As a wizard and the bearer of one of theThree Rings, Gandalf has great power, but works mostly by encouraging and persuading. He sets out as Gandalf the Grey, possessing great knowledge and travelling continually. Gandalf is focused on the mission to counter the Dark LordSauron by destroying theOne Ring. He is associated with fire; his ring of power isNarya, the Ring of Fire. As such, he delights infireworks to entertain thehobbits ofthe Shire, while in great need he uses fire as a weapon. As one of theMaiar, he is an immortal spirit fromValinor, but his physical body can be killed.
InThe Hobbit, Gandalf assists the 13 dwarves and the hobbitBilbo Baggins withtheir quest to retake theLonely Mountain fromSmaug the dragon, but leaves them to urge theWhite Council to expel Sauron from his fortress ofDol Guldur. In the course of the quest, Bilbo finds a magical ring. The expulsion succeeds, but inThe Lord of the Rings, Gandalf reveals that Sauron's retreat was only a feint, as he soon reappeared inMordor. Gandalf further explains that, after years of investigation, he is sure that Bilbo's ring is the One Ring that Sauron needs to dominate the whole of Middle-earth. TheCouncil of Elrond creates the Fellowship of the Ring, with Gandalf as its leader, to defeat Sauron by destroying the Ring. He takes them south through the Misty Mountains, but is killed fighting aBalrog, an evil spirit-being, in the underground realm ofMoria. After he dies, he is sent back to Middle-earth to complete his mission as Gandalf the White. He reappears to three of the Fellowship and helps to counter the enemy inRohan, then inGondor, and finally at theBlack Gate of Mordor, in each case largely by offering guidance. When victory is complete, he crowns Aragorn as King before leaving Middle-earth for ever to return to Valinor.
Tolkien once described Gandalf as anangel incarnate; later, both he and other scholars have likened Gandalf to theNorse godOdin in his "Wanderer" guise. Others have described Gandalf as a guide-figure who assists the protagonists, comparable to theCumaean Sibyl who assistedAeneas inVirgil'sThe Aeneid, or to the figure of Virgil inDante'sInferno. Scholars have likened his return in white to thetransfiguration of Christ; he is further described as aprophet, representing one element of Christ'sthreefold office of prophet, priest, and king, where the other two roles are taken byFrodo andAragorn.
The Gandalf character has been featured in radio, television, stage, video game, music, and film adaptations, includingRalph Bakshi's1978 animated film. His best-known portrayal is byIan McKellen inPeter Jackson's 2001–2003The Lord of the Rings film series, where the actor based his acclaimed performance on Tolkien himself. McKellen reprised the role in Jackson's 2012–2014 film seriesThe Hobbit.
Tolkien derived the nameGandalf from Gandálfr, adwarf in theVöluspá'sDvergatal, a list of dwarf-names.[1] InOld Norse, the name meansstaff-elf. This is reflected in his nameTharkûn, which is "said to mean 'Staff-man'" inKhuzdul, thelanguage Tolkien invented for hisDwarves.[T 1]
Gandalf is given several names and epithets in Tolkien's writings.Faramir calls him the Grey Pilgrim, and reports Gandalf as saying, "Many are my names in many countries.Mithrandir[a] among theElves, Tharkûn to theDwarves,Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incánus, in the NorthGandalf; tothe East I go not."[T 2] In an early draft ofThe Hobbit, he is calledBladorthin, while the dwarf who was later namedThorin Oakenshield is named Gandalf.[2]
EachWizard is distinguished by the colour of his cloak. For most of his manifestation as a wizard, Gandalf's cloak is grey, hence the names Gandalfthe Grey and Greyhame, from Old Englishhama, "cover, skin".Mithrandir is a name inSindarin meaning "Grey Pilgrim" or "Grey Wanderer". Midway throughThe Lord of the Rings, Gandalf becomes the head of the order of Wizards, and is renamedGandalf the White. This change in status (and clothing) introduces another name for the wizard: the White Rider. However, characters who speak Elvish still refer to him asMithrandir. At times inThe Lord of the Rings, other characters address Gandalf by insulting nicknames: Stormcrow,Láthspell ("Ill-news" inOld English), and "Grey Fool".[T 1]
