Bork the Bold (formerly known as Bork the Very, Very Unfortunate) was the great-great-great-grandfather of Gobber the Belch, and was the author of the very first Dragon Manual. He apparently had a pet sheep named Willie, the last sheep of his unsuccessful flock, just as his descendant Gobber has his pet sheep, Phil.
Quick Answers
What was Bork the Bold's original name?
How is Bork the Bold related to Gobber the Belch?
What is the significance of Bork the Bold's pet sheep, Willie?
What was the first book Bork the Bold authored?
How did dragons impact Bork the Bold's career choices?
Biography[]
Early Life[]
His backstory is revealed in Book of Dragons; over the course of his life,
Bork attempted many professions, but was always sabotaged by passing Dragons. Over the years, Bork accumulated a lot of knowledge about Dragons, writing the information down in a book we now know as the Dragon Manual . It was Bork who devised the Dragon Classes, and his work was passed down and modified through the many Viking generations of Berk. His gathering of Dragon knowledge in spite of the risk to his own life merited his change of title.
At some point, Bork visited Impossible Island in order to use the traps set up by the Defenders of the Wing and upgraded by Hamish II in an attempt to protect the Dragon Bloom. He also, at an unknown point, travel;ed to Vinland, the parts of modern Canada visited settled by the Vikings, where he encountered an invisible Featherhide which stalked him all the way back to the Archipelago.
In We Are Family, Part 1 and Part 2, it is revealed that the Isle of Berk celebrates an entire week commemorating Bork, called Bork Week. Bork had accumulated a private archive of notes, thoughts, feelings, fears, and observations on dragons (and some recipes and "interesting" illustrations of his neighbors) that was passed down within his family until inherited by Gobber. The notes were the resource Bork used to write the Book of Dragons. With Gobber's permission, these were presented to Hiccup on behalf of the Berk Dragon Training Academy. Fishlegs refers to the archive as the Bork Papers.
In "Quake, Rattle and Roll", Bork also mentioned in his papers the island of Dark Deep, the ancestral home of the Gronckles. However, it is unclear if Bork found the island since most Vikings were not sure it existed. That was the case until Fishlegs Ingerman discovered it with the help of Meatlug and the Dragon Eye.
In the game, Dragons: Rise of Berk, Bork the Bold is mentioned in a Gauntlet Event as having a hidden treasure. This treasure was often sought after by many a Hooligan after Bork's demise, including Stoick the Vast. Trader Johann gave Hiccup a map to Bork's treasure, which turned out to be fabricated by Krogan.
“ | Dad was practically obsessed with finding Bork's treasure | ” |
— Hiccup in Dragons: Rise of Berk |
According to DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders, Bork also visited several other islands including Havenholme, Valka's Mountain, Blood Briar Island, and Odin's Oblivion during his lifetime and set up an underground dungeon-like complex filled with cryptic pathways that must be puzzled out to pass. The young Dragon Rider Scribbler interpreted the runes Bork left in these ruinsd and deduced that he built them as a sort of bunker-house against dragon attacks.
“ | Patch, these runes... they're like a key that explains everything Bork was up to! He built these bunkers as safe-houses for vikings in the event of some final war with dragons. [src] | ” |
— Scribbler |
Posthumous[]
Bork the Bold is widely celebrated even after his death due to the legacy of information he left about dragons. He is mentioned on a number of occasions in the game, School of Dragons during several player Quests, including "History of Dragons".
Physical Appearance[]
Bork has a beard similar to Stoick's, and he dresses pretty similarly too. He wears a dark green tunic and has a thick gold belt strapped around his waist. He appears to wear leather boots and brown wrist cuffs. His left horn on his helmet was snapped in two.
Personality[]
“ | Bork wasn't known for his subtlety. [src] | ” |
— Hiccup |
This section requires expansion. |
In "We Are Family, Part 1", he was implied to have gone insane by the lyrics of a holiday song Gobber was singing:
“ | We rue the day you went berserk. | ” |
— Gobber |
Abilities and Skills[]
Bork the Bold tried to do many different jobs in his life but most of it got ruined by the dragons to the point that he gave up and wrote about the dragons that had ruined his life instead which lead to the Dragon Manual.
