In The Hobbit, Gandalf says of Beorn, "At any rate he is under no enchantment but his own. He lives in an oak-wood and has a great wooden house; and as a man he keeps cattle and horses which are nearly as marvellous as himself. They work for him and talk to him. He does not eat them; neither does he hunt or eat wild animals. As a bear he ranges far and wide. I once saw him sitting all alone on the top of the Carrock at night watching the moon sinking towards the Misty Mountains, and I heard him growl in the tongue of bears: 'The day will come when they will perish and I shall go back!' That is why I believe he once came from the mountains himself."

Later, when the company of Dwarves has finally all made their way into his house and is listening to Gandalf tell of their adventure thus far, Tolkien says, "Beorn clapped his hands, and in trotted four beautiful white ponies and several long-bodied grey dogs. Beorn said something to them in a queer language like animal noises turned into talk. They went out again and soon came back carrying torches in their mouths, which they lit at the fire and stuck in low brackets on the pillars of the hall about the central hearth. The dogs could stand on their hind-legs when they wished, and carry things with their fore-feet. Quickly they got out boards and trestles from the side walls and set them up near the fire."

It seems that Beorn's enchantment allows him the magic of speaking to animals. But, not only that, he seems to endue the animals with the ability to serve intelligently, and the dogs can walk on hind legs and hold things with their fore-feet. I wonder if these magical abilities (Virtues) were passed down also to the Beornings?

Animal Friend
Beorn said something to them in a queer language like animal noises turned into talk. They went out again and soon came back carrying torches in their mouths...
You have observed Beorn and his dealings with his animal friends long enough to learn their strange languages. At any time you may talk with ponies, sheep, rams, dogs, and other wild animals. They are friendly toward you and desire to serve you within their animal limitations.

By spending a point of Hope, you may endue a group of animals with special magical qualities, allowing them to accomplish the tasks of men, such as walking on hind legs and using fore-feet to carry things. This power lasts for a few hours and diminishes quickly if you leave their presence.

Nice write up. I would like to recommend changing a bit of wording. From

to:
At any time you may talk with the ponies, sheep, rams, dogs and other domesticated animals that reside at settlements of the Free People. Evil or wild animals cannot be conversed with, nor commanded, in this manner.

Your original wording implied that, after hanging out with Beorn, that the character should be able to talk to any wild or domesticated animal anywhere. Including wild creatures (deer, salmon, hawks, rabbits, etc) and evil ones (wolves, bats, black flies of Mordor, etc). I envision this as an outgrowth of associating with each other, as in some fairy tales, where the human or animal learns how to speak because one is always talking in front of the other.

As for evil creatures, allowing them to be interrogated might ruin all adventures.

Has anyone pondered the possibility that Beorn himself does not possess a Northmen or Marachian racial heritage? And, that the uniqueness of his gift might be because of this different racial heritage and cultural legacy?

That the Beornings possess a Northmen heritage I would grant outright for Tolkien says this explicitly. But "Beorn" and the "Beornings" are not necessarily the same thing. His skin-changing ability, then, might not be a "Beorning" attribute so much as an attribute of Beorn and his direct bloodline.

Thoughts...?

Regards,
E

Garn, that is a good suggestion. I was hoping for that type of input. So, I would amend the Cultural Virtue to say the following:

Animal Friend
Beorn said something to them in a queer language like animal noises turned into talk. They went out again and soon came back carrying torches in their mouths...
You have observed Beorn and his dealings with his animal friends long enough to learn their strange languages. At any time you may talk with the ponies, sheep, rams, dogs and other domesticated animals that reside at settlements of the Free Peoples. They are friendly toward you and desire to serve you within their animal limitations. Evil or wild animals cannot be conversed with, nor commanded, in this manner.

By spending a point of Hope, you may endue a group of these animals with special magical qualities, allowing them to accomplish the tasks of men, such as walking on hind legs and using fore-feet to carry things. This power lasts for a few hours and diminishes quickly if you leave their presence.

Whatever line he came from, Tolkien (in The Hobbit) does tell us that Beorn carried the line forward, "…Beorn indeed became a great chief afterwards in those regions and ruled a wide land between the mountains and the wood; and it is said that for many generations the men of his line had the power of taking bear’s shape, and some were grim men and bad, but most were in heart like Beorn, if less in size and strength." And then in The Lord of the Rings, "...Glóin had much to tell of events in the northern regions of Wilderland. Frodo learned that Grimbeorn the Old, son of Beorn, was now the lord of many sturdy men, and to their land between the Mountains and Mirkwood neither orc nor wolf dared to go."

