Beusobaira (Anc. Rh. "Beer-Bear") was an ancient Chieftain of the Northrons. Legend had it that he was either a Maia, an immortal Spirit of Araw's Folk who could appear as a Great Black Bear as well as in man-form, or that he was the son of one of the Great black bears of Araw's Folk and a mortal woman. Or that he was a Spirit of Arda similar to a Maia, but being born in Arda as opposed to being an angelic spirit. His five sons, Anthargairu, Airiscina, Bairawulf, Answini, and Tagrinnia were the fathers of the Five secret houses of Baira and the first Skinchangers.
The Legend of Beusobaira[]
It was said that when Ogslap came down from the Goblin-town to join with the rest of Sauron's hosts to devastate the Entwives' Gardens Beusobaira's people came down from,the Misty Mountains and he slew the Great Goblin by his own hand.
Items[]
- Staff ("Ghostbane") (N) - +7 spell adder, enables wielder to control any Ghosts within 100" who fail their RR (vs. wielder's lvl). +25 Ghost-slaying quarterstaff.
- Dagger ("Bloodrunner") - +30 Long knife which strikes as a short sword. When thrown it is a +10 weapon.
- Robes ("Mountain Robes") (N) - counts as wearing soft leather, +20 for any climbing or balance maneuvers.
Notes[]
- Treasures of Middle-earth suggests the name "Beorn", while Anna Arquette's article on the Beornings and Woodmen suggests "Bair", though it is not explicitly mentioned as a personal name. I chose to combine both names into one in this article; the combination "Beer-Bear" is also reminiscent of old Norse Berserkers, battle-lust and eddic kennings. However I chose to give the name in Latinized Gothic instead of Anglo-Saxon, to correspond better with other names of the early Northmen.
- Original forms and corrected spellings:
- Beorn → Baira
- Beor → Beuso
- Beraulf → Bairawulf
- Erskine → Airiscina
- Otrugar → Anthargairu
- Owein → Answini
- Targrin → Tagrinnia
References[]
- MERP: Treasures of Middle-earth
- Beornings and Woodmen (Essay), by Anna Arquette 1995, originally conceived as a contribution to Rohirrim and Other Northmen, a projected volume in ICE's MERP "Peoples of Middle-earth" series which never reached completion.