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Hello and welcome to The Broken Sword.
Explore the full story of Gandalf, from his origins as the Maiar Olórin to his role in Middle-earth as the Grey Pilgrim and member of the Istari.
Key Takeaways
- Gandalf's origins as a Maiar highlight his divine nature and wisdom.
- His mission in Middle-earth was one of guidance, not direct warfare.
- Gandalf's many names reflect his widespread influence and travels.
- He embodies qualities of pity, patience, and hope against darkness.
- His story is deeply rooted in Tolkien's extensive mythological framework.
Summary
- Gandalf is originally Olórin, one of the Maiar, divine spirits created by Ilúvatar.
- Maiar serve under the Valar, the powerful lords and queens of Tolkien's universe.
- Olórin was known for wisdom, pity, and patience, learning from Nienna and inspiring Elves unseen.
- During the Third Age, Olórin was sent to Middle-earth as one of the five Istari to guide against Sauron.
- The Istari include Saruman, Radagast, the Blue Wizards, and Gandalf himself.
- Gandalf arrived around year 1000 of the Third Age, receiving the ring Narya from Círdan.
- He was known by many names: Mithrandir (Elves), Tharkûn (Dwarves), Incánus (South), Greyhame (Rohan), and the White Rider.
- Unlike other Istari, Gandalf did not settle in one place but traveled widely, aiding all peoples.
- He was beloved for his kindness, wisdom, and opposition to Sauron's growing shadow, particularly in Mirkwood.
- The video draws from Tolkien's texts including The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and other lore sources.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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Today we are looking at the full story of Gandalf.
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Gandalf the Great is one of the most famous wizards to ever have been imagined, and that is for no bad reason.
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Whether he is calling Pippin a fool of a took or standing toe-to-toe with a Balrog, Gandalf always had a way of rising to the occasion and being the voice of reason that you wish could have existed in your real life.
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Gandalf is debataably my favorite character in all of Tolkien's works, so this video is definitely one I've always wanted to do.
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So, let's jump into things by rewinding all the way back to the beginning of time itself.
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To start off this story, we must be aware of just what Gandalf is.
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And that is one of the angelic beings known as the Maiar.
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Now these Maiar are divine spirits that were created by Ilúvatar, who is the equivalent of basically God within Tolkien's stories.
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Ilúvatar created two groups of divine spirits, one order consisted of the Valar and the other was the Maiar.
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The Valar were a group considered as lords and queens with there being 15 of them, albeit one of these is the Dark Lord Melkor.
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Who after committing the evil deeds that he did, was no longer counted amongst them.
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But anyway, below the Valar, there were other spirits known as the Maiar.
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And these were far more in number than the Valar, with each Valar having several of the Maiar serving under them.
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And this is where good old Gandalf comes into it.
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Although at this time he did not actually go by the name Gandalf at all.
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At this point in his existence, he was in fact named Olórin.
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During his youth, he served under a few different Valar.
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And the named ones of these are Manwë, the King of the Valar, his wife Varda, the Queen of the Valar.
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Irmo, who was more commonly known as Lórien, who was the master of visions and dreams.
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And Nienna, the sister of Irmo, and was known as the Lady of Pity and Mourning.
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Now there is not a vast amount known of Olórin's earliest years, except for the passage we get from the section of the Account of the Valar and Maiar according to the Law of the Eldar.
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Specifically within the of the Maiar part.
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Or from within The Silmarillion, where it says:
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Wisest of the Maiar was Olórin.
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He too dwelt in Lórien, but his ways took him often to the house of Nienna.
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And of her he learned pity and patience.
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Of Melian much is told in the Quenta Silmarillion.
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But of Olórin that tale does not speak; for though he loved the Elves, he walked among them unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts.
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In later days he was the friend of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and took pity on their sorrows; and those who listened to him awoke from despair and put away the imaginations of darkness.
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So we can see from this, Olórin was not just the wisest of his kind, but also one of the few to embrace the idea of pity and patience and became fascinated with the Children of Ilúvatar.
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Taking the example of Nienna within by taking that pity on those children and helping to lead them on.
