Saruman
Saruman was a male literary character who features in The Lord of the Rings.
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Biography
Curumo was originally a mighty Maia of Aulë. In the Elder Days, he was sent under the guise of Tarindor alongside four others - namely, Gandalf, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando - to protect the Elves at Cuiviénen from the evils of Morgoth and his greatest vassal, Sauron.
In the Second Age, a council was called in Valinor by Manwë, king of the Valar, shortly after Sauron's first downfall Though the Dark Lord had been overthrown by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, the Powers deemed that the threat he posed had not yet been ended. Thus, the Valar decided to send five of their Maia helpers to Middle-earth to guide the Free Peoples in resisting Sauron. Curumo was one of those who volunteered, whereas the last one, Olórin was commanded by Manwë to go too. Nonetheless, Curumo was the chief of the Order of the Istari. Much to his chagrin, he was also charged to take Aiwendil as his companion to please Yavanna. The others who were chosen were Alatar and Pallando (the two Blue Wizards).
In the Third Age, the White Wizard arrived at the Grey Havens as an emissary of the Powers. Only the keeper of the havens, Círdan the Shipwright, knew at that time Curumo's identity and origin. It was in this period that the White Wizard's hatred of the Grey Pilgrim would start to grow. Curumo soon learned that Círdan had had divined Olórin upon arrival as the wisest in the Order of the Istari and had given him Narya, an Elven Ring of Power, for safe-keeping. In his pride, Curumo believed that Olórin was contesting his authority and was actively seeking to compete with him. The White Wizard and the two Blue Wizards went into the east of Middle-earth. After one and a half millennia, Curumo returned to the west, just as Sauron began to re-emerge. In these days, he became known as Saruman to Men and as Curunír to the Elves and he was considered the greatest in the Order of the Istari. Despite this, Saruman's hatred of Gandalf (Olórin) grew ever more, for he envied the favor the latter held with their allies. As for Radagast (Aiwendil), Saruman reserved him only his contempt, dismissing him for his naivety and friendship with Gandalf. He spent some time in Gondor's capital of Minas Tirith; presumably it was there he learned that an all-seeing Palantir might be held in Orthanc at Isengard. Following the Long Winter, the White Wizard received the Steward's approval to make the tower into his dwelling as its warden. Nominally, Saruman was there to counsel the Kings of Rohan, but the truth was he had become too concerned with his own designs for self-enhancement. He thus took Isengard as a seat of power, in addition to finding the Palantir of Orthanc.
The White Wizard was also called to join the White Council, a group of the Wise who hoped to counter the Enemy. For many years, Saruman studied Sauron and his devices, initially to discern a way to withstand him. However, by the end of his research, the Wizard was in awe of the Dark Lord and, instead of hating him, he deludedly believed he could mold himself into his quasi-equal. This pursuit of power at any cost led Saruman to gradually abandon the task given to him by the Valar and to hinder Gandalf whenever possible. Distrustful of the Grey Pilgrim, the White Wizard started to spy on him and watched his movements in and around the Shire. Saruman was all but certain that Gandalf's visits to the Hobbits were purposed by some greater scheme. When Gandalf suggested that Sauron might have concealed himself at Dol Guldur] in Mirkwood, Saruman denied his blessing for an investigation or attack. Secretly, Saruman hoped that letting Sauron recover his spent strength would yield something in turn: he might garner some favor with Sauron in the future, or the Ring - feeling its master's return - might reveal itself; the Wizard believed that if he seized the One Ring he might control it and become the new Lord of the Rings. During the Quest for Erebor, Gandalf discovered that Sauron was indeed the "Necromancer" and Saruman was forced to approve an attack upon Dol Guldur.
