Editing The Bear and the Maiden Fair

[[File:Bear and maiden.png|350px|thumb|right|Art by jubah]]
[[File:Bear and the Maiden FairSerena MalyonII.jpg|''He licked the honey from her hair!'' by Serena Malyon. © FFG|thumb|350px|right]]
{{For|the television episode|The Bear and the Maiden Fair (TV)}}
"'''The Bear and the Maiden Fair'''," also known as "'''The Bear, the Bear, the Maiden Fair'''," is a ribald traditional song sung throughout the [[Seven Kingdoms]]. It describes in a humorous tone the story of a hairy [[bear]] that goes to a fair with a band of three boys and a goat, and along the way, dances with (and licks honey from the hair of) a [[maiden]] who was hoping for a [[knight]].{{ref|asos|6}} It is a very popular song, enjoyed both by nobles and [[smallfolk]]. It is also at least a century old, if not older.{{ref|THK}}

==Lyrics==
{{lyrics|
A bear there was, a bear, a bear!
All black and brown, and covered with hair.
The bear! The bear!

Oh come they said, oh come to the fair!
The fair? Said he, but I'm a bear!
All black and brown, and covered with hair!

And down the road from here to there.
From here! To there! 
Three boys, a goat and a dancing bear!
They danced and spun, all the way to the fair!
The fair! The fair!

Oh, sweet she was, and pure and fair!
The maid with honey in her hair!
Her hair! Her hair!
The maid with honey in her hair!

The bear smelled the scent on the summer air.
The bear! The bear!
All black and brown and covered with hair!

He smelled the scent on the summer air!
He sniffed and roared and smelled it there!
Honey on the summer air!

Oh, I'm a maid, and I'm pure and fair!
I'll never dance with a hairy bear!
A bear! A bear!
I'll never dance with a hairy bear!

The bear, the bear!
Lifted her high into the air!
The bear! The bear!

I called for a knight, but you're a bear!
A bear, a bear!
All black and brown and covered with hair

She kicked and wailed, the maid so fair,
But he licked the honey from her hair.
Her hair! Her hair!
He licked the honey from her hair!

Then she sighed and squealed and kicked the air!
My bear! She sang. My bear so fair!
And off they went, from here to there,
The bear, the bear, and the maiden fair.{{ref|asos|6}}
}}

==History==
The only song [[Dunk]] knows all the way through is "The Bear and the Maiden Fair".{{ref|TSS}} He heard the song performed at the [[tourney at Ashford Meadow]] in {{Date|209}}, while a dancing bear danced to the music.{{ref|THK}} It was also sung by Lord [[House Frey|Frey]]'s nephew at the [[Whitewalls tourney]].{{ref|TMK}}

==Recent Events==
===''A Clash of Kings''===
The song is sung at the [[harvest feast]] at [[Winterfell]].{{ref|ACOK|21}}

===''A Storm of Swords''===
It is sung by [[Butterbumps]] at [[Sansa Stark]]'s dinner with [[Margaery Tyrell]] and [[Olenna Tyrell]], in order to cover their conversation about King [[Joffrey Baratheon|Joffrey I Baratheon]].{{ref|ASOS|6}}

[[Tom of Sevenstreams]] sings it with [[Hot Pie]] on the ride to the [[Inn of the Kneeling Man]]. When Tom wants someone to sing with, Hot Pie tells him he knows the song about the bear. Tom starts to sing it and Hot Pie joins in lustily, even bouncing in his saddle a little on the rhymes. The astonished [[Arya Stark]] thought Hot Pie could only bake, but he has a good voice and sings well.{{ref|ASOS|13}}

During the grim march back to [[Craster's Keep]] after the [[fight at the Fist]], [[Grenn]] tries to encourage [[Samwell Tarly]] to keep marching by telling him to sing a song in his head. Sam knows a hundred songs, but is so terrified he cannot think of any. Grenn suggests "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" and starts to sing it, but Sam begs him not to, as it makes him think of the hideous [[wight]]-bear that had come at them at the [[Fist of the First Men|Fist]].{{Ref|asos|18}}

During the [[battle near Yunkai]] Ser [[Barristan Selmy]] tells [[Daenerys Targaryen]] that King [[Robert I Baratheon]] liked songs that made him laugh. Barristan adds that Robert only sang when he was drunk, and then by that point one of the songs was likely to be "The Bear and the Maiden Fair".{{ref|ASOS|42}}

