Lyra Belacqua
A 12-year-old girl and the protagonist of The Golden Compass. Lyra’s parents left her at Jordan College as a baby to be raised by the school’s Master and Scholars. She is mischievous, clever, and deeply compassionate. According to a witch’s prophecy, she is destined to leave her own world in order to save it, but she must do so without being aware of the nature of her mission. When her best friend disappears, she is torn from the life that she knows and loves and begins an adventure to the North. In the course of this adventure, she learns to trust in herself and others and to be a leader.
Pantalaimon
Lyra’s dæmon. Because Lyra is a child, Pantalaimon is still able to shift from one animal’s form to another at will. Pantalaimon provides constant companionship to Lyra and often serves as her adviser. In reality, he is not a separate entity from Lyra, but rather a physical manifestation of her deepest, truest self.
Lord Asriel
Lord Asriel is Lyra’s father, but she is raised to think of him as an uncle. When Lord Asriel kills Edward Coulter, the courts take away the properties he amassed as a famous explorer. In his career in parliament he has also fought many battles on behalf of the gyptians’ legally protected rights in England, for which the gyptians feel beholden to protecting his daughter Lyra. Lord Asriel is a proponent of a theory that there are parallel universes and he has set out to build a bridge to cross into them. His dæmon is a snow leopard.
Butler
The Butler of Jordan College is responsible for arranging for all of the Scholars’ needs, from serving tea to directing the housekeeping staff.
The Master
The head of Jordan College. The Master has a serious demeanor. He attempts to murder Lord Asriel in order to protect Lyra from a dangerous destiny, but his plan is spoiled by Lyra herself. He then sends Lyra off to live with Mrs. Coulter, but first he gives her his alethiometer to help her on the journey. The Master’s dæmon is a raven.
Mr. Cawson
The Steward of Jordan College, responsible for keeping the College running to the Master’s liking.
Shuter
The porter, responsible for carrying heavy objects around the College.
Thorold
Lord Asriel’s manservant.
Chaplain
The Chaplain is in charge of religious matters at Jordan College.
Charles, the Librarian
A friend and accomplice to the Master.
Sub-rector
An old and nearly blind Scholar.
Father Heyst, the Intercessor
The clergyman in charge of religious services at Jordan College.
Trelawney, the Palmerian Professor
A Scholar of Jordan College who has made several expeditions to the North.
Cassington scholar
The Scholar at Jordan College who is meant to hold controversial views and play the devil’s advocate.
Dean
The administrator in charge of academic matters at Jordan College.
Dr. Grumman
Once a scholar at Jordan College, Dr. Grumman disappeared while on an expedition to the North. While the Jordan College Scholars believe he was killed by Tartars, others think that he actually joined the Tartars’ society.
Iofur Raknison
The King of Svalbard, a region in the far North populated by intelligent armored bears called panserbjørne. He is ashamed of being a bear and wishes more than anything to be a human. He is secretly in an alliance with Mrs. Coulter, who helped him take the panserbjørn throne by trickery.
Ma Costa
A gyptian woman that Lyra fears but looks up to. She took care of Lyra as a baby for a short time, and has kept an eye on her ever since. She is a member of the Stafanski family of the western gyptians. Her dæmon is a hawk.
Billy Costa
Ma Costa’s son, whom the Gobblers take at the Oxford horse fair. Billy later reunites with Lyra when the Oblation Board takes her to Bolvangar.
Tony Costa
Billy’s elder brother. He saves Lyra from her kidnappers after she runs away from Mrs. Coulter’s apartment. Like his mother, he has a hawk dæmon.
Roger
A kitchen boy from Jordan College and Lyra’s closest friend. When the Gobblers capture Roger, Lyra leaves Oxford to save him. When Lyra unwittingly brings Roger to Lord Asriel, Lord Asriel severs the boy from his dæmon and uses the energy released to build a bridge to another world.
Hugh Lovat
A kitchen boy from St. Michael’s College and Lyra’s friend.
Simon Praslow
The child of the head builder at Jordan College and Lyra’s friend.
Jessie Reynolds
A daughter of a saddler at the Oxford market. Jessie is one of the children the Gobblers take.
Dick
A 16-year-old from Oxford. Lyra admires him and seeks his attention, mostly because he can spit farther than anyone else she knows.
Chef
A busy man, in charge of the Jordan College kitchen. He has little time to pay attention to Lyra and the other children.
Bernie Johansen
The half-gyptian pastry cook in the kitchen at Jordan College. The king of the gyptians assigned Bernie Johansen to keep an eye on Lyra since the time she was a baby. He is different from many other characters in that his dæmon has the same gender as him.
