If one has to name a famous wizard, the names would typically be Merlin, Gandalf or Harry Potter.

Examples would be: Tolkien's Gandalf of The Lord of the Rings, Dumbledore of Harry Potter series, Merlin of Arthurian Legends, Lasky's Ezylryb of Guardians of Ga ' Hoole, Brooks ' Allanon of The Sword of Shannara, Eddings ' Belgarath and Polgara of The Belgariad, Feist's Macros the Black of the Riftwar Saga, Jordan's Moiraine of The Wheel of Time ( who at least starts out as this kind of character ), Goodkind's Zeddicus Zu ' l Zorander of The Sword of Truth, Dart-Thornton's Thorn / Angaver, and Paolini's Brom and Oromis of The Inheritance Cycle.

Throughout the early drafts, and through to the first edition of The Hobbit Bladorthin / Gandalf is described as being a " little old man ", distinct from a dwarf, but not of the full human stature that would later be described in The Lord of the Rings.

Galadriel had hoped Gandalf would lead the Council, but Gandalf refused, declining to be bound by any but the Valar who sent him.

Gandalf said he would attempt to return for Frodo's fiftieth birthday party, in order to accompany him on the road thereafter ; and that meanwhile Frodo should arrange to leave quietly, as the servants of Sauron would be searching for him.

It was then that Gandalf met the great horse Shadowfax, one of the mearas, who would be his mount and companion for most of the rest of the war.

Knowing that Frodo and his companions would be heading for Rivendell, Gandalf began to make his own way there.

As told in " The Quest of Erebor ", Gandalf states that the restoration of the dwarven kingdom of Erebor would later prove to be a bulwark against Sauron's Northern allies, even as the main thrust was against Gondor, which otherwise could have done great harm in Arnor and The Shire.

After Sam and Rose's first child was born it was revealed that Frodo would leave Middle-earth, along with Bilbo ( Sam's old hero ), Gandalf and most of the remaining High Elves ( Wood Elves had no part of this exodus from Middle-earth ), for the Undying Lands.

Had the Nazgûl not captured Gríma, they would instead have pursued Gandalf into Rohan, and possibly not found the Shire until much later, giving the Hobbits and then the Fellowship a considerable head start.

It exerted a malicious influence ; Gandalf mentions that though a bearer might begin with good intentions, the good intentions would not last.

Gandalf indicated to Barliman Butterbur that Fornost would probably be rebuilt by King Elessar.

Gandalf also reasoned that the Ring-bearer would go through Morgul to reach Mount Doom, thus it was preferable not to draw attention to Morgul by attacking it.

If it refers to Sauron's most recent return to Mordor, the Mouth of Sauron would have served Sauron for some 68 years when he encountered Aragorn and Gandalf.

Note that wands fill basically the same role as wizards ' staffs, though staffs generally convey a more ' serious ' image ; a fairy godmother would often use a wand, possibly with a star or some form of decoration on the end, while Gandalf would most likely not ( however, in The Hobbit, he is said to use a wand, referring to his staff, to fight the goblins of the Misty Mountains and their Wargs ).

However, in The Return of the King Gandalf said that Gwaihir had carried him twice before the Battle of the Morannon, while the proper count would have been three or four times if Gwaihir and the Lord of the Eagles had been the same individual.

Bilbo says to Gandalf that his intended ending would be him living " happily ever after to the end of his days.

Gandalf agreed to help Thorin, though he insisted that his party must make use of stealth rather than open confrontation ; for that, they would need a burglar, to whom he would take them.

After much debate, Gandalf managed to convince Thorin, aided by slight misunderstandings on Thorin's part, which Gandalf was able to exploit, that Bilbo would be a worthy member.

Other commentators have also compared Gandalf to the Norse god Odin in his " Wanderer " guise — an old man with one eye, a long white beard, a wide brimmed hat, and a staff.

The palantír struck the rail where Saruman was leaning, bounced off and fell down, almost striking Gandalf, an act for which Saruman seems to have punished him severely.

Knowing that it is only a matter of time before Sauron rebuilds his forces for another attack, Gandalf and Aragorn decide to draw out the hosts of Mordor with an assault on the Black Gate, providing a distraction so that Frodo and Sam may have a chance of reaching Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, unseen by the Eye of Sauron.

Gandalf's plan to distract Sauron from the Ring is successful: Mordor is almost empty as all the remaining Orcs have been summoned to defend the land against the assault of the army led by Gandalf and Aragorn.

