how did gandalf travel to middle earth

Gandalf's Backstory Explained

J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings juggles a lot of different characters. Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, and Men all figure prominently on the printed page, the silver screen, and soon even our personal television sets . But there's one character in the story that stands out (especially when you take his tall, pointed hat into consideration). We're talking, of course, about Gandalf. The wizard is unique, not only because of the instrumental part he plays throughout the story but also because, well, he's a wizard.

Wizards in Tolkien's world aren't trained at Hogwarts. Nor do they consist of various people from different races simply "practicing magic." The concept of a wizard from Middle-earth is about as unique in the fantasy world as Gandalf himself is in The Lord of the Rings . 

So what, exactly, are Tolkien's wizards, then? And what does that make Gandalf? What is the background of this strange wanderer, dressed all in grey? Where did he come from and why is he meddling in everyone's affairs in the first place? Let's dive into the Grey Pilgrim's backstory and see what it is that sets Gandalf up for the critical role that he ends up playing throughout The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings .

Beginnings in the West

Gandalf first comes into existence at the beginning of time itself. He is initially a supernatural entity, created by Tolkien's supreme being, Ilúvatar. After the creation of Arda (that is, the world as a whole), he comes to live within it along with a host of other celestial beings like himself, called Ainur, thousands upon thousands of years before The Lord of the Rings takes place. 

During this period of "youth," he is named Olórin, and he lives in the lands to the west of Middle-earth. He spends a good deal of his time in Lorien, a heavenly land filled with gardens, lakes, and rivers. He also keeps company with Nienna, a Valar or leader of the Ainur who is known for her association with grief and sorrow. This helps him learn much about patience and pity. 

Throughout his existence, Gandalf is always drawn to the "Children of Ilúvatar" — that is, both Elves and Men — and is always keen to help them. However, he typically doesn't reveal himself to them in his true form, rather choosing to communicate to them through visions — hence his name Olórin, part of which Tolkien translated at different times as "fantasy" or "dream."

The supernatural Ainur are the highest order of beings within Middle-earth, and they are broken into two different groups. The Valar , made up of 14 Ainur including Nienna, are the kings and queens that rule over creation in the name of Ilúvatar. 

Every other Ainur is part of the group called the Maiar. In the book Unfinished Tales — which compiled many of Tolkien's unpublished and unfinished works — the author refers to these creatures as an "angelic" order of beings. It's not known how many Maiar there were, but several of them show up throughout Middle-earth history and are very powerful. Sauron, for instance, is probably the most well-known Maiar. The Balrog that lives in Moria is another, less powerful, of the creatures. 

However, while those two are forces for evil, there were many, many other Maiar that fought for good — including Gandalf. While he isn't as impressive on the surface, the Grey Wanderer's great claim to fame is the fact that in The Silmarillion he's referred to as "the wisest of the Maiar." It's an impressive attribute, considering the fact that every single one of them are eternal, deeply spiritual beings.

The Order of the Wizards

Along with being one of the wisest of the Maiar, Gandalf, as everyone knows, is also a wizard. But as we hinted at before, the idea of a "wizard" is a bit of a misnomer when compared to the modern English definition of the word. In Unfinished Tales , Tolkien explains just what Middle-earth wizards are and why they're so different from their modern counterparts. 

He explains that "wizard" is a translation of the Elvish word "istar," representing an order that claims to have "eminent knowledge of the history and nature of the World." These wizards, or "Istari," are distinct from the sorcerers and magic peddlers typically associated with the name. In reality, they're a specific subset of Maiar that operated in the Third Age of Middle-earth history.

There are five main wizards in Tolkien's writings, literally referred to in The Two Towers as the "Five Wizards," but the Unfinished Tales also explains that their total number is actually unknown and some very well may have visited different areas besides the northwestern portion of Middle-earth.

How Tolkien's wizards work

On the inside, so to speak, the Istari are technically angelic, supernatural beings from the glorious west. However, the important distinction that makes a Maiar a wizard is the fact that they've voluntarily been wrapped in the frail mortality of a worldly body. And this isn't just putting on an appearance so that they can blend in with Men and Elves, either. Their bodies are the real deal.

It's made clear in Unknown Tales that the physical forms that the wizards take restrict their abilities and even have the effect of "dimming their wisdom and knowledge and confusing them with fears, cares, and wearinesses coming from the flesh." 

This restriction is a natural side effect of the nature of their existence in the first place. The wizards were created and sent to Middle-earth specifically to help resist Sauron. Because of this, it says in The Silmarillion that they were forbidden to simply overpower the Dark Lord with their own latent power, nor were they allowed to dominate Men or Elves in order to do so. In other words, wizards are Maiar wrapped in physical, restricting bodies that were sent to Middle-earth in order to help (not dominate) the peoples resist the growing power of Sauron.

Messengers to Middle-earth

While he's been around from the beginning of Time, it turns out that it isn't until well into the Third Age that Gandalf is asked to take on his wizard form.

According to one note in Unfinished Tales , the head of the Valar, Manwë, personally chooses Gandalf to become the "director and coordinator of attack and defense." However, Gandalf's initial reaction is to resist the nomination, as he is afraid of Sauron's power. But Manwë insists, explaining that his wise fear is precisely why he is particularly suited to the task. 

Eventually, the five main wizards are chosen and they begin to arrive on the western coast of Middle-earth approximately one millennium into the Third Age. This roughly coincides with the first whisperings of Sauron beginning to set himself up in Mirkwood as the Necromancer that we eventually meet in The Hobbit trilogy. According to one version of the story, Gandalf comes last of all the Istari, and it's said that he's very unimposing. He's shorter than the others, already has grey hair, and leans on a staff. In fact, the specific word used to explain his appearance is that he comes across as the "least" of the intrepid mortality-clad Maiar. 

The Five Wizards

Of the Five Wizards, Gandalf is clearly the most well known. Two others appear at times throughout The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings stories and the last two have no active part in the narrative and are barely discussed. Each of these five representatives of the Valar have different strengths and, while they knew each other, they clearly weren't supposed to work together as a team at all times. 

Up front, the most impressive of the Five Wizards is Saruman. Also called Curunír or "the Man of Skill," he was the first to arrive in Middle-earth. He proudly came dressed in white, which contrasted boldly with his hair, which was raven black at the time. Next up, we have Radagast. Clad in earthen brown, Radagast was very interested in beasts and birds. One version of the story in Unfinished Tales also explains that Radagast was paired up with Saruman as a favor to the Valar, Yavanna, much to Saruman's dismay and disdain. 

Last, and certainly least as far as the story goes, were the Blue Wizards. This pair of Maiar,  dressed in sea-blue clothing, were named Alatar and Pallando and it's said that they traveled to Middle-earth as friends.

The Unfaithful

While the idea of having five Gandalf equivalents wandering around Middle-earth sounds like a great way to fight back against Sauron, it turns out that the only member of the team that genuinely had a net positive effect ended up being Gandalf. Tolkien refers to him as the only one that remains "faithful" to his mission of providing aid to the free folk who were resisting Sauron.

Saruman's failure is well documented. The Wizard becomes corrupt with power and goes against the Istari's commission by dominating the wills of others and setting himself up as a contender against Sauron. Radagast's fate is quietly tragic, as the wizard slowly slips into a habit of overly prioritizing the birds and beasts rather than Elves and Men. His fate isn't clearly recorded, but it seems to be one of irrelevance at the least.

The Blue Wizards have long remained a fascination to Tolkien fans if only because of their utter and complete mystery. Tolkien himself would talk about them as if they were a riddle that he didn't have time to solve. It's said that the duo traveled far into the east with Saruman but never came back. In fact, in a letter in 1958, Tolkien explained that he didn't know what happened to them, but he feared that they failed in their mission and may have even founded secret cults of magic before all was said and done.

Wielding a ring

One final note about Gandalf's first appearance in Middle-earth has to do with a gift he's given when he arrives. When he first meets the shipwright Círdan at the Grey Havens (that's the port where Frodo leaves at the end of The Return of the King ) the Elven lord immediately sees right through the wizard's lowly appearance and recognizes the important role that Gandalf is going to play in the war against Sauron. 

This leads Círdan to give Gandalf a ring of power to help him throughout his adventures. No, not the One Ring of power, but a heavy-hitting piece of enchanted jewelry nonetheless. Círdan's gift is Narya the Red, one of the three Elven rings. The potent ring is meant to help support Gandalf through his labors and aid him in sparking courage in the hearts of those that he helps. While Gandalf accepts the gift, he attempts to keep it very secret. However, he's unable to conceal it from Saruman, who becomes jealous over the preferential treatment. In fact, according to Tolkien, this is the first thing that starts to erode the friendship between the two wizards.

Lonely wanderings

When the Five Wizards arrive in Middle-earth, the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are still roughly 2,000 years in the future. So one big question that has to be asked is what Gandalf does to kill the time. His name rarely appears during the major geopolitical events of the age, and he seems to have practically fallen off the map for huge swaths of time.

Fortunately, Tolkien gives us a little hint of the answer in Unfinished Tales when he says, "Probably he wandered long (in various guises), engaged not in deeds and events but in exploring the hearts of Elves and Men who had been and might still be expected to be opposed to Sauron."

In other words, he spends a lot of time wandering all over the Westlands of Middle-earth, generally laying low, making friends, and increasing his understanding of the lay of the land. He doesn't settle down at all during this point, either — remember, he's known as the "Grey Wanderer" or the "Grey Pilgrim." This contrasts starkly with his fellow Istari teammates, as Radagast eventually settles down at his home of Rhosgobel on the edge of Mirkwood and Saruman famously sets up shop at Isengard.

With so many centuries of wandering under his belt, it's natural that Gandalf would acquire a lengthy collection of names. Tolkien, yet again, obliges us through multiple sources, especially Unfinished Tales , by providing several of them, often along with their origins and meanings. The name Gandalf means "the Elf of the Wand," since Men thought he was an Elf. Tolkien himself admitted that he got that one directly out of Norse mythology.

Beyond that, though, the Wandering Wizard also reveals in The Two Towers that "many are my names in many countries." We've already heard of Olórin, his name in the West at the beginning of Time. The Elves also call him Mithrandir, which means "the Grey Pilgrim." Adding to the list of monikers, the Dwarves call him Tharkûn, which translates to "Staff-man." 

He also says that in the South he's called Incánus. However, Tolkien himself seemed to be unsure about how to explain this last one. In one note, he says that it comes from the Haradrim language and meant "alien" or "North-spy." However, in later notes, he claimed it was just a common name for the Grey Pilgrim in Gondor, which was relatively "south" compared to his general stomping grounds. Whichever way you slice it, though, there's no doubt that the wizard develops a pretty impressive collection of names over the course of his nomadic career.

Helping Hobbits

One other critical activity that Gandalf participates in during the centuries before The Lord of the Rings is befriending Hobbits. Amongst all the wise, Gandalf is the only one that sees the value of the Halflings, making a distinct effort to cultivate a deep connection with the agricultural community of the Shire. He helps them when they're in need and is specifically remembered in the appendix of The Return of the King for aiding them during the desperate Long Winter of 2758. 

