#Queens of Numenor

[middle-earth-mythopoeia]

What are your thoughts and theories about Dunedain women? They're not really named or talked about, but they must exist

You’re so right! And thank you for this ask! :)

The Dúnedain women are fascinating, and I wish Tolkien had written more about them. I’m assuming you’re asking about Dúnedain women in Middle-earth, but I want to go back earlier and talk about the Númenoreans first.

There were three Ruling Queens of Númenor—Tar-Ancalimë, Tar-Telperiën and Tar-Vanimeldë—but there would have been four, if Tar-Míriel had not been forced to marry Ar-Pharazôn against her will. I find Míriel’s fate really tragic. Not only did her cousin force her to marry him and usurp the throne from her, then she had to watch as he became more and more corrupt and authoritarian (under Sauron’s influence) and ultimately brought about the downfall of her kingdom.

But I find it really interesting that (until Ar-Pharazôn ruined everything) Númenor had such egalitarian rules of succession. This was because Tar-Aldarion changed the laws so that Tar-Ancalimë, his daughter, could inherit the crown from him. Although Númenor had male-only primogeniture before that, I think it’s important to note that this law change happened quite early in its history—Númenor had twenty-five rulers, and Tar-Aldarion was the sixth. It’s also interesting to me that a power-hungry man illegitimately taking away the political authority of a woman is such an essential part of the downfall of Númenor.

And speaking of a man usurping the rightful Queen, I’m still mad that Fíriel didn’t become the Ruling Queen of Gondor after her father, King Ondoher, and her two elder brothers, were killed. She was the rightful heir to the throne according to the ancient laws of Númenor! She should have become Queen of Gondor! (I’ve been upset about this ever since I was 13 years old and reading the ROTK appendices for the first time.) But Eärnil II claimed the crown, and then his son Eärnur received it, and he was killed, and the rule of Gondor passed to the Stewards; and Eärnur was the last King of Gondor until Aragorn took the throne more than 900 years later, so once again, a man usurping a woman’s political power led to extremely dire consequences for the Dúnedain. If Eärnil hadn’t wrongfully taken the crown from Fíriel, the line of Kings and Queens wouldn’t have been broken and Gondor and Arnor wouldn’t have fallen into disarray.

(I think the narrative agrees with me, too, because Eärnur was described as valiant but not wise, a man who took pleasure chiefly in fighting, and he ultimately died because he was too proud to refuse a challenge from the Lord of Minas Morgul. Is this who should have been ruling Gondor? No. It explicitly says in the appendices, ‘It may be that if the crown and the sceptre had been united, then the kingship would have been maintained and much evil averted.’ Fíriel should have been given the crown! Another point in my favor is that Aragorn was descended from Fíriel, the rightful line. It says, ‘Arvedui did not press his claim; for he had neither the power nor the will to oppose the choice of the Dúnedain of Gondor; yet the claim was never forgotten by his descendants even when their kingship had passed away.’ That’s right! I fully believe that Aragorn reinstated the Númenorean law of succession when he became King, allowing for there to be Ruling Queens after his reign.)

But if there is not enough written about the Queens of Númenor and Gondor, there is even less about Dúnedain women who weren’t of royal blood. I love the idea that in later years, after the Númenoreans founded Gondor and Arnor, some of them would have become rangers alongside the male Dúnedain. Because why not? The fact that Númenor had Ruling Queens suggests that women could have had many of the same rights as men, so I see no reason why they couldn’t have done all the same things men did. I’d love to see more stories about them.

#asks #Dunedain #Numenor #Queens of Numenor #Firiel #thanks for the ask :) #I have THOUGHTS and OPINIONS about the whole Earnil-Firiel succession crisis #my writing #it was only a matter of time before I went on a Firiel rant

[eternal-fear]

Why people don't talk enough (or at least I don't see it) about Numenorians having Queens? Like they had three. Almost four, but the worst guy™ usurped the throne and it ended with Numenor drowning.

