109-500: Grey Pilgrim might refer to one of the following: A name for Gandalf , a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings series "The Grey Pilgrim," a book by J. M. Hayes Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Grey Pilgrim . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
218-575: A staff ". Yet the Elf Círdan who met him on arrival nevertheless considered him "the greatest spirit and the wisest" and gave him the Elven Ring of Power called Narya , the Ring of Fire, containing a "red" stone for his aid and comfort. Tolkien explicitly links Gandalf to the element fire later in the same essay: Warm and eager was his spirit (and it was enhanced by the ring Narya), for he
327-498: A "bizarre" Middle-earth including a Mordor where one can meet beautiful women: "Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor / I met a girl so fair / But Gollum, and the evil one crept up / And slipped away with her". The 2014 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a third-person open world action-adventure video game set in Middle-earth. In the city of Warsaw , Poland , an area in the south-western district of Mokotów , in
436-479: A "present" from Gollum . During this period, he befriended Aragorn and became suspicious of Saruman . He spent as much time as he could in the Shire , strengthening his friendship with Bilbo and Frodo , Bilbo's orphaned cousin and adopted heir. Gandalf returns to the Shire for Bilbo's "eleventy-first" (111th) birthday party, bringing many fireworks for the occasion. After Bilbo, as a prank on his guests, puts on
545-681: A geologist explained, then flash to steam, causing an explosion. The name Barad-dûr is Sindarin , from barad "tower" and dûr "dark". It was called Lugbúrz in the Black Speech of Mordor, from lug "tower" and búrz "dark". The Black Speech (created by Sauron ) was one of the languages used in Barad-dûr. The soldiers there used a debased form of the tongue. In The Lord of the Rings "Barad-dûr," "Lugbúrz," and "the Dark Tower" are occasionally used as metonyms for Sauron. In
654-547: A mighty mountain-throne above immeasurable pits; great courts and dungeons, eyeless prisons sheer as cliffs, and gaping gates of steel and adamant..." Barad-dûr, along with the One Ring, Mordor, and Sauron himself, were destroyed on 25 March, a traditional Anglo-Saxon date for the crucifixion ; the quest to destroy the One Ring began in Rivendell on 25 December, the date of Christmas . In The Atlas of Middle-earth ,
763-449: A painting by Tolkien, however, the walls are of mainly grey stone and brick, and battlements, gates and towers are not visible. In The Two Towers Barad-dûr is described as "...that vast fortress, armoury, prison, furnace of great power..." The same paragraph goes on to say the Dark Tower had 'immeasurable strength'. The fortress was constructed with many towers and was hidden in clouds about it: "...rising black, blacker and darker than
872-707: A parallel with the history of Christian Europe from the Crusades against Islam onwards, and specifically with late 17th century history of Eastern Europe. The siege and relief of Minas Tirith, he proposed, resembled those of Vienna in 1683 , with the Turkish forces in the place of those of Mordor. The attack in both cases is from the East: over the Balkan hills or the Ephel Duath; across the plains of Hungary or Ithilien; over
981-531: A postcard entitled Der Berggeist ("the mountain spirit"), which he labelled "the origin of Gandalf". It shows a white-bearded man in a large hat and cloak seated among boulders in a mountain forest. Carpenter said that Tolkien recalled buying the postcard during his holiday in Switzerland in 1911. Manfred Zimmerman, however, discovered that the painting was by the German artist Josef Madlener and dates from
1090-632: A spirit and resumed his rule. Sauron's rule was interrupted again when his efforts to overthrow the surviving Men of Númenor and the Elves failed. The army of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men advanced on Mordor; in a great battle on the Dagorlad ("Battle Plain"), Sauron's forces were destroyed and the Black Gate was stormed. Barad-dûr was then besieged; after seven years, Sauron broke out and
1199-719: A variety of tongues, and Orcs and Trolls , who usually spoke a debased form of the Common Speech . Within Barad-dûr and among the captains of Mordor (the Ringwraiths and other high-ranking servants such as the Mouth of Sauron ), the Black Speech was still used, the language devised by Sauron during the Dark Years of the Second Age. In addition to ordinary Orcs and Trolls, Sauron had bred a more powerful strain of Orcs,
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#17327900628591308-705: A vision of industrial environmental degradation , contrasted with either the homey Shire or the beautiful elvish forest of Lothlórien . Mordor was roughly rectangular in shape, with the longer sides on the north and south. Three sides were defended by mountain ranges: the Ered Lithui ("Ash Mountains") on the north, and the Ephel Dúath on the west and south. The lengths of these ranges are estimated to be 498, 283 and 501 miles (801, 455 and 806 kilometres) respectively, which gives Mordor an area of roughly 140,000 square miles (360,000 square kilometres). To
1417-761: A wide brimmed hat, and a staff, or likened him to Merlin of Arthurian legend or the Jungian archetype of the " wise old man ". In The Annotated Hobbit , Douglas Anderson likens Gandalf's role to the Rübezahl mountain spirit of German folktales. He states that the figure can appear as "a guide, a messenger, or a farmer", often depicted as "a bearded man with a staff". Black Gate (Middle-earth) In J. R. R. Tolkien 's fictional world of Middle-earth , Mordor ( pronounced [ˈmɔrdɔr] ; from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow )
