Was Gandalf a Valar?

[R.R.J Tolkien]

Originally Posted by mhagain

No no no no no.


The Valar and Maiar are of the same order: they are both Ainur who were created before the world and who came into the world when it was made real.


So any statement about "of the same order" as the Valar can be taken as also including the Maiar.


The only difference between a Vala and a Maia (note the correct singular forms) is degree of power. To quote from the Valaquenta:
Vala/Valar and Maia/Maiar are not taxonomic classifications; they merely describe a placing in a hierarchy based on degree of power, but Valar and Maiar are otherwise the same class of being.


What was Gandalf?
So he was, or at least claimed to be, a being named Olórin, but what was Olórin?
The important thing to realise is that this text was not written by CJRT; the original Valaquenta text is given in HoMe X: Morgoth's Ring, and likewise identifies Olórin as one of the Maiar.

I will dig into it more [just brought it back to the library i will be buying a copy soon] but it seemed pretty clear to refer to him as a valar [not just of the same order] witch is why Christopher wrote it was a mistake.

As for olorin

The argument of course that Gandalf was a maiar comes from his identification as Olórin. However even here does not prove him a maiar.

“That Gandalf said that his name “in the west” had been Olórin was, according to this belief, the adoption of an Incognito, a mere by name. I do not [of course] know the truth of the matter.”
-Unfinished tales