Dead hobbits resurrected: the Barrow-wight encounter in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Barrow-wight.

Contents

Introduction
From Bombadil to Bree
Tolkien's Barrow-wights
Barrow-wights appear
Which spirit?
Which body?
The Barrow-wight and the hobbits
Tolkien's Barrow-wight narrative
Death & resurrection / Eru & Tom
Aftermath
Rings of Power
Gaming Barrow-wights
Fandom videos
Game-play videos
References

Abstract: Within The Lord of the Rings chapter IX: Fog on the Barrow Downs the four hobbits, whilst travelling through the Barrow Downs from the house of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry to Bree, led by ring-bearer Frodo Baggins, are killed by a Barrow-wight and entombed in an underground barrow tomb. As the Barrow-wight prepares them for eventual rebirth as soldiers of Sauron the necromancer at the end of time and the Dagor Dagorath, they are resurrected by Eru, J.R.R. Tolkien's God of Middle-earth, who is manifest therein as Tom Bombadil, an embodiment of the Holy Spirit or, in Tolkien's world, the Secret Fire or Flame Imperishable. This episode was not included in the Peter Jackson film trilogy but remains popular amongst the gaming fraternity and sections of the Tolkien fandom who seek to better understand the various layers of meaning presented within The Lord of the Rings by the Catholic author. During 2024 a variation of the encounter was included in Amazon's The Rings of Power. The possibility of the death and rebirth of the hobbits at the Barrow has never been considered, though it was described by Tolkien within the original text, if somewhat obliquely. This was often the case with the great author who sought to mask the Catholic core of his Middle-earth legendarium and avert any accusations of allegory.

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'Strider' I am to one fat man [Barliman Butterbur] who lives within a day’s march of foes [Barrow-wights] that would freeze his heart or lay his little town [Bree] in ruin.' (Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings)

Cold be hand and heart and bone
and cold be sleep under stone:
never more to wake on stony bed,
never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead. (Barrow-wight, The Lord of the Rings)

I thought I was dead - but don't let us speak of it. (Merry Brandybuck, The History of Middle-earth)

Raising his right hand, [Tom Bombadil] said in a clear and commanding voice: ' ... warm now be heart and limb...' (The Lord of the Rings)

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1. Introduction

One of the most mysterious episodes in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is the encounter between the hobbits and a Barrow-wight - an evil, embodied, ghostly creature, created through necromancy and acting as an agent of Sauron under the direction of the Witch King of Angmar, leader of the Ringwraiths (Tolkien 1954-5). The episode was not included in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and as such is little known or discussed outside of Tolkien fandom and - somewhat surprisingly - the gaming fraternity (Jackson 2001-3). However, this was altered somewhat when, during September 2024, an abbreviated and time-displaced (from Third Age to Second Age) version of the encounter between Elves and Barrow-wights briefly featured in season two, episode four of the Amazon television series The Rings of Power.

This article presents a reading of The Lord of the Rings Barrow-wights episode wherein the life of the hobbits is temporarily taken by the Barrow-wight, and later restored by Eru, Tolkien's God of Middle-earth who is manifest therein as Tom Bombadil. In all reading and discussions to date of this text the hobbits are assumed to have remained in an unconscious state during their barrow cavern detention, prior to eventual recovery. However, upon closer reading, Tolkien provides statements indicating the fatal nature of the encounter, and the subsequent timely resurrection by Bombadil. The similar 'resurrection' and return of Gandalf the Grey as Gandalf the White following his battle with the Balrog of Khazad-dûm is well known and accepted by readers of The Lord of the Rings. It is also a highlight of the Jackson film trilogy, wherein it ends the first part and opens the second. A similar happenstance for the hobbit party early in their quest to destroy the One Ring would, however, come as no small surprise. The argument is therefore put that within this Barrow-wight episode which takes place during the early stages of The Lord of the Rings, dead hobbits are resurrected.

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2. From Bombadil to Bree

In The Lord of the Rings the hobbit party led by Frodo Baggins travel easterly through the Barrow Downs on 28-29 September 3018 Third Age (TA), on their way to Bree after spending the previous two days (26-27 September 3018 TA) in the house of Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry. The house was situated at the head of the Withywindle River, adjacent to the eastern edge of the Old Forest and within the western edge of the Barrow Downs (refer map below).

The hobbits journey through the Barrow Downs. Source: Strachey 1981.

Prior to encountering Bombadil and Goldberry, on 26 September three of the hobbits become trapped and almost suffocate in the roots of an old, sentient, male willow tree. In that instance, they are only saved through unexplained and timely intervention by Tom Bombadil. He is able to force their release by threatening damage to its roots - a threat the sentient willow tree finds it impossible to ignore. In turn, and after a period of rest, the hobbits' subsequent passage through the Barrow Downs is disrupted by a deadly encounter with a Barrow-wight. Once again, Bombadil eventually intervenes 'out of the blue' and saves the hobbits. It can be seen from the map above, wherein their route between 25-29 September is marked in red, that the hobbits' simple path due east and northeast from Bombadil's house turns upon itself in a loop and includes an unintentional overnight stay in a barrow cavern (tomb) as captives of the Barrow-wight.

A Barrow-wight is a spirit being occupying a dead body and inhabiting a barrow. It is an embodied, supernatural, undead grave spirit with cold, luminous eyes who can be contacted or controlled and manipulated, and of an evil or corrupt disposition (Wikipedia). The idea of a Barrow-wight was not Tolkien's alone. It derives from British tradition, along with Nordic and Germanic mythology, wherein such creatures are referred to as draugars. Extant physical examples of ancient barrows were first encountered by Tolkien during his youth (Martinez 2015). Stories of ghostly figures haunting grave sites are nothing new, either in the real world or fantasy fiction, with tales of vampires and zombies featuring in recent pop culture forms such as film, books and graphic novels.

Within Tolkien's expansive legendarium, a barrow is a burial mound or tomb made from a variety of materials, though primarily earth and stone, and containing a body and related personal mementos or artifacts such as gold, silver, jewellery and swords. Tolkien's Barrow Downs (also known in his Elvish Sindarin language as Tyrn Gorthad, meaning wraith burial mound) is an area of Middle-earth which forms part of what was once known as the Kingdom of Cardolan, within greater Arnor. It is situated adjacent to, and east of, the Old Forest, which in turn abuts on the Shire to the west. Bree is located northeast of the Barrow Downs. The map above and graphic below geographically places the approximately 10-15 square mile site.

Map of the Barrow Downs and Bree. Artist: Kaj Greenwood.

As the name would imply, the Barrow Downs is a treeless, hilly area distinguished by a variety of ancient earth and stone barrows and monuments similar to Stonehenge, though not as elaborately arranged.

The Barrow Downs, with stone monuments identifying barrows. Artist: Bitterhand.

Numerous fan videos in recent times have outlined the history of Arnor, Cardolan and the Barrow Downs. Some of these are referenced below. The barrows on Tolkien’s Barrow Downs go back as far as the beginning of the First Age, some 7,000 years prior to the passage of the hobbits in 3018 TA. Tolkien informs the reader:

It is said that the mounds of Tyrn Gorthad, as the Barrowdowns were called of old, are very ancient, and that many were built in the days of the old world of the First Age by the forefathers of the Edain, before they crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand, of which Lindon is all that now remains. (The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, I, iii, Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur).

The Edain were an early race of Men, so named by the Elves with whom they fought against Melkor during the First Age. Their forefathers were the initial race of Men on Arda (Middle-earth) present at the beginning of the First Age and known as the Hildórien.

Tolkien goes on to say that, during the Second Age, men of Númenor / Númenórë - also known as the Dúnedain, the Men of the Westernesse, or Kings of Men - arrived in Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, and made use of the Barrow Downs located therein and a place of burial. This usage continued through to the end of the Second Age (SA), which coincided with the apocalyptic destruction of the island of Númenor in 3319 SA. A small group of Númenorean survivors of the destruction then settled in Middle-earth, alongside previous Númenorean settlers. During the early years of the Third Age they were driven out of the Barrow Downs by agents of Sauron, and the later onset of plague.

