EMISSARIES OF THE
WEST
When Greenwood the Great fell under shadow at the beginning
of the Third Age, the Valar sensed that Sauron had returned and was beginning
to grow in power. However, they had long decided not to directly interfere in
the lives of the denizens of Middle-earth, having been met with war and
bloodshed when they had tried to lead the Eldar into the West during the Years
of the Trees. Instead they sent messengers to Middle-earth to inspire Men and
Elves to noble deeds, thus indirectly helping to ensure that they fulfilled
their destinies.
With the consent of Eru, the Valar sent several Maiar –
members of their own order “but of less degree” – known as the Istari (21). (Though they are more commonly referred to as “wizards,” Tolkien
is careful to point out that his wizards are not the magicians we usually
associate with the term; instead they are wise men or messengers.)
The Istari appeared in the forms of Men, “old but vigorous”
(360), and although they were Maiar, in their human bodies they were “subject
to the fears and pains and weariness of earth, able to hunger and thirst and be
slain; though because of their noble spirits they did not die, and aged only by
the cares and labours of many long years” (406). Likewise, their human bodies
did not protect them from the temptations and corruptions which plagued the
other denizens of Middle-earth: they “might even as Men and Elves fall away
from their purposes, and do evil, forgetting the good in the search for the
power to effect it” (407).
The exact number of the Order of the Istari was unknown,
“but of those that came to the North of Middle-earth” during the Third Age “the
chiefs were five” (406), and they were: Curúnir
(Saruman the White), the two Blue Wizards, Aiwendil
(Radagast the Brown), and Olórin
(Gandalf the Grey).
WHO WERE THE
ISTARI?
Curúnir (Q. ‘skillful one’; also called Curumo) was the first and eldest, and as such was named Chief of
the Order (denoted by his white robes). “Great skill he had in works of hand”
(406), having been the servant and helper of Aulë; in Middle-earth he was
called Saruman (Rohirric, ‘man of skill’). He travelled East for a millennia
and a half before returning to the West and settling in Orthanc. He became
knowledgeable in the lore of the Rings of Power, and sought the One Ring for
himself, so that he might bend all of Middle-earth to his will. His pride,
arrogance, and jealousy made him easily malleable by Sauron, and the White
Wizard was ultimately corrupted and failed in his task.
Following Saruman were the two Blue Wizards, whose names are
not given, aside from Ithryn Luin (‘Blue
Wizards’); occasionally the names Alatar and Pallando, or Morinehtar and
Rómestámo, are attributed to them.
Neither are their fates in Middle-earth known. In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien wrote that these two journeyed East with
Saruman but did not return; “whether they remained in the East, pursuing there
the purposes for which they were sent; or perished; or as some hold were
ensnared by Sauron and became his evil servants, is not known” (407). In a
letter dated 1958, Tolkien reiterated this belief, adding of their fall: “I
suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and ‘magic’ traditions
that outlasted the fall of Sauron” (418).
The fourth to arrive in Middle-earth, Radagast the Brown had
been a servant of Yavanna, and was fond of all things Kelvar (fauna) and Olvar
(flora), though his name Aiwendil
suggests he was perhaps most fond of birds. In Unfinished Tales, it is noted that Yavanna forced Saruman to take
Radagast with him, which was perhaps the reason the White Wizard was so
scornful of him – openly referring to him as “simple” and “a fool.” Like the
Blue Wizards, Radagast, too fell away from his purpose, becoming “enamoured of
the many beasts and birds that dwelt in Middle-earth, and forsook Elves and
Men, and spent his days among the wild creatures” (407).
Indeed, “one only remained faithful, and he was the
last-comer” (407), Tolkien wrote of Gandalf (known in Valinor as Olórin).
Associated with Nienna, who taught him pity, Gandalf was fond of the Gardens of
Lórien (Irmo), and in this way learned much about the dreams of Men and Elves.
He also had a fondness for the Hobbits of the Shire, but unlike Radagast and
Saruman, he did not stray from his mission.
THE WHITE COUNCIL
It was Gandalf who sensed that the growing darkness in
Mirkwood was more sinister than Ringwraiths; and in the year 2463 of the Third
Age, the White Council was formed, consisting of Galadriel, Elrond, Círdan,
Gandalf, and Saruman. Galadriel had hoped that Gandalf would serve as their
leader (an offer which angered Saruman), “but Mithrandir refused the office,
since he would have no ties and no allegiance, save to those who sent him”
(361). And so Saruman was named as their leader.
