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- "But at length the Shadow returned and its power increased; and in that time was first made the Council of the Wise that is called the White Council, and therein were Elrond and Galadriel and Círdan, and other lords of the Eldar, and with them were Mithrandir and Curunír"
- —The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
The White Council, or the Council of the Wise, was a group of Elves and Wizards of Middle-earth, formed in the year 2463 of the Third Age to counterbalance the growing Shadow of Dol Guldur at the request of Lady Galadriel.
History[]
Prelude[]
At the end of the Second Age, the Dark Lord Sauron was defeated by Isildur, who cut the One Ring from his finger, causing Sauron's spirit to flee.
Despite his defeat, it appeared that Sauron was returning to power around 1000 years into the Third Age. As such, Valinor sent the Order of Wizards to the Middle-earth to challenge Sauron's potential return. Among the Wizards were Mithrandir (known as Gandalf) and Curunir (known as Saruman).
Formation[]
The White Council's original head was Saruman the White due to his knowledge of Sauron and Rings of Power (although Lady Galadriel wished for Gandalf the Grey to be made the leader of the group). Other members of the Council included the Bearers of the Three Rings (Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond), Círdan, who had borne Narya before handing it on to Gandalf, Glorfindel, and Radagast the Brown.
Elrond, Saruman, and Galadriel at Rivendell
The White Council was formed in TA 2463, shortly after the end of the Watchful Peace.[note 1] Without the power of the One Ring, Sauron was significantly weaker than the collective power of the White Council, and therefore had to plan carefully to avoid confrontation with them.
Actions and Saruman's deceptions[]
In TA 2851 the White Council met to choose whether to act on Gandalf's discovery that the Necromancer was actually Sauron, and was at Dol Guldur. However, Saruman, who by this point, had become corrupted by the One Ring to the point he desired to claim it for himself, deceitfully dissuaded the others from taking action by lying about his belief that the Dark Lord was defeated and could not regain his full strength, while the actual reason he didn't want to attack was that he felt he could find the One Ring if Sauron remained for the time being. During this meeting, Gandalf suspected Saruman of desiring to have the One Ring, and there was much tension between the two. Saruman, however, managed to keep his deception hidden despite Gandalf's suspicion. However, in TA 2939, Saruman discovered that Sauron's servants were searching the Anduin near the Gladden Fields, and that Sauron therefore had learned where Isildur had died and where the One Ring might be. Saruman deceitfully did not inform the Council of this, but when they met again in TA 2941, he finally agreed to an attack on Dol Guldur, wanting secretly to prevent Sauron from finding the Ring. Sauron was driven out of Dol Guldur, only to reappear in Mordor in TA 2951, declaring himself openly and beginning to gather power.
Final meeting[]
The Council last met in TA 2953. At this meeting, Saruman lied about the One Ring being swept out into the sea. Afterward, he withdrew to Isengard and fortified it,[1] already plotting against neighboring Rohan.[2] Though perhaps suspecting the Wizard's desire for the Ring, the Council was unaware that Saruman, by that point, had betrayed them and become "an ally, or servant, of Sauron".[3]
Members[]
- Saruman the White - Former leader; expelled
- Gandalf the Grey / Gandalf the White
- Radagast the Brown - may not have been present in later meetings
- Galadriel
- Elrond Half-elven
- Glorfindel
- Círdan
In adaptations[]
In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit films[]
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.' While there is no corresponding passage in the book, the White Council convenes in Rivendell during the Dwarves' stay. Gandalf presents his evidence to the council, warning them of the growing evil within Mirkwood, He reasons that Sauron and Smaug cannot be allowed to join forces, which is why the Quest of Erebor is so important. Elrond is skeptical, while Saruman is dismissive of Gandalf's claims. Galadriel however supports Gandalf, as she too can sense the evil presence, as Lothlórien is in close proximity to Mirkwood. Gandalf reveals the Morgul-blade to the council, which is enough to convince Galadriel and Elrond that Sauron may have returned. The council is interrupted when they learn that the Dwarves have left Rivendell. Galadriel assures Gandalf that she will aid him if need be, before she departs.
The council does not appear in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, though they are still active. Galadriel instructs Gandalf (and presumably Radagast) to investigate the tombs of the Nazgûl. Upon finding the tombs have been opened, Gandalf goes on a solo mission to Dol Guldur, where he finds that the Necromancer is indeed Sauron.