The Númenoreans brought many skills with them to Middle-earth, including that of embalming. Over an extensive period from the Second Age through to the Third Age they applied those skills to bodies entombed upon the Barrow Downs. Subsequent to that, we are told:

Those hills were therefore revered by the Dúnedain after their return; and there many of their kings and lords are buried. (The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, I, iii, Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur).

With such a long use of the Barrow Downs, confusion arose by the end of the Third Age as to the ownership, or original occupants, of individual barrows.

Whilst the hobbits were staying in the house of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, they were told some of the history of the Barrow Downs, especially in association with the civil wars of Arnor during the more recent middle years of the Third Age, and the coming of Barrow-wights thereafter, prior to which desecration of the tombs had not taken place:

They heard of the Great Barrows, and the green mounds, and the stone-rings upon the hills and in the hollows among the hills. Sheep were bleating in flocks. Green walls and white walls rose. There were fortresses on the heights. Kings of little kingdoms fought together, and the young Sun shone like fire on the red metal of their new and greedy swords. There was victory and defeat; and towers fell, fortresses were burned, and flames went up into the sky. Gold was piled on the biers of dead kings and queens; and mounds covered them, and the stone doors were shut; and the grass grew over all. Sheep walked for a while biting the grass, but soon the hills were empty again. A shadow came out of dark places far away, and the bones were stirred in the mounds. Barrow-wights walked in the hollow places with a clink of rings on cold fingers, and gold chains in the wind. Stone rings grinned out of the ground like broken teeth in the moonlight. (The Lord of the Rings, Book I, Ch 7, In the House of Tom Bombadil).

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3. Tolkien's Barrow-wights

Little is known of Tolkien's Barrow-wights, their origin, motivation and behaviour, because he wrote and spoke of them only briefly in works published during his lifetime. Neither were they subject to any character development, as such, within The Lord of the Rings. Since then, additional information has been provided by previously unpublished writings edited by the author's late son, Christopher Tolkien (1924-2020). Unfortunately, much of this is scattered and piecemeal, recorded over an extended period of time and never consolidated by Tolkien. Confusion, therefore, remains. This is revealed in some of the fan videos listed below, wherein there is much conjecture around the subject of Barrow-wights, some of it misplaced. Further adding to the confusion is the fact that the Barrow-wight episode within The Lord of the Rings is relatively brief and seen as a distraction from the main narrative drive towards destruction of the One Ring by the hobbits, with the assistance of the Fellowship of the Ring and Gollum. In fact, the present author has spoken to numerous fans and readers of The Lord of the Rings who cannot recall the Barrow-wight episode at all. In a similar vane, the hobbit encounter with Tom Bombadil and Goldberry before and after the Barrow-wight episode is only slightly better remembered.

Largely due to the reasons outlined above, Barrow-wights were excluded from the Peter Jackson films and remain, with the public at large, mere footnotes to the quest. This is unfortunate as they were not included by Tolkien for no reason. In his drafting of The Lord of the Rings between 1937-48, Tolkien refers to a number of Barrow-wights encountered on and about the Barrow Downs, though in the final published edition of 1954 only a single Barrow-wight features.

What we now know, therefore, of Barrow-wights focuses on what they do, not on who they are (i.e., how they came into being), or necessarily why they do it. The same could be said for a variety of sentient beings in Tolkien's expansive legendarium, from Beorn and the Balrog through to Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. All were given short-shrift compared to the main characters, such as members of the Fellowship, Galadriel, Elrond and Sauron.

The Barrow-wights appear to be both spirit and corporeal (i.e., a spirit occupying a dead body), unlike the Ringwraiths who are substantially spirit and merely cloaked in robes. However, the mechanics of this is not fleshed out by Tolkien. We know the Barrow-wights are ultimately the servants of Sauron, and by implication Melkor, but their seemingly random attacks on regions bordering the Barrow Downs raise questions as to their motivation and the aim of such attacks, apart from terrorising the people of Middle-earth and deterring any efforts to retake the Barrow Downs from the dark forces.

We could ask: What is so special about the Barrow Downs, apart from serving as an enclave of evil for Sauron, in an area of Middle-earth of apparent little consequence? Tolkien does not provide any clear answer. We are only ever presented with snippets concerning the Barrow-wights behaviour, and never enough to leave a consolidated, consistent and definitive picture. There is no Barrow-wight specifically named in the legendarium, though Tolkien does hint at an identity, or partial identity, for the one featured in The Lord of the Rings. The fact that we know a lot more about the Black-riders (Ringwraiths) is of assistance in understanding the behaviour of Barrow-wights, with some similarities and connections between the two. In order to reveal as much as possible about their nature, we need to forensically study what Tolkien wrote, or said, about Barrow-wights, both within The Lord of the Rings and outside of it.

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4. Barrow-wights appear

Tolkien turned his mind to the subject of Barrow-wights in the early 1930s, or perhaps late 1920s. They first appeared in print within the 1934 children's verse The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (Tolkien 1934). Therein, amidst the decidedly dark undertones, one of the creatures enters the upper storey of the house of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, with nefarious intent.

Tom & the Barrow-wight. Artist: Richard Svensson.

Tolkien's verse describing this even reads as follows:

Dark came under Hill. Tom, he lit a candle,
upstairs creaking went, turned the door-handle.
‘Hoo, Tom Bombadil! I am waiting for you!
Just here behind the door! I came up before you.'

'You’ve forgotten Barrow-wight dwelling in the old mound
up there a-top the hill with the ring of stones round.
He’s got loose to-night; under the earth he’ll take you!
Poor Tom Bombadil, pale and cold he’ll make you!’

‘Go out! Shut the door, and never come back after!
Take away gleaming eyes, take your hollow laughter!
Go back to grassy mound, on your stony pillow
lay down your bony head, like Old Man Willow,
like young Goldberry, and Badger-folk in burrow!
Go back to buried gold and forgotten sorrow!’

Out fled Barrow-wight, through the window flying,
through the yard, over wall, up the hill a-crying,
past white drowsing sheep, over leaning stone-rings,
back under lonely mound, rattling his bone-rings.

There is much of import in this verse regarding the powers of the Barrow-wights, and in turn of Tom Bombadil. The former can fly, are strong and able to abduct individuals, create fear, and kill, making one 'pale and cold' as in imposing an almost instantaneous rigor mortis. They emit a frightful, crying sound, striking terror amongst those who hear it, and their eyes glow with a yellowish light. Their habit of leaving the barrow to terrorise, create mayhem and secure the bodies of their victims is further revealed within The Lord of the Rings through the statement at the Council of Elrond by the Dúnedain Ranger Aragorn, also known as Strider, to his Fellowship of the Ring colleague Boromir (Hillman 2017). Therein, with knowledge that other Rangers were dying at the hands of the Black-riders, Aragorn highlights the ongoing terrors of the Barrow-wights and the success of the Rangers in the none-too-easy task of attempting to disperse them:

If Gondor, Boromir, has been a stalwart tower, we [i.e. the Rangers] have played another part. Many evil things there are that your strong walls and bright swords do not stay. You know little of the lands beyond your bounds. Peace and freedom, do you say? The North would have known them little but for us. Fear would have destroyed them. But when dark things come from the houseless hills [i.e., Barrow Downs], or creep from sunless woods [e.g., Mirkwood], they fly from us. What roads would any dare to tread, what safety would there be in quiet lands, or in the homes of simple men at night, if the Dúnedain were asleep, or were all gone into the grave? And yet less thanks have we than you. Travellers scowl at us, and countrymen give us scornful names. “Strider” I am to one fat man [Barliman Butterbur, innkeeper of Bree] who lives within a day’s march of foes that would freeze his heart [i.e., kill him] or lay his little town in ruin, if he were not guarded ceaselessly. Yet we would not have it otherwise. If simple folk are free from care and fear, simple they will be, and we must be secret to keep them so. That has been the task of my kindred, while the years have lengthened and the grass has grown. (Tolkien 1954-5)

Aragorn's plaintive plea to the Council of Elrond on 28 October 3018 TA for recognition of the long battle by the Dúnedain against Barrow-wights and other servants of Sauron is telling. In the Jackson trilogy there is no reference to Barrow-wights, or the protection offered by Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. In fact, we only see Aragorn protect the hobbits from the Ringwraiths when they come looking for them at Bree. The famous near encounter between a Ringwraith and the hobbits prior to entering the Old Forest on 26 September took place prior to coming under Bombadil's protection.

