Saruman

Saruman

Saruman was a male literary character who features in The Lord of the Rings.

Biography

Curumo was the first of the Istari (Wizards) sent by the Valar to guide the Free Peoples in the struggle against the Dark Lord Sauron.

Coming to Middle-Earth as an emissary of the rightful Powers near the beginning of the Third Age, he made his home in the tower of Orthanc deep in the valley of Isengard with the blessing of the Steward of Condor and the King of Rohan. Among Men, Curumo became known as Saruman the White.

For many years, the White Wizard led the White Council, and he himself was their chief expert in Ringlore, having secretly grow enamoured of the Enemy's devices. Unlike the other four Istari, Saruman wanted power at any cost and so plotted to share in Sauron's power; he also envied Gandalf whom he viewed as a competitor for station and undermined whenever possible. The corrupted White Wizard's coercion was complete when the Dark Lord caught him peering into the Palantir and ensnared him, compelling him to his side. Abandoning the mission he had been entrusted with, Saruman sought by terrible means to get his hands on the One Ring, or at the very least reap the fruits of the victorious Sauron as his joint lieutenant.

Concealed in his ringed stronghold, Saruman established his own host both in service and in rivalry of his new master, Sauron, drawing his manpower from tribes of mountain Orcs, breeding more with degrees of Mannish blood in the muddy water caverns beneath Isengard. Saruman also sent his informants to spy on Gandalf's affairs in the Shire, and began sapping the strength of the neighboring realm of Rohan by throwing in his lot with the wildmen from Dunland. Buying royal advisor Grima Wormtongue to the Dark Lord Sauron's cause, the Wizard Saruman persuaded King Théoden to indirectly allow the resurgence of his master's armies for the coming war by not interferring.

Gandalf journeyed to Isengard seeking Saruman's counsel, only to discover the terrible treachery. The turncoat Wizard revealed his intentions and offered him a choice: submit to the Dark Power or get the One Ring for themselves to vie with him with absolute rulership over Arda. Gandalf refused, and was imprisoned by Saruman atop Orthanc.

Saruman then turned Isengard into a war camp, gathering his numberless Orcs and Wolves, cutting down wood, forging weapons and perfecting the fighting Uruk-hai. After the Grey Pilgrim's flight, the traitorous Wizard dispatched a party of his Orcs to pursue the Fellowship of the Ring.

Saruman's Uruk-hai scouts succeeded in capturing Merry and Pippen, but the halflings escaped and helped rally the Ents against the threat of the union between Mordor and Isengard.

At his Lord Sauron's command, the Wizard Saruman committed most of his forces to grievous attacks against the Rohirrim at the Fords of Isen and the fortress of Helm' Deep. While his ten thousand-strong legion was vanquished, the Ents assaulted and occupied Isengard, trapping the turncoat in Orthanc. Gandalf the White soon arrived, leading the armies of Rohan, and confronted the embittered Saruman, offering him a chance to repent. Arrogant as ever Saruman refused and tried to sow despair or push him towards Sauron's employ, so Gandalf banished him from the Istari order and broke his staff, stripping him of his power. In a fit of rage, Grima threw Saruman's Palantir out a window - not sure whichever Wizard he hated more - where it was claimed by Aragorn.

After the permanent defeat of the Dark Lord, the Ents released his two-faced servant, and he and Wormtongue journeyed to the Shire, where allies he had infiltrated there allowed him to take over. He was known among the hobbits there as "Sharkey" (derived from an orcish word meaning 'Old Man') and holding them responsible for his precarious position, Saruman imposed a terror regime in the land by means of ruffians and half-orcs. The four hobbits returned and managed to drive the disgraced Wizard out. But after lashing out at Grima, the oppressed agent (after enduring abuse and torture) attacked Saruman and cut his throat. Saruman's spirit rose from his body and looked towards Valinor, but was rejected and his spirit scattered on the wind; a fate perhaps not much unlike that of his master, as Sauron's soul was banished to the Void to gnaw on its own impotent malice.

Notes

• Saruman was created by J. R. R. Tolkien where he featured in the Middle-earth universe.

Appearances

• The Lord of the Rings:

External Links

• Wikipedia Entry

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