Saruman

2007-06-19T21:38:37Z

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{{Istari infobox
| image=[[Image:John Howe - Saruman.jpg|250px]]
| name=Saruman
| othernames=Of many colours, White, Ring-maker, Wise, Curunír, Curumo, Sharkey
| birth=Entered [[Middle-earth]] in [[Third Age 1000]]
| death=[[Third Age 3019]]
| robes=White
| gender=Male
| hair= Black, gradually turning white
| height=
| eyes=
|}}
{{quote|He has a mind of metal and wheels; and he does not care for growing things, except as far as they serve him for the moment. And now it is clear that he is a black traitor.|[[Treebeard]], ''[[Treebeard (chapter)]]''}}
'''Saruman the White''' ([[Third Age]] c. 1000 – 3019, existed in [[Middle-earth]] for 2019 years) was the first of the order of [[Wizards]] (or [[Istari]]) who came to Middle-earth as Emissaries of the [[Valar]] in the Third Age. He was the leader of the [[White Council]]. In [[Sindarin]] his name was '''Curunír''', which meant "Man of Skill".

== Characteristics ==
[[Image:WAR-ICONS Saruman.jpg|right|150px]]
In appearance, Saruman was as an old man with black hair. At the end of the Third Age, his hair and beard had turned mostly white — he had only black hairs about his lips and ears. He was tall, his face was long, and his eyes were deep and dark. He would appear in a white cloak, a habit he later changed into a cloak that changed colours as he moved.

He was not actually a [[Men|Man]], or even an [[Elves|Elf]] (as Men often suspected), but a [[Maiar|Maia]] clothed in flesh — an [[Istari|Istar]] ((see ''Origins'' below). As such, he was immortal and extremely powerful, yet had limits on how far these powers could be used. His two most salient powers were his knowledge and his voice.

The name given to him by Men, ''Saruman'', is in the [[Westron]] language. In Tolkien's works, this language is (almost) never shown directly, but translated into English and Anglo-Saxon forms. In this case, Tolkien used the Anglo-Saxon root word ''searu'' which means "skill" or "cunning". As a scholar, Tolkien would also have been well aware of the name of a similarly-named historic 'head of his order', Jaruman. The real Westron version of his name remains unknown.

His name among the Elves was ''Curunír'' and was often followed by ''Lán'', which means "white". In Valinor, his name was ''Curumo'', which is the [[Quenya]] translation of the same name.

=== Powers ===
Knowledge of the "deep arts" (or magic, such as it is in Middle-earth) was of particular interest to Saruman, especially when relating to power

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Saruman