He also entertains the Shire-folk whenever possible, establishing a reputation for his incredible fireworks, magic tricks, and excellent storytelling. On the flip side, he also gets a bit of a bad rap throughout their tranquil community for convincing many quiet Hobbit "lads and lasses" to run "off into the Blue for mad adventures." At least, that's how Bilbo puts it when he bumps into the wizard while blowing smoke rings by his front door. Needless to say, when the great events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings roll around, Gandalf is firmly established as a local legend within the Hobbit communities.

The White Council and other Adventures

While Gandalf appears to lay low for most of his time in Middle-earth, that doesn't mean he does nothing at all. A thousand years after his arrival, he visits the fortress of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood where Sauron has been rebuilding his power in the form of the Necromancer. The wizard drives the Dark Lord out (although he doesn't realize who he is yet), leading to the centuries-long period of the Watchful Peace.

He also serves as a member of the Council of the Wise, also known as the White Council, which is composed of Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond, and Círdan, among others. Gandalf is actually considered to lead the prestigious body at one point, but he doesn't want to be restrained from wandering and the position is awarded to his fellow wizard Saruman instead. 

At one point, a bit later on, Gandalf also sets out in search of the missing Dwarven king Thráin II. In his search, he journeys through Moria and then revisits Dol Guldur. Here, he finds the Dwarf — who gives him a map and a key for the Lonely Mountain — in prison and finally discovers that the Necromancer has returned and is, indeed, Sauron. He tells the White Council and urges them to attack while their enemy is unprepared. The Council eventually attacks and defeats Sauron, at which point he withdraws to Mordor.

A chance meeting

As some may have already noticed, we've started to spill into the events of The Hobbit at this point, and the "backstory" of Gandalf is drawing to a close. Perhaps the best spot to tie things in with the mainstream story is with a chance meeting near the Prancing Pony. Once again turning to Unfinished Tales , we find Gandalf riding along one day on his way to the Shire for a sabbatical. As he nears the inn of the Prancing Pony in Bree, he's busily pondering on the impending evil threats scattered throughout Middle-earth. 

Suddenly, who should he run into but Thorin Oakenshield himself. The Dwarven hero is also deep in thought as he travels in exile thanks to Smaug the dragon, who has taken up residence in his mountain home half a world away. The two begin to talk, and Gandalf decides to visit the dwarf's temporary home. 

After further discussion, the wizard heads to the Shire as he mulls the situation over. Not long afterward he hears about the eccentric Hobbit bachelor Bilbo Baggins, whom he hasn't seen since Baggins was a child. He starts making a plan, and the rest is Middle-earth history.

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LOTR: Why Was Gandalf Sent Back To Middle-earth After Dying?

Gandalf’s revival was an emotionally charged moment for audiences but did it serve a greater purpose than just cinematic drama?

The Lord of the Rings trilogy evokes an array of emotions in viewers, with two of the most emotional moments being Gandalf’s death and his revival. Since the emotional responses to these scenes were so different, many fans, writers, and scholars have argued whether or not the resurrection was actually necessary to the whole story.

On one hand, some people view it as a cheat-- an unrealistic solution to a hole in the story that Tolkien couldn’t figure out how to fill in another way. Others believe that the rebirth was an appropriate choice and that it contributes to the greater storyline, given the layers of Christian lore woven into the world.

RELATED: LOTR: What Did Galadriel's Gifts To The Fellowship Of The Ring Mean?

To fully understand this question, fans must first consider who Gandalf is, outside of his relevance to the ring. Before he was even Gandalf the Grey, he was Olorin, a Maia. The Maiar were beings created to assist the Valar in forging the Earth. In his time as Olorin, he was often revered by his fellow Maiar for his wisdom and spent much time with Nienna, who was a queen of the Valar that was gifted in the ways of mercy. From her he learned how to be empathetic and considerate of others -- some of his best qualities that we see recurring throughout the story.

When he returns to Earth, his greatest contributions to it are the ones that we see in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings tales. His commitment to the beings of Middle-earth is moving and admirable, which is what makes his death so difficult for characters and viewers alike.

Gandalf’s death was a pivotal moment for the story because it is when Frodo begins to realize that he is not only risking his own life, he’s risking his friends’ lives too. By losing Gandalf, someone he’s known for so long as a dear friend, Frodo’s soul is somewhat crushed and his eyes are opened more to the reality of his situation. Beyond that, it seemed to diminish the hope of the entire party because there was none among them that did not, at least, have intense respect for Gandalf.

Gandalf died in darkness, burned by the fire of the Balrog. His battle with the creature lasted 8 days. He was not revived until day 19 and even then, he was very dazed for a few days before he was any form of himself again. Up until Gandalf’s death, it seemed that his purpose in the story was to assist Frodo in his journey taking the ring to Mordor. After Gandalf dies, this changes. When he comes back, he focuses his energy more on the other members of the fellowship as they prepare for battle. He mostly helps in combat from this point.

His revival, or resurrection, was less important to Frodo’s goal than his death but was still important to the other characters in the story. Gandalf’s return renewed hope for many of the characters going to battle and helped them to feel prepared and focused on the task at hand.

Gandalf’s personality is mostly the same between being Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White, aside from a few qualities. Gandalf the Grey was playful and experienced, giving him the prime personality and stories to intrigue a hobbit. Although, when he becomes Gandalf the White, he becomes slightly more assertive and wiser, giving him better ability to handle the intense situations yet to come. This new adjustment to his perspective makes him a better source of power and motivation for men, elves, and dwarves going into battle.

Beyond his physical return being important, the transition from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White also contributes to the story. With his limited powers as the Grey, he was able to keep up with protecting the fellowship but not much more. His abilities as Gandalf the White, however, are strong enough to affect larger areas of Middle-earth. Without his new powers, he likely would not have been able to free Theoden or contribute to battle in the same way.

It’s also important to note the theme of the story when examining this question. Tolkien intended these stories to represent humanity’s greed for power, as a means of controlling others and achieving immortality. Tolkien uses the story and its characters to illustrate how those who try to obtain God-like power-- abilities that are not natural-- often do not succeed and meet an unfortunate end.

However, those who are humble in their power and use it to help others, are rewarded. Considering this, Gandalf’s death and revival certainly make sense. He sacrificed his own life for Middle-earth , more than once, and was a friend to nearly all the beings there. He earned a sort of immortality, through the only means that it’s actually obtainable-- through the will of the creator of the Earth.

On that note, Balrogs are, in fact, corrupted Maiar who were affected by Melkor, the original dark lord's influence. This explains why it was a Balrog that was able to bring Gandalf to his end and why Gandalf so wanted to avoid it in the first place. It was as perfect a match as there could be, given that the Balrog is the exact opposite of Gandalf.

Gandalf began as a noble Maia, selected by the Valar to be a member of the 5 Maiar that were transformed into Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth to aid against the powers of Sauron. So while Gandalf appears to have evolved, the Balrog devolved from being a Maia to being a treacherous, demonic creature that reflects the evil past that led to its present.

Gandalf represents an individual who follows the path of light and resists the temptation for power, while the Balrog represents someone who gave in to temptation and chose the path of darkness. The conclusion to the message in their battle is that both of them die, but only Gandalf comes back. He chose the noble path in life and was rewarded with the kind of immortal opportunity that tempted the Balrog to darkness in the first place, when it was a Maia.

That being said, it actually wouldn’t make sense to not have a character that died and was resurrected because of the spiritual influence and thematic components of the story. Further, Gandalf was the most appropriate character to do it because he was already a powerful enough being to be capable of coming back, he already had the approval of the Valar, and he lived his life in goodness and light.

There is no short answer to explain why Tolkien deemed the resurrection of Gandalf as necessary. If mending the broken hearts of Lord of the Rings fans wasn’t enough to highlight the importance of his resurrection, the theme, history of Middle-earth, and Tolkien’s spiritual beliefs all seem to. Gandalf was not simply a character intended to assist protagonists in their journeys; he was an example of the benefits of being someone who helps those around them, rather than being someone who only helps themself.

MORE: LOTR: Why Did Saruman Pledge His Allegiance To Sauron?

'Lord of the Rings' Timeline Explained: Middle-earth from 'The Silmarillion' to 'The Hobbit' & Beyond

The history of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is incredibly complicated. Let us make it a little easier for you with our comprehensive timeline.

With the release of the children’s novel The Hobbit in 1937, J. R. R. Tolkien launched an entirely new world that would captivate readers for generations to come. His magnum opus The Lord of the Rings told the story of four little hobbits and the part they played in saving the world of Men by defeating the ultimate evil: Sauron and his One Ring of Power.

Peter Jackson re-introduced Tolkien’s Middle-earth to entirely new generations in his much-acclaimed movie trilogy Lord of the Rings , followed by the less well-received The Hobbit trilogy. Now, Prime Video has recently released the first season of a new 8-episode series set in Arda (Tolkien’s name for the Earth) during the Second Age, titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . The first season finale, "Alloyed," premiered in October 2022, but a second season is already underway and in production, with the series shifting its filming location from New Zealand to the United Kingdom at Bray Studios. Season 2 is expected to also consist of eight episodes.

The history of Tolkien’s universe is complicated, to say the least. We’ve put together this comprehensive timeline to take you through the entire history of Arda and Middle-earth. But please keep in mind that sometimes the on-screen versions conflict with the books, so this is much more of a general guide than a document set in stone. If you’d like to see an interactive map highlighting some of these events, check out The LOTR Project’s timeline .

If you’d like to skip back and forth through this guide, this list of shortcuts will hopefully make things a little easier:

The Time Before the Creation of the World and the Beginning of Time

The years of music, the beginning of time.

• Years of the Lamps
• Years of the Trees

The First Age

The second age, the third age, the fourth age.

If you aren’t sure what this guide covers, here’s a list of relevant books and on-screen media in order within Middle-earth chronology. While many choose to read Tolkien’s books in order of publication history, chronological order is an interesting way to learn more about the ins and outs of Middle-earth.

Books by J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien

• The Silmarillion (Book, 1977)
• The Children of Hurin (Book, 2007)
• Beren and Luthién (Book, 2017)
• The Fall of Gondolin (Book, 2018)
• Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (Book, 1980)
• The Hobbit (Book, 1937)
• The Lord of the Rings (Book, 1954–1955)

TV & Movies

• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Television series, 2022)
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Movie, 2012)
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Movie, 2013)
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Movie, 2014)
• The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Movie, 2001)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Movie, 2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Movie, 2003)

A note on time periods: Between the beginning of time and the First Age, years are given in Valian years. Valian years last between 9 and 10 regular years, according to Christopher Tolkien. Not all events have precise dates.

