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Re: Help on Saruman and Radagast question

Subject: Re: Help on Saruman and Radagast question
by Urulókë on 2007/12/17 2:29:24

Well, the list of possibilities narrows... in The Peoples of Middle-earth Christopher points out on p. 384 (US 1st HC, follow the 'Radagast' index entry for other editions) that immediately preceding the sentence printed in Unfinished Tales ("We must assume...") Tolkien says (and I am quoting Christopher's phrasing here, not JRRT) "there is no possibility that some of them were Eldar 'of the highest order of power', rather than Maiar."

I hadn't seen the full text online for that Mythlore article that Jason refers to - thanks for the reminder/tip Dior! A great read - though it explicitly calls Radagast a Maia without discussion.

It still is a significant phrase ("assume") - must keep digging to figure out if he was just playing with the idea of one or more being a Vala, or if some of them were "other" (what other?)

There is another single word that Tolkien uses in a particular quote that I am pursuing on a completely different subject - may try to get it published in Beyond Bree's humor issue, as it is not serious research.