He also was the creator of the palantíri ( a feat which is said by Gandalf to be beyond the skill of both Sauron and Saruman ), and was said to have created the Elfstone in one version of its history.

") and the trailer in which Galadriel and Gandalf have a conversation, the White Council could take place while the Company is in Rivendell.

Tolkien indirectly states that Théoden's death could have been prevented if Gandalf had helped the Rohirrim instead, as he had intended.

This number is later qualified by Gandalf: " I have about ten thousand Orcs to manage.

An eagle from the Misty Mountains that helped Gandalf before and during the War of the Ring ; his name means Windlord in Sindarin, and he is said to have been a descendant of Thorondor and the greatest and the swiftest of the Eagles of the North by the end of the Third Age.

The wizard Gandalf had never explored these lands, and though Aragorn is said to have travelled to them, there is no report of what he did while there.

Gandalf parts ways with the Hobbits on the way to the Shire to have a long talk with Tom Bombadil.

( Gandalf Technologies Inc · 8-K · For 8 / 8 / 97, Item 2 ) Mitel did not actually buy the company because in doing so, it would have purchased the large debt being carried by Gandalf Technologies.

Past festivals have included such artists as Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky, Ani DiFranco, Tom Paxton, Vance Gilbert, Tracy Grammer, Ellis Paul, John Gorka, Holly Near, Crooked Still, Eddie From Ohio, The Nields, We're About 9, Greg Brown, Richard Thompson, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Mark Elliott, Lowen and Navarro, Christine Lavin and Shawn Colvin.

The band was originally going to go with another name (" Snowaxe " and " Gandalf " have been mentioned by Matthew Good ), however a radio station in Vancouver played " Alabama Motel Room " and announced the band as the Matthew Good Band, at which point it stuck.

Outside the Shire, Gandalf encountered Radagast the Brown, another of the Istari, who brought the news that the Nazgûl had ridden forth and crossed the River Anduin — and a request from Saruman that Gandalf come to Isengard.

Gandalf, in this setting, is thus a representation in English ( anglicised from Old Norse ) of the name the dwarves of Dale had given to Olórin in the language they used " externally " in their daily affairs, while Tharkûn is the ( untranslated ) name, presumably of the same meaning, that the dwarves gave him in their native Khuzdul language.

Taking charge of the Fellowship ( comprising nine representatives of the free peoples of Middle-earth, " set against the Nine Riders "), Gandalf and Aragorn led the Hobbits and their companions south.

The Hobbit relates how Bilbo Baggins, in comfortable middle age at 50 years old, is hired in spite of himself as a " burglar " by the wizard Gandalf and 13 dwarves led by their king Thorin Oakenshield on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug.

On the journey south, Boromir frequently questioned the wisdom of their leader, Gandalf the Wizard.

The warning beacons are not lit until Gandalf and Pippin arrive in Minas Tirith ; they take matters into their own hands and light the first beacon themselves.

During the period of The Lord of the Rings, the Three were borne by Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf ; but until the end of the book their rings are not seen.

When Frodo Baggins, Sam, Merry and Pippin set out to take the Ring to Rivendell, Fredegar stayed behind in Frodo's house at Crickhollow in an attempt to keep up appearances and delay news of their departure, as well as give any message to Gandalf should he turn up.

2941, was also the reason that Gandalf was unable to accompany Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves on a portion of their trip to the Lonely Mountain, in The Hobbit.

Gandalf advised him to take refuge in the Hornburg fortress of Helm's Deep, an area named after one of their kings.

The Dunlendings were so terrified of Gandalf that most of them dropped their weapons.

Gandalf assures the four that their experiences in the War of the Ring will be sufficient to settle the troubles.

Thorin believed that Bilbo was incapable of helping their adventure and that Gandalf might be simply meddling in his affairs for his own reasons.

In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Bergil and his father were both left out, their deeds transferred to Peregrin and Gandalf.

Gandalf was a Finnish melodic death metal band who incorporated elements of traditional hard rock into their sound.

Since then, the band decided to call their band Gandalf.

Gandalf released both of their full-length albums through Wicked World Records, a subsidiary of Earache Records.

Gandalf Technologies, or simply Gandalf, was an early data communications company, best known for their modems and terminal adaptors that allowed computer terminals to connect to a number of host computers through a single interface.

PACX ( Private Automatic Computer eXchange ) was a name given by Gandalf Technologies to their family of data switching products.

The nine companions manage to get to the exit, but on their way to the Bridge of Khazad-dûm they are confronted by Durin's Bane, and Gandalf sacrifices himself to allow the others to get out of Moria.