From Wise to Wicked: When and Why Did Saruman Become Evil?

In the Third Age of Middle-earth, Saruman the White arrived in the Grey Havens, bearing wisdom and a magical prowess that could be of great aid to the free peoples.

His coming was as the lighting of a beacon amidst the shadows cast by Sauron.

Yet, Saruman, who had the potential to save many lives, was destined to betray those who he professed to serve and emerge as a treacherous turncloak of the very worst ilk.

The tale of Saruman the White is one of light corrupted and of wisdom twisted.

But how and when did Saruman succumb to the darkness?

What twisted path led him astray, and for how long did he secretly consort with the enemy?

These questions shall find their answers within this video.

Join me as we unravel Saruman's fall from grace, a journey fraught with intrigue and betrayal.

First, let us return to the beginning of time itself.

Saruman belonged to the first order of beings to come into existence.

These spirits were known as the Ainur.

After the creation of the universe, some of these Ainur descended into the world.

Which was called Arda.

These Ainur divided into two orders, known as the Valar and the Maiar.

The Maiar were less powerful than the Valar, and it was to this lesser order that Saruman and the other wizards belonged.

Saruman's original name was Curumo.

He served a powerful Valar known as Aulë the Smith.

Along with other Maiar such as Sauron, who was at this time named Mairon.

In these ancient so-called days before days, Curumo and Mairon would have likely known each other well.

And perhaps, have even been friends.

After all, they shared several traits.

Aside from being intelligent and ambitious, they both had a love for order.

Yearning to sculpt chaos into harmony.

Sauron had, in fact, been very like Saruman, and so still understood him quickly and could guess what he would be likely to think and do.

Though Mairon was quick to descend into darkness, becoming known as Sauron, Curumo was in no such rush.

He served the Valar well for thousands of years.

So well that when the Valar were deciding which of the Maiar would be sent to Middle-earth to become wizards, he was deemed to be a good candidate.

As detailed in the unfinished tales.

Who would go, for they must be mighty, peers of Sauron, but must forgo might.

And clothe themselves in flesh so as to treat on equality and win the trust of elves and men.

But two only came forward, Curumo, who was chosen by Aulë.

And Alatar, who was sent by Oromë.

Then Manwë asked, where was Olorin, and Olorin, who was clad in gray.

And having just entered from a journey had seated himself at the edge of the council.

Asked what Manwë would have of him.

Manwë replied that he wished Olorin to go as the third messenger to Middle-earth.

But Olorin declared that he was too weak for such a task, and that he feared Sauron.

Then Manwë said that that was all the more reason why he should go.

And that he commanded Olorin, illegible words follow that seems to contain word third.

But at that Varda looked up and said, not as the third.

And Curumo remembered it.

Curumo willingly volunteered to become one of the wizards.

His heart ablaze with purpose.

While Olorin, who would later be known as Gandalf, was reluctant.

And therefore had to be ordered to go by the decree of Manwë himself.

Manwë's display of faith in Olorin, combined with Varda's comment, implying that she deemed Olorin to be equal to or above the other wizards.

Ignited a spark of envy that took root in the very soul of Curumo.

Upon Eriador's western shores, the five wizards arrived in Middle-earth.

Curumo, a figure of mystery, graced the Havens first.

Then came the others.

Each was greeted by Círdan the Shipwright, the keeper of the Havens and Lord of Lindon.

Círdan was the secret keeper of Narya, one of the three Elven Rings of Power.

He would choose to bestow this kingly gift upon the wizards.

Though Curumo came first and was the head of the order of the Istari, Círdan made the decision to bestow Narya upon Olorin.

The first to come was one of noble mien and bearing, with raven hair, and a fair voice, and he was clad in white.

Great skill he had in works of hand, and he was regarded by well-nigh all.

Even by the Eldar, as the head of the order.

Others there were also: two clad in sea-blue, and one in earthen brown.

And the last came one who seemed the least, less tall than the others, and in looks more aged, gray-haired and gray-clad, and leaning on a staff.

But Círdan from their first meeting at the Grey Havens divined in him reverence, and he gave to his keeping the Third Ring, Narya the Red.

Curumo would later discover that it was Olorin who was deemed most deserving of bearing Narya.

Upon learning of this revelation, the bitterness within Curumo's heart grew.

He greatly desired a ring of power for his own, and therefore harbored much envy and resentment towards Olorin.

