When we say ‘Wizards,’ what’s the first thing that pops up in your head? Magic? or a man with long beards and sticks in their hand? Both are correct guesses, and in the Lord of the Rings series, these five Wizards come to Middle-Earth in the Northern Regions. So who are these old people?
Let’s time travel and go back to the series where these wizards set their foot on Middle-Earth.
Alatar and Pallando the Blue
Alatar and Pallando Blue are famous wizards in the Lord of the Rings. They are also known as the Blue Wizards. They were mysterious characters, and they were given names such as Blue Wizards because they wore sea-blue robes. They simply gained their nickname from the navy blue dress they wore.
It is not stated when the Blue Wizards first arrived in the Middle-Earth. But there are some clues that the Blue Wizards arrived at Middle-Earth during the Second Age, when the forging of the greatest and strongest wrong of all time, One Ring, was happening.
Alatar was the first wizard to join the order, and later, he was accompanied by Pallando as a friend. They traveled in the east with Saurman, but while returning, it was only Saurman that returned.
They were assigned to a mission, a mission to weaken the strength of Sauron. They were assigned to weaken the evil forces of Sauron in the southern and eastern parts of Middle-Earth.
There is no telling that explains what happened to Alatar and Pallando the Blue. We can assume that they failed in their mission. But it is said that they were able to unfold the secret sorcerer sects and unravel magical traditions that had still survived after Sauron’s epic defeat.
Tolkien even stated that the Blue Wizards might have gone to form magical cults that lasted during the era of the Fourth Age. They looked way older in Middle Earth, but they were younger than Gandalf the Grey.
Radagast the Brown
We can see the appearance of Radagast in Tolkein’s stories, where he spends his time in Middle-Earth. He is famous for rescuing Gandalf from the Orthanc tower by sending his eagles. Radagast is kind of a traveler member of the Wizards.
There isn’t anything clearly written about the journeys of the Radagast the Brown, but it is told that he was more of a tag-along kind of wizard because, at the request of Yavanna, the Queen, he was accompanying Saruman. During the era of the Third Age, he settled in the Earth’s Mirkwood Forest.
He settled in Mirkwood Forest, caring for the forest creatures and the wilding there. Radagast used his birds for information and sent them to Saruman. Although he supported him unconsciously, he wasn’t fully evil like him. Sauron used that information for treason, which was certainly a foul thing to do.
Radagast was helping Saruman in his search for the One Ring. He was unknowingly helping to solve the evil quest of the Saruman of the White. He also showed Gandalf a path to Saurman’s trap. Gandalf believed that Radagast did that because he was kind and good-hearted, while Saurman believed he was a foolish and stupid wizard.
There isn’t much information about Radagast after the event with Gandalf and Saruman, but there is one certain thing that we know is that he failed in his mission. He fell deeply in love with the creatures of Middle Earth and forgot about the humans and the elves. He sure was a kind and pure-hearted brown wizard.
Saruman the White
The leader of the Istari, Saruman the white, was sent to help the people that were living in Middle Earth from Valinor. He went on his journey to the east with the Blue Wizards. He then started to spend quality time doing good things, but it was only for a limited time.
Saruman then started his next journey on Middle Earth to the West; it was during the time when Sauron was disguised as a Necromancer and was rising with immense power. He led the whole White Council to go against Sauron, but t was only a matter of time before he joined forces with the evil Sauron.
Saruman was one of the strongest wizards, but he was still jealous of Gandalf. He used to follow and spy on Gandalf. He really hated Gandalf and was envious of him. His envious feelings are one of the reasons that pulled him to the dark side, but more importantly, it was because he was more interested and fascinated by the One Ring.
He started doing many studies on Dark Magic, eventually leading him to desire the One Ring and its immense powers. As time started to pass, his obsession led him to join forces with Sauron. He made a whole army of Uruk-hai, an army that was more powerful than ordinary orcs and could walk in the daylight.
Saruman lost the battle against Rohan during the battle, Helm’s Deep. He then chose to retire to Isengard and was kept captive by the Ents, but after learning that he had lost his powers, he was released from prison. He then started to plant deep roots of revenge for the hobbits that participated in the War of the Ring.
He then started to follow his malice and did many kinds of evil deeds in the Shire, but he met his fate. He was killed by his own servant, his own fellowship, Gríma Wormtongue.
Saruman the White was one of the unique characters in the series because he was neither a part of the good nor a full part of the evil. He only trusted in himself, and that trust led him to nowhere.
Gandalf the Grey
Gandalf the Grey, also known as Olórin, is one of the most famous characters and the greatest wizard of the Lord of the Rings. He was a wizard with kind-hearted, humble, wise, and incredibly powerful wizard. He was one of the oldest wizards in the community and was honored by many men.
Gandalf was also sent to Middle Earth to stop the evil deeds done by the Sauron. He stayed for more than two thousand years in Middle Earth, and during that period, he studied many things about the inhabitants and the nature of Middle Earth. He focused merely on the Hobbits and prepared many things to counter the plans of Sauron.
He was wise and studied many things about Sauron. He planned many things and raised events that eventually resulted in the downfall of the Lord of Darkness, Sauron. Gandalf was also gifted the Ring of Flames, Narya, one of the powerful rings made for Elves.
He lived in Middle Earth, unlike Sauron, and studied many things. He even helped Necromancer to search for his true personality and helped the Dwarves in their pursuit against the Sauron. After the battle with the Barlog, he came back to Middle Earth he became the new leader of the Istari, replacing Saruman. He was now known as Gandalf the White.
Gandalf was, without a doubt, one of the important characters of the series and was the only faithful wizard. He has played many crucial roles and was a prominent character. Because of him, Sauron’s fall and the One Ring’s destruction were possible. He succeeded on his mission to defeat Sauron and went back to the Grey Heavens.
Who is the strongest of the 5 Wizards?
The strongest Wizard has to be Gandalf the White. We all know that Gandalf is one of the wisest and the oldest wizards, but he was also one of the most powerful ones. Although he was powerful from the beginning, he reached his peak after the battle with Barlog.
After he came back to middle-earth again he became from Gandalf of the Grey to Gandalf the white. He took the place of Saruman and became the new chief wizard. Without a doubt, he is one of the greatest characters of the series and one of the most powerful wizards.
With the transformation, Gandalf earned great powers and was able to challenge Sauron.