From these bits of information, the question becomes, what did Tolkien mean by 'line'? Eluadin, you bring this up in your distinction between Beorn and the Beornings and direct bloodline. Could Tolkien have included the Beornings in the definition of Beorn's line? I think a case could be made for it. Perhaps Beorn's enchantment is contagious, as he seems to have an affect on everything around him. Maybe direct blood, like Grimbeorn, receives greater power, but the believers around him take on his attributes in lesser ways. This would be similar to Christ and his followers. They may not be of his direct bloodline, but they are called "Christians." The more time they spend with him, the more they become like him and his power flows through them (that's Christ's intention anyway).

Elaudin,
[soapbox] I don't know where people got the idea that the Northmen are only, or even predominantly, of the 3rd House of the Edain. (Most prestigious culture making up it's constituent parts? Yes.) Both Elves and Men took the equivalent of the Great Journey; both had members who failed to make it to the western shores of Eriador. Yes, the 3rd House had the most members who did not leave for Numenor and relocated to the east. Where they met non-Edain strains of Mankind and possibly intermixed. With an initial population of 10,000 people (Tolkien: 3rd House had no less than twice the number of the 1st [2k] and 2nd [3k] houses combined) are not enough to completely change the genetic make up of several other cultures of mankind already living in or, years later, moving into, Rhovanion. Not to mention that it ignores intermixing taking place during the journey itself which I believe was via the Gap of Rohan, so the journey took more time to complete. But the 'all men in Rhovanion are derived from Northmen or Easterling stock' is getting a bit odd to me. Rhovanion is more likely to have been settled by Gray Men (essentially the Mannish equivalent of Gray Elves). I imagine that this is true for the entire area east of the Misty Mountains to just past the right edge of the game map. But I also imagine the terrain held by Gray Men derived cultures is a very ragged border with lots of incursions by Sauronic cultures of Man on that right edge.[/soapbox]

But, yes, I have vaguely considered Beorn's origins and history. I have not made up my mind whether biology, magical training, curse or enchantment is responsible for his shape-shifting. I'm aware that his son also has the ability, but Inheritance is a major theme throughout Tolkien and any of the four previously mentioned vectors can be inherited. What we don't have is definitive word on whether or not other Beornings had similar abilities. So did Beorn get the ability from his forefathers? (And how did they get it? Are there more elsewhere in ME?) Did Beorn study magic and learn a shape-shifting spell? (Who taught Beorn and were there other trainee's?) Was Beorn cursed? (By whom? Did they curse others similarly?) Or is this a Bearskin Cloak? (Similar to the Vampires' in Silmarillion? Are there other Animal Skins around?) Maybe Orome gifted, or cursed, his forefathers?


James,
That reads much better. Although I noticed "within their animal limitations" and a sentence later you're imbuing them with magic which changes that nature. Which suggest a couple more changes:

1) "within their animal senses and physical limitations".
2) Either of these two second paragraphs or similar re-phrasing. I'm not sure which I like better. It just seems important to clarify what the magic is doing so that it's application is not stretched unreasonably.

By spending a point of Hope, you imbue these animals with a temporary minor shape-shifting which alters their joints and limbs enough to allow them to accomplish the tasks of men, such as walking on hind legs and using fore-feet to carry things. This power lasts for a few hours and diminishes quickly if you leave their presence.

By spending a point of Hope, these animals are endowed with magic which temporarily alters their joints and limbs just enough to make it possible for the animals to complete the tasks of men. These animals can walk upright on their hind legs or use their fore-feet to carry things. This power lasts for a few hours and diminishes quickly if you leave their presence.

You might want to add that they do not gain the use of a true hand (fingers and opposable thumb) since the dogs carry torches in their mouths.

I am not certain how much magic is involved in Beorn nd his wonderful creatures. Perhaps it is most the "common, ordinary sort" such as Hobbits process allowing them to disappear quietly when the Big People come stumbling by. Dogs (and horses) can be trained to briefly stand on their hind legs.mcarrying and manipulating objects with fore paws and mouths probably do not involve shape shifting, just a more adroit use.

Certainly the language and communication is not overtly magical. It is a language which Beorn has the ability to speak.

The Hobbit to me is very much a fairy tale story. Wondrous things occur because wonderous things occur in such stories.

The shape shifting of "Beorn's Line" raises an interesting question. I think it would be reasonable to assume that it may occur in any of Beorn's followers, the Beornings or People of Beorn. It would be more common, and perhaps more powerfully expressed in his direct blood lineage.

I am grateful to Tolkien for leaving it something of an open question whether Beorn is a Man who takes on Bear shape or a Bear who takes on Man shape. Likewise the question of if any of the other bears who dance with him are similarly shapeshifters is left unanswered.

