Wizard

A wizard is a practitioner of magic, especially in folklore, fantasy fiction, and fantasy role-playing games. In popular use during 16th century England, "wizard' was used to denote a helpful male folk magican, a cunning man as they were usually called. The word does not generally apply to Neopagans, or to stage magicians (properly termed illusionists) like David Copperfield, Paul Daniels, or James Randi.

Fiction

Famous wizards in folklore and fantasy fiction (sometimes both) include:

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• Akthuri Is the wizard from The Dragonfighters of Kulamain, young adult fantasy/adventure novel by Karen M. Penn http://www.lulu.com/content/156878
• Allanon is a wizard, also known as a druid and historian, from the Shannara series, which was created by Terry Brooks.
• Belgarath - created by David Eddings as a leading character for The Belgariad series of fantasy novels (also called 'Belgarath the Sorcerer' or 'The Eternal Man').
• Chun the Inescapable, Rhialto the Marvelous, and others - from Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories.
• Chrestomanci in Charmed Life and sequels by Diana Wynne Jones
• Crispinophur is the wizard that helped King Graham in the King's Quest computer game series created by Roberta Williams and produced by the game company Sierra Entertainment.
• The Dean of Unseen University in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is not named, but is a senior wizard and recurring character.
• Doctor Strange is a wizard superhero and Sorcerer Supreme in the Marvel Universe. Doctor Fate is the DC Universe equivalent.
• Elminster - featured in many of the Forgotten Realms fantasy novels and RPGs.
• Elric of Melniboné - often called a sorcerer or a wizard - from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné and its sequels.
• Fizban is the mortal avatar of the god Paladine from the Dragonlance fantasy novels.
• Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando - from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings - are called Wizards, but are really supernatural entities. In the Middle-earth legendarium, "wizard" is a term applied only to the five members of the Order of the Istari; the term "wizard" could never be applied to a human, and a human magic user is simply called a sorcerer.
• Gareth Yaztromo is a major wizard in the world of Titan, which was created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.
• Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort, and all other non-Muggle male characters from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and its sequels. (The females are witches).
• J. Wellington Wells ("a dealer in magic and spells") - the eponymous Sorcerer of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta, who also features in two books by Tom Holt.
• Raistlin Majere was a very powerful mage in the Dragonlance fantasy series. Other mages in Dragonlance include Magius, Palin Majere, Par-Salian, Dalamar and Fistandantilus among (many) others
• Michael Scot - protagonist of Michael Scott Rohan's The Lord of Middle Air - a historical figure and an ancestor of the author!
• Mondain was the villainous wizard of the first Ultima game.
• Mordenkainen was the greatest wizard in the Greyhawk fantasy series by Wizards of the Coast. Other great wizards of Greyhawk were Bigby, Drawmij, Evard, Leomund, Melf, Nystul, Otiluke, Rary, Tasha and Tenser.
• Morgon was the riddlemaster of Hed in books by author Patricia A. McKillip.
• Mustrum Ridcully - Archancellor of Unseen University throughout most of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
• Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face are the sorcerous advisors for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, in Fritz Leiber's Swords series. They are (apparently) unhuman, and they aid (in other words, complicate the lives of) the two rogue heroes.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi, as a master of the Force, has some wizard-like attributes in George Lucas' Star Wars films: "That wizard's just a crazy old man" said Uncle Owen to Luke Skywalker in '.
• Ponder Stibbons is the Head of Inadvisably Applied Magic at Unseen University in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.
• Pug (also known as Milamber) is the wizard protagonist of the fantasy books by Raymond E. Feist.
• Rincewind - strictly a "Wizzard" (it says so on his hat) and the wizards of Unseen University - from many of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.
• Randall Flagg, an evil entity from Stephen King's epic The Stand, oftentimes appears as a "wizard" in the author's other works. Notably in the Dark Tower series as Walter O'Dim (The Man in Black) and Marten Broadcloak (Steven Deschain's magician). He also plays the part of the antagonist in Eyes of the Dragon as "Flagg," King Roland's advisor.
• Shazam, the ancient Egyptian wizard who gives Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family their powers.
• Sparrowhawk or Ged - from Ursula K. LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea and its sequels.
• Tim Hunter, the young wizard in the Books of Magic comic by Neil Gaiman and others.
• Yara in The Tower of the Elephant, Tsotha-lanti in The Scarlet Citadel and Thoth-amon in The Phoenix on the Sword are examples of evil wizards from the stories about Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard.
• Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander is a prominent wizard in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.

The eponymous character of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a stage magician pretending to be a genuine wizard; in the 1939 movie version the wizard was also a fake. However, in later Oz stories, he studies magic with Glinda and becomes a genuine wizard.

Related Topics:
L. Frank Baum - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - 1939 movie version - Glinda

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In some fictional and game settings, wizard or a similar term is the name for a "race" or species, not just a job description. For example:

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• The five Istari in The Lord of the Rings (also mentioned above)
• "Black Mages" and "White Mages" and occasionally even "Red Mages" in the video game series Final Fantasy.
• "Demon Sorcerers" in the TV show Jackie Chan Adventures
• In the Harry Potter series, wizards form their own community within the modern world. The children of wizards generally have the potential to become wizards themselves, as do the occasional children of non-magical parents.