It’s hard to rationalize any other reason for such a close connection between the two families. Tolkien didn’t elaborate we can only guess that it was either a bond of blood (common descent), shared burdens (close friendship leading to generations of such), or perhaps a combination of both. The fact that Minardil’s successors chose their Stewards only from Hurin’s descendants suggests there was a special bond between the two families. They would have been second cousins (descended from the same great-grand-parents). In “The Men Who Would Be Steward” I argued that Hurin could have been descended from Eldacar’s unnamed daughter but probably was not of any closer blood to Minardil. Hence, I doubt that Hurin of Emyn Arnen (the first Steward of this family) was of any “purer” blood than the kings he served (Minardil and possibly his successors). They probably lived as long as any family of Gondorian descent. Although the waning of the Dunedain proceeded at a faster pace in Gondor than in Arnor, the royal line was still considered to be the most noble family in Gondor. For one thing, their life spans were shorter than those of the Heirs of Isildur. We do know some interesting things about the Stewards’ family. Concerning the Ancestry of the Stewards of Gondor Tolkien doesn’t provide a full genealogy for the family. I quoted a fragment from The Peoples of Middle-earth which states: “the Hurinionath were not in the direct line of descent from Elendil, they were ultimately of royal origin.” I have always interpreted this to mean that the Stewards were descendants of Elendil, but apparently through a daughter of one of the kings. But I’ll be glad to summarize the important points here. I doubt I could add anything substantive to what I collected there. Well, to begin, I wrote a lengthy essay in May 2002 titled “The Men Who Would be Steward”. In July 2018 a blog visitor asked about “the Stewardship of Gondor” and King Eärnur. What Do We Know about the Stewards of Gondor and King Eärnur?ĪNSWER: These questions don’t require any explanation. The first Ruling Stewards assumed power when there was no King of the Line of Anarion. The origin of the office of the Stewards is also forgotten. His lineage is ancient but of unclear origin. Denethor rules Gondor during the War of the Ring.
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