A wizard's staff (pl. staves) is the primary weapon of anIstari wizard and serves as a focus for much of their power. There are only a few known times where a Wizard’s staff has been broken. Gandalf the Grey's staff was broken during his fight with the Balrog Durin's Bane when he smote the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, though he would later have another one as Gandalf the White. After his defeat at the hands of the Ents of Fangorn forest, Saruman's staff was broken by Gandalf due to his treachery against Middle Earth.
Wizard Staves
Gandalf
Gandalf the Grey's Staff of Power.
Gandalf the Grey's Staff of Power was his primary weapon and walking stick. The staff of Gandalf the Grey was made of brown wood with a jewel fixed at the top which would light up at his command. He used this staff throughout The Hobbit, The Quest of Erebor, the War of the Ring, and The Fellowship of the Ring. When Gandalf led the Fellowship into Moria they encountered Durin's Bane, a Balrog of Morgoth. To save the rest of the Fellowship the Grey Wizard fought with the ancient demon using his magic abilities and sword skills. Gandalf realised his time as the Grey Wizard had come to an end, and his powers needed to be enhanced if he and his fellowship stood a chance of defeating Sauron. When he struck the Bridge of Khazad-dûm his staff broke assunder and disappeared into the darkness. The force of Gandalf's magic caused the bridge to crumble away at his feet, bringing the Balrog down with it. Gandalf also fell, as Durin's Bane wrapped its fiery whip around his ankle, pulling him into the darkness along with Glamdring and his staff, the latter of which was never seen again.
Gandalf returns as the White Wizard, and head of the order of Wizards, Gandalf's abilities are enhanced and more fierce than ever before, with the Flame of Anor at his command Gandalf is able to assist his fellowship once more. As Gandalf the White he possessed a rough staff of ash, presumably white in colour.[1]
Saruman
Saruman wielding his staff of power.
Saruman the White's staff has been held by The White Wizard ever since he became a member of the Istari. This staff is, of course, magical, and it was used to overcome Gandalf at Orthanc. After the Battle of the Hornburg Gandalf the White and his companions made their way to Isengard. Once there Gandalf broke the staff of Saruman due his treachery against middle earth and the crown fell at Gandalf's feet.
Blue Wizards
Little is known of the blue wizards and even less is known of their staves. Presumably their staves were made of rough wood with a crystal embedded into the crown to enhance their magical abilities.
Radagast
The origin of Radagast's staff is unknown, however his staff is most probably forged of oak given the fact that he lives in Rhosgobel.
Portrayal in adaptations
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
In Peter Jackson's films, Gandalf has a variety of different staves. To date Gandalf is seen with four different variations of his staff, three of those as the Grey wizard. Gandalf's staff in The Hobbit Films has been described by the Weta Production team as an "opening flower"; this staff is destroyed by the Necromancer in Dol Guldur.
The crown of Gandalf's staff in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is very similar to the staff of Gandalf the White when one looks at the crown embedded in the staff. Gandalf's first staff in The Fellowship of the Ring (film) was originally the staff of Radagast the Brown, the staff is acquired in an unexplained plot line due to be revealed in The Hobbit, There and Back Again. By the time the staff comes to Gandalf, it is withered away with time and the crystal is all but but lost and the hole which once contained it is instead filled with a pipe. He loses this staff in the duel against Saruman and it is never seen again. He acquires another staff from Elrond in Imladris which could hold an illuminating crystal, it was destroyed in Moria during his battle against the balrog.
The staff of Gandalf the White is of elvish design and was given to him by Galadriel. Gandalf's staff holds enormous power, which you see very little of in the films. Gandalf's white staff was broken when he fought the Witch-king atop one of the Minas Tirith walls. However, Gandalf is later seen holding the staff again at the Grey Havens.
Saruman's staff is black and metallic in Jackson's films but appears white at times, depending on the angle of the light The head of the staff, which resembles the Tower of Orthanc, holds some sort of large, white jewel and holds the power of the staff. In The Return of the King Extended Edition, Saruman's staff is broken by Gandalf's power and splinters into pieces in his hand.
Radagast's staff is fashioned from an upturned sapling and fits perfectly to his rustic personality. He uses his staff to battle The Witch King and to help the forests of Middle Earth blossum. The blue crystal embedded in the crown has magical healing powers which are able to heal the dying. Radagast looses his staff in an unexplained plotline, as his staff eventually comes to Gandalf the Grey.
Video games
In The Lord of the Rings Conquest, the Mouth of Sauron's primary weapon, rather than being a long, black sword, is Saruman's staff. It is unknown whether he received this staff from Sauron as a reward or had a copy created for him with the same power, but maybe, it has been given by Sauron to him as he is the new Master of Isengard as it can be seen in the novel as in the Proposal of Sauron as "Isengard will be given to Sauron and there will be a new Master of Isengard". It is likely however that this is simply a mistake made by the game makers as Gandalf became head of the Istari and therefore the new Master of Isengard. It is probable that the staff was given to the Mouth of Sauron to give him wizard like abilities simply for the purpose of the game.
Behind the Scenes
- There are a few times in The Hobbit that Gandalf the Grey is referred to as having a Wand, this is likely referring to his staff.
Gallery
References
- ↑ According to Daniel L. Cassens, professor and wood products specialist for Purdue University's Extension service, ash sapwood is white, while heartwood is light brown and sometimes marked with white spots or dark lines.