The Blue Wizards (or the Ithryn Luin) were two mysterious characters of Middle-earth; so-named because they both wore sea-blue robes.

These Istari were only hinted at in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, where Gandalf and Saruman, respectively, mention that there are five Wizards. However, other writings of Tolkien have more to say: In Tolkien's Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age it is revealed that aside from Curunír (Saruman), Olórin (Gandalf), and Aiwendil (Radagast), there were "others of the Istari who went into the east of Middle-earth, and do not come into these tales."[1] Tolkien also writes in Unfinished Tales that the two Wizards were sent to the East. Their names in Valinor were Alatar and Pallando. Alatar was a Maia of the Vala Oromë who chose him to go to Middle-earth. Alatar asked his friend Pallando to join him on his mission.[2]

History

The time that they arrived in Middle-earth is uncertain. In, Tolkien wrote that the five Istari came to Middle-earth together in T.A. 1000. However, in, they are said to have arrived in the Second Age , around the year 1600 , the time of the forging of the One Ring Their mission was directed at weakening Sauron 's forces in the eastern and southern parts of Middle-earth whereas the other Istari were focused on the western regions.

It is also uncertain whether they failed in their mission, but it seems most likely. In Unfinished Tales Tolkien writes that, "indeed of all the Istari, one only remained faithful," referring to Gandalf. Also in letter 211 ,he said ,"what success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; I suspect that they were founders or beginners of secret cults and 'magic' traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron". [4] However, in a text found in The Peoples of Middle-earth, alternate set of names are given, Morinehtar and Rómestámo (or Rome(n)star), "Darkness-slayer" and "East-helper". It is not clear whether these names were intended to be replacements for Alatar and Pallando, or whether they had a second set of names (for instance, their names used in Middle-earth).

Powers and abilities

Any powers and abilities are purely speculative and based on non-cannon portrayals. It is assumed that they have generic Istari abilities, which include: telekinesis, telepathy, and minor spells. Weather manipulation was hinted at by Gandalfs words in extended edition of Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey.

Etymology

The name Romestamo means East-helper, from the Quenya word romen, meaning uprising, sunrise, east.

Portrayal in adaptations

Video games

In the game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, a Weathered Azurite Figurine can be found in the north-western part of the Sea of Núrnen. In the game their names are not said, but the description of the artifact implies the two wizards are Alatar and Pallando. In the memory of this artifact is said:

"See, there were two of them, and they both came in from the road with a hard look in their eyes, as if they'd traveled too far and seen too much. They were Wizards, true, both of 'em caked in dust, and when one's talk he'd stop to think and there'd be the other to finish right up, like they had one brain and two mouths. It was creepy for sure, but neither seemed to notice. I heard them say they were hunting the darkness. Darned if I know if they found it. But I guess those fellows can find trouble when they're looking for it."

Translations

Foreign language Translated name Afrikaans Blou Towenaars Albanian Magjistarët e Kaltër Amharic ሰማያዊ አጋዦች Arabic أزرق السحرة Armenian կապույտ Վիզարդզ Azerbaijani Mavi Sehrbazlar Basque Azti Urdinak Belarusian Cyrillic сінія чараўнікі Bengali নীল জাদুকররা Bosnian Plavi Čarobnjaci Bulgarian Cyrillic Сините Магьосници Cambodian អ្នកជំនួយការខៀវ Catalan Mags Blaus Chinese (Hong Kong) 藍色巫師 Cornish Pystrioryon Blou Croatian Plavi Čarobnjaci Czech Modří Čarodějové Danish Blå Troldmænd Dutch Blauwe Tovenaars Esperanto Bluaj Magiistoj Estonian Sinised Võlurid Faroese Bláur gandakallur ? Fijian Daucakamana ena Karakarawa Filipino Bughaw na Manggagaway Finnish Siniset Velhot French Mages Bleus Frisian Blau Tsjoender Galician Magos Azuis Georgian ლურჯი ჯადოსნები German Blaue Zauberer Greek Μπλε Μάγοι Gujarati બ્લુ વિઝાર્ડઝ Haitian Creole Sòsye Ble Hawaiian Uliuli Kupua Hebrew קוסמים הכחולים (Blue Wizards) איתרין לואין (Ithryn Luin) Hindi ब्लू विजार्ड्स Hungarian Kék Varázsló Icelandic Blár Galdramenn Indonesian Penyihir Biru Irish Gaelic Draoi Gorm Italian Stregoni Blu Japanese 青のウィザード Kannada ನೀಲಿ ಮಾಂತ್ರಿಕರು Kazakh Көк сиқыршылар (Cyrillic) Kök sïqırşılar (Latin) Korean 청색의 마법사 Kurdish Sêrbazên Şîn (Kurmanji Kurdish) Latin Caeruleus Veneficus Latvian Zils Vedņi Lithuanian Mėlynos Burtininkai Luxembourgish Blo Zauberer Macedonian Cyrillic сина Визардс Malagasy Manga Mitsiatsiaka Malaysian Pendeta Biru Maltese Ikħal-sħaħar Marathi निळा विझार्ड्स Mongolian Cyrillic Цэнхэр ид шидтэнгүүд Nederlands Blauwe Tovenare Nepalese निलो जादूगर Norwegian Blå Veivisere Occitan Mascs Blau Pashto زنگالي جادوگران Persian جادوگران آبی (Blue Wizards) ایترین لوین (Ithryn Luin) Polish Błękitni Czarodzieje Portuguese Magos Azuis Punjabi ਨੀਲੇ ਜਾਦੂਗਰ Romanian Vrăjitorii Albaștri Russian Синие маги Sanskrit नीलःमायाकार Serbian Плави Чаробњаци (Cyrillic) / Plavi Čarobnjaci (Latin) Sindhi نيرو جادوگر Sinhalese නිල් සූනියම්කරුවන් Slovak Modrý Čarodej Slovenian Modra Čarovnika Somalian Saaxiriinta Buluug Spanish Magos Azules Swahili Wachawi Bluu Swedish Blå Trollkarlar Tajik Cyrillic Кабуд ҷодугарон Tamil நீலம் சூனியக்காரர்கள் Telugu నీలము ఇంద్రజాలికులు Thai บลูวิซาร์ด Turkish Mavi Büyücüler Ukrainian Cyrillic Сині чарівники Urdu نیلا جادوگر Uzbek Кўк Сеҳргарлар (Cyrillic) Ko'k Sehrgarlar (Latin) Vietnamese Phù thủy Màu xanh Welsh Dewiniaid Glas Yiddish בלוי וויזאַרדס Yucatec Maya Magos Azules