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Timeline Event

Division of Arnor

Event Type: Political

Age: 3rd Age - The Kings

Year: 0861

Description:

Valandil took up his abode in Annúminas, but his folk were diminished, and... there remained now too few to people the land or to maintain all the places that Elendil had built; in Dagorlad, and in Mordor, and upon the Gladden Fields many had fallen. And it came to pass after the days of Eärendur, the seventh king that followed Valandil, that the Men of Westernesse, the Dúnedain of the North, became divided into petty realms and lordships, and their foes devoured them one by one.

The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

After Eärendur, owing to dissensions among his sons their realm was divided into three: Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan. Arthedain was in the North-west and included the land between Brandywine and Lune, and also the land north of the Great Road as far as the Weather Hills. Rhudaur was in the North-east and lay between the Ettenmoors, the Weather Hills, and the Misty Mountains, but included also the Angle between the Hoarwell and the Loudwater. Cardolan was in the South, its bounds being the Brandywine, the Greyflood, and the Great Road.

The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain

The direct line of the eldest son ruled the realm of Arthedain in the north-west; their city was Fornost. Annúminas became deserted owing to the dwindling of the people.

The Peoples of Middle-Earth, HoME Vol 12, Part 1, Ch 7, The Heirs of Elendil: The Northern Line of Arnor: The Isildurioni

In Arthedain the line of Isildur was maintained and endured, but the line soon perished in Cardolan and Rhudaur.

The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain

All the kingdoms met at Weathertop, and the desire to obtain that frontier fortress... caused further enmity between the realms....

The Atlas of Middle-earth, Revised Edition, by Karen Wynn Fonstad, Section 3, The Third Age: Kingdoms of the Dúnedain

There was often strife between the kingdoms, which hastened the waning of the Dúnedain. The chief matter of debate was the possession of the Weather Hills and the land westward towards Bree. Both Rhudaur and Cardolan desired to possess Amon Sûl (Weathertop), which stood on the borders of their realms; for the Tower of Amon Sûl held the chief Palantír of the North, and the other two were both in the keeping of Arthedain.

The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain

From this time on the official names of the kings were no longer given, after the manner of Númenor, in High-elven or 'Quenya' form; but the kings of Arthedain used Elvish names of Noldorin form and still maintained their friendship with the Eldar of Lindon and Imladris.

The Peoples of Middle-Earth, HoME Vol 12, Part 1, Ch 7, The Heirs of Elendil: The Northern Line of Arnor: The Isildurioni

Contributors:
Loquacious 30Jul03, 21May05
Elena Tiriel 6Jul06

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