Gandalf

Gandalf
Maia
Biographical Information
Other names	The Grey, The White, Olórin, Mithrandir, Incánus, Tharkûn, The White Rider, Gandalf Greyhame, Stormcrow, Wand-elf
Death	Died/Reborn Third Age 3019, sailed back to Aman Third Age 3021
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Hair color	White
Gallery	Images of Gandalf

"Gandalf was shorter in stature than the other two; but his long white hair, his sweeping beard, and his broad shoulders, made him look like some wise king of ancient legend. In his aged face under great snowy brows his eyes were set like coals that could suddenly burst into fire."

― The Fellowship of the Ring, "Many Meetings"

Gandalf was one of the five Istari sent to Middle Earth by the Valar in the Third Age to assist the free peoples in opposing Sauron. Gandalf was instrumental in bringing about the end of Sauron in 3019, primarily by encouraging others and dispensing his wisdom at pivotal times. Gandalf was originally robed in grey, and second to Saruman in the Order of wizards. After his fall in Moria, Gandalf returned to Middle Earth as head of the Order, robed in white. He was a primary character in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Gandalf was noteworthy for his keen interest in Hobbits.

History

Coming to Middle-earth

Gandalf was originally a Maia named Olórin, who dwelt in the gardens of Irmo in Valinor. As a pupil of Nienna, Olórin was said to be the wisest of the Maiar, and he learned pity and patience from his teacher. When the Valar chose messengers (“Istari”) from among the Maiar to go to Middle-earth, Manwë, highest of the Valar, selected Olórin. Olórin submitted to the will of Manwë, and departed Valinor to Mithlond in the year 1000 of the Third Age. He arrived after the others at about the time the Necromancer appeared in Mirkwood.

At Mithlond he was welcomed by Glorfindel, his friend from Valinor, sent earlier on a similar mission, and Círdan the shipwright, who possessed Narya, one of the Three Elven Rings of power. Círdan divined in Gandalf some sense of his true strength and power and noted that though he had come last and appeared bent and aged as an old man, within him he posessed perhaps the greatest will and abilities of all the Istari. Círdan gave Olórin the red ring, with a prediction of his future struggles with evil, and a promise that it would support and aide him in his labors. Then Círdan said “But as for me, my heart is with the Sea, and I will dwell by the grey shores until the last ship sails. I will await you.”

Olórin was known by many names during his sojourn in Middle-Earth. Elves named him Mithrandir (S: "gray pilgrim"), while the men of Arnor named him Gandalf, which became his most common name. He was also known as 'Gandalf Grayhame,' 'The White Rider,' 'Incánus' (in the south), and 'Tharkún' to the dwarves.

Gandalf the Grey by John Howe

Gandalf, like the other Wizards, took the shape of an old man. He was robed in gray and went about as a wanderer and counselor. Unlike Saruman, Gandalf did not go east and did not take up a single permanent residence. Gandalf apparently restricted his activities to the North-west of Middle-Earth, where the remnants of the Dunedain and the High Elves remained to oppose Sauron.

Early Vigilance

Somewhere around 1100, a hundred years after Gandalf landed in Middle-earth, the Istari and Eldar discovered that some evil power had made a stronghold at Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. They supposed that it was one of the Nazgûl. Gandalf was unsure, and feared that Sauron might be returning to power.

Over the next two hundred years it became clear that evil was growing, and that some power was directing it. The Nazgûl had reappeared, Orcs were multiplying in the Misty Mountains, and the Witch-king built a fortress in Angmar in the North. Arnor, Moria, and Minas Ithil fell under a shadow, while plagues, wars, and catastrophes were occurring all over Middle-earth. Gandalf was dispatched, or went of his own accord, to Dol Guldur in 2063 to discover its secrets. There the Necromancer fled from him and Gandalf could not discover his true identify. Afterwards, the evil happenings seemed to desist, and the era of the Watchful Peace began.

This peace lasted for almost four hundred years. But the Necromancer returned to Dol Guldur, stronger than before, in 2460. In response, the Wise formed the White Council three years later. Though Galadriel, bearer of one of the Three Elven Rings and a great woman of the Eldar, wished Gandalf to be the chief of the Council, it was in the end Saruman who took this place because of his vast knowledge, and because Gandalf refused this position, wishing to set down no roots and have no ties to hold him back. The nomination, however, heightened Saruman’s envy and hurt his extensive pride.

