A title for a lord of Númenórean descent, who held the High Kingship over all the Dúnedain of Middle-earth. It was originally applied to Elendil, but after his death in the War of the Last Alliance, it passed on to his eldest son and heir, Isildur. Isildur did not bear the title long: in only the second year of his reign, while journeying north to his capital at Annúminas, he was ambushed by Orcs and slain. In the events that followed, the rulers of Arnor and Gondor followed different lines of descent from Elendil, and there was no Lord of both Arnor and Gondor for more than three thousand years.
The lines were reunited by Aragorn Elessar, the direct Heir of Isildur through thirty-nine generations, who took up the rule of Gondor and refounded the North-kingdom of Arnor, which had fallen many centuries earlier. Aragorn is not specifically styled 'Lord of Arnor and Gondor', but rather 'King of Gondor and Arnor'. The reason for the change of order is unclear, but it presumably recognised that Gondor had become the more powerful and important of the two realms by the time Aragorn ascended the throne.
For a detailed list of all the known Lords of Arnor and Gondor, see the entry for High King.
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- Updated 1 September 2012
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