I quite like he Virtue of Animal Friend. It seems very appropriate for Beornings.

Garn, how about this?

Animal Friend
Beorn said something to them in a queer language like animal noises turned into talk. They went out again and soon came back carrying torches in their mouths...

You have observed Beorn and his dealings with his animal friends long enough to learn their strange languages. At any time you may talk with the ponies, sheep, rams, dogs and other domesticated animals that reside in the settlements of the Free Peoples. They are friendly toward you and desire to serve you within their animal limitations. Evil or wild animals cannot be conversed with, nor commanded, in this manner.

By spending a point of Hope, you may endue a group of these animals with subtle magical qualities, allowing them just enough power to accomplish the tasks of men, such as walking on hind legs while using fore-feet to carry things. This power lasts for a few hours and diminishes quickly if you leave their presence.

That would be a nice house-rule. For Tolkien, though, that would not work. The sources for this assertion and those of primary interest would be Tolkien's own essay "On Fairy-Stories" and his poem "Mythopoeia" found together, sometimes a rare occurrence, in Tree and Leaf, London: Allen and Unwin, 1988. Otherwise, they must be hunted out separately in the various re-renderings of his poems and essays in print. The other Tolkien piece of significant is the so designated Letter 181. Among the secondary sources there are two wonderful essays that expound the ideas in these sources with brevity and wit: "J.R.R. Tolkien and the Art of Parable" and "On the Reality of Fantasy" both by Jesuit scholars. The former by Robert Murray, S.J., and the latter by James Schall, S.J.

That said, here are my thoughts: I would unquestionably agree with your move to find workable rationale from our own world. The sources mentioned prior clearly establish Tolkien's opinion that Sub-creation will always be an 'Allegory' of Primary Reality--our world. That is, Art cannot create from what Is Not, but only from What Is through the Primary Creative Act. Everything Tolkien writes in some sense is analogous to our world whether through philology, philosophy, theology and metaphysics, even narrative structures about Truth. However, the Primary Reality Tolkien draws from to inspire his world and provide the substance his Legendarium follows is this: The world view and personal piety of a Roman Catholic Eucharistic world pre-Vatican II. Tolkien writes from this foundational place of a Roman Catholic born, brought to self-hood, and matured prior to the monumental shifts of Vatican II. Also, he had a deep committment to the Euacharist, on a daily basis no less making his ultra-conservatism radical for its time! All of this can be found in his biography Tolkien: Man and Myth as well as the essays that celebrate his life bound under the title Tolkien: A Celebration. The reason I mention this at some length is that the way Christ's divinity "affected" humanity in this world-view is through a Sacramental metaphysic par excellence. That is, the participation in the Sacraments allows humanity to participate in a transcendent common humanity both glorified and divinized by the Christ-event and his incarnation. So, the operative dynamic for a Tolkien-styled explanatn based on Christ would not be so much an affinity through time spent and, consequently, a becoming-like in the process. But, the participation in a Mystery that participates Itself in a Reality precisely becasue the Mystery somehow makes the Reality present to us. This is pre-Vatican language describing a Sacramental world.

As I look back on what i just wrote i feel a disclaimer is imperative: I am in no position to state how Christ and the Christ-event "work" in a universal way. That is a personal beleif variegated through innumerable Christian traditions. However, for someone like Tolkien who was grounded in a world the preferred tradition to subjectivity, Magesterial Authority to personal experience, we can speak (and many have in essays and biographical renderings) how he viewed Christ and his works. And, in fact, the Legendarium so lovingly sub-created by Tolkien is written large with this view. What he himself calls his Metaphysic in the so designated Letter 153. Again, there is no intention to contend any personal experience of something so profound as Christ!

This is the ground for my assertion that while your suggestion for the Beornings taking on Beorn's powers even if there is no direct bloodline connection sounds like a nice house-rule, the case for this being a Tolkien-accepted explanation is quite slim.

This brings up an interesting question: Does it matter? (Someone once wisely cautioned me to always check what I say with the does it matter question.) No, and yes. The answer depends I think on how we personally approach canon. Most often when people discuss the topic of "canon" they are referring to content: What are the accepted sources and what do they say in their content? But, this question of canon for Middle-earth can be extended to a discussion of the way Tolkien renders the workings of Middle-earth. That is, his Metaphysic underpinning his Legendarium makes Middle-earth work a very specific and intentional way. Further, Tolkien was immensely concerned with removing the contradictions from his Metaphysic of Middle-earth as Christopher Tolkien highlights throughout Morgoth's Ring. Then the answer to the question follows something like this. If someone wants to stay within canon not only of content but in the way Middle-earth works and, in the process, maintaining some semblance of Tolkien-styled world in the way "things" work, then this might be of interest. Otherwise, at best this might be a curious read or at worst offensive.

