Bëor
Encyclopedia
Bëor the Old is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
as the leader of the First House of the Edain
Edain
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Edain were men who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves....
in the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
, which was called the Folk of Bëor after him. He was the father of Baran and Belen and ancestor of Beren Camlost
Beren
Beren is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion. Huan spoke to him.-Character overview:...
.
Bëor was the leader of the First House of Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
during the final part of their westward march. Apparently under his guidance the majority of his people forsook Eriador
Eriador
Eriador is a large region in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth. In the Second Age, and possibly much earlier, it was largely forested, but the Dúnedain felled most of the forests to build ships. Much of it was encompassed in the early Third Age by the kingdom of Arnor, which...
and, crossing the Blue Mountains, came to the woods of Ossiriand in . There they were found and befriended by the Elf
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
-lord Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian and the Grey Annals, as well as other material....
. He quickly mastered the speech of Men, and held a long converse with their lord. Bëor by his counsel led then his people to the plain of Estolad in Eastern Beleriand
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
, but soon committed the rule to his elder son Baran, entering the service of Finrod and departing to Nargothrond
Nargothrond
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Nargothrond , called Nulukkhizdīn by the Dwarves, was the stronghold built by Finrod Felagund...
. Bëor remained there until the end of his days, and participated in the warfare against the Orcs
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
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Bëor's 'true' name was Balan. He was called Bëor, which means 'Vassal' or 'Servant' in the tongue of his people
Taliska
Taliska is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional languages set in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Taliska was based on the Gothic language. Gothic was an early interest of Tolkien...
, after he entered the service of Finrod Felagund; according to some traditions, this name was also born afterwards as a title by his descendants. He was called 'the Old' since he lived to the age of 93, when he willingly relinquished his life and died in peace. Bëor was also one of 'the Wise
Wise (Edain)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, some of the Men of the First Age were counted the Wise. They possessed a great knowledge of lore and traditions of their people, especially concerning their ancient days....
' among Edain; he had a great knowledge of their traditions and legends, though passed them only to a few of his descendants, unwilling to reveal their history even to Finrod. Much of this knowledge passed to Adanel and Andreth.