Villains Beginning With 'S'

Saruman

The Lord of the Rings Universe
created by author J. R. R. Tolkien
(1954-)

Saruman is described as being an old man with white hair and a long white beard with black strands about the lips and ears; when younger his hair was raven-dark. He was very tall with a long face and eyes that were dark and deep set. He would originally wear a hooded white cloak which was later swapped for one which changed colours as he moved.

Although in appearance, he was not actually a Man or even an Elf, but a Maia. This meant that he was immortal and extremely powerful, yet he had limits on how far his powers could be used.

His main interest was the knowledge of the "deep arts" or magic, especially when used to gain power - such as the Rings of Power and the palantíri. He has also learned in ancient lore regarding powerful kingdoms such as Númenor, Gondor and Moria. His voice and speech was used as a weapon as this was extremely convincing, more powerful than mere rhetoric. He could focus this power on a person or a group of people, and could sway their hearts, plant fears and tell lies as he pleased. Depending on the willpower of the listener, this spell could last as long as the speech did, or it could take root in them and last forever.

He also had an extensive knowledge of machinery and chemistry, probably inseparable from explicit magic which he put to good use when constructing his fortified kingdom of Isengard and his altered Shire.

His scientific knowledge also extended to biological areas. He managed to cross-breed Men and Orcs, creating both Men with Orc-like vileness and treachery and Orcs with human size and cunning. He also employed birds in his service, although this might be attributed to fellow wizard Radagast the Brown, ordering them to report to Orthanc, Saruman's stronghold.

For years, Saruman and Gandalf were friends and partners, and were roughly equals in wisdom and power. Unlike Gandalf, Saruman was proud; He saw himself as the most powerful of the Istari, expressing clear contempt for Radagast. He became jealous of Gandalf, eventually paranoid that Gandalf must be scheming against him, to justify his own scheming against Gandalf and the rest of the White Council.

Saruman's arrogance and jealousy turned him into a traitor to the cause he had once served and he teamed up with Sauron once again.

His future plans eventually failed, in a series of setbacks. Saruman's Shire network did not capture Frodo Baggins; and Éomer destroyed his only partially successful raiding party. His invasion of Rohan ended in disaster, with the utter defeat of his army at the Battle of the Hornburg. Leaving Isengard undefended resulted in its destruction at the hands of the Ents.

Confined to the Orthanc and with his servants scattered or killed, Saruman made one final unsuccessful attempt to turn Théoden and Gandalf. The latter then offered Saruman a chance for redemption, which involved surrendering his staff and the keys to the Orthanc as a pledge. Saruman refused out of pride and fear. Gandalf, who had returned from death to supplant Saruman as the White and the head of the Istari, expelled Saruman from the order and broke his staff. Saruman also lost the palantír of Orthanc when Gríma Wormtongue threw it off a balcony of Orthanc.

Left out of the final stages of the War of the Ring, he eventually managed to convince the Ents into letting him leave Isengard after he handed over the keys of Orthanc. He then went to the Shire, which his agents lead by Lotho Sackville-Baggins had brought under control. Spending his final days as a small-time thug lord in Hobbiton known as Sharkey, where he enslaved the Hobbits, he was eventually betrayed and killed by his own servant Gríma Wormtongue on November 3, T.A. 3019, after the Battle of Bywater, where the Hobbits had Saruman's thugs surrounded with many Took bowmen, and as the thugs tried to fight their way out, they were shot.

Being a Maia, Saruman did not truly die. His spirit separated from his body as a discorporated spirit, he should have been called to Mandos, but he was barred from returning. His spirit was left naked, powerless and wandering, never to return to Middle-earth.

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