Tom Bombadil

In the first book of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings, Frodo and his company meet Tom Bombadil in the Old Forest. He is a quite mysterious figure living far from any settlement with his wife, Goldberry, "Daughter of the River". He speaks in stress-timed metre. His appearance is only brief, but behind Bombadil's simple façade there are hints of great knowledge — he can see the Ringbearer when invisible and is unaffected by wearing the Ring himself. Gandalf says this is because the Ring has no power over him.

As to the nature of Bombadil, Tolkien himself said that some things should remain mysterious in any mythology, hidden even to its inventor. He placed the fate of the Entwives in this category, as well as the Cats of Queen Béruthiel, although hints of the latter story have emerged in posthumously released materials. But see also the next section.

It is clear, though, that Bombadil was not in Tolkien's conception part of Middle-earth from the start; he was created in honour of a Dutch doll belonging to his children, to whom Tolkien told stories about Tom Bombadil. These predate the writing of The Lord of the Rings. Tom Bombadil was however part of the Lord of the Rings from the earliest drafts. In recent film and radio adaptations of the story Bombadil is notable by his absence, because nobody knows quite what to do with him.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, a book of verse published in 1966, purported to contain a selection of poems from Middle-earth, some of which were about Tom Bombadil.

See also The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, with special reference to Letters 144 and 153.

Tom Bombadil's nature

Tom Bombadil's mythological origins in the cosmology of Middle-earth have puzzled even erudite fans. Speculative ideas about his true nature range from simply a wise Elven hermit to an angelic being (a Maia or Vala), to the creator, that is, God, who is called Eru Ilúvatar in J. R. R. Tolkien's mythology. Tolkien explicitly denied this last possibility.

Other possibilities are that he is an abstract, a concept: possibly the embodiment of Arda itself, a "Father Nature" if you will. Certain is that not only does the Ring have no effect on him, Tom himself seems unable to affect the Ring in return.

Tom Bombadil is by Gandalf called the eldest being in existence, also evident by his Sindarin name Iarwain Ben-adar (Eldest and Fatherless). Dwarves called him Forn, Men Orald. All these names apparently mean "Eldest". However, Fangorn is also called eldest inhabitant of Middle-earth. If Tom Bombadil is indeed not a normal being but rather an angelic being or "concept" this is however not a contradiction.

External links

• Entry in the Encyclopedia of Arda
• What is Tom Bombadil? by Steuard Jensen
• Who is Tom Bombadil? by Gene Hargrove
• Count, Count, Weigh, Divide discusses Tom Bombadil's moral aspects at length
• images of Tom Bombadil