I agree. The Barrow downs were terrifying. Just down the road from the east-farthing border if I recall and a stone’s throw from Fredager’s house in my mind. I loved that chapter
His REAL untold power were his bright blue jacket, and his yellow boots. (P.S. - WHY does Tom look so angry and pissed off in all these illustrations?)
I think Tom is the something like the embodiment of the song of the ainur and middle earth itself. Powerful but neutral, not truly even having a will of his own, therefore unable to be corrupted or concerned with good or evil
Interesting, I think similarly, I think it’s J.R in his own story as the writer. But based off him making the books him being the song itself would also make sense. All of them singing created a creature that could create the world.
The vengeful trees were also protected by their twisty shapes, which made them useless as ship lumber. For details, consult the Taoist tale of "The Useless Tree", told by Chuang Tzu.
Now, that I listen to it from another perspective... it really sounds lke Tom is some sort of aspect of Eru Illuvatar himself, if not himself in " human" form. Enjoying his creation from ground level so to speak. The ring had no effect on him mentally and didn't make him invisible either. But he seemed to know what it was. His aloof nature, talking to trees, always singing (Arda was also created with a song, and Tom using song or melodic phrases for his "magic"). Must have been Eru's vacation home and attire :), while he was not workinhlg, tinkering somewhere far away in his universe or visiting wherever it is human souls go when they die... because he is the only one who knows where that is (probably somewhere near Independence, Missouri... if you know, you know). Tom Bombadil is a character from one of the books Tolkien wrote for his children before LotR. So it could also be that he's just visiting from that realm (as an Easter-egg for his kids), which is maybe why the ring does not affect him and he only has absolute power in a "small" area.
Just my thoughts...if I recall correctly there were three different themes in the ainulindalle..each time melkor raised discord, eru changed the theme ...in the end eru said that all things were to his will , even the discord of melkor. So ...what if eru himself had sang Tom into existence for the sole purpose of rescuing the hobbits from the wights and old father willow , as Eru would know all that would come to pass. The ainur and valar sang some but perhaps not all onto arda..what's to say Eru didn't sing a few things himself ...and just didn't say anything about it
Opinion post not specifically about Tolkien. I think of Tom as something I like to call a Primal Intent... something akin to an avatar of a greater being, in this case of Iluvitar themself, but less an embodiment of the greater being and more an embodiment of the intention of that greater being. This is not a theory specific to Tolkiens world, but one I have been considering for story telling and mythology at large. The greater the being from which the Primal Intents are birthed the greater thier inherent powers. In Tom's case he was created at the moment this world's trees and forests were first created and even before. He is the 'keeper' of all healthy things that are green and grow, a remnant of the sheer magnitude that is Iluvitar and the music they orchestrated. He is much the same as The Geen Man in our earthly mythology as a creature bent to the intentions of the spirit empowering them, if perhaps more outwardly obvious with the seemingly mercurial but cunningly adroit behaviors. They both would seem to be willful of their own right and through their own consciousness, but both also show these inescapable responsibilities they are beholden to that are clearly the design of someone else. Other examples of primal intents are everywhere in stories, sometimes with names for specific types of them. Some native people have the idea of Elementals, protective entities tied to specific locations created by the intent of whole tribes focused through ritual. I bring this up because there are very often in myth and fantasy these beings that sit just beyond the edge of full explanation, but have very clear connections to a source/creator and immutable purpose, and I think we need a way to catagorize these things that is respectful of the mystery of how exactly they came to be and allow us to discuss them collectively as a sort of loose archetype.
I like the tale very much and enjoy listening to your voice. But I don't understand why we are constantly shown pictures of Gandalf or other rather wizard-like folks instead of Tom Bombadil.
There is definitely a parallel to his humming/song having power and the creation of the world having been done through song. Maybe he does have a relationship with the Valar in some way. My belief is that he was simply around early enough to hear the music of the Valar during the creation. Definitely an interesting character.