Tolkien describes Gandalf as the last of the wizards to appear inMiddle-earth, one who "seemed the least, less tall than the others, and in looks more aged, grey-haired and grey-clad, and leaning on astaff".[T 1] Yet theElfCírdan who met him on arrival nevertheless considered him "the greatest spirit and the wisest" and gave him the ElvenRing of Power calledNarya, the Ring of Fire, containing a "red" stone for his aid and comfort. Tolkien explicitly links Gandalf to the elementfire later in the same essay:[T 1]
Warm and eager was his spirit (and it was enhanced by the ring Narya), for he was the Enemy ofSauron, opposing the fire that devours and wastes with the fire that kindles, and succours in wanhope and distress; but his joy, and his swift wrath, were veiled in garments grey as ash, so that only those that knew him well glimpsed the flame that was within. Merry he could be, and kindly to the young and simple, yet quick at times to sharp speech and the rebuking of folly; but he was not proud, and sought neither power nor praise ... Mostly he journeyed tirelessly on foot, leaning on a staff, and so he was called amongMen of the North Gandalf 'theElf of the Wand'. For they deemed him (though in error) to be of Elven-kind, since he would at times work wonders among them, loving especially the beauty of fire; and yet such marvels he wrought mostly for mirth and delight, and desired not that any should hold him in awe or take his counsels out of fear. ... Yet it is said that in the ending of the task for which he came he suffered greatly, and was slain, and being sent back from death for a brief while was clothed then in white, and became a radiant flame (yet veiled still save in great need).[T 1]
InValinor, Gandalf, aMaia, was namedOlórin,[T 1] one of the people of the ValaManwë, and the wisest of the Maiar. He was closely associated with two other Valar: Irmo, in whose gardens he lived, andNienna, the patron of mercy, who gave him tutelage. When the Valar decided to send theWizards (Istari) across theGreat Sea toMiddle-earth to assist those who opposedSauron, Manwë proposed Olórin. Olórin initially begged to be excused, declaring he was too weak and feared Sauron; Manwë replied that that was all the more reason for him to go.[T 1]
As a Maia, Gandalf was an angelic being in human form, in service to the Creator (Eru Ilúvatar) and the Creator's 'Secret Fire'. He took on the specific form of an old man as a sign of hishumility. His role was to advise but never to attempt to match Sauron's strength. It might be, too, that the lords of Middle-earth would be more receptive to the advice of a humble old man.[T 1]
The wizards arrived inMiddle-earth separately, early in theThird Age; Gandalf was the last, landing in the Havens of Mithlond. He seemed the oldest and least in stature, butCírdan the Shipwright felt that he was the greatest on their first meeting in the Havens, and gave himNarya, the Ring of Fire.Saruman, the chief Wizard, learned of the gift and resented it. Gandalf hid the ring well.[T 1] His relationship with Saruman was strained. The Wizards were forbidden to use force to dominate, though Saruman increasingly disregarded this.[T 1]
Gandalf suspected early on that an evil presence, theNecromancer of Dol Guldur, was Sauron. He went toDol Guldur[T 3] to discover the truth, but the Necromancer withdrew, only to return with greater force,[T 3] and the White Council was formed in response.[T 3]Galadriel had hoped Gandalf would lead the council, but he refused, declining to be bound by any but the Valar who had sent him. Saruman was chosen instead, as the most knowledgeable about Sauron's work in theSecond Age.[T 4][T 1]
Gandalf returned to Dol Guldur "at great peril" and learned that the Necromancer was indeed Sauron. The following year a White Council was held, and Gandalf urged that Sauron be driven out.[T 3] Saruman, however, reassured the Council that Sauron's evident effort to find theOne Ring would fail, as the Ring would long since have been carried by the riverAnduin to the Sea; and the matter was allowed to rest. But Saruman began actively seeking the Ring near theGladden Fields whereIsildur had been killed.[T 4][T 1]
