Gandalf=Manwe???

[elbenprincess]

I read this, and now I understand nothing any more

(Regarding Dagor Dagorath)
Who was "Gandalf?" It is said that in later days (when again a shadow of evil arose in the Kingdom) it was believed by many of the "Faithful" of that time that "Gandalf" was the last appearance of Manwë himself, before his final withdrawal to the watchtower of Taniquetil. (That Gandalf said that his name "in the West" had been Olórin was, according to this belief, the adoption of an incognito, a mere by-name.) I do not (of course) know the truth of the matter, and if I did it would be a mistake to be more explicit than Gandalf was. But I think it was not so. Manwë will not descend from the Mountain until Dagor Dagorath, and the coming of the End, when Melkor returns.[6]

I read that at wikipedia, it´s confusig.

Maybe somebody knows more about that? And is Manwe always on the Taniquetil, I mean does he never "visit" or walk among the elves. I always had the impression that he is at least with the elves at special events. But this description sounds that he is more like a "phantom" Never is seen by anyone...

And if Gandalf was the appearance of Manwe, then was Manwe in ME during the LOTR?

Where does the belief come? Is it from a letter?

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

It's part of the chapter about the Istari in Unfinished Tales. It's written in the fashion of a scholarly discussion of the subject rather than an actual historical account, so you may take it that when the writer says, "I do not think it is so," Tolkien is saying it isn't. It's pretty clear from the rest of that chapter that Olórin was a servant of Manwë who was selected by him to be his messenger in the mission of the Istari. If you haven't read the full chapter, by all means find the book and do so. The book as a whole is quite interesting, and that chapter especially so to wizard fans (like me ).

[elbenprincess]

OK, thank you now it´s a little bit clearer to me :-)