Okay. I can't for the life of me remember where it is in UT or HoME but I seem to recall reading that Numenoreans mature at a normal human rate but the aging process effectively stops at twenty or so and stays halted until near the end of the lifespan when it suddenly kicks in again and they age rapidly into senescence, a state in which they can linger for some years unless they voluntarily 'lay down their lives' first.
Somebody who leads a hard outdoor life, like a Ranger, will show signs of weathering. And unusual stress may cause premature aging - as with Denethor.
Finduilas did not die of old age but wasted away due to the Shadow, her Elven blood perhaps making her more susceptible to such malign influences.
By the time of the WR the normal lifespan of a Dunedan of Gondor is about one hundred years, plus or minus ten. Forty six was considered late for marriage but not necessarily 'old'. While it is never said I assume that they retain the Dunedain pattern of aging dispite the shorter lifespan which would make a Woman of forty no different physically from one of twenty or so.
The Dunedain of the North lived considerably longer - at least a hundred a fifty years - and some of the Chieftains decades longer than that. Given the unusual stresses on the Chieftains it is probably safe to assume that other, less stressed Dunedain lived even longer. Aragorn or course makes it to two hundred and ten, which is apparently a long life even by Northern standards
[ May 31, 2003: Message edited by: Morwen Tindomerel ]
|