"The Quest of Erebor" inUnfinished Tales elaborates upon the story behindThe Hobbit. It tells of a chance meeting between Gandalf andThorin Oakenshield, aDwarf-king in exile, in thePrancing Pony inn atBree. Gandalf had for some time foreseen the coming war withSauron, and knew that the North was especially vulnerable. IfRivendell were to be attacked, thedragonSmaug could cause great devastation. He persuaded Thorin that he could help him regain his lost territory ofErebor from Smaug, and so the quest was born.[T 5]
Gandalf meets withBilbo in the opening ofThe Hobbit. He arranges for a tea party, to which he invites the thirteen dwarves, and thus arranges the travelling group central to the narrative. Gandalf contributes the map and key to Erebor to assist the quest.[T 6] On this quest Gandalf acquires the sword,Glamdring, from thetrolls' treasure hoard.[T 7]Elrond informs them that the sword was made inGondolin, a city long ago destroyed, where Elrond's father lived as a child.[T 8]
After escaping from theMisty Mountains pursued by goblins andwargs, the party is carried to safety by theGreat Eagles.[T 9] Gandalf then persuadesBeorn to house and provision the company for the trip throughMirkwood. Gandalf leaves the company before they enter Mirkwood, saying that he had pressing business to attend to.[T 10]
He turns up again before the walls of Erebor disguised as an old man, revealing himself when it seems the Men ofEsgaroth and theMirkwood Elves will fight Thorin and the dwarves over Smaug's treasure. The Battle of Five Armies ensues when hosts of goblins and wargs attack all three parties.[T 11] After the battle, Gandalf accompanies Bilbo back tothe Shire, revealing at Rivendell what his pressing business had been: Gandalf had once again urged the council to evict Sauron, since quite evidently Sauron did not require theOne Ring to continue to attract evil to Mirkwood.[T 12] Then the Council "put[s] forth its power" and drives Sauron fromDol Guldur. Sauron had anticipated this, and had feigned a withdrawal, only to reappear inMordor.[T 13]
Gandalf spent the years betweenThe Hobbit andThe Lord of the Rings travellingMiddle-earth in search of information onSauron's resurgence andBilbo Baggins's mysteriousring, spurred particularly by Bilbo's initial misleading story of how he had obtained it as a "present" fromGollum. During this period, he befriendedAragorn and became suspicious ofSaruman. He spent as much time as he could inthe Shire, strengthening his friendship with Bilbo andFrodo, Bilbo's orphaned cousin and adopted heir.[T 13]
Gandalf returns to the Shire for Bilbo's "eleventy-first" (111th) birthday party, bringing manyfireworks for the occasion. After Bilbo, as a prank on his guests, puts on the ring and disappears, Gandalf urges his old friend to leave the ring to Frodo, as they had planned. Bilbo becomes hostile, accusing Gandalf of trying to steal the ring. Alarmed, Gandalf tells Bilbo he is being foolish. Coming to his senses, Bilbo admits that the ring has been troubling him, and leaves it behind for Frodo as he departs forRivendell.[T 14]
Over the next 17 years, Gandalf travels extensively, searching for the truth about the ring. He finds the answer in Isildur's scroll, in the archives ofMinas Tirith. Gandalf searches long and hard for Gollum, often assisted by Aragorn, who eventually captures Gollum. Gandalf questions Gollum, threatening him with fire when he proves unwilling to speak. Gandalf learns that Sauron had imprisoned Gollum in his fortress ofBarad-dûr, and tortured him to reveal what he knew of theRing.[T 13]
Returning tothe Shire, Gandalf confirms his suspicion by throwing the Ring into Frodo's hearth-fire and reading the writing that appears on its surface. He tells Frodo the history of the ring, and urges him to take it toRivendell, warning of grave danger if he stays in the Shire. Gandalf says he will attempt to return for Frodo's 50th birthday party, to accompany him on the road; and that meanwhile Frodo should arrange to leave quietly, as the servants of Sauron will be searching for him.[T 15]
Outside the Shire, Gandalf encounters the wizardRadagast the Brown, who brings the news that theNazgûl have ridden out of Mordor—and a request fromSaruman that Gandalf come toIsengard. Gandalf asks him to send out animals to observe the Nazgûl, and to report to him at Isengard. Gandalf leaves a letter to Frodo (urging his immediate departure) with Barliman Butterbur at thePrancing Pony, and heads towards Isengard. There, Saruman horrifies Gandalf by asking him to help him to obtain and use the Ring. Gandalf refuses, and Saruman imprisons him at the top ofhis tower. Gandalf is rescued byGwaihir the Eagle, who comes to him as requested via Radagast.[T 13]
