bombadil being a dwarf
 

suppose old tom was one of the seven dwarven fathers. but he escaped Eru's punishment, and fled into the wild. he eventually came to middle earth and stayed at the old forest.

his description almost fits that of a dwarf, long beard, shorter that most men.

just a thought
cheers

[ October 02, 2003: Message edited by: lore_master ]

An original enough theory, lore_master, though highly improbable. He shares no distinguishable character traits with the quintessential dwarf. He is a nature-lover, not a craftsman of stone and gems. What it comes down to is that this theory is extremely implausible in the context of Tolkien's work, and while Bombadil's origins may be fiercely debated among Tolkien scholars, your theory will almost certainly not come into discussion. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

He's far too careless and not preoccupied with riches enough to be a dwarf - appearance is his only dwarf-like characteristic. A dwarf, even one of the seven, would've been affected by the One Ring.

Indeed! It's an interesting theory, but as has been pointed out, it's riddled with holes, such as the ring's lack of effect on him, his love of Nature, and so on and so forth. Although he does also love jewels, remember how delighted he was with the brooch he found? Hoom hoom, its interesting, but very improbable. Also, how on earth could you escape punishment from Eru? He's kinda omniscient and so on...

Yes, he was excited for the brooch, but a dwarf would have been excited for the sake of the brooch being beautiful, but he was not really excited at the brooch, but its potentiality as a gift for Goldberry.

Well, they said his race is unknown, but he was the master of the forest, so maybe he was they only one created of his kind, so that's why his race is unknown.

What were the dwarven fathers being punished for that they had to escape from Eru??

Voralphion, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were not being punished by Eru, Eru would just not allow them to wander in Ea before his own children did so. He commanded Aule to have them sleep until his own children appeared. This was not to punish anything that the Dwarven Fathers did.

I think a good summary to this thread, given the initial topic, would go something like this:

No, whatever Tom Bombadil was, he was no dwarf. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Cheers!
-Angmar

i have always wondered about old Tom.
seeing as i can find nothing pointing to him being a Maia, or else Gandalf and such wouldnt be concerned with the cares of others. maybe he could be a form of Eru? jus a suggestion

Actually, Uruviel, the idea that Tom Bombadil was in fact Eru has been brought up before many times in these fora. The simple fact is that it is basically impossible, given what we know about Ol' Bombadillo and given Tolkien's own words about him.

[ October 11, 2003: Message edited by: Lord of Angmar ]

All seven Dwarven Fathers are accounted for. Somewhere in the texts it is told where each and everyone of the awoke (somewhere in HoME, I think).

Yes, according to Morgoth's Ring, the Dwarf fathers' bodies are kept under special care because from time to time their spirits return and the fathers awaken from death.

Besides, Bombadil can do what no dwarf can do. What tree would listen the a dwarf?

***Earendilyon my friend, check your profile***

Saying Bombadil isn't a Maia because he doesn't act like Gandalf is like saying Sauron isn't one because he doesn't act like Gandalf; that Morgoth isn't a Valar because he doesn't act like Manwe; that Grima isn't a Man because he doesn't act like Théoden; that Ted Sandyman isn't a Hobbit becuase he doesn't act like Sam...etc.

Trying to guess what ole Tom is, is useless even JRRT does'nt know what he is. He describes him as an egnigma. who are we mere mortals to question JRRT.

Ah, but humanity was born to question its surroundings, that is one of its most endearing qualities!


If Tom Bombadil was a Dwarf, then he probably wouldn't have been able to get the trees to "talk" to him, or "listen" to him. I daresay that if he was a Dwarf, and if he did try singing to a tree, it would probably just swat him out of annoyance! Dwarves and Trees have a history of not getting along, so good ol' Tom's proximity to the Old Forest would prove that he isn't a Dwarf.

Not neccesarilly: Ents etc. don't like tree-cutters: Dwarves characteristically have a reputation for such, but seeing as Bombadil is "Eldest" he wouldn't be subject to those stereotypes, having made himself known before, and since he loved trees, they wouldn't have thought he'd chop them down.

I still don't beleive he's a Dwarf though. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]