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But now from these earlier times, there was then nothing told of the tales of Olórin until we reach the Third Age of Middle-earth.
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It took until the darkness of Sauron's power was growing ever greater for him to be brought to the front again.
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In this age, the Valar chose to send some help to fight against the servant of Morgoth.
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But not help in the form of warriors, but help in the form of guidance.
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This is where the Istari were chosen, being selected members from the divine spirits of the Maiar that were chosen to help overcome that darkness.
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Of these, there were five.
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Curumo, a Maiar of Aulë, who became known most commonly as Saruman.
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Aiwendil, a Maiar of Yavanna, who became most commonly known as Radagast.
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Alatar and Pallando, both Maiar of Oromë, who became known as Morinitar and Romestamo, or Ithryn Luin, meaning the Blue Wizards.
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And finally, of course, Olórin, the Maiar of Manwë that we know as Gandalf.
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An interesting point about these five being chosen is that initially only Curumo and Alatar came forward themselves.
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However, Manwë knew that he wanted Olórin to go as well, due to his love of the Eldar that still remained within.
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Olórin was not sure though, he felt he was too weak to challenge Sauron and feared him.
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But this just made Manwë believe all the more that this was a good reason for Olórin to go.
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And so, it was around the year 1000 of the Third Age that Olórin arrived to the lands of Middle-earth, having left Valinor to arrive at the Grey Havens, also known as Mithlond.
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Here he was met by both Círdan the Shipwright and Glorfindel.
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Círdan was one of the highly regarded of the Sindar and the master of the Grey Havens from the Second Age onwards.
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He was one of the most gifted with the skill of foresight and was honored to be given one of the Three Elven Rings of Power by Celebrimbor, being the ring Narya.
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Of which, he gives to Olórin upon his arrival due to being able to see just a section of his true power despite his old appearance.
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And Glorfindel was one of the most powerful Elves to ever step onto Middle-earth as well.
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He produced such great deeds that after being killed by fighting a Balrog, he was sent back.
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Re-embodied during the Second Age on a similar mission to that of the Istari, which in fact, in Tolkien's later writings, was believed to be around the same time as the coming of the Blue Wizards, which was around the year 1600 of the Second Age.
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Now anyway, of these earlier years in Middle-earth, Olórin would not set up a permanent home.
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Like Saruman and Radagast would.
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In fact, we hear a bit of his initial years within the Unfinished Tales, where it tells us this:
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But the last-comer was named among the Elves Mithrandir, the Grey Pilgrim.
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For he dwelt in no place, and gathered to himself neither wealth nor followers, but ever went to and fro in the Westlands from Gondor to Angmar, and from Lindon to Lórien.
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Befriending all folk in times of need.
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Warm and eager was his spirit (and it was enhanced by the ring Narya).
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For he was the Enemy of Sauron, opposing the fire that devours and wastes with the fire that kindles, and succours in wanhope and distress.
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But his joy, and his swift wrath, were veiled in garments grey as ash.
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So that only those that knew him well glimpsed the flame that was within.
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Merry he could be, and kindly to the young and simple.
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And yet quick at times to sharp speech and the rebuking of folly.
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But he was not proud, and sought neither power nor praise.
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And thus far and wide he was beloved among all those that were not themselves proud.
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Mostly he journeyed unwearyingly on foot, leaning on a staff.
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And so he was called among Men of the North Gandalf, 'the Elf of the Wand'.
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For they deemed him (though in error, as has been said) to be of Elven-kind, since he would at times work wonders among them, loving especially the beauty of fire; and yet such marvels he wrought mostly for mirth and delight, and desired not that any should hold him in awe or take his counsels out of fear.
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We can see this is where he picked up the name we all know him by best, Gandalf.
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This was certainly not the only name he went by though.
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As that quote said, the Elves knew him as Mithrandir, the Grey Pilgrim.
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And there were many more names to go with this being too.
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He was also known by the likes of Tharkûn to the Dwarves, Incánus in the South, Greyhame by those from Rohan.
