Talk:Blue Wizards

I don't think it's all that controversial that Gandalf mentioned the Blue Wizards. I disagree that Gandalf would ever have revealed the number and names of the Wizards to anyone so readily, but the Blue Wizards are (IIRC) in the LOTR Appendices. Thankfully they're not named - if they had the right to Unfinished Tales and named them as "Alatar and Pallando" in the film I would have been very annoyed!-- KingAragorn  talk  contribs  edits  email  16:40, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

Well, according to Bratman and Brennan Croft, the name "Blue Wizards" does not appear in the LotR. But it might be worth to check!--Morgan 16:44, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

I hadn't thought of that. However, with the source, it can stay, imo. --Ederchil ^{(Talk/Contribs/Edits)} 17:34, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

I think the film makers can get away with it. LOTR does say there were five wizards and the Tolkien Estate can't sue over the attribution of the colour blue to the two unnamed wizards.-- KingAragorn  talk  contribs  edits  email  17:40, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

They certainly try to get away with it. But as Janet Croft says (who is credited as advisor to PJ's The Hobbit): "it’s okay to say five, and that they went east, but not to say they were blue'" (my emphasis). So, the controversy is there, and from a notable source -- nothing to argue about! --Morgan 17:59, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

I'm not arguing that there isn't a controversy, I'm joining in it! ;) I disagree with Janet Brennan Croft; I think it is OK to say that they were blue. If it was a problem, they could have easily have used a different colour to describe them.-- KingAragorn  talk  contribs  edits  email  18:08, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

The texts says that in the last writings, the Blue Wizards came in the Second Age, and were called Morinethar and Romestano in Middle Earth. However, there's a note of the same period (also given in HoME XII: Last Writings) that contradicts pretty much all this: "No names are recorded for the two wizards. They were never seen or known in lands west of Mordor. The wizards did not come at the same time. Possibly Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast did, but more likely Saruman the chief (and already overmindful of this) came first and alone." That is, they had no names (other than, possibly, their original names Alatar and Pallando) and arrived after Saruman. So, what version should be chosen? —Unsigned comment by 95.22.115.34 (talk • contribs).

I don't think we need to choose a version. As the introduction of the article states now, "Tolkien's conception of the two Blue Wizards changed dramatically between his earlier and later writings".--Morgan 13:55, 30 January 2014 (UTC)

Yes but the problem is, there's not one early version and one later version that overrided the other. There are actually one early version, and two (contradictory) later versions. The article only mentions one of them.—Unsigned comment by 95.22.115.34 (talk • contribs).

Thanks for the clarification. I'll see if I can draw editor KingAragorn's attention to the issue, who rewrote this article substantially quite recently. P.S. Why not create an account at Tolkien Gateway? :-) --Morgan 15:53, 30 January 2014 (UTC)

I thought about creating an account, but I don't really edit much, unless I just happen to stumble about something that I know well. In this case, it may not be even neccesary to edit the article much, since the other late version agrees with the early one. What about presenting both as alternate stories, instead of one being the early, rejected one, and the other the definitive?