After the Enemy flew back eastwards and the last meeting of the White Council was held, the Wizard sealed himself in his tower, plotting how to rule the Free Peoples, rather than watch over them, and using the Seeing Stone unbeknownst to his allies. Driven by greed, Saruman used the Palantir to commune with Sauron and swore him his allegiance. Hence, the corrupted Wizard was intent on ruling Middle-earth together with his new Lord, or usurping him as Lord of the Rings to rule all himself. As one of Sauron's chief vassals, Saruman took Isengard for his own, as a fief of Mordor; in truth, the Wizard had become little more than his Lord's puppet, acting out his will while still open to the opportunity of a second betrayal. Saruman began recruiting Orcs of the Misty Mountains into his service, using them to fortify Isengard, build a network of smithies and other war machines in pits and breed Uruk-hai and Half-orcs in the water caves beneath. On one hand, the corrupted Wizard was building most of these creatures into an army in service of his Lord, on the other he was simultaneously keeping some for a smaller separate elite fighting force loyal only to himself. Preying on the enmity between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings, Saruman persuaded Dunland to throw in its lot with the union of Isengard and Mordor against Rohan. He also bought Gríma Wormtongue as a mole, using him to poison Théoden's mind and keep from opposing Sauron's expansion. The corrupted Wizard also took a more active interest in the Shire, sending his own agents there to procure pipe-weed and goods and also to spy. This way, Saruman effectively forged an alliance with Lotho Sackville Baggins, who gradually became somewhat of a local despot over the Hobbits with his backing.
As Sauron began to issue forth, Gandalf journeyed to Isengard seeking Saruman's counsel, only to discover the terrible treachery. The corrupted Wizard revealed his intentions and offered the Grey Pilgrim a choice: submit to the Dark Lord, as he himself had done, or aid him instead in getting the One Ring first. When Gandalf refused to bend the knee to Sauron or reveal the Ring's wherabouts, Saruman imprisoned him atop Orthanc.He then started mustering his servants and allies, in preparation for his Lord's war and his own hunt for the Ring-bearer. After Gandalf's flight, Saruman dispatched Crebain spies and his loyal Uruk-hai troop to pursue the Fellowship and capture the Hobbits who possessed the Ring.
His defection to Sauron's service revealed, Saruman sprang his campaign against the Rohirrim into motion, sending Isengard Orc raiding parties and Dunlending warbands to ravage the Westfold. With Théoden weakened and Gríma having assumed stewardship, Saruman now sought to remove one of the final impediments to his lordship of Rohan. The corrupted Wizard gave special orders that the King's heir be slain. Thus, in the First Battle at the Fords of Isen, Saruman's servants threw themselves in repeated attacks upon Théoden's son, Théodred, and mortally-wounded him. Meanwhile, his Uruk-hai took two of the halflings captive, but were waylaid on the eaves of Fangorn by Rohirrim and slain to the last. Soon after, Théoden was freed from Saruman's sway by Gandalf and the treacherous Gríma fled Rohan back to Isengard. Having tried (and failed) to gain the One Ring first, the corrupted Wizard was in fear of losing his Lord' favor and sought to bargain for his clemency. Hoping to please Sauron by bringing him Rohan, Saruman unleashed his army against Théoden's people at Helm's Deep. For much of the Battle of the Hornburg, the Uruk-hai warriors held the upper hand, being better armed and trained than the Rohirrim defenders and being aided by Saruman's devices, which included blasting powder to bring down walls. However, the arrival of reinforcements led by Gandalf and the brave charge headed by Aragorn and Théoden broke Saruman's ranks and resulted in his defeat. The remaining of the Uruk-hai were crushed by the vengeful Huorns.
In his pride, the corrupted Wizard had underestimated the wrath of the forest he had used as fuel for his war engines. The Ents, ireful at the Orcs' cutting of their trees, assaulted the mostly-defenseless Isengard. To the horror of the Dark Lord's puppet, they stomped on the last of his minions, destroyed his network of wooden machinery and flooded his fortress. Saruman cowered back in Orthanc and was later confronted by Gandalf, Théoden and their allies. Feigning generosity and care at first, the corrupted Wizard tried to bend the King to his side. Théoden, fully aware that Saruman's extended hand was but talon of Sauron's claw, asked instead for retribution for the burning of the Westfold and the deaths of the Rohirrim children and warriors alike. Shedding the veil of humility, Saruman belittled Théoden and then, in a mocking tone, addressed Gandalf. In spite of his misdeeds, the corrupted Wizard was offered a chance to repent, if he surrendered the tower and revealed what his Lord's plans were. Arrogant as ever, Saruman refused and was banished from the Order of the Istari by Gandalf, for his treachery and service to Sauron had already cost many lives. His staff broken, the turncoat was stripped of much of his power and crawled back into his tower. To his frustration, Gríma threw the Palantir out a window - not sure whether he hated Saruman or Gandalf more; the Palantir was then claimed by Aragorn and would play a role in countering Sauron's next strike.
