Hello all,
I hate to open this can of worms again, but I couldn't resist asking
a member of our team who prides himself on ME lore...
Here is what he had to say:
As a result of a few questions I have focused turn
trivia on Gandalf. One asked how tall he was, the
other why Saruman was the head of the White Council
and not Gandalf.
The answer to the first one is pretty easy. While his
hat can be deceptive, Gandalf's height at 6'4'
actually makes him the shortest of the Istari (Alatar
is 6'7", Pallando 6'6", Saruman 6'7", Radagast 6'5").
As to why he is second of the Ishtai, it probably goes
back to when Manwe chose him to journey to
Middle-earth despite his own misgivings about his own
ability. It was this, and the fact tha Gandalf never
aspired to lead as a master (preferring to work with
those he befriends), that caused him to yield to
Saruman's desire to lead their order. This all ties in
because he quickly befriends the Elves (especially the
Noldo), and when the Wizards arrived in Middle-earth
after the end of the first millennium of the Third
Age, none knew of their mission but Círdan the
Shipwright, Lord of the Grey Havens where their ships
put in. Though Saruman was at that time the
acknowledged leader of the Wizards, Círdan saw that
Gandalf was in fact the greater, and secretly gave him
the Red Ring Narya to aid him in his quest.
In addition to not having a challenge by Gandalf,
Saruman was chosen to lead the order because for 1400
years before the White Council was formed, Saruman had
traveled Middle-Earth and studied the ways of the
minions of evil and researched their tools and
methods. Because of this expertise, he was selected
to head the Council (perhaps his downfall began long,
long ago ... before he settled at Angrenost and peered
into the Palantir?). Anyway, I hope this answered
your questions.
