King Bear

Did you know …

Where the word “baron” comes from? “Baron” is derived from the word “bear”! This is because the very first baron was, in fact, a bear!

According to the records kept by a nearby monastery, in the winter of 987 a Eurasian brown bear (or “bår”) wandered into the hall of Lord Ragnarholm of Normandy. While the animal was almost certainly only looking for food, Ragnarholm believed that it had come to challenge him, and he engaged the bear in unarmed combat. The fight, such as it was, did not last long, and according to the traditions of the ancient Normans, the bear had to take the late Ragnarholm’s place as lord.

While the bear’s raiding skills were admirable (if unpredictable), it obviously wasn’t suited to village administration, and it was soon challenged to another duel. This challenger, and the following three, again made the mistake of requesting unarmed combat. It wasn’t until the fifth attempt that the aspiring usurper thought to bring a spear. The challenger still lost all the fingers on his right hand, and both legs below the knees, but the bear was dethroned. To distinguish the bear lord from other lords (and perhaps in preparation for potential future bear rulers) the title of “baron” was established. And I guess at some point some humans thought it would be cool to call themselves that too.

Is it science?! Why the heck not?