Following the destruction of the One Ring on 25 March 3019 TA and defeat of Sauron, during the following October 3019 TA, Bree innkeeper Barliman Butterbur complained to Gandalf the White and the hobbits that, with Rangers like Aragorn (the newly crowned King of Gondor) 'all gone away', people remained fearful of the destructive nature of the Barrow-wights and their use of the Old Forest and other wooded areas around Bree to assail travellers. He pleaded:

.... there’s dark shapes in the woods, dreadful things that it makes the blood run cold to think of. It’s been very disturbing, if you understand me. (Tolkien 1954-5)

Butterbur, like others, refers only generally to the Barrow-wights, as their identities and origins were shrouded in mystery.

During 1936, shortly after their appearance in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Tolkien had written briefly on the subject of Barrow-wights and their origin in connection with a lecture on the Beowulf text and discussion on the origin of the word Orc. Therein he outlined their dark presence:

... orcnéas: The O.E. [Old English] word occurs only here. orc is found glossing Latin Orcus [Hell, Death]. neas seems certainly to be né-as, plural of the old (poetic) word né 'dead body'.... 'Necromancy' will suggest something of the horrible association of this word. I think that what is here meant [is] that terrible northern imagination to which I have ventured to give the name 'barrow-wights'. The 'undead'. Those dreadful creatures that inhabit tombs and mounds. They are not living: they have left humanity, but they are 'undead'. With superhuman strength and malice they can strangle men and rend them [i.e., tear them to pieces]. (Tolkien 2014)

Barrow-wights are obviously written as powerful and dangerous entities in Tolkien's Middle-earth, both physically and in regard to their supernatural abilities which are either elucidated or hinted at. As was common with Tolkien, over time he varied elements of their description, expanding them somewhat within The Lord of the Rings. Apart from strangling and rending, they could also entrance and immobilize, kill with a mere icy touch, and cast spells over treasure within a barrow, as revealed in Chapter 8: Fog on the Barrow Downs. Tolkien commenced writing this chapter during late 1937 and early 1938, refining it through to completion a decade later, followed by a six year period of editing prior to submission of his text for publication. The encounter in the final version is confined to a barrow, and not farther afield, and to a single Barrow-wight. In early drafts Tolkien had a number of Barrow-wights come to the house of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, though not enter as in the 1934 verse. Throughout this period the he was also unsure of their precise nature in relation to similar creatures such as Black-riders (Ringwraiths, Nazgûl) or Aragorn's Army of the Dead (Oathbreakers, Ghost Army). At one point Tolkien put such thoughts to paper:

Barrow-wights are related to Black-riders. Are Black-riders actually horsed Barrow-wights? (History of Middle-earth: The Return of the Shadow, 117-8)

Elrond, at the Council of Elrond, also mentions their close affinity with the Black-riders, though Tolkien's question regarding the true nature of Barrow-wights remains unanswered by him for those who have only read The Lord of the Rings. We know the Black-riders' precise identity as nine kings of men, and that they were turned by the necromancy of Sauron into wraiths as a result of their possession of rings of power. Based purely on what is presented in the main text of The Lord of the Rings, the Barrow-wight spirits are likely not kingly, though Tolkien is unclear about this. In addition, no female 'undead' are known within the legendarium, though female orcs exist.

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5. Which spirit?

The Barrow-wights were created by Sauron the necromancer, as he is referred to somewhat ambiguously in The Hobbit (Tolkien 1937). That book had been written during the early 1930s, around the same time as The Adventures of Tom Bombadil verse and the Beowulf lecture notes preparation which, together, introduced and weakly refined the concept of Barrow-wights within Tolkien's legendarium. Sauron was a powerful Maia spirit acting under the influence of the banished Valar Melkor, also known as the Morgoth. Three possible origins of the Barrow-wights inhabiting the Barrow Downs in 3018 TA can be inferred from the various mentions within:

1) They are disembodied spirits, created through a process of necromancy by Sauron, who are then sent out to barrows to take possession of bodies within; or

2) They are the undead form of original spirits and their associated bodies, indigenous to a barrow; or

3) They are the undead form of original spirits and their associated bodies, not indigenous to a barrow, but occupying a barrow and leaving the bodies within untouched.

Unfortunately, all three readings can be deduced from what Tolkien has written. There is no clear canon here, though one can be prioritised if a number of Tolkien's sources - published and unpublished - are combined. For example, the following quote from one of The Lord of the Rings appendices would indicate scenario #1 as the most likely origin, i.e., that Barrow-wights are spirits sent out by Sauron the necromancer, in league with the Witch King, to occupy bodies already located within the tombs of the Barrow Downs:

In the days of Argeleb II [1636 TA] the plague came into Eriador from the South-east, and most of the people of Cardolan perished, especially in [the city of] Minhiriath. The Hobbits and all other peoples suffered greatly, but the plague lessened as it passed northwards, and the northern parts of Arthedain were little affected. It was at this time that an end came of the Dúnedain of Cardolan, and evil spirits out of Angmar and Rhudaur entered into the deserted mounds and dwelt there. (The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, I, iii, Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur; RayinBangor n.d.)

Earlier in The Lord of the Rings Tolkien described this event in words uttered by Tom Bombadil to the hobbits:

A shadow came out of dark places far away, and the bones were stirred in the mounds. (The Lord of the Rings, Book I, Ch 7, In the House of Tom Bombadil)

If Barrow-wights are, indeed, 'evil spirits out of Angmar...' and 'shadows ... out of dark places far away' who have occupied the barrows and taken possession of the decaying bodies of the dead therein, questions arise as to (1) who those evil spirits were, and (2) what specific bodies did they occupy?

There is no simple answer to the first part of the question. The process of necromancy by which the Barrow-wights were turned into the 'undead', or wraith-like, is a mystery, though it obviously involved Sauron. The Barrow-wight spirits may have been any of the following:

1) Orcs, already under the sway of Sauron and forming the armies of Carn-dûm, the chief fortress of the Witch King of Angmar, located to the north of Arnor;

2) Dead Elves, killed by the armies of Carn-dûm, but who refused to enter the Halls of Mandos and could not find rebirth in an Elven body;

3) Númenorean prisoners of the war of Arnor, captured by the Witch King's forces and subsequently ceremonially slain. Upon the point of death, or shortly thereafter, their spirits would be captured, corrupted and turned to evil by Sauron. This is despite the fact that Eru had ensured that, unlike the mostly immortal Elves, upon death the race of Men would leave Middle-earth and enter the Halls of Mandos (a similar scenario to the Catholic Church belief in passage to heaven, purgatory or hell, and rejection of the idea of any sort of reincarnation).

4) Black Númenoreans, long-time allies of Sauron.

Carn-dûm, the Witch King's fortress in Angmar. Artist: Li Xiyan.

Mention is made within the Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth of dark work by the so-called Black Númenoreans in the distant past (Second Age), under the influence of Sauron. By the middle of the Third Age Sauron had continued his manipulation of the undead, with the Black-riders his main vassals. Three of those were known to be Númenoreans.

The Witch King, also known as the Black Captain, was the most powerful of the Black-riders, or Ringwraiths, operating under Sauron's dominion. As such, he took on a leadership role and was prominent within The Lord of the Rings in the search for the One Ring. For example, in early drafts of the Fog on the Barrow Downs chapter, published in The History of Middle-earth, the Witch King makes a visit to the Barrow Downs during September 3018 TA whilst closing in on the hobbit party as they travel from the Shire to Bree via the house of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. As Christopher Tolkien noted of his father's writings in regard to this:

... [The Witch King] visited the Barrow Downs. In notes on the movements of the Black Riders at that time it is said that the Black Captain stayed there for some days, and the Barrow-wights were roused, and all things of evil spirit, hostile to Elves and Men, were on the watch with malice in the Old Forest and the Barrow Downs (Unfinished Tales, 451).

