Elendil
Noachian figure who founded Númenórean kingdoms in Middle-earth.
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, appearing in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales. He was the father of Isildur and Anárion, the last Lord of Andúnië on Númenor, and after escaping the island's downfall became the first High King of Arnor and Gondor. He died fighting the Dark Lord Sauron in the Last Alliance of Men and Elves.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Tolkien's legendarium
- Race
- Men
- Affiliation
- Lords of Andúnië
- The Faithful
- Last Alliance of Elves and Men
- Weapon
- The sword Narsil
- Children
- Isildur; Anárion
- Relatives
- Amandil (father)
- Origin
- Númenor
Facts from the source article.
Fictional history
Elendil was born in Númenor, the son of Amandil, Lord of Andúnië and leader of the Faithful, who maintained friendship with the Elves and opposed King Ar-Pharazôn and Sauron. Amandil, a former admiral and friend of the king, sailed to Valinor seeking pardon from the Valar and was never heard from again. On his urging, Elendil, his sons Isildur and Anárion, and their supporters fled Númenor's downfall in nine ships. Elendil landed in Lindon, where he was befriended by Gil-galad, while Isildur and Anárion were carried south to the Bay of Belfalas. They brought the palantíri and a seedling of the White Tree. Upon landing, Elendil proclaimed in Quenya that he had come from the Great Sea to Middle-earth and would abide there with his heirs until the world's end. Aragorn, his 40th-generation descendant, repeated these words when taking the crown of Gondor. Elendil founded Arnor and its capital Annúminas; his sons founded Gondor, with Anárion building Minas Anor and Isildur building Minas Ithil. Elendil ruled as High King over Arnor directly and Gondor indirectly.
Analysis
Nicholas Birns observes that Elendil's survival of Númenor's fall recalls both Plato's Atlantis and the biblical fall of man, and notes Tolkien called Elendil a 'Noachian figure'. Tolkien wrote that Elendil 'held off' from the rebellion, kept ships ready, and fled before the wrath of the West, borne on towering waves. Birns remarks that Elendil, though later in comparative time than Noah, was an imperialist and founder of realms, whereas Noah was a refugee; he grants that 'Noachian' implies a class of people like Noah and allows for different kinds of flood. Birns suggests Tolkien, as a Catholic, may have been more comfortable with Creation and Flood myths but preferred to leave the fall of man alone, noting both themes appear in non-Christian tales like the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Enuma Elish. Fleming Rutledge writes that Aragorn, narrating the Lay of Beren and Lúthien, tells the hobbits Lúthien's line shall never fail; as they gaze at him the moon climbs behind him as if to crown him, an echo of the Transfiguration. Rutledge explains that Aragorn is of the line of Elendil and will inherit the crown of Elendil and the other Kings of vanished Númenor, just as Jesus is of the line of David. Zak Cramer notes Tolkien's middle name Reuel means 'God's friend' and could be written 'El's friend', speculating that Elendil, meaning 'Elf-friend', may be a wordplay on this. J. K. Newman compares the myth of Elendil and Sauron's defeat with Jason's taking of the Golden Fleece, noting that in both a golden prize is taken with evil consequences.
Adaptations
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Elendil is portrayed by Peter McKenzie and appears briefly in the prologue, where he is killed by Sauron. The film differs from the book: in the book, Elendil and Gil-galad heroically defeat Sauron at the cost of their own lives, allowing Isildur to take the Ring without difficulty; in the film, Sauron defeats Elendil, and Isildur fights Sauron, cutting off his finger and the Ring to vanquish him. Tolkien instructed that Sauron should not be thought of as very terrible, appearing as a commanding figure of more than human stature but not gigantic; Jackson makes Sauron much larger than Elendil. Robert Tally comments that Jackson may have come closest to Tolkien's intentions in the prologue by representing Sauron in humanoid form, while he is a disembodied eye elsewhere. In the 2022 television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Elendil is played by Lloyd Owen as a Númenórean nobleman and sea captain, a widower with three adult children: Isildur, Anárion, and a daughter Eärien.
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