Beorn

Beorn is a skin-changer of immense strength and solitary habits, a figure who straddles the boundary between man and beast. He lives in a great wooden house within an oak-wood, surrounded by vast bee-pastures and served by intelligent animals—horses, ponies, sheep, and dogs—that work for him and speak to him. He is described as a huge man with a thick black beard and hair, great bare arms and legs with knotted muscles, and he wears only a wool tunic. In his other form, he is a huge black bear. Gandalf explains that Beorn is under no enchantment but his own; some say he is a bear descended from the ancient bears of the mountains, others that he is a man descended from the first men before Smaug or the goblins came. He lives mostly on cream and honey, keeps hives of great fierce bees, and does not eat or hunt wild animals. His house is a long low wooden building with a wide hall, a central hearth, and a veranda facing south, and it contains no gold or silver—only knives are made of metal. He is a fierce enemy, but kind enough if humoured, though he gets angry easily and can be appalling when enraged.

Role in the Quest

Beorn enters the story when Gandalf leads Thorin and Company to his house after their rescue by the eagles from the goblins and Wargs. The wizard introduces the dwarves slowly, two by two, to avoid overwhelming their host, and tells the tale of their adventures. Beorn is initially suspicious and gruff, but the story—and the gradual revelation that there are fifteen of them—makes him interested. He tests the truth of their account by crossing the river and returning to the mountains, where he captures a Warg and a goblin and learns that the goblin patrols are still hunting the dwarves. Satisfied, he offers them help: ponies for each dwarf, a horse for Gandalf, and provisions for weeks—nuts, flour, dried fruits, honey, and twice-baked cakes that keep good a long time. He also gives them bows and arrows, and warns them gravely about the dangers of Mirkwood: the black enchanted stream that causes drowsiness and forgetfulness, and the absolute necessity of staying on the path. He advises them to take a northern route through the forest, a little-known pathway that leads almost straight towards the Lonely Mountain, rather than the main forest-road which is now used by goblins and leads to impassable marshes.

The Journey and the Battle

After the dwarves depart, Beorn follows them in bear shape each night, guarding them and keeping an eye on his ponies. Bilbo catches glimpses of a great bear prowling along in the same direction, and Gandalf tells him to take no notice. At the edge of Mirkwood, the ponies are sent back, and Beorn's protection ends. Later, after the death of Smaug and the siege of the Mountain, when the Battle of Five Armies is at its darkest moment and the goblins are overwhelming the elves, men, and dwarves, Beorn appears. No one knows how or from where he came. He is in bear's shape, and seems to have grown almost to giant-size in his wrath. The roar of his voice is like drums and guns; he tosses wolves and goblins from his path like straws and feathers. He falls upon the goblin rear, breaks like a clap of thunder through the ring, and stoops to lift the fallen Thorin, pierced with spears, bearing him out of the fray. Then his wrath is redoubled; nothing can withstand him, and no weapon seems to bite upon him. He scatters the bodyguard of Bolg, pulls down Bolg himself, and crushes him. This routs the goblins and secures victory.

Aftermath and Legacy

After the battle, Beorn travels with Gandalf and Bilbo as far as the borders of Mirkwood, then continues north with them around the forest's edge. He invites them to stay at his house for Yule-tide, which is warm and merry, and men come from far and wide to feast at his bidding. He becomes a great chief in those regions, ruling a wide land between the mountains and the wood. It is said that for many generations the men of his line have the power of taking bear's shape; some are grim and bad, but most are in heart like Beorn, if less in size and strength. In their day the last goblins are hunted from the Misty Mountains, and a new peace comes over the Edge of the Wild. Bilbo leaves Beorn's house with regret in the spring, for the flowers of his gardens are marvellous even then. Beorn's role in the story is that of a powerful, solitary ally who provides essential aid at two critical junctures: the provisioning and guidance for the Mirkwood journey, and the decisive intervention in the battle that ends the goblin threat.