Mrs. Lonsdale
The housekeeper, an impatient and strict woman. She takes care of Lyra’s living quarters at Jordan College. She is also a distant cousin of Roger. Her dæmon is a retriever, as all of the servants’ dæmons are dogs.
Cousins
The Master’s manservant, and an old enemy of Lyra’s.
Dame Hannah Relf
An elder and the head of a woman’s college at Oxford. Her dæmon is a marmoset.
Marisa Coulter
A strikingly beautiful woman who is in charge of the General Oblation Board. She uses her beauty to get children to follow her, then kidnaps them and send them North for the Oblation Board’s experiments. She had an affair with Lord Asriel, resulting in Lyra’s birth, though Lyra is unaware that Mrs. Coulter is her mother until Lord Faa tells her. Mrs. Coulter’s dæmon is a golden monkey.
Commissionaire
The doorman and butler at Mrs. Coulter’s apartment building.
Coronel Carborn
A military man famous for making the first balloon flight over the North Pole. Coronel Carborn is a member of the Arctic Institute in London.
Dr. Broken Arrow
A Skraeling man famous for mapping the currents of the Great Northern Ocean. Also a member of the Arctic Institute.
Archbishop
A high clergyman in the Church who lives in London. According to Mrs. Coulter he’s a “hateful old snob.”
Lord Boreal
A friend of Mrs. Coulter’s. His dæmon is a serpent.
Princess Postnikova
A Russian princess and friend of Mrs. Coulter’s.
Erik Andersson
A fashionable dancer in London high society.
Rusakov
A Russian scientist from a century ago. He discovered Dust, which is also sometimes called Rusakov particles.
Adele Starminster
A London journalist who is investigating Mrs. Coulter. She sneaks into Mrs. Coulter’s party to obtain information but she is chased away. Her dæmon is a butterfly.
Professor Docker
A Scholar who lives in London and knows some things about Dust.
Jaxer and Kerim
Two members of Tony Costa’s group.
John Faa
A man in his seventies and the king of the gyptians. He leads the gyptians on their quest to the North to save the children who the Oblation Board, also known as the Gobblers, has kidnapped. He is a wise and respected leader of his people. His dæmon is a crow.
Raymond van Gerrit
A gyptian man. He is less willing than most to stand in solidarity with nongyptians, whether that means rescuing their children from the Oblation Board or hiding Lyra from the police.
Farder Coram
An important and respected elder of the gyptian people. He can see truths that are far away in space and time, and has been paying attention to Lyra from afar for her whole life. When he finally meets Lyra in person, they become friends and he helps her learn to read the alethiometer. His dæmon is a cat.
Edward Coulter
Mrs. Coulter’s dead husband. He became so enraged when he discovered that Mrs. Coulter had become pregnant by another man that he tried to find Lyra as a baby to kill her. Lord Asriel arrived in time to defend his child, and in the fight he killed Edward Coulter.
Nicholas Rokeby
Head of the Rokeby family, one of the six main families of the western gyptian people. As head of a family, he sits on the Gyptians’ Council. He is in charge of finding and captaining a ship for the northward rescue party.
Adam Stefanski
Head of the Stefanski family, to which the Costas belong. He sits on the Gyptians’ Council. He is in charge of weapons and ammunition for the northward rescue party.
Roger van Poppel
Head of the van Poppel family. He sits on the Gyptians’ Council. He is in charge of basic supplies for the northward rescue party.
Simon Hartmann
Head of the Hartmann family. He sits on the Gyptians’ Council. He is the accountant for the northward rescue party.
Benjamin De Ruyter
Head of the De Ruyter family. He sits on the Gyptians’ Council. He is in charge of spying and intelligence gathering for the northward rescue party. But attackers kill him on a spying mission when he breaks into the Ministry of Theology. His dæmon is some kind of bird.
Michael Canzona
Head of the Canzona family. He sits on the Gyptians’ Council. He is in charge of coordinating the other heads of family’s work for the northward rescue party. He is also second in command if John Faa dies.
Nell
A gyptian woman who argues for women to be included in the northward rescue party.
Adrian Braaks
A gyptian man. Adrian Braaks questions whether the northward rescue party should plan to rescue Lord Asriel, as they certainly do not have the strength necessary to fight against the panserbjørne.
Margaret
A gyptian woman. Margaret wants John Faa to take severe revenge on the Oblation Board for any harm that its members have inflicted on the children they have kidnapped.
Dirk Vries
A gyptian man who wonders what the Oblation Board has been doing with the children that they kidnap.
Sam Broekman
A gyptian whose life Lord Asriel once saved.
