RÓMENNA MEETING REPORT
June 30, 1984
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Present: | Per Hollander (host)
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| Richard Dotter
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| Steve Ferrara
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| Randolph Fritz
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| Scott Kurtz
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| Lissanne Lake
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| Fred Phillips
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| Margaret Purdy
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The June meeting of Rómenna began somewhat later than originally planned,
due to the great difficulty of breaking into a Mercedes when the keys have been
inadvertently locked inside. Nevertheless the Jersey contingent finally arrived,
and the discussion was able to begin.
We started out with a reading by Fred Phillips of a short paper on the Istari,
the bulk of which is quoted below:
"As an active student of that part of the History of Religion
which deals with the history of magic I have found it enlightening
to study some of the ceremonial magic systems used in Northern and
Western Europe from about the second century A.D. to the present.
... I claim no eminent knowledge of the history or lore of wizards
... Nevertheless it seems apparent that the historical concept
of wizard is somewhat different from Tolkien's description of
the 'Heren Istarion,' at least as interpreted by Christopher Tolkien,
who put the notes for this chapter into some coherent form, saying
that '... it was quite distinct from the "wizards" and "magicians"
of later legend...' Here it is likewise unclear whether Tolkien
means 'mainstream' legends or the implied 'legends of Middle-earth'
....
"In another sense, also, are the Istari different from the wizards
and magicians of Western European folklore: they do not point
their staffs at you and mutter arcane formulae and change you into a
toad. In this might be something of a lowering of tone, which would
tend to conflict with what Tolkien describes (p. 389) as 'their high
order.' These men. or mortalized Valar ... are too closely interwoven
with the destiny of Middle-earth ... in the chapter 'The Istari'
in the Unfinished Tales it says:
'Emissaries they were from the Lords of the West, the
Valar, who still took counsel for the governance of
Middle-earth....' (p. 389)
Fred went on to say that he considered Gandalf the "real" hero of
The Lord
of the Rings, since he is the prime moving force without which none of the story
could take place ("
Sine Gandalf nihil," as he put it). He is the one who sets
Frodo off on his quest, fights the Balrog (which nobody else can do), and so
forth. A discussion ensued on the origin of the Balrog, and it was pointed out
that the fight between Gandalf and the Balrog was a contest of Maia vs. Maia.
Gandalf is an excellent example of the precept that appearances can be deceiving.
The chapter points out that Gandalf was the least impressive in appearance
of the five wizards, but Círdan, at least, was able to see past this
facade, and hailed the old grey-bearded man as the greatest of the five.
It was noted that the color grey would seem to indicate neutrality, but
Gandalf is always portrayed as unswervingly good (as when he rejects the
Ring, for instance). Somebody brought up the fact that Gandalf had a ring
already (Narya). So did Galadriel, who was also offered it by Frodo. Ive considered
for a moment whether all such scenes were cases of "no thanks, I've
already got one," until we remembered Frodo's at least implied offering of the
Ring to Aragorn at the Council of Elrond ("Then it belongs to you, and not to
me at all!"),which Aragorn refuses. Faramir also declined to take the Ring
when it lay within his power to do so.
Turning back to the subject of wizards, we considered briefly the point
mentioned by Fred that wizards are the equivalent of priestly figures, as in
the crowning of Aragorn, in addition to the fact that they form an "order."
Tolkien seems a bit unclear as to whether the rive were the only wizards sent
or merely the chiefs of a larger group. In any case, Tolkien is careful to
distinguish the
istari from the usual conception of "wizards." It was noted
that the (possible) creation of "magic cults" in the East by the Blue Wizards
was implied to be a bad thing.
This led into a discussion of ceremonial magic vs. what might be called
"inherent" magic in Middle-earth. Margaret brought up the matter considered in
earlier discussions of the lack of the truly "supernatural" in Middle-earth,
if "supernatural" is taken to mean that which lies outside of the natural order
of things. Most beings who perform what we would call "magic" are using powers
natural and inherent to them, not calling on forces outside of themselves or
the natural world. There are a few exceptions: Steve brought up the barrow-wight's
incantation as one, and the Dead Men of Dunharrow are another. The
Noldor were suggested as "ceremonial magicians" or "scientists," but it was
pointed out that making was what they were supposed to do, an inherent ability.
Fred asked if that predilection wasn't what caused the fall of the Noldor (in
particular, the making of the Silmarils). Margaret countered that
making was
a good thing, it was
possessiveness of the thing made that was bad ("Love not
too well the work of thy hands and the devices of thy heart."). We also noted
the title of the "Witch-king" of Angmar (the Ringwraiths were certainly unnatural).
