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By Root 1720 0

of the brief narrative just cited, that each Istar was chosen by each Vala for his innate characteristics – perhaps even that they were members of the ‘people’ of that Vala, in the same sense as is said of Sauron in the Valaquenta (The Silmarillion p. 32) that ‘in his beginning he was of the Maiar of Aulë, and he remained mighty in the lore of that people’. It is thus very notable that Curumo (Saruman) was chosen by Aulë. There is no hint of an explanation of why Yavanna’s evident desire that the Istari should include in their number one with a particular love of the things of her making could only be achieved by imposing Radagast’s company on Saruman; while the suggestion in the essay on the Istari (p. 505) that in becoming enamoured of the wild creatures of Middle-earth Radagast neglected the purpose for which he was sent is perhaps not perfectly in accord with the idea of his being specially chosen by Yavanna. Moreover both in the essay on the Istari and in Of the Rings of Power Saruman came first and he came alone. On the other hand it is possible to see a hint of the story of Radagast’s unwelcome company in Saruman’s extreme scorn for him, as related by Gandalf to the Council of Elrond:

‘ “Radagast the Brown!” laughed Saruman, and he no longer concealed his scorn. “Radagast the Bird-tamer! Radagast the Simple! Radagast the Fool! Yet he had just the wit to play the part that I set him.” ’

Whereas in the essay on the Istari it is said that the two who passed into the East had no names save Ithryn Luin ‘the Blue Wizards’ (meaning of course that they had no names in the West of Middle-earth), here they are named, as Alatar and Pallando, and are associated with Oromë, though no hint is given of the reason for this relationship. It might be (though this is the merest guess) that Oromë of all the Valar had the greatest knowledge of the further parts of Middle-earth, and that the Blue Wizards were destined to journey in those regions and to remain there.

Beyond the fact that these notes on the choosing of the Istari certainly date from after the completion of The Lord of the Rings I can find no evidence of their relation, in time of composition, to the essay on the Istari. 7

I know of no other writings about the Istari save some very rough and in part uninterpretable notes that are certainly much later than any of the foregoing, and probably date from 1972:

We must assume that they [the Istari] were all Maiar, that is persons of the ‘angelic’ order, though not necessarily of the same rank. The Maiar were ‘spirits’, but capable of self-incarnation, and could take ‘humane’ (especially Elvish) forms. Saruman is said (e.g. by Gandalf himself ) to have been the chief of the Istari – that is, higher in Valinórean stature than the others. Gandalf was evidently the next in order. Radagast is presented as a person of much less power and wisdom. Of the other two nothing is said in published work save the reference to the Five Wizards in the altercation between Gandalf and Saruman [The Two Towers III 10]. Now these Maiar were sent by the Valar at a crucial moment in the history of Middle-earth to enhance the resistance of the Elves of the West, waning in power, and of the uncorrupted Men of the West, greatly outnumbered by those of the East and South. It may be seen that they were free each to do what they could in this mission; that they were not commanded or supposed to act together as a small central body of power and wisdom; and that each had different powers and inclinations and were chosen by the Valar with this in mind.

Other writings are concerned exclusively with Gandalf (Olórin, Mithrandir). On the reverse of the isolated page containing the narrative of the choice of the Istari by the Valar appears the following very remarkable note:

Elendil and Gil-galad were partners; but this was ‘the Last Alliance’ of Elves and Men. In Sauron’s final overthrow, Elves were not effectively concerned at the point of action. Legolas probably achieved least of the Nine Walkers. Galadriel, the greatest of the Eldar surviving