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Originally Posted by Boromir88
I don't think it was a secret as to where these Istari came from (generally understood as they were not from Middle-earth), or their "mission," as I have shown. Now whether a majority knew it or not, I don't know, but Gandalf was not shy about professing being emissaries from the "higher authorities" ...
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But how many people knew exactly what there was to the West and that the Istari came from there? When I first read LotR, I had no conception of the Valar or Valinor or Eru or the like and, being a reader, I was privy to the key moments of the time. The vast majority of people in Middle-earth had no such privilege
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The Dunedain and Gondorians would have some conception, though lore and habitual rites (Farmair and his men nodding to the West). Frodo resorts to calling on Elbereth, but he was a learned Hobbit and I doubt even he (at the beginning) had much conception of who (or what) she was. Your average Hobbit wouldn't have a clue, and knowledge would be pretty patchy elsewhere in Middle-earth too, amongst the race of Men at least. Most Elves would know of the West since either they or their close relatives had been there. But that might not be so true of the Avari. Dwarves would have some knowledge too but, as with Gondorians, that would likely be from ancient law and habitual rites.
So knowledge that there was a place called Valinor and that there were Valar would surely be sketchy at best among the vast majority of folk in Middle-earth. Add to that the fact that few would trouble themselves to think who Gandalf and the other Istari actually might be (again, I knew nothing of Istari when I first read the book). As far as they were concerned, his status as a Wizard was probably sufficient.
The quote that you give from Appendix talks of the tales that were told after the event, when legends would have grown up surrounding the events that took place during the War of the Ring. But it tells us nothing about the state of knowledge at the time.
Gandalf's words on the Bridge of Khazad-Dum were witnessed only by the Fellowship, and most would probably not have known what exactly they meant. They have, after all, sparked heated debates as to their meaning here on the Downs.
The only people that we can say for sure knew of the Istari, from whence they came and the nature of their mission were the Council of the Wise, which probaly (in addition to Galadriel and the Istari themselves) included Elrond, Cirdan, Celeborn and, possibly, Thranduil. Others, such as Aragorn, who lived in or frequented Rivendell would have probably been aware and narfforc has a fair point when he says that others, such as Denethor and (possibly) Faramir, would, through their knowledge of lore or otherwise, have been able to make an educated guess. But the majority (including those such as Thedoen and Eomer, I would say) would have been "in the dark".