The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
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Pronunciation
e'lendoorr ('rr' indicates that the final r sound should be distinctly pronounced)
Meaning
'Servant of the star'2
Titles
Note
Elendur the King of Arnor is not to be confused with Isildur's eldest son, who was also named Elendur

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  • Updated 17 April 2019
  • Updates planned: 1

Elendur

The penultimate King of Arnor

Kings of Arnor

The son of Valandur, who succeeded his father to rule over Arnor for one hundred and twenty-five years. He was perhaps named for Isildur's eldest son, who also bore the name Elendur. He was succeeded by his son Eärendur, who would be the last of Arnor's Kings.


Notes

1

The date of Elendur's birth appears only in The History of Middle-earth volume XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth. It cannot therefore be considered completely reliable.

2

Elen- can mean either 'star' or 'Elf' depending on context, but in Elendur's case it is almost certainly 'star'. The reference remains unexplained, but it perhaps refers specifically to the Star of Eärendil rather than to stars in general, especially as Eärendil was Elendur's distant ancestor. However, Elendur shared his name with, and was possibly named for, Elendur the eldest son of Isildur. That earlier Elendur's name seems to mean 'devoted to the stars' in general, following the celestial tradition of his father Isildur and uncle Anárion, whose names devoted them to the Moon and Sun respectively.

The ending -ndur usually means 'servant', but in this context can be taken as something like 'devotee' or 'follower' (in the same sense that Elendur's father Valandur was a 'servant of the Valar').

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 17 April 2019
  • Updates planned: 1

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