Who is Tom Bombadil?
“Hey dol! Merry dol! ring a dong dillio! Ring a dong! Hop along! Fal lal the willow! Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!” - Tom Bombadil, The Fellowship of the Ring Who is Tom Bombadil? Well, he certainly is a “merry fellow”. *Note: this post mainly includes information from the Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, and Silmarillion (not any of Tolkien’s additional books)* Background Tom Bombadil meets Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin on their way to the Prancing Pony in the Fellowship of The Ring book. He is described as having a long brown beard, bright blue eyes, jolly appearance; wearing yellow boots with a blue jacket and hat. Singing in a careless nonsensical fashion and collecting water lilies at a stream, he first encounters the hobbits when he saves Merry and Pippin from being killed by a willow tree. At Tom’s home in the forest, the hobbits meet his wife Goldberry, listen to his strange tales, and take a short rest in safety. To the hobbits’ great surprise, Tom pu...