- "All you have heard about Old Narnia is true. It is not the land of Men. It is the country of Aslan, the country of the Waking Trees and Visible Naiads, of Fauns and Satyrs, of Dwarfs and Giants, of the gods and the Centaurs, of Talking Beasts."
- ―Cornelius (Chapter Four: The Dwarf Tells of Prince Caspian)[src]
Talking Bears of the World of Narnia were large and sometimes almost childlike creatures. They are depicted as strong but gentle, who pass their time napping and eating honey, but are also very wise, intelligent, and are very loyal to Aslan. A Bear was traditionally one of the Marshal of the Lists.
Physical appearance[]
From what is known, bears in Narnia are about the same size as bears on Earth. Although each species of bear has certain different characteristics about them, which separates them from the others, the most common things that all bears have is their large bodies, with stocky legs, long snouts, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails.
Notable members[]
- The Three Bulgy Bears
- The Lapsed Bear of Stormness
Throughout the Chronicles[]
Brown Bear[]
- "And when everything had been explained to them (which took a long time because they were so sleepy) they said, just as Trufflehunter had said, that a Son of Adam ought to be King of Narnia and kissed Caspian - very wet, snuffly kisses they were - and offered him some honey."
- ―Chapter 6[src]
Brown Bears were highly intelligent, and very wise bears in the World of Narnia. After Narnia was created, two brown bears were summoned out of the ground alongside many different animals, which gathered in the council of Aslan to hear his speech.
They both chased Andrew_Ketterley_(books) with many of these animals, thinking him to be evil. Though, they then thought that he might be an animal due to the way Andrew rolled over when he fainted. One of the two bears reasoned that as an animal, one should be able to stand up without rolling over, and tried to demonstrate, only to end up falling flat on his back.
After eventually realizing he was human, they all decided to keep him as a pet, until Aslan came with further instructions. One of the bears was even kind enough to give him some honey that he had found, instead of eating it himself. Unfortunately, the honey was from a wild bees' nest, which still had some live bees in it, when it landed on Andrew's face.
The bears later appeared at the coronation, where Frank I and Queen Helen became the first King and Queen of Narnia.
During the Age of Winter, like many other Narnians, the brown bears suffered the Long Winter, and later fought in Aslan's Army during the First_Battle_of_Beruna_(Walden) against Jadis' Army. Over a decade later, during the Golden Age of Narnia, they were also part of the army that fought with King Lune, Prince Corin and the people of Archenland against Prince Rabadash and the army of Calormen.
Centuries later, during the Telmarine Conquest, the bears had to flee to the Shuddering Wood after the fall of Cair Paravel, and spend the next 300 years in hiding. During the War of Deliverance, when the young Prince Caspian fought against King Miraz and the Telmarine_Army_(Walden), all the brown bears, including the three Bulgy Bears, swore their allegiance to the Prince.
Fifty years later, when Puddleglum, Eustace and Jill, searched for and found Prince Rilian, and escaped through the underground tunnel from the Underland, some brown bears gathered with some of the other Narnians to help them out of the tunnel.
Two hundred years later, during the last days of Narnia, brown bears fought with the Narnians against the Calormenes at the Battle of Stable Hill.
Black Bears and Polar Bears[]
- "Get treated like a dumb animal long enough, that's what you become."
- ―Trumpkin[src]
During the Age of Winter, Black Bears suffered under Jadis' rule like many other Narnians, but later joined Aslan's Army and fought in the First_Battle_of_Beruna_(Walden). However, after the Golden Age of Narnia ended, they turned from talking to non-talking. When the Pevensies returned to Narnia in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (film), Lucy spotted a bear and tried to befriend it, only for it to attack her. Trumpkin saved her by killing the bear with his bow and arrow.
Polar Bears were seemingly only loyal to the White Witch during the Age of Winter. They first appeared at Aslan's sacrifice around the Stone Table, where they watched and laughed at the mighty lion. They were also seen during the First_Battle_of_Beruna_(Walden), where two polar bears pulled the White Witch's chariot. When Oreius charged towards the White Witch, one of the polar bears tried to strike him as he made a large jump over her chariot.
Behind the scenes[]
- Although they are never mentioned in the books, polar bears had to have existed since Ginarrbrik was described as dressed in polar bear fur in the book.[citation needed]
- After the Golden Age of Narnia, there was one bear who had apparently gone bad and was known as the Lapsed Bear of Stormness. It was defeated in a boxing match with Prince Corin, and became a reformed character afterwards.[citation needed]
- A black bear was used for the shooting scene in the Prince Caspian film, but in the book, Susan refers to the bear as "Poor old Bruin". Bruin is an Old English word used for brown bears (from the Dutch word, bruin, meaning brown). However, that bear was described as a grim-looking grey one.[1]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Chapter 9, Prince Caspian (book).