"beware because there will exist a power in the forests whose anger your children will arouae at their peril. There shall be the Shepherds of the Trees!'" TOM WAS THE SHEPHERD OF THE TREES, A MAIA LIKE MELIAN WHO ROMANCED AN ELF, GOLDBERRY! HE WAS THE SHEPHERD OF THE ENTS AND HUORNS!
I think it has a unique comparison to within Tolkien's universe. Melkor could not create or make new things, only warp what was there. AI is much like him, only warping and perverting what already exists.
@matthew5876 Apt comparison. There are few things that genuinely terrify me but AI destroying human creativity is one of them. It's wild to think about the possible future in which humanity no longer creates art or stories that come from the soul.
AI is just a tool, blame the tool user not the tool as there is no "Intellegence" (yet) just predefined data gathering. Art has always been inspired by other work and is full of recreations, copies, etc. Even Tolkien based his work on Nordic edda's, Ring der Nibelungen, etc. AI has just made this process easier, and made the creation of art accessible to people who are not skilled with a pencil or brush or digital art software. And even though based on other's (like most art) every piece is just as unique as any unique artwork. The same prompt will have a different result each time you run it. It's basically a single stroke brush... It also allows is create things we never could have created at all before. In regars to art by it's very nature it creates ot based on millions (of not more) of data points and existing source material. A human could never achieve that not in 10 life times. And as said it has spawned a whole new generation of artists, which would not be artists were it not for AI. And in a way the prompts that are created are a piece of unique art on to themselves.
@@jurgenolivieira1878 While I understand your ideas, art is something that comes from human emotion and soul and failure and hard work. Do you think The Course Of Empire could ever truly compare to the prompt "create a series of images depicting different stages of an ancient civilization". Alternatively, let's say two friends whom you equally like gifted you a quilt for a special occasion. One spent 40 hours meticulously cutting out different squares of fabric, making sure they were perfectly spaced and sewn together. The other friend ordered it from temu. While you appreciate both gifts, you may even like them evenly, which one would you truly hold dear? The one that took someone's incredibly valuable time, energy, pain from getting poked while sewing. Not everyone that wants to be an artist should or could be an artist. The same way I'm never going to play professional football.
It's pretty clear that Tom is a thematic Maia, the spirit of the Old Forest personified. He speaks of when the Old Forest stretched far beyond its third age bounds, and how inside the Old Forest, none is a match for him, who is the Master there. He is likely one of the chief servants of Yavanna, and has been in the Old Forst since it first sprouted back when the stars were new.
@@Deathbynoob93 …reverberating melodies, and endless overtones, echoing infinitely in space, and endlessly through time, vibrations waxing and waning along with newly formed chords, unintentional, but pure and good, find a seemingly new song, in a different place, and all through time, the spirit of Tom Bombadil was formed at that very spot to hear, and to sing. And he will continue to sing the echoes and reverberations of the songs. He keeps them alive, and he allows them to grow. Tom Bombadil was there to here the first music, as the very first music was to have him dance and sing its tune. 🎶✨
so powerful they couldnt even put him in a movie
I like that quite a bit.
I was hoping to see his character.
Tom Bombadil is Santa and no one can tell me different!!
I so wish they would have put Tom And the Barrow Downs in the movie. Scariest place in the whole book to me
I agree. The Barrow downs were terrifying. Just down the road from the east-farthing border if I recall and a stone’s throw from Fredager’s house in my mind. I loved that chapter
Tom Bambadil has always interested me, seems like the most mysterious lotr character!
Really good! Just subbed.
Tom's power does nor end at the border. He just doesn't choose to pass borders he created.
His REAL untold power were his bright blue jacket, and his yellow boots.
(P.S. - WHY does Tom look so angry and pissed off in all these illustrations?)
But what does the scouter say about his power level!?
I think Tom is the something like the embodiment of the song of the ainur and middle earth itself. Powerful but neutral, not truly even having a will of his own, therefore unable to be corrupted or concerned with good or evil
Interesting, I think similarly, I think it’s J.R in his own story as the writer. But based off him making the books him being the song itself would also make sense. All of them singing created a creature that could create the world.
