Prince of Dol Amroth

The title granted to Galador at the beginning of the last millennium of the Third Age, and held by the lords of his house until the time of Imrahil, who fought in the War of the Ring, and almost certainly beyond.

According to ancient traditions, the Princes of Dol Amroth were descended from a noble family of the Faithful, who had fled from Númenor independently before the Downfall and settled in lands that would later be part of Gondor. Those lands lay between the Rivers Ringló and Gilrain, in the region known as Belfalas, and there they made a stronghold on a rocky promontory that overlooked the Bay of the same name. When Elendil became High King, he recognised these nobles of Belfalas by granting them the title 'Prince', (though at that time they were known as the Princes of Belfalas rather than Dol Amroth)³.

In the year III 1980, during the reign of Eärnil II in Gondor, a calamity occurred far to the north. The Dwarves of Khazad-dûm unleashed a Balrog from the depths of their domain, and the demon set about spreading destruction and death among the Mountains of Moria. Many fled from this horror, including Amroth of Lórien and Nimrodel. Among Nimrodel's companions was an Elf-maiden named Mithrellas, who became lost on the journey to the havens in the south. She was discovered by Imrazôr the Númenórean⁴. The two wed, and Mithrellas gave birth to two children, Galador and Gilmith.

Meanwhile, Amroth waited for Nimrodel at the Elf-haven of Edhellond, on the western edge of Belfalas. When his ship set out without her, he leapt into the waves of the Bay near the Princes' castle on the headland, which was thus to become known as Dol Amroth. Thus Imrazôr's son Galador became the first Prince of Dol Amroth, and established a line that would continue until the time of the War of the Ring and beyond.

Galador and his descendants inherited a doubly noble bloodline: Imrazôr himself had been of pure Númenórean descent, but through Mithrellas, Galador was also descended from the Silvan Elves of Lórien. He and his line - which continued unbroken throughout the remaining Third Age - were noted for their tall bearing, and their grey eyes.

After the Kings and the Ruling Stewards, the Princes of Dol Amroth were the most important nobles in the land of Gondor (even the Prince of Ithilien was considered of lesser rank). In times when the King of Gondor was indisposed or at war, and his Steward was prevented from acting in his place, the Prince would take the role of leader of the realm. This situation actually arose during the War of the Ring, which saw Imrahil take on these duties for a brief time.

The emblem of the Princes of Dol Amroth was a silver swan-ship on a field of blue. The origins of this symbol are never spelled out in any detail, but it must surely represent the Elven-ship of Amroth, from whom the line of Princes took their title.