The Encyclopedia of Arda - Prince of Dol Amroth (original) (raw)

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The title of Galador and his descendants Canonical information about the line of the Princes of Dol Amroth is sparse. Consequently, much of the detail in this chart (and the table that follows) is derived from material originally intended for Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings, but ultimately excluded (and later reproduced in volume XII of The History of Middle-earth). The names Aglahad, Alphros, Amrothos, Elphir, Erchirion, Ivriniel, and all the dates shown, derive from that source. While these details appear to be quite compatible with the main story, therefore, they can't be considered completely reliable. The title granted to Galador at the beginning of the last millennium of the Third Age, and held by the lords of his house until the time of Imrahil, who fought in the War of the Ring, and almost certainly beyond. According to ancient traditions, the Princes of Dol Amroth were descended from a noble family of the Faithful, who had fled from Númenor independently before the Downfall and settled in lands that would later be part of Gondor. Those lands lay between the rivers Ringló and Gilrain, in the region known as Belfalas, and there they made a stronghold on a rocky promontory that overlooked the Bay of the same name. When Elendil became High King, he recognised these nobles of Belfalas by granting them the title 'Prince', (though at that time they were known as the Princes of Belfalas rather than Dol Amroth).3 In the year III 1980, during the reign of Eärnil II in Gondor, a calamity occurred far to the north. The Dwarves of Khazad-dûm unleashed a Balrog from the depths of their domain, and the demon set about spreading destruction and death among the Mountains of Moria. Many fled from this horror, including Amroth of Lórien and Nimrodel. Among Nimrodel's companions was an Elf-maiden named Mithrellas, who became lost on the journey to the havens in the south. She was discovered by Imrazôr the Númenórean.4 The two wed, and Mithrellas gave birth to two children, Galador and Gilmith. Meanwhile, Amroth waited for Nimrodel at the Elf-haven of Edhellond, on the western edge of Belfalas. When his ship set out without her, he leapt into the waves of the Bay near the Princes' castle on the headland which, after this time, became known as Dol Amroth. Thus Imrazôr's son Galador became the first Prince of Dol Amroth, and established a line that would continue until the time of the War of the Ring and beyond. Galador and his descendants inherited a doubly noble bloodline: Imrazôr himself had been of pure Númenórean descent, but through Mithrellas, Galador was also descended from the Silvan Elves of Lórien. He and his line - which continued unbroken throughout the remaining Third Age - were noted for their tall bearing, and their grey eyes. After the Kings and the Ruling Stewards, the Princes of Dol Amroth were the most important nobles in the land of Gondor (even the Prince of Ithilien was considered of lesser rank). In times when the King of Gondor was indisposed or at war, and his Steward was prevented from acting in his place, the Prince would take the role of leader of the realm. This situation actually arose during the War of the Ring, which saw Imrahil take on these duties for a brief time. The emblem of the Princes of Dol Amroth was a silver swan-ship on a field of blue. The origins of this symbol are never spelled out in any detail, but it must surely represent the Elven-ship of Amroth, from whom the line of Princes took their title. Notes 1 'Angelimir' is the correct spelling of Imrahil's grandfather's name. It appears incorrectly as 'Angelimar' in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. 2 The dating in the source material (in volume XII of The History of Middle-earth) has required some slight revision here. That material gives the dates of death of the later Princes in terms of both the Third and Fourth Ages, but uses the alternative method of treating the last year of the Third Age as the first year of the Fourth Age. The dates shown above use the more typical conversion method from The Lord of the Rings (for more detail, see Converting Fourth Age Dates in the entry for the Fourth Age). A special case is Elphir's date of death, given in the original as III 3087 or IV 57. These two years are not equivalent by any scheme (III 3087 would be either IV 66 or IV 67). This seems to be no more than a simple miscalculation, and since it the Third Age figure is apparently correct, the amended year of IV 66 is used in the table above. 3 The fief of Belfalas is also known as Dor-en-Ernil, 'Land of the Prince', a name which presumably derives from these early Princes of Belfalas. It should be noted that Christopher Tolkien suspects that the story of the early Princes may not fit into the otherwise established canon (see note 39 to Cirion and Eorl in Unfinished Tales). However, as this tradition doesn't directly contradict other elements of the story, it seems reasonable to include it here. 4 As Imrazôr's son inherited the title of Prince, it seems to follow that Imrazór himself must have been Prince of Belfalas at some point. See also... Adrahil, Adrahil, Angelimir, Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Dor-en-Ernil, Ernil i Pheriannath, Gate of Gondor, Gilmith, Half-elves, Imrahil, Land of the Prince, Lord of Dol Amroth, Lothíriel, Mithrellas, Outlands, [See the full list...]Prince of Belfalas, Silver Swan, Swan-knights, The Númenórean, The Ship and the Silver Swan, White Mountains Indexes: Alphabetical: D Alphabetical: P Men About this entry: Updated 12 January 2009 This entry is complete For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1998, 2001, 2008-2009. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Axiom Discovery aptitude and skill testing.Personality is one part of understanding a candidate's suitability for a role, but aptitude can also be crucial.