After three episodes of the hit series Prime Video The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Powerelven warrior Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and the enigmatic Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) finally turned their attention to the island kingdom of Numenor. To see this mythical realm from J. R. R. TolkienThe Legendarium has been the dream of many of the Professor’s fans, and there’s no doubt that Prime Video has (so far) lived up to it. Between breathtaking visuals and rich characters populating the capital, fans Rings of Power definitely in for a treat as the show goes on.
Based on the biblical Fall of Man, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the legend of Atlantis, Tolkien wrote the Kingdom of Numenor as a turning point in the history of Middle-earth and a tragic story of arrogance. As we see on the world map in Rings of Power, this island kingdom was located far to the west of the coast of Middle-earth, deep in the center of the Great Sea. While the Prime Video series may take a different approach to Numenor’s history than Tolkien’s legendarium, understanding what he wrote about the famous Human Kingdom can help us anticipate what’s to come.
gift from above
The First Age of Middle-earth ended in a battle between the Dark Lord Morgoth and the combined armies of Elves and Men, with some help from the Valar, spiritual beings subordinate to the “One God” Eru Ilúvatar, who chose to live with creation. As a reward for their loyalty, the Valar blessed this group of Men, known as the Edain, with an island kingdom they raised from the Great Sea. From above, this island, known as Elenna, Westernesse, or “Gift Land”, was shaped almost like a five-pointed star, and it took the Edain almost 50 years to move there.
The first High King of Numenor was Elros, half-elf, brother of Elrond (Robert Aramayo) who, after being given a choice by the Valar, chose to be human. As a mortal, albeit with an extended lifespan, Elros ruled Numenor for 410 years, eventually passing the throne from generation to generation to the last rulers of the realm, namely Queen Tar-Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), who was the last legitimate heir to the throne. According to Tolkien’s work, the throne was eventually usurped by her cousin Ar-Pharazon (Tristan Gravel), the last king of Númenor, who marries her against her will.
Slow descent into darkness
Although the Kingdom of Numenor prospered for over a thousand years, the Numenoreans gradually became dissatisfied with their mortality. Although they initially maintained peaceful relations with the elves, and over the centuries maintained a strong bond with the high king of the elves, Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), they began to resent the other race for their immortality, which humans could never have. When their island kingdom rose from the Great Sea, the Valar forbade the Numenoreans from sailing far to the west, where they could reach the Undying Lands and possibly gain immortality.
According to Silmarillion, the Numenoreans eventually began to expand their maritime empire, forcibly colonizing the lands of Middle-earth. Sauron soon corrupted Ar-Pharazon, promising eternal life if Numenor would only worship and swear allegiance to his nefarious master, Morgoth. Most Numenoreans would have done this by building temples for human sacrifice to the primordial Dark Lord, who plunged the once great Kingdom of Men into even greater darkness. During this time, Ar-Pharazon built his armada in hopes of making war on the Valar in the West.
Fall of Numenor
As soon as the Numenoreans broke the ban of the Valar, all bets for the island kingdom were removed. Although at this point most of Númenor worshiped Morgoth (which is akin to the worship of the Devil in Tolkien’s world), there was still a remnant of people still faithful to the path of Eru Ilúvatar, the Valar and the elves. This group of people were known as the “Faithful” or Elendili, named after their leader Elendil (Lloyd Owen), himself a descendant of the first High King of Elros. Eventually, Elendil led a group of Numenoreans into Middle-earth and founded the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.
Despite this remnant, Silmarillion explains that the Númenóreans continued their war against the Valar, who in turn called on the Age of Ilúvatar to intervene. In response, Eru changed the world of Arda from flat to spherical. That’s right, for most of the Second Age, Tolkien’s fantasy world was actually flat earth! This reconstruction of the world, which also removed the Undying Lands from the material plane, resulted in the complete and final destruction of Numenor. Even Sauron himself was affected by the intervention of Eru, who destroyed his body and sent his spirit back to the dark lands of Mordor, where he regained his powers.
The faithful live
Long after the fall of Númenor, Sauron rose again in the Third Age to try and take over Middle-earth during the War of the Ring, as told in Lord of the Rings. Although Elendil’s son Isildur (played by Maxim Baldry in Rings of Power) defeated Sauron in the Second Age (and took the Ring of Omnipotence for himself), it is Isildur’s heir, Aragorn, who will become a real threat to the Dark Lord’s empire in the Third. Aragorn himself came from a group of people called the Dunedain, exiled Numenoreans who scattered across Middle-earth during the Second and Third Ages, giving him a particularly long lifespan and his only true right to the throne of Gondor.
The Dunedain eventually split into two factions, one side of Gondor and the other of Arnor, although they were reunited when Aragorn took the throne at the end. Return of the King. Due to his kinship with the half-elf Elros, the first king of Numenor, Aragorn will live much longer than the average human in Middle-earth, which would explain how he could be in his 80s at the time of the events. Lord of the Rings. Although he did not live as long as his half-elf ancestor, Aragorn lived to be 210 years old due to his Dúnedain heritage and carried with him every hope of what Numenor could be.
First three series The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power streaming now on Prime Video. New episodes become available every Friday.
Source: Collider