It is interesting to consider what exactly took place during the Witch King's extended meeting with the Barrow-wights of the Barrow Downs. In the Unfinished Tales chapter The Hunt for the Ring, and The Lord of the Rings Reader's Companion, it is stated:

[The Witch-king] now visits the Barrowdowns and stops there some days (probably until late on 27). This proves a main error, though in fact it was nearly successful, since the Barrowwights are roused, all things of evil spirit hostile to Elves and Men are on the watch with malice in the Old Forest and on the Barrow downs... The Witch-King had now a clearer understanding of the matter. He had known something of the country long ago, in his wars with the Dunedain, and especially of the Tyrn Gorthad of Cardolan, now the Barrow-downs, whose evil wights had been sent there by himself. (Hammond & Scull, 2005, 145)

Judging from previous and later comments by Tom Bombadil and others such as Elrond, it seems the Barrow-wights did not need much rousing, as they had long been on guard within and about the Barrow Downs as malevolent forces dangerous to travellers and nearby residents. The presenter of The Nerd of the Rings made the following summary comments in March 2023:

The Witch King personally goes to the Barrow Downs. He would remain there for three days, rousing the Barrow-wights. In The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, by Hammond and Scull, it includes a piece of manuscript omitted from Unfinished Tales that, among other things, talks about the Witch King's actions here. It says that the Witch King empowered the Barrow-wights and killed the nearby Dunedain Rangers, specifically in order to trap the Ring bearer. This strategy would nearly work as Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin come to the Barrow Downs on September 28 and are captured by a barrow-wight.

It should be noted that within the published version of The Lord of the Rings the hobbits appear to be hidden from the Ringwraiths for a time by the power of Tom Bombadil. Their precise location is only revealed after leaving his influence and protection outside the Barrow Downs, on the East Road, 4 miles from Bree. The Barrow-wight was obviously made aware of their presence earlier, but not the Black-riders. Once they arrive at Bree they are protected by Aragorn and, later, the Fellowship.

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6. Which body?

As to the body / corpse used by the spirit sent from Carn-dûm who went on to entrap the hobbits, we can surmise that if it was indigenous to the barrow, it could be one of the buried kings or other royalty of Cardolan. Tolkien tells us, in fact:

Some say the mound in which the Ring-bearer [Frodo Baggins] was imprisoned had been the grave of the last prince of Cardolan, who fell in the war of 1409 [Third Age] (The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, I, iii, Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur).

Following that victory of 1409 TA and corresponding burials in the Barrow Downs, around the time of the plague of 1636 TA Sauron and the Witch King sent 'evil spirits' there with the aim of stopping the Dúnedain from reclaiming the land and the burial sites of their kings and warriors. So it seems likely that the undead spirit sent from Carn-dûm occupied the 227 year-dead, embalmed corpse of the last prince of Cardolan. This semi-decayed body, being some 1,382 years dead at the time of its later encounter with the hobbits in 3108 TA, would have been, despite the embalming, primarily mere bone clothed in rotting burial robes and bejeweled.

The tomb would also have been garnered with ornaments and artifacts reflecting the prince's court. Some of these artifacts, namely Númenorean daggers, were later given to the hobbits by Tom Bombadil after removing the Barrow-wight's curse upon them. In the Peter Jackson movies, the swords are presented to them by Aragorn after being found in a putrid smelling troll cave. This is just one element of the breaking of the lore in the Peter Jackson films which, alongside deletion of the Tom Bombadil and Barrow-wight episodes, diminishes them. Based on the Peter Jackson retelling, the swords may have been obtained by the trolls through actions such as (1) scouring of the Dead Marshes, where thousands of bodies of those slain in war were entombed; (2) fatal encounters with original bearers, or (3) removal from barrows. Tolkien's origin for the swords in the Prince of Cardolan's barrow, is concise and elegant. It is unfortunate that it was not adhered to in the film, as was so much else associated with this significant section of the story.

Many depictions of Barrow-wights in fandom and gaming are of kingly apparitions, perhaps reflecting the fact that the similar Ringwraiths were kings of Men, or that the semi-preserved (embalmed) bodies of kings, princes and warriors found on slabs and above ground within barrows are more amenable to possession and necromancy than those simply buried in graves in the ground. The latter would give rise to swifter decomposition of flesh and bone and less elements of mummification. One example of such depictions is the Guardians role-playing card game Barrow Wight card illustrated below, though it is probably closer to a Pirates of the Caribbean character then to a Cardolan prince.

Barrow Wight, Guardians Collectible Card

Following Sauron's and the Witch King's emplacement of Barrow-wights within the Barrow Downs during 1636 TA, in 1851 TA King Araval of Arthedain attempted to resettle Cardolan and the Barrow Downs. However, the settlers were driven off, or killed, by the terror and power of the Barrow-wights resident there.

As we can see from Aragorn's comment above, the conflict between the Barrow-wights and Dúnedain continued through until 3018 TA. It is then unclear what happened to the Barrow-wights following the destruction of the One Ring in 3019 TA, and whether they followed the same fate as the Ringwraiths, and merely faded. With the death of the Witch King they were perhaps roused no more. The defeat of Sauron likely saw that connection similarly broken, leaving the Barrow-wight spirits free to return to Angmar or remain attached to the barrows and continue their evil ways, terrorising the people of Bree and travellers through the Barrow Downs and Old Forest, as implied by Barliman Butterbur (Milne 2017). Or perhaps they found peace in simply returning to their form prior to Sauron's necromancy, and discovering the gift of life after death given the race of Men of Middle-earth by Eru, if indeed they were Men, and not Orcs or Elves. Therein, they go to the Valar Mandos and the Halls of the Dead in Valinor, where they await the end of time and the final defeat of Melkor in the Dagor Dagorath. This, too, is the ultimate fate of the hobbits.

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7. The Barrow-wight and the hobbits

From a reading of The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, it is assumed that the Witch King, during his visit to the Barrow Downs, specifically tasked the Barrow-wights with capturing the hobbits and ending their quest. Tolkien nowhere directly indicates the Cardolan tomb Barrow-wight had knowledge of the One Ring or sought to secure it for the Witch King and Sauron, though this is a possibility. The Barrow-wight does not initially seek to take it from Frodo once he has been rendered helpless (killed) above ground, or initially within the barrow, though it may have been about to do so when Frodo suddenly revived, or was revived by Eru, drew a sword and severed its green-lit hand.

Frodo attacks the Barrow-wight.

Up to that point the creature seems to have been focused on the preparation of the three dead hobbits for some sort of post-mortem ritual. It is here that the lack of background information regarding the Barrow-wight's intention becomes problematic. What is the origin and meaning of the complex ritual ceremony carried out by the Barrow-wight upon the 'pale and cold' dead bodies of the hobbits in the barrow cavern? We know, from a later verse published in 1962, of the Barrow-wight ability to transform their victims:

I’ll give your otter-fell to the Barrow-wrights. They’ll taw you!
Then smother you in gold-rings!

Herein Tolkien's makes use of the old Germanic word taw in reference to the preparation of material for further processing. But why the formal ceremony in relation to their cold, dead bodies? What is the Barrow-wight seeking to do in stripping the three hobbits of their clothes, draping them in white burial shrouds, placing circlets (crowns) on their heads, gold chains about their waists, numerous rings on their fingers, swords by their sides, shields at their feet and a long naked sword across their necks? Is it to preserve them for the end of days when the Dark Lord Melkor will rise in the Dagor Dagorath? Or to reanimate them through necromancy, with corrupted spirits provided by Sauron, as was done to the Barrow-wight itself? Is it simply to use them in an eternal, macabre cosplay? And why was Frodo not initially included in this ritual of re-clothing and ornamenting? Was the fate of the ring-bearer to be altogether different?

