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This article is about the fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's books. For other meanings of Gandalf see: Gandalf (other meanings) Gandalf is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe, Middle-earth. Along with Merlin, he is often considered the prototypical wizard in Western fiction.
Character DevelopmentMythical Roots"Gandalfr" appears in the list of dwarves in the Völuspá of the Elder Edda, the name means "cane-elf". Tolkien took the name along with the other dwarves' names when he wrote The Hobbit in the 1930s. He came to regret the creation of this "rabble of eddaic-named dwarves, w/. invented in an idle hour" (HoME 7:452), since it forced him to come up with an explanation of why Old Norse names should be used in Third Age Middle-earth. He solved the dilemma in 1942 by the explanation that Old Norse was a translation of the language of Dale. The figure of Gandalf has other influences from Germanic mythology, particularly Odin in his incarnation as "the Wanderer", an old man with one eye, a long white beard, a wide brimmed hat, and a staff: Tolkien states that he thinks of Gandalf as an "Odinic wanderer" in a letter of 1946 (Letters no. 107). Der BerggeistTolkien had a postcard labelled Der Berggeist ("the mountain spirit"), and on the paper cover in which he kept it, he wrote "the origin of Gandalf" at some point. The postcard reproduces a painting of a bearded figure, sitting on a rock under a pine tree in a mountainous setting. He wears a wide-brimmed round hat and a long cloak and white fawn is nuzzling his upturned hands. Humphrey Carpenter in his 1977 biography said that Tolkien had bought the postcard during his 1911 holiday in Switzerland. However, Manfred Zimmerman (1983) discovered that the painting was by German artist Josef Madlener and dates to the late 1920s. Carpenter concluded that Tolkien was probably mistaken about the origin of the postcard himself. Tolkien must have acquired the card at some time in the early 1930s, at a time when The Hobbit had already begun to take shape. The original painting was auctioned at Sotheby's in London on 12 July 2005 for 84,000 GBP 1. The previous owner had been given the painting by Madlener in the 1940s and recalled that he had stated the mountains in the background of the painting were the Dolomites. First AppearanceThe first description of Gandalf, then, is preserved in the first pages of the Hobbit, dating to the early 1930s. Gandalf's fame is alluded to even before his physical description ("Tales and adventures sprouted up all over the place wherever he went, in the most extraordinary fashion."), directed by the author to the reader, while the protagonist's ("unsuspecting Bilbo"'s) impression is that of
Gandalf in the LOTR NarrativeOriginGandalf is the best-known of the Maiar of the people of Valinor. He was known as Olórin who dwelt in the gardens of Irmo and was the pupil of Nienna. When the Valar decided to send the order of the Wizards to Middle-earth, Olórin was proposed by Manwë, in order to counsel and assist all those in Middle-earth who opposed Sauron. He is said to be one of the wisest of that order, rivalling Saruman, with whom he had a strained, competitive relationship. Role in The HobbitIn The Hobbit, Gandalf appears to the Hobbits of the Shire, where he spent a great deal of time, as little more than a vain, fussy old conjurer who entertained children with fireworks during festivals and parties. He (partially) reveals his true nature and power to Bilbo Baggins, when he arranges and partially accompanies a band of thirteen Dwarves to regain the Dwarvish treasure of the Lonely Mountain that was stolen many years before by the dragon, Smaug. It is on this quest that Gandalf finds his sword, Glamdring, and that Bilbo finds the One Ring (though at the time it is mistaken for a lesser ring). Unknown to the Dwarves or Bilbo, Gandalf had joined the quest in order to investigate what he suspected to be Sauron's resurgence in Mirkwood; he frequently vanishes to "attend to other pressing business"—the nature of which he refuses to discuss. Some years before, he had encountered Thráin II, father of the quest's leader, Thorin Oakenshield, dying in Dol Guldur, and the Dwarf king entrusted him with a map to Erebor. As Dol Guldur had once been one of Sauron's strongholds, Gandalf feared that Sauron's agents were at large again. He met Thorin years later and agreed to go on the quest as a way to