# Is Gandalf human?



## Aragorn13 (Feb 20, 2002)

*Gandalf (race)*

I have not read all the books in the series yet so please try not to write any spoilers. I was just wondering what race Gandalf was, like human, or what? Thank You.


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## Fatty (Feb 20, 2002)

Hi Aragorn. I don't think Gandalf was human. I think it was Treebeard (I could be wrong) that told the Pippin and Merry that the wizards came to Middle Earth not long after the ships arrived. And their lifespans were much longer than men anyway.


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## HLGStrider (Feb 20, 2002)

Gandalf was a Maia, true name Olorin, I believe. Check out the Silmarion..


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## Aldanil (Feb 20, 2002)

Gandalf (as HLGStrider notes just above) is the name commonly used in the North for the Maia, once known as Olorin in the Uttermost West, who returned to Middle-earth in the eleventh century of the Third Age as a representative of the Valar, one of the five Istari sent to contest the power of Sauron. This brief bit of info shouldn't spoil anything for you, I hope, and if you read as far as "The Window on the West" in The Two Towers you'll soon hear Faramir tell Frodo some hint of it, along with a few of the wizard's names among Elves, Dwarves, and others; for that matter, if you've read no farther than the meeting at Henneth Annun, their conversation may well be what prompted your present question. Nevertheless, until you have indeed had the time to "read all the books in the series", or at least The Silmarillion after you've finished The Lord of the Rings, I'm not sure that I'll have helped you very much in saying that Mithrandir is a Maia and wisest servant of the Valar.


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