White Council

The White Council, or Council of the Wise, was a group of Elves and Wizards of Middle-earth, formed in TA 2463 to counterbalance the growing power of Dol Guldur at the request of Lady Galadriel.
== History ==
The White Council's original head was the Wizard Saruman the White, (although Lady Galadriel wished for Gandalf the Grey to be made the leader of the group). Other members of the Council included the Bearers of the Three Rings (Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond), Círdan, who had borne Narya before handing it on to Gandalf, Glorfindel, and Radagast the Brown.
The White Council was formed in TA 2463, shortly after the end of the Watchful Peace.It was at about this time that Déagol the Stoor discovered the One Ring and was murdered by Sméagol. Without the power of the One Ring, Sauron was significantly weaker than the collective power of the White Council, and therefore had to plan carefully to avoid confrontation with them.
In TA 2851 the White Council met to choose whether to act on Gandalf's discovery that the Necromancer was actually Sauron, and was at Dol Guldur. But Saruman dissuaded the others from taking action, claiming that the Dark Lord was defeated and could not regain his full strength. During this meeting, Gandalf suspected Saruman of desiring to have the One Ring, and there was much tension between the two. However, in TA 2939, Saruman discovered that Sauron's servants were searching the Anduin near the Gladden Fields, and that Sauron therefore had learned where Isildur had died and where the One Ring might be. Saruman did not inform the Council of this, but when they met again in TA 2941, he finally agreed to an attack on Dol Guldur, wanting secretly to prevent Sauron from finding the Ring. Sauron was driven out of Dol Guldur, only to re-appear in Mordor in TA 2951, declaring himself openly and beginning to gather power.
At some point after his return, Sauron enticed Saruman into joining him and betraying the Council. The Council last met in TA 2953; at this meeting, Saruman falsely claimed that the One Ring was swept out into the sea. The rest of the council was unaware that their leader had betrayed them. Afterward, Saruman withdrew to Isengard, and fortified it., Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Third Age"
== Members ==
*Saruman the White - Former leader; expelled
*Gandalf the Grey / Gandalf the White
*Radagast the Brown - may not have been present in later meetings
*Galadriel
*Elrond Half-elven
*Glorfindel
*Círdan
== In adaptations ==
=== Peter Jackson's The Hobbit films ===
In , the council is not called the White Council by name but described as the "great council of the white wizards, masters of lore, and great magic.' While there is no corresponding passage in the book, the White Council convenes in Rivendell during the Dwarves' stay. Gandalf presents his evidence to the council, warning them of the growing evil within Mirkwood, He reasons that Sauron and Smaug cannot be allowed to join forces, which is why the Quest of Erebor is so important. Elrond is sceptical, while Saruman is dismissive of Gandalf's claims. Galadriel however supports Gandalf, as she too can sense the evil presence, as Lothlórien is in close proximity to Mirkwood. Gandalf reveals the Morgul-blade to the council, which is enough to convince Galadriel and Elrond that Sauron may have returned. The council is interrupted when they learn that the Dwarves have left Rivendell. Galadriel assures Gandalf that she will aid him if need be, before she departs.
The council does not appear in , though they are still active. Galadriel instructs Gandalf (and presumably Radagast) to investigate the tombs of the Nazgûl. Upon finding the tombs have been opened, Gandalf goes on a solo mission to Dol Guldur, where he finds that the Necromancer is indeed Sauron. 
The members of the White Council are seen gathering at Dol Guldur in . The attack on Dol Guldur in the film has some notable differences. In the book Gandalf left the company of the Dwarves to meet with the other council members, all of whom were ready to drive out Sauron at this point. In the film, Gandalf has been incapacitated after encountering Sauron alone in Dol Guldur, necessitating his rescue by the rest of the council. Gandalf does not participate in this fight as a result; instead Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman are the main participants in the battle. The book indicates that Saruman lead the attack, but in the film it is Galadriel who leads the Council. Galadriel arrives first and rescues Gandalf, shortly before Elrond and Saruman arrive later to fight the Nazgûl, while Radagast—not here named as a member of the council—takes Gandalf to safety. Sauron himself manifests before them and notably attempts to sway Galadriel to his side. She resists him, and ultimately Galadriel is the one to drive Sauron from Dol Guldur, rather than Saruman. In the book, Gandalf mentioned that it was by the devices of Saruman that Sauron was driven away. However, as Saruman probably did plan the attack, the film may not be inaccurate after all.
