Legends
It’s curious that below Tara - within hollow hills, as legend has it, dwelt the race of the Fairies. Here in Irish myth lay the entrance to the underground land of the Celtic daoine sithe (Tuatha Dé Dannan). A spiritual place whose famed hill, is under the guardianship of the greatest of Celtic gods: Lugh (also known as Lug and Lugus). And it’s this deity’s historically recorded mythical attributes that I want to bring out to the forefront. Because I see some of them reflected in our Tom Bombadil’s persona. As such, this lends to the idea that Tolkien made Tom an ultimate source.
Lugh, shown triple-faced, Reims region, France
From what we can tell from surviving statues, Lugh was crowned with leaves just like Tom’s:
“… thick brown hair was crowned with autumn leaves.”
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, In the House of Tom Bombadil
One of Lugh’s major characteristics is his ‘sun god’ depiction:
“… Lug … as a sun-god occupies a distinguished place in Irish legend.”
–
Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by Celtic Heathendom, The Zeus of the Insular Celts – pg. 210, J. Rhys, 1888
And indeed, it is not hard to see shades of the hypothetical origin of this ‘red-cheeked’ Celtic solar in The Lord of the Rings. For powerfully depicted, there was a ‘red-faced’ Tom at the barrow:
“… framed against the light of the sun rising red behind him.”
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs
Adding to a solar deity manifestation was Lugh’s other role as a Storm god – echoed in the following semblance:
“ ‘… I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. …’ ”.
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest
Interestingly the Celtic god was titled Lugh Lámfada meaning ‘Lugh of the Long Arm’. Once again this, I believe, was cleverly characterized in
The Lord of the Rings. This time through Master Bombadil immobilizing the hobbits beyond normal arm’s length:
“…holding up
one hand, and
they stopped short, as if they had been struck stiff.”
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest (my underlined emphasis)
Lugh was also described to be a ‘master of all trades’ which is perhaps reflected by Tolkien’s assignation of a ‘master’ title to Bombadil. Connected to the underworld by his mother’s marriage to the Formorian god Balor, Lugh shares a similarity of below earth mastery with Tom. Because Bombadil’s voice was heard:
“… as if it was coming down through the ground …”.
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs
Hopping and chanting before going into battle, Lugh’s unorthodox behavior was also mimicked in the skirmish involving Old Man Willow:
“… a deep glad voice was singing carelessly and … singing nonsense … hopping … along the path, … there came into view a man, or so it seemed.”
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest
Lugh was ultimately more powerful than the Formorian leader, and arch enemy of the Tuatha Dé Dannan, the baleful ‘one-eyed’ Balor. Exhibiting supremacy over the ‘eye’, the ‘trickster’ Lugh defeated Balor of the ‘Evil Eye’ just as Tom defeated Sauron’s magic:
“Then Tom put the Ring round the end of his little finger … There was no sign of Tom disappearing!”,
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, In the House of Tom Bombadil
“Tom … spun the Ring in the air – and it vanished with a flash.”
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, In the House of Tom Bombadil
Lugh also had a legal side. It seems that in emulating this god of ‘oaths and sworn contracts’, Tom consummated an implied promise:
“… he taught them a rhyme to sing, if they should … fall into any danger …”.
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, In the House of Tom Bombadil
Belted for battle with an enchanted green girdle – Tom would fulfill the compact and save them from disaster. In the nick of time he would arrive, but less like a mortal knight and more like a divine fairy. For the legend of Conn at Tara tells us that a “fairy prince” emerging from the fog:
“… disclosed the future history of his country …” and “… is stated to have been called
Lug, …”.
–
Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by Celtic Heathendom,*The Zeus of the Insular Celts – pg. 210, J. Rhys, 1888 (my underlined emphasis)
Because the disclosure was about future Irish monarchs we have a situation paralleled in
The Lord of the Rings. Another fairy-like being similarly transmitted to the hobbits a faërian projection of lordly men and a Gondorian king from the past with a premonition of perhaps one to come. When Bombadil:
“… spoke they had a vision as it were of a great expanse of years behind them, like a vast shadowy plain over which there strode shapes of Men, tall and grim with bright swords, and last came one with a star on his brow.”
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs
As myth handed down from time immemorial perhaps the Barrow-downs scene became distorted. Perhaps the fairy prince that rode out from the fog was really Tom on Fatty Lumpkin! And just maybe the legend morphed even more from a fairy rescue to one made by a Tolkienian deity!
Last, but not least, when it comes to Tara, Bombadil and Celtic fairy tales, it is really not that surprising that Tolkien strengthened the trio’s relationship by deliberately including an archaeological artifact of relevance: a brooch. One rooted on the famous ‘Brooch of Tara’.
The Celtic Brooch of Tara
Being arguably the most treasured of all Ireland’s ancient jewelry it is the only significant piece associated to the Hill of Tara. Again in a remarkable parallel, the most precious item of jewelry from the barrow-hoard was a brooch:
“He chose for himself from the pile a brooch …”.
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs
……
Now we should not expect everything known about Lugh to match up with our Tom. Legends, of course, usually only contain small amounts of truth. But what we see is perhaps a better match than expected, don’t you think?
Anyway, it’s to the standing stone that I want to return; with particular focus on its possible connection to an ‘otherworld’.