# Tom Bombadil



## DerBerggeist (Mar 12, 2012)

Hello everyone! This is my first post on the Tolkien Forum. Here it goes:

Tom Bombadil (Iarwain Ben-adar) is a character of much debate, yet I find myself extremely disappointed with the outcome of each argument every single time I read of him. Every debate about Tom and his origins ends with “I guess we’ll never know”, or “he’s an enigma”. To me, these responses are wholly unacceptable. While they are certainly true, I would rather not _end_ my argument with such uncertainty. I do not deny that one of the reasons why Tolkien’s world is so rich is because of these little mysteries here and there. Yet some debates should not be thrown by the wayside. Such as this one! Alright, I’ll now give my two-cents, then let’s see what you guys think.

Before I really begin, I’ll lay out a few facts that we know for sure about Tom Bombadil. He is fatherless (as his elvish name suggests), he is extremely old (as his elvish name suggests), and while he is Master of (some) parts of Middle-earth, he is NOT master over everything. This last point is key. Just to be clear, in this post I’m arguing in regards to the extent of his power, as well as his age.

When the text says that Tom is “fatherless”, that of course means that he has no _earthly _father; he was still created by Eru (Tolkien himself said that Tom was not Eru incarnate). This means a few things that I think people take for granted in this argument. For one, it means that he cannot be ruled out as an Ainur (I’m not saying that he is), for the Ainur were Eru’s first creation.

Alright, let’s say Tom was of the race of the Ainur; Maiar to be more specific. This idea certainly seems to hold: he has power over creatures such as Old Man Willow and the Barrow-wights, and the Ring does not affect him. It should be noted that he does not have power OVER the Ring, as Gandalf says, but rather the Ring has no power over him. For instance, he cannot destroy the Ring himself. At this fact alone, the Maia-theory is starting to become shaky, for the Maia ARE affected by the Ring. Sauron, Gandalf and Saruman. I am willing, at this point, to give up this theory, but not without skepticism for my own conclusions. Before coming to this conclusion, I did note that the power of these three Maia has lessened (perhaps greatly) since they came into the world. Sauron loses his ability to transform (Akallabêth, “Of the Rings of Power”), which obviously suggests a loss of power, as it happened to Melkor as well. Of the Istari mentioned, I remember well a passage that I read somewhere saying that before they entered the world, their power was diminished. However, I do not remember where I read this, although I searched very long for it (Please correct me if I’m entirely wrong about this fact!). That being said, I do know that they were forbidden to appear more powerful than they really are, as it says in Unfinished Tales. Yet for some reason, I recall reading that their power was ACTUALLY diminished before entering the world (once again, I suggest reading into this before blindly accepting this “fact”)… Anyways, back to Tom. Regardless of whether or not their power is diminished, it is clear that the Ring affects Maiar. Therefore I do not believe Tom is a Maia.

Well, you might say, what if he were a Vala? I think it is fairly clear that he is not a Vala either. His power appears to be over things that grow and “living” things (Barrow-wights). As we all know, the Valar that have power over things that grow are Yavanna and Vána. If he were to be any Vala, I think he could be Aulë, for he is a master of the earth (indeed he made Middle-earth). Yet as said before, Tom cannot destroy the Ring himself. I would think that a Vala would be able to destroy something made by a Maia, especially if the Vala was Aulë, and the material of the earth. So he is not a Vala.

