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Radagast the Brown is one of the Wizards in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings and is mentioned in The Hobbit. He was a good friend of Gandalf, and had a strong affinity for animals. He lived at Rhosgobel, on the western eaves of Mirkwood, near the Gladden Fields on the Great River.

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Radagast, like the other Wizards, came from Valinor around the year 1000 of the Third Age of Middle-earth and was one of the Maiar. His original name was Aiwendil, meaning bird-friend in Quenya. The Vala Yavanna forced Saruman to accept Radagast as a companion, which may have been one of the reasons Saruman was contemptuous of him.

Radagast was unwittingly used by Saruman to lure Gandalf to Orthanc, where Gandalf was captured. However, Radagast also unwittingly helped rescue the grey wizard by alerting the eagles of Gandalf's journey there.

It is not known when or if he left Middle-earth. Tolkien writes that he forsook his mission as one of the Wizards by becoming too obsessed with animals and plants, so presumably he failed, and might not be allowed to return with honour. Tolkien also wrote that he did not believe that Radagast's failure was as great as Saruman's and that he may eventually have been allowed (or chose) to return to the Undying lands.

According to the essay "The Istari" from the Unfinished Tales, the name Radagast means "tender of beasts" in Adûnaic, the language of Númenor. However, in a later note Tolkien said that the name is in the language of the Men of the Vales of the Anduin, and that its meaning is not interpretable.

The name Radagast may actually be Anglo-Saxon. The word gast means "ghost, spirit, angel." The element rad could be derived from rudu, meaning "ruddy, reddish." If this is the case, his name could be translated as "Ruddy Angel." Since the Maiar are Tolkien's 'lesser angels', Radagast would mean simply "Ruddy Maia", perhaps in reference to his cloak's color (brown, or perhaps ruddy brown). But this may be too much speculation. See Radegast for meaning of the name in Slavic languages from which Tolkien possibly drew the name.

The character Radagast and virtually all references to him (with the exception of the presence of benign Eagles directed by an unseen force) were not used in the film versions of The Lord of the Rings directed by Peter Jackson.

• Middle-earth Maiar
• Fictional magicians