1526-630: Is distinguished by the colour of his cloak. For most of his manifestation as a wizard, Gandalf's cloak is grey, hence the names Gandalf the Grey and Greyhame, from Old English hama , "cover, skin". Mithrandir is a name in Sindarin meaning "Grey Pilgrim" or "Grey Wanderer". Midway through The Lord of the Rings , Gandalf becomes the head of the order of Wizards, and is renamed Gandalf the White . This change in status (and clothing) introduces another name for
1635-600: Is focused on the mission to counter the Dark Lord Sauron by destroying the One Ring . He is associated with fire; his ring of power is Narya , the Ring of Fire. As such, he delights in fireworks to entertain the hobbits of the Shire , while in great need he uses fire as a weapon. As one of the Maiar , he is an immortal spirit from Valinor , but his physical body can be killed. In The Hobbit , Gandalf assists
1744-636: Is found in at least one more place in Norse myth, in the semi-historical Heimskringla , which briefly describes Gandalf Alfgeirsson , a legendary Norse king from eastern Norway and rival of Halfdan the Black . Gandalf is also the name of a Norse sea-king in Henrik Ibsen 's second play, The Burial Mound . The name "Gandolf" occurs as a character in William Morris ' 1896 fantasy novel The Well at
1853-510: Is said that in the ending of the task for which he came he suffered greatly, and was slain, and being sent back from death for a brief while was clothed then in white, and became a radiant flame (yet veiled still save in great need). In Valinor , Gandalf was called Olórin . He was one of the Maiar of Valinor, specifically, one of the people of the Vala Manwë ; he was said to be the wisest of
1962-576: Is sure that Bilbo's ring is the One Ring that Sauron needs to dominate the whole of Middle-earth. The Council of Elrond creates the Fellowship of the Ring, with Gandalf as its leader, to defeat Sauron by destroying the Ring. He takes them south through the Misty Mountains, but is killed fighting a Balrog , an evil spirit-being, in the underground realm of Moria . After he dies, he is sent back to Middle-earth to complete his mission as Gandalf
2071-625: Is the place where the One Ring was forged, and its magma heart is the only place where it can be destroyed. When Sauron is defeated at the end of the Third Age with the destruction of the One Ring, the volcano erupts violently. Tolkien stated in his " Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings ", intended to assist translators, that the phrase "Crack of Doom" derives from William Shakespeare 's play Macbeth , Act 4 scene 1. Tolkien wrote that
2180-588: Is the realm and base of the evil lord Sauron . It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin , and to the south of Mirkwood . Mount Doom , a volcano in Mordor, was the goal of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to destroy the One Ring . Mordor was surrounded by three mountain ranges, to the north, the west, and the south. These both protected the land from invasion and kept those living in Mordor from escaping. Commentators have noted that Mordor
2289-594: Is then that Gandalf meets the great horse Shadowfax , who will be his mount and companion. Gandalf rides hard for the Shire, but does not reach it until after Frodo has set out. Knowing that Frodo and his companions will be heading for Rivendell, Gandalf makes his own way there. He learns at Bree that the Hobbits have fallen in with Aragorn. He faces the Nazgûl at Weathertop , but escapes after an all-night battle, drawing four of them northward. Frodo, Aragorn and company face
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#17327900628592398-556: The Arthurian names like Morgana, Morgause, and Mordred; the Mor- element here does not mean "dark", possibly being connected to Welsh mawr "big", but Tolkien could have picked up the association with Arthurian evil. Tolkien, a scholar of Old English , was an expert on Beowulf , calling it one of his "most valued sources" for Middle-earth. The medievalists Stuart D. Lee and Elizabeth Solopova compare Tolkien's account of Mordor and
2507-719: The Battle of the Morannon , the One Ring was destroyed in Mount Doom, along with Sauron's power, Barad-dur, and the morale of his armies. This ultimate defeat of Sauron ended the Third Age. Gorgoroth became empty as its Orcs fled or were killed. The land of Núrn was given to Sauron's freed slaves. At the time of the War of the Ring, Sauron had gathered great armies to serve him. These included Easterlings and Haradrim , who spoke
2616-690: The Norse god Odin in his "Wanderer" guise. Others have described Gandalf as a guide-figure who assists the protagonists, comparable to the Cumaean Sibyl who assisted Aeneas in Virgil 's The Aeneid , or to the figure of Virgil in Dante 's Inferno . Scholars have likened his return in white to the transfiguration of Christ ; he is further described as a prophet , representing one element of Christ's threefold office of prophet, priest, and king, where
2725-642: The One Ring in Orodruin. He then set about conquering Middle-earth, launching an attack upon the Elves of Eregion, but was repelled by the Men of Númenor . Over a thousand years later, the Númenóreans under Ar-Pharazôn sailed to Middle-earth to challenge Sauron's claim to be "King of Men". Sauron let them capture him and take him back to Númenor, where he caused its destruction . He at once returned to Mordor as
2834-621: The Prancing Pony , and heads towards Isengard. There, Saruman horrifies Gandalf by asking him to help him to obtain and use the Ring. Gandalf refuses, and Saruman imprisons him at the top of his tower . Gandalf is rescued by Gwaihir the Eagle , who comes to him as requested via Radagast. In Rohan , Gandalf appeals to King Théoden for a horse. Théoden, under the evil influence of Gríma Wormtongue , Saruman's spy and servant, tells Gandalf to take any horse he pleases, but to leave quickly. It
2943-514: The Ring . Returning to the Shire , Gandalf confirms his suspicion by throwing the Ring into Frodo's hearth-fire and reading the writing that appears on its surface. He tells Frodo the history of the ring, and urges him to take it to Rivendell , warning of grave danger if he stays in the Shire. Gandalf says he will attempt to return for Frodo's 50th birthday party, to accompany him on the road; and that meanwhile Frodo should arrange to leave quietly, as