Not knowing precisely who the Barrow-wight is, or its motivation apart from following the direction of the Witch King, makes it impossible to answer questions concerning this seemingly sacrificial activity. The only clue we have to a possible motivation is the incantation uttered, or sung, by the Barrow-wight following the preparation of the dead bodies of the three hobbits. This is discussed below, and points to the likely importance of the Dagor Dagorath. Apart from such conjecture, we can only rely upon a close reading of what Tolkien actually wrote to help uncover any possible motivation.

Further questions come to mind in regard to what happens to the hobbits during their encounter with the Barrow-wight between the early evening of 28 September and morning of the following day. Tolkien's text is both highly descriptive in parts, yet vague in others. For example, most commentators and readers come away from the book with the view that the Barrow-wight merely made the hobbits unconscious in some way, and that they eventually revived themselves. In a quick, cursory reading, the method of rendering them senseless is not clearly revealed, neither is the method of revival. The present author has spoken to a number of readers of the book, many of whom do not even recall the Barrow-wight episode. Nevertheless, their fate throughout was obviously much darker than mere temporary unconsciousness: the Barrow-wight killed the hobbits, and did this very quickly at the outset of their meeting by the use of a cold, freezing touch which stopped their hearts beating. As Aragorn noted in The Lord of the Rings in comments to Boromir suggesting that the Barrow-wights have long engaged in murder, abduction and robbery:

'Strider' I am to one fat man [Barliman Butterbur] who lives within a day’s march of foes [Barrow-wights] that would freeze his heart or lay his little town [Bree] in ruin.' (Tolkien 1954-5)

This is reinforced by the hobbits' subsequent deathly pale and comatose state. As a result, the Barrow-wight was then free to remove them to the barrow cavern, disrobe them, and prepare their bodies for eventual rebirth as undead, or some other dark fate. Tolkien provides numerous pointers to this. For example, in one of the early drafts of the Fog on the Barrow Downs chapter, he wrote that Merry believed he was dead during the encounter:

I thought I was dead - but don't let us speak of it. (History of Middle Earth)

To know, or think, one is dead is no small thing. If you are unconscious you do not have thought; if you are in a coma and semi-conscious you do have thoughts; if you have died, in all likelihood you would be aware of that fact, assuming the consciousness does not die with the death of the body. The comment suggests that Merry experienced something frightfully real as well, rather than the ecstasy that is often associated with death. As a member of the Fellowship he had unfinished business, and would have no doubt been keen to return to life. This, of course, brings up the issue of reincarnation and multiple lives after death. Tolkien was a Catholic and would have been aware that the Church had deemed reincarnation and karma as heresy, adhering to the doctrine that, upon death, there is only intermediate heaven, hell or purgatory pending the end of time and the Second Coming. However, Tolkien had rejected that idea and believed in reincarnation. As he noted in a 1954 letter:

… 'Reincarnation’ may be bad theology (that surely, rather than metaphysics) as applied to Humanity ... but I do not see how .... any theologian or philosopher, unless very much better informed about the relation of spirit and body than I believe anyone to be, could deny the possibility of reincarnation… (J.R.R. Tolkien 1954)

Within The Lord of the Rings the Barrow-wight refers to the death of the hobbits whilst in another room singing and preparing to approach Frodo, as he gloats over the fact of the three or four hobbits entombment upon a stoney altar:

Cold be hand and heart and bone
and cold be sleep under stone:
never more to wake on stony bed,
never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead.

Frodo also makes reference to the deathly state of his three hobbit companions when he is initially revived. There is no life in them when Tom Bombadil arrives in the cavern and later carries them outside, with the help of Frodo. In fact, one gaming figure vendor sells a set of the four 'Dead Hobbits' for inclusion in game play. The 21 March 2023 eBay sale advertisement is illustrated below.

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8. Tolkien's Barrow Downs narrative

With the above scenarios in mind, an outline of the Fog on the Barrow Downs chapter follows, setting out a blow by blow account of what happened, based on what Tolkien wrote in The Lord of the Rings and relevant information (lore) from the greater Middle-earth legendarium. It will be seen from this that the death scenario is a reasonable one, as is the hobbits rebirth / reincarnation / resurrection. It is also posited that the latter is not related to the necromancy as practised by Sauron, but rather to divine intervention on the part of Eru and Tom Bombadil. Text in brackets thus [ ... ] is commentary by the current author.

* Morning, Wednesday, 28 September, 3018 Third Age

- Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin leave the house of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, located adjacent to the Old Forest on the edge of the Barrow Downs.

- They are forewarned by Tom Bombadil of the danger should they encounter Barrow-wights along the way.

- Tom gives them a specific song to sing in order to call for his aid, if needed.

[Comment: This is a significant aid, as Tom is able to appear almost instantly upon such a plea for assistance being made. As a spirit being he is able to hear and travel across space and time. The power of songs and the words therein is a throwback to the creative force of the music of the Ainur at the beginning of time.]

- The hobbits head off in a north-easterly direction through the Barrow Downs towards Bree.

- Whilst en route they stop to eat, and inadvertently fall asleep next to a large stone plinth.

[Comment: It is possible that the monolith, in league with the dark powers of the Barrow-wight/s meaningfully emitted an energy which sent the hobbits to sleep.]

- They wake hours later amidst a dense fog as the sun is setting and the air becomes chilled.

[Comment: This atmospheric effect is most likely created by the Barrow-wight.]

- In a panic, they quickly get up and journey on with their horses, walking or riding.

- The hobbits become lost in the dark and the fog. They end up going in a circle.

- Frodo becomes separated from his friends and hears them shout out to him, 'Hoy, Frodo, Hoy.'

- There is then a period of silence, after which he hears them scream 'Help' on a number of occasions.

- At this point the three hobbits (Sam, Merry and Pippin) are encountering a Barrow-wight.

- The mere presence of the Barrow-wight weakens them in some manner and they collapse.

- The Barrow-wight quickly places its cold hands upon them, with the icy touch freezing them to the bone and causing their hearts to stop beating.

- The three hobbits collapse, unconscious at first, and then dead.

- Merry later recalls being stabbed in the heart with a spear by one of the Witch King's men of Carn-dûm, and dying.

[Comment: This is similar to when Frodo was later stabbed by the Witch King's morgal blade on Weathertop, though Merry's recollection is supposedly of a real event between two corporeal beings - the Prince of Cardolan and an Orc - though he does feel it.]

- There are no further cries for help.

- The Barrow-wight commences moving the hobbit bodies underground into the barrow cavern.

- Within the cavern a pale green light glows, emanating from the Barrow-wight.

- The three hobbits are now stone cold dead, with the Barrow-wight having drained the life out of them with its ice cold touch.

- The Barrow-wight places the hobbits on slabs of stone, in preparation for working on their now lifeless bodies, as in a morgue.

- It removes their clothes and dresses them in white ceremonial death shrouds or garments.

- It covers them with ornaments of jewels and gold, places swords and shields at their feet and a large sword across their necks.

In the barrow cavern. Artist: Matěj Čadil.

[Comment: The three hobbits are now soldiers prepared to do battle on the side of Melkor at the end of time, in the 'Battle of Battles' or Dagor Dagorath.]

- The Barrow-wight hears Frodo cry out in search of his friends, 'Where are you? Where are you?'

- It responds, from underground, 'Here! I am waiting for you.'

- Frodo is drawn closer to the entrance of the barrow.

- Frodo falls to the ground, weakened for some reason, likely due to the presence of the Barrow-wight and similar to the effect previously experienced by his three friends.

[Comment: It appears the Barrow-wight has the power to weaken its victim prior to capture.]

- Frodo looks up and sees the Barrow-wight standing over him, its eyes gleaming like two bright lights.

Frodo captured by a Barrow-wight. Artist: John Howe.

- The Barrow-wight grabs Frodo.

- Frodo instantly freezes to the bone, collapses and remembers no more.

- Frodo is now dead, his heart frozen still.

- The Barrow-wight brings Frodo's lifeless body into the cavern, placing him on the cold stone near his friends.

- It leaves the darkened room and later returns.

[Comment: All the above has taken place late on the evening of 28 September 3018 TA. Midnight passes.]

