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- NOTE: This page is for the mainstream version of Gandalf. You may be looking for more info on his Peter Jackson counterpart.
| “ | All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. | „ |
| ~ Gandalf to Frodo. |
| “ | You cannot pass, I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass. | „ |
| ~ Gandalf to Durin's Bane. |
| “ | This, then, is my counsel, 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 if Barad-dûr be thrown down, we shall not live to see a new age. But this, I deem, is our duty. | „ |
| ~ Gandalf's plan to defeat Sauron once and for all. |
Gandalf (originally a Maiar known as Olórin) is the main protagonist of the Middle-earth legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien.
He serves as the chief protagonist of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the final protagonist of The Silmarillion, and the main protagonist of The History of Middle-earth. He also serves as the main protagonist of the animated film series, appearing as the chief protagonist of The Hobbit movie made in 1977, The Lord of the Rings movie made in 1978 (which is also the name of the original novel), and The Return of the King (also the name of Part III of the novel The Lord of the Rings).
He is a very old, wise, and powerful wizard, and one of the five Maiar who entered the world of Arda at the dawn of creation before becoming the Istari. Once a member of the high order of wizards, he travels all around Middle-Earth visiting friends and embarking on journeys. Being thousands of years old, he is known far and wide by all men, elves, dwarves, hobbits, and evil such as Sauron and Orcs. He is the servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor, which is said where he is to be from. During the Third Age, he guides Frodo in destroying the One Ring and participates in several battles during the War of the Ring. He offers to guide Frodo to Mordor to destroy the Ring and several comrades of all races join them.
Biography
Sent to Middle-earth
Gandalf's origin as Olórin of the Maia.
Gandalf was originally created by Eru Ilúvatar, who created the universe, as a Maia named Olórin and was accounted as the wisest of them. He served under four of the Valar, named Manwë, Varda, Irmo, and Nienna. When the Valar decided that the Istari, an order of five Maiar in the form of old men) were to be sent to Middle-earth to help the free peoples defeat Sauron, Olórin was included as one of the five Istari.
However, at first, Olórin was too afraid of the mission because he was too weak to fight Sauron, but Manwë convinced him to overcome that fear, which was one of the reasons why Olórin had to go. Manwë insisted that he become the 3rd Wizard, but Varda convinced him to make Olórin the second. Olórin agreed with this, departed to Middle-earth with the 5 other Istari (which they will be known as Wizards in Middle-earth), and went under the name, "Gandalf".
Investigating Dol Guldur
In Middle-earth, Gandalf spent much of his time with the Elves and learned a lot from them. He also continued to gather information about Sauron and eventually suspected that the Necromancer in Dol Guldur is, indeed, Sauron returned. He entered the fortress, but Sauron retreated for a short period of time, and the evil of Mirkwood was greatly reduced. However, Sauron returned to Dol Guldur in the year TA 2850 and has rebuilt his forces. In the same year, Gandalf found Thráin II, the father of Thorin Oakenshield, who was dying after having been seriously tortured. Before he died, Thráin gave Gandalf a map and a key to the Lonely Mountain. Eventually, Gandalf would discover that his worst suspicions (that the Necromancer is Sauron) are true.
In TA 2941, Gandalf already knew that the Necromancer of Dol Guldur is, in fact, Sauron returned and that when Sauron was strong enough, he would attack Rivendell. Unfortunately, the only other power to resist Sauron's forces from Mirkwood to reclaim the kingdom of Angmar was the Dwarves of the Iron Hills. Worse, Gandalf knew that the evil dragon Smaug was still in the Lonely Mountain and that Sauron would attempt to get him to his side and use Smaug to conquer Middle-earth, and Gandalf knew that Smaug had to be killed before the events of the War of the Ring. However, Saruman seemed reluctant to fight Sauron's armies, though none of the White Council knew that he had already become a traitor.
One night, Gandalf visited the town of Bree and found Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, who was also trying to defeat Smaug. It is revealed that Thorin is trying to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug, and afterward, Gandalf and Thorin made a plan to draw Smaug out of the Mountain to reclaim it.
