The Blue Wizards are one of the great mysteries
of Middle-earth. Not only is there very little written about
them, with Tolkien himself speaking about them in a theoretical manner. But their story is drastically different between
Tolkien’s earlier and later writings. First, we will start with the earliest, and
likely most well known version of the Blue Wizards. As we’ve seen in our videos on Gandalf and
Radagast, the Valar chose the Istari or wizards as emissaries to Middle-earth to assist the
peoples in their fight against Sauron. Manwe, lord of the Valar, summons a council
where these Istari are chosen. At that time, Orome, the hunter, choses Alatar
- the first of the blue wizards, who decides to bring along his friend Pallando - the second
blue wizard. Alatar and Pallando come to Middle-earth in
1000 of the Third Age, the same year as the other wizards. After their arrival, they travel to the East
of Middle-earth, as does Saruman. Knowing that the blue wizards are associated
with Orome, it makes a lot of sense that they would travel to the East. It was Orome who led the first Elves who awoke
far east of the Sea of Rhun to the Westlands of Middle-earth. Nearly 1500 years later, Saruman would return
to the North West of Middle-earth, while the Blue Wizards were not. While some may speculate that Saruman himself
may have had some part to play in the seeming disappearance of the Blue Wizards, it should
be noted that there is no direct evidence for this. Also, it should be noted that in Unfinished
Tales, it leads us to believe that Saruman’s fall comes much later than his journey east
- not until around 2463, after Saruman has returned, that a rift forms between him and
Gandalf. When the White Council is formed, Saruman
is appointed its leader only after Gandalf turns it down. In Unfinished Tales, we are also told that
Gandalf has “greater strength and greater influence upon the dwellers in Middle-earth,
even though he hid his power and desired neither fear nor reverence.” Saruman’s jealousy of Gandalf eventually
turns to hatred. While we will certainly cover this in a later
video on Saruman, all this to say, we can safely assume Saruman didn’t have anything
to do with the Blue Wizards ultimate fate. Even Tolkien himself, in this early version
was unsure what became of the Blue Wizards... In Letter 211, the author states: I really
do not know anything clearly about the other two [wizards] – since they do not concern
the history of the North.West. I think they went as emissaries to distant
regions, East and South, far out of Númenórean range: missionaries to 'enemy-occupied' lands,
as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I
fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect
they were founders or beginners of secret cults and 'magic' traditions that outlasted
the fall of Sauron. We also know from Unfinished Tales that Gandalf
is considered the only wizard to have remained faithful to his task, and the sole Istari
to return to Valinor. That is all that was known of the Blue Wizards
for quite some time. However, nearing the end of his life, Tolkien
returns to the Blue Wizards, where he makes some rather large changes… Rather than arrive in 1000TA, instead they
arrive much earlier, at roughly the same time that Glorfindel returns to Middle-earth in
1600 SA. This is a significant change in the timeline,
as it means the Blue Wizards were in Middle-earth for over 2,800 years before the other Istari
arrive. While the newly resurrected Glorfindel is
tasked with aiding Elrond in the war in Eriador, the Blue Wizards are tasked with travelling
to the East. Tolkien also implies that they no longer are
considered to have drifted from their mission, stating in a text found in The Peoples of
Middle-earth: Their task was to circumvent Sauron: to bring
help to the few tribes of Men that had rebelled from Melkor-worship, to stir up rebellion
... and after his first fall to search out his hiding (in which they failed) and to cause
[?dissension and disarray] among the dark East ... They must have had very great influence
on the history of the Second Age and Third Age in weakening and disarraying the forces
of East ... who would both in the Second Age and Third Age otherwise have ... outnumbered
the West. In this version of the Middle-earth tale,
Alatar and Pallando come to be known as Morinehtar and Romestamo, names which mean Darkness-slayer
and East-helper. Let’s be honest, I think Alatar came out
on top with the name changes. So, in this version, the wizards travel to
the East, where during the early Third Age, through the end of the Watchful Peace, they
are tasked with finding where Sauron dwells, in which they fail. So during this time, Sauron manages to remain
hidden from the Blue Wizards, while also corrupting the Men of the East. Unfortunately, this was a common occurrence
in this realm of Middle-earth, as during the First Age, Morgoth had corrupted many of the
men in this area. In the second age, after Morgoth is defeated,
Sauron escapes the judgement of the Valar and flees to the East and South where he turns
the men to evil and dominates them. To the Easterlings, Sauron comes to be feared
as a king and a god. Lending further weight to Sam’s thoughts:
He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of
heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he
would rather have stayed there in peace.” When Sauron is defeated in the War of Elves
and Sauron in ____, he retreats to Mordor and continues expanding his sway to the east,
gaining servants and worshippers. At some point during the coming years, Sauron
gives a ring of power to at least one of the lord of men in the east - that man was known
as Khamul. With the ring, Khamul becomes a powerful sorcerer
and ruler in the East - that is, until the side effects kicked in, and he becomes a wraith
- second only to the Witch King. In 2060 of the third age, Gandalf enters Dol
Guldur, and Sauron flees before being discovered. As he tends to do, Sauron flees to the East,
where he once again works to corrupt the Easterlings and bend them to his will. This time for nearly 400 years - the time