• Eru Ilúvatar, the father of all, creates beings called the Ainur.
• Ilúvatar teaches the Ainur to make beautiful, divine music, which is their purpose.
• Melkor, the most powerful of the Ainur, becomes frustrated with Ilúvatar and his slow teachings. He composes his own music and wants to become a creator himself. He purposefully disrupted the Ainur’s music and forced Eru Ilúvatar to counter his disharmony. Melkor was publicly rebuked and hid his anger.
• Ilúvatar shows the Ainur a vision of what they will create with their music: the world, Arda, and the birth, life, and death of the universe (or Eä). The Ainur become restless because they want to live in this place.
• Eä is created, and the Ainur that decide to enter this world become the Valar (more powerful) and the Maiar (less powerful). They agree to the condition that they will live out their eternal lives in this place and cannot leave it until the end of the universe.
• The Valar enter Eä and find it formless. They take it upon themselves to create the worlds they saw in their vision. Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, and Melkor are the most influential Valar in creating the universe.
• Melkor decides the Arda, or the Earth, should be his own. Manwë and his loyal Maiar oppose Melkor, and in the end, Melkor stands down.
• Manwë is established as Arda’s ruler, but Melkor decides to go to war against him, the First War. While the rest of the Valar try to prepare Arda for elves, humans, and other beings, Melkor realizes he can change the course of Arda but he does not have the power to undo what has already been done.
• Arda is ready for its inhabitants.
• Arda is a dark and lifeless land. The Valar want a single continent lit symmetrically by two lamps, one north and one south.
• Melkor plots to destroy the symmetry his fellow Valar have created in Arda. As they work to light Arda, the Valar are tired. Melkor’s lieutenant keeps him informed of progress in crafting Arda.
• While the Valar aren’t paying attention, Melkor begins to twist and deform the animals and creatures of Middle-earth, infusing them with his evil.
• Melkor destroys the lamps in his hatred for Arda and the rest of the Valar.
• As a result of the lamps’ destruction, symmetry was broken. Arda became two continents: Aman, in the west, and Middle-earth, in the south.
• Melkor flees to the north of Middle-earth in the fortress of Utumno with his loyal Maiar, including Balrog beasts. There, he bides his time while the remaining Valar and Maiar create the realm of Valinor in Aman, with Manwë as king.
• The Valar create two trees that light Valinor. Middle-earth is left in darkness.

The Years of the Lamps

The years of the trees (y. t.).

• The Fathers of the Dwarves and Ents awaken in Middle-earth.
• Oromë, a Valar, discovers the Elves, who have recently awakened, at Cuiviénen in Middle-earth. He calls them the Eldar.
• Melkor starts to capture the Elves and uses them to breed Orcs and Trolls.
• To protect the Elves, the Valar embark on the War of the Powers against Melkor.
• The Valar arrive at Melkor’s stronghold, Utumno, and lay siege to it.
• Melkor is finally defeated and captured.
• The Valar return to Valinor with Melkor. They sentence him to three ages of imprisonment.
• Melkor’s first lieutenant, Sauron, manages to evade the Valar and stays in Middle-earth. He continues Melkor’s work of breeding Trolls and Orcs in Angband, a fortress in the Iron Mountains.
• The Valar invite the Elves to leave the darkness of Middle-earth and join them in Valinor. Three elf ambassadors journey to Valinor: Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë.
• Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë return to Middle-earth and try to convince the Eldar to leave for Valinor.

Y. T. 1105–1165

• The Great Journey of the Elves: Many Elves leave for Valinor, but some choose to remain in Middle-earth. This is the first Sundering of the Elves.
• Not all Elves who depart for Valinor make it to the land. Some turn back along the way.
• The Eldar who make it across the sea establish new cities in Valinor.
• Galadriel is born.
• Melkor is set free from imprisonment in Valinor.
• Melkor begins to befriend some of the Noldor Elves, who live in Eldamar in Valinor.
• Fëanor, son of Finwë, High King of the Noldor, completes the Silmarils, great jewels made from the light of the Two Trees. They are invaluable, and begin to corrupt Fëanor, as he becomes suspicious of his fellow Eldar and the Valar, thinking they want to possess them.
• Melkor, seeing an opportunity, spends the next two decades creating dissent among the Noldor. He convinces Fëanor that his half-brother, Filgolfin, wants to become heir to the throne in Finwë’s place.
• Fëanor threatens to murder Fingolfin, and the Valar banish him from his city of Tirion. Many of the Noldor accompany Fëanor, including his father Finwë, and he takes the Silmarils with him.
• The Darkening of Valinor: The Valar learn of the hand Melkor had in Fëanor’s actions. Fingolfin and Fëanor make peace with one another.
• Melkor destroys the Two Trees of Valinor, with the help of Ungoliant, the giant spider.w
• Melkor steals the Silmarils from Fëanor, killing Finwë, and returns to Middle-earth.
• The Noldor pledge to leave Valinor and follow Melkor to Middle-earth to reclaim the Silmarils.
• Fëanor asks another Elf tribe, the Teleri, for use of their ships. When they refuse, the Noldor take them by force.
• For this crime, the Valar warn that any Noldor that proceed to Middle-earth will forever be banished from Valinor.
• Fëanor accepts this sentence, The Doom of Mandos, and leads some of the Noldor to Middle-earth. Many of his people stay behind.
• Melkor reunites with Sauron at Angband.
• Fëanor is killed by Balrogs while pursuing Melkor at Angband.