After the final downfall of Sauron, his puppet, Saruman, persuaded the Ents to set him free. The corrupted Wizard then journeyed with his footman, Wormtongue, to the Shire, which his agents had infiltrated beforehand. Soon enough, Saruman had his ally, Lotho Sackville-Baggins, killed so he could assume total control over the Shire as the local petty thug-lord. With a horde of Orcs, Half-orcs and wicked Men at his disposal, he imposed a terror regime over the Hobbit people, whom he held partially responsible for his precarious position. His short-lived "rule" was ended when the halflings were stirred into an uprising. Led by Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, the Hobbits vanquished Saruman's allies and drove him out. Saruman's final mistake would be lashing out at Gríma, who proceeded to stab him in the back for his mistreatment. The corrupted Wizard's spirit rose from his body and looked westwards, but was denied entry and was scattered by the wind. Not unlike his Lord, Sauron, whose impotent spirit was sucked into the Void, Saruman's houseless ghost was left powerless and unable to return of Middle-earth.
Overview
Personality and attributes
Since his beginning, Saruman was filled with pride. The extensive knowledge he held served only to fuel his vanity and he allowed himself to be overcome by a greedy lust for more power, regardless of the terrible means needed to achieve it. He also proved himself to be paranoid or petty in his relationships with Gandalf and Radagast. The Grey Pilgrim he envied and considered an intolerable rival. In Saruman's flawed mindset, Gandalf's intentions were not so different from his own. Certain that the Grey Pilgrim was orchestrating his downfall, the corrupted Wizard undermined his efforts whenever possible out of sheer spite. Radagast he despised utterly, seeing him merely as a bird-taming fool or a tool of Gandalf. Saruman's amorality was obvious in his admiration of Sauron, whose works of deceit and wars had spread only death, enslavement and misery. The corrupted Wizard instead saw in his new Lord the personification of power and accomplishments and so sought to mimic him, both as flattery and for self-enhancement. Saruman was indeed only less evil than Sauron in that he mostly served him and not solely himself - even if he attempted a second betrayal on him. Much like his Lord, the corrupted Wizard saw the Free Peoples as a weak and chaotic rabble that need a strong ruler - his Lord, or himself - to govern them. Saruman had only contempt for the Rohirrim, branding them drunken brigands, and showed himself to be scornful of Théoden and his House. The treatment he awarded his servants and allies was apparently no better, as Saruman abused Gríma both physically and verbally, even going as far as to shorten his "Wormtongue" alias to "Worm". He also dismissed the Orcs as a truly effective fighting force, which was the grounds for his selection of the Uruk-hai as worthy soldiers.
Powers and abilities
Knowledge of the "deep arts" was of particular interest to him. Indeed, Saruman held extensive knowledge of Sauron and his devices - especially the field of the Rings of Power. He was also deeply learned in ancient lore regarding powerful realms such as Númenor, Gondor, and Moria. The Wizard's power was great and grew even more after his defection to the Dark Lord's service. His power was seen in both the skill of his hands and his voice, through which he could influence the minds of most save the very wisest or most powerful beings in Middle-earth. After his defeat, Saruman's staff was broken by Gandalf's magics and, following Sauron's downfall, he seemed to have lost even the power he held in his voice. Whereas Saruman the White had originally been mightier than Gandalf the Grey, Saruman "of Many Colors" - as he briefly called himself - proved to be visibly weaker than Gandalf the White.
Notes
- Saruman was created by J. R. R. Tolkien where he featured in the Middle-earth universe.
In other media
Films
In The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy, Saruman was portrayed by Sir Christopher Lee. Sir Christopher Lee was a devoted fan of the source material and the only member of the cast to ever meet the author, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Video games
Appearances
The Lord of the Rings The Silmarillion Unfinished Tales The History of Middle-earth
External Links
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