Tom Bombadil

[Holdwine]

ok in the book Tom bombadil has been around in the old forest area since before the forest was there. now i was wondering does anybody know what race Tom is if he is an elf valar or what?

 

[Celebthôl]

This is the biggest discussed topic, no one knows, he just is, he is like no other being in Tolkiens works.

 

[Roilya]

i think he might be a maiar.

 

[BlackCaptain]

Tolkien says he's an enigma, therefore he isn't anything

He isnt Man
Isnt Elf
Isnt Dwarf
Isnt Hobbit
Isn't Istari
Isn't Maia
Isn't Vala
Isn't Entish....

Tom is Tom, in the body of a man, and the mortality of an Elf.

 

[Roilya]

o, well put cap

 

[Kahmûl]

Would Tom be able to be slain?

 

[Celebthôl]

Maybe, its never been put to the test

But something tells me that nothing could touch him, like an entire army of Orcs wouldnt be able to kill him. . .

 

[Gandalf White]

I suggest you try this link. It has tons of information on ol' Tom.

 

[Celebthôl]

No, you cant do links, it shuts down threads quick, it has made things to efficiant and so makes TTF boring, its main reason people are leaving, its better to get fresh ideas on it, not used ideas etc

 

[ely]

Just wondering...

... we don't know who Tom was, but did the other inhabitants of ME know that? For example Gandalf, he speaks of Tom, does he know who Tom Bombadil exactly is?

 

[Red Istar]

I've always thought of him as some kind of spirit, an embodiment of nature.

 

[Amarië]

Here is a really interesting essay about Tom Bombadil...
It's pretty long but give it a gander if you have time...

http://www.valaquenta.com/essays/tom_bombadil.html

~A~

 

[Estella Bolger]

Well since I'm interested enough I'll make the time. I did always wonder about Tom Bombadil, he is a great character after all.

 

[BlackCaptain]

I don't think he would be able to be slain, because Tolkien simply wouldn't allow it. I think that's why he kept Tom out of the War of the Ring, because he wanted to keep Tom in the story. He put the enigma in and gosh darn-it he's gona keep it!lol

 

[Gandalf White]

Originally posted by Celebthôl
No, you cant do links, it shuts down threads quick, it has made things to efficiant and so makes TTF boring, its main reason people are leaving, its better to get fresh ideas on it, not used ideas etc

My apologies, Thòl; one gets yelled at for being helpful, eh?

Would Tom be able to be slain?

Yes, he would. Gandalf states that once all free lands were taken, Tom would fall "Last as he was First; and then Night will come."

That last sentence makes for some interesting conjectures as well...

 

[Red Istar]

Maybe the world would end...

 

[BlackCaptain]

And then Middle Earth wouldn't be Middle Earth because Tom isn't in it! Because Tom is 1 with middle earth, because he's so essential as an enigma!

I think anyways...

 

[Gandalf White]

Originally posted by BlackCaptain
And then Middle Earth wouldn't be Middle Earth because Tom isn't in it! Because Tom is 1 with middle earth, because he's so essential as an enigma!

I think anyways...

True, it wouldn't be Middle Earth, it would be Sauron's Earth.

But what exactly is meant by "and then Night will come?" Does the capital 'N' imply the total darkness because of Sauron's complete rule, or as Red Istar said, the end of Middle Earth?

Perhaps someone more knowledgable could come along and help us out...

 

[Saurgoth]

I know there have been millions and millions of threads on this subject but none (atleast the ones I've read) have really explored the HoME. In RofS Tolkien says that Bombadil and Farmer Magott are related and that Tom was there before the moon and the stars ("an Aborgine" as it is said) meaning that he must of been like and Elf or possible like a spirit (farfetched I know). Also looking at his love of singing it is quite similar to that of the Elves and Illuvitar himself. So could Tom possibly be Eru? And what/who is Goldberry due to that most likely will prove what Tom is or give some hints.

 

[Flammifer]

OK. I won't go deeply into this at all.

Let's just say first of all that we are far more likely to discover what Bombadil is before we do Goldberry, because we have much more evidence about Old Tom and we do about Goldberry.

Anyway he's not Iluvatar because Eru has a rule that we won't meddle in the affairs of Arda or something.....anyway I am too scared of getting into this more deeply and provoking questions to which we have no anwer........so........perhaps a mod could move this to the Hall of Fire? It seems more of a fitting place to go as it encompasses and requires important evidence from many different texts.