We know from this chapter that Gandalf, at least, was sent to help the Men of
the West of Middle-earth "who were greatly outnumbered by those of the East and
the South" many of whom had been corrupted by Sauron. Yet Gandalf (and
the other Istari) traveled all over Middle-earth. Christopher Tolkien
presented as much information as he had on the subject, but it was, at best, a
little sketchy:
To the point of being sketchy, we know that the Men of Gondor called Gandalf
'Gandalf' or Mithrandir, yet he also said that his name in the South was
Incanus. Does this imply that he may, indeed, have traveled further south
than the ancient boundaries of Gondor, or just that the people there assigned
him a different name than the people of Minas Anor? Why did he limit his
travels to these regions of Middle-earth? Did he know Curumo and the
other Istari had it covered, or was it his own knowledge and intuition that
lead him?
Bottom line: How extensively do you think Gandalf travelled, and why?
Again, all theories are welcome and encouraged!
:)
"I don't suffer from insanity...I enjoy every minute of it!"
