Who or What is Tom Bombadil? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Glaurung · 02-17-2006, 07:41 AM

Tom has always been a mystery to me, and I suppose Tolkien meant him to be one. I've also been wondering who really is the oldest of all beings of Middle-Earth. Celeborn refers to Treebeard as the eldest, and Tom says he was around before trees even existed ( sorry I don't have the book in English so I can't quote the sentence...). So? If Tom was there before trees existed, I think Treebeard couldn't have lived by then. But did Celeborn make a mistake or had he just forgotten about Bombadil, or did he know about Tom at all?

View Poll Results: Who or What is Tom Bombadil
A nature spirit?	14	29.17%
The spirit of Middle-earth itself?	11	22.92%
A Maiar?	5	10.42%
A Vala?	3	6.25%
An Elf?	0	0%
A Dwarf?	1	2.08%
An immortal Man?	0	0%
The reader?	1	2.08%
Eru?	0	0%
I'll tell you in my post!	13	27.08%
Voters: 48. You may not vote on this poll

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02-17-2006, 07:41 AM	#18
Glaurung Pile O'Bones Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Dancing in rain Posts: 16	Tom has always been a mystery to me, and I suppose Tolkien meant him to be one. I've also been wondering who really is the oldest of all beings of Middle-Earth. Celeborn refers to Treebeard as the eldest, and Tom says he was around before trees even existed ( sorry I don't have the book in English so I can't quote the sentence...). So? If Tom was there before trees existed, I think Treebeard couldn't have lived by then. But did Celeborn make a mistake or had he just forgotten about Bombadil, or did he know about Tom at all?