Editing Beorn (section)

=== Bear-like warrior ===

{{further|Beowulf in Middle-earth}}

[[File:Bronsplåt 2 fr Torslunda sn, Öland (Stjerna, Hjälmar och svärd i Beovulf (1903) sid 103).jpg|thumb|Beorn has been likened to a [[berserker]], a warrior fighting in a trance-like state of fury.<ref name="Lewis 2007"/> Illustrated is a [[Vendel era]] [[Torslunda plates|helmet plate]] from [[Öland]], [[Sweden]], depicting the god [[Odin]] guiding a berserker.]]

In naming his character, Tolkien used ''beorn'', an [[Old English]] word for "man" and "warrior" (with implications of "freeman" and "nobleman" in [[Anglo-Saxon]] society).<ref>See definition: {{Cite web|url=http://www.bosworthtoller.com/003757 |title=BEORN |work=[[An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary]] (Online) |last1=Bosworth |first1=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Bosworth |last2=Toller |first2=T. Northcote |location=Prague |publisher=[[Charles University]]}}, cognate to the [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] ''björn''</ref> The name is cognate with the [[Scandinavia]]n ''Björn'' or Bjørn, meaning ''bear''; and the figure of Beorn can be related to the traditional Northern heroes [[Bödvar Bjarki]] and [[Beowulf (hero)|Beowulf]], both of whose names also mean "bear".{{sfn|Shippey|2001|pages=31-32}}{{sfn|Shippey|2005|page=77}} The name Beorn survives in the name of the Scottish town [[Bo'ness#Toponymy|Borrowstounness]], which is derived from the Old English ''Beornweardstun'' ("the town with Beorn as its guardian").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |last2=Hodges |first2=Flavia |last3=Mills |first3=A. D. |last4=Room |first4=Adrian |title=The Oxford Names Companion |date=2002 |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-860561-4 |page=951}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ross |first=David |title=Scottish Place-Names |page=15 |publisher=[[Birlinn (publisher)|Birlinn]] |isbn=<!--no ISBN--> |oclc=213108856 }}</ref> The Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] comments that Beorn exemplifies the heroic [[Northern courage in Middle-earth|Northern courage]] that Tolkien later made a central virtue in his larger novel, ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', as he is ferocious, rude, and cheerful, characteristics that reflect his huge inner self-confidence.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=91–92}} 

Paul W. Lewis, writing in ''[[Mythlore]]'', calls Beorn "essentially a [[berserker]] in battle", alluding to the Old Norse warriors who fought in a trance-like state of fury. The term means "bear-shirt"; its Old Norse form, ''hamrammr'', was taken by Tolkien to mean "skin-changer", and he gave Beorn this capability.<ref name="Lewis 2007">{{cite journal |last=Lewis |first=Paul W. |year=2007 |title=Beorn and Tom Bombadil: A Tale of Two Heroes |journal=[[Mythlore]] |volume=25 |issue=3 |at=Article 13 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol25/iss3/13 }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto;"
|+ Paul W. Lewis's analysis of Beorn and other bear-names for warriors known to Tolkien<ref name="Lewis 2007"/>
|-
! Name or term !! Language !! Literal meaning !! Description
|-
|Beorn ||Old English ||"Bear" ||Man as strong as a bear, warrior, chieftain; cf modern Scandinavian names Björn, Bjørn
|-
|[[Beowulf (hero)|Beowulf]] ||Old English ||"Bees' wolf" = honey-eater, bear ||Hero of the epic poem ''[[Beowulf]]''
|-
|[[Bödvar Bjarki]] ||Old Norse ||"Warlike little-bear" ||Hero of ''[[Hrólfs saga kraka]]''; a skin-changer, bear by day, a man by night
|-
|[[berserker]] ||Old English ||"Bear-shirt" ||Warrior who fights in a trance-like state of fury
|-
|''hamrammr'' ||Old Norse ||Taken by Tolkien as "Skin-changer" ||Were-bear, berserker
|}