Encyclopedia of Arda: The Mariner

Title given to the greatest voyagers on the sea, and especially Eärendil, in honour of his feat of reaching the Undying Lands and summoning the aid of the Valar at the end of the First Age.

Eärendil

The son of Tuor and Idril, born in Gondolin before its fall, Eärendil became the most famous of all Middle-earth's mariners. Through the power of a Silmaril, he crossed the Shadowy Seas and passed the Enchanted Isles to reach the shores of Aman. There, his plea for mercy on behalf of Elves and Men brought the wrath of the Valar down on Morgoth. Eärendil remained in the West and sailed his vessel Vingilot into the sky, where his Silmaril is still sometimes seen as the Morning or Evening Star.

Tar-Aldarion

Also granted the title 'Mariner' was Tar-Aldarion, the sixth King of Númenor and thus a direct descendant of Eärendil. In his youth he journeyed to Middle-earth with the explorer Vëantur, and from that time onwards he often travelled the oceans of Arda. He founded the Guild of Venturers in Númenor, and became known as the Great Captain.

The Mariner

A title for the great sailors of history

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