The First Sighting of the Old man in Grey...
 

Who was it?! I have had nightmares about who this was...was it sarumon? was it gandalf? was it just some guy who forgot the wat home... does anyone know?! Am i missing something?

Well, at first I thought it was Gandalf, but he denies it being him when they do actually meet up with him in Fangorn. So, I am assuming it was Saruman (but what was he doing there??? Confusion reigns!).

Check out this discussion:
http://forum.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin...c&f=1&t=000869

Hope it helps.

I like this discussion and I saw some very valid points thanks to the phantom. When I thought that it wasn't Gandalf or Saruman (later in the book), I then thought it was Radagast. He was always very shady and kind of shy and isolated. So to me, it makes sense if he didn't say anything to the three walkers. Also, he is kind of isolated so he might not concern himself with the troubles of middle earth. So, if this is true, then it probably wan't him. Another thought I had was that since Fangorn was a very old forest, like the Old Forest, then maybe one of the ents set an illusion. For what reason? I don't know. But maybe it just wanted to scare teh three, especially with all the comotion earlier that day in the Forest and with a dwarf wandering with an axe. But dragongirlG brought up a very interesting point. I now think that it probably was Gandalf, but he was suffering from amnesia or something so he might not have remembered. Or it was him but he did he denied they saw Gandalf the Grey since he now was the White, but he didn't tell them they saw gandalf the white. Maybe when he approached them, he was a bit delirous and confused.

[ December 03, 2002: Message edited by: MLD-Grounds-Keeper-Willie ]

Check this idea out:

I definitely think it was Saruman, and here's why: he was, of course, doing his thing, roaming the land and spying (remember, that was a known part of his character, and if I remember correctly, he didn't necessarily do it in "body"). BUT, Gandalf appears soon afterwards, as you recall, and though he doesn't reveal it, he is now The White (taking the role of Saruman), and perhaps the apparition of Saruman in grey shows his decline and "exchange" of color with Gandalf.

i always thort it was saruman

Hmmm....Radagast was unaccounted for during the War....could it have been him, sending more messages for Saruman?

I don't really believe that, but what does everyone else think?

My personal opionionn is that it was sarumon, but he was spying with an appiration of himself, possibly through the palantir?

I was under the impression that a palantir needed light to function, and they saw the old man at night. (As a matter of fact, I think the palantir quiz on the site is where I remember that from, if you wanna verify it)