The Panserbjørne

Lore & Background

Panserbjørne are generally solitary creatures but have a loose society centred on Svalbard, governed by a king; Iofur Raknison and Iorek Byrnison are the two kings who appear in the books. Becoming an outcast is the worst shame to a bear. Duels are ceremonial occasions and do not usually end in death, but the duel between Iorek Byrnison and Iofur Raknison ends with Iofur's death and Iorek reclaiming the throne. Under the usurper Iofur the bears were pushed to become more human-like, building palaces and decorating their armour; Iorek returns them to their traditions.

Reader's Guide

A bear fashions his own armour from sky-iron, a rare metal collected from meteorites that the bears find on or buried in the ice. Sky-iron is very durable and has only been seen to be damaged by the Subtle Knife. A bear's primary weapons are his strength, jaws and claws, but bears use fire hurlers, a combination of flame thrower and catapult, against human enemies and outcasts. Bears are very difficult to deceive. Some occasionally hire themselves out to humans as mercenaries or labourers, but only in the Arctic regions.

Did You Know?

• The word "panserbjørne" means "armour-bears" in Danish.
• In the 2007 film The Golden Compass they are also known as "ice bears".
• While they mainly speak English, the bears are shown to be able to speak other languages.
• Ordinarily, a bear who kills another in a duel is made an outcast.