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Or even the White Rider when riding upon Shadowfax.
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And this is just amongst some others as well.
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This is just another thing that shows just how much Gandalf liked to travel and wander.
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Being known by all these different names throughout Middle-earth.
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After being in Middle-earth for around 100 years, Gandalf and the others of the Istari discovered there was an evil shadow growing within the forest that used to be known as Greenwood the Great.
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But now, Mirkwood instead.
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Specifically within the fortress of Dol Guldur in the south of the forest.
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Some believed this evil was the return of the Nazgûl, but Gandalf feared it could be worse.
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In that it could be Sauron himself making his return.
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Nothing would be done initially about this though.
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And so over the next couple of hundred years, this evil would grow and grow.
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The leader of the Nazgûl, the Witch-king, would build a fortress in Angmar to challenge Arnor.
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Orcs would multiply faster and faster in the Misty Mountains.
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While both Khazad-dûm and Minas Ithil would fall under shadow as well.
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Despite this, according to Appendix B at the end of The Lord of the Rings, it would take until the year 2063 for Gandalf to finally go and investigate Dol Guldur himself.
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Gandalf's appearance here caused Sauron to flee.
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However, at this point, Gandalf was not able to confirm the true identity of this evil, only seeing it as the Necromancer.
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With Sauron having left, this marked the beginning of a time known as the Watchful Peace, a 400-ish year period where Sauron would hide.
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Being too wary to challenge the Wise head-on.
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Instead, here he chose to corrupt men in the East to grow his power more quietly.
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Despite this being quieter, it did not go completely unnoticed though.
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But nothing was really done until Sauron returned once more to Dol Guldur in 2460, more powerful than he had been before.
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So, to counter, a group considered as the Wise formed the White Council.
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The White Council was formed with the purpose of uniting and directing the forces of the West in resistance to the Shadow.
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There were several members as a part of this group, but not all were named.
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The clearly stated members were Gandalf, Galadriel, Saruman, Elrond, and Círdan, with other Lords of the Eldar said to have also joined.
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It was Saruman who was appointed as the leader of this Council.
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Although initially Galadriel had wished for Gandalf to be the leader, but due to Gandalf wishing to never set down roots and being able to continue wandering as and when he wished, he declined this offer.
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Not much apart from the initial leader seemed to be decided at this first meeting.
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So Gandalf went back to his wanderings.
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In the following years, Gandalf visited many places, and it was around this time that he first came across the people known as the Hobbits in the Shire.
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And he quickly befriended them.
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This turned out to be quite fortunate for the Hobbits as well, as Gandalf gave them great aid to when they suffered the Long Winter in 2758.
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It was also here that Gandalf first witnessed the bravery and willpower of this race.
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Which of course would set up many of his plans in the future.
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There was another period of quiet from Gandalf for the next 100 years.
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Until he took it upon himself to look for the Dwarf King Thráin II of the Lonely Mountain, who had disappeared while camping under the eaves of Mirkwood.
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Where he had in fact been captured and taken to Dol Guldur to be tortured by Sauron.
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So that he could take back the Dwarven Ring of Power that he had in his possession.
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Initially Gandalf had no joy in locating him though.
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During these travels, said to be after the year 2845, Gandalf had traveled into and through the abandoned realm of Khazad-dûm in his search.
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He had entered from the East and exited through the Doors of Durin on the western side.
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Having exited this site meant that he did not learn how to open them from the outside.
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As becomes apparent later as a part of the Fellowship.
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A few more years would pass when Gandalf would return once again to Dol Guldur in secret this time.
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And this would be in the year 2850.
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Here he found Thráin within the pits, but not just this, Gandalf made the important discovery here that the Necromancer was in fact not one of the Nazgûl.
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It instead was indeed Sauron.
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Gandalf managed to escape from this and returned back to the other members of the White Council.
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Announcing to them what he had discovered.
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He urged them to attack Sauron now before he could regain more of his strength, before he could find the One Ring.
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However, Saruman, as the leader of this Council, declared it would be better to watch and wait to see what unfolds.
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And not act rashly now.
