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Arnor, also known as the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of Men located in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth.
History[]
Arnor was founded in SA 3320 by Elendil, the sister kingdom to the southern realm of Gondor founded by his sons. The history of the two kingdoms are intertwined; both kingdoms are known as the Realms of the Dúnedain in Exile.
Before the foundation of Arnor there was already a sizable Númenórean population living in Eriador, a result of the slow emigration of Númenóreans which had started under Tar-Aldarion. Before the arrival of the Dúnedain, Arnor was home to Middle Men of Edain stock, and the early colonists soon interbred with the indigenous population. Arnor was originally favoured over the more southern regions (Gondor) because the Elves under Gil-galad lived nearby across the river Lhûn. However, in later days after the Númenóreans fell under Sauron's shadow they settled more to the south. This led to a situation where Elendil arrived in an area populated by people who, unlike the majority of Númenóreans, were mainly still friends with the Elves.
Elendil perished in the War of the Last Alliance and Arnor's second king Isildur (also King of Gondor) was killed in TA 2 by Orcs in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. His three eldest sons were killed with him, but the fourth and youngest, Valandil, survived and became High King of Arnor. The north-kingdom never really recovered from the losses incurred in the war.
Because Valandil and his heirs did not claim the throne of Gondor the realms were split, but Arnor's ruler kept the title High King, whereas in the south the ruler was just King. At its height, Arnor's borders extended from the Icebay of Forochel in the north, the river Greyflood down to Belegaer in the south, the river Hoarwell in the east, and the river Lune and Blue Mountains in the west. The capital city was Annúminas, and the realm included other cities such as Fornost Erain, Tharbad and Lond Daer Enedh.
Decline[]
After eight hundred years of peace, High King Eärendur died in TA 861 and his three squabbling sons divided the realm into the three kingdoms of Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. The eldest son, Amlaith, claimed Kingship over all Arnor but was reduced to only ruling the region of Arthedain as his kingdom, while the other sons founded the kingdoms of Cardolan and Rhudaur. Thereafter the Dúnedain of the North engaged in foolish, petty wars, sapping their strength while enemies gathered in the shadows.
Arnor was re-founded in name by Arthedain's king Argeleb I, when Cardolan placed itself under the suzerainty of Arthedain. However Arthedain was never more than a shadow of the united Arnor and was unable to resist the power of Angmar. The people of Arnor were mostly wiped out by these wars, but the Hobbits survived in the Shire, Middle Men survived in Bree and the surrounding villages, and the Dúnedain of Arnor created new homes in the Angle south of Rivendell, where some of them became known as the Rangers of the North.
Reunited Kingdom[]
Aragorn II as King Elessar re-founded the Kingdom of Arnor as part of the Reunited Kingdom, rebuilding Fornost and making Annúminas his northern capital.
Symbol of Arnor[]
As far as is known, the livery, standard, or symbol of Arnor is not known. Some have speculated that it may have contained the seven stars shown in the livery of the heirs of Elendil above the Sceptre of Annúminas, the ruling symbol of the Kings of Arnor. Others have speculated in might contain the Silver Crown of Isildur, but that is strongly associated with Gondor, so is unlikely.
Etymology[]
Arnor probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- (high, kingly) + (n)dor (land).
Translations[]
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Amharic | ዓርኖር |
Arabic | أرنور |
Armenian | Արնոր |
Assamese | আৰ্নাৰ |
Belarusian Cyrillic | Арнор |
Bengali | আর্নর |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Арнор |
Burmese | အာနောရ် |
Catalan | Àrnor |
Chinese (Hong Kong) | 亞諾 |
Dari | آرنور |
Georgian | არნორი |
Greek | Άρνορ |
Gujarati | આર્નર |
Hebrew | ארנור |
Hindi | आर्नोर |
Japanese | アルノール |
Kannada | ಅರ್ನೋರ್ |
Kazakh | Арнор (Cyrillic) Arnor (Latin) |
Konkani | आर्नोर |
Korean | 아르노르 |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Арнор |
Macedonian Cyrillic | Арнор |
Marathi | अर्नोर |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Арнор |
Nepalese | अर्नोर |
Pashto | آرنور |
Persian | آرنور |
Punjabi | ਅਰਨੋਰ |
Russian | Арнор |
Sanskrit | आर्नोर् |
Serbian | Арнор (Cyrillic) Arnor (Latin) |
Sinhalese | ආර්නෝර් |
Tajik Cyrillic | Арнор |
Tamil | அர்னோர் |
Tatar | Арнор |
Telugu | ఆర్నోర్ |
Thai | อาร์นอร์ |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Арнор |
Urdu | ارنور |
Uzbek | Арнор (Cyrillic) Arnor (Latin) |
Yiddish | אַרנאָר |
See also[]
Realms of Men of Middle-earth throughout the Ages | ||
---|---|---|
First Age | Amon Ereb • Forest of Brethil • Dor-lómin • Eriador • Estolad • Ladros | |
Second Age | Arnor • Dunland • Gondor • Haradwaith • Númenor• Rhovanion • Rhûn • Umbar | |
Third Age | Arnor (later split into Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur) • Dale • Dunland • Lake-town (later part of the kingdom of Dale) • Gondor • Haradwaith • Khand • Rhovanion • Rohan • Rhûn • Umbar • Vales of Anduin | |
Fourth Age | Dale • Haradwaith • Núrn • Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor • Rhovanion • Rohan • Rhûn • Khand • Eriador • Vales of Anduin |