[QUOTE=doug*platypus]
"Does this imply that one strain of nobility (the descendants of Elessar) is more fit to rule over humanity than any other, by right of its divine inheritance? Is this an allusion to the possible descendants of Jesus Christ? Or am I buying too much into conspiracy theories that say Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute, but rather the wife of Christ? WHOA..... waaay off topic and probably not appropriate at all!"
Ooh, you ARE cheeky!
That devout Catholic Tolkien must be spinning! I think it was probably enough for him that Aragorn was descended from kings - and the odd elf - without the goddess. He liked the notion of aristocracy and, with it, "noblesse oblige" - we see it right through LOTR. Can you name an aristocrat in the entire work who doesn't take his job as protector of the little people seriously? I can't. Aragorn has the right to rule through kingly descent, but he bloody well earns it!
Again, probably slightly off topic. What I mean is - Tolkien doesn't need any conspiracy theories or divine descent; nobility is plenty.