Y. T. 1500 or V. Y. 5000

• The Valar create the Sun and the Moon from the remnants of the Two Trees; Middle Earth is no longer in darkness.
• Melkor is renamed Morgoth by
• Men awaken in Hildórien, in the far east of Middle-earth
• Fingolfin becomes the High King of the Noldor. The struggle between the Noldor and Morgoth continues.
• The Noldor begin to look for places to found new kingdoms in Middle-eart, hidden from the eyes of Morgoth and his followers.
• Morgoth attacks the Noldor, but they defeat him in the Glorious Battle, the Dagor Aglareb. They follow Morgoth’s retreating forces and lay siege to Angband for the next 400 years.
• After the Noldor defeat Morgoth’s dragon Glaurung during the Siege of Angbad, the Long Peace begins.
• Morgoth is finally able to overcome the Siege of Gondolin, in the battle known as Dagor Bragollach. Glaurung attacks and destroys many Elves and Men.
• Fingolfin challenges Morgoth to single combat. Morgoth is victorious, killing the Elven king, but Fingolfin wounds Morgoth in the foot.
• Before Morgoth can destroy Fingolfin’s body, the king of the Eagles, Thorondor, rescued it and flew it back to Gondolfin for burial. In the process, Thorondor maimed Morgoth, slashing at his face.
• Fingon becomes High King of the Noldor.
• Beren, a man, first meets Lúthien, an Elvish princess, in a glade and they fall in love.
• Thingol (formerly known as Elwë), king of Doriath and one of the leaders of the Teleri Elves, has no desire to see his daughter wed to a mortal Man. He demands that Beren retrieve one of the Silmarils, currently in Morgoth’s possession in Angband.
• Beren is captured during his quest, but Lúthien follows him. She defeats Sauron and forces him to set Beren free.
• Sauron flees to Taur-nu-Fuin, formerly the Elvish stronghold of Dorthonion that was captured during the Dagor Bragollach.
• Lúthien sings a magic song to put Morgoth to sleep, and Beren is able to steal a Silmaril from his crown.
• Before they can return the Silmaril to Thingol, Beren is attacked by Caracharoth, a giant werewolf, and it swallows the Silmaril.
• Beren goes on the hunt for Carcharoth and is mortally wounded. He dies after returning the Silmaril to Thingol.
• Luthién travels to the Houses of the Dead and pleads with the Valar Mandos, the master of death, to restore Beren’s life and grant her a mortal life with him. He’s moved by their love and agrees.
• Maedhros, the oldest son of Fëanor, begins building an army to lay siege to Angband once again and reclaim the lost kingdoms and cities of the Noldor.
• Maedhros’s army of Elves and Men marches on Angband in Nírnaeth Arnoediad, or The Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
• The host is utterly defeated, and Morgoth lays claim to the entire North of Middle-earth.
• Morgoth decides to destroy the remaining Elven cities.
• Túrin, a child of Men and the son the lord of Dor-lómin, is sent to Doriath for his protection after his father, Húrin, is taken prisoner by Morgoth.
• Thingol takes Túrin in as a foster son.
• Túrin befriends Beleg, an Elf.
• Túrin inadvertently causes the death of an Elf and flees, rather than face justice. Thingol determines that Túrin is innocent.
• Despite receiving news of his pardon, Túrin refuses to return to Doriath, as he’s become the leader of a band of outlaws. Beleg decides to stay with his friend, but Túrin’s new band doesn’t like Elves.
• Túrin is captured by Orcs when one of his followers betrays him. Beleg is wounded but is eventually able to follow his friend’s captors.
• Beleg manages to free his friend, but Túrin accidentally kills him, believing Beleg to be an Orc.
• Túrin comes to Nargothrond and convinces its people to stand openly against Morgoth instead of hiding the city.
• Nargothrond falls to Morgoth’s army.
• Tuor, of the Third House of Men, gains access to the hidden Elf city of Gondolin, carrying a message warning the king that Morgoth was destroying the cities of the Elves.
• Tuor falls in love with King Turgon’s daughter, Idril, and they marry.
• Túrin kills Glaurung the dragon and dies.
• Thingol, who has become obsessed with the Silmaril, dies at the hands of Dwarves who desire the jewel as payment for crafting a necklace to hold it.
• Eärendil the half-Elven is born to Tuor and Idril.
• The Dwarves sack Doriath.
• Elwing flees the sack of Doriath with Thingol’s Silmaril, going to the Havens of Sirion.
• Morgoth captures Maeglin, a lord of Gondolin, and promises to make him king of the city in exchange for information on how to access Gondolin.
• Gondolin, the last Elf Kingdom, falls to Morgoth.
• Tuor and Idril escape with a number of Gondolin refugees and their child, Eärendil.
• Gil-galad becomes High King of the Noldor.
• Tuor and Idril arrive at the Havens of Sirion, a place of refuge.
• Half-Elven twins Elrond and Elros are born to Eärendil and his wife, Elwing.
• Eärendil begins to sail West, trying to find a way to Valinor.
• The sons of Fëanor try to reclaim the Silmaril from Elwing at the Havens of Sirion. Elwing casts herself into the sea, trying to protect the Silmaril, but manages to reunite with Eärendil.
• Maglor, one of the sons of Fëanor, takes Elrond and Elrond captive. He brings them up.
• Morgoth destroys the last of the Noldor dwellings. The entire Northern kingdom of Beleriand is now his.
• Eärendil finally makes it to Valinor with the Silmaril and pleads with the Valar for their help against Morgoth in Middle Earth.
• The beginning of the War of Wrath, in which the Valar confront Morgoth. The war lasts 42 years.
• The Valar finally defeat Morgoth.
• The two remaining Silmarils are lost forever.
• The Northern lands, including Beleriand, are drowned in the sea.
• Mordor rises from the sea.
• Many Elves return to Valinor, but some remain in Middle-earth.
• The Valar cast Morgoth into The Void, which is the nothingness outside of Arda.
• Gil-galad, king of the Noldor, creates a new kingdom for his people in Lindon, which is located in the northwest of Middle Earth.
• Men who escaped the destruction of Beliarand arrive in Númenor, an island in the sea between Middle-earth and Valinor.
• Elros becomes the first king of Númenor.
• Sauron becomes active again in Middle-earth after laying low after Morgoth’s defeat.
• Under Gil-galad’s leadership, the Noldor expand and form the kingdom of Eregion, located near the Dwarven realm of Moria.
• Sauron begins building the fortress of Barad-dûr in the land of Mordor in the southeast of Middle-earth.
• Sauron tries to corrupt the leaders of Eregion. Gil-galad refuses to trust him.
• Celeborn and Galadriel become the leaders of the Elvish kingdom of Lórien.
• Disguised as a friend called Annatar, Sauron deceives the Elves of Eregion into creating the Rings of Power.
• With the forging of the One Ring of Power, all the rings are complete.
• Sauron reveals himself as the force behind the creation of the Rings of Power.
• Sauron completes the tower of Barad-dûr.
• The Elves hide the Three Rings from Sauron.
• The War of the Elves and Sauron commences.
• Sauron invades Eregion.
• Gil-galad sends Elrond in command of a force of Elves to fight against Sauron in Eregion.
• Sauron destroys Eregion.
• Elrond survives and leads his remaining army and the refugees of Eregion into a valley north of Eregion.
• Elrond establishes Rivendell, which is besieged by Sauron.
• An alliance of Lindon Elves and Númenorean Men defeats Sauron. Sauron retreats from Eriador.
• Isildur is born in Númenor.
• The last king of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn the Golden, lands at Umbar to capture Sauron, because he has been threatening Númenor.
• Ar-Pharazôn the Golden captures Sauron.
• Sauron arrives in Númenor as a prisoner, but uses his powers to begin corrupting the Númenoreans.
• Sauron becomes an advisor to Ar-Pharazôn the Golden.
• At the instigation of Sauron, Ar-Pharazôn the Golden begins building a great armada, called The Great Armament, to invade Aman and challenge the Valar.
• Ar-Pharazôn arrives in Aman.
• In response, the Valar remove any path from Middle-earth to Aman. They drown Númenor.
• Survivors of Númenor who remained loyal to the Valar arrive in Middle-earth under the command of Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion.
• Elendil, Isildur, and Anárion found Arnor and Gondor.
• Sauron returns to Barad-dûr in Mordor.
• Sauron attacks Gondor and conquers the city of Minas Ithil. The War of the Last Alliance begins.
• The Last Alliance of Men and Elves forms to take on Sauron. Isildur leaves his wife and youngest son, Valandil, behind in Rivendell.
• In the Battle of Dagorlad at the gates of Mordor, the Last Alliance penetrated the Black Gate and began a siege of Barad-dûr.
• Sauron emerges from Barad-dûr onto the field of combat, killing Gil-galad and Elendil.
• Isildur, son of Elendil, uses the shards of his father’s sword, Narsil, to cut the One Ring from Sauron’s finger.
• Sauron is defeated.
• Isildur becomes the king of Gondor and Arnor.
• Isildur plants the White Tree in Minas Tirith.
• A band of Orcs sets upon Isildur and his men during the journey.
• Ohtar, Isildur’s squire, receives the shards of Narsil from his master and leaves the battle for Rivendell.
• Isildur decides to use the One Ring to escape. It slipped off when he was in the Anduin River and was shot with poisoned arrows.
• Ohtar arrives in Rivendell with the shards of Narsil.
• Arwen Undómiel is born to Elrond and his wife, Celebrían, daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn.
• The kingdom of Arnor breaks up into Rhudaur, Cardolan, and Arthedain.
• The Wizards arrive in Middle-earth.
• Sauron’s spirit arrives in the forest of Mirkwood, in an area called Dol Guldur.
• The Witch-king of Angmar destroys Rhudaur, Cardolan, and Arthedain..
• Hobbits arrive in The Shire.
• The Dwarves of Moria awaken a Balrog in the depths of Moria.
• Under the leadership of the Witch-king of Angmar, the Nazgûl return to Mordor.
• The Dwarves flee Moria.
• Thráin I finds the Arkenstone in Erebor.
• Minas Ithil falls to the Nazgûl after a two-year siege. It is renamed Minas Morgul.
• The Witch-king of Angmar challenges King Eärnur of Gondor to single combat. The king accepts, rides out to Minas Morgul, and is never seen again. His steward takes over the rule of Gondor.
• Gandalf the Grey travels to Dol Guldur to investigate the evil that lurks there, called “The Necromancer.”
• Sauron withdraws from Dol Guldur to avoid raising Gandalf’s suspicion, commencing the era known as “The Watchful Peace.”
• Thorin I leads the Durin away from the Lonely Mountain of Erebor to live in the Grey Mountains
• Sméagol is born.
• Sauron returns to Dol Guldur, ending the Watchful Peace.
• Sméagol kills his cousin Déagol over the One Ring after finding it in the Anduin River.
• Men from the East invade Gondor, and the Éothéod, who were from the North, ride to the aid of Gondor at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant.
• Gondor is victorious, and in thanks, gives the Éothéod what was to become the kingdom of Rohan. An alliance between the two people is formed.
• The Éothéod rename themselves the Eorlingas.
• Thorin Oakenshield of the Dwarves is born.
• Saruman becomes guardian of Isengard with permission from the Steward of Gondor.
• The dragon Smaug attacks the city of Dale and takes up residence in the Lonely Mountain. The remaining Dwarves are driven into exile from Erebor.
• Thráin II leaves his family and his people to try and reclaim Erebor.
• Thráin II is imprisoned in Dol Guldur by Sauron.
• Sauron takes the last Ring of Power of the Dwarves from Thráin II.
• Gandalf once again travels to Dol Guldur and confirms that Sauron has returned.
• Driven mad by the Ring of Power, Thráin II bequeaths a map with a secret entrance to Erebor to Gandalf, asking the wizard to give it to his son. Gandalf agrees without knowing the identity of Thrain’s son.
• Thráin II dies.
• Bilbo Baggins is born in The Shire.
• Aragorn, son of Arathorn II, heir to the throne of Gondor, is born.
• Gandalf meets Thorin Oakenshield in Bree. He realizes that this Dwarf is the son of Thráin II and gives Thorin the secret map of Erebor.
• Gandalf, Thorin, and Thorin’s Dwarf companions arrive at Bag End, Bilbo Baggins’s house in The Shire. Together, they go on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug.
• Bilbo meets Gollum (formerly Sméagol) under the Misty Mountains and obtains the One Ring.
• The White Council, a group of Elves and Wizards including Galadriel, Elrond, and Gandalf, expel Sauron from Dol Guldur.
• Thorin, his band of Dwarves, and Bilbo travel to Lake-town, or Esgaroth.
• Smaug the dragon attacks the town and is killed.
• Bilbo Baggins finds the Arkenstone in Erebor and hides it, knowing Thorin is captivated by the thought of it.
• The Battle of Five Armies is fought over the treasure under the mountain of Erebor.
• Thorin Oakenshield is killed.
• Bilbo Baggins returns to The Shire.
• Sauron arrives in Mordor, where the Nazgûl have been waiting for him. He starts rebuilding Barad-dûr.
• Gandalf the Grey meets Aragorn for the first time.
• Under an assumed name, Aragorn serves in armies of Gondor and Rohan for the next twenty-two years.
• Frodo Baggins is born in The Shire.
• Bilbo Baggins takes over guardianship of his nephew, Frodo.
• Balin leads a group of Dwarves to take up residence under the mountain in Moria.
• Balin, Lord of Moria, is killed by an Orc.
• The Dwarves in Moria are destroyed.
• Bilbo Baggins turns 111 and throws a birthday party. Gandalf is in attendance.
• Bilbo leaves The Shire and passes the One Ring on to Frodo.
• Bilbo arrives in Rivendell.
• Saruman begins to influence Theoden, king of Rohan
• Gollum is set free after being tortured for information about the One Ring by Sauron’s forces.
• Aragorn captures Gollum in the Marshes of the Dead and takes him to the Elves in Mirkwood.
• Gandalf interrogates Gollum about the One Ring.
• Gandalf races to The Shire and tells Frodo Baggins he must leave with the One Ring.
• Gollum escapes the Elves, thanks to a well-timed Orc attack, and resumes searching for Bilbo Baggins and the One Ring.
• Sauron instructs the Nazgûl to find the One Ring.
• Saruman captures and imprisons Gandalf.
• Gandalf escapes from Orthanc and takes Shadowfax the horse from the Rohirrim, making his way to Rivendell.
• Frodo leaves Bag End.
• The Nazgûl arrive in Hobbiton.
• Frodo and the hobbits encounter Tom Bombadil, who suggests they travel to Bree.
• Aragorn meets the hobbits in Bree and leads them to Rivendell.
• Frodo is stabbed at Weathertop by the Witch-king of Angmar.
• Frodo arrives at Rivendell and is healed.
• The Council of Rivendell takes place and the decision is made to send the One Ring to Mordor with Frodo to destroy it.
• The Fellowship of the Ring leaves Rivendell.
• The Fellowship is unable to traverse the Pass of Caradhras. They decide to go through Moria.
• Gollum catches up with the Fellowship and begins to follow them.
• The Fellowship arrives at the Gates of Moria.
• Gandalf duels a Balrog and falls, presumably to his death.
• The Fellowship arrives in Lothlórien, rests, and receives gifts from Galadriel and Celeborn when they leave.
• Gandalf returns and is borne to Lothlórien after the Fellowship leaves.
• Theodred, son of the king of Rohan, dies.
• Boromir dies, Merry and Pippin are taken by the orcs with Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli in pursuit.
• Frodo and Sam head east, with Gollum on their trail.
• Merry and Pippin meet Treebeard the Ent in Fangorn Forest.
• Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli meet Gandalf the White in Fangorn.
• Gandalf leads the trio to Edoras.
• Gollum begins to lead Sam and Frodo through the Dead Marshes.
• Gandalf casts Saruman out of Edoras. Renewed, the king of Rohan chooses to lead his people to Helm’s Deep.
• An Entmoot begins to decide the fate of Saruman. The Ents decide to march on Isengard.
• The Rohirrim defend the Hornburg from Saruman’s army at the Battle of Helm’s Deep.
• The Ents destroy Isengard.
• Frodo, Sam, and Gollum arrive at the Morannon, the Black Gates of Mordor.
• Theoden, Gandalf, Aragorn, and their compatriots travel to Isengard to talk to Saruman. Saruman’s staff is broken.
• Pippin gazes into the Palantir.
• Gandalf leaves for Minas Tirith with Pippin.
• Aragorn reveals himself to Sauron through the Palantir.
• Faramir captures Sam and Frodo and learns that Frodo is the ringbearer.
• Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli take the Paths of the Dead.
• Frodo and Sam part ways with Faramir as friends, with Gollum to lead them to Mordor.
• Gandalf and Pippin arrive in Minas Tirith.
• Gollum leads Frodo and Sam to Minas Morgul and to the spider Shelob.
• Frodo is captured by orcs at Cirith Ungol.
• Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas take over the black ships.
• The Witch-king of Angmar marches on Minas Tirith.
• Denethor, steward of Gondor, dies.
• The Rohirrim arrive to the aid of Gondor and the Battle of Pelennor Fields ensues.
• Theoden is killed by the Witch-king of Angmar.
• Eowyn murders the Witch-king in response.
• Aragorn arrives with his allies to defeat the forces of Mordor.
• Sam reunites with Frodo and they journey through Mordor toward Mount Doom.
• The combined armies leave Minas Tirith to march on the Black Gate of Mordor.
• Sam and Frodo travel across Gorgoroth and approach Mount Doom.
• Gollum tries to retake the One Ring from Frodo and instead ends up falling to his death in the fires of Mount Doom, destroying the One Ring in the process.
• Sauron is defeated, his armies are scattered, and the foundations of Barad-dûr are destroyed.
• Aragorn takes his place as the king of the reunited Arnor and Gondor.
• Aragorn and Arwen are married.
• Faramir and Eowyn are engaged to be married. Eomer is crowned king of Rohan.
• Saruman arrives in The Shire and begins scouring it, thanks to help from his followers.
• The four hobbits return home and rebel against Saruman, successfully throwing him out.
• Wormtongue slits Saruman’s throat.
• Samwise Gamgee is married to Rosie Cotton.
• Bilbo, Frodo, Galadriel, Gandalf, and Elrond depart Middle-earth for good, heading for Valinor.
• The last ringbearer, Samwise Gamgee, departs Middle-earth for Valinor.
• Merry and Pippin leave the Shire to live out their remaining days in Gondor.
• Aragorn dies and is buried in Gondor beside Merry and Pippin.
• Legolas and Gimli depart for Valinor, bringing an end to the Fellowship.
• Arwen Undómiel dies.