3052-489: The Second Age , Sauron began to stir again and chose Mordor as a stronghold in which to build his fortress. It was strengthened by the power of the One Ring, which had recently been forged; its foundations would survive as long as the Ring existed. Gandalf described the Ring as being the "...foundation of Barad-dûr..." The Dark Tower is described as being composed of iron, being black and having battlements and gates. In
3161-566: The War of the Ring , Sauron attempted to storm Minas Tirith , the capital of Gondor, but was defeated by Gondor and Rohan in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields . The victors sent an army to the Black Gate to distract Sauron from the Ring. He responded by emptying Mordor of its armies, sending them to the Black Gate. As a result, the plain of Gorgoroth was left almost deserted and Frodo and Sam were able to travel across it to Mount Doom. During
3270-736: The Wolverhampton Art Gallery (2014) claims that the steelworks and blast furnaces of the West Midlands near Tolkien's childhood home inspired his vision of, and his name Mordor . This industrialized area has long been known as "the Black Country ". Philip Womack, writing in The Independent , likens Tolkien's move from rural Warwickshire to urban Birmingham as "exile from a rural idyll to Mordor-like forges and fires". The critic Chris Baratta notes
3379-469: The palantír to Aragorn and takes the chastened Pippin with him to Minas Tirith to keep the young Hobbit out of further trouble. Gandalf arrives in time to help to arrange the defences of Minas Tirith. His presence is resented by Denethor , the Steward of Gondor ; but when his son Faramir is gravely wounded in battle, Denethor sinks into despair and madness. Together with Prince Imrahil, Gandalf leads
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3488-648: The "senses of death, finality, and fate". Another possible source of the name, mentioned by Tolkien and discussed by the Tolkien scholar Jared Lobdell , is a pair of tales of supernatural events by the English novelist Algernon Blackwood , "The Willows" and "The Glamour of the Snow". According to the fanzine Niekas , Tolkien "more or less found Mordor" on a Mediterranean cruise in September 1966. When sailing past
3597-661: The 13 dwarves and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins with their quest to retake the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon, but leaves them to urge the White Council to expel Sauron from his fortress of Dol Guldur . In the course of the quest, Bilbo finds a magical ring. The expulsion succeeds, but in The Lord of the Rings , Gandalf reveals that Sauron's retreat was only a feint, as he soon reappeared in Mordor . Gandalf further explains that, after years of investigation, he
3706-509: The Balrog falls, it wraps its whip around Gandalf's legs, dragging him over the edge. Gandalf falls into the abyss, crying "Fly, you fools!". Gandalf and the Balrog fall into a deep lake in Moria's underworld. Gandalf pursues the Balrog through the tunnels for eight days until they climb to the peak of Zirakzigil . Here they fight for two days and nights. The Balrog is defeated and cast down onto
3815-597: The Fellowship (comprising nine representatives of the free peoples of Middle-earth , "set against the Nine Riders"), Gandalf and Aragorn lead the Hobbits and their companions south. After an unsuccessful attempt to cross Mount Caradhras in winter, they cross under the mountains through the Mines of Moria under the Misty Mountains, though only Gimli the Dwarf is enthusiastic about that route. In Moria, they discover that
3924-841: The Grey Pilgrim, and reports Gandalf as saying, "Many are my names in many countries. Mithrandir among the Elves , Tharkûn to the Dwarves , Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incánus, in the North Gandalf ; to the East I go not." In an early draft of The Hobbit , he is called Bladorthin , while the name Gandalf is used by the dwarf who later became Thorin Oakenshield . Each Wizard
4033-609: The Hobbits back to the borders of the Shire , before leaving to visit Tom Bombadil . Two years later, Gandalf departs Middle-earth forever. He boards the Ringbearers' ship in the Grey Havens and sets sail to return across the sea to the Undying Lands ; with him are his horse Shadowfax and his friends Frodo, Bilbo , Galadriel , and Elrond . Tolkien's biographer Humphrey Carpenter relates that Tolkien owned
4142-425: The Hobbits' equipment. Gandalf rejects Mordor's terms of surrender, starting the Battle of the Morannon . The forces of the West face the full might of Sauron's armies, until the Ring is destroyed in Mount Doom. Gandalf leads the Eagles to rescue Frodo and Sam from the erupting mountain. After the war, Gandalf crowns Aragorn as King Elessar, and helps him find a sapling of the White Tree of Gondor . He accompanies
4251-433: The King After the battle, Gandalf counsels an attack against Sauron's forces at the Black Gate , in an effort to distract the Dark Lord's attention from Frodo and Sam ; they are at that moment scaling Mount Doom to destroy the Ring. Gandalf, Aragorn and the other leaders of the West lead an army to the Black Gate, meeting the nameless lieutenant of Mordor , who shows them Frodo's mithril shirt and other items from
4360-461: The Maiar. He was closely associated with two other Valar: Irmo, in whose gardens he lived, and Nienna , the patron of mercy, who gave him tutelage. When the Valar decided to send the order of the Wizards (Istari) across the Great Sea to Middle-earth to counsel and assist all those who opposed Sauron , Olórin was proposed by Manwë. Olórin initially begged to be excused, declaring he was too weak and that he feared Sauron, but Manwë replied that that
