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the lord of the rings - Who replaced Gandalf as the Grey Wizard?


In LotR the Two Towers, it is explained that Saruman has been kicked out of the Wizard council for allying with Sauron.


This allows Gandalf to become the new head of the order and become Gandalf the White. (I feel like this is what happened, but please correct me if I'm wrong).


I was under the assumption that each of the 5 Wizards had their own specific role to fulfil, each with their own purpose and power (hence why Gandalf could break Saruman's staff once he became the White Wizard, as Saruman was previously more powerful than him).


If this is the case, did anyone take up the mantle of the Grey Wizard? Or did a wizard need to die before he could return in another form?


Details from any canon would be appreciated.



Answer




As far as I know, there has never been any good explanation for why the colors of the wizards were chosen to be what they were. The most prevalent theory involves the Istari taking on the color of the Valar they were associated with, but if you read through the Silmarillion looking for evidence, the theory doesn't really hold up. One thing we do know is that the colors are not a ranking system; though Saruman was appointed the leader of the Istari, the other 4 were all considered equals.


Thus, the only color that seemed to have any significance was the color White -- Saruman's original color, which represented a blending of all other colors. This identified him as the head of the Istari order. Gandalf's Grey color, and Radagast's Brown color, were merely ways to distinguish them from each other. (Even that theory falls apart when you realize there were two Blue wizards.)


Thus, when Gandalf was "promoted" to White, it indicated two things:



  • Saruman, the previous White Wizard, was no longer considered the head of the Istari order, or even a member of it, and

  • Gandalf had taken his place.


No one would need to step in and take over Ganfalf's "position" as Grey Wizard because that color had no more or less importants than the Brown or Blue of the other Istari.


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