They were from the beginning far fewer in number than the lesser men. The Dúnedain were lords of long life, great power, and wisdom far superior to the Men of Middle-earth among whom they dwelt and whom they ruled. ReunificationĪfter the War of the Ring, the Dúnedain were reunited under Aragorn II Elessar, Isildur's Heir, and their the might and dignity was lifted up and their glory renewed. īy the time of the War of the Ring, the Dúnedain of Gondor lived in Minas Tirith and the adjacent townlands, as well as the tributary fiefs and royal lands of Anórien, Lebennin and Belfalas. Īfter the Stewards took up the rule of the south kingdom, the remnant of the Dúnedain of Gondor still defended the passage of the Anduin against the terrors of Minas Morgul and against all the enemies of the West.
Thus, by default, Mardil began the line of Ruling Stewards of Gondor. The kingdoms of the Dúnedain in Middle-earthĪfter the reign of King Eärnur, royal descendants among the Dúnedain of Gondor had become few and no claimant for the throne could be found of pure Númenórean blood, or whose claim all would accept, and people were afraid of a new Kin-strife that would devastate the kingdom. After his return from exile, many noble houses, including the royal House of Anárion, became more mingled with the blood of "lesser" Men. This led to the Kin-strife, when many of the Dúnedain of Gondor were slain. King Eldacar, who himself had Northmen blood, showed favour to the Northmen who supported him. Yet at the last, in the later Third Age, the Dúnedain of Gondor waned, for their blood became much mingled with that of other men, especially the Northmen of Rhovanion. In the south, the realm of Gondor endured, and for a time the splendour of the Dúnedain of the South grew, until it recalled the wealth and majesty of Númenor during the reign of Hyarmendacil I by TA 1050. Dúnedain of Gondor See also: Dúnedain of Gondor. Īfter the Angmar War, the Dúnedain of the North were reduced to Rangers wandering secretly in the wild, and their heritage was forgotten, save in Imladris, where the Heirs of Isildur were harboured and their line, from father to son, remained unbroken. The remnants of the Northern Dúnedain were also heavily affected by the Great Plague the joint garrison (of the North and South Kingdoms) at Tharbad ceased to exist, and the last of the Dúnedain of Cardolan died on the Barrow-downs. Īfter the reign of Eärendur, the seventh king that followed Valandil, the Dúnedain of the North became divided into petty realms and lordships, and the evil realm of Angmar destroyed them one by one.
Valandil, Isildur's youngest son, took up his rule in Annúminas, but his people were diminished, and of the Northern Dúnedain and of the Men of Eriador there remained now too few to people the land or maintain the places Elendil built many of Dúnedain of Arnor had died in the War of the Last Alliance and the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. Division Dúnedain of Arnor See also: Dúnedain of Arnor. Originally ruled by the High King of the Dúnedain, they were divided as the Dúnedain of Arnor and the Dúnedain of Gondor, following the death of Isildur, son of Elendil, in TA 2. The ancestors of the Princes of Dol Amroth were among the most prominent of these. Others had settled there independently before the Downfall, and later allied themselves with the founders of the Kingdoms of the Dúnedain. Not all the Dúnedain in Middle-earth were descended from the followers of Elendil. After the Downfall of Númenor, the exiles of Númenor, led by Elendil, established the Realms in Exile of Arnor and Gondor.