What Do We Know about the Stewards of Gondor and King Eärnur?
ANSWER: These questions don’t require any explanation. In July 2018 a blog visitor asked about “the Stewardship of Gondor” and King Eärnur. Well, to begin, I wrote a lengthy essay in May 2002 titled “The Men Who Would be Steward”. I doubt I could add anything substantive to what I collected there. But I’ll be glad to summarize the important points here.
I quoted a fragment from The Peoples of Middle-earth which states: “the Hurinionath were not in the direct line of descent from Elendil, [but] they were ultimately of royal origin.” I have always interpreted this to mean that the Stewards were descendants of Elendil, but apparently through a daughter of one of the kings. Unfortunately J.R.R. Tolkien doesn’t provide a full genealogy for the family.
Concerning the Ancestry of the Stewards of Gondor
We do know some interesting things about the Stewards’ family. For one thing, their life spans were shorter than those of the Heirs of Isildur. Although the waning of the Dunedain proceeded at a faster pace in Gondor than in Arnor, the royal line was still considered to be the most noble family in Gondor. They probably lived as long as any family of Gondorian descent.
Hence, I doubt that Hurin of Emyn Arnen (the first Steward of this family) was of any “purer” blood than the kings he served (Minardil and possibly his successors). In “The Men Who Would Be Steward” I argued that Hurin could have been descended from Eldacar’s unnamed daughter but probably was not of any closer blood to Minardil. They would have been second cousins (descended from the same great-grand-parents).
The fact that Minardil’s successors chose their Stewards only from Hurin’s descendants suggests there was a special bond between the two families. Since J.R.R. Tolkien didn’t elaborate we can only guess that it was either a bond of blood (common descent), shared burdens (close friendship leading to generations of such), or perhaps a combination of both. It’s hard to rationalize any other reason for such a close connection between the two families.
If, as I deduce, Hurin was a descendant of Eldacar then the unnamed princess probably married a very high noble of Gondor – and (in my opinion) most likely someone who remained loyal to the king even during the reign of Castamir the Usurper. Aldamir would have needed as many allies among Gondor’s noble families as he could find. A marriage between his sister and one of the leading families of Gondor would have served him well.
In the Appendix to The Lord of the Rings Tolkien writes that when Eldacar returned to Gondor many people “flocked to him from Calenardhon and Anorien and Ithilien”. Emyn Arnen is located in Ithilien, across Anduin from Minas Anor/Tirith. It became Faramir’s home as Prince of Ithilien.
The appendix also says “after the return of Eldacar the blood of the kingly house and other houses of the Dunedain became more mingled with that of Lesser Men.”
If there was a Lord of Emyn Arnen or some family of princely status (like the Princes of Belfalas/Dol Amroth), Eldacar’s daughter might have married either the heir of the family or a younger son. I suspect it would have made sense to J.R.R. Tolkien for this unnamed nobleman to be a younger son, someone whose connection to the royal house would bring his family honor and influence.
But it’s also possible that Eldacar’s daughter married a Northman and that Hurin had less Dunadan blood than Minardil. I don’t believe this was Tolkien’s intention, however. I favor the idea that the princess married someone from a Gondorian family since Tolkien describes Hurin as “a man of high Númenorean race”. And, of course, Hurin’s ancestry could have branched off from the royal line much earlier than I have supposed.
Origins of the Office of the Stewards In the Days of the Kings
ON UPDATE: See Fantasywind’s quote from Unfinished Tales in the comments below. Romendacil I created the office of Steward and now I don’t believe it is connected to the “Prince-regent’ title of Minalcar I describe in the next paragraph.
We have one example prior to Hurin’s time of a “Prince-regent” (Minalcar) who governed the realm on behalf of his uncle, King Calmacil. I think Tolkien included this anecdote in the history of the kings to create a historical precedent upon which to base the special relationship of the Stewards to the kings.
The title Arandur (“king’s servant”) is perfectly normal and Tolkien seems to imply that every king had one or more servants who acted in some capacity like a Steward. For example, the wardens of the Palantiri had special authority within the realm. And the armies of Gondor might have captains who were not kings or royal heirs.
Hurin’s position as Arandur was probably quite ancient and well-defined according to ancient custom. But Minardil’s decision to appoint Hurin as Arandur may have been a consequence of the Kin-strife. The appendix says:
Now the descendants of the kings had become few. Their numbers had been greatly diminished in the Kin-strife; whereas since that time the kings had become jealous and watchful of those near akin. Often those on whom suspicion fell had fled to Umbar and there joined the rebels; while others had renounced their lineage and taken wives not of Númenorean blood.