Ruud and Nellie Koopman
Gyptians who almost drowned as children in the floods of 1953. Lord Asriel saved them.
Jacob Huisman
A gyptian man who is badly wounded while working with Benjamin De Ruyter on a spying mission, and then dies after returning to the Fens. His dæmon is a ferret.
Peter Hawker
A gyptian man who is on Benjamin De Ruyter’s spying team in advance of the mission to the North.
Gerard Hook
A gyptian man who is captured while breaking into the Ministry of Theology with Benjamin De Ruyter on a spying mission.
Frans Broekman
A gyptian man who works on Benjamin De Ruyter’s spying team.
Tom Mendham
A gyptian man who works on Benjamin De Ruyter’s spying team.
Jack Verhoeven
A gyptian man who dies early in the mission to the North when his narrowboat is attacked and sunk.
Jerry
A sailor on the ship the gyptians take North. He becomes good friends with Lyra after she plays a prank on him. He begins to teach Lyra about the ways of seamanship. His dæmon is a seagull.
Martin Lanselius
The witches’ consul in Trollesund. He is a fat, serious, plain-looking man. While there is no such thing as a man that is a witch, some men join the witches to work with them, like Martin Lanselius does. His dæmon is a serpent.
Serafina Pekkala
A witch whose life Farder Coram once saved in the Fens. She is the Queen of a witch clan in the region of Lake Enara, and greatly respected among the witches. Her dæmon is a grey goose.
Kaisa
Serafina Pekkala’s dæmon. He has the form of a grey goose. Because he is a witch’s dæmon, he is able to venture far away from Serafina. He uses this ability to help Lyra and the gyptians while Serafina is busy attending to her clan’s matters.
Iorek Byrnison
Iorek was once a prince among the panserbjørne, but in a feud with another bear he lost his temper and killed the bear. As a result, he was banished from Svalbard and bear society. Otherwise, he would have been king. Lyra finds Iorek when he is in a coastal Norrowegian town, doing menial labor in exchange for alcohol. The townspeople have stolen Iorek’s armor, which is like his soul, and Lyra helps him to recuperate it. He then becomes a close friend of Lyra’s, and with her help, he goes on to become king of the panserbjørne.
Lee Scoresby
An aeronaut from Texas that John Faa hires while in Trollesund to help in their expedition north. He has a thin mustache and blue eyes. He fought alongside Iorek Byrnison in a campaign years ago. His dæmon is a hare.
Priest of Trollesund
Iorek Byrnison’s armor is hidden in the Priest of Trollesund’s basement. He believes that it contains a spirit, which he is determined to pry out of it using spiritual techniques. His dæmon is a pelican.
Sysselman of Trollesund
The governor of Trollesund.
Tony Makairos
One of the first children that Mrs. Coulter kidnaps. Months later, Lyra finds him scared and severed from his dæmon, hiding in a fish shack in a remote Norrowegian village. He is the first severed child that Lyra encounters, and by meeting him she discovers what the Oblation Board does with the children they kidnap.
Sister Clara
A nurse at Bolvangar. She receives Lyra when the Samoyed hunters leave her there. Her dæmon is a small white dog.
Annie
A red-haired girl that Lyra meets at Bolvangar.
Bella
A dark, plump girl that Lyra meets at Bolvangar.
Martha
A thin girl that Lyra meets at Bolvangar.
Salcilia
Roger’s dæmon.
Sister Betty
A nurse at Bolvangar. She assists the doctor who gives Lyra her first tests there. When the fire alarm goes off Sister Betty allows Lyra to retrieve her original clothing in order to participate in the drill.
Jotham Santelia
A professor of cosmology from the University of Gloucester. When the panserbjørne imprison Lyra she shares a cell with Jotham Santelia. Iofur Raknison invited him to be the Vice-Chancellor of a new university in Svalbard, but he later fell out of favor and went to prison. Because of his relationship with the King of the bears, he has a lot of information that he shares with Lyra while they are cellmates. His dæmon is a serpent.
Hjalmur Hjalmurson
An armored bear who once challenged Iorek Byrnison to a duel over a she-bear. According to bear tradition, Hjalmur should have backed down once Iorek’s dominance was clear. However, Iofar gave Hjalmur a drug that he obtained from Mrs. Coulter and which made him persist in the conflict. Enraged, Iorek killed Hjalmur, resulting in his disgraceful exile from the bear kingdom and making way for Iofur to become King.
Soren Eisaron
An elder among the panserbjørne who suffers under the reign of Iofur Raknison. When Iorek Byrnison becomes King, Soren informs Iorek of everything that has happened in Svalbard since his exile.