Now that the wizards wandered the lands of Middle-earth, men gave the wizards new names.

Curumo became known as Saruman the White.

While Olorin was called Gandalf the Grey.

Three more Maiar joined Curumo and Olorin in Middle-earth, Radagast the Brown and the two Blue Wizards.

Saruman went east with the two Blue Wizards for many years, whilst Gandalf and Radagast remained in the West.

For the purposes of this video, all that we need to know of this period is that Saruman was studying the ancient ways of Sauron.

During which time he developed an envy of the Dark Lord.

Too long he had studied the ways of Sauron in hope to defeat him, and now he envied him as a rival rather than hated his works.

In the dark waters of Sauron's ambition, Saruman found his reflection as he succumbed to the allure of imitation.

And so, Saruman, ensnared in the throes of this bitter longing, followed in the footsteps of Sauron.

Saruman returned from the distant reaches of the East, around the year 2463 of the Third Age.

His reappearance rather conveniently aligned with the end of the Watchful Peace.

And the re-emergence of the ominous shadow that was growing in the heart of Mirkwood.

The White Council was soon formed, a coalition of the wise and powerful.

Who would decide how to deal with this growing threat.

Saruman aspired to lead the council, the desire born out of his own vanity.

Yet, it was only after Gandalf, who was favored by Galadriel, gracefully declined the role.

That the leadership was offered to Saruman.

Ever most vigilant was Mithrandir, and he it was that most doubted the darkness in Mirkwood, and he went to Dol Guldur, and the sorcerer fled from him, and there was a watchful peace for a long while.

But at length the shadow returned and its power increased.

And in that time was first made the Council of the Wise that is called the White Council.

And therein were Elrond and Galadriel and Círdan, and other Lords of the Eldar, and with them were Mithrandir and Curunír.

And Curunír, that was Saruman the White, was chosen to be their chief.

For he had most studied the devices of Sauron of old.

Galadriel indeed had wished that Mithrandir should be the head of the council.

And Saruman begrudged them that, for his pride and desire of mastery was grown great.

But Mithrandir refused the office, since he would have no ties and no allegiance.

Save to those who sent him.

Once again, the preferential treatment that Gandalf received from the elves served to stoke Saruman's simmering enmity.

In the year 2759 of the Third Age, a new chapter unfolded for the White Wizard.

Saruman ventured to Rohan seeking the keys to the ancient fortress of Isengard, which had been in the hands of the hostile men of Dunland for around 50 years.

After receiving approval from the Steward of Gondor and the King of Rohan, Saruman made his new home there.

Within the Tower of Orthanc.

In this way Saruman began to behave as a Lord of Men, for at first he held Isengard as a Lieutenant of the Steward and warden of the tower.

But Fréaláf was as glad as Beren to have this, and to know that Isengard was in the hands of a strong friend.

A friend he long seemed, and maybe in the beginning he was one in truth.

Though afterwards there was little doubt in men's minds that Saruman went to Isengard in hope to find the Stone still there.

And with the purpose of building up a power of his own.

Saruman would have found many lost treasures of the old kingdom in the Tower of Orthanc.

Which had been locked for many years.

Among them was one of the few remaining Palantíri, the legendary seeing stones.

Around 90 years would pass before Gandalf ventured alone into the shadowed halls of Dol Guldur.

Here, amidst the darkness, he uncovered the unmistakable essence of the Dark Lord.

Just as he had feared.

Sauron had returned.

Gandalf relayed solemn tidings to the White Council and urged a swift attack on the fortress.

Yet, Saruman's honeyed words wove a spell, swaying hearts against the call to arms.

It was at this meeting that Tolkien first hints at Gandalf's suspicion of Saruman's treachery.

In unfinished tales, Christopher Tolkien provides us with insight into Gandalf's suspicion regarding Saruman at this time.

In the Tale of Years, the entry for 2851 refers to the meeting to the White Council in that year, when Gandalf urged an attack on Dol Guldur but was overruled by Saruman.

And a footnote to the entry reads.

It afterwards became clear that Saruman had then begun to desire to possess the One Ring himself.

And hoped that it might reveal itself, seeking its master.

If Sauron were let be for a time.

The foregoing story shows that Gandalf himself suspected Saruman of this at the time of the Council of 2851.

