Panserbjørne

From His Dark Materials

Panserbjørne, also called Armoured Bears, live on the far northern island of Svalbard in Lyra's world. They are different than humans as well as Panserbjørne both have the capacity to reason and speak. They are skilled metal workers and are able to work metals using their sharp claws and an opposable thumb. They fashion their strong armour from sky-iron, a type of meteoric iron.

They are governed by a king who is usually determined by bloodline, but can be elected by unarmed combat. They are the protectors of Svalbard, the centre of their civilization. However, in The Amber Spyglass, they voyage down to the Himalayas when Lord Asriel's interdimensional rift causes the climate to become inhospitable (although they soon realise that they cannot live in the Himalayas, its ecosystem being unable to support them). Iorek Byrnison is the main Panserbjørn in the trilogy.

A panserbjørn fashions his own armour using 'sky-iron', rare iron collected from meteorites which the bears discover on or buried in the ice. Panserbjørne have a strong spiritual connection with their armour (much as humans do with their dæmons). Although the magical metal described in Pullman's works is fictional, the native peoples of the Arctic do value meteorites (particularly the Cape York meteorite) as an invaluable source of iron for toolmaking (although iron from meteorites is actually weaker than terrestrial iron, not having impurities like carbon, which contribute to its strength).

The armoured bears are often in a struggle between keeping their animal customs and growing to a human level, especially when Iofur Raknison, the king of Svalbard before Iorek, tries to change their society, attempting to make palaces, universities, decorations, and even trying to acquire dæmons. Iorek eventually defeats Iofur to bring the bears to a more primitive state; however, later in the series he begins to feel human feelings such as doubt, and is asked if creating armour was a human action itself. Iorek, however, decides there is a line between bear custom and human behavior.

Early UK editions of the novels had Panserbørne instead of Panserbjørne. This was clearly a mistake as "panserbjørn" translated easily into danish as "armoured bear" while "panzerbørne" is a grammatically incorrect way of saying "armoured children".

[edit] Notable Panserbjørne

Some of the important Panserbjørne featuring in the trilogy are:

• Iorek Byrnison

• Søren Eisarson

• Hjalmur Hjalmurson

• Iofur Raknison

[edit] Trivia

• Panserbjørne is a danish word meaning "Armoured Bear".
• Panserbjørne is a plural word, the singular form of Panserbjørne being Panserbjørn.
• Early UK editions of the novels had Panserbørne instead of Panserbjørne.
• In real life, in our own world, some native people of the arctic do value meteorites, particularly the Cape York meteorite, which they use as an invaluable source of iron for toolmaking.

Races and Species
Witches • Panserbjørne • Gallivespians • Mulefas • Spectres • Harpies •