Dates

The realm of Arnor existed II 3320 - III 861 (982 years), but the Dúnedain who had lived there survived into the Fourth Age¹

Location

The far northwest of Middle-earth

Origins

Dúnedain descended from the followers of Elendil the High King of Arnor

Race

Men

Division

Dúnedain

Family

Ruled by the House of Isildur

Settlements

The chief city of Arnor was Annúminas, and later Fornost

Pronunciation

doo'nedine of a'rrnorr (all 'r' sounds should be pronounced; 'rr' is used here to emphasise this)

Meaning

Dúnedain means 'Men of the West'; Arnor means 'land of the King'

Other names

Especially after the loss of Arnor, these people were variously known as the Dúnedain of the North, Northern Dúnedain, Rangers or Rangers of the North

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Updated 8 February 2021
This entry is complete

Dúnedain of Arnor

The people of the North-kingdom

Years of the TreesFirst AgeISecond AgeIIThird AgeIIIFourth AgeIV

Edain

Dúnedain
(Númenóreans)

Exiles of Númenor

Dúnedain
of Arnor

Dúnedain
of Gondor

One of the two great divisions of the descendants of the Númenóreans in Middle-earth (the other being the Gondorians of the South-kingdom). The North-kingdom of Arnor had originally held the capital of High King Elendil at Annúminas, and the Dúnedain of that land were ruled for centuries by the descendants of Elendil's elder son Isildur.

Before the end of the first millennium of the Third Age, the land of Arnor fell into dispute between the sons of King Eärendur, and the Dúnedain who lived there became divided into three realms: Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. One by one, these kingdoms fell, until at last the Dúnedain of Arnor had become a dwindled and wandering people. Nonetheless, their chieftains maintained the direct bloodline of Elendil's heir, and Aragorn - among whose titles was Chieftain of the Dúnedain of Arnor - was his direct descendant through many generations.

Notes

Strictly speaking, there were no Dúnedain of Arnor after the year III 861, when the North-kingdom broke up into lesser realms. Nonetheless the Dúnedain continued to live in the region, most notably in the western land of Arthedain, which was ruled by a direct descendant of Isildur. They evidently continued to refer to themselves as 'Dúnedain of Arnor' even though Arnor itself had long since ceased to exist. So, during the War of the Ring, Aragorn chose to title himself as the Captain of the Dúnedain of Arnor, even though, at that time, Arnor had not actually existed for more than two thousand years.

Dúnedain of Arnor

The people of the North-kingdom

Notes

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