King of Gondor

The Kings of Gondor – Part Five – The Breaking of Lines

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Hail Readers!

It’s been a few weeks since my last post, and that’s due to some PC and Blog issues, but I’m back up and running.

When we last left off I had just wrapped up things with the Ship Kings and the prosperous age of Gondor.  We kick things off this week with what I would call the breaking in the lines of Kings.

75177-the2bstewards2bscepterWe start off with Narmacil which was the son of Atanatar II and he was known as a very lazy king and soon after taking the throne grew tired of his duties. He reigned as king for fourteen years but after growing tired of his duties as king, he decided to pursue his own personal pleasures so he created the noble title of Regent, and surrendered rule to his nephew Minalcar (who would eventually become King in his own right).

During his reign, the Easterlings became a threat again and his regent’s main concern was making alliance with the tribes of the Northmen to help fight against them.  It is unknown if Narmacil retained any power but he died without any children in the year 1294 of the third age and was succeeded by his brother.

Calmacil took reign from his brother Narmacil and became the eighteenth King of Gondor in the year 1294.  His reign lasted for ten years, in which his son Minalcar (known later as Romendacil II) continued his role as Regent, a role he held during Narmacil’s reign as well. It seemed he had absolutely no desire to rule Gondor and probably had no power to do so anyways.

Minalcar was born in 1126, the last year of the long reign of Hyarmendacil I as Minalcar and he rose to a powerful position early because his uncle Narmacil I chose to leave his kingship.  He was Regent of Gondor from TA 1240 and struck a decisive blow against the Easterlings whom he defeated near the Sea of Rhun. He also fortified Gondor and made pacts with the Northmen of Rhovanion, all before he took the throne.  After Narmacil’s death, he remained Regent for ten years under his father Calmacil.

argonath brown imageWhen he finally ascended to the throne after the death of his father, he immediately took the name Romendacil, the East-victor. He was responsible for creating the Argonath, the pillars of the Kings. They were known to stand above Nen Hithoel far into the Fourth Age.

Romendacil sent his son Valacar as an ambassador to secure the alliance with the Northmen.  While Valacar was on his mission he married Vidumavi, the daughter of Vidugavia, the King of Rhovanion. In the year 1260, he summoned him and his Northmen family back to Gondor, to take part in the duties of the realm. This was controversial and ultimately lead to the disastrous Kin-strife.  Romendacil died in 1366 and his son Valacar took the reign of Gondor.

tyler-realms-in-exile-01Valacar became the twentieth King of Gondor but his ascension brought disorder and disturbances to Gondor.  He was sent by his father as an ambassador to Rhovanion to acquaint himself with the Northmen. On this mission he married Vidumavi, the daughter of Vidugavia, the King of Rhovanion. Because the Northmen were Middle Men, the Dunedain in Gondor were afraid that this marriage would taint the Numenorean bloodline of its kings.

As Valacar grew old, the coastal provinces rebelled against the land and capital city.  Valacar died in 1432 and his death caused a bloody civil war among the people called the Kin-strife.  The war lasted for fifteen years until Valacar’s only son Eldacar took the throne.

 

I leave you at a fork in the road as we have a breaking point in the family line!  Until next week I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a fine farewell.

 

 

The Kings of Gondor – Part Four – The Great Ship Kings

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Hey everyone!

Last week we left off with the history and bloodline of the House of Anarion, and ended with the line of the Ship Kings which is where we pick up today.

numenor shipThe Line of Ship Kings

Tarannon, and his younger brother Tarciryan succeeded their father Siriondil after his death in 830 of the Third Age.  Tarciryan took his place as the High King of Gondor in which brought a peacful time for the lands.  His brother Tarannon became the first “Ship King” of Gondor in which started the construction of Gondor’s naval fleets, and under his expansion of the military forces Gondor was able to extend it’s borders both West and South of the Mouths of Anduin.  Tarannon was one of the two Kings of Gondor who had no children, which was a breaking point in the bloodline.  Even though he had no children, his rule was marked as so great due to the naval fleet expansions that he was named the “Lord of the Coasts”.

Tarannon had his own personal struggles outside of keeping the coasts of Gondor safe and building the great naval fleet.  His wife Beruthiel was manipulative and chose to spy on the people of the kingdom, eventually Tarannon had enough and exiled his wife into the South which is why he never had children.  Tarciryan had a son Earnil who took the throne after his uncle Tarannon died in 913 of the Third Age.

Earnil I took his place as the King of Gondor and the rightful place of the second Ship King. He continued his uncles great military expansion and during his time as King captured Umbar, but was lost at sea in 936 of the Third Age.

Harad port of UmbarThe Port of Umbar and Glory of Gondor

His son Ciryandil took the throne and became the fourteenth King of Gondor and the third Ship King.  Ciryandil continued his fathers naval expansions and spent his life defending the recently captured port of Umbar against the Black Numenoreans, and the Haradrim who tried to capture the port.  He reigned as king for 79 years and was slain during a siege on Umbar.  His son Ciryaher took the throne in 1015 and began reorganizing Gondor’s armies and declared war on the Haradrim in which he finally defeated them in 1050. The Haradrim were forced to recognize him as their lord and king and paid tribute to Gondor, and their sons where forced to live as hostages in the court of the king. After this victory, he called himself Hyarmendacil, meaning South-victor.

