Beornings

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Beornings by Angelo Montanini

Beornings were a people of the upper Vales of Anduin, between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains.[1][2][3]

History

The Beornings were close kin of the Éothéod, the Woodmen of Mirkwood and the Bardings.[4][5] They were descendants of the Edain,[6] and were perhaps akin to the Third House of the First Age.[7]

It is possible that the Beornings became known as a people through being descendants of Beorn.[2][3] During the War of the Ring, Grimbeorn the Old, son of Beorn, was the leader of the Beornings.[3]

They spoke the Common Speech,[8] and had perhaps also their own dialect of it or tongue.[1][9]

The Beornings kept open the passages of the Ford of Carrock and the High Pass in return for tolls,[3] likely clearing the paths from Dale to Rivendell from evil creatures such as Orcs and Wargs.[10]

In the events leading up to the War of the Ring, the Beornings helped Aragorn, who was tracing Gollum to Mirkwood, to cross the Anduin.[11]

After the War of the Ring, the Beornings and the Woodmen were given central Eryn Lasgalen by Thranduil and Celeborn.[12]

Characteristics

Through many generations, the descendants of Beorn were like him skin-changers, able to take the shape of a bear.[2] Since it is unknown if all Beornings came from the line of Beorn, one can only guess if this was valid for all the Beornings.

The Beornings seemed to have shared a dislike for Dwarves,[3][13] perhaps related to the latters' praise of metals and the formers' disinterest in it.[14]

They were known as great bakers, famous for their honey-cakes (which could feed travellers similarly to the lembas).[15]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Men"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "The Return Journey"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Many Meetings"
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl"
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Riders of Rohan"
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Men"
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan"
  8. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Leila Keene and Pat Kirke 3 August 1943" (cf. The Peoples of Middle-earth, p. 72)
  9. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "II. The Appendix on Languages", p. 34 (§14)}}
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Treason of Isengard, p. 263-4 (note 15)}}
  11. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The Hunt for the Ring", "(ii) Other Versions of the Story"
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years"
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Queer Lodgings": [Beorn speaking:] "I am not over fond of dwarves"
  14. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Queer Lodgings": "[The Dwarves] spoke most of gold and silver and jewels and the making of things by smith-craft, and Beorn did not appear to care for such things: there were no things of gold or silver in his hall, and few save the knives were made of metal at all.
  15. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Farewell to Lórien"