Crusade against Sauron

Pass the Doors of Dol Guldur by John Howe

In 2850, Gandalf again entered Dol Guldur, this time in secrecy. There he found out many things. First and foremost, he learned that the Necromancer was no Nazgûl – it was Sauron himself, returned to power from after his defeat in the War of the Last Alliance. Also, Gandalf found Thráin, a dwarf of the royal line of Erebor, in the dungeons. The last of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves had been taken from him. Gandalf knew that Sauron was gathering the Rings of Power to him, and learned further that he was seeking the One Ring.

Gandalf escaped Dol Guldur and returned to the White Council with his discoveries. Gandalf, after relating his finds, urged them all to rise up and defeat Sauron while the One Ring was still hidden, and the power of Sauron was immature. But Saruman stood up against him in the Council, saying that it were better to wait and watch; that the One Ring had long ago rolled from Anduin into the Sea. Though the Council agreed with Saruman, Elrond and Gandalf dissented. Elrond told Gandalf later that he had a feeling of foreboding that the Ring would be found, and that the war to end the age was coming. Indeed, he added, he feared that it would end in darkness and despair for the inhabitants of Middle-earth. Gandalf encouraged him, saying their were many “strange chances”, and, maybe even thinking of the Hobbits, said “and help oft shall come from the hands of the weak”. Gandalf did not realize at that time that Saruman had turned to evil, nor that he was secretly searching for the One Ring that he did indeed believe to exist.

Gandalf continued in his unrelenting battle against the evil that threatened Middle-earth, but in 2941 decided to take a rest. Gandalf happened across Thorin Oakenshield while staying the night in Bree. Thorin initiated conversation, having recognized him, saying that he had been having a strange feeling urging him to seek Gandalf. Gandalf was amazed, for he had been having similar feelings about Thorin. When they found they were taking the same road for a good while (Thorin passing through the Shire on his way to the Ered Luin), they agreed to travel together. Thorin wanted counsel, and Gandalf was concerned about the dragon Smaug.

Gandalf concocted a plan for Thorin designed for the defeat of Smaug, that involved finding a burglar. Gandalf chose a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, due to his ancestry on his mother’s side. His adventure with the Dwarves and the Hobbit are found in the book The Hobbit, but in short, he convinced the reluctant Baggins to become a burglar for Thorin. As his destination (the White Council) lay in the same direction, he accompanied Thorin and Company to Rivendell, on the way obtaining a sword from the troll-hoard, a blade named Glamdring. It was once the blade of Turgon the Wise, the King of Gondolin, and Gandalf bore it for the rest of his life.

He helped Thorin through the Misty Mountains, saving the Company several times from Orcs and developing a close friendship with Burglar Baggins. At the edge of Mirkwood, however, he left them; for the Council lay to the south.

The Council was meeting under the gravest of circumstances. Sauron, now revealed, had begun to place together the pieces of the ultimate puzzle he had cut to the bane of the Elves and Dúnedain. His forces of Evil were united, and his strength and power grew so strong and so obvious that the Council was reconsidering its initial decision to bide its time. Gandalf took this opportunity in his arms, and convinced the Council to attack Dol Guldur. Even Saruman was willing, for he hated Sauron as a rival, and wished to seek more freely for the Ring. The Council attacked and drove Sauron from Mirkwood, even as to the east the Dwarves of Erebor and the Nandor of Mirkwood defeated the Orcs and Wargs of the Misty Mountains in the Battle of Five Armies. Sauron retreated to Mordor. The death of Smaug, too, was a bigger blow to Sauron than the Wise realized at that time. Gandalf had triumphed, having masterminded the whole victory in the north, though he was sad to hear of the death of Thorin in the battle. He accompanied Bilbo back to the Shire, and rested for a time.