When Gandalf visited Dol Guldur and learned that the
Necromancer was, in fact, Sauron, he urged the Council to make a swift attack;
but Saruman, hoping the One Ring would reveal itself as the Dark Lord rose back
to power, counselled them to wait. But the more they waited, the more Saruman
fell to temptation and plotted not only against his Order, but against the
Enemy as well, seeking the One Ring for his own purpose. In the last meeting of
the White Council (TA 2953), he asserted that the One Ring had been lost
forever in the Belegaer. Soon after he took control of Isengard, which he
fortified, and began to aid the enemies of his neighbours in Rohan.
THE FATE OF THE
TWO WHITE WIZARDS
By now, Saruman had grown to fear and hate Gandalf, whom he
suspected knew all about his traitorous plans. Making note of everything the
Grey wizard said to him, he became aware of the Shire – a place which Gandalf
frequently visited. The ever-suspicious White wizard assumed Gandalf was there
for other purposes (when in fact, Gandalf as yet knew nothing of the location
of the One Ring), and so sent spies to learn all they could about the Shire and
its inhabitants. When Gandalf did learn
that the One had been found, Saruman was the next to know (and given that
ring-lore was his speciality, he
begrudged Gandalf even more for knowing something he did not).
So he deceived Radagast, and sent him as his messenger to
lure Gandalf to Isengard in TA 3018 with the promise of counsel; “he sought me
in good faith, and so persuaded me,” Gandalf later recounted to Frodo upon their
meeting in Rivendell (313). But it was this good faith that also turned Radagast into an
unwitting rescuer of Gandalf, who was imprisoned atop the pinnacle of Orthanc
after refusing to join forces with Saruman and the Enemy. Having called upon
his friends, the Eagles of the Mountains, to send word of the Enemy’s
movements, Gwaihir the Windlord found Gandalf and carried him away from
Saruman, whose treachery was now fully known.
While Saruman busied himself with the fortification of
Isengard and the breeding of an army to rival that of Sauron, Gandalf never
strayed from his mission – even at great personal sacrifice. As the Company of
the Ring made their way through the Mines of Moria, they were faced with a most
fearsome enemy: a Balrog of Morgoth.
Although he was Maia in origin, in his Middle-earth body, a
sacrifice was a sacrifice:
“[I]n his condition it was for him a sacrifice to perish on the Bridge in defence of his companions, less perhaps than a mortal Man or Hobbit, since he had a far greater inner power than they; but also more, since it was a humbling and abnegation of himself in conformity to 'the Rules' […] He was handing over to the Authority that ordained the Rules, and giving up personal hope of success” (Letters, #156).
Because of this sacrifice, he was sent back to fulfil his
mission. Tolkien goes on to remind us that the Valar did not have the authority
to send him back (thereby directly intervening): “He was sent by a mere prudent
plan of the angelic Valar or governors; but Authority had taken up this plan
and enlarged it, at the moment of its failure” (Letters, #156), which indicates that Gandalf was sent back by Eru
Ilúvatar himself.
"Naked I was sent back – for a brief time, until my
task is done. And naked I lay upon the mountain-top. … There I lay staring
upward, while the stars wheeled over, and each day was as long as a life-age of
the earth." (125)
He was taken to Lothlórien, where he was healed by Galadriel
and clothed in white; and he was now called “Gandalf the White,” for he was the
wizard Saruman should have been. It was
in this new body that Gandalf was able to fully carry out his task, and
ultimately influence all races – Men, Hobbits, Elves, and Dwarves – to play an
important role in the Downfall of Sauron. Upon completion of his mission, he
was granted access back to Valinor.
While Gandalf was rewarded for his faithfulness, Saruman met an ignominious fate. His plans at Isengard
had been foiled by the neighbouring Ents, which had caused him to flee to the
one place he still had power to control: the Shire. And yet, to his surprise,
the Hobbits revolted and cast him out, and his cruel ways finally caught up
with him. He was slain at the hand of his own miserable servant, Gríma
Wormtongue, “and his spirit went whithersoever it was doomed to go, and to
Middle-earth, whether naked or embodied, came never back” (408).
REFERENCES
The Fellowship of the
Ring, “The Council of Elrond”
The Letters of J.R.R.
Tolkien, (#156)
The Silmarillion,
p. 21, 360
The Two Towers, “The
White Rider”
Unfinished Tales, “The
Hunt for the Ring,” p. 365
Unfinished Tales, “The
Istari,” p. 406-408, 415, 418
