King Rothbart I was the last ruler of the House of Franklin. He surrendered himself to Jadis to protect the citizens of Cair Paravel from the wrath of the White Witch.

He had a prophetic dream of the coming of Jadis, feeling his heart strangely turned to ice. In seeking to save his country from disaster, he set into motion a series of events that would prove the undoing of all he loved and believed in.

While revered by Free Narnia, his name also became a byword for futility against overwhelming odds. Someone who was flirting with disaster was said to be "donning the crown of Rothbart."