Big sigh...

I think Jon Hodgson in another post offered something that I should ponder just as much as I ponder Tolkien: Whoa, open a window and let some fresh air in becasue this is getting heavy. Words of the Wise or so it seems...

Enough for the time being, time to have a cup of tea and a biscuit.

Regards,
E

Garn, this is said somewhat explicitly by Tolkien in his essay Dwarves and Men. In the Second Age, the Longbeards were allied with Men to the east of the Misty Mountains who "were for the most part akin in race and language with the tall and mostly fair-haired people of the 'House of Hador'...." Further, this essay recounts that these were not a people that came back over the Misty Mountains, but people that never crossed into Eriador and, hence, never continued on to Beleriand. In this sense, we might call them "proto-Marachians." The same essay also notes that the people who would become the House of Beor (allow me to call them proto-Beorians) were at one time one with the proto-Marachians. And, this one great folk moved east together sundering sometime before their independent settlements on the Inland Sea. An interesting note to this essay tells us that the East Gate of Moria bore inscriptions in the languages of Dale, the Rohirrim, and the Dunlendings. This of course is anachronistic becasue the term Dunlendings was not coined until after the migration of the Eorlingas to Calenardhon. Also, the East Gate was wrecked long before this same migration. In a sense, Tolkien is using later designations for languages carved into the East Gate during the Second Age. This according to the same essay. Lastly, Tolkien writes that the Loremasters of Gondor also held the Northmen were primarily descended from the ancestors of the House of Hador, and this tradition comes from the Second Age annals of Numenor.

Interestingly, the Dwarven annals confirm that east of the Misty Mountains all three houses had ancestral remnants into the Second Age who never passed west into Eriador. Also, it confirms that the Northmen were primarily proto-Marachian though there was intermingling with proto-Beorians. This intermingling was enough to provide precedent for darker colorings but nothing that could be described as a dominant trait. Some speculate that proto-Marachians provide the racial heritage for Northmen of Wilderland's plains and later the Rohirrim. The (North-)Men of Dale and Woodmen of Mirkwood trace their racial heritage primarily to proto-Beorians. If the essay is approached through the lens of social sciences, there are cultural mores and behavioral demeanors that also connect the Northmen to this proto-Marachian heritage and the Dale (Bardings) / Woodmen to a proto-Beorian heritage.

The tantalizing question for me is who were the ancestors of the Folk of Haleth that had commerce with the Longbeards? More so, when I ponder that this interaction warranted an inscription in their own language (anachronistically referred to as Dunlending). This brings me back to the orginal topic of this post. Maybe this is Beorn's racial heritage, that of a proto-Haladin people...? So here is some conjecture. The proto-Haladin (allow me to use this as the designation for the ancestors of the Folk of Haleth) had interaction with the Druedain prior to their crossing onto Beleriand. In fact, we know that Dunharrow's stonework evinces two distinct cultures: a proto-Druedain culture and another Mannish culture quite different from the proto-Druedain. Also, I can speculate that the proto-Haladin did not journey west with the proto-Beorians and -Marachians, but came into Nortwesten Middle-earth from the south settling in the White Mountains. This Might be where the two cultures, proto-Druedain and -Haladin meet and mingle. They create Dunharrow much as we here in the Silmarillion the Druedain and Folk of Haleth intermingling. A portion of both people migrate west and eventually come to Beleriand. A portion of the proto-Haladin migrate north to the Misty Mountains. And, this is Beorn's racial heritage. The last remnant of a mountain folk akin to the Folk of the White Mountains.

Now to entertain some wild speculation and a little fun, the open window so to speak. Beorn's skin-changing gift is an Art learned in the deeps of time by a segment of the proto-Haladin from proto-Druedain teachers (some shaman-types). The question then becomes whether or not this Art is related to Bloodline or something that can be taught as the original proto-Haladin first learned it?

Now to some reading about the Druedain and the Folk of Haleth!

Regards,
E

Eluadin,
Thanks for the explanation. I never read Dwarves and Men so that explains my ignorance.

I think non-Edain cultures are very seriously undervalued. When they might be some of the most original and ingenious cultures in Middle-earth. After all, they're thoroughly frail and mortal yet have still managed to survive in a world that has known two great evils. Their abstinence from espousing evil has undoubtedly taken a toll in lives; those destroyed, the ones that have fled, and the great number who have succumbed.


