Beorn

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

Eomer wrote:


Does Beorn 'not fit' with the Legendarium? I don't see any obvious reason that he shouldn't. The only real contradiction that I can think of would be with the letter stating that Men could not use magic - but seeing as this was a draft that Tolkien apparently rejected, I don't think it's a real problem. Beorn is a human with some magical powers - it's no stranger than Luthien turning into a bat or Glamdring glowing when it senses Orcs.

Luthien was the daughter of a Maia and Thingol and Glamdring was imbued with Elven magic. It would appear that Magic is an inherent quality and not a learned one.

("But even with the Eagles they were still outnumbered. In that last hour Beorn himself had appeared......he seemed to have grown almost giant-size in his wrath"..."The roar of his voice was like drums and guns; and he tossed wolves and goblins from his path like straw and feathers. He fell upon their rear and broke like a clap of thunder thorugh the ring." He also kills Bolg himself ("crushed him") which finally caused the goblins to be dismayed and flee the battle)...


When one considers that Dain, Thorin, and many powerful dwarven individuals and a seasoned dwarven host along with Thrandruil and an elven host, Bard, the great Eagles and Gandalf(a maia) himself were losing and it took a lone individual(Beorn) and the power he posessed turned the tide, he would almost have to be more than a man.

If Tolkien used Beowulf as the template for Beorn, I could see the reasoning. Beowulf was human but a beserker warrior that posessed the strength of thirty men. Maybe Tolkien was thinking something akin to Beowulf when he created a Beorn. A savage hero who posessed such immense strength he would seem more monster than man but in the end be only a man.