After the defeat of Harad, Gondor became very rich and under his reign the realm reached its greatest extent and power. The passes of Mordor were well guarded by well-kept fortresses, so evil had no place to turn during Hyarmendacil’s reign. No one ever dared to contest his power and Gondor was at peace for the rest of his long reign.  He died in 1149 after 138 years of keeping the lands of Gondor safe, and evil at bay.  He had one son Atanatar II who became the sixteenth king of Gondor.   It is said that Atanatar’s reign as king was the most prosperous of Gondor, and that his wealth was so great that historians remarked that “precious stones are pebbles in Gondor for children to play with”.

He was also known as “The Glorious King” but his actions as king were neglected and he made no attempts to watch the borders of Mordor or grow the armies of Gondor.  Atanatar by no means maintained the power that his father commanded and this time was seen as the start of Gondor’s great decline.

We pick up next week with the line of kings beginning to fail and a land who will once again face it’s greatest enemy.

Until then, I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a fine farewell!

The Kings of Gondor – Part Three – The House of Anarion

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Hail and Well Met Everyone!

Last week we left off with Isildur, the high king of both the kingdom of Arnor and Gondor. Since the death of Isildur we see a direct split in the lines and the title of High King did not fall to the House of Anarion.

tyler-realms-in-exile-01A Kings Line Divided

Meneldil was born in Numenor a year before its fall.  He was the fourth child of Anarion, and was the last recorded child born of Numenor before it’s destruction.  He had three older sisters and became the King of Gondor in the second year of the Third Age, after the death of his uncle Isildur.  Meneldil was the first “King of Gondor” to rule independently from the High Kingdom of Arnor.

It is uncertain whether Meneldil was King by right, because his father Anarion was only co-ruler of Gondor under his brother Isildur, who was the High King.  Meneldil did have a cousin that could have made the rightful claim to the throne of both kingdoms, but he never stepped forward to make such claim.  The people of Gondor accepted Meneldil’s claim over Gondor, but King Valandil of Arnor never made any real attempt to take rule over both kingdoms until Anarion’s line had failed.  Meneldil did serve Gondor from Arnor for 156 years before his death in year 158, but the title of High King still remained with the northern kingship line.

A Rule of Peace in the Lands

Cemendur took the throne after the death of his father Meneldil, but little is known about his reign.  It was a peacful time, and he ruled Gondor for 80 years and died in 238 of the Third Age.  He had one son Earendil who continued the reign of peace in the lands. There were no major events recorded during his time as king, but ruled Gondor for 86 years and died in 324 of the Third Age.  Earendil’s son Anardil took the throne after his fathers death.  The only major event recorded during his reign is he was the last king to dwell in Osgiliath, and his son Ostoher helped rebuild and expand Minas Anor.  Anardil died in 411 of the Third Age and ruled Gondor for 87 years.

Minas-Tirith3Ostoher took reign of Gondor and during his time as king he turned Minas Anor into a great dwelling place for his people, and continued to expand Minas Anor until it bacame a city as well as his fortress.  This city is one of the most renown of all Middle Earth as most people know it as the captial city of Gondor, or better known as Minas Tirith.  The white city became the captial some 1200 years after the great plague that hit the city in 1636.

Ostoher faced some challenges during his reign as in the last two years of his rule the Easterlings planned attacks on Gondor.  Because of the advanced technology and fortified keeps the king sent his son Tarostar who commanded his armies and was able to ward off and the Easterling threat. Ostoher ruled Gondor for 81 years and died in 492 of the Third Age in which his son Tarostar took reign of Gondor.  Tarostar, fought the Easterlings for almost a hundred years before defeating them, and after the victory renamed himself Romendacil, which means East-Victor.

The Line of Stewards Created

It was Romendacil, that created the line of Stewards for Gondor, as they were to be the men of wisdom and learning that would serve as high councilors to the king.  This bloodline of men were known as the House of Hurin, and they would later become the rulers of Gondor when the line of kings failed in 2050 of the Third Age.

Jan_Pospisil_-_Dale_units_vs._RhunAlmost 500 years of peace is what the land of Gondor saw but that was about to come to an end as the Easterlings invaded the land once again in 541 and killed Romendacil.  His son Turambar took the throne at a very young age, probably as a young teenager and avenged his fathers death.  Turambar expanded the lands of Gondor as he took his armies and conquered large parts of Rhun from the Easterlings.  This land became known as the East Land province of Gondor.  Turambar ruled Gondor for 126 years, which was the longest reign since king Meneldil.  He died in 667 of the Third Age at which his son Atanatar took reign over Gondor.

Not much is recorded of Atanatar’s reign other than it was a peacful time of Gondor.  He passed in the year 748 of the Third Age and had one son.

Siriondil took the throne after his fathers death in 748 and had two sons, Tarannon, and Tarciyan.  There were no major events recorded during his reign and was probably a continued time of peace for the land.  He ruled for 82 years and died in 830 of the Third Age.  Tarciryan took his place as the King of Gondor after his fathers death, but his brother Tarannon became the first Ship King of Gondor as he built the kingdoms great naval fleet!

Next week we will continue taking a historical look at the kings line of Gondor, and the great Ship Kings.

Until then, I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a fine farewell!