Timeline Event
Húrin of Emyn Arnen founds the House of Stewards — Gondor (estimated date)
Event Type: Political
Age: 3rd Age - The Kings
Year: 1640
Description:
An event in the aftermath of the Great Plague; see that entry for an overview:
The House of the Stewards was called the House of Húrin, for they were descendants of the Steward of King Minardil (1621-34), Húrin of Emyn Arnen, a man of high Númenórean race. After his day the kings had always chosen their stewards from among his descendants....
The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion: The Stewards
[Though] the Hurinionath were not in the direct line of descent from Elendil, they were ultimately of royal origin, and had in any case kept their blood more pure than most other families in the later ages. They were descended, father to son, from Húrin, Steward to King Minardil, who had laboured greatly for the ordering of the realm in the disastrous days of the plague, when King Telemnar died within two years of the slaying of King Minardil by the Corsairs. From that time on the kings... chose their steward from this family, though a son did not necessarily succeed a father. But in fact it had descended from father to son since Pelendur, Steward to [King Ondoher1]....
The Peoples of Middle-Earth, HoME Vol 12, Part 1, Ch 7, The Heirs of Elendil: The Ruling Stewards of Gondor
Notes
The date is an estimate, set to allow recovery time after the Great Plague.
1 This text is from one of Tolkien's early drafts. For the sake of clarity, earlier versions of proper names used by Tolkien in this draft have been replaced with the versions in use in the canon sources. All substitutions are marked with brackets.
Contributors:
Elena Tiriel 10May05
