The mysteries and unfinished Tales in the
Lord of the Rings Mythos, are among the most fascinating parts of the Lore. The Blue Wizards, their quest and their fate
are one such intriguing mystery. Hello friends, It’s Karl here and in today’s
video we’ll explore their history and speculate on what became of them! The 5 wizards were Maiar spirits that were
sent to Middle-Earth by the Valar, who were powerful angelic-like beings. Orome, the Valar of the Hunt, chose Alatar,
to go the Middle-Earth, and Alatar asked friend , Pallando to join him on this mission. Together these two became known as the blue
wizards. Now when they were sent to Middle-Earth is
debatable In the Unfinished Tales we’re told that the five wizards arrived together
in the year 1000 of the third age, however in Tolkien’s later writings, those found
in the Peoples of Middle-Earth, Tolkien says that “The ‘other two’ came much earlier,
at the same time probably as Glorfindel, when matters became very dangerous in the Second
Age.”. This would mean that they arrived around the
year 1600 of the second age, almost 2400 years before the other Wizards. The 5 wizards were sent to guide the people
of Middle-Earth and rally them against Sauron. Gandalf, Saruman and Radagast seemed to mainly
focus on the Western regions of Middle-Earth, while the blue wizards were sent to the Eastern
Lands, Lands in which Sauron had a strong hold and influence. Tolkien wrote that “Their task was to circumvent
Sauron: to bring help to the few tribes of Men that rebelled from Melkor-worship, to
and to cause dissention and disarray among the dark East” Their task seems to have
been more aggressive than the other wizards, which is interesting considering their link
to Orome, who was the huntsman of the Valar. In the letters of Tolkien, letter 211, Tolkien
wrote “I think they went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South, far out of
Númenórean range: missionaries to ‘enemy-occupied’ lands as it were. “ I wondered whether this implied that the
two wizards went on their own separate way, one focusing on the eastern lands, while the
other focusing on the southern ones, however I feel it’s more likely that they simple
journeyed together throughout both of these regions, firstly because the two seemed to
be paired from the start when Alatar asked for a friend to join him, and secondly when
Tolkien discusses their potential fate later on, they’re grouped together, which would
seem like an odd co incidence if they were working in separate lands and did not have
close contact with one another. Now regarding whether they were successful
in their mission or not is uncertain, though Tolkien seems to imply that they failed in
several of his writings. In the unfinished tales he wrote that “indeed
of all the Istari, one only remained faithful” and in a letter of his he wrote that “Gandalf
alone fully passes the tests, on a moral plane anyway… The ‘wizards’, as such, had failed;”
He also spoke specifically about the blue wizards’ failure in letter 211, where he
said “What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did,
secret cults and ‘magic’ traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.” Despite all of this, in the final volume of
the History of Middle-Earth, Tolkien wrote a note towards the end of his life that seems
to suggest that the blue wizards’ work in the east was crucial in the victory of the
Forces of the West against Sauron, both during the Last Alliance and during the War of the
Ring. He states “They must have had very great
the West.” In this same writing he mentions that they
were given other names, Morinehtar which means Darkness-slayer and Romestamo which meant
East-helper. Now these two accounts might seem like they
contradict or are in conflict with one another, yet I think they actually work quite well
together. This is just my own speculation just to be
clear, but I like to believe that the wizards were at first successful and managed to turn
some of these Men away from worshipping Morgoth and their loyalty to Sauron, and yet with
time these Men of the East started to worship the blue wizards instead, and the wizards
drifted away from the west, forgetting or ignoring that they were sent to assist the
people of Middle-Earth through wisdom and encouragement and instead resorting to impressing
them with magic and starting these cults around them. I wonder if they survived till the fourth
age, or if they perished earlier. It seems that the blue wizards were somewhat
of a secret, as in the Peoples of Middle-Earth Tolkien says “ The other two wizards i.e.,
the Blue Wizards are only known to have existed by Saruman, Gandalf and Radagast, and Saruman
in his wrath mentioning five was letting out a piece of private information”
Now the blue wizards were not named after some colour tier or standing in the Istari
order, but simply because they were clad in sea-blue robes. Tolkien actually had an extra volume planned
were he would have explored more details about the blue wizards, along with other factions
such as the wainriders and Haradrim, however he had passed away before he managed to work
on it. Anyway friends this wraps up the video, and
I’d like to hear your thoughts on the fate of the blue wizards, whether they truly succeeded
in their mission, or if they fell and were responsible for the magic cults that Tolkien
mentioned. As always if you enjoyed this video drop a
like, and subscribe to join our fellowship today! I hope to see you all in my next video, where
together we’ll once again explore the magical world and lore of Middle-Earth!