Based on this passage, I infer that the kings needed trustworthy servants. Whomever they chose as Stewards would have to be very loyal. Hurin proved himself loyal after Minardil was slain at Pelargir, and apparently after Telemnar died in the Great Plague. He apparently had no ambition to rule as king and must have been ineligible for some reason, either by birth or because he or one of his forefathers had renounced their lineage.
The only thing we can be certain of is that something changed in Hurin’s time. After his day the kings favored his family for choosing their highest, most trusted servants. And after Pelendur the office became hereditary. Was that intended to ensure continuity of the rightful royal line or merely a reward for long and loyal service?
King Eärnur’s History is Fully Documented in the Appendices
It would appear that no lost fragments, notes, or thoughtful essays concerning this character have emerged. The name Eärnur is a royal name, not a birth name. We don’t know what his birth name was. The etymology of Eärnur is traced to Eärendur, which means “servant of the sea” (according to some).
We know that Eärnur led a great fleet north to help Arnor and successfully led the armies of the West against Angmar. So he was an admiral and perhaps a sea-captain in his youth. But his biography only says:
‘Eärnur was a man like his father in valour, but not in wisdom. He was a man of strong body and hot mood; but he would take no wife, for his only pleasure was in fighting, or in the exercise of arms. His prowess was such that none in Gondor could stand against him in those weapon-sports in which he delighted, seeming rather a champion than a captain or king, and retaining his vigour and skill to a later age than was then usual.’
He was strong and adventurous. Like some of his ancestors he placed his own interests ahead of the needs of the realm.
The only detail we have about Eärnur’s relationship with Mardil is the account of how Mardil persuaded the king to ignore the Witch-king’s challenge in Third Age year 2043. Mardil must already have been Steward and wielded great influence with the new king. But after 7 years Eärnur seems to have felt he could make his own decisions. And so he ignored Mardil’s warning and took up the challenge, never to be seen again.
I doubt Eärnur would have spent much time in court or council. The few words Tolkien spares for his reign seem to imply he enjoyed being where the action was. Mardil may already have been guiding the realm before Eärnur vanished.
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Earnur was also compared with Boromir, or rather the opposite, which does sound similar:
“Boromir, five years the elder, beloved by his father, was like him in face and pride, but in little else. Rather he was a man after the sort of King Eärnur of old, taking no wife and delighting chiefly in arms”
Boromir indeed shares many similarities with Earnur, the rashness among them:
“What in truth this Thing is I cannot yet guess; but some heirloom of power and peril it must be. A fell weapon, perchance, devised by the Dark Lord. If it were a thing that gave advantage in battle, I can well believe that Boromir, the proud and fearless, often rash, ever anxious for the victory of Minas Tirith (and his own glory therein), might desire such a thing and be allured by it. Alas that ever he went on that errand! I should have been chosen by my father and the elders, but he put himself forward, as being the older and the hardier (both true), and he would not be stayed.”
That would give some insight how the Earnur could have been. I always liked how complex the history of the sheer title of the Steward is, the UT mentioned that the first time the office was made:
“Meneldil followed Isildur’s counsel, and all the Kings that came after him, until Rómendacil I (the fifth after Meneldil). In his time Gondor was first assailed by Easterlings; 52 and lest the tradition should be broken because of war or sudden death or other misfortune, he caused the “Tradition of Isildur” to be set down in a sealed scroll, together with other things that a new King should know; and this scroll was delivered by the Steward to the King before his crowning. 53″
…
“53 It was also Rómendacil I who established the office of Steward (Arandur “king’s servant”), but he was chosen by the King as a man of high trust and wisdom, usually advanced in years since he was not permitted to go to war or to leave the realm. He was never a member of the Royal House. [Author’s note.]”
One wonder who were the very first Stewards since reign of Minalcar Rómendacil I, until the Hurin of Emyn Arnen was chosen and his descendants afterwards :).
As you say, your last point is a quote taken from Unfinished Tales, which (so far as I know) doesn’t contradict anything in The Lord of the Rings. It leaves wiggle room for the “ultimately of royal origin” point. But it does lead me to reconsider the connection I drew between Minalcar’s status and the office of the Steward. In the notes about Numenor various members of the Line of Elros were sometimes made Regent (or vice-Regent). This appears to be an office especially intended for members of the Royal Houses, and separate from the Gondorian office of Steward.