It appears to me that there is only one solution to this problem. Tom Bombadil is Middle-earth itself. In saying that I mean that he is the characteristics and qualities of Middle-earth incarnate. Rather, he is the _good_ qualities of Middle-earth incarnate. He knows no evil. Of the Ring and its danger, “…he would not understand the need. And if he were given the Ring, he would soon forget it, or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind”, says Gandalf at the Council of Elrond. You may think I’m crazy for saying this, yet I’m not the only one who thinks so. This next example of proof is perhaps obscure and abstract but I think in its simplest form, is quite clear. At the Council of Elrond, Galdor says this regarding Tom Bombadil and his fate if Sauron were to win dominion over Middle-earth: “Power to defy our Enemy is not in him, unless such power is in the earth itself”. In other words, if the earth itself had the power to overthrow Sauron, Tom would have the power to overthrow Sauron. It seems to me that Tom Bombadil and the earth are connected, indeed very much the same. You might say that Tom cannot be the good qualities of Middle-earth, because he only has power over his own land. This is not _necessarily_ true. According to Tom, “out east [his] knowledge fails. Tom is not master of Riders from the Black Land far beyond his country”. All this fact is saying is that he is not a master of dark things that come from far away. As I claim that he is the _good _qualities of Middle-earth, my theory holds.

So to conclude this post, I end by saying that Tom Bombadil is the good qualities of Middle-earth incarnate. I am very much open to criticism and debate, so bring it on! :*)


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## Troll (Mar 13, 2012)

I think of Bombadil as being an Ainur, but not necessarily a Maia. I think there are a great many spirits in Middle-Earth of the same origin as the politically-active Valar and Maiar (and Balrogs and what-not), spirits who could be described somewhat unhelpfully as Maiar.

Just because the Ainur with whom we are most familiar possess identities, wills, and goals that are compatible with and comprehensible to human notions doesn't mean that all Ainur possess such things. Bombadil may be a spirit of the earth in the same sense that Sauron and Saruman were spirits of craft, meaning that Bombadil would have very different powers and priorities as compared to the latter two. It's like the difference between the Aesir and the Vanir; both are fundamentally the same _kind_ of thing and are even intercompatible to an extent, they just have dominion over different spheres.

My $0.02.


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## DerBerggeist (Mar 13, 2012)

Troll said:


> I think of Bombadil as being an Ainur, but not necessarily a Maia. I think there are a great many spirits in Middle-Earth of the same origin as the politically-active Valar and Maiar (and Balrogs and what-not), spirits who could be described somewhat unhelpfully as Maiar.
> 
> Just because the Ainur with whom we are most familiar possess identities, wills, and goals that are compatible with and comprehensible to human notions doesn't mean that all Ainur possess such things. Bombadil may be a spirit of the earth in the same sense that Sauron and Saruman were spirits of craft, meaning that Bombadil would have very different powers and priorities as compared to the latter two. It's like the difference between the Aesir and the Vanir; both are fundamentally the same _kind_ of thing and are even intercompatible to an extent, they just have dominion over different spheres.
> 
> My $0.02.



I like that answer. It's something I hadn't thought of before! Yet there is still something in me that has to deny that claim. If he really were such an old, masterful Maia, I think he would have been named. For he has power over something that Sauron has not: the Ring. If Sauron was so named, then Tom might have been as well. But your point seems to suggest that Tom might be susceptible to another kind of evil, for he has powers over different things than other Maia, as you say, therefore what doesn't harm another Maia could harm him. Interesting. But I have to reject it, respectfully of course. I'm in no way saying your idea is folly. But the way Tom is described in the text seems to lean away from him being Ainurian. Even Tolkien said he was an "enigma". He was removed from the races of the world; he was his own people.


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## Mr. Istari (Mar 13, 2012)

I don't really think it's necessary that he be named. At least not until he did something significant. It seems to me that if Tom Bombadil was content to live in secluded peace, not getting involved in the affairs of others, then there would have been no real reason for him to be named in any ancient lore or anything like that. Now I don't have any theories myself, but both of the theories presented here so far seem to have some level of believability.


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## Dúathiel (Mar 13, 2012)

While I like the idea of Tom being Arda's good qualities incarnate, I always imagined him a bit differently.

I agree that he can not be classified like Gandalf or Sauron and I don't think he has to be. Tom Bombadil simply is. 
To me he is like the currents of time and change, powerful in certain ways, but undirected and fleeting.

His names were given to him by other peoples. I don't think they say so much about him, except that he is ancient.

Some think that Tom is Eru himself. Rather I think that he is an aspect of Eru, a trace he left on Arda in its creation. He was there "before the river and the flowers".