4469-399: The Morannon lay the Dagorlad or Battle Plain, and the Dead Marshes. The Ephel Dúath ("Fence of Shadow") defended Mordor on the west and south. The main pass was guarded by Minas Morgul , a city built by Gondor as Minas Ithil. The fortress Durthang lay in the northern Ephel Dúath above Udûn. A higher, more difficult pass, Cirith Ungol, lay just to the north of the Morgul pass. Its top
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4578-517: The Necromancer was indeed Sauron. The following year a White Council was held, and Gandalf urged that Sauron be driven out. Saruman, however, reassured the Council that Sauron's evident effort to find the One Ring would fail, as the Ring would long since have been carried by the river Anduin to the Sea; and the matter was allowed to rest. But Saruman began actively seeking the Ring near the Gladden Fields where Isildur had been killed. " The Quest of Erebor " in Unfinished Tales elaborates upon
4687-422: The North American doom metal band Orodruin , are named after the mountain. In Peter Jackson 's film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings , Mount Doom was represented by two active volcanoes in New Zealand : Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu , located in Tongariro National Park . In long shots, the mountain is either a large model or a CGI effect, or a combination. The production was not permitted to film
4796-406: The Ring-bearer—in his quest. He persuades Elrond to let Frodo's cousins Merry and Pippin join the Fellowship . The Balrog reached the bridge. Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand, but in his other hand Glamdring gleamed, cold and white. His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings. It raised the whip, and
4905-437: The Rings . He is a wizard , one of the Istari order, and the leader of the Company of the Ring . Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" from the Old Norse "Catalogue of Dwarves" ( Dvergatal ) in the Völuspá . As a wizard and the bearer of one of the Three Rings , Gandalf has great power, but works mostly by encouraging and persuading. He sets out as Gandalf the Grey, possessing great knowledge and travelling continually. Gandalf
5014-412: The Rings trilogy . In the first film, Sean Bean , playing Boromir , the warrior from Gondor, declares to the Council of Elrond that "one does not simply walk into Mordor". In the second, Andy Serkis 's digital Gollum guides Frodo and Sam to the Black Gate. In the final film, Frodo and Sam struggle across the shattered volcanic plain of Gorgoroth to Mount Doom, dressed as orcs, under the red glare of
5123-401: The Rings: The Return of the King movie (2003) showed Barad-dûr as clearly visible from the Black Gate of Mordor, which is not the case in the book. Jackson portrayed Barad-dûr, like the other enemy fortresses of Isengard, Minas Morgul and the Black Gate, in "an exaggerated Gothic fashion" with a black metallic appearance. In The Lord of the Rings , the Eye was within the "Window of the Eye" in
5232-516: The Uruk-hai, and a strong and agile breed of Trolls, the Olog-hai, who could endure the sun. The Olog-hai knew only the Black Speech. Within Tolkien's fiction, "Mordor" had two meanings: "Black Land" in Sindarin , and "Land of Shadow" in Quenya . The root mor ("dark", "black") also appeared in Moria , which meant "Black Pit", and Morgoth , the first Dark Lord. Popular sources have conjectured or stated directly that "Mordor" came from Old English morðor , "mortal sin" or "murder". Against this,
5341-410: The White Council and the Order of Wizards ; Gandalf takes Saruman's place as head of both. Wormtongue tries to kill Gandalf or Saruman with the palantír of Orthanc, but misses both. Pippin retrieves the palantír , but Gandalf quickly takes it. After the group leaves Isengard, Pippin takes the palantír from a sleeping Gandalf, looks into it, and comes face to face with Sauron himself. Gandalf gives
5450-424: The White. He reappears to three of the Fellowship and helps to counter the enemy in Rohan , then in Gondor , and finally at the Black Gate of Mordor, in each case largely by offering guidance. When victory is complete, he crowns Aragorn as King before leaving Middle-earth for ever to return to Valinor. Tolkien once described Gandalf as an angel incarnate; later, both he and other scholars have likened Gandalf to
5559-442: The World's End , along with the horse "Silverfax", adapted by Tolkien as Gandalf's horse "Shadowfax". Morris' book, inspired by Norse myth, is set in a pseudo- medieval landscape; it deeply influenced Tolkien. The wizard that became Gandalf was originally named Bladorthin . Tolkien came to regret his ad hoc use of Old Norse names, referring to a "rabble of eddaic -named dwarves, ... invented in an idle hour" in 1937. But
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#17327900628595668-433: The adjective means "black"; Tolkien said that he liked the Italian language. Greek Μαυρός ( mauros ) means "dark, dim". He notes, too, the possible connection in Tolkien's mind with Mirkwood , the dark Northern forest, from Norse myrk "dark", cognate with English "murky". He adds that words like "Latin mors 'death' or Old English morðor 'murder'—further darkened the ring of this syllable." Finally, Fauskanger mentions
5777-613: The approaches to the Morannon [an entrance to Mordor] owe something to northern France after the Battle of the Somme ". The critic Lykke Guanio-Uluru sees Mordor as specifically evil, marked by Sauron: a land that is "dying, struggling for life, though not yet dead", evil being able to disfigure life but not to destroy it completely. It is contrasted, writes Guanio-Uluru, with the beauty of Lothlorien , and marked by negative adjectives like "harsh, twisted, bitter, struggling, low, coarse, withered, tangled, stabbing, sullen, shrivelled, grating, rattling, sad". In 1976, George W. Geib suggested
5886-405: The bait, though his jaws should close on us... We must walk open-eyed into that trap, with courage, but small hope for ourselves. For, my lords, it may well prove that we ourselves shall perish utterly in a black battle far from the living lands; so that even if Barad-dûr be thrown down, we shall not live to see a new age. But this, I deem, is our duty." J. R. R. Tolkien , The Return of
