High Kings of Gondor
and Anor
by Varda-(Valar)
April 2006. Udated May and July 2006, Dec 2008.
Men > Kings
> Numenorean
Kings > High Kings > Elendil
Elendil
- 1st king. Son of
Amandil, who was of the line of Elros and the
last Lord of Andunie in Numenor. His sons were Isildur and Anarion.
Died S.A. 3441 In the Last Alliance.
Isildur - 2nd king. Died T.A. 2
Valandil
- 3rd king. Fourth son of Isildur, born in Imladris.
His older brothers were slain in the Gladden Fields. He became King of
Arnor in T.A. 10.
Eldacar - 4th king
Arantar
- 5th king
Tarcil - 6th king
Tarondor - 7th king
Valandur - 8th king
Elendur - 9th king
Earendur - 10th king. Breaking of the kingdom into three parts for a time, the line continuing unbroken in Arthedain.
Kings
of Arthedain
Chieftains
Aragorn
II reunited the
kingdoms, 1st king of the Reunited Kingdom
Eldarion
2nd king of the Reunited Kingdom. Son
of
Aragorn II
Above are the High-Kings of Men in Middle-earth
after the drowning of Numenor. They ruled both the northern and
southern kingdoms, or carried the rightful claim to do so.
Elendil led the Faithful to Middle-earth from the
drowning of Numenor. He founded the Kingdoms of Arnor (north kingdom)
and Gondor (south kingdom) and was the High King, with his seat in
Arnor. He sent his sons, Isildur (heir) and Anarion to handle Gondor
while he remained in Arnor.
The King of Arnor was therefore also rightfully High
King over
Gondor, but Gondor did not always recognize this. Much of the time they operated independently, although friendly.
After Earendur, Arnor was divided into
three parts for his three dissenting sons. The parts were Arthedain,
Rhudaur, and Cardolan. In Arthedain, the direct line of Elendil was
maintained
and endured in the Kings
of Arthedain, but perished from the other two parts. Dissension
over the
borders caused friction, especially concerning Amon Sul (Weathertop),
whose Tower possessed the chief palantir of the North, as the other two
were already in Arthedain's possession.
During the reign of Malvegil of
Arthedain, the Witch-king
rose up in Angmar to the north of the
Ettenmoors on both sides of the mountains, taking advantage of
the disunion of Arnor, as Gondor was strong.
Since the
other
two dwindled away and lost their lines of the kingship, what was
properly
termed
Arthedain was sometimes called Arnor. Angmar and Rhudaur claimed this
reason
to attack Arthedain. Arthedain was sometimes aided by Cardolan, Lindon,
and
Rivendell.
By the time of Malvegil's
son, Argeleb, no other heirs of Isildur survived in the other kingdoms,
so the Kings
of Arthedain regained kingship of all Arnor. The Witch-king had
unintentionally caused this improvement of unity. The Witch-king left
to tend other business, having accomplished Sauron's intended
destruction.
Later, when the line of
kings in Gondor failed (the Witch-king killed the Gondorian king before
he produced an heir, but no Dunadan ever saw the body), the rightful
High King Arvedui in Arnor offered
to step in, but Gondor refused his claim, causing unnecessary sorrow
and loss as
Malbeth
the Seer warned if they did not take him. The Stewards held the
throne until the "return of the king". The Dunedain lost that early
chance for union and greatness.
Arthedain fell as a country, preserved in its
people, the nomadic Dunedain Rangers of the North. The High Kings
continued their line unbroken as Chieftains,
leading the Rangers to protect the northern realm without being honored
for
it for many generations. The Chieftains were fostered and educted by
Elrond in Rivendell as young children and returned to him in old age,
until one Chieftain again reunited the north and south kingdoms
peacefully as High King Aragorn II.
Reference: Return of the King:
Appendix A, Appendix B timeline
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