He is among the greatest Kings of Men ever to live. So revered among the Men of the West,
it is the height of his greatest to which Aragorn must aspire over 3000 years later.
The leader of the exiles of Numenor, the founder of the northern kingdom of Arnor,
and the man who would personally stand against Sauron in combat.
Today on Nerd of the Rings, we cover the life and travels of Elendil.
Elendil is born in 3119 SA in Numenor, the only child of Amandil, the Lord of Andunie. Despite
being among the Faithful Numenoreans, Amandil was kept on the council of King Ar-Pharazon,
who belonged to the rival King’s Men faction who turned their backs on the Valar and the elves.
For Amandil and Pharazon had once been childhood friends
and Amandil was renowned as a mighty sea-captain and held in high honor in Numenor.
As for Elendil, his very name signified his family’s allegiance to the elves.
While in the elven language of Quenya Elendil means “Lover of the Stars”, for men it meant
“Elf-friend”. Ar-Pharazon would seize control of Numenor in 3255 when Elendil is 136 years old.
By this time, Elendil has two sons - Isildur who is 46 and Anarion who is 36. Just seven years
after taking the kingship, Ar-Pharazon brings to Numenor a prisoner from Middle-earth - Sauron.
Within that very year, Sauron seduces the King with promises
of worlds to rule and ever-growing power, and the hearts of the Numenoreans are turned to
the worship of Melkor - the world’s first dark lord. All the king’s council, save for Amandil
fell in line, falling for the lies of Sauron. Amandil is dismissed from the council
and withdraws to Romenna, where he secretly begins gathering all of the Faithful Numenoreans.
In 3310, Sauron convinces an aging Ar-Pharazon that the only way to save himself from
death is to conquer the lands of the Valar. The Numenoreans begin building
a massive fleet to make their assault. Amandil, hearing of these evil deeds,
resolves to sail west himself, just like his ancestor Earendil of old - in an
effort to seek the aid of the Valar. Before his leaving, he goes to his son, telling Elendil:
Then Amandil said farewell to all his household....
Amandil takes his small ship and sails West, and what became of him, no tale tells.
Elendil follows his father’s advice, stationing nine ships on the eastern coast of Numenor
and upon those ships the Faithful put their wives and children, their heirlooms, and great stores
of goods. Many things there were of beauty and power, such as the Númenóreans had contrived in
the days of their wisdom, vessels and jewels, and scrolls of lore written in scarlet and black. And
Seven Stones they had, the gift of the Eldar; but in the ship of Isildur was guarded the young tree,
the scion of Nimloth the Fair. Thus Elendil held himself in readiness, and did not meddle in the
evil deeds of those days; and ever he looked for a sign of his father that did not come.
In 3319, the Great Armement complete, Ar-Pharazon launches his fleet to attack Valinor. Elendil
remained in Romenna, refusing the summons of the King as he set forth to war. Hearing of this,
soldiers of Sauron are sent to capture Elendil and drag him to the fires of the Temple of Melkor.
However, Elendil evades the soldiers, taking the ships offshore and for the time,
waiting. As Pharazon reaches Valinor and declares it for his own, Eru Iluvatar intervenes. Pharazon
and his soldiers are buried under the earth, and a great devouring wave rolls over Numenor,
and the island realm is taken by the sea. In the process, Sauron’s physical form is destroyed.
And whether or no it were that Amandil had indeed come to Valinor and Manwe harkened to his prayer,
Elendil and his sons and their people are spared from the ruin of that day.
For when the great wave took the island realm, a great wind - wilder than any wind
man had ever known, roared from the west and swept the ships of the Faithful far away.
So strong it was that their sails were rent and their masts snapped.
Scattered by the storm, the ships of Elendil, Isildur, and Anarion
finally come to the shores of Middle-earth. Isildur and Anarion’s five ships are taken
south where they would found the realm of Gondor. Elendil’s four ships are taken north, where he
founds the realm of Arnor. Upon landing on the shores of Middle-earth, Elendil, exiled from the
fallen Numenor proclaims: "Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn'
Ambar-metta" ("Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this
place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world")
In his northern realm, Elendil constructs the capital city of Annuminas. Throughout both
Arnor and Gondor, great towers are constructed which house the seven Palantiri saved from the
downfall of Numenor. In the south, seeing stones are placed in Minas Ithil where Isildur also
planted the seedling of Nimloth, Osgiliath, Minas Anor, and Orthanc. In Elendil’s realm, he places
stones in Annuminas, the watchtower of Amon Sul, and the tower of Elostirion in the Emyn Beraid.
The white towers of Emyn Beraid are built by Gil-galad for his friend Elendil. And both tower
and stone were maintained and guarded by the elf lord Cirdan the Shipwright. And while the
other six stones were used to communicate with one another and see across their realms, it is
said that Elendil used the Elostirion stone to look back along the Straight Road across the sea
to Eressea in the undying lands, where the master stone still dwelt. And though he tried, Elendil
could not see the fallen Numenor with the palantir that would come to be known as the Elendil stone.
