Tom Bombadil

"Clothes are but little loss, if you escape from drowning."

- Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil (also Iarwain Ben-adar in Sindarin) is a mysterious character of Middle-earth. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo and his company meet Bombadil in the Old Forest. He lives far from any settlement with his wife, Goldberry, "Daughter of the River". She describes him as being "Master of wood, water and hill." Bombadil also rescues the hobbits from the barrow-wight and gives them the barrow-blades. He speaks in stress-timed metre. His appearance is brief, but behind Bombadil's simple façade there are hints of great knowledge - he can see the Ring-bearer when invisible and is unaffected by wearing the Ring himself. Gandalf later says that this is because the Ring has no power over him.

As to the nature of Bombadil, Tolkien himself said that some things should remain mysterious in any mythology, hidden even to its inventor. He placed the fate of the Entwives in this category, as well as the Pets of Queen Berúthiel, although hints of the latter story have emerged in posthumously released materials.

It is clear, though, that Bombadil was not in Tolkien's conception part of Middle-earth from the start; he was invented in honour of a Dutch doll belonging to his children, to whom Tolkien told stories about Tom Bombadil. These predate the writing of The Lord of the Rings. Tom Bombadil was, however, part of The Lord of the Rings from the earliest drafts. In recent The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring film and radio adaptations of the story, Bombadil is notable by his absence, possibly because nobody knows quite what to do with him. Peter Jackson justified his omission by pointing out that he did little to advance the story, having nothing to do with the Ring storyline, and serving little purpose when it came to getting the hobbits to Rivendell, and putting together the Fellowship. Given his comments about Faramir, one could also argue that Bombadil's reaction to the Ring, much like Faramir's, would have been inconsistent. However, much of Bombadil's dialogue, and the scene in which the hobbits meet Old Man Willow, are transplanted into the scenes that Merry and Pippin share with Treebeard.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, a book of verse published in 1962, purported to contain a selection of Hobbit poems, two of which were about Tom Bombadil and include his adventure with Badger folk.

See also: The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, with special reference to Letters 144 and 153.

Tom Bombadil's nature
Tom Bombadil's mythological origins in the cosmology of Middle-earth have puzzled even erudite fans. Speculative ideas about his true nature range from simply a wise Elven hermit to an angelic being (a Maia or Vala), to the creator, that is, God, who is called Eru Ilúvatar in J. R. R. Tolkien's mythology.

Tom seems to have unlimited power inside the boundaries that he set for himself. The most common theory is that Bombadil is a Maia, and perhaps the reason of why he has such powers might be the fact that he set himself limits in which he is master. "'Eldest, that's what I am... Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn... He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.'" - The Dark Lord, Bombadil refers to is probably Morgoth and not Sauron. But in that case, Tom was already there even before the Valar entered the world, dismissing the theory that he is a Maia. Bombadil could be part of the Music of the Ainur and that would explain why he was there in the beginning, but if he was indeed part of the music, it is not said why he exists.

Other possibilities (compatible with the above theory) are that he is an abstract, a concept: possibly the embodiment of Arda itself, a "Father Nature" if you will, or some kind of 'spirit' which (unlike the Maiar) was of non-divine nature. Not only does the Ring have no effect on him, Tom himself seems unable to affect the Ring in return which shows that Tom was outside the divine plan and struggle and had no position in it. During the Council of Elrond it is suggested that the Free-Peoples entrust the Ring to Tom, but this is rejected due to the probability that he would lose it, because according to Gandalf, such things had no hold on his mind. It is also stated that if Sauron were to regain the Ring Tom Bombadil would be the last to fall. It is also stated by Galdor that 'Power to defy our enemy is not in him, unless such power is in the earth itself. And yet we see that Sauron can torture and destroy the very hills.' implying that Bombadil is in some way connected with the very earth itself.

Gandalf calls Tom Bombadil the eldest being in existence; this is also evident by his Sindarin name Iarwain Ben-adar (Eldest and Fatherless). Dwarves called him Forn, Men Orald. All these names apparently mean "Eldest". However, Fangorn (Treebeard) calls himself the eldest living being of Middle-earth and that he was there before anyone else. Bombadil is just called the 'eldest'. If Tom Bombadil is indeed not a normal being but rather a supernatural being or "concept" this is, however, not necessarily a contradiction. Concerning Fangorn, J.R.R. Tolkien remarked,"Fangorn is a character in my story and even he does not know everything".

Theories
To begin with, you should know that Tom was not only "Eldest" (as he says to Frodo) in terms of the characters in The Lord of the Rings, he was also most certainly one of J.R.R. Tolkien's earliest literary creations. Tolkien's biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, relates that Tom was inspired by a Dutch doll that belonged to the professor's eldest son Michael. This doll was said to have looked very splendid (it had a real feather in its hat!) but Michael's brother John did not like it and one day stuffed it down the lavatory. The doll was rescued, and survived to become one of the heroes of the spontaneous stories that were told to the children at bedtime.

Tom Bombadil is an enormous mystery. Many gave theories about his nature. Some think he is The Witch King, due to the fact that he saw Frodo when he was invisible (although this is very unlikely due to the fact the Witch King would have taken the Ring when he had it and/or killed Frodo, and wouldn't have given Merry the dagger that led to his downfall; also the One Ring has no effect on him.) Others think he is the reader, when Frodo put on the Ring the reader knows he's there, and Elrond doesn't trust the reader with the Ring. Or he is the embodied spirit of Middle-Earth's Nature. It is also believed he could be the Valar Aule. Some people think he is actually the great Eru Ilúvatar, God, born into flesh as Jesus Christ is believed to have been God Incarnated. Still others think that he is Tolkien himself. Nevertheless, Tom Bombadil was probably meant to be an enigma.

He could also be one of the two blue Istari, described in the book Unfinished Tales (p. 393). There are five wizards of the order of the Istari: one white, one brown and one grey, Saruman, Radagast and Gandalf respectively, and two lesser known wizards, Alatar and Pallando, cloaked in blue. As Bombadil wears a blue jacket, it could possibly signify he is one of these two Blue Wizards, plus the fact that he uses magic. This, however, is very unlikely, since Tolkien himself stated that these two Blue Wizards went into the Far East and did not return to the west. Furthermore, we know that both Gandalf and Saruman could be influenced by the Ring; it would seem very strange that their companion and equal would not be.

It is also theorized that Tom is a Maia, but this is unlikely due to the fact that that "Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn...he knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless — before the Dark Lord came from Outside.."

Quotes
"Eldest, that's what I am...Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn...he knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless &mdash; before the Dark Lord came from Outside.."

- The Fellowship of the Ring

"Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow, Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow. None have ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the master: His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster."

- The Fellowship of the Ring

Trivia

 * In April 2008, 3-D entertainment model producer Gentle Giant Studios, Inc., headquartered in Burbank, California, released an exclusive sculpted Tom Bombadil bust, limited to 1000 pieces, for the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con. Licensed under New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings franchise. TOM BOMBADIL BUST - Gentle Giant Studios
 * Tom Bombadil is a hero, summoned through his respective power, in The Battle for Middle Earth II, Rise of the Witch King.