Tom Bombadil ... Tolkien's Holy Spirit of the Blessed Trinity

Abstract: Tom Bombadil is a manifestation of the grace of God on Middle-earth as the Holy Spirit / Holy Ghost, an element of the Christian Blessed Trinity. This exists in the form of three persons in one God (called by Tolkien Eru), namely God the Father (Eru Iluvatar) and the Son (the Logos, or word of God, not present in Tolkien's pre-Christian Middle-earth), and God the Holy Spirit (present as the Secret Fire / Flame Imperishable, which Tolkien stated was the Holy Spirit).

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Tolkien reading The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

Grace on Middle-earth

English academic and writer J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) refers to the Holy Spirit within his greater Middle-earth legendarium as the Secret Fire or Flame Imperishable, present at the creation of the universe, as outlined in the Ainulindalë, and subsequent to that. We know this from the fact that Gandalf the Grey stated that he was "servant of the Secret Fire" when facing to Balrog. Also, Tolkien's research assistant Clyde Kilby noted that during 1968 Tolkien ".... very specifically told me that the ‘Secret Fire sent to burn at the heart of the World’ in the beginning was the Holy Spirit" (Kilby 1976).

The Holy Spirit in Catholic theology is associated with grace. Grace, as a concept, is the Catholic presence of God on earth, assisting human kind is achieving a state of goodness, or godliness. Tolkien was a devout Catholic, a branch of Christianity. He stated in correspondence that his most popular work - The Lord of the Rings - was primarily a Catholic text, with Catholic themes. However, he masked those themes, and particular elements, so that the book would not appear preachy, doctrinaire or allegorical, but be received as a complex, though riveting work of fantasy fiction aimed at a general audience. In this he was extremely successful, producing a piece of fictional fantasy which has been deemed by popular opinion the greatest literary work of the twentieth century. This is despite the fact that buried within the narrative are aspects of Catholic theology, belief, teaching and characterisation. The Catholic Church accepts this and numerous articles have commented accordingly, whilst formal recognition of the author through canonisation as a saint of the church has been proposed. The Catholic core is most obvious in the theme of good versus evil; in the quest of a simple hobbit - Frodo Baggins - aided by friends, in the form of the Fellowship of the Ring, and foes such as Gollum, to defeat the evil Sauron and his forces through destruction of the ring of power - the One Ring. The Fellowship of the Ring assisted Frodo and his three hobbit colleagues in this task, much as the apostles supported Jesus Christ whilst on earth. When Tolkien was questioned regarding overt religious elements within The Lord of the Rings he would brush them aside, be as vague and obtuse as any academic professor can be, and skirt around the issue in order to maintain the book's secular fantasy fiction focus. As a result, to this day The Lord of the Rings is regarded universally as a general text, without overt religious (i.e. Catholic) bias and not viewed as Christian allegory, unlike The Chronicles of Narnia series published by his friend C.S. Lewis.

One of the characters to elicit questions and furrowed brows upon initial publication of The Lord of the Rings in 1954, and who Tolkien himself, somewhat begrudgingly, subsequently revealed to be an allegorical figure, was the enigmatic Tom Bombadil. Tom was unlike any other character in Middle-earth, and in the author's greater legendarium for that matter. He just did not seem to fit. What he was was never revealed by the author. Tolkien had commenced the compilation and writing of the legendarium in 1913, producing The Book of Lost Tales from 1916, completing much of it during the 1920s and 1930s prior to the writing of The Lord of the Rings between 1937-48 and its subsequent publication in 1954-5. The broader story of the greater legendarium was eventually edited and revealed in party by his son Christopher Tolkien after his father's death in 1975 and issued in 1977 as The Silmarillion.

Tom Bombadil was initially developed during the 1930s as an isolated, comic character for Tolkien's children, but expanded upon during the writing of The Lord of the Rings, though never fully integrated within the greater legendarium. Unlike many of the characters in the legendarium, and within both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien never gave a direct answer, or clear explanation, in regard to what the Tom Bombadil character was, preferring to present him as an enigma. He said plenty about who he was and his various activities over an extensive period, but not what he was. He was not elf, or man, or dwarf, or Ent, or any other known or described species of Middle-earth.

