Editing Beorn (section)

{{Short description|Fictional character created by J.R.R. Tolkien}}
{{for multi|the fossil tardigrade|Beorn leggi|similar names|Bjorn}}
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox character
|name        = Beorn
|series      = [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] 
|race        = [[Shapeshifting|Skin-Changer]]
|lbl24       = Book(s)
|data24      = ''[[The Hobbit]]'' (1937)
}}
'''Beorn''' is a character created by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], and part of his [[Middle-earth]] [[legendarium]]. He appears in ''[[The Hobbit]]'' as a "[[shapeshifting|skin-changer]]",<ref name="Hobbit Queer Lodgings" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1937|loc=ch. 7 "Queer Lodgings"}}</ref> a man who could assume the form of a great black [[bear]]. His descendants or kinsmen, a group of [[Man (Middle-earth)|Men]] known as the '''Beornings''', dwell in the upper Vales of Anduin, between [[Mirkwood]] and the [[Misty Mountains]], and are counted among the Free Peoples of Middle-earth who oppose [[Sauron]]'s forces during the [[War of the Ring]]. Like the powerful medieval heroes [[Beowulf (hero)|Beowulf]] and [[Bödvar Bjarki]], whose names both mean "bear", he exemplifies the [[Northern courage in Middle-earth|Northern courage]] that Tolkien made a central virtue in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.