Thinking about Beorn, I come up with the following:

• Beorn's personality seems to argue against him being a D&D-style mage
• Tolkien only uses curses for capital offenses (dying-breath curses and oathbreaking - not Hollywood gypsy style revenge curses), so Beorn is more likely to inherit rather than be personally cursed. But see below.
• An enchanted Animal Skin Cloak is possible, but Tolkien seems to have used those mainly during Morgoth's time. This makes it unlikely for such an item to have survived for so long.

I also off-handedly mentioned Orome and, in hindsight, his influence in matters might be a more viable idea than I had imagined. Primal Man wakes up into a world with many despicable creatures of Morgoth around them. Based on their contact with such creatures, fundamental fears are established and never forgotten. Lies are one of the primary weapons of the Enemy so misinforming Mankind of the nature of the world, the Ainur and the Valar, Man's place in things, etc would be vital. Thus, when Orome finally encounters them, Man is fearful and unwilling to travel westward or meet the Ainur. Orome spends some time convincing them, eventually getting the proto-Edain moving westward.

Being a hunter, Orome might not have been an ideal contact person, in trying to combat the lies that Mankind was taught, Orome may have unwittingly told them Truths and taught them Skills that were misunderstood (lost in translation, Orome didn't recognize implications, or Orome fails to recognize the intent of his adherents, etc). So Orome might have taught these people the beginnings of shamanism in attempting to explain how everything had a spirit that went back to Eru, etc. Thus Mankind gains more from these teachings than Orome ever meant for them to learn. This might be the basis for D&D style magic (as opposed to the controlled Istari type seen in Eriador) and been exploited by Morgoth and Sauron into various magical cults (with or without real magical powers).

I recall, vaguely, that Druedain sightings occur in two other s besides the forest later bequeathed to them by King Elessar. The forests to either side of the Misty Mountains terminus centered around Isengard; Dunland to Isengard to Fangorn, to name the swathe a bit haphazardly. I doubt they're evil, just marginalized by more advanced cultures (proto-Dunlendings[Gwaithirim?], Dunlendings, Gondorians, Rohirrum). Just as a caution, this placement information might be from MERP, so confirm citations before using it if you plan to do anything 'official'.

Getting back to Beorn, it is possible he could be a shaman of a Druedain culture (directly or derived). He could have been a legitimate shaman trainee, or perhaps watched the shaman using magic and learned it himself without the necessary moral and ethical teachings.

Perhaps an ancestor, we'll call him Bob, elopes with Gladys, the daughter of Hawk Clan's chief Frank. The lovers are eventually found, but the relationship has been consumated and Gladys is with child. Frank is understandably unwilling to injure his child or grandchild and Bob cannot be dealt with either because he must provide for them. Unfortunately Gladys was promised to a rival chief, Sam of the Bear Clan. Offended, but being reasonable, the clans decided neutrallity is the best choice for the moment, but Bob & Gladys inherit the debt to provide the Bear Clan with a suitable wife. Disaster strikes, Bob dies; Gladys gives birth to a son - and Sam only has sons. There is no way to pay the debt. The debt is passed down... Once it is established that Bob & Gladys's children are not viable matches, the curse is inflicted on their son as a type of obligation to repay the debt (both Gladys and Bob broke the law so this is the more fitting target, not Frank). Perhaps the bear-shape curse can be removed once the agreement is fulfilled?

So Beorn could be Bob & Gladys' son, or maybe a generation or two down the line. Maybe his own willingness to honor the bear in himself is a kind of penance that buys him some control over the bear-shaping. (So no monthly uncontrolled shape-change, assuming anyone was considering using the idea.)

To add some extra interest, a Servant of Evil encounters Gladys' child (or his offspring) and adds another inherited curse, linking Gladys' & Frank's offspring to always be the same gender! The debt cannot ever be repaid.

Eluadin, thanks for such an informed response. I worked a couple of hours on a reply to your comments today concerning Tolkien's theology and its possible affects on the enduement of Beorn's powers, but my wife accidentally closed out the internet browser before I was finished! I have learned a tremendous lesson (I hope). From now on I'm going to type my responses in Evernote and copy them to the forum.

Hopefully, I can find the time to re-write soon and it will be better than the original. It just drives me insane trying to remember my exact words.

James, I know the feeling. I recently went offline from personal computing and migrated to an iPad. Part of the reason was to separate my work from my wife's work, and my duaghter's iTunes Dora watching. But working with an iPad, I find myself clumsily losing parts of my documents because of the difference in application functionality. I mostly write so it's primarily Pages, but working with Pages on an iPad is just enough different from Pages on an iMac to vex me as much as my wife did at times in closing out my work. Granted, if I'm honest, then, I must admit I should have saved my work before leaving the table!