Journey to Erebor
Gandalf visited the Shire and met Bilbo Baggins, and tried to convince him to join Thorin's company on the quest to reclaim Erebor, but Bilbo still didn't want to go. He went into his home, and Gandalf sketched a mark on his door. Soon, the company of Thorin Oakenshield arrives, and Thorin himself tells the story of what happened when Smaug took over Erebor. Gandalf then hands over the map of the Lonely Mountain and the key to Thorin Oakenshield.
The next day, Gandalf shows Bilbo a sheet that the Dwarves wrote, which shows that they hope Bilbo will join the company. Bilbo tries to ask a question, but Gandalf tells him that there's no time and that he has to go now. After Bilbo caught up with the 13 Dwarves, Gandalf rode on a white horse, who brought a lot of handkerchiefs, and also Bilbo's pipe and tobacco as well. Sometime after this, Gandalf mysteriously left but came back the next morning to turn the hill trolls Tom, Bert, & William (who were already cooking the Dwarves) into stone with sunlight, as hill trolls turn to stone once the sunlight hits them. In the trolls' cave, Gandalf finds the sword Glamdring.
Eventually, the Company reaches Rivendell. It is here where Lord Elrond revealed the moon runes on Thorin's map, which were vital to their quest to reclaim Erebor; they said, "Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole."
Thorin's company then reaches the Misty Mountains, and sees two stone-giants clashing with each other; Gandalf is able to witness this as well. During the thunder battle, they are able to escape and hide in a cave. However, a crack opened at the back of the cave, and Bilbo yelled. Unfortunately, they fell in and were captured by goblins. By this point, the company doesn't even know where Gandalf is.
Powers and Abilities
- Enhanced Strength: Gandalf has shown to be stronger than the average man, being able to grapple a Balrog.
- Enhanced Speed: Gandalf can move faster than most men. He is swift enough to pass through enemy flanks unhindered and to give his enemies difficulty hitting him with projectile weaponry.
- Enhanced Durability: Gandalf was capable of taking extended punishment from a Balrog and only fell after multiple days of injuries. As Gandalf the White, he became impervious to non-magical attacks and weaponry.
- Enhanced Stamina: Gandalf's stamina enables him to exert himself at peak capacity for very long periods of time without tiring at all.
- Enhanced Endurance: When pressed into long battles, Gandalf has shown to be capable of fighting for multiple days straight without tiring.
- Vast Intellect: As a Maia, Gandalf has been learning from the greatest of teachers since the dawn of time.
- Vast Wisdom: Gandalf is officially one of the wisest Maiar and acts as the mentor of his companies, offering them his wisdom from millennia of experience.
- High Charisma: Gandalf is extremely charismatic, and has been able to use his charm to gather armies in order to thwart a seemingly unstoppable threat.
- Skilled Armed Fighter: Gandalf has proven to be very proficient at sword and staff combat, being able to strike down an army's worth of foes on his own.
- Spells: Being a wizard, Gandalf can cast various spells for a variety of magical effects.
- Illumination: A spell that produces light from Gandalf's staff, allowing him to see in dark places.
- Blinding Light: An enhanced version of Illumination that allows Gandalf to strike his foes with a blast of light resembling a magnified sunbeam. Despite dealing little to no damage, it renders his enemies blinded for a period of time.
- Commanding Voice: Gandalf can control most people with his voice, as he did with Saruman the White when he found himself being turned as if he was being dragged against his own will.
- Magical Kinesis: This spell allows Gandalf to telekinetically push back his foes with his staff, even being powerful enough to disarm his enemies in the process.
- Lightning Strike: Gandalf can summon lightning bolts from the sky, such as when he killed several goblins whilst escaping their horde. He can also channel the lightning through objects.
- Sword of Power: Gandalf can channel lightning through Glamdring to enhance its striking power, suck as when he used it to slay Durin's Bane.
- Counter-Spell: Gandalf can counter any magical spell to negate its effects. However, Gandalf's counter-spell is shown to have limits, and he can't dispel any magic more powerful than his own.
