50 free Gandalf trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Gandalf is the most famous wizard in fiction, and Tolkien built him from surprising parts: a dwarf's name lifted from the Old Norse Voluspa, a German postcard of a mountain spirit, and the wandering Odin with his hat and staff. In Middle-earth he is Olorin, a Maia who begged not to be sent, then arrived last and least at the Grey Havens and was handed the Ring of Fire by the Elf who met him. These 50 questions follow him through The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and behind the scenes: the tea party that launched Thorin's quest, the sword from the trolls' hoard, the fireworks at Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday, the eight-day chase through the roots of Moria, the breaking of Saruman's staff and the coronation of Aragorn. Then the adaptations: the BBC radio voices, the 1970s cartoons, the two stars who declined Peter Jackson before Ian McKellen modelled the role on Tolkien himself, and the symphony whose theme spells G-A-D-A-F. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Gandalf belongs to which order of wizards?
The Istari
The order was sent across the sea by the Valar to help those opposing Sauron.
Q 02Which Elven Ring of Power does Gandalf bear?
Narya
It is the Ring of Fire, which suits a wizard who loves fireworks and uses flame as a weapon.
Q 03Which element is Gandalf most associated with?
Fire
Tolkien wrote that he opposed 'the fire that devours' with 'the fire that kindles'.
Q 04What was Gandalf's name in Valinor before he came to Middle-earth?
Olorin
He was counted the wisest of the Maiar and lived in the gardens of Irmo.
Q 05Which Vala proposed sending Gandalf to Middle-earth?
Manwe
When the wizard protested he was too weak and feared Sauron, the reply was that this was all the more reason to go.
Q 06Which Vala, the patron of mercy, tutored Gandalf in Valinor?
Nienna
Her teaching of pity is echoed in his defence of Gollum's life.
Q 07What do the Elves call Gandalf?
Mithrandir
The Sindarin name means Grey Pilgrim, and Elvish speakers keep using it even after he turns white.
Q 08Which name do the Dwarves give Gandalf, said to mean 'Staff-man'?
Tharkun
It mirrors the Old Norse meaning of his common name, staff-elf.
Q 09What was the wizard called in an early draft of The Hobbit?
Bladorthin
In that draft the name Gandalf belonged to the dwarf leader who became Thorin Oakenshield.
Q 10From which Old Norse poem did Tolkien take the name Gandalf?
Voluspa
Its Catalogue of Dwarves supplied nearly every dwarf name in The Hobbit too.
Q 11What does the Old Norse name Gandalfr mean?
Staff-elf
Gandr is a wand or staff and alfr is elf; Men of the North called him 'the Elf of the Wand'.
Q 12Which insulting nickname does Gandalf get in Rohan?
Stormcrow
He is also called Lathspell, Old English for 'Ill-news'.
Q 13Which Elf gave Gandalf his ring when he landed at the Grey Havens?
Cirdan
The Shipwright judged the least-looking of the wizards to be the greatest spirit of them all.
Q 14Who had hoped Gandalf would lead the White Council?
Q 21Which birthday of Bilbo's does Gandalf return to the Shire to celebrate with fireworks?
Eleventy-first
Bilbo's vanishing act with the Ring ends the party early.
Q 22How many years pass between Bilbo's party and Gandalf confirming the Ring's identity?
Seventeen
He spends them travelling and searching for the truth about the Ring.
Q 23In which city's archives does Gandalf find Isildur's scroll about the Ring?
Minas Tirith
The scroll lets him confirm his suspicion by reading the fire-writing on the Ring.
Which fellow wizard brings Gandalf news of the Nazgul and a summons to Isengard?
Galadriel
He refused, unwilling to be bound by anyone but the Valar, so Saruman was chosen.
Q 15Which fortress did Gandalf enter 'at great peril' to confirm the Necromancer was Sauron?
Dol Guldur
It sits in southern Mirkwood; the White Council finally drove Sauron out during the events of The Hobbit.
Q 16In which inn did Gandalf first meet Thorin Oakenshield, per Unfinished Tales?
The Prancing Pony
The chance meeting at Bree is told in 'The Quest of Erebor'.
Q 17How many dwarves does Gandalf invite to Bilbo's tea party?
Thirteen
Bilbo made the fourteenth member, brought in because thirteen was an unlucky number.
Q 18What sword does Gandalf take from the trolls' hoard in The Hobbit?
Glamdring
Elrond tells him it was forged in Gondolin, the city where Elrond's father grew up.
Q 19In which fallen city was Gandalf's sword forged?
Gondolin
Its name came to mean 'Foe-hammer' and the goblins called it Beater.
Q 20Whom does Gandalf persuade to shelter the dwarves before Mirkwood?
Beorn
The skin-changer houses and provisions the company, then the wizard leaves them at the forest's edge.
Radagast the Brown
He also unknowingly arranges the wizard's rescue by sending an eagle to report to Isengard.
Q 25Which eagle rescues Gandalf from the top of Orthanc?
Gwaihir
The same eagle later carries him from the mountaintop to Lothlorien after his return.
Q 26With whom does Gandalf leave a letter for Frodo at the inn in Bree?
Barliman Butterbur
The innkeeper forgets to send it, which is why Frodo sets out late.
Q 27What is the name of the great horse of Rohan that becomes Gandalf's mount?
Shadowfax
Tolkien adapted the name from 'Silverfax', a horse in William Morris's The Well at the World's End.
Q 28Where does Gandalf battle the Nazgul all night before Frodo's party arrives there?
Weathertop
He draws four of the nine northwards, leaving five to face Frodo a few nights later.
Q 29Which two hobbits does Gandalf persuade Elrond to add to the Company?
Merry and Pippin
Elrond had wanted to send them home with warnings to the Shire instead.
Q 30What does Gandalf shout as he falls from the Bridge of Khazad-dum?
Fly, you fools!
Peter Jackson's film made the line a lasting meme.