Hail Readers!
It’s been a few weeks since my last post, and that’s due to some PC and Blog issues, but I’m back up and running.
When we last left off I had just wrapped up things with the Ship Kings and the prosperous age of Gondor. We kick things off this week with what I would call the breaking in the lines of Kings.
We start off with Narmacil which was the son of Atanatar II and he was known as a very lazy king and soon after taking the throne grew tired of his duties. He reigned as king for fourteen years but after growing tired of his duties as king, he decided to pursue his own personal pleasures so he created the noble title of Regent, and surrendered rule to his nephew Minalcar (who would eventually become King in his own right).
During his reign, the Easterlings became a threat again and his regent’s main concern was making alliance with the tribes of the Northmen to help fight against them. It is unknown if Narmacil retained any power but he died without any children in the year 1294 of the third age and was succeeded by his brother.
Calmacil took reign from his brother Narmacil and became the eighteenth King of Gondor in the year 1294. His reign lasted for ten years, in which his son Minalcar (known later as Romendacil II) continued his role as Regent, a role he held during Narmacil’s reign as well. It seemed he had absolutely no desire to rule Gondor and probably had no power to do so anyways.
Minalcar was born in 1126, the last year of the long reign of Hyarmendacil I as Minalcar and he rose to a powerful position early because his uncle Narmacil I chose to leave his kingship. He was Regent of Gondor from TA 1240 and struck a decisive blow against the Easterlings whom he defeated near the Sea of Rhun. He also fortified Gondor and made pacts with the Northmen of Rhovanion, all before he took the throne. After Narmacil’s death, he remained Regent for ten years under his father Calmacil.
When he finally ascended to the throne after the death of his father, he immediately took the name Romendacil, the East-victor. He was responsible for creating the Argonath, the pillars of the Kings. They were known to stand above Nen Hithoel far into the Fourth Age.
Romendacil sent his son Valacar as an ambassador to secure the alliance with the Northmen. While Valacar was on his mission he married Vidumavi, the daughter of Vidugavia, the King of Rhovanion. In the year 1260, he summoned him and his Northmen family back to Gondor, to take part in the duties of the realm. This was controversial and ultimately lead to the disastrous Kin-strife. Romendacil died in 1366 and his son Valacar took the reign of Gondor.
Valacar became the twentieth King of Gondor but his ascension brought disorder and disturbances to Gondor. He was sent by his father as an ambassador to Rhovanion to acquaint himself with the Northmen. On this mission he married Vidumavi, the daughter of Vidugavia, the King of Rhovanion. Because the Northmen were Middle Men, the Dunedain in Gondor were afraid that this marriage would taint the Numenorean bloodline of its kings.
As Valacar grew old, the coastal provinces rebelled against the land and capital city. Valacar died in 1432 and his death caused a bloody civil war among the people called the Kin-strife. The war lasted for fifteen years until Valacar’s only son Eldacar took the throne.
I leave you at a fork in the road as we have a breaking point in the family line! Until next week I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a fine farewell.
