White Council

The White Council, or Council of the Wise, was a group of Elves and Wizards of Middle-earth, formed in TA 2463 to contest the growing power of Dol Guldur at the request of Galadriel.

During the Second Age
There was also a Council of the Wise held in the mid-Second Age to discuss the growing power of Sauron in Mordor, this was also known as the First White Council and was led by Gil-galad. Several members of this council would also become prominent members of the Council in the Third Age.

During the Third Age
The White Council's head was the Wizard Saruman the White, (although Galadriel wished for Gandalf the Grey to be made the leader). Other members of the Council included the Bearers of the Three Rings of the Elves (Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond Half-elven), Círdan the Shipwright (who had borne Narya, the Ring of Fire before handing it on to Gandalf), Glorfindel and Radagast the Brown. It is assumed that others of the wise were also members of the White Council.

The White Council was formed in TA 2463, shorty after the end of the Watchful Peace. In TA 2851 the White Council met to decide on whether to act on Gandalf's discovery that the Necromancer was Sauron and was at Dol Guldur, but Saruman dissuaded the others from taking action. During this meeting Gandalf suspected Saruman of desiring to have the One Ring, and there was much tension between the two. However, in TA 2939 Saruman discovered that Sauron's servants were searching the Anduin near Gladden Fields, and that Sauron therefore had learned where Isildur had died and where the One Ring might be. Saruman did not inform the Council of this, but when they met again in TA 2941 Saruman finally agreed to an attack on Dol Guldur because he wanted to prevent Sauron from finding the Ring. Sauron was driven out of Dol Guldur, only to re-appear in Mordor in 2951, where he declared himself openly and began gathering power. This meeting was held when Thorin and Company were passing through on their quest Erebor. The Council last met in TA 2953; at this meeting Saruman falsely claimed that the One Ring has been swept out into the sea. Afterward Saruman withdrew to Isengard, and fortified it.

In the Movies
In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the council is not called the White Council by name but described as the "great council of the white wizards, masters of lore, and great magic.'

On the Internet
The White Council is also a website at TheWhiteCouncil.net, a Fansite for The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game by.

External link


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