- Light of the Valar: Gandalf can cast a lightning bolt projectile at his enemies. The spell can be upgraded to light enemies ablaze (presumably with Narya) when struck, or even further to become a beam of light that passes through enemies while also setting them on fire.
- Healing (an extent): Gandalf chanted a healing spell that had woken Thorin Oakenshield after he had fallen unconscious from his fight with Azog and later healed Thráin's mind after he drove into madness. As the white wizard, Gandalf healed Pippin after he was stunned by the Palantír (An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, The Return of the King)
- Telepathy: Gandalf can read people's minds in an attempt to access their memories. He can even control people's minds and make them complete tasks against their own will like he once did with Gimli.
- Fire: Enhanced by Narya, Gandalf can produce a magical flame of varying colors. He most notably used this where he lit pine cones ablaze which could be thrown as explosive projectiles. As Gandalf can produce green, red, or blue flames, his fires can range anywhere from 327° Celsius to 1,600° Celsius.
- Call Gwaihir: When Gandalf has to in a desperate moment of need, he whispers to a grey moth to contact Gwaihir, the lord of the eagles. When he does this, Gwaihir summons a band of large eagles to aid Gandalf in his fight.
- Call Shadowfax: Due to their special connection, Gandalf can call upon Shadowfax, the lord of all horses, and ride him as his steed.
- Shield of the Istari: To defend himself from physical or magical harm, Gandalf can produce a transparent dome around him powerful enough to temporarily hold off Sauron and Durin's Bane's attacks.
- Destructive Blast: Gandalf's most powerful spell as he is capable of raising his staff into the air and slamming it down onto the ground to cause a massive shock wave. Gandalf has control of the overall effects of the spell, being able to produce any effect from destroying a stone bridge to knocking back entire legions of orcs, destroying them in the process.
- Illumination: A spell that produces light from Gandalf's staff, allowing him to see in dark places.
Equipment
- Glamdring: Gandalf wields an elven bastard sword called Glamdring, also known as Foe-Hammer. Glamdring is light enough for Gandalf to wield it with one hand easily.
- Wizard Staffs: Gandalf always carries his wizard staff in hand. It acts as a conduit for many of Gandalf's spells and he is capable of wielding it simultaneously with the Glamdring during battle. His staff as Gandalf the Grey is made of brown wood with a jewel fixed on the top that can light upon his command and as Gandalf the White, his staff got an upgrade as it is now in white in color.
- Narya, the Ring of Fire: Gandalf wears the Ring of Fire, also known as Narya.
- Willpower Enhancement:: Narya has the power to inspire others to resist tyranny, domination, and despair.
- Magical Cloak: In order to hide Gandalf from others, Narya uses its power to hide him from remote observation from all but the wearer of the One Ring or powers similar to it.
- Slowed Aging: Narya grants resistance to the weariness of time itself.
- Fiery Properties: Narya grants fire resistance to Gandalf, allowing him to shrug of fiery attacks. It can also enhance his attacks with fire-based magical properties and allows Gandalf to dispel any magical flame thrown his way.
- Fireworks: As they were created and designed by Gandalf himself, he is known to have a variety of fireworks such as Squibs, crackers, backarappers, sparklers, torches, Dwarf candles, Elf fountains, Goblin barkers, a flash of birds, green trees that transformed into possibly Mallorn trees, and a red and gold dragon. The wizard occasionally uses them in combat to stun his opponents for an extended period of time.
Gallery
Videos
Trivia
- The Witch-king of Angmar does not break Gandalf's staff in the novel The Lord of the Rings, nor does he do it in the theatrical version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He only does so in the latter's Extended Edition.
- Had Gandalf taken the One Ring from Frodo, he would have likely become far eviler than Sauron, which Tolkien stated in one of his letters.
External links
- Gandalf on the Pure Good Wiki
- Gandalf at Wikipedia
- Gandalf on the The Lord of the Rings Wiki
- Gandalf at the Tolkien Gateway
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