The Lineage of King Aragorn Elessar and Queen Arwen Evenstar

And Their Son Eldarion, High King of Elves and Men in Middle-earth

Introduction

In the study of the mythology of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, the question of the lineage of Aragorn Elessar and Arwen Undomiel is an extremely interesting one. With the information provided in The Silmarillion, it is possible to trace the lineage of both back through the ages to the first of the Eldar and the Edain. The history shows that the line of succession of each of the three Houses of the Edain, and the royal houses of the Sindar and the Noldor merge together in Arwen and Aragorn, and that their son Eldarion is therefore High King of Elves and Men in Middle-earth. But to wit, each of the houses of the Eldar and Edain in turn:

The Eldar: The House of Fëanor, Spirit of Fire

The House of Fëanor became the Dispossessed shortly after entering Middle-earth, when Maedhros was rescued from Thangorodrim by Fingon the Valiant. As the Dispossessed they have no heir as part of the lineage of Aragorn and Arwen.

The Eldar: The House of Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth

Fingolfin had three children:

1. Fingon the Valiant
   1. Erenion Gil-galad
2. Turgon the Wise
   1. Idril Celebrindal
3. Aredhel the White Lady

Fingon was slain in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and his son, Erenion Gil-galad, become King of the Elves. Gil-galad was slain in the battle with Sauron at the end of the second age, and left no successor to his throne. Turgon's daughter Idril Celebrindal married the man Tuor (of whom more shall be spoken), and their son was Eärendil the Blessed. He married Elwing and their sons were Elrond and Elros. Elrond married Celebrian, daughter of Galadriel, and their daughter was Arwen. The firstborn children of Elros (through many generations) eventually became the line of Arathorn and his son Aragorn. And so the lordship of the House of Fingolfin passed to Aragorn and Arwen, and to Eldarion, their son.

The Eldar: The House of Finarfin, King of the Noldor in Aman after the Exile

Finarfin did not follow his brothers into exile, but remained in Aman and ruled the Noldor who also remained there. His children, however, followed the host of Fëanor. They were:

1. Finrod Felagund
2. Angrod
3. Aegnor
4. Orodreth
   1. Finduilas
5. Galadriel
   1. Celebrian

Finrod Felagund was the Lord of Nargothrond until he was slain on the Quest of the Silmaril with the man Beren. He had no heirs and his lordship passed to Orodreth his brother. Angrod and Aegnor were slain in the Dagor Bragollach, the Battle of Sudden Flame. Orodreth was slain in battle with Glaurung, the father of dragons, in the Battle of Tumhalad. his daughter was Finduilas, who was also slain by Orcs at the Crossings of Teiglin. The last remaining child of Finarfin was the Galadriel, whose daughter Celebrian married Elrond, and their daughter was Arwen. Thus the lordship of the House of Finarfin passed to Arwen and to Eldarion, her son.

The Eldar: The House of Olwë, King of the Teleri in Aman

Olwë had one daughter, named Eärwen, who married Finarfin, of whom has been spoken. As has been said, her last remaining descendant was Celebrian the wife of Elrond and mother of Arwen. Thus the lordship of the House of Olwë passed to Arwen and to Eldarion, her son.

The Eldar: The House of Elwë Singollo, High King of the Teleri in Middle-earth

Elwë Singollo, who is called Elú Thingol, married Melian the Maia, and they had one daughter. Her name was Lúthien Tinúviel, and it was she who loved and married the Man Beren Erchamion, who took a Silmaril from Morgoth's Iron Crown. Their son was Dior, Thingol's Heir, and his daughter was Elwing, the wife of Eärendil the Blessed and mother of Elrond and Elros. Their descendants were Arwen and Aragorn. And so the lordship of the House of Elwë passed to Aragorn and Arwen and to Eldarion, their son.

