Eldarion

Eldarion Telcontar is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was the only recorded son of Arwen and Aragorn, born in the Fourth Age. He became the Second High King of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor after his father died.

"Eldarion" means "Son of the Eldar" or "Son of the Elves". He was also recorded as having at least two sisters.

Eldarion was descended from several royal Elven houses, including the Three High Kings of the Elves, and from the Edain. He was a grandson of Elrond and, through his grandmother Celebrían, a great-grandson of Galadriel. He was great-grandson of Eärendil the Mariner (Eldarion is descended from Eärendil on both sides of his family and in him the two genealogical lines of the Half-elven are reunited), through his Half-elven mother Arwen; he was also the nephew of the Half-elf lords Elladan and Elrohir. He was descended also from the great Kings of Westernesse on his father's side.

Reign as King of the Reunited Kingdom

Tolkien wrote that at the time of his ascending to the throne, Eldarion was "full ripe and ready for kingship". It is known that Eldarion was given the tokens of kingship (Andúril, etc.) by his father, who then willingly gave up his own life so that Eldarion could become King.

During Eldarion's reign, Findegil served as the royal scribe (or King's Writer). In the year 172 of the Fourth Age, Findegil completed a copy of the Thain's Book, the most complete copy of the Red Book of Westmarch wherein Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee recorded their adventures. Within the context of Tolkien's work, the Thain's Book was the original source for what we know as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The copy made by Findegil was brought to the Shire and kept by the head of the Took family, the Thain of the Shire, at Great Smials.

In Peter Jackson's movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Arwen is exhorted by her father to sail into the West, leaving Middle-earth and Aragorn forever. While reluctantly on her way to the Grey Havens, she has a prescient vision of Eldarion as a little boy (although Eldarion's name is only mentioned in the closing credits), which persuades her to stay. This is a departure from the events in the book.

For a time, Tolkien considered writing a sequel to The Lord of the Rings, called The New Shadow, which would have taken place in Eldarion's reign, and in which Eldarion deals with his people turning to evil practices; however, Tolkien later dropped the idea.^[1] In a 1972 letter concerning this draft, Tolkien mentioned that Eldarion's reign would have lasted for about 100 years after the death of Aragorn.^[2]

Colour key:
     Elves
     Men
     Maiar
     Half-elven
     Half-elven who chose the fate of elves
     Half-elven who chose the fate of mortal men

See also

• House of Telcontar
• Dominion of Men

References

External links

• Encyclopedia of Arda page on Eldarion
• The Argonath article on Eldarion
• Complete Chronology of Arnor and Gondor