And sixth King of Numenor? Choosing to change the rules for his daughter so she could inherit his throne, not some distant relative. And people accepted it. No civil wars or rebelions.

#lord of the rings #lotr #silmarillion #tolkien #numenor #numenorian queens

[sesamenom]

Ar-Pharazon from the Reverse Gondolin AU and as Witch-King of Numenor - thanks to @who-needs-words for helping develop this idea!

#silm #silmarillion #second age #ar pharazon #reverse gondolin au #(well more like the aftermath of gondolin reversal) #this au has consumed my life #on the plus side inspiration for feanor is finally reemerging from under the metaphorical couch so i might get something finwion-y done soo #aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa so much to draw so little time #seriously though golden nazgul is such a cool idea #whatever the mordor equivalent for the angband trio is (sauron pharazon and shelob maybe?) is going to look so cool in black and gold #black/gold black hole shelob!! #and prince elrond is super finwiony looking #also he has his wings & glowiness out a lot more so that'll be fun #but yeah basically in the au Prince Elrond realized via foresight what was happening/going to happen in numenor #so he went there and disowned ar pharazon (by extension removing him from the throne) and crowned tar miriel rightful Ruling Queen #then later when sauron showed up he came back kicked sauron out and outlawed the death cult #but between that time sauron secretly recruited ar pharazon by promising him kingship in exchange for his support #and anyways ar pharazon survived all the way to the TA as the Witch King #(mr. angmar here gets to be second in command of the nazgul sorry) #-imagine this guy showing up to be all 'bagginssss' though #the witch king of numenor is somehow even more dramatic #also the whole 'no living man can kill me' is. a bit different coming from a guy who has many enemies in the form of #a) his cousin the Ruling Queen of Numenor #b) his uncle the choice-of-elves-peredhel #c) a bunch of Faithful in the Halls #the dead guys aren't too much of a problem #but i wonder if he heard that prophecy and worried a whole lot more about the Ruling Queens #or Prince Elrond who in the au has very definitely embraced his maia-ness #and then imagine his surprise hearing 'but no living man am i' and it coming from. a random human lady.

[frodo-with-glasses]

Beregond of the Guard concedes honorable defeat to the first ruling Queen of Númenor and wishes her the best of luck in the semifinals. Thanks for voting, everybody!

#beregond #tar-ancalime #lord of the rings #lotr #silmarillion #my art #fig tree au #obscure tolkien blorbo #beregond is still the number-one blorbo in my heart tho X-D #not pictured: the hurried research i had to do to figure out what the heck a numenorian queen would wear LOL #in the end i kinda just had to wing it based on what little fanart she has #also my design for the sceptre of numenor was based on the drawing by john howe #anyway - thanks for getting us to the quarterfinals everybody! i couldn’t be prouder ^u^

[leavespics]

Gallery in numenor

#middle earth #silmarillion #numenor #tindomiel #atanalcar #elros #queen of elros #vardamir #manwendil

[feydrawings]

Tar Telperien, Second Ruling Queen of  Númenor

back to posting with some Numenor! this time, Tar-Telperien, second Ruling Queen of Numenor (and not simply queen consort). Little is told to us about her, but we know that she ruled on Numenor for 175 years, and she never married but ruled alone on her own. It was during her kingdom that the Rings of Power were forged in Eregion, and that the War of the Rings begun. She died without a heir, so it was her nephew Tar-Minastir who succeeded her. 

the stained glass windows are inspired by breath-art’s incredible stained glass art. 

Please do not repost my art on other sites without permission nor remove the trademark. Click to enlarge the picture. 

#silmarillion #tolkien #numenor #tar-telperien #numenoreans #numenor queen #silmart #tolkien art #silm fan art #j rr tolkien #the rings of power #second age #war of the rings #numenorean queen #*mine: art #watercolor

[attheexactlyrighttimeandplace]

The Rings of Power is such a treat! Each episode is a gem in its own way and i can't get enough of it.