[[Jon Umber|Greatjon Umber]] sings "The Bear and the Maiden Fair", drunkenly, at the [[Red Wedding]], at the same time as musicians perform "[[Flowers of Spring]]". The songs do not sound good together.{{ref|ASOS|51}}

===''Feast for Crows''===
It is sung by [[Dareon]] on the ''[[Blackbird]]'', on his voyage to [[Braavos]] with Samwell Tarly, [[Gilly]], and [[Maester]] [[Aemon Targaryen (son of Maekar I)|Aemon]].{{ref|AFFC|15}}

[[Ronnet Connington]] refers to the song at [[Harrenhal]], when visiting its bear pit to see where [[Brienne of Tarth]] had fought with a bear.{{ref|AFFC|27}}

===''A Dance With Dragons''===
The song is sung by [[Abel]] for [[Barbrey Dustin]] during a meal at [[Winterfell]]. The [[House Frey|Freys]] and some [[northmen]] join in with the singing, until the noise frightens the [[horse]]s kept in [[Great Hall of Winterfell|the hall]].{{ref|ADWD|46}}

At a [[slave]] auction in [[Meereen]], [[Tyrion Lannister]] realizes that Ser [[Jorah Mormont]] is doomed if he is purchased by [[Zahrina]]. Tyrion manages to get the slave overseer [[Nurse]] to convince [[Yezzan zo Qaggaz]] to purchase Jorah by lying and telling Nurse that Jorah is part of their show - the bear and the maiden fair. Jorah is the bear, [[Penny]] is the maiden, and Tyrion is the brave knight who rescues her. During their enslavement, Tyrion notes that Jorah has not adapted well. When called upon to play the bear and carry off the maiden fair, he has been sullen and uncooperative, shuffling lifelessly through his paces when he deigns to take part in their [[mummer]]y at all.{{Ref|aDwD|57}}

==Symbolism==
[[File:Marc Simonetti Bear Brienne Jaime.jpg|[[Jaime Lannister|Jaime]] saves [[Brienne Tarth|Brienne]] from the bear at [[Harrenhal]]. - by Marc Simonetti ©|thumb|400px]]
The song is a motif that reflects the relationships between several characters, including [[Sandor Clegane]] and [[Sansa Stark]], [[Jorah Mormont]] and [[Daenerys Targaryen]], and [[Brienne of Tarth]] and [[Jaime Lannister]] (where Sandor, Jorah, and Brienne symbolize "the Bear" who either literally or figuratively saves the "Maiden Fair"). 

The song's relevance to Jorah and Daenerys is emphasized by the fact that a bear is the sigil of [[House Mormont]] and that fair skin and hair are ubiquitous features among the bloodline of [[House Targaryen]]. 

In ''[[A Game of Thrones]]'', Sansa is infatuated by the idea of the chivalrous prince and the [[true knight|knight in shining armor]], archetypes which she believes are embodied by Ser [[Loras Tyrell]] and, mistakenly, Prince [[Joffrey Baratheon]]. Accordingly, when Joffrey and his court abuse and beat her, it is not the stereotypical knight but the disfigured [[Sandor Clegane]] who comes to her rescue.  When asked if there is any connection between Sansa's story and the song "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" [[George R. R. Martin]] replied: “Well, we´ll have to see.”{{ref|SSM|2997}}

After Jaime is tortured and later released from [[Harrenhal]], the unattractive Brienne steers Jaime away from suicide and sets him on the path to redemption. Ironically, Jaime later saves Brienne from a black bear in the bear pit at Harrenhal. The song also mentions a goat along with the bear, and [[Vargo Hoat]], who is wounded by Brienne and throws her into the bear pit, is frequently referred to as 'the Goat'.

==See also==
*[[:Category:Images of The Bear and the Maiden Fair|Images of The Bear and the Maiden Fair]]

==References==
{{references}}

[[Category:Songs|Bear]]

[[es:El Oso y la Doncella]]
[[fr:La Belle et l'Ours]]
[[pt:O Urso e a Bela Donzela]]
[[ru:Медведь и прекрасная дева]]
[[zh:&#29399;&#29066;&#19982;&#32654;&#23569;&#22899;]]