InRohan, Gandalf appeals to KingThéoden for a horse. Théoden, under the influence of Saruman's spyGríma Wormtongue, tells Gandalf to take any horse he pleases, but to leave quickly. Gandalf meets the great horseShadowfax, who will be his mount and companion. Gandalf reaches the Shire after Frodo has set out. Knowing that Frodo will be heading for Rivendell, Gandalf makes his way there. He learns at Bree that the Hobbits have fallen in with Aragorn. He faces the Nazgûl atWeathertop, escaping after an all-night battle, drawing four of them northwards.[T 13] Frodo, Aragorn and company face the remaining five on Weathertop a few nights later.[T 16] Gandalf reaches Rivendell just before Frodo.[T 13]
At Rivendell, Gandalf helpsElrond drive off the Nazgûl pursuing Frodo, and plays a leading role in theCouncil of Elrond as the only person who knows the full history of the Ring. He reveals that Saruman has betrayed them and is in league with Sauron. When it is decided that the Ring has to be destroyed, Gandalf volunteers to accompany Frodo—now the Ring-bearer—in his quest. He persuades Elrond to let Frodo's cousinsMerry andPippin join theCompany of the Ring.[T 13]
The Balrog reached the bridge. Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand, but in his other handGlamdring gleamed, cold and white. His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings. It raised the whip, and the thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils. But Gandalf stood firm. "You cannot pass," he said. Theorcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. "I am a servant of theSecret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame ofUdûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass."
Taking charge of the Company, Gandalf and Aragorn lead the Hobbits and their companions south.[T 17] After failing to cross MountCaradhras in winter, they cross under the Misty Mountains through the Mines ofMoria. There, they discover that the dwarf colony established byBalin has been annihilated byorcs. The Company fights with the orcs and trolls of Moria and escapes them.[T 18]
At theBridge of Khazad-dûm, they encounter "Durin's Bane," a fearsomeBalrog. Gandalf faces the Balrog to enable the others to escape. After a brief exchange of blows, Gandalf breaks the bridge beneath the Balrog with hisstaff. As the Balrog falls, it wraps its whip around Gandalf's legs, dragging him over the edge. Gandalf falls into the abyss, crying "Fly, you fools!".[T 19]
Gandalf and the Balrog fall into a deep lake in Moria's underworld. Gandalf pursues the Balrog through the tunnels for eight days until they climb to the peak of Zirakzigil. Here they fight for two days and nights. The Balrog is defeated and cast down onto the mountainside. Gandalf also dies, and his body lies on the peak while his spirit travels "out of thought and time".[T 20]
He is "sent back"[b] as Gandalf the White, and returns to life on the mountain top. Gwaihir carries him toLothlórien, where he is healed and re-clothed in white byGaladriel. He travels toFangorn Forest, where he encountersAragorn,Gimli, andLegolas. They mistake him forSaruman; he stops their attacks and reveals himself.[T 20]
They travel toRohan, where Gandalf finds that Théoden has been weakened by Wormtongue's influence. He breaks Wormtongue's hold over Théoden, and convinces the king to join the fight against Sauron.[T 21] Gandalf sets off to gather warriors of the Westfold for the coming battle with Saruman. He arrives just in time to defeat Saruman's army in thebattle of Helm's Deep.[T 22] Gandalf and the King ride toIsengard, which has just been destroyed byTreebeard and hisEnts, accompanied by Merry and Pippin.[T 23] Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff and expels him from the White Council and the Order ofWizards; he takes Saruman's place as head of both. Wormtongue tries to kill Gandalf or Saruman with thepalantír of Orthanc, but misses both. Pippin retrieves thepalantír; Gandalf quickly takes it.[T 24] After leaving Isengard, Pippin takes thepalantír from a sleeping Gandalf, looks into it, and comes face to face with Sauron. Gandalf gives thepalantír to Aragorn and takes the chastened Pippin with him toMinas Tirith to keep him out of further trouble.[T 25]