- Farming: He was shown to be a bit of a farmer growing some crops but failed to do so due to the dragons burning his field.
- Rearing Sheep: He had a large number of sheep but due to the dragons around eating all of his sheep aspect one. He managed to protect one as shown to be his only pet, Willie.
- Blacksmithing: Bork was a capable blacksmith and was able to make weapons, until dragons stole his anvil.
- Fishing: He managed to catch an entire pile of fish, showing his fishing prowess, but lost his fish and his boat due to attacking Scauldrons.
- Writing and Drawing: Since he has seen so many dragons with different abilities and appearances he managed to create a book that included the dragons with all information that every one of Berk to know what each different dragon are classified and how dangerous they are. As this book became a success in his life before his time had ended. He also is shown to be a great artist to draw most of the dragons that are in the world. He also had a secret hidden chest that has more information.
- Dragon Slaying/Hunting: Bork knew how to slay dragons, though he wasn't really a dragon killer. He only slew them for defense so that he could study them.
Appearances[]
Films and Shorts | ||||||||||||
"How to Train Your Dragon": | Absent | "How to Train Your Dragon 2": | Absent | |||||||||
"Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon": | Absent | "Dawn of the Dragon Racers": | Absent | |||||||||
"Book of Dragons (Short)": | Appears | "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World": | Absent | |||||||||
"Gift of the Night Fury": | Absent | "How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming": | Absent |
Riders of Berk | |||||||||
1. "How to Start a Dragon Academy": | Absent | 11. "Heather Report, Part 2": | Absent | ||||||
2. "Viking for Hire": | Absent | 12. "Thawfest": | Absent | ||||||
3. "Animal House": | Absent | 13. "When Lightning Strikes": | Absent | ||||||
4. "The Terrible Twos": | Absent | 14. "What Flies Beneath": | Absent | ||||||
5. "In Dragons We Trust": | Absent | 15. "Twinsanity": | Absent | ||||||
6. "Alvin and the Outcasts": | Absent | 16. "Defiant One": | Absent | ||||||
7. "How to Pick Your Dragon": | Absent | 17. "Breakneck Bog": | Absent | ||||||
8. "Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Man": | Absent | 18. "Gem of a Different Color": | Absent | ||||||
9. "Dragon Flower": | Absent | 19. "We Are Family, Part 1": | Mentioned | ||||||
10. "Heather Report, Part 1": | Absent | 20. "We Are Family, Part 2": | Mentioned |
Race to the Edge, Season 1 | |||||||||
1. "Dragon Eye of the Beholder, Part 1": | Absent | 8. "Crushing It": | Absent | ||||||
2. "Dragon Eye of the Beholder, Part 2": | Absent | 9. "Quake, Rattle and Roll": | Mentioned | ||||||
3. "Imperfect Harmony": | Absent | 10. "Have Dragon Will Travel, Part 1": | Absent | ||||||
4. "When Darkness Falls": | Absent | 11. "Have Dragon Will Travel, Part 2": | Absent | ||||||
5. "Big Man on Berk": | Absent | 12. "The Next Big Sting": | Absent | ||||||
6. "Gone Gustav Gone": | Absent | 13. "Total Nightmare": | Absent | ||||||
7. "Reign of Fireworms": | Absent |
Games | ||||||||||||
"Dragons: Rise of Berk": | Mentioned | "School of Dragons": | Mentioned | |||||||||
"How to Train Your Dragon": | Absent | "How to Train Your Dragon 2": | Absent | |||||||||
"DreamWorks Dragons: Wild Skies": | Absent | "DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders": | Mentioned | |||||||||
"Dragons: Titan Uprising": | Absent | "Dragons Hero Portal": | Absent | |||||||||
"DreamWorks Dragons: Legends of The Nine Realms": | Absent |
Trivia[]
- Bork is left handed, as seen when he is writing the Dragon Manual.
- The main human character in the game, DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders, Scribbler, thinks he might be related to Bork. This is not further elaborated on however, and no other sources suggest any evidence thereof.
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