Child posted:
Quote:
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"Did Tom start out as the spirit of the Oxford and Berkshire countryside? Absolutely. Did he grow to become greater or more than this, as he came into contact with the Legendarium? Quite possibly."
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I think he grew as you suggest Child, but he is still circumscribed as my old friend Thorondil suggests. Both these are raised to their pinnacle by Burra's 'incarnation or embodiment of Arda' idea.
If Tom was originally the 'master' of all of Arda or rather as master of himself being a spirit of Arda then he identified for some reason with the great Primeval forest early on, instead of say the plains of Rhun or the deserts of Harad, or the seas, and as this was chopped up and domesticated he retreated. Doubtless he foresaw much, such as a need to keep an eye on the Huorns of the Old Forest who have seemingly gone bad, as Ttreebeard would say, under the influence of Old Man Willow.
So I see him as a 'localized' embodiement of Arda. Or else his knowledge would not fadeaway out east. He would know the shores of Lindon as well as the Island in the Sea of Rhun, etc...
Why this is so, I can't say, but the above 3 explanations woven together
seemto explain [ as far as it can be] all of the data without contradiction.
I am sorry I missed this thread in it's inception Burra. I tend to avoid Balrog and Bomadil threads on a matter of principle and time constraints, to my loss. But I have enjoyed watching your relationship to the thread -as it has been a model of laconicity.
[ July 23, 2003: Message edited by: lindil ]