At the time of its founding, the North-kingdom of Arnor was the royal seat of the High King, whose power extended not only over Arnor itself but also its sister kingdom, Gondor in the south. Elendil ruled as the first High King, and was briefly succeeded by his son Isildur, but Isildur's sudden loss brought this arrangement to an end.
Isildur and his three elder sons were all slain in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, leaving as his only heir the young Valandil, fostered at Rivendell. In this situation, the formal connection between Arnor and Gondor broke down, and from the time of Valandil onwards the rulers of Arnor were Kings of the North-kingdom only, with no authority over the southern realm.
After Valandil, there were seven further Kings in Arnor, until on the death of Eärendur the ancient realm of the High King was divided between his sons. Though the Kingship came to an end, the line of descent was continued, with Eärendur's natural heir being Amlaith of Fornost, the founding King of Arthedain.
For a complete list of the Kings of the North-kingdom, refer to the entry for King of Arnor.
Notes
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The 'North-kingdom' of the Dúnedain refers to the entire kingdom of Arnor, which later broke apart into three lesser kingdoms. Formally, then, we might expect the 'King of the North-kingdom' to refer specifically the King of the entire realm of Arnor. To complicate matters, however, our only record of this specific title is in reference to the bearers of the Elendilmir, the Star of Elendil borne by the northern Kings, and that Star continued to be worn by the Kings of Arthedain. So, the title of 'King of the North-kingdom' was also used, at least tangentially, of the Kings of Arthedain as well as those of the united Arnor.
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- Updated 8 June 2025
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