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Old 07-17-2007, 12:40 AM   #26
William Cloud Hicklin
Loremaster of Annúminas
 
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William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
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Its also interesting to consider the sub text here. Aragorn uses the words of Elendil to begin his kingship. Is this simply an appeal to tradition, or something more? Aragorn cannot claim the kingship by right of inheritance - he’s the heir of Isildur, not of Anarion. What he seems to be doing is to focus the people’s minds on the father of both Isildur & Anarion. This kind of sidelines Anarion, with Aragorn claiming descent not from Isildur but from Elendil - a subtle re-writing of history, perhaps?
He is certainly invoking Elendil here, but precisely because his claim as High King *is* legitimate. Elendil was king of Arnor and Gondor both, but deputed the rule of the South-kingdom to his sons jointly; when Isildur took up his father's sceptre he likewise deputed Gondor to his nephew: but the senior line retained the High-Kingship of both realms. At the time Arvedui advanced this agrgument the Council of Gondor was able to dig up Earnur, but by TA 3019 there's no doubt that the line of Anarion is extinct!
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