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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Why Was Arnor Divided Into Three Kingdoms?
by Michael Martinez • April 3, 2012 • 1 Comment
Q: Why Was Arnor Divided Into Three Kingdoms?
ANSWER: In Third Age year 861 the three sons of Eärendur, last of the High Kings of Arnor, divided his realm into three
smaller kingdoms. Readers sometimes ask why J.R.R. Tolkien introduced this division into his political timeline. However,
though the division of Arnor seems striking at first glance it is by no means the only such political division to occur within
Tolkien’s Middle-earth histories.
For example, the Noldor became divided into two peoples — the faithful Noldor of Aman (ruled by Finarfin) and the
rebellious Noldor of Middle-earth, who followed Fëanor into exile. But Fëanor abandoned many of his fellow exiles in
Aman, leading only a small part of the rebellious Noldor to Middle-earth. Fëanor’s brother Fingolfin led the remaining
Noldor by way of the Helcaraxë on a long march that eventually brought them to the same northern lands where Fëanor’s
people had settled.
The Teleri, another Elven people, had themselves become divided into the Nandor, the Sindar, and the Falmari (of Aman);
and the Sindar had been divided into the Falathrim and the Eglath (or Doriathrim). The Nandor themselves were divided
into many lesser groups, from whom came the Laegrim or Green-elves of Ossiriand, and from the Laegrim a small number
relocated in Doriath, becoming known as the Guest-elves.
The Noldor established several kingdoms in the First Age, and again they were divided in the Second Age; as were the
Sindar and their distant relatives the East-elves. So there are many examples of political divisions among Tolkien’s
intellectual elites, often due to internal political divisions. Their differences of opinions thus reflect real historical politics and
experiences.
The Nunenorean realms of Arnor and Gondor both experienced strife and division. Arnor went through this process first
but Gondor was divided into two kingdoms many centuries later after Castamir the Usurper was defeated by Eldacar;
Castamir’s sons led a remnant of Gondor’s rebels south to Umbar, where they established an independent kingdom, thus
dividing Gondor.
While Tolkien provided more detail about the reasons for Gondor’s civil war than for Arnor’s division, we know from the
appendices in The Lord of the Rings that there was strife among Eärendur’s three sons. The narratives do not shed any
light on the great issues of the day, but it may be significant that the division of Arnor occurred during the reign of Tarannon
Falastur of Gondor (Third Age 830 – 913). Tarannon was the first of Gondor’s four great Ship-kings and he began a series
of wars that extended Gondor’s power west and south along Middle-earth’s coastlands. Tarannon also married the Black
Numenorean princess Berúthiel, whom he ultimately sent into exile.
Although we don’t know where Berúthiel came from, Umbar is certainly one possibility. Another possibility may be a land
near Mordor. Could it be that Tolkien briefly thought about telling a story concerning Arnorian reaction to Tarannon’s
ambitions and political arrangements? After all, marrying a Black Numenorean princess might have been perceived as a
treasonous deed among some Faithful Numenoreans; perhaps the princes of Arnor could not all accept Tarannon’s
marriage and the challenge Tarannon’s wars presented to the authority and prestige of the High Kingship.
Perhaps Amlaith of Fornost divided the realm to preserve the peace between Arnor and Gondor, if one or both of his
younger brothers wanted to go to war with Tarannon over his political marriage. Or perhaps Amlaith’s brothers felt he was
too weak and ineffective to be the senior king in Arnor’s relationship with Gondor, and thus they took advantage of
Amlaith’s weakness to carve out their own realms. There are plenty of possible explanations for the political strife leading
up to Arnor’s division and both fan fiction writers and role-playing game masters may find some interesting options for their
imagination in this time frame.
Nonetheless, we are left only with speculation and guesswork. There are no definitive or even ambiguous statements from
J.R.R. Tolkien concerning the nature of the differences between Amlaith and his brothers. It is remarkable, I think, that one
brother would choose to name his realm Rhudaur (meaning “evil wood”) but I have suggested elsewhere that perhaps the
original name of his kingdom was lost to history and Rhudaur is simply a later name bestowed upon the region. For
example, the kingdom could have originally been called Rhunarth (“east realm”) or Rhunedain (“east Edain”).
We will probably never know these details. Thus, we may as well have fun in speculating what they might have been, as
long as we don’t confuse such speculation with canonical explanations from Tolkien’s hand.
SEE ALSO:
Why Would Amlaith Divide Arnor with His Brothers? (August 2018)
###
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1 comment for “Why Was Arnor Divided Into Three Kingdoms?”
Patrick, UK
April 6, 2012 at 10:20 pm
Hi Michael. May I apologise for my latest comments (on the Dwarves of Khazad-Dum topic)? They were
rather silly and if I could delete them I would.
The division of Arnor in T.A.861 recalls, to me, the division of Charlemagne’s empire between three of
his grandsons at the Treaty of Verdun in AD 843. It would be part of a parallel, which I am pretty sure
Tolkien had in mind, between the Realms in Exile and the Eastern and Western Roman Empires
(Charlemagne’s empire being the successor of the Western one). Like Gondor, the junior realm
outshone its counterpart, achieving its greatest relative power around 1,000 years into the new Age.
Byzantium’s most glorious ruler Basil II (reigned 976-1025) was childless and was succeeded by his
ineffective brother Constantine VIII. In a typical piece of Tolkienian complication, the story is divided into
the parts assigned to the great Hyarmendacil, his lazy son Atanatar, and HIS sons Narmacil and
Calmacil.
Tolkien does say that after Earendur Arnor became “divided into petty realms and lordships” (‘Of the
Rings of Power and the Third Age’). It sounds like a more complicated break-up than the three-way split
we are told of; maybe some kind of transition from empire to feudalism, with centralised power-
structures breaking down? On the other hand, the move of the capital recalls the sidelining of Rome
itself in favour of points better placed as forward command bases (Milan) or refuges (Ravenna).
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