investigate further. He insisted, however, on bringing Bilbo along as a "burglar", someone who could sneak into places Dwarves couldn't access and gather information. When Bilbo finds the One Ring, Gandalf is immediately suspicious of the Hobbit's story of evading the goblins through "being invisible." He privately confronts Bilbo and forces the truth out of him, and is deeply troubled by his story of the ring's powers, as they seem eerily familiar. He disappears when the company reaches Mirkwood, and does not reappear again until the Battle of Five Armies breaks out, when he brings an army of Eagles to help save the Dwarves and Bilbo. He accompanies Bilbo back to the Shire. Pre-War of the RingGandalf spends the years between 2941-3001 T.A. travelling Middle Earth in search of information on Sauron's resurgence and Bilbo's mysterious ring. He spends as much time as he can in the Shire, however, strengthening his friendship with Bilbo and befriending Bilbo's heir, Frodo. It is also at about this time that he first begins to be suspicious of Saruman. In 3001 T.A., he attends Bilbo's "Eleventy-First" (111th) birthday party, bringing many fireworks and a giant flying firework 'dragon', indicating his knowledge of chemistry as well as magic. At the end of the party Bilbo puts on the ring and disappears at the end of his speech, as a prank on his neighbors. Troubled by this, Gandalf confronts his old friend and tries to persuade him to leave it to Frodo. Bilbo becomes hostile and accuses him of trying to steal the ring—which he calls "my precious," much as Gollum, the creature Bilbo had taken the ring from, had. Horrified, Gandalf stands to his full height and almost orders Bilbo to leave it behind. Bilbo returns to his senses, and admits that the Ring had been troubling him lately. He then leaves, the first Ring-bearer in history to have relinquished it voluntarily. Over the next seventeen years, Gandalf travels extensively, searching for answers. Having long sought for Gollum near Mordor, he meets with Aragorn, who had captured the creature, in Mirkwood. Gandalf interrogates the wretched creature and learns that Sauron had forced him to tell what he knew about the ring under torture, adding to his suspicions that Bilbo carried The One Ring. Role in The Lord of the RingsUpon returning to the Shire, in Chapter 2 of The Fellowship of the Ring, he confirms his suspicions by throwing the Ring into Frodo's hearth fire and reading the writing. He tells Frodo the full history of the Ring, urging him to leave with it and make for Rivendell, the home of the Elves, knowing he is in grave danger if he stays at home. Gandalf, while riding near the Shire, is requested by Radagast the Brown to seek out Saruman because the Nazgûl had come forth and crossed the River Anduin. Gandalf leaves a note for Frodo with Butterbur, an inn-keeper in Bree, and heads towards Isengard. Once there, he is betrayed and held captive by Saruman, who had already come under the influence of Sauron due to his use of the Palantír. Eventually rescued by Gwahir the Eagle, he only reaches the Shire after Frodo has set out and does not meet up with him until Frodo reaches Rivendell on October 20. Taking leadership of the Fellowship (nine representatives of the free peoples of Middle-earth "set against the Nine Riders"), he and Aragorn lead the hobbits and their companions on an unsuccessful effort to cross Mount Caradhras in winter. Then they take the "dark and secret way" through the Mines of Moria, where they meet an ancient demon, a Balrog, one of the Maiar corrupted by Melkor in the First Age. Since Gandalf and the Balrog were both Maiar, they were beings of the same order. As they faced each other, Gandalf broke the Bridge in front of him, but as the Balrog fell it wrapped its whip around Gandalf's ankle, which dragged him down to hanging onto the edge. As the Company looked in horror, Gandalf cried, "Fly, you fools!" and let go. Neither he nor the Balrog was killed by the fall, and Gandalf pursued the creature for eight days until they climbed to the peak of Zirakzigil. Here they fought for two days and nights. In the end, the Balrog was cast down and it broke the mountain-side as it fell. Gandalf himself died following this ordeal and his body lay on the peak while his spirit travelled outside of Time. Gandalf was "sent back", resurrected by Eru, returning as a more imposing figure, Gandalf the White. After being found by Gwaihir he was healed of his injuries and reclothed in