Bombadil: One of the Blue Wizards?

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

But my favourite theory is that he is something apart, something older and more elemental, and tied to Middle-earth itself right from the creation of it. Gandalf says he is a "moss gatherer" which hints at 'stone' of you think of the old saying. He is also like the air if you think of his singing. His wife is the "river daughter", hinting at water. His neighbour is Old Man Willow, which of course is wood. Tom, in my favourite theory, is simply part of the fabric of Middle-earth, and beyond frivolous concerns such as Necromancer's Rings.

I like your entire line of reasoning Lal, excellent. I would take it one step further. As I've said previously, Bombadil is Tolkien's jest, and not necessarily a private joke, because the professor made reference to him all along: Tom is the manifestation of the Oxfordshire countryside Tolkien remembered from his youth, and Tolkien stressed the very concept of Bombadil was important beyond the scope of Middle-earth; in addition, Tom is the "eldest" because he existed before The Lord of the Rings was ever conceived by the author (as a stuffed toy in his children's bedroom, and as a character in his own set of poems).

Not Eru, not a Maia, not anything directly attributable to Middle-earth (ergo the One Ring has no affect or hold on him), he is a character outside of time inserted into a story because he amused the author, and the author said as much. And Tolkien must be laughing somewhere at the endless scholarly debate his jest has engendered.