Faramir's age.

[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...

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

Aragorn 's peculiar longevity may also be attributed to his kingship. The line of Elros had almost twice the lifespan of a normal Númenórean - until its decline, that is.

[Fingolfin II]

Boromir88 you are absolutely correct about Gandalf making Imrahil in charge of the city in the place of Faramir, but he wasn't initiated into the Stewardship and wasn't in charge of the city, so I don't think he qualifies as a Ruling Steward. However, it is a matter of opinion, and yes, you are right again when you say that I got that titbit about Denethor from the Appendices.

Thanks for that excerpt from your other post Nil.

[Belegorn]

I know this was a post from a while ago and I don't think there are any rules against bringing up an old topic.

Anyways I want to give my opinion on this. In Gondor the life span is basically all but regressed back to normal levels even in the people oh higher Numenorean descent. Faramir makes a statement that, "if the Rohirrim are grown in some ways more like to us, enhanced in arts and gentleness, we too have become more like to them, and can scarce claim any longer the title High. We are become Middle Men, of the Twilight, but with memory of other things." [TTT, p. 339] Here Faramir makes clear that even the nobility are but Middle Men.

Now there is one thing that we should look at as regards to purer houses in Gondor. Even though their lifespans are basically that of other men they do not necessarily age as other men do as they can remain vital longer. Gandalf says, "the span of their lives had waned to little more than that of other men, and those among them who passed the tale of five score years with vigour were grown few, save in some houses of purer blood." [RotK, p. 149] So here we have the notion that although the span of the lives of these purer families may have decreased to about the same as other men, the number of those years spent in vitality is certainly longer. In other words they would be like the Kings of the Numenoreans who died still vital without holding onto life. Those who did would grew sterile.

Faramir may have been in some way related to the house of the Kings, but even if that were so, we do know that the 7th Steward was the last man in Gondor to live 150 years. So even if there were still relatives of the King in Gondor even their life spans were much diminished. However, the line of Kings would always have the longer lifespan compared to other people of Numenor. In the beginning when they lived to 400 years or more, other Numenoreans lived to around 200 years. I think that the diminishment of lifespans had much to do with the way of life of the Dunedain. Those closer to an Elvish sort of life were longer lived than those who rebelled. Like in the end of Numenor you had the Faithful and the King's Men. The Kings life spans were diminishing rapidly. The last king felt death at his doors when he was around 220 years of age. Elendil who was related to the house of the Kings was over 300 years old when he was slain by Sauron. The father of the last king of Numenor died before he was 200! I would say the gift most effected by Rebellion and the life was lifespan. Other gifts it seems did not take that big of a hit. As we see Denethor was like a wizard to the Hobbits, Faramir too. They had great powers normal men did not possess and one would think like much of the noble houses still in existance they would remain vital deep into their life. Of course, Denethor was said to age prematurely, and this may have been due to his struggles with Sauron in the Palantir.

Also I believe if you take a look at it the Stewards tended to be longer lived than the Princes of Dol Amroth. I think Faramir and his father, like Aragorn, were probably among the greatest men of their day, but I would say we could apply some of their attributes to the purer people in Gondor. For example, of Faramir, Eowen "knew, for she was bred among men of war, that here was one whom no Rider of the Mark would outmatch in battle." [RotK, p. 265] Or Pippin thinking, "how closely he resembled his brother Boromir... Here was one with an air of high nobility such as Aragorn at times revealed, less high perhaps, yet also less incalculable and remote: one of the Kings of Men born into a later time, but touched with wisdom and sadness of the Elder Race." [RotK, p. 91] Obviously Faramir and Denethor were more the exception even among the purer Gondorians as they were more like to the High Men than the Middle Men which Faramir claimed the people of Gondor were basically become. Gandalf also says how this blood of Westernesse runs truer in father and son which does not necessarily account for any extreme lifespan, "He is not as other men of this time [they are High Men], Pippin, and whatever be his 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, and yet did not in Boromir whom he loved best. He has long sight. He can perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men, even of those that dwell far off. It is difficult to deceieve him and dangerous to try." [RotK, p. 33] This is just an account of some of the power of Denethor and his son Faramir. Also add to this the vitality they will take with them into old age and their physical abilties as Eowyn saw in Faramir. Faramir and Denethor are the cream of the crop in Gondor until Aragorn arrives.

[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.