When did The Oxford Magazine first publish a poem about Tom Bombadil?
The Oxford Magazine printed the poem called The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1934. This publication introduced the character to readers before he appeared in any novel.
The Oxford Magazine printed the poem called The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1934. This publication introduced the character to readers before he appeared in any novel.
Frodo Baggins and his companions met Tom Bombadil in the Old Forest during the first volume of The Lord of the Rings published in 1954. Tom commanded Old Man Willow to release Merry and Pippin by singing it into sleep.
J.R.R. Tolkien invented Tom Bombadil in memory of his children's Dutch doll with hinged joints and a hat featuring a feather. He included the character because he had already invented him independently in The Oxford Magazine and wanted an adventure on the way.
David Elton Gay wrote that Tolkien was inspired by Elias Lönnrot's 1849 collection of Finland's oral tradition known as the Kalevala. Both figures are described as oldest and immortal, live in small forested countries they control but do not own, and remain fearless due to power derived from song and knowledge.
Norman Shelley played Bombadil in the 1955 and 1956 BBC radio adaptation while Esko Hukkanen portrayed him in the 1993 Finnish miniseries Hobitit. Bernard Mayes voiced him in the 1979 Mind's Eye recordings and Rory Kinnear portrays him in the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.