Unfinished Tales - Part Four - II - The Istari
Readers who are interested in the wizards, especially those wishing to know more about Gandalf's history, find a goldmine in this chapter! On the one hand we receive lots of information, yet on the other there are many questions left unanswered.
Were there more Istari in the Order? The Five named are called chiefs, which implies that there were others, but Tolkien himself leaves that question open to speculation.
We read more about the Three Elven Rings and find out why Gandalf was given Narya. This chapter also includes some linguistic information on the names in general and of Gandalf specifically.
What do you find most interesting about this chapter? Are you interested in the etymology of names given here? What do you miss and wish Tolkien had written more about?
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth.. .'
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