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After all, the One Ring had been lost into the Anduin a long, long time ago.
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Many agreed with Saruman, so they did not attack at this time.
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But no one would yet realize Saruman's true intentions for suggesting this.
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The years would continue to roll on, and Gandalf would become wary of events going on elsewhere.
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He heard word that Smaug the Dragon had claimed Erebor and destroyed the town of Dale, which led Gandalf to worry Sauron would try to create an alliance with this great beast to further enhance the strength of his forces.
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As well as gaining a stronger hold of the northern passes as well.
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So Gandalf wished to find a way to disrupt this.
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And this is where he received convenient word that the exiled Dwarf King of Durin's Folk, Thorin Oakenshield, was in fact hatching a plan to retake the mountain.
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Fate would then bring the two together, as one night in the year 2941, they both happened to be staying in Bree.
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They talked and decided to continue their travels together as they were heading in the same direction.
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And so this is where the plan for the Quest of Erebor was conceived.
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Therefore, not long after, Gandalf turned up at Bag End with several Dwarves behind him and persuaded the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins to join their quest as their burglar.
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It took some convincing, but convinced Bilbo, Gandalf did.
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Gandalf would join Thorin's company as well, at least until they reached Rivendell.
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During this early part of their quest, Gandalf played a vital role.
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He saved them from trolls, where he would find his sword Glamdring.
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He guided them through the Misty Mountains, killed the Great Goblin.
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And led the Dwarves to their escape.
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Even striking up a friendship with a great Eagle named Gwaihir after healing a wound they suffered when they were trying to save the company.
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Gandalf's assistance did not stop here though, for he also led them to the house of Beorn, and this would be where he parted ways from their quest.
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It was at this time when Gandalf left them at the edge of Mirkwood that an emergency meeting of the White Council would be called.
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Gandalf knew he had to convince the rest of the Council to agree to attack Dol Guldur at this time.
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And this time he succeeded in even swaying Saruman's mind.
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And so they attacked Dol Guldur where they managed to drive Sauron out, forcing him to flee back to Mordor.
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Now this quest was complete, it was time for Gandalf to return to the Dwarves and Bilbo.
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He had heard their path through Mirkwood was challenging and they had been imprisoned by the Wood-elves.
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However, by the time he finally got back to this area, the company had escaped, got to Erebor and prepared for an attack by the Lake-men and the Wood-elves.
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Gandalf heard how Bard had killed Smaug, and now he and Thranduil asked for Gandalf's assistance to reason with Thorin.
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Just before the battle between the Dwarves, Elves and Men was about to begin, Gandalf managed to step in.
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He warned them that the forces of the likes of Orcs and Wargs would attack, and that they should be siding with each other, not against each other.
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He managed to convince them to fight on the same side, and just in time too.
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Before the Orcs of the Misty Mountains attacked in the battle that became known as the Battle of Five Armies.
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After this battle, Gandalf would journey with Bilbo back to the Shire by way of Beorn's and then Rivendell to meet once more with Elrond to discuss all that had happened.
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Once this part of his journey was over, it had been confirmed to him that Hobbits were worth taking a special note in.
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Particularly the Bagginses.
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He would even return to visit Bilbo with the Dwarf Balin in future years as well, bringing news of the goings on in Erebor and Dale.
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There were a few years of quiet before Sauron would declare himself openly in Mordor.
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When this happened, the White Council met for their last time.
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This being in the year 2953, where they discussed what to do next about the Rings of Power.
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Here, Saruman's jealousy of Gandalf finally got the better of him, for he sent spies to start watching the Grey Wizard afterwards.
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This in turn meant Saruman learned for the existence of the Hobbits and the Shire, noting specifically that Gandalf had a great interest in these people.
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It was from this time that Saruman began sending his spies to keep a watch over Bree and the surrounding areas along with it.
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Around this time too, Gandalf learned of the creature Gollum's mission to find Bilbo Baggins and reclaim the Precious that was stolen from him.
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However, Gandalf would not give him the attention that he should have at this time.