Thus the peoples of Gondor and Arnor would thrive and build their new realms in peace for over 100
years - Isildur and Anarion serving as kings of Gondor, while Elendil is the High King over both
great realms of men. Presumably, it is during these years that Elendil writes the account
of the Downfall of Numenor - or what we know as the text of the Akallabeth in The Silmarillion.
It is also through Elendil’s efforts that the tale of Aldarion and Erendis
is preserved, though he did not write the account himself.
However, the time of peaceful growth would come to an end with the return of an old foe. For
Sauron would return, his spirit coming back to Middle-earth. No longer capable of taking
fair form, he instead turns from methods of deception to methods of fear and force.
In 3429, Sauron attacks Minas Ithil, seizing the city and causing Isildur to flee with his family
and a seedling of the white tree of Gondor. As Anarion is left in charge of Gondor, holding out
against Sauron, Isildur flees north, sailing to the shores of Arnor. Coming to his father,
he tells Elendil the news of Sauron’s attack. In response, Elendil turns to his elven friend.
Now Elendil and Gil-galad took counsel together, for they perceived that
Sauron would grow too strong and would overcome all his enemies one by one,
if they did not unite against him. Therefore they made that League which is called the Last
Alliance, and they marched east into Middle-earth gathering a great host of Elves and Men;
and they halted for a while at Imladris. It is said that the host that was there assembled was
fairer and more splendid in arms than any that has since been seen in Middle-earth,
and none greater has been mustered since the host of the Valar went against Thangorodrim.
Gil-galad meets Elendil at Amon Sul, and there, in 3430 they form the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
Elendil binds the alliance with a great oath,
invoking the name of Eru as witness. Their combined force marches to Imladris where they
spend the next three years forging weapons and making battle plans for their war upon Sauron.
Finally, in 3434, they cross the Misty Mountains, turning south toward Mordor. Sauron burns the
lands of the entwives in an effort to slow their march. But the alliance, now joined by elves from
Greenwood and Lorien, as well as dwarves of Khazad-dum, marches on, finally coming to the
Black Gate of Mordor. Elendil is joined there by Anarion’s forces from the south. And despite heavy
losses on both sides, the alliance is victorious and continues on to the very tower of Barad-dur.
Elendil and Gil-galad’s armies make camp upon the plains of Gorgoroth and for the next seven years,
they lay siege to the dark tower. In the sixth year of the siege, Elendil’s youngest son Anarion
is killed by a rock thrown from the tower. Finally, in 3441, Sauron issues forth with
a small host of his followers, driving back the alliance forces to the very slopes of Mount Doom.
There, the two great kings - Elendil and Gil-galad
would fight the dark lord face to face in single combat.
But at the last the siege was so strait that Sauron himself came forth;
and he wrestled with Gil-galad and Elendil, and they both were slain,
and the sword of Elendil broke under him as he fell. But Sauron also was thrown down.
Elendil and Gil-galad give their lives to defeat Sauron. Elendil killed by a strike
from the dark lord, and Gil-galad’s face scorched by the heat of Sauron’s hand. In that moment,
as Sauron is also thrown down, Isildur takes the broken hilt shard of his father’s blade
and cuts the ruling ring from Sauron’s hand. Sauron abandons his broken body, his spirit
fleeing, and Isildur claims the One Ring as weregild for his fallen father and brother.
Isildur buries his father’s remains on the top of a hill between the Gondorian realms of Calenardhon
and Anorien. Isildur would order that the location be kept secret,
and only the kings and later ruling stewards would ever venture there when in need of wisdom
or in days of danger or distress. The rulers would also take their full-grown heirs to the tomb of
Elendil where they would tell them of the making of the tomb and matters of which they should know.
In time, the memorial mound would come to be covered in white flowers
of alfirin, known to men as the Simbelmyne.
Over 2500 years (2510 TA) after Elendil’s death, Ruling Steward Cirion of Gondor would bring Eorl
the Young to the summit of Amon Anwar. There, they would pledge an oath and like Elendil before him,
Cirion calls Eru himself as witness to their pledge - forming Eorl’s new kingdom of Rohan
and swearing the kingdoms to aid one another in all days to come.
Now that Gondor was no longer the same realm as in the days of Isildur,
Cirion removes the tomb of Elendil and places the casket in the Hallows of the Rath Dinen,
the resting place of the kings and rulers of Gondor.
We also know there would be at least one statue of Elendil, which stood in the halls of Minas Tirith.
While his body would lie in Minas Tirith, Elendil’s legacy would reach far beyond
its walls. His name would be held in special reverence, and none among the Dunedain would
ever be named Elendil after him. He would also live on in the memory of his enemy.
For Sauron hated and feared the line of Elendil and his sword that had maimed him.
Both would come to haunt him in the War of the Ring, with the rise of Aragorn - Elendil’s great
grandson by 39 generations who would wield both the reforged Anduril and use his ancestor’s name
as a battle cry. When the dark lord meets his uttermost defeat, Aragorn is crowned High King
of the reunited kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor just as his famous ancestor. During his coronation,
Aragorn Elessar spoke the words of Elendil: Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come.
In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world…
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