In Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on the way to returning to the Shire Gandalf tells the hobbits that:     But if you would know, I am turning aside soon. I am going to have a long talk with Bombadil: such a talk as I have not in all my time. He is a moss gatherer, and I have been a stone doomed to rolling. But my rolling days are ending, and now we shall have much to say to one another.   So does this mean Bombadil is also a maiar like Gandalf? Has his reason been fulfilled and so he is now in rest?
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The most iconic of Middle-earth questions:  Who or what was ?  Was he an elf? Was he akin to Gandalf, and one of the wizardly stock?  Was he something… else?
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The LOTR wiki  Eru Ilúvatar intervened in the history of Arda:   creating Elves and Men removing Aman from the spherical Earth resurrecting Gandalf making Gollum trip      In a letter written by Tolkien, he stated that Eru again intervened, this time in the Third Age, causing Gollum to trip and fall into the fires of Mount Doom while still holding the One Ring, thus destroying it.   Is this correct? If so, what letter is this, and exactly what did Tolkien say?
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As was , it is known that Istari were meant to inspire and guide the mortals of Middle Earth in the fight against Sauron.  Does the fight against Balrog in Moria violate that "rule"/"guideline"?  If so, why did Eru restore Gandalf back to life after?  If not, is there a canon confirmation that it was NOT against the rules (aside from circumstantial evidence I noted, namely that Gandalf was restored, promoted and given seemingly greater powers; instead of being punished/demoted)?  I'm guessing it was within the rules since Balrog was a servant of Melkor, not Sauron; and Istari's limitations were on fighting Sauron directly, but at the moment it's a guess not backed up by canon sources.
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When Gandalf comes back alive after dying in The Lord of the Rings, why does he come back as the white wizard not the grey wizard? Am I correct that it is because Saruman had become evil?
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So Gandalf and the Balrog of Moria have a little fisticuffs and they both died. Presumably dead bodies lie on the mountain side somewhere.  Gandalf "strayed out of thought and time", gets a can of spinach and a new colour then he comes back sometime after his death as Gandalf 2.0.  The questions are thus:   Did Gandalf's old body get burnt to a crisp, or suffer some other death that meant there was no dead body left? OR Did his old body get renewed?   Or do we not know? If his body was left in the snow, then wouldn't it have been preserved due to freezing? This seems like an obvious oversight in the story.   I'd like to stick with the book canon, but out-of universe answers are also welcome.  Clarification: I'm not asking about his soul or whether he can die or where he went. I am specifically asking about what was left behind on the mountain.
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This passage in The Hobbit puzzled me:     The master of [Rivendell] was an elf-friend... He was as noble and as fair as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer.   -The Hobbit, Chapter 3: "A Short Rest"   The person being described is none other than Elrond.  All of this suggests that Elrond isn't an elf, let alone an elf lord.     "Elf-friend" is a title bestowed upon individuals from other races who are friendly with Elves;  it makes no sense to call an elf "elf-friend".   Elrond is compared to an elf-lord, but clearly isn't one, in Tolkien's opinion (at the time he was writing The Hobbit): notice that he isn't any of the other things he is compared to - he isn't a dwarven King; he isn't a wizard; he isn't summer; and although he was once a warrior, according to LotR, he isn't one in The Hobbit.    Did Tolkien originally consider Elrond to be something other than an Elf, and an Elf-lord?
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Before Gandalf freed Théoden from Saruman/Gríma's hold, he refused to give away his staff.      Háma: I cannot allow you before Théoden King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame... by order of Gríma Wormtongue.   [Gandalf nods, and they hand over their weapons]   Háma: Your staff.   Gandalf: Oh... you would not part an old man from his walking stick?     After that, while he was breaking theirs hold on him, Gríma shouted to the guards      His staff! I told you to take the wizard's staff!   But what if he was denied the use of his staff? How much of his power is tied to his staff? Is he harmless/defenseless without his staff? If his staff is taken by an other magically capable being, how much of Gandalf's power would it have?
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I recently found out about the war between Arnor and Angmar, and was pretty shocked to learn that the Witch-king basically wiped the floor with the Dúnedain kingdom... I mean he's basically the sole reason Aragorn wanders around like a homeless person.  So with which army did the Witch-king defeat Arnor? Orcs? Men? Sorcery? Did he ever go to battle himself? Did he do this for laughs or by Sauron's orders?   How powerful was the Witch-king at this point, compared to in the Fellowship of the Ring and Return of the King? Were the other Nazgul with him in this war?   And it doesn't even matter to me if all of the eight Nazgul were with him, even if they all had their Rings of Power, and even if they had the largest of armies of Orcs, Men, Elves, Dwarves or even dragons (yes I'm exaggerating at this point), but just how do you defeat a kingdom full of Dúnedain?   We have all seen what Aragorn is capable of doing, so how do you defeat a kingdom worth of Aragorns?   And if it is not much to ask, does anyone know where I can read all about this war and more about the Witch-king? so far all I read about it was from the Internet, wikis, forums and alike, I'd like to read it from the source.
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Having read the Lord of the Rings a number of times I was always curious about the significance of Goldberry. I have not managed to find any reference to her origins within the other Middle-earth books that I have read.  Is she was just a mortal woman, or is there was some deeper significance to why she ends up living with Bombadil, or is she just a token female character designed to add a little balance to the overwhelmingly male character count?
