Blue Wizards

A translation of the term Ithryn Luin referring to the two least well-known of the Five Wizards. After landing in Middle-earth, they travelled directly into the far East with Curunír (better known as Saruman), so that they were never given names by the peoples of western Middle-earth. We do, however, have hints of what their names might have been among other peoples: some sources give Alatar and Pallando, while others suggest Morinehtar and Rómestámo. These variations needn't contradict one another: indeed, all the more famous Wizards had several different names.

The mission of the Blue Wizards was to travel into the Eastlands occupied by Sauron, and help to foment unrest among his subject peoples. Whether they succeeded or not, even Tolkien was unsure, though he imagined that they had probably failed ('...I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and 'magic' traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.' - The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No. 211, dated 1958). It's also uncertain why they remained in the East while Curunír returned: perhaps this was part of the original plan of the Valar, or perhaps Saruman decided he would have greater success in the west. Whatever the reason, his two blue-cloaked companions were never heard from again.