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Old 05-23-2018, 03:33 PM   #4
ArcusCalion
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Very well, after much long thought and hesitation, I agree that the text published is indeed ambiguous enough to follow Tolkien's later notes. However, I have a few changes I would like to make all the same which I will lay out here.

My main point of remaining dissent is this: the narrative as put together by Fin (which is almost identical to the one I used in my own Third Age placement) does not emphasize that these Istari were mostly not arriving at this time. The only explanation of that is given in the last paragraph, where the blue wizards are said to have come earlier during the Second Age than the other two. Are we claiming then that all the Istari arrived far earlier than the time of their first 'appearance' (albeit the Blue Wizards said to be earlier than the others)? If so this is a radical revision indeed, and not what Tolkien intended, as he only wished to change the timeframe of the Blue Wizards. However, I fear that placing this chapter here lends the implication that all five came far earlier to the text.

BY-HL-11: Personally, I think this headline is unsatisfactory. As the narrative stands in this version, only two of the wizards landed at this time, with the other three arriving later on. In that case, it can hardly be called the 'landing of the five wizards' if only two of them arrive. Perhaps we can shorten it to 'Of the Five Wizards' since 'and their functions and operations' seems almost too much.

FW-SL-16: This addition contains a strange contradiction. As Fin has so far championed, the two blue wizards must come first during the second age, but here in this text it is said that Saruman came first. If indeed we are to go with the later revision of the 2nd age Blue Wizards then I think we must remove this. In addition, we have the remark 'no names were recorded for the blue wizards' which is clearly untrue, as in the next paragraph we give two names! We must thus change this addition:
Quote:
FW-SL-16<The Five Wizards {No names are recorded for the two wizards. They}The two wizards were never seen or known in lands west of Mordor. The wizards did not come at the same time. Possibly Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast did, but more likely Saruman the chief (and already over mindful of this) came first of these three and alone. Probably Gandalf and Radagast came together.
The rest may proceed as Fin compiled it.
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