# Talk:Radagast

The similarity of Radagast the Simple, whose nature made him like an animal, and the Narnian/Calmoren Rabadash the Ridiculous, whom Aslan cursed to be a donkey because he acted like one, seems too much to be a coincidence.
Both Rabadash and Radagast are scorned and equated with animals by their bellicose peers.
Analogously, Thorin Oakenshield's greed made him act like a dragon, and the greed of Eustace Clarence Scrubb turned him into an actual dragon.
In Middle Earth the changes were allegories, but in Narnia they were real, because Narnia is more or less an allegory.
At any rate the character looks likely to be a result of the Inklings pondering the fate of humans who act like animals.

What happens in Brisvegas... --Jack Upland (talk) 23:01, 28 September 2021 (UTC)
Without a reliable source for the comparison, it'd be original research. Chiswick Chap (talk) 10:24, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

Dear All,  I originally entered in a post  along the following lines

In terms of canonical Middle Earth geography, Radagast's presence in Rhudaur at this point in the narrative is surprising, as he would need to cross the Misty Mountains, whose relative impassibility is a consistent complicating plot device in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The only option viable for him would be crossing the High Pass, which is somewhat distant from Rhosgobel.
A couple of people keep treating this as irrelevant or vandalism, whereas I think it a valid point in the plot development of the Hobbit /difference between the books and film.  I can see this needlessly developing into a edit war, so I would respectfully seek other's opinions on the matter.  Adamm (talk • contribs) 03:40, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

differences between book and film plot are generally irrelevant and not included unless they are given significant coverage in reliable sources. Your addition is original research, and while it may be true there is no indications it is significant enough to warrant entry. GimliDotNet (talk) 07:36, 25 January 2015 (UTC)
The problem is this assumes that the film posits the same general geography as the books. This assertion needs to be sourced before we can reasonably talk of what adagast being anywhere implies. If you can find secondary reliable source analysis of Radagast in the film's that discusses this point, we can include it, otherwise I see no reason to.John Pack Lambert (talk) 22:24, 20 January 2020 (UTC)
This is whey the article should be DELETED. The Riddle of Radagast (TM) is a topic of endless conversation among Tolks nuts (cf Newton's Balls). But there has been no scholarly research on the topic. Apart from the novel I'm about to pulp.--Jack Upland (talk) 23:45, 28 September 2021 (UTC)
Radagast has been discussed by multiple Tolkien scholars, cited in the article. Aside from that, the character has attracted wide attention for his appearances in Jackson's films, and would be notable on that account alone. Chiswick Chap (talk) 10:27, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

Per the above:

Birns, Nicholas (2007) "The Enigma of Radagast: Revision, Melodrama, and Depth," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 26 : No. 1 , Article 8. (pages 113-126) Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol26/iss1/8
- Radagast plays a minor role in TH; a different minor role in LOTR; Slavic origin of name; then revised out of the text.
- usable for notability, just about.
Berman, Ruth (1985) "Radagast in Middle-earth," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles
Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 11 : No. 3 , Article 18.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol11/iss3/18

- Poem about him. No use for notability.
The Brown Wizard's Unexpected Politics: Speciesist Fiction and the Ethics of The Hobbit  JL Schatz, Chapter 1 in Screening the Nonhuman: Representations of Animal Others in the Media, 2016
https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=IZD2CwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=Radagast+the+Brown&ots=1xyeHMMOJM&sig=Tt6t0No6sthkMxSEvXqFniZlJMA

- says that in Peter Jackson's Hobbit films, Radagast tries to save a dying hedgehog in Mirkwood; links this to accusation of animal deaths, off-set, and ethics. Radagast also distracts Orcs to allow Thorin's party to escape. §
- not sure we can make much of all that.
Reunion with Nature; Tolkien’s the Lord of the Rings
by Jamie Mosel, January 27, 2011, Religion 238
http://www.jemosel.com/uploads/5/6/4/4/5644599/reunionwithnature_lotr.pdf

- Radagast, like Bombadil, is in "pure communion" but like him is unable to address the troubles of Middle-earth all around him.
- small contribution.
Shippey, Road to Middle-Earth
- mentions "Radagaisus" in Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Drout, Encyclopedia
- mentions Radagast briefly in "Wizards" article.
They all agree he's a minor character. He's not obviously notable from a scholarly perspective. Chiswick Chap (talk) 17:19, 21 March 2020 (UTC)
A google search for popular but more-or-less usable sources returned just 75 hits including fluff.

The Origins of Tolkien's Middle-earth for Dummies
- says that R "appears so briefly in LOTR that he is more of a plot device than an actual character."
Radagast the Brown music track by Howard Shore for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Apart from that there's fancruft and twitter and discontinued statuettes. Doesn't seem notable to me. Chiswick Chap (talk) 17:28, 21 March 2020 (UTC)

On the other hand, there's quite substantial coverage of the adaptation into a popular film character, and whether it's true to the text. If this is not to be deleted we might as well have a decently-written article. Chiswick Chap (talk) 13:53, 4 June 2020 (UTC)


### Sources (part 2)
Is The Annotated Hobbit considered a primary or secondary source? Lava Lamps (talk) 20:23, 29 March 2020 (UTC)

Primary. Chiswick Chap (talk) 08:40, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure the picture of an Asian woman is appropriate here.--Jack Upland (talk) 08:59, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

Neither race nor gender should make the slightest difference. It's the role that is being compared, and the historic photograph well illustrates that, along with the style of clothing and indeed the accommodation. Chiswick Chap (talk) 09:08, 5 June 2020 (UTC)
Yes, I recognise you have a totally different view of the use of illustrations. An Australian wagon of cotton to illustrate a wagon of tobbaco in the Shire. An Asian woman to illustrate Radagast. What next? An Eskimo woman to illustrate Frodo? An Australian sheila to illustrate Gandalf?--Jack Upland (talk) 09:25, 5 June 2020 (UTC)
Not illustrating him, illustrating shamanism. And you should not be speaking about other editors, me or anybody else, at any time. Chiswick Chap (talk) 09:47, 5 June 2020 (UTC)