Quote:
Originally Posted by Zigûr
Therefore, unless I'm mistaken, the reason Aragorn was able to claim the kingship of Gondor as well as the High Kingship and kingship of Arnor was because he was descended from Arvedui, King of Arthedain, and Fíriel, Arvedui's wife, who was the daughter of King Ondoher of Gondor. He (and the other chieftains of the Dúnedain in the North before him) were thus descended from the royal families of both kingdoms. (The kingship could pass down through both male and female lines; that was Númenórean tradition, hence the Ruling Queens. The Dúnedain of Middle-earth had simply ceased to observe it – as came up when Arvedui claimed the throne of Gondor himself).
Then again maybe I'm overcomplicating it and by claiming the High Kingship he was able to just take back the rule of Gondor as the High King of the whole Dúnedain people.
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My understanding was that Anarion's line was dead, there were no descendants of Elendil left in Gondor. Thus, the closest people to the throne by male lineage were the "northern cousins", Isildur's line. However, perhaps my understanding is overly simplistic, and further analysis of family trees and laws of inheritance would prove me wrong.
In truth though, the most immediate reason for why Aragorn got his kingship when he did and why his ancestors failed is because Aragorn earned it. He was not raised to the throne because of Elendil's blood - though that seems to be a necessary prerequisite - but because by the strength of his will, by his deeds, by his extraordinary skill he proved himself to be above other men, he earned the people's love and he proved himself worthy of their ultimate loyalty. Blood alone would only have gotten him as far as the other Chieftans and late Kings of Arnor who were sneered at by the southern kingdom. Meeting the bloodline "prerequisites" made Aragorn eligible to be King, but he was named King because he earned it with his own life and not just with the lives of his ancestors.