That does seem like the most likely answer. I'm always thrown, though, by how so many elder and powerful beings speak about him in hushed tones, saying he's "the eldest" and that he was in Middle-Earth since the beginning, etc. They give him a very mysterious Adonai-like, "he *is*" sort of descriptor. But Occam's Razor and all that...
My best guess is that a maiar entered the world to stabilize the damage caused by Morgoth/Melkor in its creation. But that's just speculation. I think the true point is to add mystery and depth without sacrificing narrative coherence.
BTW, LoTR is the seed of my ethical and idealistic sensibilities and has been a guiding light all my life. I first read the entire series in third grade. It gave a *humane* sense of majesty and honor about life, conflict, sacrifice, that humanized my upbringing in military culture. 'Cause that culture didn't jibe or stick, but it is my home soil. Hmmmm... this might be why most people don't get me...
I first began reading it at that age too! It sticks with you, so much more than worlds like Narnia.
I can totally see this work enriching your military environment--it's such an Arthurian, Elder Edda-like epic that emphasizes heroic sacrifice, love for the 'little guy" and supporting the underdog, and the romance of honorable warriorship.
Especially since the military doesn't actually do a lot of those things, but does instill those values. It's funny, but I saw more truth in fiction than in life, though I wouldn't come to realize that until a decade later.
One of my colleagues argues agaisnt Tolkien and for Ursula Le Guin and Earthsea on that point. While I appreciate both, I think something is lost when one argues for literary merit with too much an eye to political value. They cannot be disconnected, but.
This isn't going to make sense if you're not familiar with Earthsea or the general discussion of it, in which case I might need to elaborate.
I always presumed that Bombadill was a maiar that was not an ishtari. Per The Simillarion, that is possible.
That does seem like the most likely answer. I'm always thrown, though, by how so many elder and powerful beings speak about him in hushed tones, saying he's "the eldest" and that he was in Middle-Earth since the beginning, etc. They give him a very mysterious Adonai-like, "he *is*" sort of descriptor. But Occam's Razor and all that...
My best guess is that a maiar entered the world to stabilize the damage caused by Morgoth/Melkor in its creation. But that's just speculation. I think the true point is to add mystery and depth without sacrificing narrative coherence.
BTW, LoTR is the seed of my ethical and idealistic sensibilities and has been a guiding light all my life. I first read the entire series in third grade. It gave a *humane* sense of majesty and honor about life, conflict, sacrifice, that humanized my upbringing in military culture. 'Cause that culture didn't jibe or stick, but it is my home soil. Hmmmm... this might be why most people don't get me...
I first began reading it at that age too! It sticks with you, so much more than worlds like Narnia.
I can totally see this work enriching your military environment--it's such an Arthurian, Elder Edda-like epic that emphasizes heroic sacrifice, love for the 'little guy" and supporting the underdog, and the romance of honorable warriorship.
Especially since the military doesn't actually do a lot of those things, but does instill those values. It's funny, but I saw more truth in fiction than in life, though I wouldn't come to realize that until a decade later.
Right--the romance is there in theory if not as often in practice.
Or Bromance.
One of my colleagues argues agaisnt Tolkien and for Ursula Le Guin and Earthsea on that point. While I appreciate both, I think something is lost when one argues for literary merit with too much an eye to political value. They cannot be disconnected, but.
This isn't going to make sense if you're not familiar with Earthsea or the general discussion of it, in which case I might need to elaborate.