The Istari

This is the first in a series of three posts of interesting quotes from J.R.R. Tolkien’s, Unfinished Tales. The posts will highlight three obscure facets of Middle Earth.

“Wizard is a translation of Quenya istar (Sindarin ithron): one of the members of an “order” (as they called it), claiming to possess, and exhibiting, eminent knowledge of the history and nature of the World. The translation (though suited in its relation to “wise” and other ancient words of knowing similar to that of istar in Quenya) is not perhaps happy, since the Heren Islarion or “Order of Wizards” was quite distinct from the “wizards” and magicians of the later legend.”

During the Third Age of Middle Earth there were five wizards:

Saruman	the White
Gandalf	the Grey
Radagast	the Brown
Morinehtar	the Blue
Rómestámo	the Blue