![]() ![]() It seems this was something Meneldil desired, as he hoped that "affairs in the North would keep them long occupied." (Unfinished Tales) Maybe it was because the Kings of Arnor by that point had no power or influence over Gondor and the wider Dúnedain people. Incidentally it seems that after Isildur's death the "High King" position stopped being used until Aragorn restored it. The Dúnedain of Middle-earth had simply ceased to observe it – as came up when Arvedui tried to claim the throne of Gondor himself). (The kingship could pass down through both male and female lines that was Númenórean tradition, hence the Ruling Queens. He (and the other chieftains of the Dúnedain in the North before him) were thus descended from the royal families of both kingdoms, from both Isildur and Anárion. Therefore, unless I'm mistaken, the reason Aragorn was able to claim the kingship of Gondor as well as the High Kingship and kingship of Arnor was because he was descended from Arvedui, King of Arthedain, and Fíriel, Arvedui's wife, who was the daughter of King Ondoher of Gondor. Afterwards, the Lords of Gondor would claim that the King of Gondor had to be descended from Anárion since Isildur gave the Kingship to Anárion's son. So while Isildur was, after Elendil's death, King of Arnor and High King of the Dúnedain, at a certain point he gave the Kingship of Gondor over to his nephew Meneldil, Anárion's son. The heir of Elendil was High King of the Dúnedain. If I understand correctly, it's a bit complicated. Question, so the King of Arnor rightly also is king of Gondor? but the king or steward of gondor not the rightful king of Arnor had it survived. (I think this also reflects what Professor Tolkien tells us about Denethor's attitude to the war, ie that he opposed Sauron purely for political rather than spiritual reasons.) EDIT: I might be wrong about this! See the end of my next post. This was, according to that letter, because the Kings were the descendants of Lúthien, and thus of Melian, and thus of Eru Himself, in a sense.Īs such it appears that while the Stewards held the political authority of the King, they did not hold the spiritual authority, which simply did not exist when the realm had no king. It might also be worth pointing out that as far as the Dúnedain were concerned, the King also held the effective role of "priest" (see Letter 156) and this lapsed with the kingship, not being restored until Aragorn took the throne. Indeed even Aragorn's claim was unpalatable to Denethor, who knew of his coming, calling him "last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship and dignity." If Arvedui, as King of Arnor, didn't impress the higher-ups of Gondor, a "chieftain" with no capital city, no fortress, and only the shadow of a fighting force, would have had no chance at the Kingship of Gondor. His claim was rejected, and Gondor found someone else. While he was the king of Arnor, he tried to take the Crown as well, as Elendil's heir and the husband of the sister of the most recent (deceased) king of Gondor. His line continued, though they became "Chieftains", owing to the depopulated nature of Arnor.Īs for why Aragorn waited so long, he had Elrond, Gandalf, and history, to guide him.Įlrond told Aragorn he could not be wed to Arwen unless he, as the only living Heir of Elendil, could regain the Crown of Gondor and the Sceptre of Arnor, which of course, could only happen after Sauron was defeated.Ī reason his precedents never tried to assert their lineage to Gondor goes back to Arvedui. Upon King Arvedui's death, it was really just a kingdom in name only. The realm in Arnor had no Steward or similar position. ![]() The Ruling Stewards were legally only regents until a new King was crowned, though most in Gondor by that time probably thought it would never happen. That continued until the War of the Ring. When King Earnur died, no accepted claimant to the throne could be found, so his Steward acted as regent. The Steward of Gondor was originally sort of an "underking", charged with aiding the King with day-to-day operations and carrying out his orders. ![]()
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