Though my father afterwards commented that it appears from Gandalf's story to the Council of Elrond of his meeting with Radagast that he did not seriously suspect Saruman of treachery.

Or of desiring the Ring for himself.

Until he was imprisoned in Orthanc.

Saruman's reluctance to assail Dol Guldur may appear to be rooted in his allegiance to Sauron.

Yet the truth, as revealed in the Silmarillion, unveils a deeper narrative.

Thus the Wise were troubled, but none as yet perceived that Saruman had turned to dark thoughts.

And was already a traitor in heart.

For he desired that he and no other should find the Great Ring.

So that he might wield it himself.

And order all the world to his will.

And he deemed that the Ring, which was Sauron's, would seek for its master as he became manifest once more.

But if he were driven out again, then it would lie hid.

Therefore he was willing to play with peril and let Sauron be for a time.

Hoping by his craft to forestall both his friends and the enemy.

When the Ring should appear.

In the depths of his heart, Saruman harbored a veiled ambition.

It was not merely to succumb to the shadows of Sauron's dominance, but to orchestrate a symphony of his own design.

Where the power and control that he desired would finally be his.

Saruman's agents had been searching fervently for the One Ring.

Discovering that some of the servants of Sauron had also begun scouring Anduin.

Fearing the prospect of Sauron's success, in the year of 2941, the White Wizard finally yielded to desperation.

And consented to an attack on the Dark Lord's fortress.

Hoping to disrupt his ongoing search efforts.

Having been driven from Dol Guldur, Sauron's dark essence fled back to the heart of Mordor.

Reclaiming his throne within the ominous fortress of Barad-dûr.

There, within the walls of his dark tower, he kept the Ithil Stone, another of the lost seeing stones.

Enabling him to communicate with Denethor in Minas Tirith.

And with Saruman in Orthanc.

12 more years would pass before the final gathering of the White Council took place.

Tolkien unveils the inner workings of the White Wizard's mind at this time, casting light upon his shadowed intentions.

Certainly after the Last White Council, 2953, his designs towards Rohan, though he hid them, were evil.

He then took Isengard for his own and began to make it a place of guarded strength and fear.

As though to rival the Barad-dûr.

His friends and servants he drew then from all who hated Gondor and Rohan, whether men or other creatures more evil.

From the north of the Misty Mountains, he beckoned forth tribes of Orcs.

Luring them into his service.

He also forged alliances with the Dunlendings.

Nurturing the seeds of his dark ambitions.

Stealthily, he molded his army, casting shadows upon the borders of Rohan, sowing seeds of unrest and fear.

Just a few decades later, as early as the year 2990, Saruman descended even further into depravity.

As he began his own special breeding of improved Orcs at Isengard.

Through methods learned from his master, or otherwise rediscovered through his own research, he crossbred Orcs with men.

To make half-Orcs, as well as his own Uruk-hai.

Both of which could endure daylight.

The breeding of half-man, half-Orc hybrids and Uruk-hai is a dark business indeed.

And it shows the depths of Saruman's descent into immorality.

Though unnerving to consider, this breeding program was very effective.

Éomer describes these new Orcs while recounting the tale of their battle against the Orc host that emerged from the East Wall.

Fifteen of my men I lost, and twelve horses, alas, for the Orcs were greater in number than we counted on.

Others joined them, coming out of the East across the Great River.

Their trail is plain to see a little north of this spot.

And others, too, came out of the forest.

Great Orcs, who also bore the White Hand of Isengard, that kind is stronger and more fell than all others.

The White Wizard's evil and vile breeding program was paralleled by the disturbing source of the meat required to sustain his new Orcs.

As described by Uglúk.

We are the fighting Uruk-hai, we slew the great warrior, we took the prisoners.

We are the servants of Saruman the Wise, the White Hand, the hand that gives us man's flesh to eat.

Due to the betrayal in the Peter Jackson movies, there lies a belief within the fan community that Saruman's otherwise pure spirit is corrupted.

By the Dark Lord's malevolent touch via the Palantír.

Yet venture into the pages of the appendices, and you will find the truth.

It was not until the year 3000 that Saruman dared to gaze upon the mystical Palantír of Orthanc.

It was during this fateful year that the tendrils of Sauron's dark influence began to weave around his soul.

Entwining the destinies of the two spirits in a dance of fate.

