What kind of powers does gandalf have

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Thread starter Legolam Start date Dec 30, Tags gandalf. Legolam Ad astra per aspera. OK guys, here's one from my boyfriend Why does Gandalf never use his powers against the enemies of Mordor? I mean, it would save a lot of heartache and bother.

Now, I know you're going to say that the Powers That Be forbade the wizards from using their powers - but Saruman did it with no apparent comeback from up on high, and Gandalf made fireworks, and torches and against the Balrog in Moria and the Nazgul in the movies!!

Why couldn't he have used his powers in battle? I've tried to answer this satisfactorily for my bf, but it's now starting to annoy me, so any help would be great! Quotes too, that'd help!!! Rangerdave He's Back! Legolam said:. Click to expand To the dismay of those that stood by, about the body of Saruman a grey mist gathered, and rising slowly to a great height like smoke from a fire, as a pale shrouded figure it loomed over the Hill. For a moment it wavered, looking to the West; but out of the West came a cold wind, and it bent away, and with a sigh dissolved into nothing.

Flammifer Dagnir-en-Ancalagon. Lantarion no house. Outstanding answer Flammifer!! My thoughts exactly! GuardianRanger Calmindon. I think there are some other threads floating around dealing with "magic". I think it had to do with Tolkien 's view s on "magic". Anyway, that's just my opinion.

Because they have great powers and can have influence over the minds of those around them if they so choose, wizards like Gandalf would be able to control the decisions of others but at great cost in energy. And even then, it would be difficult or rather impossible to use such a power against an entire army of orcs, trolls, and goblins.

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Share Share Tweet Email. Melissa C Articles Published. Read Next in movies. Immortality often goes hand-in-hand with indifference, or worse: a total lack of sympathy for "lesser" creatures. Some of Gandalf's fellow Maiar have either sought violent domination of the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth, like Sauron and Saruman, or have been generally apathetic to getting involved at all, like Radagast.

Gandalf, however, succeeded in his mission because he learnt to empathize with the people he was sent to save. All Maiar are taken under the wing of one or two Valar teachers -- the greater of the two forms of Ainur. Nienna was ostensibly a figure of perpetual mourning, but her lesson to Gandalf was that grief should strengthen rather than weaken you; her tears spilt over the Dark Lord Melkor's destructive acts created the Sun and Moon.

Gandalf's capacity for compassion is his most under-appreciated gift, and as Nienna's greatest student, he wore grey to honor her teachings. Gandalf's signature weapon his is staff, which he uses both to funnel his magic through and as a walking stick.

His other weapon is his trusty sword, Glamdring, which translates to "foe-hammer" in Quenya. Gandalf happened upon the blade during The Hobbit when he and Thorin's company ventured into into a Troll's cave and discovered a stash of loot.

Gandalf wielded the weapon to fatal effect against the Great Goblin, while Bilbo found Sting, which he'd later pass on to Frodo, and Thorin picked up Orcrist. All great fantasy weapons have names and histories like living beings, and Glamdring is no exception. The sword dates back 6, years in LOTR history, all the way back to the First Age when it was forged by the King of Gondolin, Turgon, the first and last ruler of the hidden Elven kingdom, and great-grandfather to Elrond.

Turgon had the sword in hand when he clashed with Morgath the evil Valar formerly known as Melkor during the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. Gondolin fell and the sword passed into legend until it found a new home at Gandalf's side. Like all powerful Elven weapons, Glamdring can warn its bearer of incoming evil, and it also had a rune inscription across the hilt, which in the film version reads: "Turgon, King of Gondolin, wields, has and holds the sword Glamdring, Foe of Morgoth's realm, Hammer of Orcs.

Gandalf appears to "die" twice over the course of LOTR. The first time is for real after he slays the Balrog following their intense, drawn-out brawl. By that point, the old Wizard probably just saw it as taking a nap for all of eternity after the longest working week of his life. Gandalf's physical body dies but his true, incorporeal form lives on.

Gandalf's resurrection is really just the growth of a new "vessel" for his immortal spirit, and a promotion from Grey to White, helped in part by Saruman's treachery leaving the position open. When the great Eagle Gwaihir rescues him he notes that Gandalf's new body weighs almost nothing. Even at the end of the trilogy when he hops on the ship with Frodo, Elrond and Galadriel, Gandalf isn't going to what we would think of as the afterlife -- the Undying Lands are his home, the place where Ainur come from.

Gandalf and all other immortals will likely continue living until the prophesied Dagor Dagorath: the end times. We have to say "claims" here because there's no real evidence of this other than Gandalf boasting about it. When Gandalf faces Durin's Bane, the awakened Balrog of the Mines of Moria on the Bridge of Khazad-dum, he does so knowing a drawn-out battle is on the cards -- one he probably isn't sure he'll win.

In order to give the Fellowship time to make a hasty exist, Gandalf stands his ground. The "flame of Anor" isn't mentioned anywhere else so it's hard to know what the Grey Wizard was talking about here.

Some speculate that he was referring to Narya, the Ring of Power in his possession that is tied to fire. Others reckon he was calling out his allegiance to the Valar, enemies of the Balrog, and the "Secret Fire" is said to burn "at the heart of the world. We do also see him shining an intensely bright light on the Balrog from his staff in the film.

Is that the "flame" he means? Wizards are typically characterized as being scholarly men who dispense wisdom to the ears of kings and other significant people, like Merlin to King Arthur.

Gandalf certainly follows that tradition. Over the course of The Hobbit and LOTR , Gandalf offers sage advice -- or, interference, as his detractors might describe it -- to rulers and would-be rulers. Tolkien's preponderance with Old English spellings and Faerie folklore means that he probably wanted readers to think of this kind of magical learnedness as being less about casting spells and brewing potions, and more about reading signs in nature and amassing knowledge of the world.

Gandalf's brand of magic is tied to the druidic, pagan kind, that classes things like reading the stars, superstitions and having a bond with the natural world as forms of wizardry. Time and time again, we see the mental library that Gandalf has spent thousands of years in Middle-Earth cultivating help himself and his allies out of a tight spot.

Without his knowledge, the One Ring would never have been found and destroyed. That's also how he came to be so highly respected, someone who people will listen to.

The Silmarillion even describes him as the "wisest of the Maiar," so even among his peers his wisdom was superior. One of the most controversial parts of Tolkien's work is his inclusion of some great, big deus ex machina birds. The Great Eagles are descended from Thorondor, the "Eagle Lord," the biggest Eagle that ever lived, with a wingspan of feet. Their leader, Gwaihir is the one who carries Gandalf out of the jams he sometimes finds himself in, as well as the one who saved Frodo from becoming a burnt marshmallow on the side of Mount Doom.

During LOTR , Gwaihir resumes Gandalf twice from harms way, the first time from the top of Orthanc where Saruman had him imprisoned, and the second time from the Endless Stair after Gandalf's resurrection. Despite Saruman being more powerful and more knowledgeable regarding the matters of Sauron and the Rings of Power, he grew jealous or Gandalf. Eventually Gandalf became part of the Fellowship of the Ring and helped the group fight their ways onto the Mines of Moria, but the Balrog known as Durin's Bane snagged him, resulting in an intense battle between the two.

After 10 days of non-stop fighting, Gandalf finally slew the Balrog, but died of his wounds soon afterwards. However, he was brought back to help the Fellowship once more as Gandalf the White, and he helped the Fellowship aid Frodo Baggins in completing his mission to destroy the One Ring.

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