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• Year of the Ring

The truth about Gandalf

A look at the origin, powers, death, and rebirth of a mysterious-but-beloved character

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The theatrical version of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy clocks in at nine hours and 18 minutes, yet there’s so much of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings that was left on the cutting room floor.

2021 marks The Lord of the Rings movies' 20th anniversary, and we couldn't imagine exploring the trilogy in just one story. So each Wednesday throughout the year, we'll go there and back again, examining how and why the films have endured as modern classics. This is Polygon's Year of the Ring .

That’s a good thing. Movies and books are different beasts, and the former can only support so much exposition. The lack of an origin story didn’t stop audiences from falling in love with Ian McKellen’s Gandalf, who studied Tolkien himself in perfecting his award-winning performance, fixing himself in the hearts of millions of fans. Gandalf, the wise, mercurial, mysterious, and occasionally terrifying wizard is arguably more the face of the Lord of the Rings franchise than Frodo, its hero, or Aragorn, its long-lost king.

The real power of McKellen’s performance is that you believe wholeheartedly in Gandalf. But his role in the movies is still full of ambiguity. Is he, like, human, or what? What happened when he died? What’s the difference between Grey and White? What can wizards do , anyway? And who appointed Saruman president of wizards?

I can provide answers to all these questions, because I’m a giant Middle-earth nerd who thinks The Silmarillion is a more enjoyable read than The Lord of the Rings , and pillaged Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales to enhance the accuracy of my own Lord of the Rings Twitter account . Read on for everything you were always afraid to ask about everyone’s favorite weed-smoking magic grandpa.

Is Gandalf human? Can anyone be a wizard?

No. And also, no.

Gandalf is a divine spirit clothed in a mortal form. In Middle-earth parlance, he’s a creature known as a Maia (plural: Maiar). The Maiar are sort of like demigods, in that they serve a higher order of godlike beings, the Valar. And they’re sort of like angels, in that they are fully divine in origin (not half-human, like a lot of Greek demigods) and can change their form at will.

Other Maiar who appear in the Lord of the Rings movies include Saruman, Sauron, and the Balrog. (Yes, the monster and Gandalf are the same species.) Also, Elrond’s great-great grandmother is a Maia — his family is very complicated.

The Valar, Middle-earth’s cohort of caretaker gods, retreated from the world thousands of years before the time of The Lord of the Rings , and they took all of their Maiar with them. But, in the Third Age (that is, sometime after Isildur got his hands on the Ring in the prologue of the Jackson movies), Sauron began to amass power again. And since the Valar nearly had to destroy the world to stop Sauron the last time he rose to power, they decided to send some emissaries to Middle-earth to make sure he was kept in check this time around.

So with the blessing of Middle-earth’s creator god, the Valar assembled a large group of Maiar to secretly send to Middle-earth. Those emissaries were known as the Istari, and the Valar sent five particularly high-ranked ones — Tolkien calls them “chiefs” — to the northwest of Middle-earth in particular, because that was deemed the place where it was mostly likely that Men and Elves could be rallied to oppose Sauron.

Those five Istari were Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, Radagast the Brown, and the two “Blue Wizards.” Those two went east of Mordor and were never seen again, and Tolkien declined to give them names or even explain what happened to them, since it had nothing to do with the War of the Ring.

Tolkien also never quite settled on all the details of what Gandalf was like as a Maia before he died. But we do have some hints from his notes, as compiled and published by his son and archivist, Christopher Tolkien. It seems clear that Gandalf’s Maia name is Olórin, and possibly that he was reluctant to take up his Istari responsibility and was the last of them to arrive in Middle-earth.

If wizards are gods, why do they all look like crusty old dudes?

By the time the Valar were sending their Istari emissaries out, Middle-earth had already suffered through several waxings and wanings of its two great Dark Lords, and you could say that the Valar had seen the error in leading Men and Elves to expect gods to solve their problems instead of sorting them out themselves.

So, instead of being sent in their full divine majesty, capable of taking whatever form they wished, the Istari were fixed in the forms of unremarkable old men. This forced them to better understand those whom they were sent to protect, but it had the drawback of making them corruptible. It dimmed their power, and subjected them to mortal fears and worries — but that would be worth it to gain the trust of Elves and Men.

That was important because of another rule that was placed on the Istari: They were forbidden to use force or fear — Sauron’s favorite tools — to dominate Men and Elves. No bending societies under their rule, no political scheming or hoarding of power, even to accomplish honest goals. They’d have to get people to trust them instead.

“In shapes weak and humble [they] were bidden to advise and persuade Men and Elves to good,” Tolkien wrote in an essay on the Istari published after his death, “and to seek to unite in love and understanding all those whom Sauron, should he come again, would endeavor to dominate and corrupt.”

Most people in Middle-earth who ran into a wizard had no idea that they were interacting with an angelic being — but there were a few powerful individuals who figured it out, like Elrond and Galadriel.

How did Gandalf get one of the elven rings?

It is not mentioned in the movies, but just in case you’ve heard about it from some Lord of the Rings nerd, yes, Gandalf has one of the three elven rings.

He got it from an elf, naturally.

The three bearers of the elven rings are Elrond and Galadriel, who you know from the movies, and Cirdan the Shipwright — who appears on a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it basis. Cirdan’s domain was the Grey Havens, the coastal launching point of all the elven boats going West to the elven afterlife/homeland (which itself would take a whole post to unpack, but stick around and maybe we will).

As the guardian of that location, Cirdan got to meet all the Istari as they arrived in Middle-earth, and he gave his ring to Gandalf for three reasons. One, he liked Gandalf better than any of the other Istari. Two, he foresaw that Gandalf would face “great labours and perils.” Three, he wasn’t doing much with it anyway. He lived about as far away from Sauron as you can possibly get without leaving Middle-earth, and he wanted the ring to be on the hand of somebody who was actually going to need it.

What even are Gandalf’s powers?

Tolkien never really elucidated the specific powers of wizards. After all, it’s not like he was building a cohesive game system or writing a series of novels about a wizard school. He didn’t have to.

But it seems that there are some things all wizards can all do. They all use staffs to focus their magic, for example. Gandalf and Radagast can both speak to animals; Gandalf and Saruman both have some level of ability to mystify using only their voice. And being a wizard seems to come with some power over the physical world around you, as when Gandalf orders a door to stay shut in Moria, summons light, or shatters Saruman’s staff simply by commanding it to.

But it also seems like wizards have specialties. Tolkien says that the Valar deliberately did not mandate that the Istari work together, and in part chose them for their different and separate powers and inclinations.

In the books, Saruman was known for the power of his voice to beguile and convince, as well as for his “great skill in works of hand” — his inventiveness. Radagast the Brown, who was featured in Jackson’s Hobbit movies, became distracted from the Istari mission by his obsession with Middle-earth’s beasts and birds, much to the exhaustion of his colleagues Gandalf and Saruman. (Ultimately, Tolkien says, Gandalf the Reluctant Maia was the only one of the many Istari who remained faithful to the Valar’s goals.)

Gandalf’s specialty was fire. Which might seem odd for a guy whose biggest magic moments in the movies involve summoning great white beams of light or fighting another wizard with invisible waves of force.

To Tolkien, Gandalf embodied the fire of creation in the forge, the fire of warmth in the hearth, and the torch fire that keeps the darkness at bay. “Warm and eager was his spirit (and it was enhanced by the ring Narya),” Tolkien wrote in his Istari essay, “for he was the Enemy of Sauron, opposing the fire that devours and wastes with the fire that kindles, and succours in wanhope and distress.”

It’s a connection that explains why a demigod would take so much enjoyment from making fireworks for hobbits.

What happened to Gandalf when he died?

When Gandalf died, his divine being left his set physical form, and about 20 days later, he was returned to life. “Darkness took me;” he says to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli in The Two Towers , “and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads that I will not tell. Naked I was sent back — for a brief time, until my task is done.”

He was re-embodied and sent back to Middle-earth by an entity or entities who gave him his task in the first place — either the Valar, or Middle-earth’s supreme creator god himself, Eru Ilúvatar. And, of course, he was sent back changed.

In his essay on the Istari, Tolkien stated that it took each Istari some time to learn mortal ways after they arrived, which might account for Gandalf’s memory lapses just after he was resurrected — and for how Gandalf the White is more formal and disconnected than his previous incarnation.

Why did Gandalf turn white?

To a generation of folks who grew up on Avatar: The Last Airbender or Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers , or heck, even the coded lightsaber colors of Star Wars, it’s tempting to assign the same kind of weight to the color language of Tolkien’s wizards. But from his own writings, it’s clear that Tolkien’s color connotations were personal, rather than universal.

If Gandalf’s speciality is fire, you’d think he’d be a red wizard, but Tolkien wrote that Gandalf’s gray robes and hair represented the color of ash that concealed his divine fire, just as his wizened form concealed his identity as a Maia. In his essay on the Istari, Tolkien linked Gandalf’s white robes and hair to fire as well, saying he was “clothed then in all white, and became a radiant flame (yet veiled still save in great need).”

Tolkien didn’t say much about what white represented for Saruman, though we can infer a few things about what taking on Saruman’s color meant for Gandalf. But let’s get one thing straight first: Saruman is “the White” for only a few chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring . The moment he does his big villain reveal to Gandalf, he also reveals a change of wardrobe.

As Gandalf tells the Council of Elrond:

“I am Saruman the Wise, Saruman Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colours!” I looked then and saw that his robes, which had seemed white, were not so, but were woven of all colours, and if he moved they shimmered and changed hue so that the eye was bewildered. “I liked white better,” I said. “White!” he sneered. “It serves as a beginning. White cloth may be dyed. The white page can be overwritten; and the white light can be broken.” “In which case it is no longer white,” said I. “And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.”