Then, in the year 3018, some 18 years since Saruman first gazed into the Palantír of Orthanc.

Gandalf the Grey embarked upon his fateful journey in order to answer the summons of the White Wizard.

I came at long last to the dwelling of Saruman.

I rode to the foot of Orthanc, and came to the stair of Saruman.

And there he met me and led me up to his high chamber.

He wore a ring on his finger.

I am Saruman the Wise.

Saruman Ring-maker.

Saruman of many colors.

A new power is rising.

Against it the old allies and policies will not avail us at all.

There is no hope left in elves or dying Númenor.

This then is one choice before you, before us.

We may join with that power.

It would be wise, Gandalf.

Here, we are told that Saruman wore a ring upon his finger, a token of emulation.

A ring that was an echo of the Dark Lord's own craft.

He donned this new ring and dared to name himself Ring-maker.

Further echoing the Dark Lord.

Although Saruman's ring may well have been less potent than a true ring of power, it likely still possessed some degree of magic.

So we should note that if Saruman's ring acted like the other rings of power, it would likely enhance the natural abilities of its bearer.

But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor, thus approaching magic.

A motive easily corruptible into evil.

A lust for domination.

His ring would have amplified not only his gifts, but also his envy and hunger for dominion.

In its embrace, Saruman's longing for power would rage like a tempest unchecked, dragging him faster and deeper into the dark abyss of evil.

Gandalf languished upon the pinnacle of Orthanc for more than two months, stranded upon this island in the clouds.

But hope, like a radiant beacon, pierced through the gloom.

When Gwaihir, Lord of the Great Eagles, soared to his rescue.

Yet, as Gwaihir bore Gandalf away, Saruman, the once wise, now entangled in his own web of deceit.

Foresaw the looming specter of consequences.

The escape of Gandalf would mean that his true nature would be revealed to men and elves.

It also threatened to provoke the wrath of Sauron.

Therefore, at this juncture, there was no turning back to the path of righteousness, even if he so wished.

Saruman, now sensing the encroaching threat from every direction, fortified Isengard.

Shaping its defenses with the determination of a soul in the throes of desperation.

With a touch tainted by darkness, he transformed Nan Curunír, the enclosed valley nestled at the foot of the mountains.

In which Isengard could be found.

Into a bleak reflection of Mordor, his own personal sanctuary of shadows.

And secrets.

A strong place and wonderful was Isengard, but Saruman had slowly shaped it to his shifting purposes, and made it better, as he thought, being deceived.

For all those arts and subtle devices, for which he forsook his former wisdom, and which fondly he imagined were his own.

Came but from Mordor.

So that what he made was naught, only a little copy, a child's model or a slave's flattery, of that vast fortress, armoury, prison, furnace of great power.

Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower.

Which suffered no rival, and laughed at flattery, biding its time.

Secure in its pride and its immeasurable strength.

Saruman remained in communication with Sauron through the Palantír.

Despite their tumultuous bond.

For he still yearned for redemption in the eyes of the Dark Lord.

The land of Rohan would serve as his canvas, an opportunity to paint his loyalty in bold strokes.

To prove his worth as a steadfast ally to Sauron.

And so dawned Isengard's war upon Rohan.

Through this fair land, Saruman's forces swept like a scythe.

Leaving naught but anguish in their wake.

The tale of horror that they etched upon the very soil of the Riddermark.

Revealed the depths of Saruman's descent into darkness.

A descent which was now complete.

So when did the whispers of power and ambition eclipse the radiant light of wisdom and goodness within him?

It undoubtedly began with the seeds of envy and jealousy, sown by his own desires for dominion.

That took root within his mind in the early days of Arda.

Saruman's fall into shadow was not marked by a single moment of reckoning.

But rather a gradual descent spanning two millennia.

Like a river flowing relentlessly towards a dark abyss, his path was slow and meandering.

Yet inexorable.

And why did Saruman become evil at all?

The answer lies not in Sauron or the Palantír, but in the depths of his own mind.

The Rings of Power, once the objects of his study, became an obsession.

Weaving their dark spell around his heart.

With each whisper of the Dark Lord's name, his admiration grew.

Consuming all traces of light within him.

And when he slipped on his own ring, his malice and an insatiable hunger for dominion was magnified even further.

Yet another noble heart laid low by the temptation of the shadow.

Thank you very much for tuning into Realms Unraveled.

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