House of Isildur

The House of Isildur were the descendants of Isildur, elder son of Elendil. The House came close to destruction at the beginning of the Third Age, when Isildur and his three eldest sons were lost at the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. His youngest son Valandil was kept safe in Rivendell, however, and from him came the line of the Kings of Arnor that led over three thousand years to Aragorn II Elessar.

The Family Tree of the House of Isildur
Showing the descendants of Isildur. All information in the tree is from The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Northern Line: Heirs of Isildur",[1] or "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur",[2] or "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen",[3] or The Peoples of Middle-Earth, "The Heirs of Elendil"[4] unless otherwise specified. The figures after the names are those of birth and death where recorded (a single figure preceded by a 'b.' indicates a birth date). A dagger symbol, '†' signifies those who did not die of old age. A name preceded by: '***' indicates a King of Arnor and Gondor, '**' indicates a King of Arnor alone, and '*' indicates a King of Arthedain. A vertical dashed line indicates a line of descent with some members missing.

The Realm of Arnor
Elendil and his two sons, Isildur and Anárion founded the two Númenórean realms in exile: Arnor and Gondor. Elendil was the High King of all of the Dúnedain but the rule of the southern kingdom of Gondor was delegated to joint ruled under his sons. After the War of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men both Elendil and Anárion were dead, so Isildur became the new High King. When he left Gondor to take up his kingship in Arnor he delegated rule of Gondor to Anárion’s son, Meneldil. However, Isildur and his first three sons perished in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. From that time forward the two realms were sundered, with the Kings of Gondor descending from the House of Anárion and the Kings of Arnor descending from the House of Isildur.