I think it did occur before his madness set in. With the Palantir, he surely seen and heard of aragorn before the seige of gondor and the incident with faramir. Also, i believe that denethor already knew in his heart that Aragorn was the true king, and also that Aragorn may be able to heal faramir. I think he did what he did to save himself from having to step down in front of his people, which could be embarassing and shameful for him if gandalf revealed his words upon the steps of Rath Dinen.( if gondor survived, which was doubtful in his eyes) As for the kin-strife, I do not believe that it would have been taken that far. I do believe that he could have been executed, as in the case of Eol the dark elf in Gondolin. But Aragorn and Faramirs hearts are true and forgiving. I do not believe Denethor would have died unless Aragorn was left with no choice. thats just opinion though. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
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