of Lewis Carroll's work.

An orc (sometimes spelt ork; /ɔːrk/), is a fictional race of humanoid monsters often found in works of modern fantasy. Originally called "Goblins," the concept of modern orcs can be found in George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin, and later adapted into J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy fiction, where the first uses of the word can be found.

In Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, orcs appear as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevolent race of monsters, contrasting with the benevolent Elves. He described their origins inconsistently, including as a corrupted race of elves, or bred by the Dark Lord Morgoth, or turned to evil in the wild. Tolkien's orcs serve as a conveniently wholly evil enemy that could be slaughtered without mercy.