* Thursday, 29 September, 3018 Third Age

- Time passes, and outside the dark is slowly being replaced by daylight.

- Frodo slowly comes back to life.

[Comment: The resurrection of Frodo is due to the intervention of Eru, who would later bring Gandalf the Grey back to life as Gandalf the White on Middle-earth following his fateful encounter with the Balrog. In both instances - Gandalf and the hobbits - it is in order for them to continue to take part in the quest to destroy the One Ring.]

- As Frodo awakens in the darkness, he feels a deep sense of fear surround him, associated with the green light of the Barrow-wight and the dark energy arising therein.

[Comment: The green light is related to the fear and terror created by the Barrow-wight's mere presence.]

- Slowly Frodo is also overcome with thoughts of fellowship, of his friends, and of the need to save them.

[Comment: This is likely due to the grace of Eru in the form of the Secret Fire or Flame Imperishable, which is able to restore life and in turn strengthen and embolden him. The Middle-earth manifestation of the Secret Fire is Tom Bombadil, Master to Gandalf's Servant of the Secret Fire.]

- A grey mist, coloured green from the light of the Barrow-wight, seems to arise from Frodo's body and spread out within the cavern.

[Comment: It is possible that this grey-green mist is the evil, corrupting element of the Barrow-wight being drawn out of Frodo as he is revived. It is the grey mist that the hobbits initially encountered.]

- Frodo hears the Barrow-wight singing in a far off place, and then chanting the following:

Cold be hand and heart and bone
and cold be sleep under stone:
never more to wake on stony bed,
never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead.

In the black wind the stars shall die,
and still on gold here let them lie,
till the dark lord lifts up his hand
over dead sea and withered land.

[Comment: This can be read as the Barrow-wight celebrating his success in preparing the dead bodies of the hobbits for the end of time and the coming of Melkor with the Dagor Dagorath. It is also a homily to Sauron and the Witch King, the masters of the Barrow-wights.]

- Frodo feels the effect of the song, as though it is turning him to stone, drawing the life out of him again. He fights the feeling.

- Frodo looks up and over and sees his friends. They are deathly pale and cold. Lifeless.

- Frodo sees the arm of the Barrow-wight slowly enter the room behind him, perhaps with the intention of stealing the One Ring.

- Frodo reaches for the One ring to escape.

- He then decides instead to save his friends, rather than make use of the One Ring.

[Comment: This is perhaps the first indication that Frodo is aware of the dark side of the One Ring and how it can expose him to dark forces such as Sauron, the Witch King and Ringwraiths, and even the Barrow-wight, many of which he is not yet aware of.]

- Frodo picks up a nearby sword and cuts off the hand of the Barrow-wight.

Under the Spell of the Barrow-wight. Artist: Ted Nasmith.

- The sword shatters, most likely due to the hardness of the dead flesh and bone of the spirit-possessed Barrow-wight body.

- The pale green light disappears and the Barrow-wight shrieks and snarls in the darkness.

- Frodo calls out for Tom Bombadil, with the following words:

Ho! Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo!
By water, wood and hill, by the reed and willow
By fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us!
Come, Tom Bombadil, for our need is near us!

- Tom answers almost immediately - 'after a long, slow moment' - with a song which Frodo hears from deep within the barrow:

Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow,
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
None has ever caught him yet, for Tom he is the master;
His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster.

- Tom then appears outside the barrow.

[Comment: This reveals the ability of Tom to communicate with the hobbits on a subconscious level across space and time. It also shows us how he immediately hears Frodo's song and vice versa, and is miraculously transported almost instantaneously - in a moment - to the barrow.]

- Tom breaks a hole in the stone wall and the sun pours in on the hobbits.

[Comment: Bombadil's physical strength is revealed here, as is the light he brings to destroy the darkness.]

- The deathly pale dissipates from the three hobbits.

[Comment: The presence of Tom and the light begins the process of resurrecting the hobbits and once again cause their hearts to beat.]

- Tom sings to the Barrow-wight to leave.

Barrow-wight king.

Get out you old wight! Vanish in the sunlight!
Shrivel like the cold mist, like the winds go wailing,
Out into the barren lands far beyond the mountains!
Come never here again. Leave your barrow empty!
Lost and forgotten be, darker than the darkness,
Where gates stand forever shut, until the world is mended.

[Comment: Tom is casting this particular Barrow-wight spirit away, to the depths of Mordor, until the end of time. It is often commented that Tom Bombadil plays no active role in The Lord of the Rings. However, this Barrow-wight episodes debunks that claim, for herein Tom actively saves the four hobbits and removes the Barrow-wight from the barrow. Tom is a powerful figure in Middle-earth who can, when needed, intervene in the battle against the dark forces ever present.]

- Tom and Frodo take the three reviving hobbits out into the sunshine.

- Tom raises his right hand and speaks the following incantation over them:

Wake now my merry lads! Wake and hear me calling.
Warm now be heart and limb! The cold stone is fallen.
Dark door is standing wide; dark hand is broken.
Night under Night is flown, and the Gate is open!

[Comment: This is Tom as the veritable Right Hand of God (Eru the Secret Fire / Flame Imperishable, the Holy Spirit of the Catholic Blessed Trinity) speaking to, and restoring life to, the hobbits as only Eru (God) can.]

- The hobbits return to life.

- Merry remembers part of what has happened.

- Marry clutches his breast, saying: 'The men of Carn-dûm came on us at night, and we were worsted. Ah! the spear in my heart!'

[Comment: What Merry heard, and felt, was one of two possibilities: (1) the memories of the last Prince of Cardolan as he was slain by the invading armies from Angmar during 1409 TA, assuming his spirit had then remained within the barrow until the arrival of the hobbits 1,382 years later; or (2) the memories of the once good nature of the Númenorean who was killed during 1636 TA and whose spirit was captured and corrupted through Sauron's necromancy, prior to being sent to the Barrow Downs where it occupied the corpse of the last Prince of Cardolan. As the icy touch of the Barrow-wight took away Merry's life, there was a brief connection with the inner consciousness of that tortured spirit.]

- The presence of Tom Bombadil removes the horror in the hearts of the hobbits as they look upon him.

- Tom tells the hobbits to drop their shrouds and trinkets and run around naked in the sun to revive their circulation and restore their general well-being.

- Tom removes the Barrow-wight spell from the barrow by single-handedly retrieving a large, heavy collection of artifacts, including swords.

- Tom gives a dagger (sword) to each hobbit, forged by the Dúnedain, killed in battle with the armies of the Witch King.

- Tom accompanies the restored hobbits on their journey to the edge of the Barrow Downs, to keep them safe.

- The hobbits leave Tom Bombadil and continue on their way along the East Road, 4 miles to Bree.

- The hobbits do not encounter any Ringwraiths en route.

[Comment: This is due to the fact that 'Tom is ... master of Riders from the Black Land [within the borders of] his country,' which stretch to the edge of the Barrow Downs.]

- Tom returns to his home with Goldberry; the hobbit reach Bree.

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9. Death & resurrection / Eru and Tom

The main problem presented by the above scenario is that of the resurrection of the four hobbits. We know what happens to Gandalf the Grey when he is returned as Gandalf the White from the 'dead' after battling the Balrog. However, this is not problematic as he is a Maia spirit - one of the five Ishta sent down to Middle-earth by the Valar, and later at the behest of Eru, to assist the people there in their fight against Sauron. Gandalf, as an immortal spirit, saw his human body made unworkable - lifeless - as a result of his encounter with the Maia spirit in the form of the Balrog. His earthly body was able to be repaired and returned to him by Eru, the God figure of Tolkien's legendarium, likely with the assistance of the Valar, who had carried out such tasks previously for the Elves. As mentioned above, only Eru could restore life, though the Valar had a role to play in reuniting immortal 'dead' Elves with bodies. In this instance Gandalf's 'life' or soul (referred to by Tolkien as his fëa) was not restored, only his 'body' (his hröa). It is also obvious that in some way his fëa was enhanced by Eru prior to his arrival back on Middle-earth as the White Rider, or Gandalf the White.

