Originally Posted by Formendacil
Which was well and good while other male-line descendents of Anįrion still existed, namely Eärnil and his son Eärnur. But who is the next-in-line after them when, as the case happened, their line failed?
This is where the distinction between descendents of Elendil and descendents of Isildur becomes relevant--and, if I may interpolate, what cellurdur has been saying: that even if the Heirs of Isildur as the Heirs of Isildur were held to have relinquished the realm, they were still the next-in-line after all the male-line descendents of Anįrion, because Isildur was Anįrion's brother (which is but another way of saying he was Elendil's son).
In other words, Pelendur's council could make the claim in Arvedui's day that the claims of Isildur's line were irrelevant as long as male-line descendents of Anįrion persisted, which they did at that time. Even with this precedent established, however, they did not address--nor, it seems, did they wish to address--the question of what would happen if Anįrion's line became extinct, as happened two generations later. Regardless of Isildur's "abdication," the fact remains that both Isildur and Anįrion were reckoned Kings of Gondor under Elendil and in virtue of being Elendil's son.
One might even say that the "dual kingship" of Isildur's day came to an end when he went north and did not leave one of his sons as co-king with Meneldil--but, to simplify things, let us imagine that Meneldil had died with no sons: who would have been the next King of Gondor? The "other claim" of having an heir of Isildur would still be null and void, but by virtue of Meneldil having no sons, his heir in this case would be his nephew, thus merging the crown back into the line of Isildur.
This is the distinction between "Heir of Isildur" and "Heir of Elendil." It is easy enough to believe that Denethor would not have accepted it, but it remains the basis of the claim Aragorn DID make, one that, given what happened, Faramir and his council did de facto accept.
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