Gandalf arrives in time to help to arrange the defences of Minas Tirith. His presence is resented byDenethor, theSteward of Gondor; but when his sonFaramir is gravely wounded in battle, Denethor sinks into despair and madness. Together with Prince Imrahil, Gandalf leads the defenders during the siege of the city. When the forces ofMordor break the main gate, Gandalf, alone on Shadowfax, confronts the Lord of the Nazgûl. At that moment the Rohirrim arrive, causing the Nazgûl to withdraw. Gandalf is about to pursue, but is stopped by Pippin, who requests his intervention to save Faramir – Denethor in desperation was seeking to burn himself and his son on a funeral pyre. Gandalf saves Faramir (but not Denethor, who immolates himself), and plays no further part in the unfoldingBattle of the Pelennor Fields.[T 26]
"This, then, is my counsel," [said Gandalf.] "We have not the Ring. In wisdom or great folly it has been sent away to be destroyed, lest it destroy us. Without it we cannot by force defeat [Sauron's] force. But we must at all costs keep his Eye from his true peril... We must call out his hidden strength, so that he shall empty his land... We must make ourselves the bait, though his jaws should close on us... We must walk open-eyed into that trap, with courage, but small hope for ourselves. For, my lords, it may well prove that we ourselves shall perish utterly in a black battle far from the living lands; so that even ifBarad-dûr be thrown down, we shall not live to see a new age. But this, I deem, is our duty."
After the battle, Gandalf counsels an attack against Sauron's forces at theBlack Gate, to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo and Sam; they are at that moment scalingMount Doom to destroy the Ring. Gandalf and Aragorn lead an army to the Black Gate, meeting thenameless lieutenant of Mordor, who shows them Frodo'smithril shirt and other items from the Hobbits' equipment. Gandalf rejects Mordor's terms of surrender, starting theBattle of the Morannon. The forces of the West face the full might of Sauron's armies, until the Ring is destroyed in Mount Doom.[T 27] Gandalf leads the Eagles to rescue Frodo and Sam from the erupting mountain.[T 28]
After the war, Gandalf crowns Aragorn as King Elessar, and helps him find a sapling of theWhite Tree of Gondor.[T 29] He accompanies the Hobbits back to the borders ofthe Shire, before leaving to visitTom Bombadil.[T 30]
Tolkien's biographerHumphrey Carpenter relates that Tolkien owned a postcard entitledDer Berggeist ("the mountain spirit"), which he labelled "the origin of Gandalf".[3] It shows a white-bearded man in a large hat and cloak seated among boulders in a mountain forest. Carpenter said that Tolkien recalled buying the postcard during his holiday in Switzerland in 1911. Manfred Zimmerman, however, discovered that the painting was by the German artistJosef Madlener and dates from the mid-1920s. Carpenter acknowledged that Tolkien was probably mistaken about the origin of the postcard.[4]
Throughout the early drafts, and through to the first edition ofThe Hobbit, Bladorthin/Gandalf is described as being a "little old man", distinct from a dwarf, but not of the full human stature that would later be described inThe Lord of the Rings. Even inThe Lord of the Rings, Gandalf was not tall; shorter, for example, thanElrond[T 32] or the other wizards.[T 1]
When writingThe Hobbit in the early 1930s Tolkien gave the nameGandalf to the leader of theDwarves, the character later calledThorin Oakenshield. The name is taken from the same source as all the other Dwarf names (saveBalin) inThe Hobbit: the "Catalogue of Dwarves" in theVöluspá.[7] TheOld Norse nameGandalfr incorporates the wordsgandr meaning "wand", "staff" or (especially in compounds) "magic" andálfr "elf". The nameGandalf is found in at least one more place in Norse myth, in the semi-historicalHeimskringla, which briefly describesGandalf Alfgeirsson, a legendary Norse king from eastern Norway and rival ofHalfdan the Black.[8] Gandalf is also the name of a Norse sea-king inHenrik Ibsen's second play,The Burial Mound. The name "Gandolf" occurs as a character inWilliam Morris' 1896 fantasy novelThe Well at the World's End, along with the horse "Silverfax", adapted by Tolkien as Gandalf's horse "Shadowfax". Morris' book, inspired by Norse myth, is set in a pseudo-medieval landscape; it deeply influenced Tolkien. The wizard that became Gandalf was originally namedBladorthin.[T 33]