War of the Ring

Finding of the One Ring

But Sauron was not as crippled by the defeat as the Wise thought. He had foreseen such a move as that which drove him from Mirkwood, and his retreat was but a feint. The Nazgûl were gathered and ready, and his armies a match for the greatest of the Free Peoples. Ten years after he was driven out of Mirkwood, Sauron declared himself openly to the world in Mordor. Gandalf was dismayed as Barad-dûr was rebuilt, and he suspected that the Nazgûl were active once more. Evil once more entered Mirkwood; the victory was short-lived.

The White Council was called once more. Saruman assured them (falsely) that he had discovered that the One Ring was now in the depths of the sea. After the council Saruman sent spies to watch Gandalf, who did not suspect him at all. For the first time in history, the eyes of an evil power turned toward the Shire.

The Arrival of Gandalf by Darrell Sweet

Gandalf met Aragorn, the heir of Arnor, in 2956, and soon became friends with him. From that point on Aragorn often went on errands for Gandalf. Gandalf, though still wary, lived somewhat easier after the victory in the north, and visited the Shire often and frequently, especially his friend Bilbo Baggins, and Baggins’s nephew, Frodo. He noted, however, Bilbo’s unusual preservation, and the magic ring that the burglar had acquired during his adventures began to weigh heavily on his mind. He remembered too the uncharacteristic deceit Bilbo used in an attempt to claim it as his own, and the Hobbit’s reluctance to lose sight of it at all. Though he enjoyed the Birthday Party in 3001, the thought entered his mind that Bilbo’s plaything might be the One Ring that the Council (and Sauron) had been seeking for hundreds of years. His suspicion aroused, he convinced Bilbo to pass it on to Frodo, and giving Frodo warning not to use it, left to gather information.

He went to Aragorn, and with his help found Gollum, the creature from which Bilbo had stolen the ring. With Gollum’s tale, and the help of records in Minas Tirith, he pieced together the story of the One Ring in 3017. A great fear came over him when he learned that Gollum had been to Mordor, and had told all. He returned in haste to the Shire, and figured out beyond a shadow of a doubt that the ring of Bilbo (now in Frodo’s keeping) was indeed the One Ring.

The Treachery of Saruman

Gandalf escapes upon Gwaihir by Ted Nasmith

After Gandalf’s fears were confirmed, he ordered Frodo to get out of the Shire, promising to return before the Farewell party in autumn of that year (3018), and escort him to Rivendell. He decided to visit Saruman, seeking his counsel as to the Ring. He did badly in this, for Saruman revealed his loyalties at their meeting. He offered to his “old friend and helper” that they could take the Ring for themselves and seize power from Sauron. Gandalf rejected this with horror, and was imprisoned on the pinnacle of Orthanc. Gwaihir, chief of the Eagles, was coming to Saruman for council, yet saw Gandalf first, and helped him escape. Gandalf was near panicking, for he knew that the Nazgûl were abroad, and the letter he sent urging Frodo to leave Hobbiton immediately without waiting for him he had entrusted to a man as likely as not to forget about it in the bustle of daily life.

Nevertheless, his fears were unfounded, for though Barliman Butterbur had not sent the letter, Frodo had left the Shire without waiting for Gandalf, just in time. Gandalf was set down in Rohan, where he took a horse from Edoras, one of the mearas named Shadowfax. He later developed an intense relationship with the horse, but at the time merely chose it for speed and endurance. King Théoden would not listen to his warnings, and though Gandalf knew that Théoden would despise him for picking Shadowfax, the anger of the King of Rohan seemed quite a little thing in comparison to the capture of the One Ring by Evil.

Gandalf went first to the Shire. Crickhollow, Frodo’s pretended destination, was broken open and empty. He learned that the Black Riders, the Nazgûl, had been through the area. He ended up not far behind Frodo and his friends. After all his worries, he learned at Bree from the same Barliman Butterbur that Frodo had taken up with Aragorn, a hope which far exceeded his expectations. He also knew that he would never be able to find them in the wilderness, and so headed first to Weathertop. There he was ambushed by the Nazgûl, but drove them off after a great battle. Then he went directly to Rivendell. There he awaited the coming of Frodo and Aragorn, and come they did, alive and still holding the Ring.