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As he discusses with Frodo in the chapter of The Shadow of the Past in The Lord of the Rings, where he says:
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The Wood-elves tracked him first, an easy task for them.
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For his trail was still fresh then.
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Through Mirkwood and back again it led them, though they never caught him.
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The wood was full of the rumour of him, dreadful tales even among beasts and birds.
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The Wood-men said that there was some new terror abroad.
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A ghost that drank blood.
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It climbed trees to find nests.
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It crept into holes to find the young.
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It slipped through windows to find cradles.
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But at the western edge of Mirkwood the trail turned away.
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It wandered off southwards and passed out of the Wood-elves' ken.
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And was lost.
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And then I made a great mistake.
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Yes, Frodo, and not the first.
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Though I fear it may prove the worst.
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I let the matter be, I let him go; for I had much else to think of at that time, and I still trusted the lore of Saruman.
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Gandalf would return to Bag End once again in the year 3001 for Bilbo's 111th birthday and farewell party.
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With Bilbo leaving the Shire, Gandalf knew he must convince him to leave this ring behind.
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Which he manages to persuade him to do.
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Gandalf was strongly starting to believe that this was indeed one of the magical Rings of Power.
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And so, after warning Frodo to never use the ring, but to keep it safe and keep it secret, Gandalf headed into the wild to hunt once again for the creature Gollum to maybe find some answers.
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Gandalf asks for help on this quest from Aragorn and his fellow Rangers of the North.
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With Aragorn helping him directly and the Rangers helping to guard the borders of the Shire.
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This hunt would go on for several years.
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With Gandalf only occasionally popping back in to check up on Frodo, but only ever under the veil of nightfall.
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During one of Gandalf's visits back to Minas Tirith, this time specifically to study the records that they kept.
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Gandalf found the scroll of Isildur, all but revealing that Bilbo's magical ring could well be the One Ring.
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Conveniently, Gandalf would then receive word that Aragorn had succeeded in locating Gollum, and so he journeyed to Mirkwood to interrogate him for the answers that he hoped for.
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The information that he got from Gollum sent waves of fear through him.
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He learned that Gollum had revealed the names of the Shire and Bag End to Sauron when being captured in Barad-dûr.
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Gandalf made for the Shire with as much haste as he could muster.
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It is now April of 3018, and Gandalf has reached the Shire, and he manages to confirm with Frodo once and for all that this magical ring is indeed Sauron's old One Ring.
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Gandalf's plan was for Frodo to get the ring to Rivendell as soon as he could realistically do.
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Which Frodo chose to do after his next birthday so as to not arouse suspicion.
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Gandalf initially stayed for a couple of months with Frodo before deciding he needed to leave.
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After hearing of an ever-looming war in Gondor and the growing shadow from the East.
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He said to Frodo that he would be back before his birthday though.
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So as they could travel together.
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However, this did not go to plan.
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On his travels, Gandalf ran into the Brown Wizard of his order, Radagast, who brought him a message from Saruman.
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Who said he needed to speak to him urgently as the Nazgûl had been seen looking for the Shire.
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And so Gandalf made for Isengard to meet with Saruman.
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But stopped at Bree to leave a message for Frodo at the Prancing Pony with the innkeeper Barliman Butterbur.
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Who of course, forgets to send that letter.
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But now at Isengard, Gandalf learns of Saruman's true intentions, and after rejecting the chance to join him, becomes imprisoned upon the peak of Orthanc.
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Gandalf is rescued by the Great Eagle Gwaihir, who carries him to Rohan.
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Where he manages to obtain the mighty horse and chief of the Mearas, Shadowfax.
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Gandalf once again headed for the Shire with as much speed as he could muster, and upon his arrival, he learns that Frodo had already left when Gandalf had not returned in time.
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He also hears of Black Riders having been in the area too.
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And he begins to fear for Frodo.
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And so he makes for Bree, where he learns that Barliman had never sent his letter, but somehow Frodo and his friends had still managed to come under the watch of Aragorn nonetheless.
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After a night's rest in the inn, Gandalf made for Weathertop, as here he could get the best view of the surrounding lands to try and observe what is going on.
