Gandalf is the wizard who helps Frodo in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. He is one of the central figures guiding the resistance to Sauron and the destruction of the One Ring.
Gandalf first appears in The Hobbit as a powerful traveler who recruits Bilbo Baggins for the quest to the Lonely Mountain. In The Lord of the Rings, he recognizes the danger of Bilbo’s ring and urges Frodo to leave the Shire.
Tolkien’s wizard is not simply a human magician. Gandalf is a Maia, a spiritual being sent to Middle-earth in the form of an elderly man. In the story, he is known first as Gandalf the Grey and later returns as Gandalf the White.
A common mix-up is confusing Gandalf with Saruman, another wizard who becomes an enemy. Radagast is also a wizard, but Gandalf is the character most directly involved in Frodo’s journey.