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## DerBerggeist (Mar 13, 2012)

Those are both good answers too. In fact, in the end I may just have to accept that Tom simply is. Perhaps that in itself is the on definitive answer there is.


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## Bucky (Mar 15, 2012)

Tolkien says in one of his _Letters _ that Bombadil is an enigma thart doesn't belong...

If that's good enough for Tolkien, who wrote the history, I'm afraid that *IS* good enough.


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## DerBerggeist (Mar 15, 2012)

Bucky said:


> Tolkien says in one of his _Letters _ that Bombadil is an enigma thart doesn't belong...
> 
> If that's good enough for Tolkien, who wrote the history, I'm afraid that *IS* good enough.



"Enigma" technically just means that something is mysterious or difficult to understand. It's still possible to come up with a definitive answer. And that also doesn't mean that we can't study him further and come to our _own _conclusions.


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## Prince of Cats (Mar 18, 2012)

DerBerggeist said:


> "Enigma" technically just means that something is mysterious or difficult to understand. It's still possible to come up with a definitive answer. And that also doesn't mean that we can't study him further and come to our _own _conclusions.



I totally agree!! 

Illuin really sparked my mind a couple years back with the same idea that you mentioned: that Bombadil might be Aule. I don't know if I particularly agree, but I do like to wonder. I always interpret that letter about Tom being an enigma as Tolkien playing a bit coy :*) And theories that write him off as a 'nature spirit' come far short to satisfying me, as what are nature spirits? Where else do we see them in Arda? Perhaps like the spirit that might have entered Glaurung and Carcharoth? And if so, they entered a body nurtured for their purpose. Who then would have nurtured the early Bombadil?


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## DerBerggeist (Mar 18, 2012)

Prince of Cats said:


> I totally agree!!
> 
> Illuin really sparked my mind a couple years back with the same idea that you mentioned: that Bombadil might be Aule. I don't know if I particularly agree, but I do like to wonder. I always interpret that letter about Tom being an enigma as Tolkien playing a bit coy :*) And theories that write him off as a 'nature spirit' come far short to satisfying me, as what are nature spirits? Where else do we see them in Arda? Perhaps like the spirit that might have entered Glaurung and Carcharoth? And if so, they entered a body nurtured for their purpose. Who then would have nurtured the early Bombadil?



I like that point about Tolkien being coy when he spoke of Tom  But anyways, Tom cannot destroy the Ring himself. If he were Aule, wouldn't he be able to?


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## Troll (Mar 19, 2012)

DerBerggeist said:


> I like that point about Tolkien being coy when he spoke of Tom  But anyways, Tom cannot destroy the Ring himself. If he were Aule, wouldn't he be able to?



I guess that depends on whether you think the Ring could be destroyed in any bit of molten rock, or if there's something special about the magma in Orodruin...


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## Dúathiel (Mar 19, 2012)

That is what Gandalf explains... the ring can only be destroyed in the fire where it was made.

It is a ring of power and I don't believe that only refers to Sauron's power, but that in it's making he has drawn upon the power of the very core of Arda through Orodruin.


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## DerBerggeist (Mar 19, 2012)

Dúathiel said:


> That is what Gandalf explains... the ring can only be destroyed in the fire where it was made.
> 
> It is a ring of power and I don't believe that only refers to Sauron's power, but that in it's making he has drawn upon the power of the very core of Arda through Orodruin.



Actually, the Ring can only have been destroyed by a fire that is hot enough. Any fire. There's not anything special about Orodruin except that its the only place in Middle-earth left whose fire is hot enough to destroy the Ring. If there ever was a dragon that had a hot enough fire, he could have destroyed it. Now I know that it was said that even Ancalagon's fire wasn't hot enough, but the point is that it IS possible to destroy it with another fire. 

So would Aule be able to make a hotter fire? I'm not sure. But he was the first-ever smith, who also happens to be a Vala, so I feel like he could have done it, however that may be.


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