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A Tolkien Virgin: The Fellowship of the Ring - Book 1 - Chapters 7 & 8by Mark-EdmondThe Journey Continues "Before long, washed and refreshed, the hobbits were seated at the table, two on each side, while at either end sat Goldberry and the Master. It was a long and merry meal..." Chapter 7 In the house of Tom BombadilWow! Wow! WOW! Tom Bombadil!? I'm at a loss for words... so now I'm wracking my brain from my Silmarillion read last year trying to figure out if he's a maiar or ainur that I'm familiar with.He has to be at...

Love in the treesTom Bombadil and the Ents have buried themselves in little niches and it seems there is no digging them up for new discussion. We should try to change that. The most common question asked about Bombadil is, "Why didn't the Ring affect him?" In reality, that question should be, "Why didn't Bombadil want the Ring." There is a difference. I believe the Ring did affect old Tom, at least to the extent that it roused his curiosity and drew his interest long enough that he had to satisfy himself regarding whether he was still his own master.As...

Who was Tom Bombodil? An Essay by Gene Hargrove An earlier version of this paper was published in Mythlore, no. 47 (August 1986). This version takes into account criticism of the essay and my response in Beyond Bree. Within the Tolkien household Tom Bombadil was originally a Dutch doll belonging to one of Tolkien's children (Carpenter, Tolkien, p. 162; Grotta-Rurska, Tolkien, p. 101). Tolkien later wrote a poem about him called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil," published in Oxford Magazine in 1934, long before the writing of the Lord of the Rings began. When Tolkien decided to introduce Tom into...