Quote:
Originally Posted by Urwen
I see it now. Pelendur is the answer. Explanation...
The choice is mine: - Pelendur's
The victor who failed, - Earnil
The line that failed, - Arvedui's claim
Or the law that failed. - Firiel's claim
Which? - And he chose the victor.
|
Correct! It's interesting that Tolkien never quite positions Firiel as a candidate for the throne - he uses her claim under Numenorean law as support for
Arvedui's candidacy. Arvedui seems to be trying to claim the throne of Gondor
jure uxoris ("by right of the wife"), which isn't something that ever happened elsewhere in Middle-earth. The closest precedent would be Pharazon, but he is specifically held to have
usurped the Sceptre.
The
second closest precedent is actually the reverse:
Lalia the Great was head of the Took family for 22 years by something close to right of her
husband, at least after his death. Somehow I don't think the Gondorians were using Shire-Hobbit inheritance rules though!
Anyway, I prefer to believe that Firiel was a candidate in her own right, and that the Gondorians suppressed mention of her afterwards. Sounds plausible.
Over to you!
hS