Pet Theory about who Tom Bombadil is

[Eorl of Rohan]

This is not my theory, but a pet theory I heard from someone I play WoD with who is an intense Tolkien Fan. He believes that Tom Bombodil is none other than... the Witch King of Angmar.

That is, his HUMAN SIDE, which peeks out from time to time when he is not doped up by the evil influence of his ring.
He suffers from a split personality, a side-effect of the ring which could not completely take over the powerful will of the King of Angmar and satisfied itself with taking control of his evil side.

This explains why he:

(1) is not influenced by the One Ring (he is already possessed by one of the nine rings and is subservient to the One Ring, so he is not influenced by its temptation)
(2) would throw away the One Ring if he was given it for safekeeping (he is the good - or escapist, if you prefer it - side, why would he want to be involved in the matter of the One Ring?)
(3) lives alone in the woods with only Goldberry for company
(if you knew that insanity takes over you periodically, wouldn't you want to retreat to a deep forest to rest and get away from it all and treasure the few days of sanity that is granted you?)
(4) is able to dissipate the barrow-wights, and right after that, the Nazgul somehow know where the fellowship is and comes to attack them.

What do you think? I know, too far-fetched, but do you have any concrete proof that could disprove this theory?
I myself believe that Tom Bombadil is the embodiment of the Forces of Nature itself, but he claims that Tolkien was too much of a Christian to put so much power in Nature...

[Inziladun]

I think I've actually heard that theory before, though I seem to remember it being presented in a joking fashion.

However, the indications are that the Witch-king, as all the Nazgûl, was completely conquered by his ring, and an extension of Sauron's will.
In the Unfinished Tales chapter The Hunt For the Ring, we are told:

At length [Sauron] resolved that no others would serve him in this case but his mightiest servants, the Ringwraiths, who had no will but his own, being each utterly subservient to the ring that had enslaved him, which Sauron held.

(empahsis added)

Also,

.....if one of [the Nazgûl], even the Witch-king their captain, had seized the One Ring, he would have brought it back to his Master.

It seems clear there was no 'partial conquest' of the WK's will, allowing for inner debate. That was Gollum's problem.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I think I've actually heard that theory before, though I seem to remember it being presented in a joking fashion.

However, the indications are that the Witch-king, as all the Nazgûl, was completely conquered by his ring, and an extension of Sauron's will.
In the Unfinished Tales chapter The Hunt For the Ring, we are told:

(empahsis added)

Also,



It seems clear there was no 'partial conquest' of the WK's will, allowing for inner debate. That was Gollum's problem.

I agree with you.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

I agree with you.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

I would agree as well, and add that there is nothing to support the idea in Tolkien's writings. Gollum's "split personality" is about as close as you get, and that is nothing more than an internal struggle. In order for the Witch King to be Bombadil, he would have to somehow be able to regain visible physicality, which he lost a long time ago to the fading influence of his ring (remember what Gandalf tells Frodo about the nature of the ring of power upon mortals who possess them). If we're talking about a literal split, ala the old Star Trek good-Kirk/evil-Kirk, there is absolutely nothing in Tolkien's tales that indicate a possibility of such an occurrence. It's an interesting notion, but not one that can really work, IMHO.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I realise that may seem cryptic to the uninitiated.

So: there was recently a member by the name of MOON SHAH who had a most unusual conversational style, consisting as it did of replying, "I agree with you" to any post whatever.

Sadly, MOON SHAH was banned. Apparently the mods here don't like yes-men (or yes–bots, whatever).

...Anyway, carry on.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Eorl of Rohan

(1) is not influenced by the One Ring (he is already possessed by one of the nine rings and is subservient to the One Ring, so he is not influenced by its temptation)
(2) would throw away the One Ring if he was given it for safekeeping (he is the good - or escapist, if you prefer it - side, why would he want to be involved in the matter of the One Ring?)
(3) lives alone in the woods with only Goldberry for company
(if you knew that insanity takes over you periodically, wouldn't you want to retreat to a deep forest to rest and get away from it all and treasure the few days of sanity that is granted you?)
(4) is able to dissipate the barrow-wights, and right after that, the Nazgul somehow know where the fellowship is and comes to attack them.

In answer to each fallacy listed above:

(1) Simply, the WiKi would not have returned the Ring to Frodo once he had it. That logically makes no sense whatsoever. He would have killed Frodo and that would have been that: the shortest Tolkien story on record.

(2) Nowhere is it said that Bombadil would 'throw away the Ring', rather, he would simply forget about it, lose it or mislay it as it had no power over him and he had no desire for it.

(3) What does living in the woods with Goldberry have anything to do with Nazgul? How, in any stretch of the imagination, does cohabiting with Goldberry make Tom the WitchKing? On the contrary, this proves that Tom is in no way related to the WiKi because a) the Nazgul are not shape-shifters, they remain in their formless nature throughout the books, b) they never appear in a beautiful guise, c) their spirits are only given form by the cloaks and helms they wear. They don't suddenly sprout beards and go in for garish apparel and yellow boots.

(4) It was daylight that destroyed the barrow wights. Gandalf employed the same tactics to turn the Trolls to stone in The Hobbit. The Nazgul were searching for the Hobbits in the area, and the Ring certainly acts as a beacon to draw them to their prey.

[Sardy]

Cool theory!! Don't necessily agree with it, but definitely fun to ponder...!

Originally Posted by Eorl of Rohan

What do you think? I know, too far-fetched, but do you have any concrete proof that could disprove this theory?

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it estabished that Tom Bombadil existed long before the birth of the Witch King?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Hey, maybe I am imagining this, but I have the insuppressible feeling that there was a thread posing exactly the same theory from long time ago somewhere here at the 'Downs...

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Hey, maybe I am imagining this, but I have the insuppressible feeling that there was a thread posing exactly the same theory from long time ago somewhere here at the 'Downs...

Quite possibly, but that's not where it started. (Look at the date on the linked article– this "theory" has been around a long time!)

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Quite possibly, but that's not where it started. (Look at the date on the linked article– this "theory" has been around a long time!)

Oh yes. I knew I'd seen that before. The Tolkien Sarcasm Page is a goldmine.

[Lalaith]

My favourite crackpot theory is Gwahir = Manwe


But hey, lets roll with this...

Asfaloth was able to ride through the Ford because was actually Huan the hound of Valinor (who as we know was unusually large)

Unbeknownst to most of the Wise, the spirit of Aredhel slipped out of the Halls of Mandos during the Third Age, returned to Middle Earth and, realising that the Tooks were the Noldor of the Hobbit world, settled in the Shire as Belladonna Took. That's how Bilbo got his adventurous side and ability to hold out against the Ring.


Beren had an illicit relationship of an unusual kind during his wanderings (blame the mind tricks played by the haunted Taur-nu-Fuin) and the direct descendant of the resulting offspring was Beorn.

[Lastande Took]

Tom Bombadil was Treebeard's third cousin twice removed on his mother's side, and his second cousin once removed on his father's side.

Glorfindel was Arwen's superhero identity.

Arwen actually convinced Elrond to let her marry Aragorn by threatening to elope with Pippin if she couldn't have her Ranger.

Sherlock Holmes was Gandalf's persona in Victorian England.

[Galadriel]

I think I've posted here before (too lazy to check) but I don't think so. Why?

1. Gandalf, Elrond and Glorfindel seem to know him. And Gandalf appears to trust him, though find him irresponsible.
2. If he really was the Witch-King, he would have just ripped Frodo and the others apart at the Willow and not saved their skins.
3. He certainly would not have handed Frodo back the Ring when he took it for a moment.
4. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil would turn into something else.