A description of Tom Bombadil more or less exorcising the barrow-wight
led off into a digression on that perennial question, "Who is Eldest?"
Getting back to the main topic, we noted that Sauron practiced a form of
ceremonial magic in Númenor, with his temple to Morgoth and his human sacrifices.
However, it was pointed out that these "ceremonies" did not actually
work, at least, they did not accomplish their stated purpose (to draw on the
power of Morgoth and give it to the Númenóreans). As a blow to the morale of
the FaithfUl and a smoke-screen for Sauron's real purposes they served admirably,
of course.
Saruman's resemblance to the Noldor was noted. both in physical appearance
(he is described as raven-haired and noble of mein in the essay) and in preoccupation
with things and "technology". In the end his downfall was caused
by a thing or artifact, the Ring.
It was pointed out that although, as Fred said, the wizards of Middle-earth
did not go around turning people into toads, Gandalf at least threatened
to do so to Sam Gamgee when he caught him spying, It was then suggested that
Radagast might be more likely actually to turn someone into a toad because he'd
consider it a better form. Radagast's preoccupation with animals was discussed.
In the chapter Tolkien implies that it was a failure of his mission, but on the
other hand, he is said to have been sent by Yavanna to take special care of her
creations. Margaret pointed out that some of the fauna was sentient (the eagles,
the fox who remarked on the queerness of four hobbits asleep under a tree, the
wargs in
The Hobbit), and suggested that they needed their own wizard to keep
them from corruption, too.
Fred expressed doubt that Gandalf had never ventured into the East, despite
his statement to that effect, since he seemed to know an awful lot about what
was going on there. It was pointed out that Gandalf had a good deal of intuition
about such things, and besides that he would exchange information with
others of the wise who might have emissaries in the East.
Somebody mentioned the article in an early issue of the D&D magazine
The
Dragon which stated that Gandalf was only a fifth-level magic user, judging
from the actual magic he peeformed. One of the suggestions the article made
was that Gandalf had a "tough DM," and we decided that this was essentially
correct. Though the Istari had many powers of mind and hand, they were forbidden
to throw their weight around, so to speak, and used it very sparingly
for the most part--especially Gandalf, who remained true to his mission.
We then started making a list of Gandalf's acts of magic in
The Lord of
The Rings. We found that they fell into four main categories: fire magic
(fireworks, igniting the faggot on Caradhras, smoke-rings, making a light
in Moria, ignitinq of Legolas' arrow); weather magic (the magical "demo"
during the healing of Theoden, possibly his use of lightning in various battles);
magic derived from lore or knowledge (the opening-spells used at the
Moria gate, the shutting-spell and "Word of Command" used against the Balrog,
the breaking of Saruman's staff); and magic derived from his own inherent
nature (the enhancement of the flooding of the Bruinen, the persuasion used
on Théoden, his faculty of remembering the right thing at the right time).
All of these categories can be associated with different aspects of Gandalf's
nature. Fire-magic is appropriate to the bearer of Narya, the Ring of
Fire. Weather-magic is appropriate to a Maia of Manwë, Lord of the Airs and
Winds. His lore or knowledge was derived from study, as with conventional
wizards, and the powers of persuasion and visions (both having them and making
them) are indicated to be part of his nature by his original name: Olórin.
The name Olórin, from a stern olos-, has the multiple meanings of memory,
imagination, creativity, fair visions (not used to deceive), and the promptings
of wisdom and inspiration from an unknown source. All of these meanings are
applicable to Gandalf, who remembers the right thing at the right time, who
creates a vision of shining white horses with white riders, who prompts men
to wise action. It was decided that the name and the word were made to fit
Gandalf and not the other way around.
Saruman also had the gift of persuasion, though he eventually used it in
a different (and wrongful) way. Saruman used his inherent skill (remember that
poetry was considered the highest skill, the respect for bards) to persuade
others to do his will, whereas Gandalf persuaded them to do what was right.
Gandalf remained true to his mission. Saruman was head of the White Council
basically because he wanted the job and Gandalf didn't, not wanting to be tied
down. Wizards were not supposed to be "rooted," but should wander around and
help everybody.
Soon after this the discussion came to a close, as our host passed around
pictures of the Swedish Tolkien society, and displayed a handsome banner (from
the Tolkien Society of Jerusalem) and two fine swords.
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Next: July 22, 1984
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