Tolkien came to regret hisad hoc use ofOld Norse names, referring to a "rabble ofeddaic-named dwarves, ... invented in an idle hour" in 1937.[T 34] But the decision to use Old Norse names came to have far-reaching consequences in the composition ofThe Lord of the Rings; in 1942, Tolkien decided that the work was to be a purported translation from thefictional language ofWestron, and in the English translationOld Norse names were taken to represent names in the language ofDale.[9]Gandalf, in this setting, is thus a representation in English (anglicised from Old Norse) of the name the Dwarves of Erebor had given to Olórin in the language they used "externally" in their daily affairs, whileTharkûn is the (untranslated) name, presumably of the same meaning, that the Dwarves gave him in their nativeKhuzdul language.[T 35]
Gandalf's role and importance was substantially increased in the conception ofThe Lord of the Rings, and in a letter of 1954, Tolkien refers to Gandalf as an "angel incarnate".[T 36] In the same letter Tolkien states he was given the form of an old man to limit his powers on Earth. Both in 1965 and 1971 Tolkien again refers to Gandalf as an angelic being.[T 37][T 38]
In a 1946 letter, Tolkien stated that he thought of Gandalf as an "Odinic wanderer".[T 39] Other commentators have similarly compared Gandalf to theNorse godOdin in his "Wanderer" guise—an old man with one eye, a long white beard, a wide brimmed hat, and a staff,[10][11] or likened him toMerlin ofArthurian legend or theJungian archetype of the "wise old man".[12]
the Istari (Wizards) "in simple guise, as it were of Men already old in years but hale in body, travellers and wanderers" as Tolkien wrote "a figure of 'the Odinic wanderer'"[T 40]
rescued repeatedly by eagles inThe Hobbit andLord of the Rings
Associated with eagles; escapes fromJotunheim back toAsgard as an eagle
InThe Annotated Hobbit,Douglas Anderson likens Gandalf's role to theRübezahl mountain spirit of German folktales. He states that the figure can appear as "a guide, a messenger, or a farmer", often depicted as "a bearded man with a staff".[13]
TheRübezahl as a bearded guide with staff, in a 1903 illustration[13]
Gandalf, by 'Nidoart', 2013
The Tolkien scholar Charles W. Nelson described Gandalf as a "guide who .. assists a major character on a journey or quest .. to unusual and distant places". He noted that in bothThe Fellowship of the Ring andThe Hobbit, Tolkien presents Gandalf in these terms. Immediately after theCouncil of Elrond, Gandalf tells theFellowship:[14]
Someone said that intelligence would be needed in the party. He was right. I think I shall come with you.[14]
Nelson notes the similarity between this andThorin's statement inThe Hobbit:[14]
We shall soon .. start on our long journey, a journey from which some of us, or perhaps all of us (except our friend and counsellor, the ingenious wizard Gandalf) may never return.[14]
Nelson gives as examples of the guide figure theCumaean Sibyl who assistedAeneas on his journey through the underworld inVirgil's taleThe Aeneid, and then the figure of Virgil inDante'sInferno, directing, encouraging, and physically assisting Dante as he travels through hell. In English literature, Nelson notes,Thomas Malory'sLe Morte d'Arthur has the wizard Merlin teaching and directingArthur to begin his journeys. Given these precedents, Nelson remarks, it was unsurprising that Tolkien should make use of a guide figure, endowing him, like these predecessors, with power, wisdom, experience, and practical knowledge, and "aware[ness] of [his] own limitations and [his] ranking in the order of the great".[14] Other characters who act as wise and good guides includeTom Bombadil,Elrond,Aragorn,Galadriel—who he calls perhaps the most powerful of the guide figures—and briefly alsoFaramir.[14]