The best part being how each week is like an injection of a powerful mix of excitation for LOTR universe and desire to reread all Tolkien's work, as if rewatching the episodes multiples times isn't enough (I'm having very modest ambitions so far and starting with the appendices of the Lord of the Rings and planning The Silmarilion and the Unfinished Tales for next month...)

Some thoughts on episode 4 (full of spoilers for the series),

Episodes with no hobbits and more dwarves are a win. Actually anything involving Durin father and son, Disa and her children whom we see and don't see at the same time is a delight.

Howewer i don't see there a happy family story with their friend Elrond as a gentle and benevolent sponsor, like everyone seem to describe their bond. I think Elrond appreciate them a lot individually and as couple, enjoys truly their company, but he's by nature incapable to be a friend to them. I can't call friendship a relationship where he doubts his friend's intentions and invades their privacy with suspicious questions he has no right to ask. It could have been another kind of secret more personal to Durin like a real affair. So why did Elrond think it was ok to follow him and his wife and overhear their conversations? The little advice he gave to Durin in the end of the episode, under the form of a confession about his own his father, redeemed him a little bit, but only a little bit. I don't think the couple should trust him or consider him genuine. And it's not because they're dwarves that Elrond is acting this way in my opinion, but really because he can't trust people and can't resist manipulating them to serve his goals and ambitions, like he did in the first episode by colluding with Gil-Galad to send Galadriel to Valinor, out of their way, instead of discussing with her what the elves king has foreseen for her future.

The visuals of Númenor submerged by a giant wave were terrifying and stunning at the same time. What a way to start an episode! I totally empathized with queen Miriel: her panic is completely appropriate. This is the stuff of nightmares, more than any orc or Dark Lord could be and it's not even the work of the dark side. How could an alliance between elves (who are going to be blamed for it) and men work after so much destruction? But at the same time: what a way too to end a season! Because i can't imagine another season finale now than the real destruction of the island...

Loved all the scenes between Tar- Miriel and Galadriel. The verbal sparring between these two strong/competent women leaders was the best moment of the episode: be it the ego fight during the audience or the emotional revelation in the king's tower. In this later scene, the dialogues and acting were especially moving (all this inner conflict for Miriel, so ready to follow Galadriel but incapable to deal with any opposition and conflict, was really good characterization). My favourite part was Elendil staying by the side watching quietly "his" queens (queen of his heart for Galadriel and queen by legal authority and loyalty for Miriel) fighting each other, while trying a little joke to get some attention.

Romeo and Juliet aka Kemen and Eärien are too good and pure for this world, so of course, they will die. They had a dark cloud announcing their doomed fate on their head during the all episode, following them everywhere. It's insane how strong this vibe attached to them was despite all the cuteness of their dialogues and the extra romantic spirit of their costumes.

As expected Adar turned out to be an elf who has been seriously wounded, more likely tortured (captured or left behind by his squadron?) and has now joined completely the dark side. It's a charismatic and quite sad character and i'm really curious to know more about his past. I consider him to be literally the father of the orcs: the one who created them by torturing elves. In the first episode Arondir explained to Bronwyn that the elves healers are in fact artists who reveal the beauty inside everyone. I think Adar was doing the opposite job for Sauron Morgoth, a perversion of his past noble mission.

On the other hand i'm trusting less and less Arondir: did he make a deal with Adar or did Adar release him in a sick game to catch him later and make the hunt of the strong elf who deserted more interesting? Arondir got an interesting mix of action and romantic scenes for a character who was so close to die at the start of the episode. Almost too much, in as he's getting all the focus before getting really killed or turned evil like Adar. This dark turn wouldn't be surprising because the guy has no luck, not in love at least: the timing to kiss Bronwyn is never but never right. I think it will happen eventually (more than some kissing) but they might both deeply regret it. I mean i've got this theory that Theo's father is Halbrand, mostly because it's the only way i can explain for now the ongoing mystery about Halbrand's homeland (i think he was maybe from the same village as Bronwyn, the one that was emptied completely and burned to the ground by the orcs of Adar - that would explain Theo's attraction to the dark side if you believe like i do that Halbrand is the futur Witch King - and i fear his reaction if he catches Bronwyn and Arondir at one point (if Adar doesn't before him).

