[Overtaxed]

Ok...who's older Bombadil or Treebeard? (Since Ents have already been brought up, I don't think I'll be spoiling anything new.)

From Encyclopedia of Arda Treebeard is "immensly old" and Tom is "very old indeed." However, I did find out that Ents originated in Middle Earth shortly after the Elves so I would say that Tom is the Oldest. Treebeard must be the oldest of the Ents.

[Wordsmith]

Not to jump ahead, but I believe Gandalf refers twice to Treebeard as the oldest living creature in Middle Earth. A slip by Tolkien? Or here's a wild possibility. Gandalf, at Rivendell, mentions having "completely forgotten" about Bombadil. Is it possible that there is something about Bombadil that keeps him from remaining in mind, even for Gandalf? Is this why Gandalf, mistakenly, calls Treebeard the eldest?