5995-422: The cartographer Karen Wynn Fonstad assumed that the lands of Mordor, Khand , and Rhûn lay where the inland Sea of Helcar had been, and that the Sea of Rhûn and Sea of Núrnen were its remnants. This was based on a First Age world-map drawn by Tolkien in the Ambarkanta , where the Inland Sea of Helcar occupied a large area of Middle-earth between the Ered Luin and Orocarni , its western end being close to
6104-511: The coming horror, "play[ing] on ideas of desolation, wintry landscapes and the supernatural", and like Tolkien giving realistic descriptions of nature. At the same time, they write, both the Beowulf poet and Tolkien incorporate "an element of fantasy": Grendel's moor is both full of water and a "craggy headland .. inhabited by supernatural evil", while Tolkien fills the landscapes in and around Mordor with "similar ambiguity and sense of unease". An art exhibition entitled "The Making of Mordor" at
6213-402: The contrasting environments of the well-tended leafy Shire , the home of the hobbits, and "the industrial wastelands of Isengard and Mordor." Baratta comments that Tolkien clearly intended the reader to "identify with some of the problems of environmental destruction, rampant industrial invasion, and the corrupting and damaging effects these have on mankind." The New York Times related
6322-579: The council to evict Sauron, since quite evidently Sauron did not require the One Ring to continue to attract evil to Mirkwood. Then the Council "put[s] forth its power" and drives Sauron from Dol Guldur . Sauron had anticipated this, and had feigned a withdrawal, only to reappear in Mordor . Gandalf spent the years between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings travelling Middle-earth in search of information on Sauron 's resurgence and Bilbo Baggins 's mysterious ring , spurred particularly by Bilbo's initial misleading story of how he had obtained it as
6431-442: The decision to use Old Norse names came to have far-reaching consequences in the composition of The Lord of the Rings ; in 1942, Tolkien decided that the work was to be a purported translation from the fictional language of Westron , and in the English translation Old Norse names were taken to represent names in the language of Dale . Gandalf , in this setting, is thus a representation in English (anglicised from Old Norse) of
6540-503: The defenders during the siege of the city. When the forces of Mordor break the main gate, Gandalf, alone on Shadowfax, confronts the Lord of the Nazgûl. At that moment the Rohirrim arrive, causing the Nazgûl to withdraw. Gandalf is about to pursue, but is stopped by Pippin, who requests his intervention to save Faramir – Denethor in desperation was seeking to burn himself and his son on a funeral pyre. Gandalf saves Faramir (but not Denethor, who immolates himself), and plays no further part in
6649-412: The dwarf colony established there by Balin has been annihilated by orcs . The Fellowship fights with the orcs and trolls of Moria and escapes them. At the Bridge of Khazad-dûm , they encounter "Durin's Bane," a fearsome Balrog from ancient times. Gandalf faces the Balrog to enable the others to escape. After a brief exchange of blows, Gandalf breaks the bridge beneath the Balrog with his staff . As
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#17327900628596758-420: The early drafts, and through to the first edition of The Hobbit , Bladorthin/Gandalf is described as being a "little old man", distinct from a dwarf, but not of the full human stature that would later be described in The Lord of the Rings . Even in The Lord of the Rings , Gandalf was not tall; shorter, for example, than Elrond or the other wizards. When writing The Hobbit in the early 1930s Tolkien gave
6867-414: The enclosed plain of Udûn. Sauron built the Black Gate of Mordor (the Morannon) across the pass. This added to the earlier fortifications, the Towers of the Teeth – Carchost to the east, Narchost to the west, guard towers which had been built by Gondor to keep a watch on this entrance. The passage through the inner side of Udûn into the interior of Mordor was guarded by another gate, the Isenmouthe. Outside
6976-421: The fortresses. At the time of Bilbo Baggins 's quest in The Hobbit , Sauron returned into Mordor from Dol Guldur , feigning defeat, but readying for war. The Council of Elrond decided to send the Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it and Sauron's power. It was carried into Mordor by two Hobbits , Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee ; they approached via the Dead Marshes, and entered by the pass of Cirith Ungol. In
7085-474: The grim land of Mordor to Tolkien's personal experience in the trenches of the Western Front in the First World War . Jane Ciabattari, writing on the BBC culture website, calls the hobbits' struggle to take the ring to Mordor "a cracked mirror reflection of the young soldiers caught in the blasted landscape and slaughter of trench warfare on the Western Front." In one of his letters in 1960, Tolkien himself wrote that "The Dead Marshes [just north of Mordor] and
7194-430: The head of the Great Gulf (later the Mouths of Anduin). Sauron settled in Mordor in the Second Age of Middle-earth , and it remained the pivot of his evil contemplations. He built his great stronghold Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower, near the volcano Mount Doom ( Orodruin ), and became known as the Dark Lord of Mordor. Sauron aided the elves in the creation of the Rings of Power in Eregion in Eriador , and secretly forged
7303-433: The king to join in the fight against Sauron. Gandalf sets off to gather warriors of the Westfold to assist Théoden in the coming battle with Saruman. Gandalf arrives just in time to defeat Saruman's army in the battle of Helm's Deep . Gandalf and the King ride to Isengard , which has just been destroyed by Treebeard and his Ents , who are accompanied by Merry and Pippin. Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff and expels him from
