MattfromWI
New Member
So I'm still catching up a bit, and I just finished the episodes where Prof Olsen recharacterizes the Wizard colors from marks of hierarchical status (understood like karate belts) to signals of each Wizard's particular discipline or role. As I understand it, the class decided that the discipline or "role" of the White Wizard was to understand the enemy and devise counters--that is the role Gandalf will assume upon his return. Also the class seemed to accept that the role of the Brown Wizard, Radagast, was to understand the natural world, specifically birds and beasts. But I'm a bit confused about the role of the Gray Wizard. Based on Saruman's conversation with Gandalf, the class sort of vaguely landed on "traveling" being part of that role. Saruman, as Prof Olsen noted, explicitly connects "the Gray" with traveling, saying: “Have you indeed, Gandalf the Grey! ...wandering about the lands," and "here you will stay, Gandalf the Grey, and rest from journeys."
I guess I don't think that traveling is an appointed task of the Gray Wizard, or that there is a specific discipline assigned to each Wizard color. I think at this stage in the story it seems more likely that Gandalf's color Gray has more to do with his personality, for lack of a better world. We will find out that Gandalf is also Olorin, who in the Silmarillion is described to have an affinity both with Lorien--Irmo, "master of visions and dreams"--and Nienna, who is "acquainted with grief and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered." We are further told that Olorin "walked among [the Elves in Valinor] unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts. In later days he was the friend of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and took pity on their sorrows." Operating in the world of dreams, offering compassion for the hurts of middle earth, and distributing fair visions and promptings of wisdom in disguise or unseen--if put into a color--to me would be Gray. It's like he chose the color of his raiment as an enfleshed Maiar the way natural Maia choose to appear with certain features.
I don't think this is necessarily exclusive of the idea that Wizards have assignments. I mean, Saruman/Curunir was a disciple of Aule I believe, so it follows perhaps that he would be given the responsibility to learn and understand that renegade disciple of Aule, Sauron. And perhaps that role earns him the color of White and the position as head of the whole order, though his position as "head" of the order appears to have been up for discussion after the Istari arrived in Middle Earth, because Galadriel advocates for Gandalf. But maybe Saruman 'chooses' White because it aligns with his activity, which is understanding and opposing his brother-in-Aule-discipleship Sauron.
I wonder (and fearlessly speculate) that Radagast was a disciple of Yavannah, and that his chosen color Brown is representative of his personality or interest. I wonder why he was sent, a bit--perhaps the Valar hoped to harness a bit of the natural world to oppose Sauron, or prevent Sauron from further marring the natural world? And the blue wizards? What could be their provenance and purpose?
I guess I don't think that traveling is an appointed task of the Gray Wizard, or that there is a specific discipline assigned to each Wizard color. I think at this stage in the story it seems more likely that Gandalf's color Gray has more to do with his personality, for lack of a better world. We will find out that Gandalf is also Olorin, who in the Silmarillion is described to have an affinity both with Lorien--Irmo, "master of visions and dreams"--and Nienna, who is "acquainted with grief and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered." We are further told that Olorin "walked among [the Elves in Valinor] unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts. In later days he was the friend of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and took pity on their sorrows." Operating in the world of dreams, offering compassion for the hurts of middle earth, and distributing fair visions and promptings of wisdom in disguise or unseen--if put into a color--to me would be Gray. It's like he chose the color of his raiment as an enfleshed Maiar the way natural Maia choose to appear with certain features.
I don't think this is necessarily exclusive of the idea that Wizards have assignments. I mean, Saruman/Curunir was a disciple of Aule I believe, so it follows perhaps that he would be given the responsibility to learn and understand that renegade disciple of Aule, Sauron. And perhaps that role earns him the color of White and the position as head of the whole order, though his position as "head" of the order appears to have been up for discussion after the Istari arrived in Middle Earth, because Galadriel advocates for Gandalf. But maybe Saruman 'chooses' White because it aligns with his activity, which is understanding and opposing his brother-in-Aule-discipleship Sauron.
I wonder (and fearlessly speculate) that Radagast was a disciple of Yavannah, and that his chosen color Brown is representative of his personality or interest. I wonder why he was sent, a bit--perhaps the Valar hoped to harness a bit of the natural world to oppose Sauron, or prevent Sauron from further marring the natural world? And the blue wizards? What could be their provenance and purpose?