Annúminas: Difference between revisions

From Tolkien Gateway
No edit summary
(→‎Fate: Previous statement that there is no definite statement in the canonical works is false, as shown with the quotation.)
Line 27: Line 27:


==Fate==
==Fate==
At the time of the coronation of [[Aragorn II|Elessar]] at the end of the [[Third Age]], Annúminas had lain in ruins for more than two thousand years. There are hints in ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' and ''[[Appendix A]]'' that Elessar refounded the city and may even have made it his capital. No definite statement on this matter appears in the canonical works, though, so this must be considered speculation.  
At the time of the coronation of [[Aragorn II|Elessar]] at the end of the [[Third Age]], Annúminas had lain in ruins for more than two thousand years. Yet Aragorn soon set his mind to preparing a place to stay in the ancient city.  In the appendices of Return of the King it is stated that when Aragorn "comes North to his house in Annúminas restored and stays for a while beside Lake Evendim, then everyone in the Shire is Glad."  It is not explicitly stated whether Aragorn had begun a complete restoration of the city, or if he had proclaimed Annúminas the capitol of his Northern Kingdom.


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 06:12, 28 March 2009

Annúminas
City
File:Ann hall 04c2.jpg
General Information
LocationEriador, shores of Lake Nenuial
TypeCity
RegionsArnor
Arthedain
Reunited Kingdom
InhabitantsNorthern Dúnedain
GalleryImages of Annúminas

Annúminas was the city of the Kings of Arnor, on the shores of Nenuial.

History

The city was founded by Elendil himself, on the shores of the northern lake Nenuial, near the sources of the Baranduin. It was the chief city of the Kings of Arnor for several centuries, and home to one of the three palantíri of the North-Kingdom.

The available evidence suggests that the city survived for nearly a thousand years. In the early days of Arnor, it must have been one of the glories of Middle-earth. Soon after its founding, though, the numbers of the Dúnedain of the North began to dwindle. The population of Annúminas seems to have fallen throughout its history, until eventually it was deserted, and the Kings moved to Fornost to the east.

It seems likely that the people of Annúminas were dependent on the River Baranduin for their contact with the outside world. While the Hills of Evendim surrounded the city to the west and south, the city's people could reach the other cities of the Dúnedain that lay along the river by boat.

After the city's desertion, it fell into decay, but two relics of its greatness survived: its palantír and the Sceptre of Annúminas. The palantír remained in Middle-earth for more than a millennium after the loss of its city, but was ultimately drowned with Arvedui in the cold northern seas.

The silver Sceptre of Annúminas was the symbol of Kingship in the North-kingdom. A very ancient artifact, it was originally the rod of office of the Númenórean Lords of Andúnië. Though it would have been removed to Fornost by the Kings, and eventually came to be kept by Elrond in Rivendell, it retained the name of its ancient home of Annúminas.

Fate

At the time of the coronation of Elessar at the end of the Third Age, Annúminas had lain in ruins for more than two thousand years. Yet Aragorn soon set his mind to preparing a place to stay in the ancient city. In the appendices of Return of the King it is stated that when Aragorn "comes North to his house in Annúminas restored and stays for a while beside Lake Evendim, then everyone in the Shire is Glad." It is not explicitly stated whether Aragorn had begun a complete restoration of the city, or if he had proclaimed Annúminas the capitol of his Northern Kingdom.

See also