Bear-leader (guide)

In the 18th and 19th centuries, a bear-leader was a colloquialism for a man who escorted young men of rank or wealth on their travels, such as young gentlemen on the Grand Tour. The role of bear-leader blended elements of tutor, guardian, chaperon and companion. A late example in literature can be seen in the ambitious Oxford tutor hired to keep an increasingly alcoholic young man out of harm's way – and out of the way – in Brideshead Revisited.

See also

• Cicerone

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bear-Leader". Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 582.