Astonishing though this may seem, the subject of Tom Bombadil's origins has turned up once or twice during the history of the forum. A
search of
The Books and
Haudh-en-Ndengin for threads with the words 'Tom' and 'Bombadil' in their titles returns just over a page of links, of which I give some dealing specifically with who and what Tom is below. The simple answer is that nobody does or can know who Tom Bombadil is supposed to be, and that Tolkien deliberately didn't tell anyone, probably because he couldn't think of a satisfactory explanation. In reality Tom was incorporated into
LR from some earlier stories and poems about a doll owned by Tolkien's children, none of which originally had anything to do with Middle-earth or
The Hobbit. This is why he cannot easily be placed within the
Silmarillion and
LR cosmology. The opinions of most longer-standing members on this subject can be found in Fordim Hedgethistle's poll
Who or What is Tom Bombadil, which kicked off in December 2005.
Who do you think Tom Bombadil really was (Started by Orald/Durelen, 12th November, 2000).
Re Tom Bombadil (Started by Pippin, 19th November, 2001).
AGood Essay on Tom Bombadil. (Started by Elendur, 13th January, 2002). Links to an essay entitled
Who is Tom Bombadil?
Tom Bombadil (Started by Maeglom, 1st May, 2002).
What is Tom Bombadil (Started by steve, 24th July, 2002).
Tom Bombadil - Maiar ? (Started by kingangmar, 1st August, 2002).
Bombadil: The Reader (Started by Olorin, 23rd July, 2003). Links to an essay that suggests Bombadil is an embodiment of the reader.
Bombadil as Aule? (Started by Lord of Angmar, 21st July, 2003). Suggests just what it says on the tin.
bombadil being a dwarf (Started by lore_master, 2nd October, 2003).
Tom Bombadil (Started by Maverick, 24th January, 2004).