Tom Bombadil and gods of our world’s mythologies

[Priya]

A Parallelism of Celtic gods from Wales, Ireland and France

Over the years, I’ve noted some astute folk voice that understanding Tom Bombadil is key to understanding The Lord of the Rings. I think their intuition is correct. For my decade long research into this character has allowed me to grasp Tolkien’s genius in a way that others have not been able to appreciate.

I dealt with Bombadil’s godly alter ego Lugh Lamfada in the thread: “The Standing Stone”. Therein I pointed to the existence of other real-world personalities he was covertly intended to represent. For Tom was meant to be a source of not only the ‘little old man from our fairy tales’ but also various ‘gods of myth’. And it is these other latter representations that I wish to further expose. Let’s see if you end up seeing things the way I have.



The god Esus

So Lugh, the Irish cognate of the continental Gaul god Lugus, isn’t the only Celtic deity I wish to discuss. I also want to briefly mention the Celtic god ‘Esus’* from Gaul. There is little known about him. Yet what information we do have tells us his Celtic name translates as ‘Master’, and that he has power over the willow-tree.

A Bas-relief from France depicts him as a bearded woodman striking a willow, and ancient writings record how trees (in rituals to the god) were used to bind people against for punishment purposes. From all of this one can see shades of Master Bombadil’s rebuke of Old Man Willow and the trapping of Merry and Pippin incident!

“ ‘My friends are caught in the willow-tree,’ cried Frodo breathlessly.”

– The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest

“Tom, sprang away, and breaking off a hanging branch smote the side of the willow with it.”

– The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest

‘Esus’, Stone Carving found under Notre Dame Cathedral, France
 (The god is depicted as smiting a willow tree)

Esus is discussed in some detail by Professor John Rhys (Tolkien’s one-time lecturer) in the Hibbert Lectures (papers which Tolkien could well have run across). Goldberry - who has not been discussed (yet) was also configured in my opinion to be a ‘source’ - with her makeup following traditional Germanic myth of water-entity elementals transforming from water-lilies to water-nymphs, but desiring and requiring a soul for eternal salvation. I have speculated that Tolkien’s intent was for Tom’s ‘breath’ in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil poem to impart a ‘fairy tale soul’ to Goldberry**. So perhaps most remarkable is that Rhys has noted some scholars:

“… connect Esus with the Sanskrit asu-s, the ‘breath of life, …’ ”.
– Lectures on the origin and growth of religion as illustrated by Celtic heathendom, The Gaulish Pantheon – pg. 61, John Rhys, 1892

And that Esus’ Roman equivalent, Silvanus, lost a ring stolen by a man Senicianus. Inscribed on a tablet*** was a curse:

“For the god Nodens. Silvianus has lost a ring … Among those named Senicianus permit no good health until it is returned to the temple of Nodens.”

– Translation of inscriptions found on a stone tablet, Silchester excavation

That is if to Tolkien, Silvanus = Silvianus. Anyhow, Silvanus, bearded – like Tom, was a god who governed wild forests as well as watching over farmers and land boundaries. Hmm … yet more incredibly meaningful tie-ins****!



… to be continued



* Tolkien comments on the Gallo-Roman inscription ‘Esugen[ius]’ and its counterpart ‘Esuganios’ in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, J.R.R. Tolkien & E.V. Gordon, 1925 – Notes to line 109. These are spelling variants of ‘Esugenus’ and ‘Esugenos’ – “son of Esus”*(see Wikipedia comments on the entry ‘Esus’).*Tolkien’s awareness of the Gaulish god ‘Esus’ is thus presumed.

Tolkien specifically stated when commenting on Gawain’s name:

“The true form of the name ends in -wain, as do many Celtic names, e.g. Iwain and Agrawain. This ending goes back to Primitive Celtic -ganios; Iwain … is from Esuganios (cf. the Gallo-Roman inscription Esugen[ius]).”
– Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Notes to line 109 – pg. 83, J.R.R. Tolkien & E.V. Gordon, 1925

Thus provided was a philological connection of Iarwain (aka Bombadil) to the god Esus.

** Through distorted ‘hobbit-lore’ (carried down through the ages) whereby seemingly, metamorphosis of a lily to a ‘woman’ occurred when Goldberry dragged Bombadil under the water-lilies. Tom:

"went a-wallowing under the water-lilies, bubbling and a-swallowing"
- The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, 1934 & 1962 release

*** It is reasonable to assume Tolkien knew of both the curse tablet and the ring because of his technical paper:*The Name ‘Nodens’,*produced for Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1932. Wheeler being*in charge of excavations at Lydney Park (the site of a Roman temple in Gloucestershire), consulted and enlisted Tolkien’s opinions. Wheeler was certainly knowledgeable on both matters.

**** Think Old Man Willow, Farmer Maggot and the ‘borders’ of Tom’s land!

[Priya]

The god Lleu

Along with Esus and Lugh – also contrived, I believe, as possessing fragmentary links in antiquity to Bombadil was Lleu a Welsh Celtic demigod of The Mabinogion. Lleu’s title was similar to Lugh’s – yet slightly different. He was known as Lleu Llaw Gyffes: ‘Bright One of the steady hand’. A semblance of such dexterity was likely mirrored through Tom and his careful transportation of Goldberry’s water-lilies:

“In his hands he carried on a large leaf as on a tray a small pile of white water-lilies.”

– The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest

We then see the leaf and lilies skillfully balanced using one hand:

“ ‘Whoa! Whoa! steady there!’ cried the old man, holding up one hand, …”.

– The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest

Even after his leap, in outrage at the willow’s entrapment of the two younger hobbits, no lilies were lost:

“ ‘What?’ shouted Tom Bombadil, leaping up in the air.”

– The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest

It isn’t till after his aerial display of gymnastics that we see him:

“Setting down his lilies carefully on the grass, …”.

– The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest

And then*in a final flourish, after picking them back up, flaunted again is supremely confident one-handed stability as Tom:

“… with a beckoning wave of his hand went hopping and dancing along the path …”.

– The Fellowship of the Ring, The Old Forest

Hmm … Bombadil certainly possessed a ‘steady hand’ – no arguing that!



Now Lleu in legend was married to the beautiful goddess Blodeuwedd* whose name means ‘flower face’**. Supposedly she was made by a great magician from the essence of flowers alone solely to be Lleu’s bride. Again we see a floral resonance given Goldberry’s close relationship with water-lilies and how European lore has mythologized them metamorphosing into female nymphs. It’s also curious how the etymological family name (Nymphæaceæ) to which both English varieties (white and yellow) belong – has Greek roots which roughly translate to: ‘be a bride’!

… to be continued


* Blodeuwedd has another meaning in Welsh, namely: ‘Owl’. Traditionally the owl is shunned by all other birds – destined to spend day and night alone, or with a mate. Juxtaposed is Goldberry’s explicit lack of companions in the mythology after marriage to Tom – particularly those of humanoid form. She, in a way, appears to be alone.

** Interestingly in Irish legend, Cuchulainn (Lugh’s avatar) loved Blathnat, which means ‘little flower’. A flower theme connection thus appears in both Welsh and Irish Celtic legends.