Humorous at best and teeth gnashing at the worst!

Regards,
E

Finally, I found some time today to re-work my response after losing it initially. How appropriate that, as I was reflecting on the crucifixion of Christ and preparing myself for a service on this Good Friday, I would revisit this post.

The Sacraments of Beorn and Enduement of Power

Let me begin by quoting Eluadin:

If indeed Tolkien's theology would have prevented him from allowing Beorn's powers to be duplicated through association, then the questions become: "Is bloodline the only option that rises to the level of a sacramental participation?" "What would a Beorning need to do in order to become like Beorn, taking on his magical powers (Virtues) and keeping them alive?" "What would be the sacraments of Beorn?"

The sacraments of the Catholic Church (prior to Vatican II) are: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Last Anointing, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. Participation in each of these is meant to bring the Catholic Christian into closer association and fellowship with Christ, dispensing divine graces and life into him. This will consecrate him to be a vessel of Christ's power and if he keeps the proper disposition, he will bear fruit (become "Christ-like").

I would like to explore the first four sacraments of the Catholic Church and offer up a similar Sacrament of Beorn for each one. If Tolkien's theology required a participation in a Mystery, then obviously passing along magical powers through offspring would qualify, as there seems to be no greater mystery than the creation of new life. However, I propose that beyond bloodline, Beorn can endue others with his powers, those who follow his rules and keep the proper dispositions, who have entered into the Mystery of life with him, in his land, among his bees.

The Loremaster's Book offers some similar ideas on page 113, when it says, "Today, Beorn is teaching some of his secrets to his followers, and if his powers are indeed due to such a geas, then the process might involve the imposition of rules similar to the ones he himself follows: Beornings may have to abstain from eating animal meat for at least one week every month to enjoy the benefits of their Virtues, or the requirement imposed by Beorn, that all Beornings should attend the festivities held at Yule-tide at his house, might involve the renewal of vows."

The final three sacraments of the Catholic Church are important praxis, but would require some additional creativity to find counterparts in Beorn's culture, as limited information is available to us in the text. I will end with just a few questions concerning these to jar the imagination. As a disclaimer, I am not a Catholic and have limited formal education in Catholic theology. I am, however, an ordained Protestant minister and feel that I have a good enough understanding to enter into discussion.

• Baptism. Baptism is seen as a beginning step and public recognition of a person's faith. By being immersed, poured upon, or sprinkled with water, a person is washed and presented into the family of God. It verifies the status, loyalty, and future commitments of the person to Christ and his Church. When the woodmen and men of the North migrated to the area near the Carrock, they came into the land of Beorn, a mysterious, enchanted, wild man dedicated to battling goblins, Wargs, and all evil creatures. It was clear that Beorn could not be ruled. Instead, he demonstrated the qualities of a strong chief ready to embrace those who shared the same values. As men pledged their new loyalty and commitment to becoming his followers, the first requirement would certainly be a display of heroism. Not easily trusting outsiders and suspicious of their dealings with evil things, Beorn would need verification of their heroism. Perhaps as an initiation into his family, they would need to travel to the High Pass and bring back the head of a goblin or the skin of a Warg. In doing so, they would make Beorn very merry, showing participation in his virtues, and being drawn further into fellowship with him. Sacrament of Beorn: Heroic Display
  
  
• Confirmation. The rite of confirmation is used to strengthen and confirm the act of baptism and all that it means. It is a one-time, second step, that involves an anointing with oil and imparting of the gift of the Holy Spirit, sealing the believer into the Church. At this point, the person will have had classes and training in the Scriptures and may even be given a gift Bible to strengthen them in their commitment to the faith in word and deed. Coming into Beorn's yards, one would not get very far before hearing the buzzing of bees and seeing the rows of bell-shaped bee-hives. Honey is the skinchanger's favorite choice of food. Interestingly, the Old Testament describes the promised land as a land flowing with "milk and honey." When God fed the Israelites in the desert, he gave them manna that "tasted like wafers made with honey." In various passages, the Bible says that the words of the Lord are sweeter than honey. John the Baptist, who is, in my opinion, a Biblical model of Beorn, was a wild man who ate locusts and honey (and baptized many). Maybe one of the first steps in gaining Beorn's powers would be to learn HIS ways of beekeeping and acquire HIS taste for honey. Even though, as the Loremaster's Book suggests, he would not force this on his followers, it could be open to any who would have the mind to do so. I am imagining Beorn teaching a young follower how to take care of the bees and not to be afraid of them. Maybe he initiates the child by pouring a pot of honey over his head and telling him to stay still and allow the bees to land on him. Whatever the method, it would be hard to imagine a Beorning that did not at least appreciate bees and honey. Sacrament of Beorn: Honey-making
  
