The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
III 12551 - III 1490 (lived 235 years); King of Gondor (as Eldacar) from III 1432; deposed III 1437; restored III 1447 (ruled for a total of 58 years)
Race
Division
Culture
Gondorians, though born and raised in Rhovanion in his early years
Family
Settlements
Pronunciation
Probably veeneet-ha'rya (Vinitharya's name is composed of two elements, vinit and harya, and so the final t of vinit and the initial h of harya should be pronounced separately, not as a th sound)
Meaning
Uncertain2
Other names
Titles

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 16 August 2021
  • Updates planned: 1

Vinitharya

The original name of Eldacar of Gondor

Valacar
Vidumavi
Vinitharya
(Eldacar)
At least one
unnamed sibling
Ornendil
Unnamed
daughter
Aldamir

The royal son of Valacar of Gondor and Vidumavi, daughter of the King of Rhovanion. When he returned to Gondor with his father, he was given the name Eldacar, a name he retained when he inherited Gondor's throne.


Notes

1

The date of Vinitharya'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

Vinitharya is evidently derived from Gothic, but our only direct clue to its intended meaning comes from a brief note in which Tolkien compared it to Elvish Rómendacil (that is, 'East-victor'). In fact Vinit-harya (spelt in numerous different ways) was a real Gothic name, but doesn't quite mean 'East-victor'; rather it translates more directly as 'Wend warrior'. The Wend here refers to a people, or more accurately a range of different Slavic peoples across history. In this context, the Wends of history apparently represent a comparable people in Middle-earth, with the most obvious candidate being the Easterlings defeated by Vinitharya's grandfather Rómendacil II.

Based on Tolkien's comparison to Rómendacil, we might take 'warrior' to imply 'victor', so the whole name Vinitharya would, in this particular context, mean something like 'victor over the Easterlings'. Vinitharya was therefore effectively named after his grandfather, though using the language of the Northmen of Rhovanion (represented by Gothic) to render the Elvish name Rómendacil.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 16 August 2021
  • Updates planned: 1

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