At the end of our last class we were asked to think about
Gandalf’s powers and where they came from. That question caught me a bit off
guard as I had never really questioned the source of Gandalf’s magic. To fully
answer this question, we have to go far back into Middle Earth’s past to a time
before even The Hobbit.
First
and foremost, Gandalf is not human, nor is his name actually Gandalf. He is a
Maia (plural Maiar), which were spirits that helped the Valar (More spirits.
These were created by Ilúvatar, the supreme deity that created Middle Earth, to
help him keep order in creation.) shape the world. The Maiar are immortal, so
Gandalf was not only around the first time Sauron (Also a Maia) fell, but for
thousands of years before that. Gandalf’s true name is Olórin and he is the
wisest of the five Maiar sent to Middle Earth. These five Maiar are the five
wizards of Middle Earth and were sent solely to help the people of Middle Earth
overcome Sauron. While in Middle Earth, they appear as old Men, but are capable
of changing their appearance at will. All five of the wizards have a staff, and
their powers are focused through this staff. The exact extent of his powers are
uncertain, especially since the Valar instructed him not to use his full power
while in Middle Earth, but the abilities he does show include controlling
lightning, creating a magic shield, making fire, communicating with animals and
destroying the bridge when facing the Balrog.
So long story short, where does Gandalf’s power come from?
In a way it comes from himself, but ultimately it comes from Ilúvatar, the
creator and supreme god of Middle Earth. And despite how rarely he uses it, I
have a feeling Gandalf is more powerful than most people assume.
(P.S. This is the barest of summaries of Gandalf and the
Maiar and doesn’t even scratch the surface of most of the backstory to Middle
Earth. I would definitely check these links out if you want to know more)
Umm... I can't pronounce half of these. But interesting! I never thought to look into this. I thought it was something Tolkien made up.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about where Gandalf got his powers from either, but this all very interesting. I think his history and the source of his powers, like you said, make him more powerful than people think.
ReplyDeleteThis. Is. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteGandalf is my favorite character like in general, he sits a little higher up than Patrick Star. I did some research once about Gandalf because I never really knew where he came from, but I never discovered this information. This is too cool!