The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Race
Division
Culture
Family
Settlements
Pronunciation
vo'rondil
Meaning
'Steadfast servant'
Titles

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 October 2012
  • This entry is complete

Vorondil

The first hereditary Steward of Gondor

Stewards of Gondor

One of three Stewards to serve King Eärnil II of Gondor. He was an important figure in Gondorian history, as the first of the Stewards to inherit the title by direct line from his father. Vorondil was the son of Pelendur, the Steward who had assumed the rule of Gondor during the crisis following Ondoher's loss. On Pelendur's own death, his position as servant and adviser to the King fell on Vorondil his son.

Vorondil's Stewardship was a time of war and loss for Gondor. In only his second year as Steward, he saw the Nazgûl come out of Mordor and lay siege to Minas Ithil, and two years later still, they succeeded in capturing it and the palantír it contained.

History remembers Vorondil less for any part in the loss of Minas Ithil, though, and more as Vorondil the mighty Hunter, who hunted the Kine of Araw in the far eastern lands on the shores of the Sea of Rhûn. The Great Horn carried by Boromir in The Lord of the Rings originated as the hunting horn of Vorondil, and may even have been made by his own hand.

Vorondil served Eärnil as Steward for twenty-one years. Just as he had inherited the position, he was in turn succeeded by his son Mardil, who was to become the first of the Ruling Stewards and the founder of a tradition that would survive in Gondor for nearly a thousand years.


Notes

1

The date of Vorondil's birth appears only in The History of Middle-earth volume XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth. It cannot therefore be considered completely reliable.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 12 October 2012
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2001, 2008, 2012. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by myDISCprofile, the free online personality test.
Take the FREE myDISCprofile personality test to discover your core personality and your ideal job.
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Menu
Homepage Search Latest Entries and Updates Random Entry