The Edain: The House of Marach, and Hador of Dor-lomin

Now the chieftain of this house was Marach, and after him his grandson Hador of Dor-lomin, friend of Fingolfin and mighty lord of Men. And Hador had two sons and a daughter:

1. Gundor
2. Galdor
   1. Húrin
   2. Huor
3. Gloredhel

Now Gundor was slain in the Dagor Bragollach with his father Hador, and Galdor was slain there also. And Galdor's children were Húrin Thalion the Steadfast and Huor his brother. And Hurin's children were Nienor Niniel and Túrin Turambar. And the house of Húrin was cursed by Morgoth Bauglir, and all perished in their turn at the devices of Morgoth. And Huor was slain in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, but his son Tuor came to Gondolin at the bidding of Ulmo the Valar and there took to wife Idril Celebrindal. And their son was Eärendil the Blessed, who wedded Elwing. And their sons were Elrond and Elros, from whom descend Arwen and Aragorn. And thus the lordship of the House of Marach passed to Aragorn and Arwen and to Eldarion, their son.

The Edain: The House of Haleth and the Haladin

Now Lady Haleth was the daughter of Haldad, the lord of the Haladin who was slain by the Orcs at Thargelion. And her brother Haldar had a son, whose name was Haldan, and Haldan's son was Halmir, who was later lord of all the Haladin. And Halmir had a son and a daughter:

1. Haldir
   1. Handir
2. Hareth
   1. Húrin
   2. Huor

Now Haldir the son of Halmir was slain in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, after his father went to the grave in old age. And his son Handir was slain in Brethil his homeland in battle with Orcs. And Handir's son, Brandir the Lame, Turin Turambar slew for he was enamored of Nienor Niniel. Now Hareth the daughter of Halmir wedded Galdor of the House of Hador, and their children were Hurin and Huor. And the son of Huor was Tuor, who was father of Eärendil the Blessed. And Eärendil married Elwing and their children were Elrond and Elros, from whom are descended Arwen and Aragorn. And thus the lordship of the House of Haleth, the Haladin, passed to Aragorn and Arwen, and to Eldarion, their son.

The Edain: The House of Bëor the Old

Now Bëor was chieftain of all his house, and his grandson was Bregor. And Bregor was lord of the House of Bëor after his father's death, and Bregor had two sons:

1. Barahir
   1. Beren Erchamion
2. Bregolas
   1. Belegund
   2. Baragund

And now the son of Barahir, friend to Finrod Felagund, was Beren Erchamion, who is called One-hand. And Beren it was who won the love of Luthien and the grace of Thingol, and wrested the Silmaril from Morgoth's Iron Crown. And their son was Dior Thingol's Heir, and his daughter was Elwing. And the daughter of Belegund was Rian, who married Huor of the House of Marach. And their son was Tuor, who married Idril Celebrindal and was the father of Eärendil the Blessed. And Eärendil married Elwing, and their sons were Elrond and Elros, from whom are descended Arwen and Aragorn. And thus we see that the whole house of Bregolas has part in the lineage of Aragorn and Arwen, and the blood of Bëor the Old is strong in Eldarion, their son.

High King of Elves and Men in Middle-earth

And so we see that all the houses of the Noldor, and the Sindar, and the Edain, the Elf-friends, became a part of the lineage of Arwen and Aragorn. And so it was that their son Eldarion, heir to both lines, the merging of the lines of Elrond and Elros, became High King of Eldar and Edain in Middle-earth.

Notes and Comments

It is very interesting to note the high priority Tolkien placed on the lineage of royalty or lordship in his mythos. This is evident throughout most of his works, but is especially significant when you see that all the royal lines of the mythos combine in the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen, even including (by virtue of Celebrian's marriage to Elrond) the almost-extinct House of Finarfin. It is not merely an "Elven" artifact either - the houses of the Edain are similarly led by descendants of their original chieftains, despite the fact that (unlike Finwë of the Noldor) those chieftains are by no means the "original" men. (Finwë, of course, awoke by Cuivienen and led his people to Aman.) It is also interesting to note that the line of succession is not based on gender, but can continue through both male and female descendants (ex. Galadriel, Eärwen.)

Sources

J.R.R. Tolkien. The Silmarillion. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.