[Mithadan]

Great old thread! Thanks for reawakening it!

As posters mentioned above (years ago now) there is an apparent disconnect between what is written in the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. One suggests that the location of Narya was not known by others, and the other suggests that Saruman knew Gandalf wielded that Ring. LoTR is silent on this issue.

Setting aside whether the two statements can be reconciled, let's assume that Saruman knew or suspected that Gandalf wore Narya. Gandalf arrives at Orthanc. Saruman discloses his intentions regarding the One Ring. Gandalf rejects him. The two Wizards have a wild magical duel. Gandalf is defeated and is magically restrained and imprisoned on the pinnacle of Orthanc. Considering this, our dilemma is unsolvable. Knowing that Gandalf had Narya, which Saruman obviously coveted, and having defeated Gandalf in a violent magical duel, Saruman should have forcibly taken Narya. This makes no sense... Wait a minute...

The magical duel was an element only of the movies, of course. There is no such duel in the books. FoTR states that when Gandalf arrived at Isengard, he was met at the strongly guarded gates and was escorted to Orthanc where he entered, and the guards led him to Saruman's "high chamber." Gandalf is offered his choices; join with Saruman or work for Sauron. Gandalf choses neither, and "they," meaning the guards and perhaps also Saruman, take him to the pinnacle, until Saruman "can find means to persuade" him. This seems to mean that Saruman could not easily defeat Gandalf via force.

While the books imply a hierarchy among the Wizards, white, grey, brown, blue, there is no clear indication that Saruman was significantly more "powerful" than Gandalf. The grey wizard certainly respected the white. But recall that Galadriel wanted Gandalf, not Saruman, placed in charge of the White Counsel. Recall also that when the wizards were sent to Middle Earth, they were "incarnated." They did not assume the guise of old men, they were old men, and they were forbidden from meeting preternatural force with force.

Note that while Gandalf was deemed one of the wise and had deep knowledge and skills, he rarely displayed any significant "magical" ability. He designed fireworks, and caused a flash in the Goblin's cave when they captured the Dwarves that killed a few Orcs and let him escape. During the Battle of Five Armies, he actually fights with a sword, though Bilbo suspected that he was planning some last magical act. It is not until he is resurrected as Gandalf the White that he exercises real power.

Perhaps Saruman does not attempt to take Narya from Gandalf by force simply because he is not sure that he could do so. Surely Gandalf would resist any such attempt. Perhaps Saruman was content to lock Gandalf away under guard until he saw the error of his ways through slow duress, or Sauron ultimately prevailed. Keep in mind that the real prize was not Narya, but the One Ring, and Saruman knew that Gandalf was aware of its whereabouts. Even so, Saruman did not attempt to use force to compel Gandalf to reveal where the Ring could be found.