7412-451: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grey_Pilgrim&oldid=278179747 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Gandalf Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien 's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of
7521-399: The mid-1920s. Carpenter acknowledged that Tolkien was probably mistaken about the origin of the postcard. An additional influence may have been Väinämöinen , a demigod and the central character in Finnish folklore and the national epic Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot . Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, magical singing voice. Throughout
7630-705: The mountainside. Gandalf also dies, and his body lies on the peak while his spirit travels "out of thought and time". Gandalf is "sent back" as Gandalf the White, and returns to life on the mountain top. Gwaihir carries him to Lothlórien , where he is healed of his injuries and re-clothed in white robes by Galadriel . He travels to Fangorn Forest, where he encounters Aragorn , Gimli , and Legolas (who are tracking Merry and Pippin ). They mistake him for Saruman , but he stops their attacks and reveals himself. They travel to Rohan , where Gandalf finds that Théoden has been further weakened by Wormtongue's influence. He breaks Wormtongue's hold over Théoden, and convinces
7739-429: The name Gandalf to the leader of the Dwarves , the character later called Thorin Oakenshield . The name is taken from the same source as all the other Dwarf names (save Balin ) in The Hobbit : the " Catalogue of Dwarves " in the Völuspá . The Old Norse name Gandalfr incorporates the words gandr meaning "wand", "staff" or (especially in compounds) " magic " and álfr " elf ". The name Gandalf
7848-497: The name the Dwarves of Erebor had given to Olórin in the language they used "externally" in their daily affairs, while Tharkûn is the (untranslated) name, presumably of the same meaning, that the Dwarves gave him in their native Khuzdul language. Gandalf's role and importance was substantially increased in the conception of The Lord of the Rings , and in a letter of 1954, Tolkien refers to Gandalf as an " angel incarnate". In
7957-539: The neighbouring landscapes to the monster Grendel 's wilderness in Beowulf . In particular, they compare Frodo and Sam's crossing of the Dead Marshes and what Gollum called its "tricksy lights", with Beowulf 's "fire on the water"; and their traversal of the parched Morgai, full of rocks and vicious thorns, with Grendel's dangerous moors. Lee and Solopova write that the Beowulf description both emphasises
8066-516: The oldest and least in stature, but Círdan the Shipwright felt that he was the greatest on their first meeting in the Havens, and gave him Narya , the Ring of Fire. Saruman , the chief Wizard, learned of the gift and resented it. Gandalf hid the ring well, and it was not widely known until he left with the other ring-bearers at the end of the Third Age that he, and not Círdan, was the holder of
8175-481: The other two roles are taken by Frodo and Aragorn . The Gandalf character has been featured in radio, television, stage, video game, music, and film adaptations, including Ralph Bakshi 's 1978 animated film . His best-known portrayal is by Ian McKellen in Peter Jackson 's 2001–2003 The Lord of the Rings film series, where the actor based his acclaimed performance on Tolkien himself. McKellen reprised
8284-452: The philologist Helge Fauskanger notes that Tolkien had been using both the elements of the name, "mor" and "dor" (as in Gondor, Eriador) for decades before assembling them into "Mordor". Fauskanger writes that there are however several words that sound like "mor" with connotations of darkness. Italian moro (cf. Latin maurus , black, and Mauri , a North African tribe) means a Moor , and
8393-701: The phrase meant "the announcement of the Last Day" by a crack of thunder , or "the sound of the last trump[et]" (he cites the use of "crack" to mean a trumpet's sound in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight at lines 116 and 1166) at the Last Judgment as described in the Book of Revelation . He further states that "Doom" originally meant "judgement", and by its sound and its use in the word "doomsday" carries
8502-405: The quest was born. Gandalf meets with Bilbo in the opening of The Hobbit . He arranges for a tea party, to which he invites the thirteen dwarves, and thus arranges the travelling group central to the narrative. Gandalf contributes the map and key to Erebor to assist the quest. On this quest Gandalf acquires the sword, Glamdring , from the trolls' treasure hoard. Elrond informs them that
8611-518: The remaining five on Weathertop a few nights later. Gandalf reaches Rivendell just before Frodo's arrival. In Rivendell, Gandalf helps Elrond drive off the Nazgûl pursuing Frodo, and plays a leading role in the Council of Elrond as the only person who knows the full history of the ring. He reveals that Saruman has betrayed them and is in league with Sauron. When it is decided that the Ring has to be destroyed, Gandalf volunteers to accompany Frodo—now
8720-433: The ring and disappears, Gandalf urges his old friend to leave the ring to Frodo, as they had planned. Bilbo becomes hostile, accusing Gandalf of trying to steal the ring. Alarmed, Gandalf tells Bilbo that is foolish. Coming to his senses, Bilbo admits that the ring has been troubling him, and leaves it behind for Frodo as he departs for Rivendell . Over the next 17 years, Gandalf travels extensively, searching for answers on
8829-468: The ring. He finds some answers in Isildur's scroll, in the archives of Minas Tirith . Gandalf searches long and hard for Gollum, often assisted by Aragorn, who eventually succeeds in capturing Gollum. Gandalf questions Gollum, threatening him with fire when he proves unwilling to speak. Gandalf learns that Sauron had imprisoned Gollum in his fortress of Barad-dûr , and tortured him to reveal what he knew of
