Faramir's age.

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

[Gandalf: ] . . . whatever be [Denethor's] descent from father to son, by some chance the blood of Westernesse runs nearly true in him; as it does in his other son, Faramir . . . (LotR V 1)

This is the only one I remember.

[Fingolfin II]

Faramir wasn't a ruling steward- Denethor was the last. I suppose Faramir would have longer lifespan than the common Gondorians because of his Steward descent, but also because of his minor touch of Elven blood through his descent from Finduilas of Dol Amroth.

I think it says somewhere in RotK that it was not common for a man, even of 'purer' blood, to live for longer than five score (100 years), so Faramir had an extraordinary longevity granted to him even for a Steward of Gondor; another example is Elros who lived extremely long even by the span of a Numenorean King.

This may be due to his good deeds and his role in the War of the Ring (look at Aragorn who was rewarded with life longer than most of his forefathers who weren't born in Numenor, for all his hard work in the defeat of Saruon). However, I also think that the Dol Amroth Elven blood factor plays a fairly significant role in this as well.

[rutslegolas]

Well Gndalf certainly mentions that Faramir had Numenor blood so I think he would certainly live for more than 100 years. But I cant find anything saying that he lived as long as Elessar ?

[Fingolfin II]

He didn't live as long as Aragorn, who lived for 210 years, but what I'm saying is that he is similar to Aragorn in that they both have a marked longevity even for their own bloodlines, which are longer-lived than most Gondorians.

[Mithalwen]

I more or less agree with Fingolfin on this. Since I know not how to do a link, forgive me for quoting my own post from "The Landing of Elendil".

- "The Princes of Dol Amroth all make 100 or thereabouts.. The men of Dol Amroth also retain the classic Numenorean appearance; height as well as longevity being a Numenorean trait...Faramir is an interesting case - he has the typical Numenorean traits of nobility of character and bearing and height - and he has a conspicuously long life reaching about 120 - which seems to be more than could have expected from his genetic legacy even allowing for the fact that he is the child of a Steward and a daughter of the "ultra pure" house of Dol Amroth. Maybe a small part of the "grace" given to the first Numenoreans was given to Faramir as a reward for his small but significant role in the success of the mission of the Ringbearer? I like to think so."

I can't prove this theory but I think it is a reasonable hypothesis..

[Boromir88]

Fingolfin, I think it's all based about perspective. I will have to search for the direct quote but Gandalf does make Imrahil temporarily in command of the city until the "steward" awakes. Then Faramir did awake, and was called of course the "rightful steward." But, I see where you say Denethor is the last ruling steward, for it does say that in the Appendix, but also, Faramir ruled for a very short time before Aragorn was crowned king. I don't intend on going against the writing, I mean if it says Denethor is the last ruling steward, then that's the fact, you would be correct, just making a point that Faramir did rule for a short time before the crowning of Elessar.

And also...

He didn't live as long as Aragorn, who lived for 210 years, but what I'm saying is that he is similar to Aragorn in that they both have a marked longevity even for their own bloodlines, which are longer-lived than most Gondorians.

Yes, Aragorn was even old, to the Dunedain when he died. And Faramir I would guess surpassed the average age of a man from Dol Amroth, who were some of the longer lived Gondorians due to their Elven-blood.

[Encaitare]

Faramir wasn't a ruling steward- Denethor was the last.

I stand corrected, Fingolfin! Although he was rather the last "official" steward, being the last before Aragorn became king. He didn't do much as steward, but still...

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Fingolfin II

He didn't live as long as Aragorn, who lived for 210 years, but what I'm saying is that he is similar to Aragorn in that they both have a marked longevity even for their own bloodlines, which are longer-lived than most Gondorians.

I would say the similarity is more with their other Numenorian traits than in their lifespans. Though that is a Numenorean trait too, the long life spans. They are similar in that they appear and are more noble than other men. Their powers of mind and body outstrip other men and they are High Men in an age of Middle Men. Also they age much better than other men. That is important distiction when we note that their lifespans, save the kings house, are similar to other men. So a Faramir at 50 would be in much better physical condition than someone else, unless it's someone else of the purer houses.

[Aganzir]

Besides having Númenorean blood, I've always thought Tolkien let special and/or particularly good people live longer, Aragorn and Faramir who both had longer lifespans than their average countrymen being cases in point in my mind. I didn't remember Elendil's age, but the theory works with it too.

Anyway, here's an essay complete with graphs: Decline of the Lifespan of the Númenoreans. It's written by an (inactive) Downer called Alcuin, whose awesome website I consult whenever I need information about the (lifespans of the) Stewards of Gondor or the Princes of Dol Amroth for RPGing purposes.

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Tolkien noted that the long lifespan of the Númenóreans was “brought about by assimilation of their mode of life to that of the Eldar … ‘Clinging to life’, and so in the end dying perforce and involuntarily, was one of the changes brought about by the Shadow and the rebellion of the Númenóreans; it was also accompanied by a shrinking of their natural life-span.”

[Belegorn]

Elendil was around 322 when he died. At that time the Faithful had longer lifespans than the Kings who's lifespans diminished to what Aragorn's was when he died, at around 210 years. This age was basically the lifespan of the average Numenorean who was not a member of the Kings house. Ar-Pharazon was feeling his time coming to an end at around 200 years. His father died before he was 200. These were members of the Kings Men. The Rebels. But remember, even though Elendil was old he was still like a young man. This condition still held for the purer families in Gondor during Faramir's time even though their lifespan was not much different from other Men. I personally think that the lifespan was the gift most effected by rebellion and the wish to escape mankind's fate than anything else.