The Kings of Gondor and Arnor
the heirs of Elendil in exile, and the Stewards
Definition
The Kings of Gondor and Arnor are the heirs of Elendil and his sons in the realms founded by the exiles of Númenor after the Drowning: the High Kingship of Arnor in the North, and the kingship of Gondor in the South. In the North the crown rested on the line of Isildur; in the South on the house of Anárion. When the North-kingdom foundered and the southern line wore out, governance of Gondor passed to the hereditary Stewards; and at the end of the Third Age the two crowns were reunited under Aragorn.
The Northern Line (Arnor)
- Arnor was founded by Elendil in the North, at Annúminas by Lake Evendim, and with Elendil the two realms passed from Númenor into exile, the High Kingship dwelling in the North.
- After Elendil’s fall and the death of Isildur in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, the kingship of Arnor descended in Isildur’s heirs: Valandil and his descendants, the kings of Arnor, in long succession. The realm was at last divided among three heirs (Arthedain, Rhudaur and Cardolan), and in its long wars with the realm of Angmar it was destroyed; its last king, Arvedui, perished in the North.
- With Aranarth, the son of Arvedui, the heirs laid aside the style of king and became Chieftains of the Dúnedain, keeping the claim and the heirlooms of Arnor hidden among the Rangers (see The Chieftains of the Dúnedain).
The Southern Line (Gondor)
- In the South, Isildur and Anárion ruled Gondor jointly, building Minas Ithil and Minas Anor in the east and west of the land.
- After Anárion’s fall in the War of the Last Alliance the throne of Gondor descended in his heirs: Meneldil and a long line of kings holding the succession unbroken for generations. The southern line came at last to Eärnur, who went down to the challenge of the Witch-king and returned no more; and since that time the Stewards governed Gondor in the king’s name.
- The Ruling Stewards were the lords of a house sprung from Húrin of Emyn Arnen, Steward of King Minardil; in hereditary succession they bore the rule of Gondor, from Mardil to Denethor II and at the last to Faramir, who with the return of the King surrendered the governing of the realm.
The Restoration
With the end of the War of the Ring, Aragorn — the Chieftain of the line of Isildur, son of Arathorn II — took up the crown of the Reunited Kingdom as King Elessar, joining the two lines; the claim of the southern realm was carried to the North-kingdom by the marriage of Arvedui to Firiel, daughter of King Ondoher of Gondor, so that the heirship of both realms lay at length in the house of the Chieftains.
Significance
The two crowns are the dynastic arc of the Third Age: the kingship of Elendil’s house, broken in the North and worn out in the South, is preserved by the Stewards’ loyalty and the Chieftains’ hidden watch, and is restored by the return of the King — the promised healing of the line of the Exiles.