known as the Watchful Peace in the West of Middle-earth. Now we know that Morinehtar and Romestamo
ensure that the forces of the East do not outnumber the West, which helps our Fellowship
heroes secure the ultimate victory in the War of the Ring. Personally, I am very intrigued my Tolkien’s
line stating part of their mission was to “bring help to the few tribes of Men that
had rebelled from Melkor-worship, to stir up rebellion. The idea that the Blue wizards were assisting
groups of men in the East, much like Gandalf does in the West, to fight the forces of Sauron
is a captivating idea indeed. So where do these two very different accounts
of the Blue Wizards leave us? And is there any chance that other characters
in Middle-earth discovered their ultimate fate? The earlier arrival is certainly an interesting
one, as we have references to the blue wizards in the main books such as LOTR. For instance, when Saruman in his wrath says
to Gandalf: “Later! Yes, when you also have the Keys of Barad-dur
itself, I suppose and the crowns of the seven kings and the rods of the Five Wizards”
So we know that either way, Saruman does know of the Blue Wizards, even if he didn’t arrive
in Middle-earth with them. Is this simply because they all lived in Valinor? Though he arrived in Middle-earth 2841 years
later, he may yet have met them during the nearly 1500 years he spent in the East. We can only guess! In researching my last video on Aragorn’s
life after The Lord of the Rings, I found it interesting to learn that in the years
following Sauron’s downfall that Aragorn and Eomer had multiple battles with the Easterlings
in the land of Rhun. Could King Elessar have learned of, or even
met the Blue Wizards during his time in the East? In either version of their story - whether
founders of secret cults that were around during this time, or as heroes in the East,
weakening and disarraying those loyal to Sauron - they would certainly have had a direct impact
on the threats to Gondor even after Sauron’s fall. Now I want to make it clear - this is just
an observation of my own and not even something I necessarily even believe would have happened. I mean, the blue wizards were actively looking
for Sauron in the East and didn’t find him, so it’s hard to say if Aragorn could’ve
found the wizards by chance. I truly believe that part of what makes Tolkien’s
world so amazing is the fact that it is so big, so detailed, yet there are still mysteries
and things that even the author doesn’t know for certain. Do you
think the Blue Wizards ever had to face off against Khamul, the second greatest of the
ringwraiths? As always, I want to say a huge thank you
to my Patreon supporters who make this channel possible. Including wizard-level Patrons: Tom DaBombadil19,
skycarcass, JudyiHopps, and Jim Limber Davis. To find out how you can score some exclusive
perks and help the channel, visit patreon.com/nerdoftherings. Thanks so much for watching and we’ll see
you next time on Nerd of the Rings
Could we? Absolutely. Should we? Probably not. I like some points of plot to remain a mystery. That being said, will I be upset if they appear? If they can find a way to fit the story of the show and still make that particular scene/s feel like it fits, then I’d enjoy it.
I understand this show isn’t going to be a 1:1 adaptation of what we have written already. I had to remove my rose tinted lore goggles for The Witcher and The Last Kingdom and view it as a different take on the universe I know and it made them much more enjoyable.
That being said, I can’t just forget what I’ve learned from reading and there are still things that would kill a Blue Wizard appearance for me. Like if they showed up for no reason, to serve no plot movement and somehow they were casting blizzard and lightning spells just so they could make use of the CGI budget I’d probably cringe pretty hard, make sure to stay off of reddit for a bit, and then go back to eating my popcorn and watching what comes next.
I wasn't going to respond but whatever. I can actually see the blue wizards appearing. The recent cast announced featured quite a number of Black men & women. And while there are those who are complaining about them being potential Numenorians and/or Eldar. I see them as Haradrim and Easternlings. I hope they're Haradrim & Easternlings simply b/c I want to know what went down in the East and South. And that brings me to the Blue Wizards. It would make sense for a few of the aforementioned announced cast to be wizards. Sir Lenny Henry was announced and he's 62 years old. Perhaps he's a Blue wizard who traveled south? It wouldn't make sense for the Istari who traveled East and South to appear as old white men - they wouldn't fit in thus making it difficult for them to have any influence on the race of men. Tolkien's only requirements for Istari in Middle-Earth is for them to be garbed as a old men.
Unless it's no more than a mysterious glimpse or contextual allusion, then I certainly hope not. Maybe it's arbitrary of me, but I think that the Blue Wizards are a particularly 'special' gap in the lore that shouldn't be filled.
I mean, no? I thought the series was 2nd age and timeline-wise I didn’t think any of the wizards would be around. Right?
From a letter Tolkien himself wrote
It would make no sense at all for them to appear unless the scope of the series stretches beyond Numenor which it doesn't sound like it will.
I think they absolutely should. Lotr is wizard heavy to the general audience. Tolkien set it up in his later works and why not? It would be fun! Amazon has options for spin offs. Why not introduce them in season 1-2 and have them go east/ south in their own spin off. How fun would that be?
Hopefully not. I prefer them coming up with original stories to fill in the blanks rather than just bending what already exists.
didnt the istari come at the beginning of the third age? i thought the show was set during the second age. correct me if wrong
Can't recall, but was Cirdan around before the world was changed? I'd like to see him involved somehow.