white robes by Galadriel in Lorien. In Fangorn forest he encounters the Three Walkers (Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas) who were tracking Fellowship members (and Frodo's cousins) Merry and Pippin. Arriving in Rohan, Gandalf finds that its king, Théoden, has been weakened by Saruman's agent, Grima Wormtongue. He breaks Wormtongue's hold over Theoden, and convinces the king to join them in fighting Sauron. They then go on to prosecute the war against Isengard and Barad-dûr (the Two Towers). After the overthrow of Saruman, Gandalf breaks his staff and banishes him from the Order of Wizards. He then takes Pippin with him to Gondor to aide in the defense of the city. Gandalf buys the city precious time by facing off against the Witch-king of Angmar, the Lord of the Nazgûl, giving the Rohirrim enough time to reach the city during the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Gandalf leads the final battle against Sauron's forces at the Black Gate, waging an all-out battle to distract the Dark Lord's attention away from Frodo and Sam, who were at the very same moment scaling Mount Doom to destroy the Ring. Without his efforts, Sauron may well have learned where the two Hobbits were and killed them before they could complete their task. Three years later, Gandalf, now having spent over 2,000 years in Middle-Earth, departs with Frodo, Galadriel, Bilbo, and Elrond across the sea to the Undying Lands. AppearanceGandalf initially appears as an old man with a grey beard, a grey cloak and a large, pointed blue hat. Although some of the Wise know his true nature, others mistake him for a simple conjuror. After he is resurrected the change of his signature colour from grey to white is significant, for he has been sent back to replace the corrupt Saruman as the chief of the Wizards. In the book he says that he has himself become what Saruman should have been. Círdan the Shipwright seemed to have foreseen this, for he entrusted the care of Narya, the ring of Fire, one of the Three Rings of the Elves to Gandalf rather than Saruman. Gandalf's names
Within the Tolkien legendarium, "Gandalf" translates an unknown name of the meaning "Elf-of-the-wand (or cane/staff)", or more literary "Wand-elf", in old northern Mannish. Most denizens of Middle-earth incorrectly assumed Gandalf was a Man (human), although he was really a Maia spirit (approximately equivalent to an angel). However, a less common misconception that occurred during the beginning of his career in Middle-earth was that for someone to be immortal and use as much magic as he did, he must have been an Elf. Although it soon became apparent to all that he couldn't be an Elf, as he was old and Elves don't generally age, the nickname stuck with him. He later gave it as his name to others he met who didn't know its original meaning. Portrayal in adaptationsJohn Huston provided the voice of Gandalf in two animated television features by Rankin/Bass (The Hobbit and The Return of the King). In the 1978 animated film of The Lord of the Rings by Ralph Bakshi, Gandalf was voiced by William Squire. (It's not known whether Squire played him in the live-action recordings used for rotoscoping.) In the BBC radio dramatisations, Heron Carvic played him in The Hobbit (1968) and Sir Michael Hordern played him in The Lord of the Rings (1981). Sir Ian McKellen was Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. Sean Connery was originally considered for the role of Gandalf, but turned it down because he didn't want to spend so long in New Zealand, where the film was shot. McKellen's interpretation of the role was widely praised. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. In interviews, McKellen has said that, if The Hobbit is ever filmed, he would be delighted to return as Gandalf. References? |
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- Manfred Zimmerman, The Origin of Gandalf and Josef Madlener, Mythlore 34 (1983).
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| Ainur of Middle-earth | |
|---|---|
| Ainulindalë (Music of the Ainur) | |
| Lords of the Valar: | Manwë | Aulë | Oromë | Irmo (Lórien) | Námo (Mandos) | Tulkas | Ulmo |
| Queens of the Valar (The Valier): | Varda | Yavanna | Vána | Estë | Vairë | Nessa | Nienna |
| The Enemy: | Morgoth (a.k.a. Melkor) |
| Maiar: | Eönwë | Ilmarë | Ossë | Uinen | Salmar | Sauron | Melian | Arien | Tilion | Gothmog Curumo (Saruman) | Olórin (Gandalf) | Aiwendil (Radagast) | Alatar and Pallando | Durin's Bane |