The members of the White Council are seen gathering at Dol Guldur in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The attack on Dol Guldur in the film has some notable differences. In the book Gandalf left the company of the Dwarves to meet with the other council members, all of whom were ready to drive out Sauron at this point. In the film, Gandalf has been incapacitated after encountering Sauron alone in Dol Guldur, necessitating his rescue by the rest of the council. Gandalf does not participate in this fight as a result; instead Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman are the main participants in the battle. The book indicates that Saruman lead the attack, but in the film it is Galadriel who leads the Council. Galadriel arrives first and rescues Gandalf, shortly before Elrond and Saruman arrive later to fight the Nazgûl, while Radagast—not here named as a member of the council—takes Gandalf to safety. Sauron himself manifests before them and notably attempts to sway Galadriel to his side. She resists him, and ultimately Galadriel is the one to drive Sauron from Dol Guldur, rather than Saruman. In the book, Gandalf mentioned that it was by the devices of Saruman that Sauron was driven away. However, as Saruman probably did plan the attack, the film may not be inaccurate after all.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Wit Raad |
| Albanian | Këshilli i Bardhë |
| Arabic | المجلس الأبيض |
| Armenian | Սպիտակ Խորհուրդ |
| Assamese | হোয়াইট বৰ্ড |
| Azerbaijani | Ağ Şurası |
| Basque | Zuriako Kontseilua |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Белы Савет |
| Bengali | হোয়াইট কাউন্সিল |
| Bosnian | Bela Vijeća |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Бял съвет |
| Burmese | အဖြူကောင်စီ |
| Cambodian | ក្រុមប្រឹក្សាសេត |
| Catalan | Consell Blanc |
| Cebuano | Puti nga Konseho |
| Chinese | 聖白議會 |
| Cornish | Konsel Gwynn |
| Corsican | Cunzigghiu Biancu |
| Croatian | Bijela vijeće |
| Czech | Bílá Rada |
| Danish | Hvide Råd |
| Dutch | Witte Raad |
| Esperanto | Konsilio Blanka |
| Estonian | Valge nõukogu |
| French | Conseil Blanc |
| Filipino | Konseho ng puting |
| Finnish | Valkoinen Neuvosto |
| Frisian | Wite Ried (Western) |
| Georgian | თეთრი საბჭო |
| German | Weißer Rat |
| Greek | Λευκός Συμβούλιο |
| Gujarati | સફેદ કાઉન્સિલ |
| Haitian Creole | Blan Konsèy |
| Hausa | Farin majalisa |
| Hebrew | המועצה הלבנה |
| Hindi | सफेद परिषद |
| Hmong | Sawv daws dawb |
| Hungarian | Fehér Tanács |
| Icelandic | Hvíta ráðið |
| Indonesian | Dewan Putih |
| Irish Gaelic | Comhairle Bán |
| Italian | Bianco Consiglio |
| Japanese | ホワイト協議会 |
| Javanese | Dewan Putih |
| Kazakh | Ақ Кеңес (Cyrillic) Aq Keñes (Latin) |
| Kannada | ವೈಟ್ ಕೌನ್ಸಿಲ್ |
| Korean | 화이트위원회 |
| Kurdish | Konseya Spî (Kurmanji) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Ак кеңеши |
| Latvian | Balts Padome |
| Lithuanian | Baltieji taryba |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Одбор Белата |
| Maithili | व्हाइट बोर्ड |
| Malagasy | Ny Filankevitry ny Fotsy |
| Malaysian | Majlis Putih |
| Maltese | Kunsill Abjad |
| Manx | Coonseil Bane ? |
| Maori | Kaunihera Ma |
| Marathi | पांढरा परिषद |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Цагаан зөвлөл |
| Nepalese | ह्वाइट परिषद् |
| Norwegian | Det hvite rådet |
| Occitan | Conselh Blanc |
| Pashto | سپین شورا |
| Persian | شورای سفید |
| Polish | Biała Rada |
| Portuguese | Conselho Branco |
| Punjabi | ਚਿੱਟੇ ਸਭਾ |
| Romanian | Consiliul/Sfatul Alb |
| Romansh | Cussegl Alv |
| Russian | Белый Совет |
| Samoan | Sinasina Fono |
| Scottish Gaelic | Geal Chomhairle |
| Serbian | Бели савет (Cyrillic) Beli savet (Latin) |
| Sicilian | Cunciliu Janca |
| Sindhi | اڇو ڪائونسل |
| Sinhalese | සුදු මන්ත්රණ සභාවයි |
| Slovak | Biela Rada |
| Slovenian | Bela deska |
| Somali | Golaha Caddaan |
| Spanish | Concilio Blanco |
| Sundanese | Déwan Bodas |
| Swedish | Vita Rådet |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Шӯрои Сафед |
| Tamil | வெள்ளை பொதுச்சங்கம் |
| Telugu | శ్వేత కౌన్సిల్ |
| Thai | สภาขาว |
| Turkish | Ak Konsili |
| Turkmen | Ak Maslahat |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Біла Рада |
| Urdu | سفید کونسل |
| Uzbek | Оқ Кенгаши (Cyrillic) Oq Kengashi (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Hội đồng Trắng |
| Welsh | Cyngor Gwyn |
| Wymysorys | Wajs Rȫt |
| Yiddish | ווייסע קאָונסיל |
| Yoruba | Funfun Igbimo |
References[]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Third Age"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl"
- ↑ Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part Four, Chapter 3: "The Palantíri"
Notes