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Once again this did not go smoothly for Gandalf.
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As at night he was attacked by not just any simple men, but by the Nazgûl.
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There was a great battle of light and flame and Gandalf managed to drive off these dark servants of Sauron.
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He escaped.
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But not before leaving his mark on some stones, and then he made for the North, being followed by just four of the Nazgûl.
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The only thing he could do now was head straight for Rivendell.
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And hope that Aragorn could get the Hobbits there himself.
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As they had approached the Elven stronghold, Gandalf helped Elrond to cause a flood in the Bruinen to drown the Riders that followed them.
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And so they could survive the final stretch.
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After Frodo had healed from his wounds, the Council of Elrond was summoned to decide their plan for destroying the One Ring.
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Gandalf joined the Fellowship of the Ring as one of the Nine Walkers.
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And was chosen as their leader.
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With their first task being to cross the Misty Mountains as Gandalf did not wish to even attempt to go near Isengard.
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This first plan failed as a terrible storm prevented them passing.
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And so, against Gandalf's better judgment, they took the passage of the Ruins of Moria instead.
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Despite Gandalf having previously exited through the Doors of Durin, it took some time for him to remember just how to enter this way instead.
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But they succeeded in getting in in the end, and so they made their way through the maze of underground tunnels and halls.
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In time they would reach the Chamber of Mazarbul, where the Fellowship discovered that Balin and a party of Dwarves had attempted and failed to reclaim this kingdom of their ancestors.
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The Fellowship's presence here had alerted the Orcs that slept in Moria though.
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And so they were attacked.
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But the Fellowship managed to survive this initial assault and flee, making their way to the eastern gate that Gandalf was now aware of how to reach.
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Orcs were not the only thing that they had woken.
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Durin's Bane came for them.
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A Balrog of Morgoth.
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And well, from here, it is quite well known what happened next.
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The Balrog reached the bridge.
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Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand.
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But in his other hand Glamdring gleamed, cold and white.
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His enemy halted again, facing him.
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And the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings.
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It raised the whip, and the thongs whined and cracked.
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Fire came from its nostrils.
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But Gandalf stood firm.
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You cannot pass, he said.
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The Orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell.
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I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor.
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You cannot pass, the dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn.
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Go back to the Shadow.
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You cannot pass.
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The Balrog made no answer.
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The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew.
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It stepped forward slowly onto the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall.
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But still Gandalf could be seen, glimmering in the gloom.
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He seemed small, and altogether alone: grey and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm.
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From out of the shadow a red sword leaped flaming.
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Glamdring glittered white in answer.
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There was a ringing clash and a stab of white fire.
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The Balrog fell back, and its sword flew up in molten fragments.
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The wizard swayed on the bridge, stepped back a pace, and then again stood still.
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You cannot pass, he said.
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With a bound the Balrog leaped full upon the bridge.
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Its whip whirled and hissed.
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He cannot stand alone.
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Cried Aragorn suddenly and ran back along the bridge.
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Elendil, he shouted.
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I am with you, Gandalf.
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Gondor, cried Boromir and leaped after him.
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At that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud he smote the bridge before him.
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The staff broke asunder and fell from his hand.
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A blinding sheet of white flame sprang up.
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The bridge cracked.
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Right at the Balrog's feet it broke, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the gulf, while the rest remained, poised, quivering like a tongue of rock thrust out into emptiness.
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With a terrible cry the Balrog fell forward, and its shadow plunged down and vanished.
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But even as it fell it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled about the wizard's knees, dragging him to the brink.
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He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss.
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Fly, you fools, he cried, and was gone.
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That was not the end of our Grey Wizard though.
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He fell and fought for a long time with the Balrog, there was eight days of combat between the two, fighting from the deep places below them.
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All the way to the peak of the Endless Stair.
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Upon reaching the top, they fought for two more days and nights, but eventually Gandalf managed to throw down his enemy onto the mountain side, however, this took the last of Gandalf's strength.
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And so although technically he did not die.
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His spirit did leave Middle-earth.