Nelson writes that there is equally historical precedent for wicked guides, such asEdmund Spenser's "evil palmers" inThe Faerie Queene, and suggests thatGollum functions as an evil guide, contrasted with Gandalf, inLord of the Rings. He notes that both Gollum and Gandalf are servants of The One,Eru Ilúvatar, in the struggle against the forces of darkness, and "ironically" all of them, good and bad, are necessary to the success of the quest. He comments, too, that despite Gandalf's evident power, and the moment when he faces theLord of the Nazgûl, he stays in the role of guide throughout, "never directly confront[ing] his enemies with his raw power."[14]
The critic Anne C. Petty, writing about "Allegory" in theJ.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, discusses Gandalf's death and reappearance in Christian terms. She cites Michael W. Maher,S.J.: "who could not think of Gandalf's descent into the pits of Moria and his return clothed in white as a death-resurrection motif?"[15][16] She at once notes, however, that "such a narrow [allegorical] interpretation" limits the reader's imagination by demanding a single meaning for each character and event.[15] Other scholars and theologians have likened Gandalf's return as a "gleaming white" figure to thetransfiguration of Christ.[17][18][19]
The philosopherPeter Kreeft, like Tolkien aRoman Catholic, observes that there is no one complete, concrete, visible Christ figure inThe Lord of the Rings comparable toAslan inC. S. Lewis'sChronicles of Narnia series. However, Kreeft and Jean Chausse have identified reflections of the figure of Jesus Christ in threeprotagonists ofThe Lord of the Rings: Gandalf, Frodo and Aragorn. While Chausse found "facets of the personality of Jesus" in them, Kreeft wrote that "they exemplify the Old Testamentthreefold Messianic symbolism ofprophet (Gandalf), priest (Frodo), and king (Aragorn)."[20][21][22]
Peter Kreeft's analysis of Christ-figures inLord of the Rings[20]
We listened to audio recordings of Tolkien reading excerpts fromLord of the Rings. We watched some BBC interviews with him—there's a few interviews with Tolkien—and Ian based his performance on an impersonation of Tolkien. He's literally basing Gandalf on Tolkien. He sounds the same, he uses the speech patterns and his mannerisms are born out of the same roughness from the footage of Tolkien. So, Tolkien would recognize himself in Ian's performance.[32]
McKellen confirmed this,[33] and stated that he enjoyed Tolkien's letters and readings from the novels. "I am encouraged by the theatricality of his readings full of rhythm and humour and characterisation. Without question Gandalf is like Tolkien but then so, I suspect, are Frodo and Aragorn."[34]
In the prequel seriesThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,Daniel Weyman portrays a younger version of Gandalf, who is only known as the Stranger until the final episode of the second season, partly because the character functioned as ared herring for the identity of the show's version of Sauron.[44]
^InLetters, No. 156, Tolkien clearly implies that the "Authority" that sent Gandalf back was above theValar (who are bound byArda's space and time, while Gandalf went beyond time). He clearly intends this as an example ofEru intervening to change the course of the world.
^Siikala, Anna-Leena (30 July 2007)."Väinämöinen".Kansallisbiografia (in Finnish).Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved29 July 2020.
^Shippey, Tom."Tolkien and Iceland: The Philology of Envy". Nordals.hi.is. Archived fromthe original on 30 August 2005. Retrieved11 November 2012.We know that Tolkien had great difficulty in getting his story going. In my opinion, he did not break through until, on February 9, 1942, he settled the issue of languages
^Maher, Michael W. (2003). "'A land without stain': medieval images of Mary and their use in the characterization of Galadriel". InChance, Jane (ed.).Tolkien the Medievalist.Routledge. p. 225.ISBN9780415289443.
^"Gandalf".Behind the Voice Actors.Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved19 April 2020.Todd Hansen is the voice of Gandalf in The LEGO Movie.
![Odin, the Wanderer by Georg von Rosen, 1886[10]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aGeorg_von_Rosen_-_Oden_som_vandringsman%2c_1886_(Odin%2c_the_Wanderer).jpg)
![The Rübezahl as a bearded guide with staff, in a 1903 illustration[13]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRubezahl_-_deutsche_Volksmarchen_1903_(142146889)_Bearded_Guide_with_Staff.jpg)