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Even Aragorn and the Hobbits are surprised at Weathertop that the Nazgûl did not try a second attack to take the ring. The following possible reasons are offered or implied:   The Nazgûl were satisfied with stabbing Frodo with the Morgul-knife.    But why fall back on a second-best solution when they could have taken the ring directly?   The Nazgûl were terrified of Aragorn and his flaming torch.   But even assuming that in Tolkien's world a hero like Aragorn can direct his force-of-will with almost super-power-like effect on evil spirits, they are five against one, since the Hobbits are unable to fight. The Nazgûl could attack Aragorn from a distance with arrows or spears, or encircle him. At least they could have stayed close and waited till the effect of his will-power-attack vanished, or started a siege.   The Nazgûl were terrified of the name Elbereth.    But if that would work, they would be easy to defeat and pose no danger anymore.  Connected problems are other cases where the Nazgûl apparently act under sub-optimal strategy, like not having one of them waiting directly at the Brandywine ferry (he could even wait openly and tell suspicious Hobbits he is waiting for Mr. Baggins), not better observing Crickhollow (they must have reached it long before Frodo, to find it they could just ask where it is or where Mr. Baggins lives), and hesitating several days till attacking Crickhollow.  I'll try to give an answer myself, but I welcome better suggestions.
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In the History of Middle-Earth book collection Myths Transformed we learn a lot about how Sauron perceived the Istari and what he knew of them.     Sauron had, in fact been very like Saruman, and so understood him quickly and could guess what he would be likely to think and do, even without the aid of the palantiri or of spies; whereas Gandalf eluded and puzzled him.   (Home X: Myths Transformed)     Gandalf he did not understand. But certainly he had already become evil, and therefore stupid, enough to imagine that his different behaviour was due simply to weaker intelligence and lack of firm masterful purpose. He was only rather a cleverer Radagast &mdash; cleverer, because it is more profitable (more productive of power) to become absorbed in the study of people than of animals.   (ibid)  My question now is how does Gandalf elude and puzzle Sauron so much? We know he found Saruman simple to guess down to having similar minds (maybe down to both being maia of Aule?), we also know he must know a fair bit of Radagast as he refers to Gandalf as merely a smarter version of Radagast who was known to have abandoned his task which the Istari were given.   While Sauron went face to face with Saruman via the palantir, it is surprising that he finds Gandalf basically strange, even though Gandalf in reality does the most to circumvent Sauron out of the Istari in the north-west.   Gandalf enters Dol Guldur which Sauron flees. Gandalf enters Dol Guldur again in secret and claims he only just escaped with his life,  which suggests Sauron may have ended up noticing him. Gandalf pushes White Council to attack Dol Guldur which Sauron foresees. Gandalf fought with all nine of Sauron's greatest servants at Weathertop and played a part in destroying their physical bodies temporarily. Gandalf leads the Fellowship from Rivendell, which Sauron also knows. Gandalf strives with the Dark Tower when Frodo puts the ring on at Amon Hen. Gandalf is present at the Battle of the Black Gate, in which the mouth of Sauron declares they know all about Gandalf.   As I've pointed out, Gandalf is clearly sent to contest Sauron. But I don't understand why Sauron does not see this; throughout the Third Age, well, since the coming of the Istari Gandalf has played a role in almost every contest against Sauron.  So how did he elude and puzzle him?
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From the Tolken's LotR series it is mentioned that the Sword of Elendil was forged anew before Frodo departed from Elrond's house, but if my memory serves me correctly, in the Peter Jackson's rendition of the LotR movie, it was reforged at the end of The Two Towers, after Saruman was destroyed.  My question is, am I right with regards to Peter Jackson's movie? When in the movie was the Sword of Elendil reforged?
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Was there anything stopping Sauron from making another "one ring"? Was he too weak since his separation from the ring to craft another? Or would it have taken a long time?
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I'm currently re-reading Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time, and a question occurred to me.   When Gandalf hears from Faramir that Frodo and Sam were heading for Cirith Ungol, he is shocked. Obviously, he hadn't planned to take them that way if he had survived Moria. So, what was his plan? We know he couldn't have got into Mordor via the Morannon. Is there any clue anywhere of the route he had been planning to take to get to Mount Doom?
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In the Battle of the Hornburg from The Two Towers, Aragorn and Theoden say "We must ride out." Why did they do this?  Was it just a matter of honor? Did they ride out on their horses in the middle of battle because they thought it was the end, as they were outnumbered? Was it because Aragorn knew Gandalf was coming so they were confident they were about to win?
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There are two characters who seem to be able to handle and wear the One Ring without being affected by its power. One is the mysterious Tom Bombadil. Later in the book, another character seems to have a similar ability:     Sam, believing Frodo to be dead, takes the ring and vows to finish the job. Upon learning that Frodo is still alive, Sam hurries to him and willingly gives the ring back to him. He was able to do this despite being inside Mordor, and despite Sauron's actively seeking the ring bearer.   How was Sam able to resist the temptations of the ring at such a critical stage in the journey?
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In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring when the Fellowship is climbing the mountains and are pretty much overcome by the snow; Legolas is quite able to walk on the snow, when the rest have to wade through the snow:     Slowly they moved off, and were soon toiling heavily. In places the snow was breast-high, and often Boromir seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his great arms rather than walking.      Legolas watched them for a while with a smile upon his lips, and then he turned to the others.      `The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf or over snow-an Elf.'      With that he sprang forth nimbly, and then Frodo noticed as if for the first time, though he had long known it, that the Elf had no boots, but wore only light shoes, as he always did, and his feet made little imprint in the snow.      'Farewell!' he said to Gandalf. `I go to find the Sun!' Then swift as a runner over firm sand he shot away, and quickly overtaking the toiling men, with a wave of his hand he passed them, and sped into the distance, and vanished round the rocky turn.      -The Fellowship of the Ring (The Ring Goes South).   [Emphasis added is mine]  How is this so? Is there any canon explanation of this (or any similar) ability?