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Again, this is not the end of Gandalf's story though, as Ilúvatar stepped in.
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And because of his commitment to his quest and the manner of his death, Gandalf was sent back once again with his same mission.
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However, this time he was granted the power to reveal a greater amount of his true Maiar strength.
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Even though he was still there to support and guide.
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And so this is where Gandalf the White now had arrived in Middle-earth.
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Being sent back to the mountaintop where he had slain the Balrog.
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From here, the Great Eagle Gwaihir once again came to his assistance.
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Carrying him off and taking him to Lothlórien.
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Here he was received by Galadriel, who fitted him with new clothes and a new staff.
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As well as updating him on just how the Fellowship were getting on.
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Upon hearing of Frodo and Sam splitting from the rest, Gandalf knew he could not help them now.
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So instead, he made to find Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli as they hunted for Merry and Pippin.
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After reuniting with his friends, the four of them made for Edoras.
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Where Gandalf released Théoden from Gríma Wormtongue's poisonous grip and encouraged him to prepare for war.
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And so, by Gandalf's advice, King Théoden took his army to Helm's Deep as their best form of defense.
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While Gandalf went off on Shadowfax to find the rest of Rohan's forces led by Erkenbrand.
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Gandalf managed to find them and bring them to Helm's Deep just in time.
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Helm's Deep was under siege, and thankfully these reinforcements of Gandalf and Erkenbrand broke the siege and saved the men inside.
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Now with Saruman's force defeated, Gandalf knew he must go and see the Wizard himself.
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Saruman had become trapped in his tower after the Ents of Fangorn, along with Merry and Pippin, had ruined the outer walls of Isengard and the Orcs that stayed there.
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Gandalf wished to forgive and gain knowledge from Saruman.
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But Saruman refused this, insulted.
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And so, Gandalf expelled him from the order and from the Council, also breaking his staff.
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Now that there was definitely no hope for Saruman, Gandalf's mind quickly turned towards Gondor, he knew Sauron would launch his attack at any time, and they had to go to their aid.
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He advised Théoden to prepare to ride to Gondor as reinforcement, as he took Pippin to ride with him straight for Minas Tirith.
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Upon their arrival to the White City, they were met by an unwelcoming Denethor II, the ruling Steward of the city.
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Denethor did not ban Gandalf from the city.
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But he certainly did not like him being there.
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Soon after, Gandalf would ride out of the gates on Shadowfax to drive away the Nazgûl that were trying to stop Faramir's forces retreat after losing Osgiliath.
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A good showing of a small percentage of his true power.
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And from saving Faramir, he learned of Frodo and Sam still being alive and still pushing on on their mission.
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This was good news to Gandalf at the very least.
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As Gandalf had predicted, Sauron's forces led by the Witch-king of Angmar would come and lay siege to Minas Tirith.
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Gandalf did all he could to encourage and lead the men of Minas Tirith in their defense, countering the fear that the Nazgûl instilled in their enemies, but there was little he could do to defend against catapults.
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And so it did not take long for the bottom level of the city to start falling and be caught on fire.
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Gandalf would lead by example though.
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As when the forces of Mordor broke the main gate, Gandalf alone stood at the entrance to fight off any enemies.
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It was not just any enemy that appeared here though.
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It was the Witch-king of Angmar that rode himself upon his horse into the archway.
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Gandalf did not waver.
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However, this standoff never reached its climax.
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As the horns of Rohan sounded out.
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Théoden and his army had arrived just in time.
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And so the Witch-king sped off to deal with this threat.
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There was no rest for Gandalf though, as Pippin found him and told him of Denethor's plan to burn both himself and Faramir alive as grief had overcome him.
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Gandalf managed to save Faramir just in time, but not Denethor.
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As for the siege though, after the arrival of both the Rohan force and the force brought by Aragorn from the southern fiefs, the forces of good managed to break the siege and wipe out Sauron's attacking force.
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Gandalf's role in this battle can really not be understated.
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Again though, there was no time to rest after this battle as Sauron still had power, and so the leaders of the remaining men elected Gandalf as their leader for the remainder of the war.