It might be worth mentioning here that even Tolkien’s own biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, felt the need to comment on how boring his clothing was. Even for an Englishman and an English professor, Tolkien dressed to be forgotten, partly as a conscious rejection of the academic philosophy of aestheticism . According to Carpenter, among Tolkien’s only indulgences once he came into all the money from publishing his books was to buy the occasional brightly colored waistcoat to go along with his drab suits. Tolkien genuinely felt that boring colors were more noble than flashy ones.

It’s also important here to remember that although we know him as a villain, Saruman’s reputation as the wisest of the Istari was based on thousands of years of behavior. He’s one of the most prominent of The Lord of the Rings ’ many examples of how even the most principled people can be corrupted by fear and disillusionment .

So, when Gandalf becomes “the White,” it’s about showing that he’s here to take Saruman’s place and make up for Saruman’s mistakes. “Yes, I am white now,” Gandalf tells Gimli. “Indeed I am Saruman, one might almost say, Saruman as he should have been.”

For Tolkien, Gandalf’s and Saruman’s white robes may also have connected them to the color of starlight, which is a big force for magical protection in Middle-earth — think of Sam forcing Shelob to cower before Galadriel’s light. One of the biggest things that the Valar did for Middle-earth was to bring light to it, through the stars, sun, and moon (and, at one point, some special glowing trees). Protecting, fighting over, or maintaining the light of the Valar is a big recurring theme in The Silmarillion .

Sending Gandalf back as Gandalf the White, “a radiant flame” in a dark time, is a Big Valar Mood.

What was Gandalf always smoking?

Everybody who smokes in The Lord of the Rings smokes pipeweed. It’s supposed to be tobacco. It’s tobacco.

It’s tobacco.

“But what if ... heheheh ... it wa—” I cannot stress enough that Tolkien’s own biographer devoted a whole chapter to enumerating all the ways in which he was exceptionally boring, even for a professor of Old English at Oxford who was raised during the Victorian era.

You can think pipeweed is whatever you want. Tolkien meant it to be tobacco.

Why is this so complicated?

Gandalf is not the kind of wizard we get from other wizard-involved stories, like Dungeons & Dragons, Harry Potter, The Magicians, Diane Duane books , or even Marvel Comics . In The Lord of the Rings , wizards aren’t men who study magic, or people born with magical talent; they’re not human, they’re not strictly mortal, and they’re the same species as Sauron himself, which is to say, they’re kind of angels.

And it’s even more complicated because wizards were never supposed to be a part of Middle-earth. Technically, they were retconned in, comic book style.

We think of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as a single coherent narrative these days, but Tolkien never imagined continuing the story of Bilbo Baggins when he wrote The Hobbit as a fairy tale for his children. The true creative work of his life would be The Silmarillion , the mythological epic of world-building and romance that he had begun before his children were even born.

The publishers who’d seen the success of The Hobbit thought that a multi-thousand-year history of Elves and Men (and only Elves and Men) was too different to serve as a satisfying sequel. It wasn’t until Tolkien was about a dozen chapters into writing his Hobbit sequel that he realized he could set the entire story after the events of The Silmarillion , turning the project into an excuse to play around in his pet universe, Middle-earth.

There was only one problem, which, for Tolkien, probably felt like an irresistible puzzle: He’d have to find a way to reconcile all the weird stuff in The Hobbit with the extensive and exquisitely balanced world-building he’d done for The Silmarillion . That weird stuff included but was not limited to: Hobbits, trolls, giant talking eagles, whatever Gollum was, and, of course, old men with magic powers .

In a very literal sense, the author would spend the rest of his life in pursuit of this goal. Most of what we know about the origins of the wizards comes from unfinished posthumously published work in The Silmarillion , and from other books of Tolkien’s notes and essays compiled and annotated by his son. In some cases, what we have is really just a note Tolkien wrote in the margins of a student paper as he read it, and we have no way of knowing if it was an idea he later discarded.

Due to the nature of how Tolkien’s books were licensed for film, screenwriters Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Fran Walsh were prohibited from using content from books other than The Lord of the Rings . And while it’s fun to explore the unfinished nooks and crannies of Middle-earth in Tolkien’s writing, leaving things vague certainly didn’t stop people from falling in love with Gandalf on screen. In a time when studios are obsessed with origins , it just goes to show that you don’t necessarily need one to make the face of a franchise.

Tales of the Shire trailer reveals a cozy Hobbit life sim game

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How Tolkien created Middle-earth

A rare exhibition of the Hobbit author’s life and art reveals an imaginary realm that continues to inspire new generations

A s a fantasy lover, I can barely remember a time when I wasn’t aware of JRR Tolkien. I read The Hobbit until it fell apart as a child, and have always strived, in my own contributions to the genre, to take even a shred of the care in my world-building that Tolkien did in his. “It is written in my life-blood,” he said of The Lord of the Rings , “such as that is, thick or thin; and I can no other.” A rallying cry for anyone who has known what it is to inhabit a world of one’s own.

“Tolkien was a genius with a unique approach to literature,” says Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian at the University of Oxford . “His imagined world was created through a combination of his deep scholarship, his rich imagination and powerful creative talent, and informed by his own lived experiences. We are incredibly proud to hold the Tolkien archive and to be able to share so many previously unseen items in this once-in-a-generation exhibition.”

An exhibition, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth , is at the Weston Library in Oxford until October. Visiting before it opens, with preparations still ongoing, I must rely a little on my imagination to colour between the lines. We pass the skeleton of what will be the main entrance to the exhibition; I am told by its curator, Catherine McIlwaine, that the Doors of Durin will be projected into this dark passageway to welcome visitors.

At the heart of the gallery is a model that will chart the routes taken by Tolkien’s characters through the landscape of Middle-earth. As McIlwaine talks me through the items, I find that seeing the exhibition in this liminal state lends an unexpected resonance to the experience. After all, never is a story more alive than when it is in progress.

Though many authors have since found great success in his genre, Tolkien, born in 1892 , is unrivalled in his reputation as a meticulous creator who knew his world down to the last blade of grass. Today, Tolkien might have come to represent the old guard of fantasy – the “locker room” that the late Ursula K LeGuin once derided. Yet fierce passion for his work endures, and even his harshest critics will concede that few creators have succeeded in building a paracosm that touches the depth of Middle-earth. Every so often, a new offering will stoke the coals of Tolkienmania – Beren and Lúthien was published in 2017, and this August The Fall of Gondolin will expand on another story from The Silmarillion . Meanwhile Amazon has signed a deal for an ambitious TV adaptation of The Lord of the Rings .

Throughout my career as a writer, I have found Tolkien to be a source of both self-doubt and inspiration. On the one hand, it can be tempting to give up in the face of his brilliance. He began to invent his first Elvish language when he was a student at Oxford, and eventually built a “Tree of Tongues” – one of the items on display in the exhibition – that charted his constructed languages from source. McIlwaine tells me about a painting Tolkien did when he should have been studying for his finals, of the realm of Valinor. “In 1915, it was all there, already in his head,” she explains. Dwelling on this too deeply could induce an existential crisis. More often, however, the knowledge of how fully Tolkien inhabited his work is a catalyst and a beacon. It fuels me to build larger, to dream weirder and to push harder at the bounds of my imagination.

Exhibitions of the Bodleian’s extensive Tolkien collection are rare. Kept in a strongroom with four papyrus scrolls from Herculaneum, the material is tested before and after display and shown in the same womb-like darkness that wraps the Book of Kells in Dublin. Given the importance of preserving the collection, there has been no major exhibition for 26 years. After finishing its run in October, it will travel to New York, then to the Bibliothèque nationale de France. This is the first time the latter will host an exhibition about a foreign author.

It is all too easy to believe in the myth of the professor as the one true god of a world he knew in its entirety. The truth, however, is more complex. Tolkien was not always sure of himself. A notebook page reveals that Gandalf once had the Elvish name Bladorthin, meaning grey wanderer. Gandalf, it turns out, was the original name of Thorin Oakenshield. Tolkien flickers between names in the text, as if torn. “He spoke about sub-creation,” McIlwaine says, “and I think this tied into his religious beliefs that all talents and gifts come from God. God is the one creator, and what we do is in imitation of that. Tolkien was a very humble man.”

There is abundant evidence of his humility. He was uncertain of his skill as an artist, responsive to criticism, and went out of his way to seek feedback from his friends and children. He could also make the most absent-minded of mistakes – for instance, when he forgot to write his own name on the manuscript title page of The Hobbit .

More than 200 items will be on show at the Weston Library, many for the first time – including personal objects donated by the Tolkien family, such as a pipe and a briefcase. Among my favourites is a letter from a fan who has attempted to write a poem in Elvish, which Tolkien has translated and annotated. He was confident enough in his grasp of his world to know when its rules were broken. Rules, after all, are vital in the creation of what he called “secondary belief” in an invented setting – yet he would have been the first to admit that there were uncharted places in Middle-earth.

“I don’t desire to go and have afternoons talking Elvish to chaps,” he once said. “Elvish is too complicated. I’ve never finished making it.”

Although Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth will be free to attend, this is the first exhibition at the Bodleian to be ticketed. “I think people are going to be surprised,” McIlwaine tells me. “We don’t know what they will bring with them, but I’d like them to leave with the impression of the whole man and his work – not just Tolkien as the maker of Middle-earth, but as a scholar, a young professor, a father of four children.”

In this, I believe McIlwaine has succeeded. I am comforted to have glimpsed the man behind the myth, and I am more inspired than ever by the scope of his creation.

The final item I admire is a gathering of patterns in black ink, on the back of a meeting agenda. Its title, written in Quenya, is Parma Mittarion , or “book of enterings”. It was probably intended to be a book cover, but what the book was to contain remains a mystery. Long after I leave the exhibition, my imagination runs wild. I ask myself what Tolkien intended for this book, whether he ever wrote it – either in his mind or on lost pages – and what he could have meant by the phrase “light in the eye”, which he tucked among the decoration. I realise I am beginning to write a story between the lines, and that anyone who looks at the page will perhaps do the same. In this way, Middle-earth will live for ever.

