[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

If the "eldest male" is the rule, surely GG would have come before Earendil?

As you note, though, Eärendil never rules as King, and I would argue that he doesn't even rule the remnant of the Noldor--he rules the remnant of Gondolin. Thus, he's Turgon's next heir but not Fingolfin's--let alone Finwë.

In any event, after Tuor comes to Gondolin, there are precious few texts from the post-LotR period dealing with ANY element of Middle-earth's history until around when Eregion was founded... and there aren't all that many pre-LotR either. I am undoubtedly biased by the published Silm, but I don't think there's any JRRT text that would contradict a reading that says Gil-galad became High King after the death of Turgon.

Of course, whether or not anyone actually claimed the title High King of the Noldor until after the breaking of Beleriand is another matter, and by then there was no Eärendil left in Middle-earth to confuse things--though Galadriel was back in the picture by the time Lindon was being founded, and it does seem to have been the case that Lindon in its earliest days had a strong Sindar component (under Celeborn too!), so I think the fact that Celeborn and Galadriel drift away and help found Eregion suggests that Gil-galad was already ensconced as king there and if, as a king at all, then as High King.

One does wonder about Elven preferences with kingship that age is probably a benefit to any claimant--certainly, Maedhros's accession to Fingolfin is couched in terms of "you are the eldest," and his forfeiting of any claims in favour of Fingon after the Bragollach implies the same principle being honoured in the breach. This argument helped make sense in the published Silm of Turgon preceding Gil-galad.

From the standpoint of how Elven kingship is implied to have come about in the HoME 'fairy tale' of Imin, Tata, and Enel, kingship does seem to derive from being the Eldest of one's race. Whether or not that's literally true of Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë (it certainly seems not be for Elwë, given his brothers and unspecified other kinships that held the Sindar in Middle-earth), it is certainly metaphorically true that, by visiting Valinor first, they became the first of the Calaquendi. And for a race of immortals, the human concerns of age (look at the House of Saud for what happens with mortals whenever "the eldest member of the family" is next in line) are not relevant--instead, Elves are closer to the metaphorical wine, getting ever better with age.

But the real thing about Elven kingship that I think is overlooked--the flipside of the same coin--is that Elves don't naturally die. Men have to have succession plans, but Elves... not so much. Ingwë and Olwë and Finarfin still reign in Valinor, and Thingol would be doing the same if not for those pesky Dwarves. Granted, by the time that Gil-galad comes into the throne, there is enough precedent that these things probably ought to have been codified... but what if the Elven instinct for immortality was such that they resisted ever putting things into order that way?

Certainly, if you look at how Fingolfin became High King, you see a long crisis after the death of Finwë that is only resolved when Fëanor dies and Maedhros graciously bows out--dragging his begruding brothers with him. Fingolfin had a claim to the kingship already, as his father's regent in Tirion and a greater part of the people seem to have expanded that pro tem power into permanence.

Fingolfin's own death is another crisis, and it could be argued that Fingon becoming High King only happens because a.) he's Maedhros's dearest friend and b.) Maedhros is smart enough to see that it is far more important for the Noldor to remain allies than to worry about who head wears the crown. Nothing about his succession strikes me as guaranteed--more that it just happened, because the two dominant Noldorin princes happen to be Fingon and Maedhros.

Fingon's death is another matter. The Nirnaeth is an even worse crisis than the Bragollach and Turgon goes straight into hiding. We don't actually know if Turgon claimed the title High King himself, if it was acclaimed for him by the surviving Noldor, or if it's an assumption of sorts--perhaps Morgoth decides the matter by fixating on the surviving son of Fingolfin and most hidden of his veiled enemies. In any case, Turgon is far more secure in his kingship than Orodreth, who could be a generation younger and is certainly far less of a force. Meanwhile, Maedhros is still a potentially moderating power and the chief figure amongst the Fëanorians.

By the time of Turgon's death (again, a crisis--remember, Elves don't die naturally), Maedhros is NOT a moderating figure, having fallen into going along with the Sack of Doriath and his march on the Havens of Sirion is definitely portrayed in keeping with a sense of "I am the only king left--accede or die," though Maedhros is fey enough that he doesn't care about the High Kingship, only the Silmaril. To be fair to him, the Kingship is quite theoretical only at this point while the Silmaril is still quite real.

It's entirely possible that Fingon was the last unanimous High King, given the state of Beleriand after the Nirnaeth and that Turgon only really holds the title insofar as Morgoth's attention and the lack of a contrary claimant gave it to him. Gil-galad may not have been spoken of as High King--or may not have claimed the title--until the foundation of Lindon. And if Lindon is to be seen as predominantly the successor state to Balar/Sirion, who would gainsay him when both Círdan (Balar) and Elrond (Gondolin/Doriath) supported him? There is definitely a sense in some of the Galadriel Eregion texts that Eregion kind of did its own thing and ignored him until it was too late.

And Gil-galad's own death is much like Turgon's: there isn't enough of a Noldorin kingdom to really acclaim a new High King. Unlike the earlier age, however, there isn't a rebound in power and territory to support a new establishment, and Elrond seems to be the wise one who points this out. Since he's the obvious candidate (the precedents at this point rule against Galadriel, and she's off living with the Silvan Elves anyway), that's the end of it.