So far, all the human characters of the Southlands were invented only for the series and had little connection to the books or the films, that's why it was very satisfying when, intentionally or not the writers wrote the attack of the tower of Ostirith like a call back to the battle of Helm's deep. Of course it won't be as epic as in the LOTR films (there's no armies only civilians and the scale is something else), but just the awakening of my memories and of my nostalgia alone is a very nice feeling.

Halbrand and Galadriel keep getting a lot of attention and i still fail to see why? Sure they have chemistry but he's so clearly reducing her in the best case to her race, calling her elf all the time as if he's holding a grudge against elves, and in the worst scenario to someone he wants to dominate, to tame/control (like an horse to use a word that he used), and eventually possess sexually after the blacksmiths planted in his head that she wouldn't want him because she prefers men of better origin (the comment was clearly sexual, there's seduction/attraction but no really romantic feelings in his interactions with Galadriel)

Also this subplot makes Galadriel so stupid: why would she jump to the conclusion that he's a king in disguise just because he wears an insignia? Why does she refuse to believe his protestations and explanations that he found it on a dead man (whom he possible killed)? How can she believe that a real king would act like he did since she met him? He was traveling with poachers who were hunting the worm and have shot it with arrows, that's why the marine animal attacked them (she saw the arrow when she was underwater), he abandoned his shipmates to death, started a tavern brawl, stole the guild crest from the blacksmiths and beat them savagely etc.. In which way does this attitude compare to queen Miriel's regal posture in everything she says and does, or even a "lesser" noble man like Elendil? I don't know why she wants this bad to make him a hero, why she's being so blind to his objections. She keeps bringing his people and the emergency to save them and he showed no interest or care. It makes me crazy and that renders their scenes painful to watch, even though they were well acted and written.

EDIT: I just rewatched the episode and i realized that her position was clearly explained during the audience with Tar Miriel: Galadriel is desperately in need of a royal figure that could gather the men of The Southlands. They clearly won't follow an elf, and not even a numenorean queen can convince them given Númenor's closeness to the Elves. Only a leader born in the Southlands would be able to gather them under one banner. Thus Halbrand is her only and best shot at any attempt of an alliance, whatever the circumstances in which he came into the possession of the insignia, no matter if he's a real king or nobody. She's just trying praying very hard that he's not as bad as he pretends to be and taking a bet that nobody will detect his lies. Or rather, i really hope this interpretation will be proved to be true, because if not, i'm back to the part that i crossed out.

There's so much more to say, notably about Isildur who had a big episode, and his relationship with his sister Eärien, Pharazôn and his relationship with his son Kemen but this is already too long. I'm keeping the rest of my thoughts for future posts.

#the rings of power #episode 4: the great wave #numenor #durin iv #princess disa #elrond #galadriel #queen regent miriel #elendil #eärien #kemen #halbrand #arondir #bronwyn #adar #my trop reviews

[nomilkinmyteaplease]

Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn in The Rings of Power (2022)

#Trystan gravelle #the rings of power #tolkien #the terror cast #Morfydd Clark #Galadriel #Pharazôn #Queen Regent Míriel #Cynthia Addai-Robinson #numenor #my stuff #my edits #aslo starring: Luscious hair

[90shaladriel]

I wonder if Galadriel seeing the great wave destroying Númenor through the Palantir would at all be foreshadowing for future seasons of Rings of Power for herself directly?

Would that be interesting divergence for Galadriel to actually be IN Númenor during the Akallabêth? I know this is unlikely but we have no idea what Galadriel will really be doing in later seasons. In the books Tolkien couldn't make up his mind and then doesn't mention her at all really in the War of the Last Alliance.

