Visit The *EVEN NEWER* Barrow-Downs Photo Page |
12-15-2002, 06:00 AM | #1 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
|
Olorin's Return
Just a quick one.
Do you think when Mithrander returned to Aman, he stayed in the form of an old man, or did he return to the form he took in his youth? Or was he originally in the form of an old man in his youth? Who knows......? [ December 15, 2002: Message edited by: Pallando B.C ] |
12-15-2002, 06:49 AM | #2 |
Wight
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Eryn Lasgalen
Posts: 202
|
Umm...a puzzler
I think that he would look like himself. if that makes sense. When the powers sent him to ME they gave him the form of an old man so he doesn't really look like that. when your in the west ever thing is given back its natural state. OR maybe when in the west he would be a Maiar like a lesser power and could therefore take any shape he wanted or have none at all! That's what i think, that he could take any shape! Of course he would have to be Mithrandir at least until Bilbo and frodo die.
__________________
Nai Vardo eleni ilye lumenn' enomentielvo siluvar! |
12-15-2002, 06:53 AM | #3 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Rivendell
Posts: 807
|
I suppose that even in the days of his "youth" he was an old man. His purpose was to be wise and to lead the people, and what figure could be better for that then the "wise old man"?
I have another question tho the subject. After his reincarnation(sp?) to gandalf the WHITE, did he stay Mithrandir=> GREY Pilgrim? Or would the name be changed?
__________________
Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig and then suddenly he turns on you with a miniature machine gun. Blog :-)|FanFicDream City |
12-15-2002, 07:46 AM | #4 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
|
Yes. He was the same person, so he still kept his names (remember, "Gandalf" was also a given name). Legolas cries out "Mithrandir! Mithrandir!" when he figures out who he is, and some of the people of Gondor also call him by that name.
__________________
"Monkeys learn sign language so they can tell the dolphins they love them." |
12-15-2002, 02:27 PM | #5 |
A Northern Soul
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Valinor
Posts: 1,847
|
Manwe, Pallando wasn't asking about the form in which Gandalf returned - he asked about the form he took on while he was gone (the time he spent in Aman between the Battle of the Peak and his return to Middle-earth).
The answer is not given to us - did he appear as the old man we see in Middle-earth, or did he appear as he had earlier in Aman as Olórin? This isn't covered by Tolkien. I do not have any reason to believe one over the other except for that the 'old man' appearance was made specifically for him to travel to Middle-earth without drawing a lot of (negative) attention. It seems only natural that this incarnation was not how he appeared in Aman. Additionally, we're not even sure how such (Ainur) spirits were presented in Aman.
__________________
...take counsel with thyself, and remember who and what thou art. |
12-15-2002, 06:39 PM | #6 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
|
Unfinished Tales tells us that in the early days in Aman, Olórin "walked among [the Elves] unseen, or as one of them." He did not take the form of an old man in his 'youth' in Aman. This incarnation was imposed as a condition of his mission in Middle-earth. The incarnate form brought with it all the hardships of the flesh, including hunger, pain, weariness, and more. He was no doubt exhausted when he returned to Aman, and I think it is safe to assume he abandoned the incarnate form as soon as he was told that his mission was complete.
|
12-15-2002, 06:59 PM | #7 |
Haunting Spirit
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 100
|
When Saruman died in RotK, it said that a white mist rose from his body and passed into the west. I guess this was a 'spirit form' of sorts, like the ones the Ainur had before fashioning new and tangible ones for themselves as it says in the Silm. This is one possibility; nothing that I have found so far confirms it, and in TTT Gandalf says himself that he waould not darken the light of day with that tale. Though there are hints given in several places, the real answer remains a mystery.
|
12-15-2002, 07:11 PM | #8 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
|
Legalos, I was answering Manardariel [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
__________________
"Monkeys learn sign language so they can tell the dolphins they love them." |
12-15-2002, 07:31 PM | #9 |
Animated Skeleton
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: maryland
Posts: 34
|
As I remember it. Saruman's spirit LOOKED to the West but was scattered by a WIND.
In my readings, the Valar, and Maia, take what form they choose,suited to their personalities. Maybe on the other side, Olorin was a stone fox.(I haven't caught on to theaccent marks,yet) Someone mentioned "Unfinished Tales", I'm a newbie and I must have missed that. Input, please. |
12-15-2002, 07:50 PM | #10 |
Pugnaciously Primordial Paradox
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Birnham Wood
Posts: 800
|
Well, Gilbo, Unfinished Tales is a compilation of several of Tolkien's works about, and outside of the Lord of the Rings. It includes, among other things, deeper histories of Numenor, Lothlorien, the Palantiri, the Istari (Wizards), a background for the Hobbit, and the Druedain. It also includes bits of missing history from before the Lord of the Rings, and during the Silmarillion.
[ December 15, 2002: Message edited by: Iarwain ]
__________________
"And what are oaths but words we say to God?" |
12-15-2002, 10:51 PM | #11 |
A Northern Soul
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Valinor
Posts: 1,847
|
Manwe, oh, k [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
I misunderstood the question because it wasn't clear... I thought Pallando was asking about Gandalf's form during his second stay in Aman (the brief visit between Moria and Fangorn Forest) - not about Gandalf's ultimate return to Aman.
__________________
...take counsel with thyself, and remember who and what thou art. |
12-15-2002, 10:53 PM | #12 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
|
That was what I was refering to.
|
12-16-2002, 04:01 AM | #13 | |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
|
Ah. Still, Gandalf says:
Quote:
[ December 16, 2002: Message edited by: obloquy ] |
|
|
|