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Order of Wizards

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The Order of Wizards ( Quenya : Heren Istarion ), or simply Wizards (Q.: Istari ), were a group of Maiar sent to Middle-earth by the Valar in the Third Age (possibly the late Second Age ). They were embodied as elderly Men and entrusted to aid the Free Peoples against the threat of Sauron's conquest by lending them their wisdom and counsel. They were originally known as Five Guardians and were members of the Guardians around Cuiviénen . [1]

• 1.1 Guardians of the Free Peoples
• 2 Relationship with Free Peoples
• 3 Appearance
• 4 Powers & abilities
• 5 Etymology
• 9 Translations
• 10 References

History [ ]

After Oromë was called to another Council of the Valar , five Maiar - known as the "Five Guardians" - were sent to join Melian and the other Guardians in watching over the Elves at Cuiviénen and protecting them from Melkor 's emissaries. [2]

Guardians of the Free Peoples [ ]

In the Undying Lands around TA 1000 , the King of the Valar, Manwë , came to believe that Melkor-Morgoth's successor, Sauron , was returning to power. He then summoned a council which concluded with the Valar choosing to send three emissaries to Middle-earth . Their mission would be to both reassure the Free Peoples that the Powers had not abandoned them and guide them against the Dark Lord . Only two Maiar volunteered: Curumo (Saruman) sent by Aulë , and Alatar (Morinehtar), sent by Oromë . Manwë summoned Olórin (Gandalf), asking if he would go as the third messenger. Olórin claimed he was too weak and that he feared Sauron. However, Manwë said that was all the more reason to go, and he commanded him go, whereupon Varda said, "Not as the third." Yavanna asked Curumo to take Aiwendil also (Radagast), and Alatar also took his friend Pallando (Rómestámo) as his companion. The emissaries were expressly forbidden to control the Free Peoples or to match the Dark Lord's power with power and if they deviated from their appointed task they would be cast out and over time their forms would begin to wane.

The five wizards, by Mairon66

The Wizards were known by various names and were arrayed in different colors. Of those who came to Middle-earth, sent by the Valar, five are known. After arriving in Middle-earth, the two Blue Wizards apparently went east before the War of the Ring ; whether they played a part in the events of that war is unknown. [3] Radagast the Brown concerned himself mainly with plants and animals, and lived in Mirkwood for many years, before he was driven out when Sauron came to Dol Guldur . Saruman the White and Gandalf the Grey spent their time among Elves , Dwarves , and Men . Saruman was wise and respected, later becoming the head of the White Council in TA 2463 . However, he became prideful and jealous of the Grey Pilgrim, whom he viewed as a rival. Saruman gradually abandoned his duties, hindering Gandalf's efforts and seeking to become the quasi-equal of Sauron himself. By TA 3000 , the White Wizard was ensnared by the Dark Lord, who made him his vassal. Gandalf, however, stayed true to his mission, becoming the chief mover of the resistance to Sauron. Most notably, he set in motion the Quest of Erebor , which ultimately prevented a potential union between Sauron and the Dragon Smaug .

At the end of the Third Age , the Wizards passed from sight because with the fall of the Dark Lord their work was done. Gandalf had chiefly fulfilled the role of "Enemy of Sauron", having both raised the Free Peoples against him and orchestrated the destruction of his One Ring . After the War of the Ring, Gandalf passed over Belegaer with the Last Riding of the Keepers of the Rings . Radagast remained in Middle-earth, tending to the wilderness for a time but eventually left Middle-earth too and returned home. Having acted out Sauron's will as his two-faced puppet, Saruman was defeated and banished from the Istari order by Gandalf. The turncoat later imposed a terror regime in the Shire , but was overthrown and killed by his own mistreated footman ; Saruman's spirit was barred from ever returning to either Aman or Middle-earth due to his treachery. The fate of the Blue Wizards is unknown but it is assumed that they too eventually returned to the Timeless Halls .

Relationship with Free Peoples [ ]

The Istari became well-known among the various races of Middle-earth over the centuries. Relationships between the Free Peoples and the Wizards varied, however, as the Free Peoples as a whole were unaware of the Wizards' true origins and their true nature as Maiar . Inevitably, questions began to be asked about the Wizards, though no firm answers were ever found.

The Elves most of all strongly suspected that the Wizards were far more than they appeared and, despite their natural form, were certainly not of the race of Men given their preternatural skill in magic and their prodigious physical and mental gifts. As such, the Elves respected and revered the Wizards for their wisdom and power but only to an extent; they were usually disinclined to follow the Wizards' counsel as most Elves still believed themselves superior to the Wizards overall. Men interacted less with the Wizards. They did not suspect the Wizards of being more than they appeared, as the Elves did, but acknowledged that they possessed power and knowledge beyond the understanding or the reach of ordinary men. They too respected the Wizards and looked to them occasionally for counsel, but were prone to misinterpreting said counsel as commands rather than guidance and disliked the thought of Wizards taking charge in their affairs. The Dwarves and Hobbits had the least amount of contact with the Wizards. Hobbits viewed them as little more than unusual and strange magicians that caused unnecessary trouble, preferring that they remain apart (with the notable exception of the Tooks .

Appearance [ ]

The Wizards resembled elderly Men , but their age appeared to never advance. Despite their old appearance, they possessed physically strong bodies equal to those of Elves , and highly intelligent minds. Each of the Istari carried a staff , was associated with a color, and possessed a rank within their order. These ranks are not all clearly specified, save for that of Saruman , who was the highest as the White Wizard. After Saruman's treachery, this position was assumed by the reborn Gandalf .

Powers & abilities [ ]

Despite their outward appearance as old men and inability to challenge Sauron directly, the Istari were among the most powerful beings to walk Middle-earth . While they could be hindered, harmed and even killed as with other races, death for them was merely temporary, as they simply returned to the Timeless Halls upon death whereupon the One would send them back to Middle-earth as many times as needed until their task was complete, as was seen with Gandalf 's death and resurrection. Once their task was completed, the Istari were to return to the Timeless Halls . Only Gandalf, as a Ring-bearer , was allowed to go embodied to the Undying Lands .

True to their name, the Wizards each possessed incredible magical powers that allowed them to perform astonishing feats; their power was reputedly greater than or, at least, equal to that of the Elves . Each Wizard carried and utilised a powerful staff , through which he channelled and performed most of his spells and magical actions. They could, if needed, use magic independently of their staffs, such as telekinesis and healing. Through their magic, they could cast illusions, shoot firebolts, summon lightning strikes, heal grievous wounds, hurl enemies around with ease, conjure protective shields, disintegrate entire structures and even ensnare the minds of other beings. Yet, for all their power, the Istari were expressly forbidden by the Valar from openly using their magic except in times of great need and as such they (with the exception of Saruman ) more often relied on their wisdom, quick-thinking and reasoning skills to overcome challenges. [ citation needed ]

Etymology [ ]

Istari was a Quenya word (singular: Istar ). The Sindarin translation was Ithryn (singular: Ithron ).

Members [ ]

• Saruman the White , also known as Curumo , Curunír , Tarindor , Sharku , and " Sharkey ." A Maia of Aulë . Originally the chief and greatest of the Istari order, as well as head of the White Council . After becoming the duplicitous vassal of Sauron , he renamed himself Saruman of Many Colours . Cast out from both the White Council and the Istari order by a resurrected Gandalf. Ultimately killed by his own minion, Gríma Wormtongue , at the end of the War of the Ring .
• Gandalf the Grey , also known as Olórin , Mithrandir , Tharkûn , and Incánus . The wisest Maia and a Maia of Manwë and Varda . He was also a member of the White Council. After he was killed by a Balrog , he was sent back by Eru as Gandalf the White , the new chief of Istari and the "Enemy of Sauron". Wielder of the sword Glamdring and keeper of Narya , the Ring of Fire. Successful in his mission to defeat Sauron, he returned to Valinor at the end of the Third Age.
• Radagast the Brown , also known as Aiwendil and Hrávandil . A Maia of Yavanna . A less notable member of the White Council. A lover of nature who mostly avoided participating the War of the Ring. He eventually returned to Valinor.
• Alatar and Pallando , the Blue Wizards , also known as the Ithryn Luin , Haimenar and Palacendo or Morinehtar and Rómestámo . Maiar of Oromë . Travelled into the distant east of Middle-earth. Little is known about them and their fates are unknown.

Appearances [ ]

• The Hobbit - First appearance
• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Two Towers
• The Return of the King
• The Silmarillion , Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
• Unfinished Tales , " The Istari "
• The History of Middle-earth
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
• The Lord of the Rings Online
• LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game
• LEGO The Hobbit: The Video Game

Gallery [ ]

Translations [ ], references [ ].

• ↑ The Nature of Middle-earth , Part One: Time and Ageing, XIII: "Key Dates" The Nature of Middle-earth , Part One: Time and Ageing, XIII: "Key Dates", Notes, pg. 102 (note 7)
• ↑ The Nature of Middle-earth , Part One: Time and Ageing, XIII: "Key Dates", pgs. 93-9
• ↑ According to Tolkien 's letters , they may have formed cults for magic worship and practice among the Easterlings and Haradrim .
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Gandalf Used a Clever Trick Against Bilbo in The Hobbit

In The Hobbit, Gandalf came up with a plan to convince Beorn to house the Dwarves, but this was not the first time in the story he used such a trick.

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Gandalf tricked beorn into being a gracious host, beorn respected some dwarves more than others, gandalf pulled the same trick on beorn and bilbo.

• In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit , Gandalf comes up with a plan to trick Beorn into letting the Dwarves stay at his house.
• Bilbo did not realize that Gandalf employed a similar strategy against him earlier in the story.
• Gandalf was wise, jovial, and compassionate, but he also knew how to manipulate others to get his way subtly.

Gandalf from J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings was a wise, jovial, compassionate friend. More often than not, his ability to inspire hope and courage in others was more important than his magical Wizard powers . But just because he was kind did not mean that he was above trickery and deceit. Gandalf was clever, and he had thousands of years of experience in Middle-earth. He knew how to subtly manipulate others to get his way, not unlike Saruman, but he did so for the betterment of Middle-earth instead of personal gain. One of the clearest examples of Gandalf's cunning was his interaction with Beorn in The Hobbit . Yet a subtler instance occurred far earlier in the story before Bilbo had even left Bag End .

In The Hobbit novel, Beorn first appeared in the chapter "Queer Lodgings." Having narrowly escaped the Orcs and Wargs that pursued them, the members of Thorin 's Company were exhausted, and they had lost most of their supplies; they had "no food and no baggage, and no ponies to ride." To make matters worse, Gandalf had mysterious business to attend to, so he would soon depart from the Company. But before he left, he wanted to ensure that Bilbo and the Dwarves had a safe place to stay before their journey into Mirkwood . He knew that Beorn the skin-changer lived nearby and could shelter the travelers, but there was one problem: Beorn was not fond of guests, especially the Dwarven variety.

How to Watch The Hobbit Movies in Order

Beorn was far from an evil character; he cared deeply for the plants and animals in his care, and he was a sworn enemy of the Orcs . But he was used to living alone, and the dangers of the nearby forest forced him to keep up his guard at all times. As he later told Gandalf, "If you lived near the edge of Mirkwood, you would take the word of no one that you did not know as well as your brother or better." For reasons that Tolkien did not specify, he also harbored a resentment towards Dwarves. Peter Jackson 's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug film attributed this to the Dwarves' greed and disregard for other living things. Beorn and Gandalf shared an acquaintance in Radagast , who also lived along the edge of Mirkwood, but that alone was not enough to earn the skin-changer's hospitality.