Tom is Tolkien ! Even Christopher Tolkien hinted at this !
That rings true to me , feels right .
I believe that in his notes he stated that he was farimir
Wrong he was a doll¥
The vengeful trees were also protected by their twisty shapes, which made them useless as ship lumber. For details, consult the Taoist tale of "The Useless Tree", told by Chuang Tzu.
Now, that I listen to it from another perspective... it really sounds lke Tom is some sort of aspect of Eru Illuvatar himself, if not himself in " human" form. Enjoying his creation from ground level so to speak.
The ring had no effect on him mentally and didn't make him invisible either. But he seemed to know what it was. His aloof nature, talking to trees, always singing (Arda was also created with a song, and Tom using song or melodic phrases for his "magic").
Must have been Eru's vacation home and attire :), while he was not workinhlg, tinkering somewhere far away in his universe or visiting wherever it is human souls go when they die... because he is the only one who knows where that is (probably somewhere near Independence, Missouri... if you know, you know).
Tom Bombadil is a character from one of the books Tolkien wrote for his children before LotR. So it could also be that he's just visiting from that realm (as an Easter-egg for his kids), which is maybe why the ring does not affect him and he only has absolute power in a "small" area.
Ah, this is a fanfiction. Not bad. I like the expansion of who Tom was. He and Treebeard are my favorite characters.
Tom.was nature i reckon
Just my thoughts...if I recall correctly there were three different themes in the ainulindalle..each time melkor raised discord, eru changed the theme ...in the end eru said that all things were to his will , even the discord of melkor. So ...what if eru himself had sang Tom into existence for the sole purpose of rescuing the hobbits from the wights and old father willow , as Eru would know all that would come to pass. The ainur and valar sang some but perhaps not all onto arda..what's to say Eru didn't sing a few things himself ...and just didn't say anything about it
Opinion post not specifically about Tolkien.
I think of Tom as something I like to call a Primal Intent... something akin to an avatar of a greater being, in this case of Iluvitar themself, but less an embodiment of the greater being and more an embodiment of the intention of that greater being. This is not a theory specific to Tolkiens world, but one I have been considering for story telling and mythology at large.
The greater the being from which the Primal Intents are birthed the greater thier inherent powers. In Tom's case he was created at the moment this world's trees and forests were first created and even before. He is the 'keeper' of all healthy things that are green and grow, a remnant of the sheer magnitude that is Iluvitar and the music they orchestrated.
He is much the same as The Geen Man in our earthly mythology as a creature bent to the intentions of the spirit empowering them, if perhaps more outwardly obvious with the seemingly mercurial but cunningly adroit behaviors. They both would seem to be willful of their own right and through their own consciousness, but both also show these inescapable responsibilities they are beholden to that are clearly the design of someone else.
Other examples of primal intents are everywhere in stories, sometimes with names for specific types of them. Some native people have the idea of Elementals, protective entities tied to specific locations created by the intent of whole tribes focused through ritual.
I bring this up because there are very often in myth and fantasy these beings that sit just beyond the edge of full explanation, but have very clear connections to a source/creator and immutable purpose, and I think we need a way to catagorize these things that is respectful of the mystery of how exactly they came to be and allow us to discuss them collectively as a sort of loose archetype.
I like the tale very much and enjoy listening to your voice. But I don't understand why we are constantly shown pictures of Gandalf or other rather wizard-like folks instead of Tom Bombadil.
Because the art is created and selected by AI.
It's called AI. And i f*cking hate it 🤬
There is definitely a parallel to his humming/song having power and the creation of the world having been done through song. Maybe he does have a relationship with the Valar in some way. My belief is that he was simply around early enough to hear the music of the Valar during the creation. Definitely an interesting character.
Tolkien wrote himself into his work. Tom is Tolkien's character name.
I thought Tolkien identified most with Faramir.
I always felt like Tom was the Earthly embodiment of Eru.
Like his representation on the world he created.
Rings true to me .
Chuck Norris of Middle Earth
I don't believe Tom is an ainur. I believe he is something else. He was already alive before the ainur arrived.
