Who do you think Tom Bombadil really was

[PrinceOfTheHalflings]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

In my continuing quest to force Tom into fitting the established cosmology, and in reference to what I said here, the above quote makes me wonder if both Tom and Ungoliant couldn't be Ainu who entered Arda independantly, for purposes they perceived to be their own. Ungoliant initially was allied with Melkor, though she later renounced him to serve herself.

Yes, if Tom has to be considered to be part of any known order of being it would make sense for him to be an Ainu. Thus he would have been present, and participated in, the Music. Any question of whether he is a lesser or greater Ainu is too hard to answer ... and perhaps not relevant. What this means though (to me) is that he is not one of the known Vala or Maia.