The Fellowship of the Ring

Gandalf attended the Council of Elrond, and contributed greatly to the decision to try to destroy the Ring in Orodruin. He considered joining the Fellowship of the Ring, and eventually decided to lead it at least through the Misty Mountains and to Lothlórien. Gandalf decided to take the Redhorn Pass over Caradhras. This attempt failed miserably, and he urged the rest of the Fellowship to agree to go through the ruins of Moria. Gimli, the dwarf, agreed, and Aragorn less eagerly. The Fellowship was still undecided when they were attacked by Wargs. Gandalf set the forest ablaze, playing the primary role in the defense against their attackers. They escaped the Wargs, and set their course to the West-gate.

At the Bridge by Ted Nasmith

There at the Doors of Durin, Gandalf figured out the password (after Merry figured out the riddle), then urged the rest of the Fellowship through the doors when the Watcher in the Water attacked. Having been through Moria on one of his other perilous errands, he was the guide of the Fellowship, stumped at only one intersection. Eventually they came to the Chamber of Mazarbul, where Gandalf read the Book of Records, and was the first to learn of the fate of Balin and his ill-fated and short-lived colony. When the Orcs attacked, Gandalf aided in the defense, and detected the presence of another great being of power. He tried to put a spell of shutting on the door, but in the battle between the two wills the door cracked, and Gandalf was thrown down the stairs.

When Durin's Bane was sighted at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, Gandalf muttered “What an evil fortune! And I am already weary.” He knew he had to face the demon; and he did. In a spectacular display of power he broke the bridge and threw the balrog into the chasm. But the whip of Durin’s Bane grasped him by the ankle and pulled him down. He vanished before the horrified eyes of the Fellowship.

Zirak-zigil by John Howe

He plunged down through the unfathomable depths into the deep places of the earth. Gandalf was badly burned in the fall, for they fell together for miles and miles. At last they struck the cold, black water; yet Gandalf had the strength somehow to escape the waters. There at the base of the foundations of the earth he battled with the balrog, whose fire had been quenched, yet who was still strong. Having retrieved Glamdring somehow, Gandalf managed to drive away the balrog after a battle spanning time uncounted. Gandalf pursued it for days through the dark tunnels without rest, and witnessed many wonders and horrors in the depths of the earth, where nameless things gnawed at the bowels of Arda. He pursued the Balrog up the Endless Stair to the peak of Zirakzigil, where he fought Durin’s Bane for two days and nights. The balrog burst into new flame, and ice, wind, and smoke swirled about them. At last Gandalf slew Durin’s Bane, and threw him down from the mountain. Then he lay down and died.

Gandalf the White

But Olórin’s spirit was sent back to mortal lands by Eru, and he became Gandalf once more. As he lay naked on the mountain-top, Gwaihir came up and bore him away to Lothlórien, where he was clothed and given a new staff. Then Gandalf went south to Fangorn Forest, where he encountered the Three Hunters and gave them messages from Galadriel. Then he called forth Shadowfax, and rode with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli to Edoras. There he deposed Wormtongue, and removed the cloud from Théoden’s eyes. He then encouraged Théoden to ride west to the war against Saruman. Yet he himself departed, hoping to find Erkenbrand and bring him to the relief of the King’s Rohirrim.

He did indeed find Erkenbrand, and, hailed as the White Rider, brought him back to Helm's Deep. Thus was the day again turned into victory by the appearance of Gandalf. After the battle, Gandalf took some of his friends with him to Isengard, the Ents having destroyed his power, where he formally deposed Saruman as the head of the Order, denouncing him as a traitor. Saruman refused to help mend the hurts he had caused, and Gandalf ordered a strict watch be kept by Treebeard. As he was about to depart, Wormtongue threw a Palantír at him. Gandalf picked it up, but later Pippin, one of the Hobbits, tried to look in it and inadvertently conversed with Sauron.

The White Rider by Donato Giancola

To protect Pippin, Gandalf took him on Shadowfax to Minas Tirith, which was soon under siege. Gandalf confronted Denethor II, Ruling Steward, and Pippin saw that there was much tension between them, especially when the issue of Boromir’s death was raised. Gandalf promptly went about inspecting the defenses of the city, and encouraging the soldiers. When Faramir, the Steward’s son, returned from Osgiliath and was attacked by Nazgûl, Gandalf drove them off with his staff. He was quite interested in Faramir’s story about meeting with Frodo and Sam, and it gave him hope.

