The Second Age Read Along - Part 2 - Week 1: UT: A Description of the Island of Númenor / The Line of Elros

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#What we’re reading today

We are switching books now to Unfinished Tales, a book Christopher Tolkien compiled after his father’s death of different well-developed works that didn’t reach completion. We are looking at two main sections from this book this week: “A Description of the Island of Númenor” and “The Line of Elros”, the first and third sections of Part Two.

#Resources

Images from the text:

• Map of Numenor
• The earlier generations of the Line of Elros
• Inziladûn Númellótë (Line of Elros note 13)

Pictures of Tolkien’s manuscripts:

• Map of Numenor
• The Line of Elros

The Atlas of Middle-earth:

• Númenor

Fanmade:

• The Kings of Númenor

#Before you read

These sections are quite dense with names that may or may not be familiar. It’s highly recommended to have a map of Númenor and a family tree for the House of Elros on hand in case you need a quick reminder or to complete your mental picture. These sections are intended to be an enrichment to your knowledge of Númenor; do not feel pressured to remember every detail from these sections. Discussion for this week will mostly be on anything that piques someone’s interest or how things from these readings relate to the other readings we’ve had so far, so maybe write a list of the parts of the text that you found interesting and bring that list to us!

If you are just now joining us, in Part 1 of this read-along, we reviewed the primary histories of the Second Age, during which a key kingdom was Númenor. It was an island kingdom gifted to the houses of Men that had fought against the first Dark Lord Morgoth during the First Age. Over the course of the Second Age, the kingdom of Númenor expanded in territory as well as might. These readings give an overview of the kingship, politics, and geography of Númenor.

#After you read

Now we have a little more texture to add to our mental picture of Númenor and its people. We now can draw our own map of the five-pointed island, with the main region in the center, containing the City of the Kings Armenelos, the haven of Rómenna, and the holy mountain Meneltarma. Each of the Kings of Númenor also have their own little flavor, at least more than there was when their names were rattled off in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings. Some highlight kings would be:

• Tar-Manyatur or Elros; Elrond’s brother, first King of Númenor
• Tar-Elendil; his daughter’s line became the Lords of Andúnië, from which came Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anarion; also spread Númenor’s seafaring activities to Middle-earth
• Tar-Ancalimë; first Queen of Númenor, with a rather interesting backstory between her and her father (next week’s reading)
• Tar-Atanamir the Great; first of the Kings to refuse to lay down his life (as was custom to accept the “Gift of Men” at the end of their lives) or willingly relinquish his sceptre before dying
• Ar-Adûnakhôr (Tar-Herunúmen); first King to use a title in the Adûnaic tongue in defiance against the Valar (but still in fear recorded a Quenya title as well)
• Tar-Palantir (Ar-Inziladûn); repented of the ways of the previous Kings and attempted to bring back many of the good practices, had some measure of fore-sight (gave the prophecy regarding the connection of the line of the Kings to the White Tree, which is present even in The Lord of the Rings)
• Ar-Pharazôn (Tar-Calion); last and mightiest King, who we know very well at this point, his rule culminated in the downfall

#Discussion questions

• The first of these texts opens with Tolkien saying that “The story of Ar-Pharazôn and his impious armada was all that remained generally known in later ages”. In a sense, this reflects the state of Tolkien’s texts. We’ve previously read three different accounts of the Akallabêth, but are only now beginning the other Númenor tales. (All of which are in various unfinished states as if they were neglected by the Gondorian historians and lost.)
• Some people praise Tar-Palantir as the best king of Númenor for ‘valiantly fighting a losing battle’. Is there one that stuck out to you for one reason or another?
• Unlike the Eldar, most Numenóreans had never seen a Vala or Maia. Do you think that there were atheists or pagans and if there were did they have any sort of organization?
• Tolkien leaves a lot up to the imagination in his description of Numenor. What are your theories on the intricacies of Numenor’s political, economic, or technological structure?