Who is Tom Bombadil?

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SPECIAL GUEST: Edoardo Albert - Who is Tom Bombadil? Who on (Middle) earth
is Tom Bombadil? The question has vexed generations of fans and probably
produced more speculation than any other aspect of the mythology of Middle
Earth. The Good Professor himself is little help in answering the question.
ÔÉ and even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always
are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally).Õ The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
p174. Given this statement it seems unlikely we will ever decide who Ôthe
MasterÕ is, which is just as well, but to keep the stone rolling I would
like to offer some new interpretations which I have not come across
elsewhere. These speculations are based on the work of Dr John Carey of
University College, Cork, who has been examining how the ancient Celtic
myths of Ireland were recorded and Ñ to a degree Ñ even accepted by the
Catholic monks who wrote them down and thus preserved them. This is
interesting both intrinsically and also because I would think it likely
that Tolkien himself knew these sources and the problem these Irish
Catholic monks were struggling with was one familiar to Tolkien: how to
reconcile his fundamental Catholic faith with his love for the pagan lore
and legends of these isles? Now the Irish monks of the sixth century onwards
were faced with the same problem. While the rest of Europe was struggling
against waves of barbarian invasions Ireland enjoyed three hundred years of
relative peace during which it earned the title Ôthe land of saints and
scholars.Õ Around the great basin of the Mediterranean the old gods of
Greece and Rome had long ceased to be objects of religious awe, becoming
either buffoons or degenerates and sometimes both at once (Zeus seems to
have spent most of his time assuming animal shapes and violating beautiful
virgins). So it was not surprising that the early Church adopted one of two
modes of explanation of the Classical gods: either they were human beings of
long ago whose tales had, over the course of centuries, become so inflated
that they were deemed to be gods (an idea which goes under the name, believe
it or not, of euhemerism), or they were demons, delegates of the fallen
angel Lucifer sent to deceive mankind. And given the centuries of
persecution and martyrdom endured by the Church in a Roman state under the
tutelage of these old gods it is not surprising that the verdict of the
Church Fathers on the Classical pantheon was harsh. But in Ireland the
situation was different. There Christianity had but lately supplanted
druidism and had done so peacefully. Indeed John Carey speculates that many
members of druidic families may well have entered the Church themselves,
bringing with them, largely intact, the legends and stories of the old gods.
So, the monks had a problem. Should they simply declare the old gods to be
demons, defeated by the new God, Christ? All the records, according to John
Carey, show they were extremely reluctant to do that. Instead, over the
coming few centuries various scribes and monks Ñ the two terms being pretty
well synonymous at the time Ñ proposed variations on three, theologically
very daring, schemes. Their first reading of the old legends was that the
old gods were half fallen angels. That is, when Lucifer rebelled against God
and was expelled with his followers from Heaven there was a third group of
angels who sided neither with Lucifer, nor with St Michael the Archangel,
but rather were undecided. Thus, although they could no longer dwell in
Heaven, yet they did not deserve hell. So they were expelled to the midway
point between Heaven and hell, to the Earth, the Middle Earth. Therefore,
according to this idea, the old gods were indeed truly supernatural
creatures, but not demonic, nor yet quite angelic, but rather set apart on
Earth as Ôwise, benevolent and blessed beingsÕ (Carey 98). What relevance
does this have to Tom Bombadil? Well, the idea of half fallen angels has an
echo in the Ainulindale when some of the Ainur, dismayed at the clamour
raised up by Melkor, fall silent, not joining with MelkorÕs theme but
neither singing the music of Illuvatar. However, I cannot say that Tom
Bombadil seems to be in any way a creature who cannot make up his mind
between good and evil. But if Tom was an Ainur it would explain both his
great power and also, possibly, his age. And it would suggest an answer to
how, as Glorfindel suggests, Tom Bombadil could be ÔLast as he was First,Õ
since one would guess the penalty for a half fallen angel would indeed be
expulsion from the heavenly realms until the final resolution of all
things. So that is one possible reading of Tom Bombadil. Another is based on
the even more theologically daring explanation adopted by some monks for the
old gods that Ôthese undying, unfallen beings areÉ descended from Adam, a
branch of the human race which somehow escaped the contagion of the Fall
with all its dire consequencesÕ (Carey 98). Thus the old gods were not
demons but rather true human beings in the state of perfection in which we
were originally created by God. How does this fit with Tom? Well, I must
say I find attractive the idea that Tom Bombadil may represent primordial
man, unfallen and unsullied, and that would certainly explain why the Ring
can have no power over him, and why he has no fear. And another area where
this interpretation resonates is that if Tom is primordial man he would
indeed be the first and the last. If one looks at Genesis chapter 2, there
one sees an account of creation where Adam is created first and then the
ÔLord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and
brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man
called every living creature, that was its nameÕ (Genesis 2:19-20). This
seems to me to approximate to Tom being the Master yet not owning the land
and creatures where he lives. They are each their own but Tom is their
Master, like Adam in the Garden before the Fall. The final explanation
adopted by the old Catholic monks of Ireland for the old gods of their land
is one that Tolkien certainly employed for his own mythology, even if he was
unaware that he had been anticipated. For they suggested that the old gods
were, in fact, angels, pure and simple, messengers from God Himself sent to
prepare the way for the coming of Christ. In the mythology of Middle Earth
the Valar are, of course, angels rather than gods, so our final suggestion
for Tom is that he may be a fully fledged, completely unfallen Valar. But
for myself he seems just too earthy to be an angel. So, is Tom a half
fallen angel, an angel on holiday, or AdamÕs unfallen twin brother? Of
course, I cannot say for certain, but I hope you might have found
interesting how other people, many centuries before the Good Professor,
struggled to solve problems similar to those he wrestled with himself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ R
eferences. Quotations are from a lecture by Dr John Carey (19/1/98) Early
Irish Christianity: the Baptism of the Gods. Lecture given at the Temenos
Academy. Cassette available from: The Temenos Academy, PO Box 203, Ashford,
Kent TN25 5ZT. E-mail: stephe...@ashfordtelecom.net Books by Dr John
Carey include: A Single Ray of the Sun: Religious Speculation in Early
Ireland. Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. ISBN
189127103-. King of Mysteries: Early Irish Religious Writings. Four Courts
Press, Dublin. ISBN 185182572X. The Celtic Heroic Age: Translations of
early Celtic fragments). Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. ISBN
1891271040.

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