Timeline Event
Valandil becomes King of Arnor
Event Type: Political
Age: 3rd Age - The Kings
Date: October 4, 0002
Description:
An event in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields; see that entry for an overview:
Valandil, youngest of the four sons of Isildur, becomes the 3rd King of Arnor upon the deaths of his father and brothers, but does not take up his rule for another eight years:
The Northern Line: Heirs of Isildur
Arnor. ...Isildur †2, Valandil 249, Eldacar 339....
The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: The Realms in Exile
3. Valandil [born 34311] [lived] 260 [years] died T.A. 249
The Peoples of Middle-earth, HoME Vol 12, Part 1, Ch 7, The Heirs of Elendil
Isildur and his three elder sons2 are slain by Orcs in the Gladden Fields. His fourth son Valandil succeeds to Arnor, but being a child3 remains for a time with Elrond at Imladris.
The Peoples of Middle-earth, HoME Vol 12, Part 1, Ch 7, The Heirs of Elendil
In the tenth year of the Third Age Valandil being come to manhood took up the kingship of Arnor....
The Peoples of Middle-earth, HoME Vol 12, Part 1, Ch 7, The Heirs of Elendil
Notes
† The sign † indicates a premature death, in battle or otherwise, though an annal of the event is not always included.
The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers
1 This text, from one of Tolkien's early drafts, lists the birth date as 3430. However, the final Tale of Years lists the date of Elendil's march to Imladris, and presumably therefore Valandil's birth, as 3431. There is nothing to indicate that Isildur or his wife went to Imladris before Elendil, so Valandil's birth date was adjusted to match the later, canonical source.
Commentary by Elena Tiriel
2 With Isildur went his three sons, Elendur, Aratan, and Ciryon....
Unfinished Tales, Part 3, Ch 1, The Disaster of the Gladden Fields
3 He was approximately 12 years old at the time of his father and brothers' deaths; it seems likely that a regent ruled Arnor in Valandil's place until he reached his majority.
Commentary by Elena Tiriel
Contributors:
Elena Tiriel 14Mar08