8938-574: The river Danube or Anduin; supported by "wild Tartar horsemen" or "eastern cavalry"; the siege of the walls by "Turkish sappers" or Mordor's Orcs; relief by a battle further downstream, whether by Charles, Duke of Lorraine of Imre Thokoly 's army, or by Aragorn over the Corsairs of Umbar; and the breaking of the siege by an army from the north, whether Polish forces or the Riders of Rohan. Mordor features in all three films of Peter Jackson 's Lord of
9047-614: The role in Jackson's 2012–2014 film series The Hobbit . Tolkien derived the name Gandalf from Gandálfr, a dwarf in the Völuspá 's Dvergatal , a list of dwarf-names. In Old Norse , the name means staff-elf . This is reflected in his name Tharkûn , which is "said to mean 'Staff-man'" in Khuzdul , the language Tolkien invented for his Dwarves . Gandalf is given several names and epithets in Tolkien's writings. Faramir calls him
9156-416: The same letter Tolkien states he was given the form of an old man in order to limit his powers on Earth. Both in 1965 and 1971 Tolkien again refers to Gandalf as an angelic being. In a 1946 letter, Tolkien stated that he thought of Gandalf as an "Odinic wanderer". Other commentators have similarly compared Gandalf to the Norse god Odin in his "Wanderer" guise—an old man with one eye, a long white beard,
9265-540: The servants of Sauron will be searching for him. Outside the Shire, Gandalf encounters the wizard Radagast the Brown , who brings the news that the Nazgûl have ridden out of Mordor—and a request from Saruman that Gandalf come to Isengard . Gandalf asks him to send out animals to observe the Nazgûl, and to report to him at Isengard. Gandalf leaves a letter to Frodo (urging his immediate departure) with Barliman Butterbur at
9374-457: The southern part of Mordor, was less arid and more fertile; Sauron's slaves farmed this region to support his armies, and streams fed the salt Sea of Núrnen. To the east of Gorgoroth lay the dry plain of Lithlad. Mount Doom, Orodruin, or Amon Amarth ("Mountain of Fate") is more than an ordinary volcano; it responds to Sauron's commands and his presence, lapsing into dormancy when he is away from Mordor, and becoming active again when he returns. It
9483-522: The story behind The Hobbit . It tells of a chance meeting between Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield , a Dwarf -king in exile, in the Prancing Pony inn at Bree . Gandalf had for some time foreseen the coming war with Sauron , and knew that the North was especially vulnerable. If Rivendell were to be attacked, the dragon Smaug could cause great devastation. He persuaded Thorin that he could help him regain his lost territory of Erebor from Smaug, and so
9592-567: The summit of Ngauruhoe because the Māori hold it to be sacred, but some scenes on the slopes of Mount Doom were filmed on the slopes of Ruapehu. In the TV series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power , Mount Doom undergoes a phreatomagmatic eruption in the Second Age . This was set off when orcs opened a floodgate , releasing water on to hot magma deep underground. The water would,
9701-644: The sword was made in Gondolin , a city long ago destroyed, where Elrond's father lived as a child. After escaping from the Misty Mountains pursued by goblins and wargs , the party is carried to safety by the Great Eagles . Gandalf then persuades Beorn to house and provision the company for the trip through Mirkwood . Gandalf leaves the company before they enter Mirkwood, saying that he had pressing business to attend to. He turns up again before
9810-578: The third of the Elven-rings . Gandalf's relationship with Saruman, the head of their Order, was strained. The Wizards were commanded to aid Men , Elves , and Dwarves , but only through counsel; they were forbidden to use force to dominate them, though Saruman increasingly disregarded this. Gandalf suspected early on that an evil presence, the Necromancer of Dol Guldur , was not a Nazgûl but Sauron himself. He went to Dol Guldur to discover
9919-589: The thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils. But Gandalf stood firm. "You cannot pass," he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire , wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn . Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass." J. R. R. Tolkien , The Fellowship of the Ring Taking charge of
10028-453: The topmost tower, whereas in Jackson's film trilogy the Eye appeared between two horn-like spires that curved upwards from the tower top. In Womack's view the 2019 biopic Tolkien explicitly connects Mordor to trench warfare: "riders become bloody knights; smoke billows and turns into the form of dark kings." The third verse of Led Zeppelin 's 1969 song " Ramble On " by Jimmy Page features
10137-604: The truth, but the Necromancer withdrew before him, only to return with greater force, and the White Council was formed in response. Galadriel had hoped Gandalf would lead the council, but he refused, declining to be bound by any but the Valar who had sent him. Saruman was chosen instead, as the most knowledgeable about Sauron's work in the Second Age . Gandalf returned to Dol Guldur "at great peril" and learned that
10246-412: The unfolding Battle of the Pelennor Fields . "This, then, is my counsel," [said Gandalf.] "We have not the Ring. In wisdom or great folly it has been sent away to be destroyed, lest it destroy us. Without it we cannot by force defeat [Sauron's] force. But we must at all costs keep his Eye from his true peril... We must call out his hidden strength, so that he shall empty his land... We must make ourselves
10355-464: The vast shades amid which it stood, the cruel pinnacles and iron crown of the topmost tower of Barad-dûr." The structure could not be clearly seen because Sauron created shadows about himself that crept out from the tower. In Frodo 's vision on Amon Hen , he perceived the immense tower as "...wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black, immeasurably strong, mountain of iron, gate of steel, tower of adamant... Barad-dûr, Fortress of Sauron." There