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Gandalf knew that whatever they did would be in vain if Frodo was to fail his mission, so they needed to do anything they could to help him complete his quest.
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He advised they took their armies north to the Morannon and distract Sauron so that Frodo's passage, which would most likely be coming from the opposite direction, could go hopefully unnoticed.
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And yes, this would result in the loss of a lot of their lives, but it is all that they could really do to help.
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And so, they took their forces and marched upon the Black Gates of Mordor.
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Upon their arrival, they were met by the Mouth of Sauron, who attempted to intimidate the force by revealing Frodo's Mithril vest to them, saying that they have captured and tortured the Hobbit that it is belonged to.
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Gandalf would accept nothing Sauron could offer in terms of a surrender.
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So they prepared themselves for what could possibly be their final battle.
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It worked though, and Sauron sprung their trap.
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Emptying his lands to destroy this force of men.
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Gandalf's plan had truly worked, as when the battle was in its full throws.
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The ring was destroyed.
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Not by Frodo though, but by Gollum falling backwards into the lava with it.
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Either way though, their mission had succeeded.
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The Tower of Barad-dûr began to collapse, the Nazgûl burned away.
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And Sauron was now nothing more than a shadow of what he had once been.
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One more time here, the Great Eagle Gwaihir came to Gandalf's assistance.
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Taking him to go and see if they could find the surviving Frodo and Sam.
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The joy that Gandalf felt when he found them was incredible.
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And so the two Hobbits were saved.
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The quest was a success, and they could now begin to rebuild their lives once again.
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All survivors would then return to Minas Tirith, where they would witness the coronation of Aragorn into King Elessar.
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With Gandalf setting the crown upon the new King's head.
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Gandalf's mission was complete.
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And so, after traveling back with the Hobbits to the borders of the Shire, Gandalf would go off to spend his time to talk with good old Merry, Tom Bombadil.
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In fact, it was a couple of years until Gandalf reappeared once again.
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But whether this was two years of just talking to Tom, or whether there was something more that he did, we cannot be sure.
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When Gandalf did reappear though, it was to take Frodo on the White Ship over the sea to Aman.
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And so, Gandalf boarded this White Ship with Frodo, Bilbo, Elrond and Galadriel, and they all took the journey West together.
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The Wizard that was known as Gandalf returned to being the Maiar known as Olórin, and that is where the journey of this divine spirit ends from what we know.
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And so, with that story now finished, I really hope you all enjoyed it.
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It is always so hard to pick, but I really do think Gandalf is definitely one of my favorite characters in all of Tolkien's works.
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So to go through his full story here today was just so much fun.
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But now that I've reached the end of it, it is time for my question for you all today, which is:
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What do you think Gandalf and Tom Bombadil discussed in their long talk?
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Let me know all of your thoughts and opinions and theories on this in the comment section below.
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And now that we have reached the end of the video, I would also like to remind you all.
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We do not just have this one channel.
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But two others as well.
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And these are the Sixth Ranger for Power Rangers content and History of Dragon Ball for Dragon Ball content.
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Links of course will be in the description below if you would like to check either of those out.
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And now it is time to shout out our patrons.
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Firstly, our Divine Power team members of Kevin, Abram, Matt and Glorfindel of Gondolin.
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You are all awesome.
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And a big thanks to our Fire Demon team members of Nishith, Denver, Steele and Gregory.
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And as well, I cannot forget the Wizard Staff team members of John, Andrew and Pirate 747 as well.
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Every single one of you is a true legend of the Brohirim.
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And finally then, if you have not already as well, please do all that great stuff, hit the like button on this video, subscribe to the channel if you want to be notified for future content.
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And please leave a comment as well.
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All these things do just make such a difference to us.
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And so, if you have actually managed to reach the end of this video here with me today.
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I would like to give a massive thank you to you.
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And I will see you next time on The Broken Sword.
Topics:GandalfMiddle-earthTolkien loreMaiarIstariOlórinValarThe SilmarillionUnfinished TalesMithrandir
