Beorn's Powers

How do you think he gained his . . . ability to turn into a bear (and the strongest at that)?

I read something somewhere (I think it was the Tolkien Bestiary) that said Beorn was a descendant of Beren. Beren could turn into a wolf. Maybe it was something that ran in the family

"Now Beorn, if I've told you once I've told you a thousand times! Stop scaring our neighbors by turning into a bear!!"-Beorn's mom

or


"Now don't talk to any animals you don't know!"- Beorn's Mom

Beren could not turn into a wolf. Beren had no special powers, beyond extraordinary courage and his love for Luthien. I repeat BEREN COULD NOT TURN INTO A WOLF!

Wasn't his best friend a wolf?

Not exactly. Are you talking about Huan, the hound from Valinor?

Yeah, i guess (I've never read the Silmarrilion).

Hmm...I am wondering if I am the only one confused here?

I was not certain that Beorn and Beren were relation, certainly Beren did not have the ability to turn into a wolf. He did find the liking of the hound, Huan who had the ability of speech, only he could only speek three times before his death. I don't think Beren had any special powers like that. Other than that he did retrieve a Silmarill and win the hand of Luthien, I really can't think of anything.

Elenna ~ Lady of the Stars

Thanks for the explanation, Ellena!

That was a pretty scratchy explanation, but Thanks.

As for how Beorn actually got his powers I have no bloomin idea! If anyone does I would love to hear about it.

Elenna ~ Lady of the Stars

I remember Beren did disguise himself as a werewolf with Luthien's (magical?) help, while his true love disguised herself as a sexy vampire....

Maybe we have it backwards, maybe Beoren's a bear who can turn into a human! :lol:

Yes, Easterlinge, you are right, I believe. That was how they disguised themselves to get into Morgoths stronghold while retrieving the Silmarill.


Funny Funny ~ Maybe Beorn was a bear who could turn into Human! (hey, that s not too far fetched?)

Elenna ~ Lady of the Stars

He clearly got the powers from his ancestors, but how???Maybe a maiar descendant (they could change forms)?

I'm pretty (not absolutely) sure Beorn was related to Beren. After the War of wrath, some of the Edain went to Numenor, while others while others fled Northeast. That is who the Northmen such as the Lakemen, men of Dale, Beornings, Rohirrim, etc. were descended from.

In Letter 144 JRRT says: "Though a skin-changer and no doubt a bit of a magician, Beorn was a Man."

Is there a book containing Tolkien's letters? I

Yeah... It's called Letters by JRR Tolkien, I think...

I'll go look for it on Amazon.com. Maybe it'll contain more secrets of Middle Earth.

[Ñólendil]

The Tolkien Bestiary by David Day? If I were you I would avoid it like the whispers of Grima Wormtongue. Beren's appearance was made to look like a wolf by Lúthien, but he could not change into one and was certainly not an ancestor of Beorn. Beren was a descendant of the people who were but the vanguard of a much larger people, all the Edain of Beleriand were. The much larger people were people who never entered Beleriand. Beorn was a Northman, descendant of people who stayed in the Misty Mountains or never crossed them, if he has any relation Beren it is extremely remote and doesn't matter anyway. (I don't doubt if you go back enough generations {thousands and thousands of years} you can find a common ancestor of Beren and Beorn, but that's probably true of most of any two Beorian people).

But Beorn was a magician, however he skin-changed it was by magia, the exact means of doing this is of course not known.

Finmandos, the Northmen were descendants of two of the three tribes of people who never went west over the Ered Luin, the Edain who entered Beleriand were only a very small part of their hosts.