In Tolkien’s world, Morgoth and Sauron are such pervasive and millennial presences that it seems sometimes that the maker, Eru Illuvatar, has abandoned Arda to fend for itself. But at the beginning of the Silmarillion, Eru chastises the Valar for this sentiment, telling them that he has seen all, and his song is his own making so he knows what happens. It leaves the reader feeling like if that’s the case, then it will all work out somehow. It’s all very Catholic, no surprise there.

That said, it makes you wonder then at the forethought of Eru when Tolkien talks about how of all the wizards sent to Middle-earth, Gandalf was the only one who was successful.

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Let’s examine how that is.

The wizards, or the Istari, were Maia, children of the Valar and of the same stuff as Sauron. Having defeated Morgoth, the Valar took a more hands-off approach to handling the troubles of Middle-earth. Likely this was due to avoiding the utter devastation that their war against Morgoth had, and with Sauron being of a lesser nature than Morgoth, he did not require the same effort to contain or defeat.

In Tolkien’s world, Morgoth and Sauron are such pervasive and millennial presences that it seems sometimes that the maker, Eru Illuvatar, has abandoned Arda to fend for itself. But at the beginning of the Silmarillion, Eru chastises the Valar for this sentiment, telling them that he has seen all, and his song is his own making so he knows what happens. It leaves the reader feeling like if that’s the case, then it will all work out somehow. It’s all very Catholic, no surprise there.

That said, it makes you wonder then at the forethought of Eru when Tolkien talks about how of all the wizards sent to Middle-earth, Gandalf was the only one who was successful.

Let’s examine how that is.

The wizards, or the Istari, were Maia, children of the Valar and of the same stuff as Sauron. Having defeated Morgoth, the Valar took a more hands-off approach to handling the troubles of Middle-earth. Likely this was due to avoiding the utter devastation that their war against Morgoth had, and with Sauron being of a lesser nature than Morgoth, he did not require the same effort to contain or defeat.

When we consider the nature of the Valar that sent the wizards, we can perhaps see a theme, and therefore a reason as to why Gandalf was the successful one. Aule was the craftsman of the Valar, and one of his proteges was none other than Sauron. As we all know, Sauron’s obsession was with living up to the name of his original master, and he coveted power and order like his second master, Morgoth. He looked to powerful objects, like the rings, to bend the will of people to him. Perhaps that is why, ultimately, Saruman fell to the corruption of the Ring and sought to work with Sauron.

This link to the Valar can also perhaps be seen in the other wizards. Yavanna was the Valar associated with living things and forests. Her urging of Radagast to join Saruman is perhaps why Radagast preferred to stay among the forests of Middle-earth, and holding back the corruption of Dol Goldur from there. Orome the Huntsman was a roamer, riding all over Middle-earth on his horse. Perhaps that explains why the Blue wizards seem to have “wandered” off into the east and not much is known about them.

Which brings us to Gandalf. He was tasked by Manwe, the King of the Valar and chiefest among them, to take on this mission of countering Sauron. Perhaps there was some sort of link with the Valar they were sent by that fed into or through them that led the Istari onto the paths they ended on. It’s reasonable to think that being the representative of the King of the Valar, having his trust, that Gandalf’s mission was the successful one.

In truth, we may never know why, as we are speculating as fans, and the originator, Tolkien himself, is no longer with us to confirm it. But that’s part of the fun of being a fan.

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