The Dúnedain were a race of Men with enduring life spans that resided in Gondor to the south of Middle-earth who were once the great Númenoreans of old.
History[]
The Dúnedain descend from the Edain of the First Age, having granted and settled the island of Númenor in the Second Age. Many Men of Númenor settled in Middle-earth, such as in Belfalas, Umbar and Pelargir. The ancestors of the Princes of Dol Amroth, were the most prominent of these.
After the Downfall of Númenor, Elendil and his sons led the Exiles to Middle-earth. Many who where in whole or part of Númenorean blood welcomed them and proceeded to found the Realms in Exile, Arnor and Gondor.
Originally ruled by their High King, they were divided as the Dúnedain of Arnor and the Dúnedain of Gondor, following the death of Isildur, son of Elendil, in T.A. 2.
In Arnor[]
Valandil, Isildur's youngest son, took up his rule in Annúminas, but his people were diminished, and there were too few Númenoreans and native Men of Eriador to people the land or maintain the places Elendil built; many had died in the War of the Last Alliance and the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.
After the reign of Eärendur, the seventh king that followed Valandil, the Dúnedain of the North became divided into petty realms and lordships, and the witch-realm of Angmar destroyed them one by one.
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.
After 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 harbored and their line, from father to son, remained unbroken.
In Gondor[]
In the south, the realm of Gondor endured and the splendor and might of the Dúnedain of the South grew, until it resembled the wealth and majesty of Númenor during the reign of Hyarmendacil I.
However, 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. King Eldacar, who himself had Northmannish blood, showed favor to the Northmen who supported him. This led to the Kin-strife, when many of the Dúnedain of Gondor were slain. After his return from exile, many noble houses, including the royal House of Anárion, became more mingled with the blood of "lesser" Men.
After 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. Thus, by default, Mardil began the line of Ruling Stewards of Gondor.
After the Stewards picked up the southern rule, 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.
By the time of the War of the Ring, the Dúnedain of Gondor lived in Minas Tirith and the adjacent town-lands, as well as the tributary fiefs and royal lands of Anórien, Ithilien, and Belfalas.
Reunification[]
Upon the reunification of the Kingdoms of the Dúnedain after 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.
Notable Dúnedain[]
Appearances[]
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (mentioned)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King