Tom Bombadil/Nature

Tom Bombadil by John Howe.

"He is a strange creature"

― Elrond The House of Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil's mythological origins in the internal cosmology of Middle-earth have puzzled even erudite fans. For example the fact that the Ring had no power on Tom would either suggest that Tom existed in both the Seen and the Unseen realms, or that the Unseen had no effect on him since "He is his own master".

Speculative ideas about his true nature range from simply a wise Elven hermit to an angelic being (a Maia or Vala), to the creator God, Eru Ilúvatar.

Tom as Eru

When Goldberry was asked by Frodo Baggins who he was, she simply said "He is" which parallels the scriptural name of God "ho On" (the One who is). Goldberry also said that Tom is simply "the Master", and the theory that Tom is an incarnation, embodiment or "avatar" of Eru has been favored by the fans.

However Tolkien later remarked that this dialogue was not a reference to God, the way that priests called "Father" does not allude to God.

In the Council of Elrond it was mentioned that Tom has limited knowledge and understanding of the powers of the Ring, a limitation that the creator God arguably would not have.

It must be added, that Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, so the idea of an incarnation of the Creator being married may not have went well with him; he explicitly said that the idea of God's Incarnation was too large to fit in his work.

In any case however, Tolkien experimented with this idea in the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth about a future incarnation or Eru into the world.

Tom as an Ainu

If we reject the Eru theory, the most common possible explanation is that Tom is an Ainu such as a Vala. Tom seems to have unlimited power inside the boundaries that he set for himself and perhaps the reason of why he has such powers might be the fact that he set himself limits in which he is master.

However since all the Valar are accounted are well known by names, one has to associate one with Tom. For instance, a theory identifies Tom with Aule (and Goldberry with Yavanna). Furthermore, it is nowhere referred that a Vala abandoned Valinor to leave on Middle-earth. The most common theory is therefore that Bombadil is just a "rogue" Maia who perhaps stayed behind and did not follow the other Ainur at the Breaking of the World. The number of the Maiar is unknown, so it's easy to associate Tom with them, unlike the Valar.

Tom remembers to be the "Eldest, that's what I am... Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn... He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless – before the Dark Lord came from Outside". Eldest is also a title given to Treebeard.

If Tom refers to Melkor, who was the first Vala to enter Arda, Tom was already there even before all the Valar, dismissing the theory that he is a Vala or a Maia. Furthermore his Elvish name 'Eldest Fatherless' does not fit to the Ainur because they have a father, Eru. If Tom was refering to Sauron, however, then being a Maia may not be as far fetched.

Robert Foster in his Complete Guide to Middle-earth indeed identifies Tom, Goldberry and the River-woman as Maiar.

Tom as a nature sprite

A more radical and abstract theory is that he is possibly the embodiment of Arda itself, a "Father Nature", or some kind of non-spiritual 'sprite' which (unlike the Ainur) was of non-divine nature. Not only does the Ring have no effect on him, Tom himself seems unable to affect the Ring in return which shows that Tom was outside the divine plan and struggle and had no position in it. Bombadil could be a side-effect of the Music of the Ainur and that would explain why he was there in the beginning, as well as his name "Fatherless": since he is only a part of creation, he has no "father".

This also would be consistent with his neutrality: nature is neutral and has no morality.

The problem with this explanation is that no such beings, are mentioned elsewhere in the mythos, nor is it supported in other essays of the cosmology (for example, the Valaquenta).

Beings like him

Whatever his nature, another question about Bombadil is whether he is one-of-a-kind being, or if he has other colleagues in other parts of Arda. Bombadil could be for example the "spirit of Arda" in general, or just the "spirit of the Old Forest" with other such beings in other forests.

The nature of Goldberry (and River-woman) is also obscure. They could be the same kind of being like himself, or his female counterpart(s). If we had more knowledge about them, we could partially answer the question about Tom as well.

Gandalf, when narrating his fight with Durin's Bane, mentions tunnels made by dark nameless things whose existence Sauron knows not, since they are "older than him".

External links

• Entry in the Encyclopedia of Arda (a concise overview of the discussion)
• What is Tom Bombadil? by Steuard Jensen (a detailed explanation)
• Who is Tom Bombadil? by Gene Hargrove (a somewhat unorthodox but well-presented essay)