== Translations ==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Wit Raad
Albanian 	Këshilli i Bardhë
Arabic 	المجلس الأبيض
Armenian 	Սպիտակ Խորհուրդ
Assamese 	হোয়াইট বৰ্ড
Azerbaijani 	Ağ Şurası
Basque 	Zuriako Kontseilua
Belarusian Cyrillic	Белы Савет
Bengali 	হোয়াইট কাউন্সিল
Bosnian 	Bela Vijeća
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Бял съвет
Burmese 	အဖြူကောင်စီ
Cambodian 	ក្រុមប្រឹក្សាសេត
Catalan 	Consell Blanc
Cebuano 	Puti nga Konseho
Chinese 	聖白議會
Cornish 	Konsel Gwynn
Corsican 	Cunzigghiu Biancu
Croatian 	Bijela vijeće
Czech 	Bílá Rada
Danish 	Hvide Råd
Dutch 	Witte Raad
Esperanto 	Konsilio Blanka
Estonian 	Valge nõukogu
French 	Conseil Blanc
Filipino 	Konseho ng puting
Finnish 	Valkoinen Neuvosto
Frisian 	Wite Ried (Western)
Georgian 	თეთრი საბჭო
German 	Weißer Rat
Greek 	Λευκός Συμβούλιο
Gujarati 	સફેદ કાઉન્સિલ
Haitian Creole 	Blan Konsèy
Hausa 	Farin majalisa
Hebrew 	המועצה הלבנה
Hindi 	सफेद परिषद
Hmong 	Sawv daws dawb
Hungarian 	Fehér Tanács
Icelandic 	Hvíta ráðið
Indonesian 	Dewan Putih
Irish Gaelic 	Comhairle Bán
Italian 	Bianco Consiglio
Japanese 	ホワイト協議会
Javanese 	Dewan Putih
Kazakh 	Ақ Кеңес (Cyrillic) Aq Keñes (Latin)
Kannada 	ವೈಟ್ ಕೌನ್ಸಿಲ್
Korean 	화이트위원회
Kurdish 	Konseya Spî (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Ак кеңеши
Latvian 	Balts Padome
Lithuanian 	Baltieji taryba
Macedonian Cyrillic	Одбор Белата
Maithili 	व्हाइट बोर्ड
Malagasy 	Ny Filankevitry ny Fotsy
Malaysian 	Majlis Putih
Maltese 	Kunsill Abjad
Manx 	Coonseil Bane ?
Maori 	Kaunihera Ma
Marathi 	पांढरा परिषद
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Цагаан зөвлөл
Nepalese 	ह्वाइट परिषद्
Norwegian 	Det hvite rådet
Occitan 	Conselh Blanc
Pashto 	سپین شورا
Persian 	شورای سفید
Polish 	Biała Rada
Portuguese 	Conselho Branco
Punjabi 	ਚਿੱਟੇ ਸਭਾ
Romanian 	Consiliul/Sfatul Alb
Romansh 	Cussegl Alv
Russian 	Белый Совет
Samoan 	Sinasina Fono
Scottish Gaelic 	Geal Chomhairle
Serbian 	Бели савет (Cyrillic) Beli savet (Latin)
Sicilian 	Cunciliu Janca
Sindhi 	اڇو ڪائونسل
Sinhalese 	සුදු මන්ත්රණ සභාවයි
Slovak 	Biela Rada
Slovenian 	Bela deska
Somali 	Golaha Caddaan
Spanish 	Concilio Blanco
Sundanese 	Déwan Bodas
Swedish 	Vita Rådet
Tajik Cyrillic 	Шӯрои Сафед
Tamil 	வெள்ளை பொதுச்சங்கம்
Telugu 	శ్వేత కౌన్సిల్
Thai 	สภาขาว
Turkish 	Ak Konsili
Turkmen 	Ak Maslahat
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Біла Рада
Urdu 	سفید کونسل
Uzbek 	Оқ Кенгаши (Cyrillic) Oq Kengashi (Latin)
Vietnamese 	Hội đồng Trắng
Welsh 	Cyngor Gwyn
Wymysorys 	Wajs Rȫt
Yiddish 	ווייסע קאָונסיל
Yoruba 	Funfun Igbimo
== References ==
== See also ==
* Council of Elrond
Category:Organizations
 
de:Weißer Rat
es:Concilio Blanco
fr:Conseil Blanc
it:Bianco Consiglio
nl:Witte Raad
pl:Biała Rada
pt-br:Conselho Branco
ru:Белый Совет
uk:Біла рада