We are told that Tom was ageless and oldest, but he was not retrofitted into Tolkien's creation myth the Ainulindalë, wherein the Christian equivalents to God, in the form of the Blessed Trinity, and the Angles were presented at Eru and the Valar and Maia. Tolkien nevertheless provided clues which - so he said - would point to Bombadil's true nature. His wife Goldberry was similarly enigmatic, though to a lesser extent as she was presented by Tolkien as a water-based nature spirit and the so-called River woman's daughter. But she, like Tom, was so much more than that in reality.

As the author of this blog eventually came to realise, Tolkien's 'clues' regarding Tom Bombadil proved useful only if addressed from a distinctly Catholic perspective, and with the relevant theological background. This has very rarely been done, and one suspects was the way Tolkien wanted it, though he was also somewhat vague about the character in his own mind due to the often unconscious manner in which it was developed through his writing, and within the development of The Lord of the Rings in general. It seems that Tolkien, from an early age, hoped his work would, almost by a process of osmosis, promote basic Catholic beliefs in regard to leading a "good" life and as evidenced by the expression of compassion toward all sentient life on Earth.

Tolkien's greater legendarium, as seen in works from the First Age such as the Ainulindalë and Valaquenta, is likewise imbued with a Catholic core and, along with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit from the Third Age, continues to bear witness to, and promote, his vision and spirituality. The current blog seeks to unravel some of the aforementioned clues, from the perspective of a fan raised in the Catholic faith, but bearing no pretensions as to a deep understanding of its theological dogma. This blog is also only a brief summary of, and discussion around, the more fulsome account provided in the author's own 180+ page, 47,000 word text on who and, more significantly, what Tom Bombadil is, part of which also appeared in the 2022 publication by Daniel Côté Davis and the present author entitled Guests, Hosts and the Holy Ghost: Who Tolkien's Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are and why it really matters. So, let us begin....

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Who is Tom Bombadil?

Goldberry and Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil is a fictional character invented by J.R.R. Tolkien and included in a number of pieces of verse and prose published by him between 1934-68. The most substantial accounts of his life are contained within the verse The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1934 and 1962) and the narrative The Lord of The Rings (1954-5). He is a unique being within Tolkien's greater legendarium, and not a member of any of the races of Middle-earth, though of a form familiar to all. He has extensive powers over sentient beings and is both corporeal (i.e. has a physical body) and spirit. He is immortal and was present at the point of creation, so has knowledge of the history of Middle-earth and greater Arda. He is known by many different names and across an extensive geographical area.

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What is Tom Bombadil?

The following provides a quick answer to this question which has bemused and befuddled fans and students of Tolkien since the first part of The Lord of the Rings was published in 1954. The argument goes as follows:

Q1: Who, or what, is the Holy Spirit?

Answer: The Holy Spirit is part of the Blessed Trinity, an integral element of Catholic belief and dogma and the tripartite God figure. The Blessed Trinity - as referred to by Tolkien - comprises God the Father, God the Son (also known as the Word of God, or Logos) and God the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. The Blessed Trinity is three beings in one God.

Q2: Why is the Holy Spirit deemed "fatherless"?

Answer: God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are the only beings in the Catholic universe that are "fatherless", in both language terms and theologically, if not practically, because God the Son is not 'fatherless' in the context of human belief and language. The complex, seemingly irrational concept of "The One" God with three distinct and separate elements is at the core of the Catholic belief system. God, or The One as Tolkien writes, is seen as the creator of all things, in, for example, Heaven and upon Earth, with all three elements of God participating in that process, though with God the Father directing. God the Son was present at the time of creation as the Word of God, and subsequently seen in the earthly form of Jesus Christ. God the Holy Spirit was the force of creation of the physical universe, and subsequently manifesting on Earth in the form of grace to assist and empower human kind in achieving goodness in the face of evil. The Holy Spirit does not force human kind along this path, but offers assistance for individuals in their expression of free will through the provision of grace. The Holy Spirit is an enigma within the Catholic pantheon (Stewart n.d.)

Q3: What does it mean when we are told within The Lord of the Rings that Tom Bombadil is "fatherless"?

Answer: Tolkien refers to Bombadil as "fatherless" in order to make an unequivocal connection with the Holy Spirit. Tom Bombadil is Tolkien's manifestation on Middle Earth of the Holy Spirit of the Blessed Trinity.

Q4: Is there evidence to support the notion of Tom Bombadil as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit?

