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The Gandalf FAQ (v2.0)
Written by "The Elfstone"
"Wisest of the Maiar was Ol�rin. He too dwelt in L�rien, but his ways took him often to the house of Nienna, and of her he learned pity and patience.
Of Melian much is told in the Quenta Silmarillion. But of Ol�rin that tale does not speak; for though he loved the elves, he walked among them unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts. In later days he was a friend of all the Children of Il�vatar, and took pity on their sorrows; and those that listened to him awoke from despair and put away the imaginations of darkness.
The Silmarillion, Valaquenta, page 22
How old is Gandalf?
Firstly Gandalf is NOT human. It is believed that Gandalf has been in Middle-earth for approximately 2,000 years. However, as a Maiar (as is described further into this article) he was a member of the group that was responsible for creating the World, so unless you can work out how old the World was (according to Tolkien) it could be said that Gandalf was "as old as the world."
What is Gandalf?
Gandalf is a Maiar of the order Istari. Istari in common speech means Wizard. This is not the same as a Wizard as portrayed in such works as "Harry Potter". There Wizard means conjuror, a person who casts spells. Tolkiens wizard means sage, learner of lore. As a wizard, Gandalf was more likely to encourage people through wise words than through casting spells. He was not above using spells in dire circumstances, but it was a rare event indeed.
What is a Maiar?
This goes to Tolkiens theory of the creation of Middle-earth in the very beginning (you should read The Silmarillion to get a clearer picture). To put it as succinctly as possible the world was created by Iluvator (sometimes called Eru). The "Ainur" were created by Iluvator and he instructed them to "sing". When they had sung for a long while, Iluvator showed them what he had done with their song. Iluvator had used their song to make the world.
Some of the Ainur then came down onto the earth and the more powerful amongst them became the Valar, who formed the governing council. The less powerful were known as Maiar, and were associated with specific Valar.
There were seven "male" Valar and seven "female" Valar. The leader was Manw�, who had responsibility for the air and atmosphere. Ol�rin (known in Middle-earth as Gandalf) was a Maia (Maiar is plural) that served Manw�.
Aul� was an interesting Valar. He was the "creator" of the love to craft things, to learn how to make things. He created dwarves, and although when this was found out by Eru (who was not happy about it), they were given life, though Aul� was told off! He has two maiar of particular note, Curumo who came to Middle-earth as Saruman, and Sauron, he also inspired the Elf F�anor, who crafted the Silmarils.
Gandalf is a Maiar and so are Balrogs, how come they are so different?
Put simply, they have different roles, different "bosses" and different strengths. Gandalf and the other Istari are servants of the Valar. Balrogs are servants of Morgoth (Melkor). Morgoth is the "big bad" Valar (akin to the devil). He is no longer around as the Valar threw him "beyond the circles of the world". This doesn't stop there being "older and fouler things in the dark voids of the world" as Gandalf hints.
It is also worth pointing out that Sauron is also a Maiar. Power-wise he is slightly stronger than Gandalf the White, but whereas Gandalf (and the other Istari) have rules governing what they can do, Sauron has no such limitations placed upon him, and he can use his full powers to attempt to subdugate peoples, as we see in both the film adaptation and the book.
Comparing the strengths of individual Maiar is impossible really. It's like saying, I am human and so is David Beckham, therefore I should be able to curl the ball in the same way! Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Sauron in particular was a dangerous Maiar, because he took a long time to learn "magic" and had no qualms about using it to further his own ambitions.
Sauron was originally a Maiar attached to Aul� "the smith", and this is where he learnt the craft of Ring Making. Later he was corrupted by Melkor and turned to "the dark side".
Gandalf isn't much of a Wizard?
'Wizard' in Tolkiens world is different to the later use of the word in more modern fiction and role play games such as Dungeons and Dragons or Harry Potter. The Istari DID use magic, but generally did so only sparingly, because they were not allowed to openly use their powers to subdugate the peoples of Middle-earth. Also they were xpressly banned from matching Saurons power with similar power, that was the burden placed on them by their "govenors" the Valar. The Istari were much more likely to be wise men of learning and lore than wand-toting spell-throwing magicians.
If this rule had not been placed upon the Istari, it is possible that they could become the "next Sauron", should Sauron be defeated. This is why Saruman was considered to have "turned bad", because he used his powers to rule over Orcs and Men, in a mini-parody of Sauron, who he was originally sent to defeat.
