Gandalf The Grey

Who is Gandalf The Grey?

Gandalf the Grey, later known as Gandalf the White, also known as Olórin (Quenya Tengwar), Tharkun, and Mithrandir (Sindarin), was an Istari. Istari were Maiar that were specially chosen by the Valar to help aid the people of Middle-earth in the fight against evil. The Istari (Men called them Wizards) took the form of Men, but possessed much greater physical and mental power. For over 2,000 years, Gandalf worked most faithfully against the rising powers of evil in Middle-earth. Gandalf is the wisest of the Maiar. He was known as Olórin, who sometimes dwelt in the gardens of Irmo and was the pupil of Nienna, who taught him wisdom and pity, and of Manwë and Varda. When the Valar decided to send the order of the Wizards (also known as the Istari) to Middle-earth, Olórin was proposed by Manwë and Varda, in order to counsel and assist all those in Middle-earth who opposed the Dark Lord Sauron. Upon entrance in Middle-earth, Gandalf (Olorin) spent a good thousand or two years walking among the elves as a stranger and learning from them and teaching them. He later revealed himself as Istari, and has come to be known as the wisest of that order. He is the wisest and most powerful of the Five Wizards: although some have conjectured that Saruman was more powerful due to his pre-War position as head of the Wise, Tolkien wrote that Saruman knew Gandalf possessed the greater power and wisdom and hated him for it.