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Originally Posted by davem
I suppose the question is whether the people took his 'divine right' into account - were they simply choosing him as king because he had lead them to victory, or were they taking that victory as confirmation that he was divinely appointed?
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Well, as has been pointed out on Boromir88's
Aragorn's political skills thread (and by
Helen above), Aragorn's acceptance by the people of Gondor was not simply down to his military skills. There is also his bearing, his nobility, his heritage, his humility, his leadership, his healing skills - the list could go on. It is these qualities, taken as a whole, that influence the people of Gondor. (And it is many of these qualities that inspire trust in Eomer in this Chapter too.)
Now it may be argued that many of these qualities bear the hallmark of Eru's influence, in which case, yes, there is an element of (indirect) divine right in Aragorn's claim and acceptance. And I think that Legolas' "vision" here is good supporting evidence of this argument and Tolkien's intentions in this regard.