The former touches on a rather literary concept, but it otherwise stands for a vivid depiction of the ‘berserker’, or, if one tries to translate the original word in Old Norse, “Bear-shirt.” ...

Several other Tolkien characters can also be linked to Norse mythology, including Beorn, who has a Viking name and can transform into a bear like a berserker warrior, and the hero Turin Turambar ...

For 800 years he was the stuff of Norse legend. Now scientists say skeletal remains found in a well at Norway’s Sverresborg castle are those of the mysterious figure mentioned in a medieval saga.