10464-487: The volcano and the watchful Eye of Sauron from an exaggeratedly Gothic Barad-dûr, while the Army of the West gathers for the final battle in front of the Black Gate and witnesses the cataclysmic destruction of everything Sauron had built when the Ring is destroyed. For Jackson's film trilogy, Richard Taylor and his design team built an 18 ft (5 m) high miniature (" big-ature ") of Barad-dûr. Jackson's The Lord of
10573-444: The volcano of Stromboli at night, Tolkien said he had "never seen anything that looked so much like [Mount Doom]." The International Astronomical Union names all mountains on Saturn 's moon Titan after mountains in Tolkien's work. In 2012, they named a Titanian mountain " Doom Mons " after Mount Doom. The Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth , whose lyrics deal primarily with Viking culture and Norse mythology, and
10682-489: The walls of Erebor disguised as an old man, revealing himself when it seems the Men of Esgaroth and the Mirkwood Elves will fight Thorin and the dwarves over Smaug's treasure. The Battle of Five Armies ensues when hosts of goblins and wargs attack all three parties. After the battle, Gandalf accompanies Bilbo back to the Shire , revealing at Rivendell what his pressing business had been: Gandalf had once again urged
10791-582: The west lay the narrow land of Ithilien , a province of Gondor; to the northwest, the Dead Marshes and Dagorlad, the Battle Plain; to the north, Wilderland; to the northeast and east, Rhûn; to the southeast, Khand; and to the south, Harad . Not far from the Dead Marshes is another dismal swamp, the Nindalf or Wetwang, beside the Emyn Muil hills. In the northwest, the pass of Cirith Gorgor led into
10900-650: The wizard: the White Rider. However, characters who speak Elvish still refer to him as Mithrandir . At times in The Lord of the Rings , other characters address Gandalf by insulting nicknames: Stormcrow, Láthspell ("Ill-news" in Old English ), and "Grey Fool". Tolkien describes Gandalf as the last of the wizards to appear in Middle-earth , one who "seemed the least, less tall than the others, and in looks more aged, grey-haired and grey-clad, and leaning on
11009-419: The wizards was to advise and counsel but never to attempt to match Sauron's strength with their own. It might be, too, that the kings and lords of Middle-earth would be more receptive to the advice of a humble old man than a more glorious form giving them direct commands. The wizards arrived in Middle-earth separately, early in the Third Age ; Gandalf was the last, landing in the Havens of Mithlond. He seemed
11118-466: Was a look-out post, the "Window of the Eye", at the top of the tower. This window was visible from Mount Doom where Frodo and Sam had a terrible glimpse of the Eye of Sauron. Barad-dûr's west gate is described as "huge" and the west bridge as "a vast bridge of iron." In The Return of the King , Sam Gamgee witnessed the destruction of Barad-dûr: "... towers and battlements, tall as hills, founded upon
11227-469: Was all the more reason for him to go. As one of the Maiar, Gandalf was not a mortal Man but an angelic being who had taken human form. As one of those spirits, Olórin was in service to the Creator ( Eru Ilúvatar ) and the Creator's ' Secret Fire '. Along with the other Maiar who entered into Middle-earth as the five Wizards, he took on the specific form of an old man as a sign of his humility . The role of
11336-462: Was composed of three large regions. The core of Sauron's realm was in the northwest: the arid plateau of Gorgoroth, with the active volcano Mount Doom located in the middle. Sauron's main fortress Barad-dûr was on the north side of Gorgoroth, at the end of a spur of the Ash Mountains. Gorgoroth was volcanic and inhospitable to life, but home to Mordor's mines, forges, and garrisons. Núrn,
11445-471: Was defeated on the slopes of Orodruin. Sauron fled into Rhûn, and Barad-dûr was levelled. Gondor built fortresses at the entrances to Mordor to prevent his return, maintaining the "Watchful Peace" for over a thousand years. The Great Plague in Gondor caused the fortifications guarding Mordor to be abandoned, and Mordor again filled with evil things. The Ringwraiths took advantage of Gondor's decline to re-enter Mordor, conquered Minas Ithil , and took over
11554-481: Was guarded by a tower, built by Gondor. The route traversed Torech Ungol, the lair of the giant spider Shelob . Inside the Ephel Dúath ran a lower parallel ridge, the Morgai, separated by a narrow valley, a "dying land not yet dead" with "low scrubby trees", "coarse grey grass-tussocks", "withered mosses", "great writhing, tangled brambles", and thickets of briars with long, stabbing thorns. The interior of Mordor
11663-598: Was influenced by Tolkien's own experiences in the industrial Black Country of the English Midlands , and by his time fighting in the trenches of the Western Front in the First World War . Tolkien was also familiar with the account of the monster Grendel 's unearthly landscapes in the Old English poem Beowulf . Others have observed that Tolkien depicts Mordor as specifically evil , and as
11772-656: Was not proud, and sought neither power nor praise ... Mostly he journeyed tirelessly on foot, leaning on a staff, and so he was called among Men of the North Gandalf 'the Elf of the Wand'. For they deemed him (though in error) to be of Elven-kind, since he would at times work wonders among them, loving especially the beauty of fire; and yet such marvels he wrought mostly for mirth and delight, and desired not that any should hold him in awe or take his counsels out of fear. ... Yet it
11881-455: Was the Enemy of Sauron , opposing the fire that devours and wastes with the fire that kindles, and succours in wanhope and distress; but his joy, and his swift wrath, were veiled in garments grey as ash, so that only those that knew him well glimpsed the flame that was within. Merry he could be, and kindly to the young and simple, yet quick at times to sharp speech and the rebuking of folly; but he
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