  
• Holy Eucharist. Of the first three sacraments of initiation, Holy Eucharist is considered to be the most blessed, and the one that requires continued participation throughout a believer's life. It is a thanksgiving meal of bread and wine that Catholics believe undergoes a change called transubstantiation; that is, they believe that the elements transform into the body and blood of Christ in every way except appearance and form. This is meant as the ultimate participation in Christ's sacrifice, bringing sanctification to the partaker and offering him communion with heaven. In the very least, the Holy Eucharist is to be experienced once a year at Eastertide, but is normally recommended weekly and on special holy days. If Beorn's enchantment is somehow tied to his dietary habits, then it would make absolute sense that his followers, who are taking on his magical qualities, would need to follow these practices as well. The table of Beorn would include mead, vegetables, baked goods, cream and especially honey. They would need to eat these foods regularly and attend the annual festivities at Yule-tide, in the very least, to keep their enchantments. The longer they exhibit these powers (Cultural Virtues), Beorn's table takes on deeper meaning and is truly a meal of thanksgiving. Sacrament of Beorn: Feasting
  
  
• Penance. Confession is the first sacrament of healing; it is a healing for the soul. Where baptism was a one-time washing, penance is the only remedy left for a believer who has broken the commandments and wandered from God. One must have a contrite heart, an admission of guilt, and show remorse for what they have done. They must tell an authorized priest who can then absolve them of their sins, speaking forgiveness over them. Then, they are given good tasks to perform to expiate their sins and to help them avoid those sins in the future. Beorn's Great Commandment is summed up in the Adventurer's Book, page 43, “If you choose to follow me, know that I don’t ask for your obedience, nor do I need your support. All I wish of you is to be as vigilant, as relentless and fiercely determined as you have been all your life, living here close to the edge of Mirkwood. I only ask that you remain true to yourselves.” Of course, when Beorn says these things, it must be interpreted that "vigilant," "relentless," and "fiercely determined" all refer to their moral drive to eradicate the edges of Mirkwood of all evil creatures and forces. Beorn may not expect them to do this or that in particular, but he does expect them to uphold his virtues. When they fail at this, it seems that Beorn would require some self-reflection and maybe even suggest a task to make up for it. Maybe this involves sitting on top of the Carrock for several nights while meditating and remembering why they have chosen to follow Beorn, while defending it from all evil that dares pass by. Perhaps Beorn tells them to leave the Beorning settlements for a period of time, hoping that it will bring back their passion. Sacrament of Beorn: Self-reflection

To summarize: I envision the process of becoming enchanted like Beorn beginning with three sacraments of initiation into Beorn's family: heroic display, honey-making, and feasting. It is through wholehearted participation in these sacraments that Beorn is enabled to teach his secrets and endue the partakers with power. After these, the sacrament of self-reflection becomes the healing anchor that holds wandering followers in place.

In conclusion, the final three sacraments of the Catholic Church are Last Anointing (a special, final prayer before death), Holy Orders (a ceremony ordaining bishops, priests, and deacons into service), and Matrimony (a ceremony of marriage between a man and a woman that have been baptized). Does Beorn have special words he speaks over his dying followers, especially those who share his enchantments? What ceremonies do the Beornings conduct when choosing chiefs and warriors? Are only those with magical qualities chosen? What does a Beorning wedding look like? Who performs it? These questions are open for discussion and fascinating to think about within the context of the sacraments.

Those haven't changed since Vatican II, either.

An interesting approach.

First Change would be something celebrated, I suspect, much like first Eucharist is celebrated specially, and like first confession is in the Eastern Rites, first reflection might be as well.

While I think it's appropriate to use Tolkien's Christianity in a philosophical interpretation of Middle Earth -- actually, I think it's necessary -- I don't think it's useful in terms of teasing out ritual. In fact, just reading through the HoME books, you see Tolkien's own frustrations with trying to be "too" true to Christian ritual and metaphor as he tried to more accurately match his created world to real science and religion. Moreover, he was clearly uncomfortable with overt ritual amongst the Free Peoples, with the closest approaches to overt piety being the meal prayer of the Rangers of Ithilien and the Melchizedek-like relationship between the Kings of Númenor and worship of Eru.

I've always seen Beorn's inspiration in Norse saga and I would personally associate any sort of ritual or motivation to that material.

Anyway, I don't pretend to understand how Sacraments appear to non-Catholics/Orthodox. For me, though, they just don't seem to fit Beorning culture. Christian ritual evolved in a literate society out of Jewish, Greek, and Roman customs already centuries-old. The Beornings seem to step right out of Viking Scandinavia.

