Iorek Byrnison is a Panserbjørne (armoured bear) from Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials. Like all Panserbjørne, Iorek follows a very strict code of contract, and will in no situation betray a promise he has made. He possesses incredible strength, and like many of his kind is an expert smith. He is a great friend and comrade to both Lyra Belacqua and Lee Scoresby. In Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials novels, the Panserbjørne (armoured bears in Danish) are large polar bears which are most of times covered in a invulnerable cloud-iron armor. ... Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is an English writer. ... The trilogy (non-North American versions), in order of succession from left to right. ... Lyra Belacqua played by Dakota Blue Richards Lyra Belacqua is the heroine of Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy. ... His Dark Materials is a trilogy of novels by the fantasy fiction author Philip Pullman. ...

History

During the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy, Northern Lights (North American title: The Golden Compass), Iorek Byrnison is found shaping metal for humans in an Arctic port town. These humans had deceived Iorek by giving him spirits, and then taking away his sky-mail armour whilst he was intoxicated. This gave him no choice but to work for the humans who had taken his armour. He insisted to Lyra Belacqua that if he had his armour, he would kill the humans that stole it, but that without it he would simply be gunned down. Upon hearing this, Lyra decides to use her Alethiometer to find the location of his armour, so that he can break free and help the group she was travelling with. The trilogy (non-North American versions), in order of succession from left to right. ... The Golden Compass redirects here. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctican area around the South Pole. ... For other uses, see Armour (disambiguation). ... Lyra Belacqua played by Dakota Blue Richards Lyra Belacqua is the heroine of Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy. ... The Alethiometer The alethiometer is a device from the trilogy His Dark Materials which tells the truth. ...

Using the Alethiometer, Lyra discovers that the humans have his armour hidden in the cellar of the local priest's house. Almost immediately upon hearing this, Iorek rushes off to find his armour, waiting only to finish his work hours (the bears in Lyra's world have a strong code of honor, and never betray promises or contracts). The humans realise all of a sudden what has happened, and try to gun him down. Iorek is about to crush one of the attackers' heads when Lyra steps in, reminding him that he promised her he wouldn't hurt anyone if she told him where his armour was.

Later in the book we discover that, by bloodline, Iorek would have become King of the bears in his homeland, Svalbard, had it not been for his exile. This exile was mainly the fault of Iofur Raknison (Iorek's successor as King), who was suspected, but never explicitly proven to have used drugs on another bear in order to make him act unusually. This befuddled bear went up against Iorek Byrnison in a ritual of dominance to win over a female bear. In his drugged state, however, the bear went against normal procedures and would not back down when any bear would normally have done. This unusual situation ended in Iorek killing the bear, which is strictly forbidden and forced him to be exiled. When he returns to Svalbard, Iorek fights and kills the current bear king, Iofur Rakinson, and reclaims his rightful place. This ends his role in the first book. Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Iofur Raknison is a panserbjørn---an armor-wearing, intelligent polar bear in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy. ...

In the third book (The Amber Spyglass), he is forced to take his bears on a voyage down to the Himalayas because the climate in his home country of Svalbard has become inhospitable due to Lord Asriel's unintentional changing of the climate, by opening a rift between two worlds. The Amber Spyglass is the third and final novel in the His Dark Materials series, written by British novelist Philip Pullman, and published in 2000. ... Perspective view of the Himalayas and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... Lord Asriel is a major character in Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials series. ...

He later uses his blacksmithing skills to repair the Subtle Knife with the help of Lyra and Will. The Subtle Knife Cover The Subtle Knife is the second novel in the His Dark Materials series, written by British novelist Philip Pullman, and published in 1997. ...