Tom Bombadil ... Tolkien's Holy Spirit of the Blessed Trinity
Tom Bombadil: Dead Hobbits & Barrow-wights | TB Playing Cards | Tom Bombadil (TB) - Evolution | TB - Excellent spirit | TB - Guests, Hosts ... | Tolkien's Holy Spirit | Religious Bibliography | Tolkien's Koala | TB - Powers (Video) | TB - The Mystery Solved (Video) | TB - Who is? Part 1 (Video) | TB - Who is? Part 2 (Video) | TB - Who is he really? (Video)
Tolkien reading The Adventures of Tom Bombadil |
Goldberry and Tom Bombadil |
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.
Q5: 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.
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
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feä (free will) - Quenya
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Secret Fire - The Book of Lost Tales - The Music of the Ainur 1916
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Imperishable Flame / Flame Imperishable - The Silmarillion 1920s / The Lord of the Rings 1937-48
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Flame Imperishable = Holy Spirit (1966)
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The active creative force / power of creation / wielded by Eru / granting of free will (Kilby 1976)
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 Quoran 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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Reference
Stewart, Don, Is the Holy Spirit a person?, Blue Letter Bible [website], n.d.
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Tom Bombadil: Dead Hobbits & Barrow-wights | TB Playing Cards | Tom Bombadil (TB) - Evolution | TB - Excellent spirit | TB - Guests, Hosts ... | Tolkien's Holy Spirit | Religious Bibliography | Tolkien's Koala | TB - Powers (Video) | TB - The Mystery Solved (Video) | TB - Who is? Part 1 (Video) | TB - Who is? Part 2 (Video) | TB - Who is he really? (Video)
Last updated: 5 July 2023
Michael Organ
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