Saturday, 06. May 2006
The Thain’s Book

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Artist unknown - Click the picture for a larger view

For example: Gandalf

Gandalf was one of the Order of Wizards sent to Middle-earth to oppose Sauron. During his 2,000 years in Middle-earth, Gandalf came to understand and love the land and its peoples, particularly Hobbits. Gandalf worked ceaselessly to counter Sauron's plans to dominate Middle-earth, and he set in motion a chain of events that ultimately resulted in the Dark Lord's downfall.

Gandalf was one of the Maiar, spirits who helped and served the Valar. When he lived in the Undying Lands he was known as Olorin, and he was the wisest of the Maiar.


He sometimes walked among the Elves unseen or as one of them and shared wisdom and fair visions with them.

For much of the time, Olorin dwelled in Lorien, the gardens of the Vala Irmo for which the woods of Lothlorien in Middle-earth were named. Olorin also frequently visited Nienna in her home in the far west near the walls of the world. It was said that Olorin learned pity and patience from Nienna. But Olorin seems to have been most closely associated with the Valar Manwe and Varda, and it was they who sent Olorin to Middle-earth around the year 1000 of the Third Age.

The Maiar who were sent by the Valar to Middle-earth were given the bodies of old men and were known as Istari, or Wizards. Their mission was to help the free peoples of Middle-earth oppose Sauron without seeking domination or power for themselves. Olorin was the last of the five Wizards to arrive at the Grey Havens in northwestern Middle-earth. There Cirdan the Shipwright gave him Narya, one of the Three Rings of the Elves, saying:

"Take this ring, Master, for your labours will be heavy; but it will support you in the weariness that you have taken upon yourself. For this is the Ring of Fire, and with it you may rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill. But as for me, my heart is with the Sea, and I will dwell by the grey shores until the last ship sails. I will await you."
Appendix B:
"The Tale of Years," p. 366

The Thain's Book - an encyclopedia of the people, places, creatures, things, and events in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

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© Douglas Carell - Click the picture for a larger view

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Entries include descriptions, histories, important dates, genealogies, etymologies, illustrations, sources and cross-references. (English)
Category: Fantasy & Utopia | Lexica & Overviews |




Stellarium

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Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.

• over 120,000 stars from
the Hipparcos catalogue
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• asterisms and illustrations
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• images of nebulae

• realistic Milky Way

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• skinnable landscapes, now
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and much more ...


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Category: Astrology & Astronomy |


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