Instead, Gandalf came up with a plan to trick Beorn into letting the Dwarves stay. At first, he approached Beorn with only Bilbo as a companion. After introducing himself and his hobbit friend, he began to regale Beorn with the tale of the Company's adventures. Gandalf's goblin-killing exploits intrigued Beorn, and he invited them inside so that they could tell him more. Every five minutes, two members of the Company joined them, as Gandalf had previously instructed. Beorn was perturbed by the presence of Dwarves in his house, but he was so engrossed in the story that he paid them little mind. The interruptions only made him more eager to hear the rest. Slowly but surely, all 13 Dwarves had gathered under Beorn's roof. But that was not the full extent of Gandalf's plan.

Smaug Is Middle-Earth's Richest Character - So How Much Is He Worth?

• Tolkien did not specify why Gandalf needed to leave the Company; in Jackson's film adaptations, it was to explore Dol Guldur.
• In the novel, Beorn said that Radagast was "not a bad fellow as wizards go."
• Tolkien described the bees that Beorn kept as "bigger than your thumb."

Gandalf chose the order of the Dwarves' arrivals very carefully. The first one who introduced himself to Beorn was Thorin. As the heir to the throne of Erebor , he was the most respected and well-known member of the Company. Beorn recognized Thorin and knew of his family's long-standing rivalry with the Orcs of the Misty Mountains . As far as he was concerned, no enemy of Azog and Bolg could be that bad. After Thorin came Dori , Nori , Ori , Balin , Dwalin , Fíli , Kíli , Óin , Glóin , Bifur , Bofur and finally Bombur . Gandalf had told Bombur to "come alone and last." He joked that it was because Bombur was the size of two Dwarves, but there was a more important reason. Throughout the novel version of The Hobbit , Bombur is quite irritable and outspoken; for example, in the chapter "Over Hill and Under Hill," he complains about " a wretched little hobbit " tagging along on the adventure. Gandalf likely saved Bombur for last so that he could not make a bad first impression on Beorn.

In the extended edition of Jackson's The Desolation of Smaug , a similar scene played out between Gandalf, Beorn, Bilbo, and the Dwarves. However, there was one small change to Gandalf's plan that caused it to go awry. Rather than instructing the Dwarves to show up every five minutes, he told them to wait until he gave them a signal. As soon as he left, Bofur confusedly asked, "What signal would that be?" The Dwarves misinterpreted Gandalf's random gestures as beckoning for them, so they arrived far too quickly. Further, they did not come out in any specific order; in fact, Thorin was the last member of the Company who made himself known. Like in the novel, Beorn recognized Thorin as " the one they call Oakenshield ," and in the film, this was what convinced him to let the Dwarves stay at his house.

The Animated 1977 The Hobbit is the Best Adaptation of the Novel

• Beorn's name came from the Old Norse word bjǫrn , meaning "bear."
• Beorn was a vegetarian; he subsisted mainly on cream and honey.
• The Lord of the Rings revealed that Beorn had a son named Grimbeorn.

In The Hobbit novel, Bilbo thought Gandalf's plan was very clever. But neither he -- nor many readers -- realized that Gandalf had used the same trick against him at the start of the story. When the Dwarves arrived at Bilbo's home of Bag End , they did so separately, just a few minutes apart. Their timing seemed random as if they had all gathered there from disparate locations, but it was suspiciously similar to the way Gandalf later told them to deal with Beorn. They even said the same thing on both occasions: their names, followed by "at your service!" Gandalf knew that a hospitable hobbit like Bilbo would never turn away a single guest, even though he would likely not accept 13 at once.

Just like at Beorn's house, Gandalf chose the order of the Dwarves' arrivals carefully. Bilbo did not know about Thorin, so instead, Gandalf led with Dwalin and Balin. Judging from their interactions with Beorn in the novel, these two were the most polite Dwarves, and such propriety was extremely important in the culture of the Shire . And as he would at Beorn's house, he saved the grumpy Bombur for last. Gandalf often assumed the persona of a bumbling old man, but his actions were carefully calculated. His craftiness and his familiarity with Bilbo's personality allowed him to control the outcome of events. Against all odds, Gandalf convinced a hobbit to embark on a quest to steal from a dragon, which was the greatest sign of his persuasive skills.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a series of epic fantasy adventure films and television series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The films follow the adventures of humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits and more in Middle-earth.

How Far Did Frodo & Sam Walk in The Lord of the Rings?

• J. R. R. Tolkien had a great attention to detail in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which allows fans to actually track the distances that the Fellowship, especially Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, traveled.
• Frodo and Sam traveled over a thousand miles from the Shire to Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, over multiple landscapes and terrains.
• Thanks to Tolkien's world-building, fans also know that Frodo and Sam's journey took a much shorter time than many people might assume due to the great distance.

Frodo and Sam's journey across Middle-earth is a long and physically exhausting trek over some dangerous territory. And part of what makes their adventure so compelling is the simplicity of it, as their goal is to make it from one point to another before Sauron's power grows too strong, all while avoiding detection. This walk takes many grueling months for the two Hobbits to complete, and the total distance they walk throughout The Lord of the Rings is equally impressive. Through craggy rocks, flat marshes, caves of giant spiders and the slopes of Mount Doom, Frodo and Sam walk along hundreds of miles. And this is all while they try to avoid armies of Orcs and Sauron's legions spreading across Middle-earth. Then, of course, there's the most difficult task of all -- carrying the One Ring . It may appear like a light trinket, but what it houses is a painful burden for even the strongest minds.

Author J.R.R. Tolkien had a strong eye for detail, and took care to work out many of the logistical necessities of Frodo's journey, such how far he would have to go and how many days he would have to do it. Thanks to information in the Appendices of his celebrated trilogy, as well as a map provided in most printings of the text, it's possible to chart the exact time and distance traveled in each stage of Frodo's journey.

Updated on March 22, 2024 by Robert Vaux: The wonderful maps from Tolkien's various published works let readers see exactly where the protagonists travel in Middle-earth. That in turn helps better paint the picture of a huge fantasy world -- full of its own kingdoms, landmarks and history -- and bring epic events such as the War of the Ring to life. The article has been expanded to include new details on Frodo and Sam's journey in terms of distance traveled. It has also been updated to match CBR's current style guidelines.

How Fans Can Measure Distance in The Lord of the Rings

The lord of the rings: merry and pippin's best quotes.

Tolkien was a famous nature lover who disdained modern conveniences, and his proclivities are reflected in the text of The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbits, for instance, are portrayed as quiet farmers and country gentry, while Elves exist in harmony with the natural world around them. On a subtler level, both of his major narratives -- The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings -- are essentially long walks: the former from Bag End to the Lonely Mountain, the latter from Bag End to Mount Doom. The prospect gave the author ample opportunity to explore the countryside of Middle-earth, and the novels are filled with lush descriptions of the trees, hills, valleys, and underground caverns of the Hobbits' journeys.

That came with a huge amount of detail, as Tolkien built up the world of Middle-earth itself as part of his writing. Most importantly, his son Christopher created a map of Middle-earth in 1953, as his father was preparing to publish The Lord of the Rings for the first time. Tolkien referred to it in his notes as "the general map," and versions of it have been included in every edition of Th e Lord of the Rings published since. Most helpfully, it includes a scale in miles, which lets readers chart just how much walking Frodo and the various members of the Fellowship did, as well as Bilbo's journey to The Lonely Mountain and back again. Dedicated runners and outdoor enthusiasts can even attempt to walk the same distance in a given amount of time. It's one more example of just how thorough Tolkien was with his world-building, and how well Middle-earth has endured accordingly. It also makes the question relatively easy to answer.

How Many Miles Frodo and Sam Travel in The Lord of the Rings

The distance between the village of Hobbiton and the village of Bree is 120 miles. With these two points marked on Middle-earth's map, it's possible to gauge the distance the Fellowship traveled throughout the trilogy. So, with their first destination being Rivendell, it's estimated that the Hobbits traveled 420 miles starting from the Shire. They take about a month to cover that distance, which is quite impressive considering it takes place entirely on foot.

Rivendell is where the Fellowship is formed, and the journey properly begins. After about two months' of rest, the Fellowship sets out, and together, the group travels roughly 475 miles until Boromir dies and they separate for good. During this time, they travel over mountains and through Dwarven ruins, as well as another rest stop in the Elven stronghold of Lothlorien for about a month. Using boats after visiting Lady Galadriel helped with some of that: covering about 300 miles by the map much faster than they could normally march. From that point, Frodo and Sam walk 340 miles to Mount Doom, and the final total of their journey is estimated to be approximately 1235 miles.

Frodo set out from Bag End in late September, and it's known the One Ring is finally destroyed on March 25. So, over this six-month period, they traveled almost 1300 miles, which averaged around seven miles per day. However, it was far from a consistent journey, as the Fellowship spent almost two months resting in Rivendell and later spent nearly a month with the Elves of Lothlorian . So, the traveling time was around three months, which averaged a little less than 14 miles walked per day. Even with a boat taking them some of the way, this was an impressive feat for such small Hobbits, let alone ones that were trying to hide from Sauron . And including the times they were slowed down -- climbing through mountains, traversing dangerous swamps, and battling the spider Shelob -- shows how persistent the two Hobbits really were.

How Long Frodo and Sam's Journey Took in The Lord of the Rings

How did gandalf and saruman age in the lord of the rings.

Even moreso, the care with which Tolkien assembled his timeline lends quiet insight into the pacing of the narrative. Early in their journey, the Hobbits maintain a brisk pace: sticking to roads and fields. That's accentuated by Frodo's flight to the Ford of Rivendell to end the first part of their quest. Once the Fellowship is formed, the pace slows again, which can be explained away by camping in the wilderness. Time and energy need to be set aside to make and break camp, as well as activities like hunting to secure food. Once the Fellowship breaks, Sam and Frodo maintain a blistering pace for a little more than a week: first attempting to enter Mordor by the Black Gate, then traveling south to Minas Morgul, where they climb the Stairs of Cirtih Ungol and have their battle with Shelob. Presumably, the Hobbits are marching from dawn until dusk at this stage: rarely bothering to set camp or start a fire, and relying largely on Elven lembas bread to keep moving. Finally, the quest ends in an agonizingly slow march through Mordor itself. Both the text and Peter Jackson's film adaptation have the Hobbits literally crawling on their hands and knees towards Mount Doom at one point.

The apt reflection of the drama in Tolkien's timetable shows how much thought he put into the quest of the Ring, and the way he established a clear, plausible timetable for his protagonists to actually be able to make the journey he was sending them on. While Frodo and Sam's quest was already impressive enough, the short time it took them to complete it makes it all the more special. They travel through so many different landscapes that it can be easy to assume the journey takes a year or even longer. But for them to walk across Middle-earth in half that time shows why they were the perfect people for the task:

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is currently streaming on Max.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a series of epic fantasy adventure films and television series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The films follow the adventures of humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits and more in Middle-earth.

Created by J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Latest Film The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Upcoming Films The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim

First TV Show The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

Latest TV Show The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

First Episode Air Date September 1, 2022

Cast Charlie Vickers, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Sean Bean, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Morfydd Clark, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Dominic Monaghan

Character(s) Sauron, Gollum

Video Game(s) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth 2, The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth, LEGO Lord of the Rings , Lord of the Rings Online, The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Genre Action-Adventure, Fantasy

Where to Stream Max, Hulu, Prime Video