By Greg & Tim Hildebrant
The Beorning's take their name from their patriarch Beorn who along with his son Grimbeorn are the only know leaders of this race of men. The origins of Beornings are not known, Gandalf believed that the Beorn was either a descendant of the bears who had lived in the Misty Mountains before the arrival of the giants, or was a descendant of the men who had lived in the region before the arrival of the dragons or Orcs from the north. They dwelt in the Vales of Anduin during the Third Age were they guarded the Carrock pass keeping it free of orcs, whom they hated, and levied tolls on travelers. In The Lord of The Rings, Gloin complained that their tolls were high. Beorn carved the stone stairway that leads to the top of Carrock himself.
By Alan Lee
The Beornings are very large men while not giants they are taller than Gandalf who was a tall man. Beorn in particular was described as being 12 feet or so in height. Beorn could turn into a huge bear when he was angered but it seems that this was a particular trait of his rather than of all Beornings.
The Beornings had an affinity for bears and animals in general they were vegetarians neither eating nor hunting bird nor beast. Beorn's household is served by a staff of talking animals. They are considered excellent bakers, Gimli considered the Beornings the best bakers he knew. The Beornings were well known for their honey-cakes, which they likely made in their bee farms and sold openly to others, at least until the return of Sauron, for then the Beornings no longer trusted strangers and their trade stopped.
