# Bruin — Hudibras character guide

> Bruin in Hudibras by Samuel Butler.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The gallant Bruin, stout Bruin, the Bear, Bear, The worsted Bear

**First appearance:** 0003-part-i-canto-i

## Snapshot

The baited bear who fights mastiffs like a veteran chieftain, retreating, wheeling, and charging until sheer numbers overwhelm his desperate valour.

## Who they are

Bruin is the tethered prize of the bear-baiting that Hudibras rides in to break up, and the brawl's fortunes turn on his hide. Wounded and ringed by mastiffs, he refuses to yield, using every trick of a stout and politic warrior to gain ground and sell his carcase dear. His doomed stand gives the poem its first great mock-heroic set piece, making a lumbering beast the unlikely mirror of the knight's own pretensions to honour.

## Relationships

### [Hudibras](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/characters/hudibras)

_rivalry_

Bruin, the bear attacked by Hudibras, is a direct victim of the knight's aggression, leading to retaliation from its keepers.

## In the story

### [Hudibras Part I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/chapters/hudibras)

The bear at the center of the baiting, attacked by Hudibras.

### [Canto II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/chapters/part-i-canto-ii)

The bear that is routed by the Knight in the skirmish.

### [Canto III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/chapters/part-i-canto-iii)

The bear, who fights valiantly against the rout but is rescued by Trulla and Cerdon.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/characters/bruin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/hudibras_se/characters