Gandalf is not a ring-bearer. He is a fictional character and one of the chief protagonists in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. A member of the Istari order (a group of wizards), he is a leader of the "Fellowship of the Ring" and the army of the West. In The Lord of the Rings, he is initially known as Gandalf the Grey, but returns from death as Gandalf the White.