In 1252, England received one of the strangest and most spectacular gifts of the Middle Ages. A white bear arrived from Norway, sent as a royal present to King Henry III. It was no ordinary creature, but a living symbol of power and alliance. Gifts between kings were rarely simple kindnesses. They were statements. To send a beast from the edge of the known world was to remind England of Norway’s reach and strength. The bear was brought to the Tower of London, which at the time served not only as