White Council

The White Council
Members	Gandalf, Elrond, Saruman (temporarily), Radagast, Galadriel
Purpose	To combat the Necromancer of Dol Guldur
Formed	TA 2463
Dissolved	September 29, TA 3021

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

History

The White Council's original head was the Wizard Saruman the White, (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. 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.

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. But Saruman dissuaded the others from taking action, claiming that the Dark Lord was defeated and could not regain his full strength. 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 the 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, 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 re-appear in Mordor in TA 2951, declaring himself openly and beginning to gather power.

At some point after his return, Sauron enticed Saruman into joining him and betraying the Council. The Council last met in TA 2953; at this meeting Saruman falsely claimed that the One Ring was swept out into the sea. The rest of the council was unaware that their leader had betrayed them. Afterward, Saruman withdrew to Isengard, and fortified it.

Members

• Saruman the White - Former leader; expelled
• Gandalf the Grey / Gandalf the White
• Radagast the Brown
• Galadriel
• Elrond Half-elven
• Glorfindel
• Círdan

In adaptations

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 sceptical, 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