Wizard (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a small group of beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical and mental power. They are also called the Istari ("Wise Ones") by the Elves. The Sindarin word is Ithryn (sing. Ithron).
They were of the Maiar, spirits of the same order of the Valar, but lesser in power (Sauron himself was one of the most powerful of the Maiar), sent by the Valar to help and assist the peoples of Middle-earth to contest Sauron. Their Quenya names were Curunír (Saruman), meaning Man of Skill; Olórin (Gandalf), meaning Dreamer; Aiwendil (Radagast), meaning Bird Lover; Morinehtar, meaning Darkness-Slayer and Romestamo, meaning East Helper. The last two were also called Alatar and Pallando, though there is no indication of which names corresponded to the others.
They came to Middle-earth around the year 1050 of the Third Age, when the forest of 'Greenwood the Great' fell under shadow and became known as Mirkwood, it was named this when of Sauron formed a new army and began to command from Dul Guldur ( South Mirkwood ). It seems that each Wizard was assigned with a colour for his clothes, white perhaps being indicative of the chief: Saruman. Gandalf was grey, Radagast was brown, and two of them, Alatar and Pallando, were blue. It is not known if the colour had a special meaning concerning their rank, abilities or nature.
The wizards already appeared old when they entered Middle-earth. They were deliberately "clothed" in the bodies of old Men, as the Valar wished them to guide the inhabitants of Middle-earth by persuasion and encouragement, not by force or fear. However, they aged very slowly and were in fact immortal. Thus, they were, physically speaking, "real" Men, and felt all the urges, pleasures and fears of flesh and blood. While in this form, although immortals by age, their physical form could be destroyed by violence—thus, Gandalf truly died in the fight with the Balrog, but is "reborn" for his mission was not yet complete. The Istari also carried staves, which seem to be tied to their ability to wield magic; when Saruman is defeated at Isengard, Gandalf in the same breath casts him from the White Council and breaks his staff.
Very few of Middle-earth's inhabitants knew who the Wizards really were; the Wizards did not share their identities and purposes except to national rulers. Most thought they were Elves or wise Men (the name Gandalf represents this interpretation, meaning Wand-elf, because the Men who gave him the nickname believed he was an Elf). They attracted few questions due to their gentle nature and dislike of direct interference with other people's internal affairs and policies. In spite of their specific and unambiguous goal, the Wizards were nevertheless capable of human feelings; thus Gandalf felt great affection for the Hobbits. On the flip side, they could feel negative human emotions like greed, jealousy, and lust for power. It is hinted in the essay in Unfinished Tales that the Blue Wizards may have fallen prey to these temptations. They went into the East and do not enter into the stories of Middle-earth.
Saruman originally had the greatest power of the five Istari and was appointed the head of the White Council. In the year 2759 of the Third Age, he was invited by the rulers of Gondor and Rohan to settle in Isengard. Saruman was learned in the lore of the Rings of Power, gradually becoming corrupted by the desire for the Rings and by Sauron's direct influence on him through the palantír of Orthanc. Eventually he became ensnared in Sauron's power, and assisted him in the War of the Ring (although he ultimately wanted the One Ring for himself, so that he could defeat and replace Sauron), until he was defeated by the Ents and Gandalf, who broke his staff and cast him out of the White Council. Saruman's death came at the hands of his servant Grima Wormtongue in the Shire, after the destruction of the One Ring.
During the War of the Ring, it was Gandalf who led the Free Peoples to victory over Sauron. He also defeated the traitorous Saruman. After the destruction of Sauron's forces at the Black Gate at the mountainous borders of Mordor, Gandalf left Middle-earth and went over the Sea, along with the Ring-bearers and many of the Elves.
In the course of The Lord of the Rings, it is never made clear what exactly Gandalf and Saruman are (though Treebeard informs Merry and Pippin that they landed in the Grey Havens from across the Great Sea 2,000 years ago, little else is revealed in the narrative). In a certain point, Pippin seems to wonder what his friend Gandalf really was, and notices that it was the first time in his life he did so. The essay given in Unfinished Tales was originally begun in order to be included in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, but was not completed in time. A more explanatory passage on the nature of the wizards is found at the end of The Simarillion.
List of Middle-earth Wizards
| Middle-earth name | Color | Quenya name (meaning) | Sent by |
| Saruman (Man of skill) | White (later Many Coloured) | Curunír (Man of Skill) | Aulë |
| Gandalf (Elf of the wand) | Grey (later White) | Olórin (Dreamer) | Manwë and Varda |
| Radagast (Bird Lover) | Brown | Aiwendil (Bird-lover) | Yavanna |
| Morinehtar (Darkness slayer) Romestamo (East helper) |
Blue | Pallando (Far Wanderer) Alatar (unknown) |
Oromë |
Wizards and their staffs
Apparently, to some degree Tolkien ties a Wizard's power to his staff.
In Book II of The Two Towers, when Gandalf rides to Edoras to meet King Théoden he is explicitly asked by the doorwarden who is under the orders of Gríma Wormtongue to leave his staff at the door and move in unarmed. Gandalf persuades Aragorn to even leave Andúril at the door but is reluctant to leave his staff behind, and he talks the doorwarden into letting him keep his staff. It appears as if Gandalf needed his staff to counter the evil counsels of Gríma.
Gandalf banishes Saruman from the Order of Wizards in The Two Towers by saying, "Saruman, your staff is broken", but later Saruman was still able to use his persuasive voice against the Hobbits. Earlier, Saruman accuses Gandalf of wanting to claim the staffs of the Five Wizards.
This notion takes further strength from The Hobbit. In many places in The Hobbit and also in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien refers to Gandalf's staff as a 'wand'. From this, it appears Gandalf's staff is some sort of long wand.
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy this notion was extended.
In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf and Saruman fight a magical duel using telekinesis-like powers at Isengard, when the latter tries to detain the former. Saruman wins when he seizes Gandalf's staff and uses it against him. None of this happens in the book, where Gandalf does not explicitly put up a fight.
In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Jackson expands Théoden's predicament into being actually possessed by Saruman; Gandalf's staff is presumably given more significance also.
In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Gandalf drives off the flying Ringwraiths with a beam of light from his staff; in the book, the light came from his hand. There is also a deleted scene (added in the Extended edition) in which the Witch-king breaks Gandalf's staff. This scene proved controversial for fans. The confrontation is based loosely upon a similar scene in the book, where Gandalf briefly confronts the Witch-king at the gate of Minas Tirith only to be interrupted by the arrival of the Rohirrim; however, in the book his staff is not broken. (In fact, it was not the staff he used as Gandalf the Grey, since that one was broken when he was facing the Balrog, due to the spell that broke the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.) Some have criticized the change as making the Witch-king — still a mere Man, though one of the Nazgûl and a sorcerer of great power — stronger than an angelic Maia who existed before the very world was created (and probably helped create it; see Ainulindalë); others have taken this to mean that, strictly in the context of the films, Gandalf is not a Maia.