16:24
"...HASH!..."
First it was weird breathing noises, now the AI voices are demanding old-timey drugs.
"beware because there will exist a power in the forests whose anger your children will arouae at their peril. There shall be the Shepherds of the Trees!'"
TOM WAS THE SHEPHERD OF THE TREES, A MAIA LIKE MELIAN WHO ROMANCED AN ELF, GOLDBERRY! HE WAS THE SHEPHERD OF THE ENTS AND HUORNS!
We've got to stop this ai crap.
I think it has a unique comparison to within Tolkien's universe. Melkor could not create or make new things, only warp what was there. AI is much like him, only warping and perverting what already exists.
@matthew5876 Apt comparison. There are few things that genuinely terrify me but AI destroying human creativity is one of them. It's wild to think about the possible future in which humanity no longer creates art or stories that come from the soul.
AI is just a tool, blame the tool user not the tool as there is no "Intellegence" (yet) just predefined data gathering.
Art has always been inspired by other work and is full of recreations, copies, etc. Even Tolkien based his work on Nordic edda's, Ring der Nibelungen, etc.
AI has just made this process easier, and made the creation of art accessible to people who are not skilled with a pencil or brush or digital art software.
And even though based on other's (like most art) every piece is just as unique as any unique artwork. The same prompt will have a different result each time you run it. It's basically a single stroke brush...
It also allows is create things we never could have created at all before. In regars to art by it's very nature it creates ot based on millions (of not more) of data points and existing source material. A human could never achieve that not in 10 life times.
And as said it has spawned a whole new generation of artists, which would not be artists were it not for AI. And in a way the prompts that are created are a piece of unique art on to themselves.
@@jurgenolivieira1878 While I understand your ideas, art is something that comes from human emotion and soul and failure and hard work. Do you think The Course Of Empire could ever truly compare to the prompt "create a series of images depicting different stages of an ancient civilization".
Alternatively, let's say two friends whom you equally like gifted you a quilt for a special occasion. One spent 40 hours meticulously cutting out different squares of fabric, making sure they were perfectly spaced and sewn together. The other friend ordered it from temu. While you appreciate both gifts, you may even like them evenly, which one would you truly hold dear? The one that took someone's incredibly valuable time, energy, pain from getting poked while sewing.
Not everyone that wants to be an artist should or could be an artist. The same way I'm never going to play professional football.
It's surely NOT very INTELLIGENT... Perhaps someone should lend "it" JRRT's actual writings ??
So Tom is an elven Gandalf?
Tom Bombadil is Eru Ilúvatar
maybe!
Doubtful. Gandolf told the Hobbits that if Sauron triumphed over ME, Tom would fall eventually even if he was the last to do so.
He is Tolkien Jesus.
I like that idea.
It's pretty clear that Tom is a thematic Maia, the spirit of the Old Forest personified. He speaks of when the Old Forest stretched far beyond its third age bounds, and how inside the Old Forest, none is a match for him, who is the Master there. He is likely one of the chief servants of Yavanna, and has been in the Old Forst since it first sprouted back when the stars were new.
I think he is the remnants of the unused portions of the song itself coalescing into a being called Tom
The singing is a big clue, I thought.
@@Deathbynoob93 …reverberating melodies, and endless overtones, echoing infinitely in space, and endlessly through time, vibrations waxing and waning along with newly formed chords, unintentional, but pure and good, find a seemingly new song, in a different place, and all through time, the spirit of Tom Bombadil was formed at that very spot to hear, and to sing. And he will continue to sing the echoes and reverberations of the songs. He keeps them alive, and he allows them to grow. Tom Bombadil was there to here the first music, as the very first music was to have him dance and sing its tune. 🎶✨
@@Deathbynoob93I like that idea!
The crusades happened. Lots of shit happened. Maybe get off your high horse and try to work with me....your holiness.
I have tried very hard to work with you.
Greta Thundberg would be a great hobbit type character for Bombadil’s wife in a live action movie.