Throughout the rest of the waiting before the attack, Gandalf spent much time warding off the Ringwraiths, who gave him room (the Witch-king, the only one powerful enough to challenge him, had not yet come). When the attack came, Denethor despaired, and the defense of the city was left to Gandalf. The wizard went about in the company of Imrahil, and valiantly stood up to the Witch-king in the broken gate of the city. The Witch-king displayed his power, and threatened Gandalf, but the ancient Istar did not move. The result of a combat between the two is debated, but shall never be known, as the Rohirrim began the attack. The Witch-king, realizing that the attack of the Rohirrim was more pressing (and defeating Gandalf would take time, if indeed the Witch-king’s show of power was not more than a bluff), split away and returned to the battle. So by Gandalf’s deeds the enemy never entered Minas Tirith.

Gandalf did not, however, pursue his foe as he pursued the balrog. For Pippin gave him the message that Denethor was about to kill himself and Faramir. Gandalf was able to save Faramir, but not Denethor. Gandalf heard the sound of the end of the Witch-king as he carried away the bier of Faramir, and was glad. After the battle he led Aragorn to the Houses of Healing, and attended the Last Debate, where he counseled that they should advance on the Black Gate. The council accepted this, and his strategy was played out.

At the Battle of the Morannon, Gandalf spoke with the Mouth of Sauron, and took back the Mithril-coat of Frodo and the elf-blade. Then he fought with his friends against the overwhelming army of Orcs that Sauron sprang on them. He witnessed the fall of the Dark Tower, and declared first of all living things that the end of the age had come, that Sauron was felled, and that the Ring-bearer had fulfilled his quest. Then he mounted on Gwaihir for a third time, and rode him to save Frodo and Samwise from the magma of Doom. In the Coronation of Elessar, Gandalf (at Aragorn’s request) set the crown on the King’s head, and declared “Now come the days of the King, and may they be blessed while the thrones of the Valar endure!”

End of the Order

After the coronation and wedding of Elessar, Gandalf left with the rest of the remaining Fellowship on the journey home. For Gandalf it was his last real journey. His purpose had been fulfilled; Sauron would no longer threaten Middle-earth. He said farewell to his friends one by one until at last only the four Hobbits remained at his side. At the borders of the Shire he, too, turned away. He left the Hobbits to settle Saruman in the Shire, for the shattered pieces of evil still remaining in the world were no longer his concern, and went to talk to Tom Bombadil.

File:Danny Staten - Grey Havens.jpg

Grey Havens by Danny Staten

What Gandalf did during the next two years is unknown; it is possible that his “long talk” with Bombadil was quite that. At any rate, on September 29, 3021, he met Frodo at Mithlond, ready to take the Grey Ship over the sea to Aman. He wore Narya openly on his finger, and Shadowfax was beside him (perhaps even to take ship with him). His mission was over, and his homecoming after more than 2000 years was nigh. He bade farewell to Samwise, Merry, and Pippin (the latter two of which he had forewarned of the passage), then mounted the Grey Ship beside Frodo, Elrond, and Galadriel. He rode the ship west over the sea, and became Olórin once more. There, presumably, he dwells still in the gardens of Irmo, the wisest of the Maiar, and the greatest motivator of Middle-earth in the dark times. In a large way, it was his victory.

Personality

Gandalf is often described in The Lord of the Rings as quick to anger, quick to laugh. He is often shown veiling a hidden power, revealed usually only in his eyes, which were deep and wise. He could be both affectionate and brusque; he could be kind at times and very blunt at others. The Hobbits somehow appealed to him more than to the other Wizards, and he went often to them for vacations from his work. It may be he was amused by their nature, as he shows in The Hobbit with Bilbo Baggins. It may also be because they were innocent and naïve, untouched by the great evils of the world. Whatever the reason, it is now for his association with Hobbits that he is best known.

Appearance

Gandalf by John Howe

Gandalf 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 conjurer. 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.