Answer: Yes. We are provided by Tolkien with the following information, or "clues" as to Tom Bombadil's true nature:

Tom Bombadil has existed since the beginning of time i.e., at the point of creation. Therefore, he must be God, because only God existed at the beginning of time according to Tolkien's Catholic belief;
Tom Bombadil is a spirit being, as evidenced by his ability to move between the real world of Middle-earth and its spirit equivalent when his places the One ring upon his finger, and is able to travel through space and time at an instant;
Tom Bombadil has the ability to create in Arda / Middle-earth, which he does through sound and language i.e., words and song, similar to the music of the Ainur within Tolkien's creative myth. Therefore, as only God has this power of creation, he must be God;
Tom Bombadil has the ability to give and restore life, as he does to the deceased hobbits in the cavern of the Burrow-wight, therefore connecting him to the creation spirit which Tolkien called the Flame Imperishable / Secret Fire and which he also revealed was the Holy Spirit, a part of the Blessed Trinity, i.e., God;
Tom Bombadil has the power to grant grace to the inhabitants of Middle-earth, including Frodo Baggins and his hobbit friends. This empowers them as they set out on their quest to destroy the One ring of power. One again, the Holy Spirit is that element of God which dispenses grace and empowers;
Tom Bombadil is impervious to the ring of power; and
Tom Bombadil does not seek to directly intervene in the quest by the sentient beings of Middle-earth to destroy the One ring of power, though he nevertheless empowers them to do so.

All of these many elements, which Tolkien has meaningfully included in The Lord of the Rings as his stated 'clues', point to Bombadil's equivalency to the Holy Spirit and to no other being on Arda or within Tolkien's greater legendarium, though Goldberry shares some of this. The powers and example above indicate Tom Bombadil's equivalency with, and connection to, the Blessed Trinity.

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Etymology

Tolkien's presentation of the role on Middle-earth of the Holy Spirit in creating and the granting of grace and free will can be seen in the development of his legendarium language. Tolkien has on a number of occasions stated that his whole concept began with development of a unique language as a foundation for the Middle-earth fictional history revealed in books such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. This is seen through the following genealogy:

Sä (fire) - Quenya 1915

feä (free will) - Quenya

Secret Fire - The Book of Lost Tales - The Music of the Ainur 1916

Imperishable Flame / Flame Imperishable - The Silmarillion 1920s / The Lord of the Rings 1937-48

Flame Imperishable = Holy Spirit (1966)

The active creative force / power of creation / wielded by Eru / granting of free will (Kilby 1976)

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In reality

The Holy Spirit / Holy Ghost is an integral element of Christianity, especially as it represents the actions of the grace of God on earth, and the power of God in assisting human kind to follow the path of goodness and compassion. There are numerous references to the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible. Outside of the Catholic tradition, the grace of God in the form of a real person is present in the Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic traditions. The Indian manifestation of Jesus Christ as Issa is referred to as the 'spirit of God', whilst the Quran contains a number of references to the work of Jesus Christ outside of the three years between 30-33A.D. when he was preaching and was crucified in Palestine.

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Summary

Tom Bombadil, as a manifestation upon Middle-earth of the Holy Spirit, is part of the Blessed Trinity and therefore the presence of God.

Within Tolkien's greater legendarium, God, or the Blessed Trinity, is named Eru or The One.

The God the Father equivalent in relation to Arda and Middle-earth is called by the Elves in their language Eru Ilúvatar, with the latter word referring to Father of All, as in God the Father.

In Tolkien's pre-Christian world of Arda and Middle-earth, God the Son is not physically present, though remains in existence as the Word of God, or the Logos.

In the pre-Christian world of Arda and Middle-earth, God the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is referred to as the Flame Imperishable or Secret Fire, and manifests on Middle-earth as Tom Bombadil.

From this information flows all other things, as revealed in The Lord of the Rings and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.

More fulsome descriptions of the argument for Tom Bombadil as Tolkien's manifestation of the Holy Spirit / Secret Fire / Flame Imperishable on Middle-earth are contained in the links at the header and footer of this article.

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References

Kilby, Clyde ....

Stewart, Don, Is the Holy Spirit a person?, Blue Letter Bible [website], n.d.

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Last updated: 5 July 2023

Michael Organ, Australia

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Tom Bombadil ... Tolkien's Holy Spirit of the Blessed Trinity

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