Eldest
Quick Facts
| Title of: | Both Tom Bombadil and Treebeard1 |
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A name for the oldest of beings
A title for the eldest of all beings. Confusingly, it seems to apply to two different individuals; not only does Tom Bombadil claim it for himself, but Celeborn also uses it to address the old Ent Treebeard.
Footnotes
| 1 | Of these two, Tom probably has the better claim to the title. He said that he was able to remember the first acorn: if so, then it seems he must be older than Treebeard, who appeared after the first trees. However - as far as it's possible to tell - Tom seems to be a magical being or a spirit of some kind, whereas Treebeard was a living, breathing creature, albeit an immensely old one. So, when Celeborn referred to Treebeard as 'Eldest', he wasn't necessarily wrong. He may simply have meant 'eldest living thing in Middle-earth', which would probably have been true. |
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