Powers & Abilities

In The Hobbit, Gandalf demonstrated extensive knowledge of the land and an assortment of magical abilities. He could blow glowing smoke rings that moved around a room at his direction, and Bilbo remembered him for his fantastic fireworks displays. More usefully, he created blinding flashes and other pyrotechnics to distract the goblins of the Misty Mountains, aiding the dwarves in their escape from Goblin-town. On the eastern slopes, he turned pine cones into flaming projectiles that threw hot sparks and started fires that would not easily go out. He was also able come and go from the presence of Thorin and Company without anyone noticing.

In The Lord of the Rings, he again displayed his proficiency with pyrotechnics at Bilbo's Farewell Party. He was also able to start fires under blizzard conditions, create light of varying intensity for the journey through Moria, magically secure doors, and break the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. When angered or aroused for battle, he seemed to grow in height and assume a terrifying aspect. He also fought the Balrog of Moria and killed his opponent, although he did not survive the battle himself.

Sent back to Middle-earth as Gandalf the White, he possessed greater charisma and a limited degree of clairvoyance, although he was unable to peer into the land of Mordor to see the progress of Frodo and Sam. His power and authority had increased so that he could break Saruman's staff with a spoken command, showing his authority to throw the treacherous wizard out of the order.

Special Equipment

Like all wizards, Gandalf carried a staff which sometimes served as a focus for his powers (like creating light). Exactly how much it aided him in the use of magic is unknown, but Grima Wormtongue tried to forbid Gandalf from bringing it into Edoras.

When he arrived in Middle Earth, Gandalf received the Elven ring Narya from Cirdan the Shipwright.

In 2941, Gandalf acquired the sword Glamdring from the treasure hoard of a band of trolls.

Names and Titles

• Olórin, his name in Valinor and in very ancient times. "Olórin was my name in my youth in the West that is forgotten." It is Quenya and its meaning is associated with dreams (perhaps "dreamer" or "of dreams"), from the root ÓLOS-
• Mithrandir, his Sindarin name, used in Gondor and meaning "Grey Pilgrim"
• Incánus, his name in the South, of unclear language and meaning. Tolkien several times changed his mind about it, varying between the Latin word Incanus meaning Grey, a possible Westron invention meaning Greymantle, or even an Elvish word Ind-cano meaning "Mind Ruler"
• Tharkûn, his name to the Dwarves, probably meaning "Staff Man"
• The White Rider, his name while riding the great horse Shadowfax
• Gandalf Greyhame, given to him by Gríma Wormtongue
• Stormcrow, a reference to his arrival being associated with times of trouble

Wand-elf

Within the 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.

Inspiration

File:Der Berggeist (Origin of Gandalf) by J. Madelener.gif

This painting on a postcard is rumored to be how J.R.R. Tolkien got his inspiration for the character known as "Gandalf"

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 [...] 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).

Tolkien 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 July 12, 2005 for 84,000 GBP. 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.

The 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") impression is that of:

...an old man with a staff. He had a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak, a silver scarf over which a white beard hung down below his waist, and immense black boots.

Portrayals in Adaptations

• Gandalf from Rankin-Bass' The Hobbit.jpg

  Gandalf as portrayed in Rankin/Bass' The Hobbit

• Gandalf from Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings.jpg

  Gandalf as portrayed in Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings

• Peter Jackson's Gandalf.jpg

  Ian McKellen as Gandalf in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings

John Huston provided the voice of Gandalf in two animated television features by Rankin/Bass.

In Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings Gandalf was voiced by William Squire. It is not known whether Squire played him in the live-action filming used for rotoscoping.

In the BBC radio dramatisations, Heron Carvic played him in The Hobbit and Sir Michael Hordern played him in The Lord of the Rings.

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, Sir Ian McKellen was cast as Gandalf. McKellen was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of the character in Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring.

Early on in the casting process Sean Connery was approached for the role but he turned it down as he did not understand the books. It was the role of Gandalf which Christopher Lee hoped to win but was chosen for the role of Saruman instead.

See Also

• Images of Gandalf

References

• Manfred Zimmerman, The Origin of Gandalf and Josef Madlener, Mythlore 34 (1983).

External Links

• The painting from which Tolkien drew inspiration for Gandalf