Lord, have mercy! Mordagnir! Please don't leave us to our own imaginations on this. The issue at hand is how Beorn passes along his powers within the Beorning culture. Take out all Christian references, if you will, and entertain us with some ideas from Scandinavian Viking culture. Don't just tease us!

The Sacraments are just one vehicle to help us understand, but we could have arrived at the same conclusions without them by simply drawing from the The Hobbit and the rulebooks.

Any follower of Beorn that can be taught his secrets will need to display heroism, learn honey-making, follow Beorn's rules of feasting, and stay true to himself through self-reflection. At least these are my observations. Any rituals associated with these requirements are partly drawn from the text and partly imagined. But, please shed some more light.

Hi all,

There's loads of great material in this topic, thanks for sharing the process with us!

Some bones I might add to the soup:

• Beast speech is treated in TH as a matter of language rather than a spell of nature-magicians as such. "The Men of Dale used to have the trick of understanding their language".
  
  
• Whilst Dale-folk can only understand thrushes, and dwarves can only understand ravens and crows and not thrushes, it seems the creatures of the animal kingdom can understand one another. Either there's just one animal speech, which is spoken in different voices by different creatures, or as I like to think, a range of animal 'dialects' allowing different degrees of mutual understanding, but which ultimately all overlap, such that rumours do reach their way throughout the animal kingdom.
  -- (Did the thrush speak to the ravens? Or did it just mime to get Roäc to follow it?!)
  -- News of the death of the Dragon was passed by the birds westward over Mirkwood and reached the Wood-elves (via beast-speakers amongst them; the explanation for the separate statement that news reaches the elves faster than water can flow?), Beorn (via the bears, or his 'domestic' friends) and ultimately the goblins too (via the wild wolves?).
  
  
• My first MERP game drifted out of TA 1412 Thieves of Tharbad and into a 'Dunland' (ICE: Dunfearan) focus. That came to hinge on the tension between the dominant faction of clans under the sway of the shadowy Temple of Justice, and the beleaguered minority who sought to rediscover the ways of their distant Daen Coentis forefathers by finding and recruiting woses to become their priests and spiritual advisors once more.
  
  I think I only worked up themes already suggested in the ICE modules, but it seemed that this could have been reconstructing Tolkien's unspoken intention, hinted at by the name "Drúedain" -- the woses thereby corresponding to the "druids" of the Celtic-styled Dunmen.
  
  But IIRC I later read that the researches of Chris Seeman et al. for the splendid 'Southern Gondor' campaign modules established authoritatively that the connection made in the earlier module(s) between the woses and the Daen Coentis was either simplistic, or more probably just plain wrong. Forgive me if RL prevents me providing an actual specific reference to this.
  
  
• I think of Beorn's Enchantment as being specific to him, and rooted in deep history. I guess that either the mysterious Beorn himself has lived many lives of Men, or maybe the enchantment followed his 'bloodline', but only manifest in one person in each generation until Beorn/Grimbeorn somehow extended it?
  
  M-e gaming has always wanted to include Beorning skinchangers beyond just Beorn himself -- i.e. to make it a possibility to PCs -- despite the texts not offering any justification for this. ICE's MERP in particular offered it to the pre-Beorn "Beijabar" folk, if only to the bloodline of their leaders. But of course pretty much any PC was always going be of the right bloodline! ;-)
  I was guilty of joining in with this, but in addition to the bloodline 'restriction' I did rule that it needed to be unlocked by a ritual initiation that was only shared with those who had proven their wisdom and abilities -- i.e. it was only given to worthy PCs reaching a sufficiently high 'level'. (I had a Beijabar animist of a satisfying shamanic flavour in my TA 1412 game. He was initiated into skinchanging only on reaching 10th level, after 4-5 years of play, and he actually got to turn into a bear exactly once in the climactic assault on the Temple of Justice after which the campaign ended!)
  
  I think TOR is more plausible, if only because it doesn't have to worry about the pre-Beorn era. But I'm still not comfortable with the idea of any Beorning -- or even just, as is presumably the intention: any Beorning player-hero -- necessarily being defined by their bear-iness. Can't some of them just be 'ordinary' well-hard Viking type heroes? As long as there's only one in your game it's fine for them to be a special bear-y person, but if you start to have several this risks losing its specialness.
  
  I'm looking forward to Francesco slowly revealing his vision of Beorn's Enchantment to us!

Cheers!
--Os.

The following is off-topic, but your comments about beast-speech reminded me about the Dwarves and Ravens.