I agree with all that Kuruharan said, but to add...
In my opinion, the fact that Pelendur and the Council of Gondor rejected Arvedui's claim does not mean that it was therefore not legit. Gondor was ruled by the laws of Numenor, laws under which the eldest child (or son, depending on the reading) inherited from his father, and so on down the line.
Gondor was founded by both Isildur and Anarion. Ergo, their descendents should each have been able to claim it's kingship. By rights, Gondor should have had two kings.
Of course, Arnor threw a bit of a monkeywrench into things by the fact that Isildur stood to inherit from Elendil there- and the fact that Elendil was acknowledged as High King of the Numenoreans in Exile- a fact that included the Kingdom of Gondor, and was acknowledged by its citizens.
Therefore, the claim of the Line of Isildur as the Overlords of the Realms in Exile (including the Kingship of Gondor) was perfectly correct under the Numenorean laws of succession. And after the termination of the Line of Anarion, they had a right to return to the direct Kingship of both kingdom- a right they had never clearly forfeited in the first place.
The laws of Numenor were such that Arvedui, as Heir of Isildur, should have become King of Gondor as well as of Arnor. Pelendur and the Council did not, in my opinion, have the authority to change the laws of succession. As C.S. Lewis so eloquently wrote in
The Horse and His Boy:
Quote:
'But, Father, couldn't you make whichever you like to be the next King?"
"No. The King's under the law, for it's the law makes him a king. Hast no more power to start away from thy crown than any sentry from his post.'
|
I would say that same idea applies to the Gondorian throne as it does to Lewis' Archenlandish throne- if not moreso.
It was, perhaps, permissible for Pelendur and the Council to put forward Earnil as the Heir of Anarion, and a distinctly seperate Heir for the Southern Line. As I said earlier, both founding kings had the right to be represented on the throne, and the heritage of Firiel would be easily lost in the patrilineal descent of Arvedui's house.
Therefore, I am willing to see Earnil and Earnur as legitimate Kings of Gondor, while still championing the Line of Isildur as having a completely legitimate claim to Gondor's throne- and to the High Kingship of the Kingdoms in Exile as a whole (thus making them Overlords of Gondor).