LOTR Wizard Rankings?

[Straha]

Could someone explain the wizard rating system used in Lord of the Rings?

All I know is that if someone becomses white all his hair goes grey real quick, real fast.

[HRogge]

Could someone explain the wizard rating system used in Lord of the Rings?

All I know is that if someone becomses white all his hair goes grey real quick, real fast.

If I remember Tokiens story right, there were three imortals send to Middle Earth to battle the "evil" immortal Sauron the Black...

Saruman the White ( the most powerful of the three ), Gandalf the Grey and ..... the Brown...

All four are older than anyone we have seen in the LoTR movies... including the elfs !

[Moonstone Spider]

Radagast the Brown.

Somehow I thought there were 4 Istari, not three, but I could be wrong.

Anyway the Ranking in general is, I think, as follows:

Eru (Out and Out GOD)
Morgoth/Melkor (Most Powerful of the Valar)
Valar
Sauron (Most Powerful of the Maiar)
Tom Bombadil (Not really a Wizard but as powerful as the Earth itself)
Maiar
Balrogs and Dragons
Istari (Powered-down Maiar, Gandalf, Saruman)
High Elves

[Next of Kin]

Could someone explain the wizard rating system used in Lord of the Rings?

All I know is that if someone becomses white all his hair goes grey real quick, real fast.

There were 5 wizards in all of middle earth. We are familiar with Saruman the white, Gandalf the gray and Radagast the brown. The two other wizards, Alatar and Pallando, the blue wizards are not as well known as they travelled into the east and we never heard from again. It was assumed that they were ensnared by Sauron and were the founders of secret cults of magic. All wizards are Maia and serve one of the various powers. Generally, white is the most powerful then followed by blue, brown, and gray. Gandalf was the last wizard to arrive in Middle earth and he was described as the least of his bretheren but he was the only one to stay true to his quest in the fight against Sauron.

[Sir Sirius]

Actualy there were five wizards, the Istari (Quenya for 'Wise Ones').

Saruman.
Gandalf.
Radagast.
Alatar.
Pallando.

[Next of Kin]

Actualy there were five wizards, the Istari (Quenya for 'Wise Ones').

Saruman.
Gandalf.
Radagast.
Alatar.
Pallando.

I just said that!

[greenmm]

Could someone explain the wizard rating system used in Lord of the Rings?

All I know is that if someone becomses white all his hair goes grey real quick, real fast.

There were 5 wizards in all of middle earth. We are familiar with Saruman the white, Gandalf the gray and Radagast the brown. The two other wizards, Alatar and Pallando, the blue wizards are not as well known as they travelled into the east and we never heard from again. It was assumed that they were ensnared by Sauron and were the founders of secret cults of magic. All wizards are Maia and serve one of the various powers. Generally, white is the most powerful then followed by blue, brown, and gray. Gandalf was the last wizard to arrive in Middle earth and he was described as the least of his bretheren but he was the only one to stay true to his quest in the fight against Sauron.

Actually, I'm pretty sure Gandalf (or Olorin, as he was known back in Valinor) was only barely behind Saruman before Saruman fell from grace. Remember, Galadriel wanted Gandalf to lead the White Council instead of Saruman, and only gave in because Gandalf thought Saruman, with his more extensive knowledge of the lore of the Rings of Power, would be a better choice.

As for the 2 blue wizards being ensnared... it's possible, but I doubt it. Saruman's ensnarement was due to a combination of his obsession with the Ring and being too prideful in his use of the palantir. Aside from that, though, the pattern seems to be that the wizards would generally not reveal themselves or their true power levels unless absolutely, positively necessary. Given the time frame when the Ishtari came to Middle-Earth, and Sauron's still-limited capabilities (IIRC, the time predates his assumption of the guise of the Necromancer of Dol Gulder, something which apparantly at first the Council felt was an individual somewhere below Nazgul-level in strength), it's more likely that they passed by Mordor without incident. Without knowing what took place in the lands far east, though, it's hard to say what happened to them. Remember, even given the large area covered by the map of Middle Earth in the novels, we're still only talking about an area at most equivelent to North and South America, with NA alone being a more likely candidate. Unless Middle Earth had significantly more ocean, at least 2-4 times more land mass is still unknown and/or unexplored in the LOTR novels. That's a lot of territory for them to cover....

[Next of Kin]

Actually, I'm pretty sure Gandalf (or Olorin, as he was known back in Valinor) was only barely behind Saruman before Saruman fell from grace. Remember, Galadriel wanted Gandalf to lead the White Council instead of Saruman, and only gave in because Gandalf thought Saruman, with his more extensive knowledge of the lore of the Rings of Power, would be a better choice.

In the Unfinished tales, Gandalf is described as the least of his order, being the shortest, oldest looking, and tired. It is doubtful that Gandalf remembered his past life in Valinor and cloaked in flesh, he was suseptible to the weaknesses of men.

[Next of Kin]

As for the 2 blue wizards being ensnared... it's possible, but I doubt it. Saruman's ensnarement was due to a combination of his obsession with the Ring and being too prideful in his use of the palantir. Aside from that, though, the pattern seems to be that the wizards would generally not reveal themselves or their true power levels unless absolutely, positively necessary. Given the time frame when the Ishtari came to Middle-Earth, and Sauron's still-limited capabilities (IIRC, the time predates his assumption of the guise of the Necromancer of Dol Gulder, something which apparantly at first the Council felt was an individual somewhere below Nazgul-level in strength), it's more likely that they passed by Mordor without incident. Without knowing what took place in the lands far east, though, it's hard to say what happened to them. Remember, even given the large area covered by the map of Middle Earth in the novels, we're still only talking about an area at most equivelent to North and South America, with NA alone being a more likely candidate. Unless Middle Earth had significantly more ocean, at least 2-4 times more land mass is still unknown and/or unexplored in the LOTR novels. That's a lot of territory for them to cover....

True. There are other possible fates for these two wizards.