Was 🧙Radagast's fate intentionally left a mystery?

[Red Istar]

What happened to Radagst? We was mentioned once in the Hobbit, and was not mentioned again in LOTR after he came to Gandalf with a message from Saruman.

Did Saruman kill him? Surely that would have been mentioned, don't you think? Did he decide he wanted none of the War and hide somewhere? Did he survive to the modern age and take on the name of "Albus Dumbledore?"

What happened to him?

 

[Courtney]

I would think that he would have had to leave middle earth at some point, because didn't all the wizards like Gandalf leave by the fourth age... or maybe he just stayed with the birds and all the animals he loved and forgot all about the problems of middle earth and that is why we dont hear of him.

 

[Red Istar]

Radagast: the original hippie.

 

[Lantarion]

Well, these are the beginning lines from a poem by JRRT about the Istari:

Wil thou learn the lore. that was long secret
of the Five that came from a far country?
One only returned.

"One only returned", meaning that only Olórin was succesful in the mission and only he returned to Aman.
Saruman died and was supposedly denied re-entry into Aman.
The Ithryn Luin 'formed cults in the East' and stayed there.
Radagast became enamoured with the flora and fauna of Middle-earth, and he strayed from his task and stayed in Middle-earth.

That's what I have gathered from the information in Unfinished Tales ('The Istari', pp.502-520).

 

[Kahmûl]

Radagast gave up the mission and stayed just south of Beorn's house at Rhosgobel on the edge of Mirkwood.

 

[Red Istar]

Lanty, I was always under the impression that at some point or another Sauruman killed the blue wizards... guess I was wrong. I could've sworn I had read that somewhere, tho.

Also, it seems to me that the fate of Radagast would have at least been mentioned... he must have died at some point because we don't have wizards these days () Maybe he lives in disguise as Bigfoot.

If I seem rather slow it's because I had my SATs today and my brain is just about fizzled out.

 

[Bucky]

OK, a couple points that aren't concrete are being presented here as fact....

The Blue Wizards passed into the East with Curinir (Saruman) & never returned. Tolkein 'suspects' (don't you just love that? LOL...) that they either formed 'magic'' cults that outlasted the fall of Barad-Dur or were ensnared by Sauron, a 'spirit mightier than they'. I personally find that they served Sauron doubtful as they certainly would've shown up in The War Of The Ring, unless they were heading up the occupation of Dol Guldur or the Sorcery College at Barad-Dur University......

Radagast, did NOT go back to his home Rhosgobel which was south of Beorn on the edge of Mirkwood after seeing Gandalf near the border of the Shire because scouts from Rivendell went searching for him & found him not at home after Frodo & Company arrived with the Ring......

Where did he go?
Judging from the way he rode away from Gandalf, probably as far from the action as he could get........

"I think I'll go visit Cirdan for a while."

 

[Red Istar]

But that still does not answer what happened to him... I guess there isn't an 'offical' explanation. Does anyone have any plausible theories?

 

[HLGStrider]

I always held the theory that he slowly faded away until he was nothing more than a spirit hanging around Mirkwood. I think he may have even litterally fallen asleep somewhere under a tree and never woke up. . .like an Ent becoming Treeish.

There used to be a thread on this in LotR's. ..I'm going to see if I can find it.

 

[Celebthôl]

I thought he was accepted back to Valinor by Manwë after the war of the ring for neither failing nor succeding in his task. . .

 

[Red Istar]

Originally posted by HLGStrider
I always held the theory that he slowly faded away until he was nothing more than a spirit hanging around Mirkwood. I think he may have even litterally fallen asleep somewhere under a tree and never woke up. . .like an Ent becoming Treeish.

There used to be a thread on this in LotR's. ..I'm going to see if I can find it.

That sounds like a good theory to me.

I thought he was accepted back to Valinor by Manwë after the war of the ring for neither failing nor succeding in his task.

According to Tolkien he wasn't.

 

[Bucky]

Maybe he's wandering around singing Yule carols with Maglor & Daeron.....

 

[HLGStrider]

Perhaps he changed his name to Ralph and opened a coffee shop in Lake Town. Long Lake Espresso. . .

 

[Red Istar]

Gasp! I know who he is....

























HE'S THE TOOTH FAIRY!!!