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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.

THEHOBBITANUNEXPECTEDJOURNEY WARNERBROS PHOTO47

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.

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.[1]

Members[]

Portrayal 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 Conciliul Albă
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[]

  1. The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Third Age"

Notes

  1. It was at about this time that Déagol the Stoor discovered the One Ring and was murdered by Sméagol.
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