truckiecookies
New Member
Hello hello, "long time listener first time caller" here.
In the latest episodes released, I was curious about the role of Narya in Gandalf and Saruman's relation.
From "The Istari" in Unfinished Tales, we read that Saruman knew of Cirdan's gift and envied it. Is there any hint of this knowledge in Saruman and Gandalf's in-text interactions? When did Tolkien decide Gandalf carried one of the three? I always understood that Gandalf referred to it in his battle at the bridge.
Additionally, could Saruman's envy of Narya be an explanation for the "smoke rings" incident as described in "The Hunt for the Ring?" That could explain how Gandalf didn't suspect Saruman's designs on The One: Gandalf may have been teasing Saruman about Narya, knowing his envy.
On the topic of the wizards' colors: it seems there is some long-standing association between color and magic in western tradition (particularly "black magic"). But in modern fantasy, a full spectrum color-coded magicians or magic seems common (color-coded mages in Final Fantasy, the five colors of Magic the Gathering, the eight "Ajahs" of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time"). Are modern writers building on Tolkien's use of color-as-uniform (almost like Star Trek), or are both Tolkien and more recent writers drawing on an older tradition, beyond just colors for "good" and "bad" magic?
Thank you for this always engaging series, and I look forward to the next episode!
-Rob
In the latest episodes released, I was curious about the role of Narya in Gandalf and Saruman's relation.
From "The Istari" in Unfinished Tales, we read that Saruman knew of Cirdan's gift and envied it. Is there any hint of this knowledge in Saruman and Gandalf's in-text interactions? When did Tolkien decide Gandalf carried one of the three? I always understood that Gandalf referred to it in his battle at the bridge.
Additionally, could Saruman's envy of Narya be an explanation for the "smoke rings" incident as described in "The Hunt for the Ring?" That could explain how Gandalf didn't suspect Saruman's designs on The One: Gandalf may have been teasing Saruman about Narya, knowing his envy.
On the topic of the wizards' colors: it seems there is some long-standing association between color and magic in western tradition (particularly "black magic"). But in modern fantasy, a full spectrum color-coded magicians or magic seems common (color-coded mages in Final Fantasy, the five colors of Magic the Gathering, the eight "Ajahs" of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time"). Are modern writers building on Tolkien's use of color-as-uniform (almost like Star Trek), or are both Tolkien and more recent writers drawing on an older tradition, beyond just colors for "good" and "bad" magic?
Thank you for this always engaging series, and I look forward to the next episode!
-Rob