The ongoing life, or 'resurrection', of immortal beings such as the Maiar and Elves is different from that of ordinary hobbits who, like the race of Men, have a limited lifespan and have been given the 'gift of death' by Eru. As a result, the four hobbits truly died at the ice cold touch of the Barrow-wight and needed to be resurrected in order to continue on the task allocated them by Eru in their quest to destroy the One Ring - the Ring of Power - and defeat Sauron. In the Barrow Downs incident it is clear that their death is replaced by renewed and enhanced life, as was also the case with Gandalf. But who brought them back to life?

The obvious answer is Eru / The One / God. This is relatively easy to apply to Frodo, as he awoke and immediately felt the need to save his friends, despite the dark thoughts generated by Sauron and the One ring through the Barrow-wight. He did not awake as an undead being, seeking to engage in evil. He was revived by what the Catholic Tolkien would describe as the grace of God. We also read within Fog on the Barrow Downs how a green mist left his body as he was revived. This is most likely the work of Eru in cleansing the corruption from him and restoring his essence, his soul, his fëa.

But how does one explain the subsequent behaviour of Tom Bombadil that Tolkien has presented to us? Tom answered Frodo's call in an instant; physically tore a hole in the side of the rock and dirt barrow, revealing great strength; similarly removed the hoard of treasure; and then extracted the seemingly dead hobbits from the cavern, with assistance from Frodo, placing them on the ground in the sunlight. He went on to raise his right hand, like a priest about to do an exorcism, and, through an incantation, restored life to them with words such as Warm now be heart and limb!

Bombadil could only have done this if he possessed the power of Eru to restore life. This is possible because the current author has presented the argument elsewhere that Tom is the Flame Imperishable / the Secret Fire of Tolkien's legendarium, and as such a Middle-earth manifestation of Eru. As Tolkien also tells us, this is equivalent to the Holy Spirit of the Catholic Blessed Trinity, which exists in the form of God the Father, God the Son (the Word of God) and God the Holy Spirit / Holy Ghost.

Tom's incantation over the bodies of the hobbits is telling. Catholic mythology differentiates between God's use of the left and right hand. The right hand symbolizes the power and authority of God, whilst the left hand symbolizes dealings with evil, as seen in the following quote:

Iluvatar sat watching this happen until the music reached a depth of gloom and ugliness unimaginable. Then suddenly Iluvatar smiled sadly and raised his left hand and a new music began among the clash and unlike the first it gathered power and sweetness. And Melko went to war with this music by starting an uproar against it. This time Iluvatar raised his right hand and he no longer smiled but Wept; and behold a third theme grew amid the turmoil. (The Book of Lost Tales, The Music of the Ainur, written circa 1918-20)

Tom's use of the right hand in restoring life to the hobbits is a reflection of the power of God, above all others, to give life.

There is much in the words and actions of Tom Bombadil within The Lord of the Rings that is mysterious, magical, powerful, spiritual and enigmatic. Tolkien actually cited him as the single allegorical character in the book, thereby pointing to his unlikely role as a manifestation of Eru. All of this aligns with Tom's actions in saving the hobbits from the strangling roots of Old Willowman, capture by the Black-riders, and death at the hands of the Barrow-wight of the Barrow Downs. Tom, as a manifestation of Eru can therefore be said to have played a part in the resurrection of the hobbits in the barrow cavern.

During the Council of Elrond it is stated by Gandalf and others that Tom is bound to a small area of land about his house. But this is not so. He is obviously there to meet up with the hobbits and provide assistance to them in their quest. As an immortal spirit being, who had existed since the beginning of time and was known throughout Middle-earth, his residence on the edge of the Barrow Downs is obviously a temporary and providential one. In the recent Amazon television show The Rings of Power, which takes place during the Second Age, he was situated by the script writers in the eastern land of Rhûn. This was a pure reflection of the possibilities of his movements around Middle-earth and not on anything that Tolkien specifically said or wrote.

It is important to remember when comparing Tom Bombadil to Christian theology that the role of the grace of God is to assist, not to do the work of those with free will. It is therefore up to the hobbits and others to succeed or fail in their question, with the help of that grace. This is a Catholic concept which is core to Tolkien’s belief and reflected throughout his greater legendarium.

Tolkien makes a number of references to encounters between Tom Bombadil and Barrow-wights, in published and unpublished works. Within various drafts of The Lord of the Rings Tom is able to ward off the Barrow-wights, who either chase after or entrap the hobbits, through his spoken word, unspoken thoughts, action and the use of light. There are also references to Tom being on Middle-earth prior to the appearance of Barrow-wights, as in his comments to the hobbits:

‘Eh, what?’ said Tom sitting up, and his eyes glinted in the gloom. ‘I am an Aborigine, that’s what I am, the Aborigine of this land. I have spoken a mort of languages and called myself by many names. Mark my words, my merry friends: Tom was here before the River or the Trees. Tom remembers the first acorn and the first rain-drop. He made paths before the Big People, and saw the Little People arriving. He was here before the kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward Tom was here already - before the seas were bent. He saw the Sun rise in the West and the Moon following, before the new order of days was made. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside. (The Return of the Shadow 121)

The final, published version of this paragraph was briefer, though just as expansive:

But you are young and I am old. Eldest, that’s what I am. Mark my words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made paths before the Big People, and saw the little People arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless – before the Dark Lord came from Outside. (The Lord of the Rings 129)

The Barrow-wight episode in The Lord of the Rings is important in revealing to the hobbit party, and the readers, the deadly circumstances faced when the followers of Sauron are met. The four hobbits learn much from their two or three days in the company of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. Surviving death is probably their most valuable lesson. As a result of their resurrection they are empowered with the grace of God / Eru to proceed with the quest to destroy the One Ring. The Tom Bombadil / Goldberry and Barrow-wight section of the narrative is therefore a vital part of the story, for without that grace, that Secret Fire, they would have failed at the outset, suffocated in the roots of Old Willowman, frozen in death by a Barrow-wight or captured and killed by Ringwraiths. to proclaim that Tom Bombadil played no significant role in the fate of the hobbits within The Lord of the Rings is to be ignorant of the truth as presented to us by author J.R.R. Tolkien.

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Mithril Miniatures Barrow-wight figure box.

10. Aftermath

What happened to the Barrow-wights of the Barrow Downs after the death of the Witch King of Angmar and the defeat of Sauron with the destruction of the One Ring of power by Frodo Baggins and Gollum in March 3019? This question was addressed in some detail during 2017 by Alistair Milne, within the Quora discussion group as follows:

I’m not aware that there is any information on this. As ever, Tom Bombadil’s realm, including the Barrow-downs, remains one of the most mysterious places in the story. It’s likely that with Sauron’s influence gone from the world, the various baleful things in and around the Old Forest, including the Barrow-wights, were no longer being roused, and at least quieted down. If I recall correctly (I regret I don’t have the Appendices to the Return of the King at hand) in the years and decades following the Scouring of the Shire, traffic started to increase again on the Great Northern road, which had been all but abandoned (except by thieves and highwaymen and the like) after the destruction of Arnor, which suggests that the threat of the Barrow-downs had faded. In the Scouring of the Shire and the final chapters, there is no mention of any complaint about the Old Forest troubling Buckland as it used to. But on the other hand, the account there is almost entirely about the Shire’s recovery after the invasion, how the Fellowship hobbits were settling back in, and Frodo’s recurring illnesses. Probably more significant: when Gandalf departed from them it was to have the world’s greatest chin-wag with Bombadil. His attitude showed no concerns about any dangers at all in the country he was just about to ride through, whereas it’s likely that if the Barrow-wights had still been a danger, he’d have felt it. One thing that suggests the Barrow-wights might have faded altogether is that their very existence had been due, we understand, to the Witch-King (the Lord of the Nazgûl) and his slaughter of the Dúnedain of Arnor. After Ëowyn destroyed him (it?) it’s possible that there was no longer any force to sustain the Barrow-wights. But on the other hand, since the North Downs were considered dangerous for centuries when the Witch-King was thought to have vanished, this may be reading too much into it. (Milne 2017)

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11. Rings of Power 2024

During September 2024 season two of Amazon's The Rings of Power included within episode 4 a brief segment wherein a group of Elves travel through the Barrow Downs and encounter Barrow-wights. Unfortunately the footage is very dark and it is difficult to see exactly what is taking place.