Could her hunt for Sauron lead her to chasing him to Númenor?

In the Palanatir scene we hear:

Tar-Miriel: It is Númenor 's future you saw

Galadriel: Palantiri show many visions. Some that will never come to pass.

Tar-Miriel: It has already come to pass. The vision begins with your arrival

Clearly Galadriel's arrival is connected with the vision of Númenor 's downfall and that's nowhere in the books but makes a nice connection of Galadriel to Númenor fate. We assume ROP will depict the downfall of Númenor and not give them a happy ending, so would Galadriel be tied up in that?

If she is there during the downfall. How could she be saved? A Great Eagle? Another raft?

#galadriel #rop #rings of power #the rings of power #rop predictions #numenor #speculation #miriel #queen-regent miriel #rop meta #meta

[thetempleofthemasaigoddess]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (S01E03): Elendil’s name meaning.

#The Lord of the Rings #The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power #The Rings of Power #Rings of Power #Elendil #Elendil the Tall #Lloyd Owen #Tar-Miriel #Queen Tar-Miriel #Cynthia Addai-Robinson #Numenor #Bellona's stuff #Bellona's videos

[i-dont-know-anything-anymore]

Lotr- Rings Of Power + Text Posts

#Lotr #lotr rings of power #galadriel #sauron #halbrand #the stranger #numenor #middle earth #mordor #elrond #prince durin #King #queen regent miriel #gil galad #sadoc burrows #elendil #durin iii #Miriel #khazad dûm #lindon #harfoots #text post #lotr text posts #Funny

[abduloki]

The Rings of Power (S1E4)

I respect Queen Míriel, ruling in her father’s stead, adhering to her father’s wishes and looking after the well-being of her people. She was hesitant to help not because she did not care about the people of Middle Earth, but because she has to put her own people first who might be in danger as well.

It is not easy being a ruler, balancing the needs and wants of your council, people and generals, and deciding to do what is right and what is required. You cannot make a decision that pleases one without offending the other. There will always be someone that is unhappy with your ruling.

#the rings of power #the lord of the rings #miriel #cynthia addai-robinson #galadriel #morfydd clark #medieval fantasy #numenor #queen of numenor

[buzzerdome]

So we got a buncha people who apparently survived the pyroclastic cloud of an erupting volcano which can boil the moisture off your skin and solidify you in seconds, think of Pompeii. But in this show ONLY THE ONE FUCKING LADY. ONLY THE QUEEN NUMENORIAN IS ACTUALLY HURT???

#NOT BRANWYN?? #OR HER WIMPY ASS SON??? #THEYRE JUST HUMAN!?!!? #isn’t Numenor based off Atlantis??? #theyre supposed to be like 7 ft tall and strong as shit #BUT THE QUEEN IS BLIND AND BRANWYN IS A FUCKIN OKAY 🙄😂 #lotr #lord of the rings #rings of power

[sweetearthandnorthernsky]

was someone going to tell me anarion had 3 other kids [some of whom may be daughters or just. sons that died before meneldil came to the throne] aside from meneldil or was i just going to have to read that myself while looking for an extremely obscure detail on tolkiengateway

#that does make the whole pelendur decision make slightly more sense. #[on pelendur's part at least. not so much on everyone else's] #and by everyone else i mean isildur & meneldil. #bc if we ARE still going by numenor standards those siblings should have inherited #not meneldil #which theoretically creates a precedent later which makes sense [sae doesn't care i'm lowkey salty abt it tho] #unless they were like *looks at everything that happened to kings/queens in numenor's history* uh no thanks we'll pass #which is valid

[khr-guilded-cage]

just got into another fandom and I already have a new character for my Someone-Please-Name-Those-Woman Club

#princess of dorne #lady of autumn #elros's wife #first queen of numenor #nameless characters #nameless women

[swan2swan]

Queen Miriel returning from Numenor:

#miriel #queen miriel #numenor #rings of power #the rings of power #rings of power spoilers