As is mentioned below, Gandalf held the Ring of Power, one of the "Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky". It was a magic ring that gave him certain powers. Gandalf chose to use it to aid him in his quest, and used it to "kindle the fire of passion" in the hearts of those that heard his words. So it could be said, that Gandalf was more powerful in turning people against evil by talking to them than ever mere spells could do.
How come Gandalf didn't get burnt when he fought the Balrog?
There is no definative answer in the text written by Tolkien, but deduction can be gone into. I had a very enlightening debate with Lord Natrone on this very topic and we came to the following conclusions.
1. He was a ring-bearer himself. He held the "Ring of Fire" which he received from Cirdar the Shipwright. He kept this a secret, not wearing it openly during the time of "The War of the Ring", but we summise that it had an effect against the fire eminating from the Balrog. His ring of power gave him "good fire" as opposed to the "bad fire" of the Balrog. It is not a stretch of the imagination to believe that the ring protected him, "fighting fire with fire" you might say.
2. He did die as a result of battling the Balrog. He just happened to kill the Balrog before he slipped away.
What's the story behind Gandalf becoming Gandalf the White?
Tolkien himself, writing in LOTR, is very ambiguous. So here is the facts. Gandalfs body died after his fight with the Balrog. His spirit went into the Uttermost West (where the Valar live) and he was sent back, with greater powers, for his task was not yet over. Galadriel made Gandalfs white costume.
There is debate as to whether Gandalf actually died. Some point to the passage in the book where the "Lord of the Eagles" takes Gandalfs body (which the Eagle claims is "as light as a feather and nearly see-through", to Lothlorien.
It has been pointed out that only Iluvator had the power to send Gandalf's spirit back. Whether this is reincarnation or rejuvination is a topic of debate. This is the only time that Iluvator appears to directly involve himself in the "doings" of Middle-earth. Iluvator seems to be happy letting the Valar make most of the decisions, but he personally steps in to send Gandalf back.
The films depict one particular aspect wrongly. When we see Gandalf and Saruman battle in Orthanc, Saruman is "the White", but in the novel, when the Wizards start to argue, Saruman points out that he is "Saruman of many colours!" And as he stands up, Gandalf realises that his robes are indeed made up of shimmering colours. This is a device Tolkien uses to show several things at once. One being that Saruman has turned from the "righteous path" and abandoned the fight against Sauron. Another being that Saruman thinks he is more important than "mere white". Another point is that there is an opening for a "new white" (or leader of the Istari).
How much more powerful was Gandalf the White compared to Gandalf the Grey?
It is said in the books that he is "more powerful than anything else you have seen in Middle-earth, unless you are brought alive to the Dark Lord himself". The film demonstrates this when the "three orc hunters" encounter him first time in Fangorn Forest. He deflects Legolas's arrow, Gimli's axe and super-heats Aragorns sword. The book goes further and says that his body is at this point indestructable (or words to that effect).
How many names does Gandalf have?
Tolkien has an annoying habbit of giving the same charactor many different names. Gandalf is no exception (the worst offender is actually Aragorn (II) but of that matter we shall not speak here!
As we have covered earlier, when Gandalf was "merely" a Maia in the Uttermost West, he was known as Ol�rin. This could be described as his "spirit name". But Gandalf was well travelled, and he is quoted as saying, "to the elves I am Mithrandir, Thark�n to the Dwarves, Gandalf in the north and Inc�nus in the South."
But what do the names mean? We know that names were very important to Tolkien, so what do all these different names mean? Gandalf means "elf wand", but note that this name was given him by men of the north, who probably thought him an elf.
Ol�rin is not so easy to explain. 'Dreams' is really an inadequate translation of olori, but there is nothing in English that comes close to this concept. To the Elves, memory and imagination presented a mental image that had the clarity of reality - it is to these clear perceptions that the word olori actually refers. In the Silmarillion, it says that he was fond of putting these thoughts "unbidden" into the minds of the Eldar.
I can find no explanation of what Thark�n means, other than it being the name given to him by the dwarves.
Inc�nus (possible) from in(id) 'mind' and kan- 'ruler', though Tolkien himself changed the meanings from time to time. This is believed to be his favourite explantion though.
Mithrandir is in elvish and means "Grey Pilgrim".
If you think any details above are wrong, please feel free to use the email button and explain your concerns with me. If I think you are right, I will change the "offending" text.
