Category: LotR Fact

As soon as you saw the Argonath upon the opening of this great page, you probably started thinking, He’s got to have a Tom Bombadil article. So, here you go.

For those of you who haven’t read the book, this post isn’t for you. Sorry, if you haven’t read the book, this blog is not for you. Tom Bombadil was in the Old Forest between the Shire and Bree, and is the most puzzling enigma of Middle-Earth.

I have heard theories that Tom Bombadil is Eru Illuvatar, that he is Aule, or Ulmo, a random Maia, or even that he is a reincarnation of the Music of the Ainur itself, a theory which was quite interesting, but ultimately false. Each of these theories has one major flaw. I now present to you the true answer:

The answer to the Ultimate Question of Tom, Bombadil, and Goldberry is…. nobody knows, or will ever know. Tolkien even wrote in his letters: “Tom does not need speculation over, and is not improved by it. ” He is a nature spirit living in the Old Forest. That’s all there is to it. Tom Bombadil is, as Tom himself said, Tom Bombadil. When Frodo asked him who he was, he answered: “Don’t you know my name yet? That’s the only answer!” It really isn’t that complicated when you think about it.

This is the first post from Random LotR Fact That Popped Into My Head This Morning. It concerns two of my favourite characters: Gimli and Galadriel.

Most of you likely know the story of Galadriel’s gift to Gimli; he asked for a golden hair of hers, she gave him three. That’s all good, but what most of you don’t know, is that Feanor asked her for the exact same gift, three times, and she rejected him three times. So just to spite him, she gave Gimli 3. I can just imagine the ghost of Feanor absolutely freaking out when he heard this :D. Oh, and Social Media exists in Arda: after the third rejection, Unfinished Tales even says, ‘They were un-friends forever.’ My guess is she blocked him first.