Encounter with Barrow-wights, The Rings of Power, S2E4, September 2024, duration: 4.15 minutes.

In the episode we hear a Barrow-wight reciting verse from The Lord of the Rings prior to appearing and, along with a group of Barrow-wights, attacking the Elves. Their power to freeze and kill is not seen, but rather, they appear to merely drag their victims into a darkened, underground tomb.

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12. Gaming Barrow-wights

Tolkien's Barrow-wights may not exist in the minds of fans of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, but they live on through electronic and online gaming, and role-playing games and figures produced by firms such as Games Workshop, LEGO, Mithril Miniatures and Warhammer. Therein, references by Tolkien to Barrow-wights have been scoured by gamers to come up with characters, attributes and roles. The Barrow-wights are usually based on the possessed body of the Prince of Cardolan, as in the Mithral Miniature figure illustrated above, though less kingly creatures have also been created. It is interesting to analyse the powers allocated to the Barrow-wights by gamers, the majority of which derive from Tolkien, though not all. Paralyze is one such power which aligns with their ability to kill through mere cold touch, as noted by Tolkien. It is amazing the level of detail, and the accurate interpretations of Tolkien's writings, that is seen in the rendering of these game characters and their attributes. The electronic versions, being interactive, are used in battles and, as such, their distinct powers are significant. Games Workshop produced a version - a non-electronic battle strategy game which included figures of four hobbits, Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, and four Barrow-wights. The cover of the strategy games box is illustrated below.

Games Workshop, Fog on the Barrow Downs -Battle Strategy Game, Citadel Miniatures Ltd., 2003.

Therein the Barrow-wights are described as follows, straying somewhat from Tolkien's lore, though also embracing it:

Barrow-wights are the spirits of the long-dead rulers of Men, brought into being by the dark sorceries of the Witch-king of Angmar and now bound to his will. Even after the dread kingdom of Angmar fell into ruin, the Barrow-wights continued to linger. Those who stray into their domain meet an untimely death, for the very touch of those fell spirits is enough to paralyse their victims, leaving the Barrow-wight free to sacrifice them at its leisure. Barrow-wights are powerful assets to any army they join, for they wield Paralyse – one of the most devastating magical powers in the game! (Games Workshop 2020)

An example of the painted figures and associated terrain as used in the game when played can be seen in the following video.

Too Many Minis, Fog on the Barrow Downs - terrain showcase [video], YouTube, 1 February 2022, duration: 6.18 minutes.

There are a large number of digital gaming-related videos on YouTube which present aspects of Tolkien's Barrow-wight world. Some are listed below under the Game play videos section.

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13. Fandom Videos

The following videos discuss what J.R.R. Tolkien has written about the Barrow-wights, offering various interpretations of their attributes and intentions. There is obviously much confusion regarding the subject.

* Wakizashi's Teahouse, Frodo Fights the Barrow Wight (audio), YouTube, 15 May 2020, duration: 12.04 minutes. A reading from The Lord of the Rings, of Chapter 8: Fog on the Barrow Downs.

* The Broken Sword, What are the Barrow-wights? - Middle-earth Lore, YouTube, 1 November 2021, duration: 13.06 minutes. Includes a reading from the book.

* The Red Book, Of Barrow-wights and the Dagor Dagorath, YouTube, 2021, duration: 9.28 minutes.

* Theory of the Rings, The Hobbits Dark Encounter with Barrow-wights (canon), YouTube, 2021, duration: 4.06 minutes. Comment on Tolkien lore.

* Men of the West, The History of the Barrow Downs, YouTube, 2020, duration: 9.24 minutes.

* Middle-earth Lore, Undead Explained (Barrow-wights, Oathbreakers, Nazgul), YouTube, 31 October 2020, duration: 6.11 minutes.

* Master of Lore, Barrow-wights, YouTube, 2020, duration: 2.54 minutes.

* Anotherworld, Tolkien's Barrow-wights, YouTube, 2020, duration: 6.41 minutes.

* GeekZone, What were the Barrow-wights and where did they come from?, YouTube, 2019, duration: 11.19 minutes.

* Tolkien Lore, Lord of the Rings deleted scene: Barrow-wights, YouTube, 2017, duration: 9.17 minutes.

* Tolkien Lore, The Importance of the Old Forest, Bombadil, and Barrow Downs in The Lord of the Rings, YouTube, 11 September 2017, duration: 9.39 minutes.

* HelloFutureMe, Middle-earth Mysteries: Barrow-wights explained, YouTube, 2017, duration: 9.10 minutes.

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14. Game play videos

* DP, The Fellowship of the Ring game, chapter 4 - Barrow Downs, in game play, YouTube, 2020, duration: 6.54 minutes. In which (1) Frodo travels through the Barrow Downs encountering spirits and killing them with his sword; (2) enters the barrow cavern and fights Barrow-wights who emit a green mist at him which knocks him over or forces him back; (3) sings a song to Tom Bombadil asking for help; (4) Tom instantly appears and sings a song to dispense with the Barrow-wights; and (5) the escape and allocation of swords prior to the journey to Bree. Text from The Lord of the Rings is included throughout.

* Monmi90, Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring, episode 9: Barrow-wight and meeting Aragorn, XBox game play, YouTube, 2013, duration: 2020 minutes. With commentary.

* IZZY, Barrow-wights - War in the North, YouTube, 2020, duration: 32.24 minutes. In-game play description. With commentary.

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15. References

Barrow-wights, The Encyclopedia of Arda [website], n.d.

-----, The Tolkien Forum Wiki [website], 15 July 2020.

Callahan, P.J., Tolkien, Beowulf and the Barrow-wights, Notre Dame English Journal, 1972.

Flieger, Verlyn, The curious incident of the dream at the barrow: memory and reincarnation in Middle-earth, Tolkien Studies, 4, 2007, 99-112.

GirlNextGondor, Necromancy: Nazgul, Barrow-wights and Zombies - Magic in Middle-earth [video], YouTube, 2022, duration: 35.51 minutes.

Hawkins, Blake, Lord of the Rings: The Films Lost a Ghostly Encounter [with a Barrow-wight], Thanks to Tom Bombadil, CBR.com, 14 December 2021.

Hillman, Tom, Barrow-wights, Ringwraiths, and William Morris (FR, 2 ii 248), AlasNotMe [blog], 26 April 2017.

Jackson, Peter (director), The Lord of the Rings [film trilogy], Wingnut Films, New Zealand, 2001-3.

Johnson, Sean Aram, Fog on the Barrow Downs: Celtic Roots of Tolkien’s Mythology, BA thesis, Boston College, 2010, 149p.

Martinez, Michael, What was Tolkien's inspiration for the Barrow Downs?, Middle-earth Xenite.org, 2015.

Milne, Alistair, What happened to the Barrow-wights after the War of the Ring?, Quora [message board], 2017.

RayinBangor, The Barrow-wights, The Tolkien Wiki Community [blog], n.d.

Strachey, Barbara, The Journeys of Frodo: Atlas of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, HarperCollins, 1981, 112p.

Tolkien, J.R.R., The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Oxford Magazine, 52(13), 15 February 1934, 464-5.

-----, The Hobbit, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1937.

-----, The Lord of the Rings, George Allen & Unwin, London, 3 volumes, 1954-5.

-----, Letter to Peter Hastings, September, 1954, number 153 in Letters.

-----, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and other verses from The Red Book, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1962.

-----, Letters, Macmillan and Son, London, 1977.

-----, Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1980, 611p. Edited by Christopher Tolkien.

-----, The History of Middle-earth II - The Return of the Shadow - The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part One, Unwin Hyman, London, 1988, 497p. Edited by Christopher Tolkien.

-----, Beowulf: a translation and commentary, together with Sellic Spell, HarperCollins, 2014, 163–164.

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Last updated: 25 September 2024

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