"Wilt thou learn the lore / that was long secret
of the Five that came / from a far country?"
Opening lines of a poem in alliterative verse
Reproduced in Unfinished Tales Part 4 II
The Istari
A rare term for the Wizards or Istari, who travelled out of the West to aid the peoples of Middle-earth against the newly-arising Sauron during the Third Age. There were said to be Five Wizards, of whom the best known were Gandalf the Grey and Saruman the White. The other three were Radagast the Brown and two others known as the Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando, who travelled into the East of Middle-earth and never returned.
In origin the Five were Maiar, powerful spirits who had existed before the making of the world. Their purpose in Middle-earth was not to use their power directly, but to provide help and advice to those seeking to oppose the Dark Lord, who indeed was one of their own order. In this purpose most of the Five failed, and Saruman actually betrayed his allies utterly, but Gandalf succeeded in orchestrating the defeat of Sauron and the destruction of his Ring of Power.
After the defeat of Sauron, Gandalf returned to his ancient home in the West aboard the White Ship. By this time Saruman had been slain, but the fates of the other three of the Five - that is, Radagast and the two Blue Wizards - remain mysterious.
For a detailed list of the Five, see the entry for Wizards.
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About this entry:
- Updated 8 October 2022
- Updates planned: 1
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