LotR Books: What is Tom Bombadil?

[ColonelHardisson]

I'm not at all sure they are maiar. Gandalf's a Maiar, and he has to worry about the Ring's effects. Tom Bombadil laughs unconcernedly in the face of the ring. That suggests that Tom might be something else.

Gandalf and the other wizards were Maiar clothed in the flesh of Men, which gave them the weaknesses of Men. That's an important distinction. Bombadil was pretty much a straight-ahead Maia. The implication is that Maiar and Valar are not affected by the Ring.

Here is a relevant quote:

From Unfinished Tales, Part Four, section II: The Istari:"For with the consent of Eru they sent members of their own high order, but clad in bodies as of Men, real and not feigned, but subject to the fears and pains and weariness of earth, able to hunger and thirst and be slain; though because of their noble spirits they did not die, and aged only by the cares and labours of many long years. And this the Valar did, desiring to amend the errors of old, especially that they attempted to guard and seclude the Eldar by their own might and glory fully revealed; whereas now their emissaries were forbidden to reveal themselves in forms of majesty, or to seek to rule the wills of Men or Elves by open display of power, but coming in shapes weak and humble were bidden to advise and persuade Men and Elves to good, and to seek to unite in love and understanding all those whom sauron, should he come again, would endeavour to dominate and corrupt."

Bombadil's "Mannish" form was feigned, not real.

 

[Dirk Perfect]

Tom

Check out this link. This is an essay on the speculated origins of Tom and Goldberry. Many Tolkein scholars believe that they are Aule and Yavanna.

http://www.cas.unt.edu/~hargrove/bombadil.html

 

[Greybar]

I was just reading the Silmarillion recently with an eye towards Gandalf and the Red Ring. The Maia who come to Middle-Earth are generally mentioned: the Five Istari (Saurman, Gandalf, Radagast, the two unnamed others) and Melian wife of Thingol and mother of Luthien.

In the times before the Elves awoke, Yavanna is saddened by the destruction wrought and asks who will protect the fauna and flora she has made. She doesn't get a happy answer, but I believe the next line or so mentions "spirits that descended" into the growing things. These spirits wouldn't necessarily be Maia but could be lesser things.

Note also that in the Silmarillion Tolkien doesn't explicitly say that the Balrogs were Maia either, just that they were spirits turned by Melkor. In the next sentence he starts calling them demons and uses that term from then on. Given the many revisions that Tolkien tended to do, I wouldn't get too stressed over the details of either case (Balrog or Bombadil).

John
p.s. sorry for misspellings, I don't have my Silmarillion here.

 

[The Sigil]

The more important question is,

"Who is Leonard Nimoy?"



Sixteen brownie points to the first person who gets the joke and gives the appropriate link to others.

--The Sigil

 

[JacktheRabbit]

You will never get an answer to this question. Tolkein himself never said what Tom was. At best he made a few statements concerning what Tom was NOT but that is it.

Beyond that Tolkein wanted there to be some things that were never explained.

As for my opinion I think Tom is something more ancient than the world itself. There is precedent for this as well. The Spider Mother (name forgotten) that gave eventual birth to Shelob was an ancient being whose past was unknown even to Melkor and the other Valinar.

 

[Umbran]

Bombadil was pretty much a straight-ahead Maia.

You've yet to provide any particular evidence for that conclusion. There are powerful things about in Middle Earth that aren't Maiar. Heck, Gandalf and his fellow Istari are fairly new additions, and the implicaiton is that Tom is an old, old thing.

 

[Brudewollen]

Is Tolkein Bombadil?

The best suggestion I've ever seen, which I found on a really active and excellent thread on AOL years ago about Tolkein, was that Tom is really Tolkein himself put into Middle Earth. I don't reamember the full argument, but it was a strong one. It's been a while since I've read the book, or else I might be able to piece together some of the arguement from momemnts in there. One of the more surface arguements was that he's referred to as "The Father." Besides, what being could be older then Middle-Earth then the man who wrote it?

 

[ColonelHardisson]

You've yet to provide any particular evidence for that conclusion.

I've yet to see any that refutes it. If you disagree with it, that's cool. I don't purport to be a Tolkien expert. I usually provide direct quotes to support my arguments (which few others ever do), but I can't in this case, because I don't know of any. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Welverin]

I was just reading the Silmarillion recently with an eye towards Gandalf and the Red Ring. The Maia who come to Middle-Earth are generally mentioned: the Five Istari (Saurman, Gandalf, Radagast, the two unnamed others)

Actually there are names for them in Unfinished Tales Part Four: II The Istari (p405), which are Alatar and Pallando (p410 by my book). So they were named, but just in a couple of obscure notes.

 

[Umbran]

I've yet to see any that refutes it. If you disagree with it, that's cool. I don't purport to be a Tolkien expert. I usually provide direct quotes to support my arguments (which few others ever do), but I can't in this case, because I don't know of any.

I didn't intend to disparage your scholorship in general, Colonel. I was actually sort of relying upon it. The fact that you don't have a quote is a bit telling, I think. Tolkien has a habit of telling us the names of Maiar. Even those who don't directly appear, like the missing Istari. That suggests to me that if Tolkien had wanted Tom to be a Maiar, specifically, he'd have mentioned it somewhere. If we have to classify him by the "well, perhaps an unfleshed Maiar would be immune to the Ring, so he's a Maiar" is pretty darned weak, so peerhaps we should avoid taking that step, hm?

On the point of Bombadil, all we have is speculation. I think that's intentional, and that While Tolkien wanted an orderly universe, he wanted a bit of mystery in it too. Not everything has to fit into the known classifications.

[edit: Additionally, since when do we see Maiar who are so disinterested in the business of dealing with Melkor and his servants? Bombadil's too darned blithe to be Maiar ]